Happy Accidents

Chapter 30: Dubiousness

Once back at the office, Sakura figured she might as well talk to Ino. Before driving back to the office, she'd sent the blonde a text, saying she had boy-related things to talk about. She needed to talk to someone about last night, and Ino was the only person she felt she could talk to about that. She was coming up the stairs past Sasuke's office when they nearly bumped into each other; Sakura would have run right into him if not for him quickly grasping her by the shoulders to prevent the collision.

"Oh! There you are," she said with surprise, blinking up at him. "You weren't at the crime scene. What happened?" Worry creased over her features as she watched him shove his hands in his pockets, leaning his weight to one foot.

"Had something I needed to look into," he said. Something was... dubious about his behaviour. Something was off; she could tell by his posture, tone, and even the small changes in his expression.

"Oh? Do you mean like a lead on a case? One of the ones we've been working on?" If it had to do with a case, it was right for her to be in the loop. They worked them together; after all, she was an incredible asset when it came to the intellectual side of things.

"No, uh, just some extended family stuff," he replied quickly. "I have to go. Stuff to deal with still. I'll be back around lunch." He quickly brushed past her, giving her a small wave before taking off down toward the parkade. It left Sakura staring at his retreating back, now even more confused by his behaviour than she had been this morning. Shaking her head, she made her way to Ino's office.

Sakura kept her expression neutral and walked with purpose, appearing very businesslike as she came to her destination. Once she'd reached it and saw that no one else was in there with her blonde friend, she walked in, turned and closed the door, and snapped the shades shut before turning around to face Ino with an expression full of mixed emotions... particularly ones that meant there was juicy gossip to be had.

Ino's expression became something out of a comic book. She went from confused to curious and intrigued, and eventually to an all-knowing smirk. Sakura could hear small chuckles from her before she spoke. "Spit it out, forehead," she said in a teasing tone, making it clear she had an idea where her friend was going with this.

"So--last night, when we got back, um..." The more she spoke, the more Ino leaned forward, silently encouraging her friend to keep talking. Sakura saw it and tried to think of the least embarrassing way to describe it... or rather, the way that would leave Ino with the least number of ways to make fun of her for it. "We... we kissed. Like. Kissed-kissed."

Ino's smirk widened. "Define 'kissed-kissed'. Are we talking like, hot steamy I-want-in-your-pants-now kind of kiss, or like, chaste I-like-you-but-this-is-kind-of-awkward kiss, or--"

"Does your mind always have to go there? No! Jeez, Ino, you are depraved," Sakura replied grumpily, walking over to the couch and sitting down with her arms crossed. "It was neither of those. It was like a... It was passionate, I guess..? It's hard to describe."

"Oh, so like an I've-been-holding-back-forever kind of kiss. Like that sweet moment in cheesy romance movies when the protagonists have been dancing around each other for way too long and you want to scream at the screen, 'KISS ALREADY, YOU STUPID FOOLS'! Like that?"

"Yeah, like that, except I was living it." Her face turned bright red, and she covered her cheeks with her hands. "It was like... everything stopped around us, and it was just us. That's it. Nothing else mattered. Just us. He was warm, and gentle, and... kind. He just kept apologizing for everything, over and over." She couldn't shake the guilt she'd heard in his voice last night.

"It also sounds like that's not all that happened, Sakura. You're holding out on me." Damn, Ino was good. She could tell when things weren't the whole story.