Happy Accidents

Chapter 39: Revelations, pt. 1

Sasuke flipped through the handful of files that he'd brought with him to the lakehouse, ready to tackle the information from a different perspective after their refreshing nature walk. He felt renewed and refreshed, making notes on small tabs he'd put in the files. The more he read, the more confident he felt; he was coming up with new connections he could explore, connections that might help them solve the cases. He made it through most of the files before coming to the last one, the one he'd been dreading.

The folder was a series of newspaper clippings and other things, but the headline in the front stood out most prominently. It was an article about a house fire where the blaze had killed two adults, and a young boy had survived. The newspaper had put out no names in the article to protect the boy's privacy. Still, the article noted that his elder brother was missing and potentially responsible for the fire.

It was the only case Sasuke had never been able to solve. He wasn't in charge of it, but he kept up with the original detectives that had investigated it. Most of them had been retired, and they knew who he was; they knew exactly why Sasuke wanted to solve it and were more than willing to help... along with cautionary tales about letting it take over his life too much. Sasuke knew why they warned against such things, and he couldn't care less. That moment was the reason he'd decided on the path he did. He didn't want to kill his brother; revenge wasn't exactly what he wanted.

No... he wanted his brother to see justice. He wanted his brother behind bars, where he could look at him and say that he'd done it. He'd done right by their parents. He'd done what he needed to do to solve the case of their death. It would put all the agony he'd live with to rest once and for all. That was his goal. His only goal in life.

Sasuke's gaze snapped up as he heard a noise on the stairs, seeing a bleary-eyed Sakura coming down and rubbing her eyes, still half asleep from her nap. There was something adorable about the way she stood there, half-grumbling with sleep.

"You still look tired," he commented gently. "You can go back to sleep if you want. I'm okay." He beckoned her over, letting her sit on the couch beside him.

"No, I'm fine; I don't want to sleep too much." She smiled softly and leaned against him. "Thanks, though. I appreciate your concern." Sakura looked much more refreshed with a yawn and a stretch, shaking her head to clear it. "Okay, time to make dinner. Anything you'd like?"

Sasuke thought for a brief moment, going through what food she'd brought with her. "Didn't you bring sausages? We... could roast them over the fire outside on the beach." He also had snuck something in that was more up her alley but would be the perfect dessert for roasted sausages.

"Yeah, we can do that. I'll get the fire going, and you get the sausages ready." Sakura was out the door and preparing the fire while he had a moment to dig around for the ingredients he'd brought. Sakura had enough forethought to bring marshmallows to roast, but he'd gone one step further, bringing a decent-sized chocolate bar and a small box of graham crackers. She seemed to like just about anything sweet, so this would have to suffice for her for now.

Making his way out, he kept the sweets hidden in a smaller bag, subtly sliding it underneath his folding chair where she wouldn't see it as he handed her the sausages. She had the roasting sticks ready to go, sliding a sausage onto the stick and handing it to him before preparing her own. He took a seat in front of the fire, leaning the stick against the bricks that contained the fire, using the heat from the flames to cook his dinner slowly.

"We can have dinner and then go for a swim after that, if you'd like," Sakura offered as she began to roast her own sausage.

"I had an idea, actually," Sasuke interjected. He was trying to make things just a little better for her. "Why don't we sit on the dock and watch the sunset? Then we can go for a swim once it's dark." That was supposed to be romantic, right? He'd heard it was. Naruto had suggested it before they left.