Happy Accidents

Chapter 52: Thoughts

Sakura had one hell of a day before her at the office today, although it had little to nothing to do with work directly. Once she had a free moment, she marched up to the detectives' offices, knocking on Detective Uzumaki's door. He was the only person she could think of who would have any advice for planning.

"Dr. Haruno?" Naruto asked, a surprised look on his face. "C'mon in. You look like something's buggin' ya." Naruto always had a unique demeanour about him; no matter what was going on, he always seemed to make everything feel a little bit better. Sakura was glad for that kind of presence today. She was beyond nervous.

"Well, I don't know about bugging me, but... well, kind of." She turned and closed the door, taking a seat in the chair across from his desk. Today was a special day. She'd left early so she could plan for it, telling Sasuke that she would be home by lunch. The poor guy was almost going stir-crazy staying at home... and last night, she'd caught a very interesting moment where he was without a doubt thumbing through videos of animals, primarily cats, being... well, ridiculous animals, to put it simply.

"Aaah... Wait, I get it. I think." Naruto looked like he was thinking incredibly hard, like he was making sure he was right. Typical guy... forgetting dates so easily. Typical Naruto, really, when it came to this sort of thing.

"Yeah. It's Sasuke's birthday," Sakura confirmed. "But I wanted to ask... does he even celebrate it? Does he ever want to do anything for it?" She hadn't the faintest clue. They hadn't known each other for long enough to talk about that kind of thing. In fact, Sasuke hadn't talked much about his family or what he'd been through. Bit by bit, he seemed to be opening up about it, but Sakura could tell that it was still difficult for him each time.

"He... ah, how do I put this," Naruto said thoughtfully, leaning back in his chair. "It wasn't that he never wanted to celebrate it; we just never got to. Being foster kids, things aren't always the best, so birthdays were never really celebrated. I never really celebrated mine, either. He'd know it's his birthday, but I don't know if he expects anyone else to know or remember." Sakura certainly knew how that felt. With her parents gone so often, the only person who ever really celebrated her birthday with her was Ino.

"So... if I were to plan something... What do you think he's really like? I mean... The other night I saw him looking at, um... I'm pretty sure they were just viral cat videos," she admitted, holding back a laugh. Naruto held nothing back, leaning back in his chair and throwing his head back in laughter.

"He's regressed to that, huh? He really likes animals. He'll never admit it, but he does. Cats especially. I don't know if he'd want a pet, but there were a few times we had animals at the foster homes, although it was rare, and he loved them. He was kinda sour to everyone around him, but any time the pets were around, it was like he was a completely different person." Well, that did give Sakura one idea they could roll with.

"Do you... think he'd like it if I planned something for us?" She asked curiously.

"I think he'd love it, especially coming from you. It'd probably be the first time in years that anyone's remembered his birthday, let alone done something with him, or for him, on that day. I think he'll be happy to spend the day with you anyway, but if it's because you remembered it's his birthday, he'll love it even more." That boosted Sakura's confidence immensely. She was now sure what she wanted to do for the afternoon and evening, and it would be an excellent surprise for Sasuke. Maybe she'd be able to get him to open up to her about things more than he usually did.

"Okay. I think I know what I'll do." Sakura nodded and stood from her chair, straightening confidently. "Thanks, Naruto. You've been a big help, and I really appreciate it."