Until Then

Chapter 25 ~ Friendships

Sakura let out a tired yawn. She was almost done with the stack of medical files on her desk. Precision was very important when it came to her work, and she always liked to make sure things were perfect. But, that also led to her spending hours focused on nothing but work.

A buzz emitted from her cellphone which was forgotten under a pile of papers. She had set a reminder for 2PM, but it had arrived quicker than expected.

She stepped out, feeling the sudden change in temperature outside compared to the cool air conditioned hospital.

There were things she wanted to see to. Time had already passed, but she knew some things didn't just disappear with time.

She didn't want things to be swept aside.

"Thanks for meeting with me." She said with a smile.

"Well it has been a while, Ugly."

The smile remain fixed, if not turning up abit more.  She had kind of missed this.

Before she wondered if Sai hadn't been in ROOT, would they all have been friends since then? They were around the same age, and as much as the banter went on between the rookies, there was always an underling relationship that had it's core in them being Konoha ninja.

Apart from his brother, Sai too had been deprived of that kinship.

But did time really matter when you got to spend it with someone regardless?

"So I wanted to talk to you."

"I thought you wanted to have Omurice?"

"Well- yes, I do. But, I mean other than that."  Sakura answered, taking a sip of water from the cooler.

"Here you go!" The serving lady placed both saucers infront of them. There was a drizzling of tomato sauce across the omelet, dripping down the sides. It was definitely a comfort food.

It was very rare that she spent her breaks outside of the hospital,  usually a small sandwich at her desk would suffice.

Breaking her chopsticks apart, she glanced over to her side. Sai looked rather tired under his poker expression. He did have a lot going on in his life now.

"How was your mission?"

"It went well."

Sakura looked down at her food, she was used to getting short answers by now. Thinking back, she and Naruto were definitely the loud mouths of the team. Naruto could easily fill any silence or awkwardness,  even if that meant adding to the later by making a fool of himself.

"I hope you at least got some rest yesterday."

"I arrived this morning."

"Wait what- We could've met up another day then." Sakura said, feeling bad for making her former teammate be out straight from a mission.

"It's fine."

It was fine, at least to him.

He didn't want to admit since things had finally began to calm down and go well, but he did feel a tad sidelined lately.

Even though Sai had been Sasuke's replacement on Team 7,  it didn't mean he had replaced him. He could just hear the faint voices from years ago when he had first joined, he could not take Sasuke's place.

And now that Sasuke had returned, it did not cancel out his presence.

At the begining it was more of a placeholder position. There was a member missing, so naturally he would fill that up until it was resolved or when needed.

He hadn't come there to do anything besides fulfill his purpose. When he was in the Anbu, lives felt like collateral, and he had seen his share of teammates lost. He was taught to be unscathed by those incidents.

But then it was strange how things could change when you're surrounded by people who were a stark contrast from you. It was as if over time you could see hints of their personality slowly creeping into yours.

That was what it was like with Team 7.  The more time Sai had spent with them, the more he wanted to understand them and the reasons they acted the way they had. While he was ruled by logic and thought, Naruto and Sakura were often propelled by their emotions.

Despite being so different, they all still looked out for each other and created a bond he had long since accepted in his life.

"Hmm okay. So what are the plans for the wedding? Congrats again by the way! " She asked excitedly.

"Well Ino is incharge of everything...But I'm almost certain you know more than me."

They both smiled at the thought. It was true, Ino had already begun preparing for their wedding and she didn't leave her best friend out of the loop on those things.

The pair continued talking until their food was finished and Sakura had to head back to her office.

"It was nice seeing you!" She called, waving as Sai walked off in the opposite direction. She never wanted him to feel left out, especially when she knew what that was like. At least she could check one thing off now.

________________

It was almost seven thousand needle ticks that the Uchiha had listened to from the clock as he waited. The sound seemed to draw out the silence that was looming in the evening.

Sasuke had done a bit of shopping today, picking out simple black t shirts similiar to the ones he'd always wear.  He was quick but he also had a lot clouding on his mind.

He had came around to the entrance of the hospital around seven, casually scanning the area for someone specific.

A few times the doors had opened and he perked up at the sound, only to be met with the wrong person.

Not knowing exactly what time Sakura finished off from work, he decidedly wandered about in the meanwhile. The minutes turned into hours, and he mentally scolded himself for not spending his time doing something else instead of waiting.

Eventually the click of the glass doors were heard,  and he watched as Sakura trudged down the stairs. The weary look on her face disappeared as she spotted him standing at the bottom with his hand pushed lightly into his pants pocket.

"Sasuke!" She called with a smile reaching her tired eyes. It made the wait worth it.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just passed by now."

Sakura nodded, tucking away loose strands that escaped her hair tie.  She never thought to imagine something like this for her life.  It felt so out of touch  back then.

She took a peak to to her side now that they were walking as the Uchiha pretended not to notice. Why did it feel so simple?  She couldn't help but appreciate these gestures,  and want to experience again and again till she got tired of it, which she was sure would never happen.

She wanted to be the one Sasuke waited for and came to when he didn't know where to go...

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Hey guys🥺 HAPPY SAKURA DAY 🌸🌸💕💕💕
I know I said I would update sooner, but I had a lot going on in my personal life which made it difficult to write. But I HAD to get this in on Saku's birthday! 🎂 So I hope you all are well! Thank you for continuing to read.

Posted:
28 March 2022
17:40