Lost and Found

FOUR

"Does anyone else know you're back?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No, just you. Not even Kakashi knows where I'm at right now."

Sakura was immediately confused. If he was back in the village then she had assumed it had been by the Hokage's order. Part of the deal for Sasuke's release from prison was to have his location known at all times. Why would he come back without reason? Why risk losing what limited freedom he has?

Although, it did make her feel warm inside knowing she was the only person he told. She was thankful in that moment that she took Ino's advice and didn't tell anyone else.

"Is there somewhere we can go? No one knows I'm here and I'd like to keep it that way, then we can talk."

"Anywhere you had in mind?"

"I'm not sure. I don't have an apartment here anymore and we definitely can't go to your parent's house." Sasuke knew all too well they wouldn't allow him to step one foot inside.

"Why don't we just go to my house then?" she suggested with a smile.

"You have your own house?"

She nodded proudly, "I bought it about a year after you left. I wanted something that I could call my own, to do whatever I wanted to it."

He seemed impressed and nodded in agreement to her suggestion. "Lead the way."

They moved quickly down the streets, ducking into alleyways when they were coming up on anyone. It became a fun game for them. Luckily they made it to her house without incident.

"This is your house?" he asked as he looked up at it, waiting for Sakura to unlock the door.

"All mine" she confirmed as they walked inside. Sasuke didn't waste any time, he quickly removed his shoes and started down the hallway towards the dining room and kitchen, looking around at everything.

"Seems like a big place just for you."

"Well hopefully it won't be, one day" she replied quietly as she followed him deeper into the house. He looked at her over his shoulder for a moment before continuing into the living room.

Sakura found herself smiling, hoping that this would become more of a common thing; Sasuke being in her house. He made the atmosphere shift, she no longer felt lonely.

"It's very nice" he commented as he looked around.

"I'm sure you didn't come all this way to talk about my house" she teased as she sat down on the couch.

He turned and nodded before walking over on the couch beside her. He was about to speak when his attention was pulled to a stack of papers on the coffee table, specifically the words on them; Blueprints: Konoha Children's Clinic.

He reached over and pulled the stack closer to him, "What's this?"

She shuffled down the couch to see better, any excuse to be closer to him, and she was surprised to see he was taking such an interest in her work.

"It's my project that I've been working on for the last year or so. It's taken a lot of research and planning but I finally got the approval on the project about a month ago. It's a Children's Clinic."

Sasuke was silent as he flipped through the first few pages, his eyes skimming over the words on them. This was a huge accomplishment for Sakura and she was nervous for him to see it, to react to it. He and Naruto were her inspiration. She did this for them.

He turned to look at her with an unreadable expression. She wanted to lean in and kiss him but now didn't feel like the right time. She didn't know how he would react; would he kiss her back or would he leave? She was terrified of the latter.

"So, what brought you back to the village?" she asked, hoping to fill the silence. "I was surprised when I got your letter."

"I felt like now was a good time to come back. It's been awhile."

His answer made her feel warm inside again because he didn't come back because he had to. He did because he wanted to. There was still one more question, one she had been wanting to ask.

"Why haven't I heard from you? Why did it take this long for you to reach out to me or come home?"

He was silent for a moment, thinking before responding. Sakura knew he had been traveling all over the world and, being who he is, probably had people out to get him still.

"I didn't want to risk my hawk being intercepted. I've been low profile these last few years. I couldn't risk anyone knowing anything about me, the village, or the people closest to me."

"Do you-"

"Yes. I'll always have enemies Sakura. Whether The Leaf has forgiven me or not, there are people who haven't. I'm still in the Bingo Book of many villages."

"Sasuke I'm not scared of that. I'll always have your back. You know Naruto and Kakashi feel the same."

Their eyes locked again and there was an undeniable pull between them. She could see it in his eyes, his voice, his body language. She wanted to lean forward, to press her lips to his, but she was so scared.

She still couldn't bring herself to make the first move. He did just get back to the village after all, she couldn't throw herself at him immediately. Who knew if his feelings for her had changed at all. Did he still see her as an old teammate?

'There's a time and place for something like that. Now isn't that time' she reminded herself. She buried those urges deep down.

"How have you been?" he asked. He turned sideways on the couch to face her, resting his elbow along the back.

She mimicked his pose, "I've been okay. The hospital has been busy so I've been working a lot."

He nodded and was silent for a moment before responding, "I can tell." She felt self conscious, she brought her arms down and crossed them in front of her. "You look tired. Why have you been working so much?"

She hated that he could be so direct with what he wanted to say while she agonized over every word she wanted to say.

"What else is there to do? Naruto has Hinata, Ino has Sai, Kakashi is the Hokage. That leaves me with no one, so I work."

She had no idea what took over her when she said that. It was something she knew but had never put into words before. It hurt but was relieving to acknowledge those feelings and say them aloud.

"I'm sorry" he said softly. Those two little words, the first words he said to her after he and Naruto's final battle. Two words trying to apologize for years of heartache that he caused.

"It's okay" she told him. "There's no reason for you to apologize."

"I could think of a dozen right off the top of my head."

She could hear the sincerity in his voice. Sasuke wasn't the type to apologize unless he truly meant it. She had never intended to make him feel guilty or bring up the past.

"I'm sure you've had a long day. Let's get some rest. I'll grab some blankets and pillows for you."

He laid awake half the night, thinking of all the things he wanted to tell her. He wasn't good when it came to talking about his feelings, especially after he had pushed them down for so long.