𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝒮𝓅𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒮𝓊𝓃𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑒 | 𝗦𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗸𝗲 𝘅 𝗦𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗿𝗮

3

The next morning, Sakura woke up with a start. Her head was pounding, causing her mood to worsen further. The exhausted pinkette pulled the blanket over her head, grumbling under her breath as she tried to hide from the pain.

But then, she remembered him.

"Sasuke-kun," she mumbled quietly, her voice hoarse from the night before as she sat up rapidly. Sakura looked around in a disoriented manner, wanting to find a trace, any trace, that the ravenhead she thought of was actually there.

While using her medical ninjutsu to soothe her headache with one hand, Sakura used her other one to untangle the knots in her pink hair in case she would encounter the Uchiha.

Hurrying through the hallways, the pinkette looked around frantically, but there wasn't any sign of Sasuke. Upon arriving in her kitchen, the pinkette began to panic. 'Am I imagining things? Was it the alcohol?' she thought to herself, anxiously fiddling with her fingers.

"Hn."

Sakura turned around quickly, feeling as if time was slowing down once she registered the familiar voice. The voice of the man she had loved for so long.

And it felt like she was the young girl again, the one who was head over heels for her cold and mysterious teammate.

Her big emerald eyes stared at the Uchiha, a small blush creeping up her neck as she took in his appearance. His raven hair had gotten longer, now covering his Rinnegan properly. The now grown man was tall, really tall, in comparison to Sakura.

Yet even though his face was still as emotionless and stern as ever, he looked... calm. As if he had finally fought the demons and soothed the storm inside him. His features were relaxed, his dark eyes being the soft contrast to his sharp jawline and cheekbones.

"S- S- S-," Sakura stammered, the light pink hue on her cheeks turning into a full blown red. She couldn't believe he was really here, in her house. 'Wait, how does he know where I live now?' the pinkette thought to herself, opening her mouth to say something again afterwards but not able find the right words.

Sasuke didn't want to intrude Sakura's personal space, that is why he had stayed at a hostel last night. Well, snuck in and borrowed a room. Once he returned to the pinkette's house, she was already wide awake.

The Uchiha had watched her pace around the house for a few minutes before deciding to show himself. He couldn't take the anticipation anymore, his racing heart pounding in his ears, revealing his feelings.

This was the first time Sasuke felt like this. His heartbeat was usually determined by fear or anger, but now; it was out of... care.

"Don't faint on me again, yeah?" Sasuke spoke quietly, his voice deep and slightly hoarse from lack of use. The ravenhead extended his water flask towards her, genuinely wanting to refrain Sakura from passing out again.

The pinkette only stared at the flask in awe, her lips agape and green eyes big. It felt like she wasn't breathing anymore, and all she wanted was to hug him. To hold him, to talk to him, to feel him. But all she could do was gaze at the water flask without blinking.

Sasuke let out a quiet snort before lowering the flask and placing it in her hand gently, his cold fingers brushing against her warm ones as he secured her grip around it. Sakura's blush seemed to grow deeper as Sasuke's skin touched hers, lingering there for a few seconds longer than necessary.

"Y-you're here..." the flushed pinkette managed to whisper, lifting her head to look up at Sasuke. She had finally managed to gather her thoughts and took a sip of water, her eyes never leaving the Uchiha's.