[fluff]
The shinobi war had been over for about a year.
The village was still a mess, but ninjas and civilians alike were working together to rebuild their home. Kakashi-sensei was now Hokage, which meant the team would rarely see him outside of his office (and when they would, he'd most likely be running away from it in the first place).
She was head of the hospital now, with Tsunade retiring from both Hokage-dom and active service, opting instead to guide both her pupil and the current Hokage in their respective fields. The blonde had recently taken in Naruto as well, and he was now training for the time where he could finally fulfill his dream of being Hokage. Sakura couldn't be prouder of him. He would make an amazing Hokage, and the people already viewed him as their hero and saviour.
Team 7. The team that were arguably not human. A child prodigy, ANBU legend, and student of the Yondaime together with a jinchuriki and Uchiha clan heir. And then there was her. Crybaby Sakura-- sheltered, cared for and spoiled with luxuries her teammates didn't have. But she learned. From the steeling of her resolve on the Chuunin Exams to her training with Tsunade-shishou, the battle with Sasori, the Fourth Shinobi World War, unlocking her Byakugou, to taking down a goddess, she clawed her way through grit and her own hard work. No demon spirit or bloodline limit helped her, no lifelong dream or goal of vengeance either. Merely a resolve to able to stand by her teammates and be worthy of being by their side.
With Kakashi as Hokage, Naruto and Sasuke as saviours of the world, though? It seemed like her dreams were still elusive bubbles floating away every time they were within her reach.
And there was Sasuke. He was the most elusive bubble of them all. He was off doing god-knows-what all around Konoha as penance for his crimes. Of course, they had all made his peace with him, but he still had to do menial missions around the village for the sake of the elders' appeasement. A small part of her was glad that she didn't see him around.
How was she supposed to greet him? "Hi, I'm your teammate who declared her undying love, what's up?" Every time she saw him the words she spoke threatened to make her burn in a puddle of embarrassment. Did he still see her as that weak teammate?
She wasn't that lovesick puppy anymore; whatever he did (or whoever, for that matter) was none of her concern. She had an entire hospital to take care of, a problematic brooding teammate was the least of her problems.
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He set the sake cup down with a little more abandon, the alcohol obviously starting to take its effect on even him. He gestured at the counter, and watched the bartender with a blank gaze as he whisked off his sake to get a refill.
Naruto had invited him several times to join him and the rest of their genin batch to the weekly barbecue dinners, but he refused every time. He was pretty sure all the lights, music, and loud voices (not to mention the likelihood of Kiba or Naruto picking up a fight at some point) would only make for a vicious headache.
He was also yet to grow accustomed to his new Rinnegan, and for now grew his hair to hide it under one bang.
Thus, he found this closed-off bar on the outskirts of Konoha, where few came, and even fewer asked questions.
It was nice.
"The usual, girlie?"
"Yes, please. The stronger the better." He looked up, surprised to see Sakura. She took a seat on the other end of the counter, seemingly not noticing him. Her pink hair was somewhat longer now, and quite messy, unlike her usual neat style. Clad in civilian attire, er eyes were bloodshot, tearstrains on her cheeks.
She turned to him, and blinked.
"Oh. Hi." she stared at him before slumping and gazing at the nearby wall. Her sake came, and she downed it in one shot.
No words were exchanged by them that night, and she left first, sliding some bills onto the counter before waving at him as a goodbye.
Huh. He didn't know he'd see that side of her.
------
It was from Naruto that he learned how she lost a patient that day. A little boy, heart failure from extremely low blood pressure. He knew a doctor's life was hard, and that one couldn't truly save everyone (nor could you bring them back--yes, he knew that better than anyone else).
He stood in front of the door that read 'Haruno Sakura'. Debating whether to knock or not, he shrugged and decided to just open the door. He strolled in, and she looked up from her desk.
"Sasuke-kun? How can I help you?" She stood up, and smiled briefly. He stared at her. He didn't really have an agenda on as to why he was here.
Somehow, after that day, he found his feet carrying him to the hospital gates whenever he walked absentmindedly while off the slew of D-rank missions he had to do.
"I... want you to look at my eye." She raised an eyebrow, before her mouth formed an 'O' in understanding.
"Oh! I can refer you to an ophthalmologist if you'd like...?" He stared at her blankly.
"I heard from Kakashi that you looked over his Sharingan when he still had one." I don't trust anyone else to do it. She blinked.
"U-Uh, yeah, sure, I'll free up my schedule some time this week. I'll ask Naruto to tell you when I'm free," she picked up a folder from her desk and opened a nearby file cabinet.
"Hn. Thanks."
-----
It wasn't everyday that one could work with a Rinnegan, but soon enough it almost was for Sakura. Sasuke barged in at whatever time he pleased, sometimes perusing through her documents and idly examining the flowers on her desk before asking for a checkup. He reminded her of a cat.
They never really talk. She'd only say something when she found something about his eye that may be the reason why it was bothering him. One day, as her hands glowed green she realized that there was nothing wrong with his eye anymore, only to find herself glued down by his other eye. He seemed to have been staring at her for quite a while now.
She nodded once, to say that everything was alright, and he got up from the examining chair to leave. To her surprise, he was back the following week, and once again idly perused her things. She knew that there was nothing wrong with his eye anymore, and that he knew that as well. And yet, he was here.
She knew Sasuke wouldn't do anything without a reason.
-----
He learned her breaktimes so he could come it at that time, and little by little she opened up to him. First, she began with telling him about her day, what patients she had, upcoming surgeries, mountains of paperwork, and new interns messing everything up.
On that note, he stared at the newest one, a nin with brown hair and eyes, chatting amiably with Sakura. She laughed at something he said, and he 'hn'ed, leaning against the doorframe of her door. He didn't enter, not sensing her chakra signature inside.
Looking in his direction, her eyes lit up, and she pat the young man's shoulder before pointing to an incoming patient and handing him her clipboard. Waving him off, she jogged to Sasuke and opened the door to her office, allowing him to enter.
And so he did.
This time, he told her about his day too--though it wasn't anywhere near as spectacular as hers.
-----
She didn't know when it started. What were once check-ups turned into enjoying the other's company, and now... this. Lingering stares, awkward silences, her heart beating out of her chest when his gaze drowned her thoughts into oblivion.
Once, he absently mentioned that her hair was getting longer, and another time he commented that she had an eyelash on her face before removing it himself. She stared up at him, and his penetrating gaze caught her before he leaned back, hand lingering a millisecond too long on her cheek before (almost childishly of him) asking her to make a wish.
When a small box of chocolates tied with a red bow were found on her desk one Valentine's day, she didn't have to wonder who it came from.
-----
It was a quiet love that bloomed between them. Lingering gazes, her softly touching his shoulders when she fixed his cloak (he'd bought a new one, replacing the horrible poncho he'd worn previously; he knew liked this sleek black one better by the way her hands moved over them). His hands would absentmindedly remove dirt on her lab coat, and her breath whooshed out of her lungs each time he touched her. It exhilarated him.
On White Day, she knew he hated sweets so she instead gave him a small bento of onigiri with okaka.
She also kissed his cheek.
He hated sweet things, but oh well. That would be an exception.
-----
They never really confessed to each other, now that Sakura thought about it. She just found herself one day absently telling Sasuke about her day in the office, biting into her onigiri(having gotten into the habit of bringing lunch for two for a while now) and only just realizing that her other hand was intwined with his. She stared at it, and at him. He stared back at her. She knew her cheeks were burning, and the smirk on his face was oh-so-familiar.
He popped the last bit of his onigiri into his mouth, his eyes on her the entire time. Their hands were still intertwined. Swallowing, she averted her gaze to a random wall in her office, trying her best to not act like a teenage girl. While doing so, she noted the almost negligible dust of pink on his cheeks, and the stiff way he held himself.
It was nice to know that she wasn't the only one new to this.
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Written by asonnetforyou