I don't own Naruto and it's characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.

Sakura stirred restlessly, wide awake and much too anxious to sleep. She had tried to prevent the quiet from triggering memories of her ex-comrade and how long it had been since he left. But she couldn't prevent the flood of emotions from returning, just like they had been doing repeatedly for just over a year. One minute, she would be doing laundry, and the next minute, her neighbours would find her in the laundry room of her apartment block, curled up in a corner with tears dribbling down her cheeks.

Even when she was busy working in the hospital. There was no escape. One time, several months ago, she had been happily healing an injured shinobi returned from a mission, but half an hour later Shizune had found her in the stock cupboard shaking like a leaf, devastated for reasons she couldn't quite define. She couldn't remember precisely what had been going through her head, but whenever it happened it felt like a dark mist. So dark, that her entire existence felt foggy. After one of these dark mists, she found herself plagued with headaches and nausea for two weeks straight.

Anyway, during the little incident at the hospital, Shizune had somehow managed to coax her up a flight of stairs and down the corridor into Tsunade's office. Tsunade had immediately stood from her chair in shock at the sight of her, and had smothered her in a maternal embrace. Apparently Tsunade, upon hearing about Sakura's strange behaviour, had contacted the Hokage, and Sakura was immediately called to his office. Kakashi, being her former sensei, wanted to do right by his ex-student and had been quick to suspend Sakura from missions and hospital work.

"Why?!" Sakura had yelled, outraged at how patronizing they were being. The humiliation would kill her. And besides, she felt perfectly functional. They also happened to forget that she had the damn right to go to work. "Under what basis?!"

Kakashi, just smiled at her from under his mask and raised both his hands defensively, in an attempt to calm the hot-headed shinobi. "Sakura" he had said, gently, "I wouldn't do this unless I felt that you needed it. Tsunade isn't just good at physical healing, she also has some in-depth psychological knowledge. So, as the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, I'm suspending you from all missions and work, until I say otherwise, under the basis of Depression"

The word had pained Kakashi as he said it. Especially since he knew the underlying cause was one of his other ex-students. A black haired Uchiha, to be precise. He hated seeing Sakura as broken as this. She was like a daughter to him, and maybe, he thought, these protective feelings are because she reminds him distinctly of Rin. Sakura, naturally, had tried to protest further, and opened her mouth with a holster of insults ready to fire and spit at him. But before she could lunge and screech in his face, he was holding open the door and ushering her out. And he managed to do it fast enough, that she didn't get the chance to kick him in the crotch.

So now here she was, lying in bed, labelled throughout Konoha as the depressed, pink haired, suspended kunoichi. It was easily gone midnight, and yet she still couldn't seem to get a wink of sleep. It wasn't an unusual occurrence either. She wasn't blind to the dark circles under her eyes that never seemed to disappear no matter how much makeup she rubbed into them. Turning on the mattress, she lay flat on her back and stared at the ceiling aimlessly. She closed her eyes, trying to think deeply about anything in particular, in hope that her thinking will lull her to sleep somehow. However, her thoughts started to merge into memories. Memories of Sasuke, and the moments before he left Konoha again.

"I'll see you soon…" he had said to her, in his usual controlled voice, yet with a slightly hushed tone, so that no one could eavesdrop on their private moment together. He raised his right hand – his only hand – and tapped her lightly with two fingers on the pale skin of her forehead. She peered at him with eyes wide and cheeks flushed with red, as she saw the affection behind his dark dark eyes that stared penetratingly into hers.

"And thank you…" he practically whispered, mimicking their encounter the first time he left Konoha.

She immediately understood the weight of those words, and the silent meaning that they held between them, and them only. No one could ever see how special she felt, with the knowledge that she had this private connection with him. Nobody else in Team 7…In Konoha...In the world…knew about the secret meaning behind these particular words between them. Just her and Sasuke…and she really, really liked that thought.

Her eyes snapped open again, and immediately filled with unshed tears. She missed him. She missed him more that she would like to admit. She knew, deep down, that he would definitely come back one day when he was ready to, and that he needed this journey of redemption. He didn't feel whole with himself again, and Sakura didn't blame him for leaving. But, it had been over a year, and she wouldn't be human if she didn't hold doubts of his lingering promise from time to time.

Sluggishly, she rose from the bed, exited her bedroom, trudged through her living room and closed the front door behind her. She descended the stairs, not caring about anything else except those precious memories that she held on to. Exiting the building, she shivered as she padded along, barefoot and clothed in nothing but a violet camisole and navy blue shorts. She plodded slowly through the streets of Konoha, not caring if her feet were now caked in brown earth dust. The whole village was dead, like her. Sakura was dead. She was no longer the hyperactive fangirl of twelve years, that she once was. She didn't even look at the buildings on either side of the street, instead concentrating on the road continuing into the distance, leading out of the village.

As she walked, the brown earth became smooth grey stones, and her eyes narrowed when she saw that bench not too far in front of her…twenty feet away...ten feet away…three feet away, she thought, as she collapsed onto the bench, lying with her head against the arm rest and her feet on the other side. Yet again, Sakura closed her eyes, ignoring the cold breeze that prickled her bare skin, and savouring the memories of that particular teammate.

Sasuke-kun…she thought, as she steadied her breathing.

And there it was.

A flare of chakra.

Sakura's eyes snapped open, as she peered around in panic. She was being watched. She knew it. Not just by the small burst of nearby chakra, but by the creeping paranoia in her mind. Although she was wary, she was aware of her shinobi abilities, and knew that she could destroy her stalkers by throwing one punch to the ground and watching as they tumbled into the crater that it left. A snap of twigs from the trees opposite told her that the onlooker was purposely making their presence known. No decent shinobi would simply allow a twig to snap and reveal their position. Her previously tense muscles relaxed a little, as logic told her that if they wanted her to hear them approaching, they had no intention of attacking her.

Twigs continued to snap, growing louder as a dark silhouette emerged from inside the trees. She stared at it, as it paused to stare back at her, before shuffling ever closer and into the moonlight. Her lips parted in surprise when the light shone on a young man with dark hair, wearing ragged and worn clothes and severely lacking a left arm. If she had any doubts to who he was, one look into his intimidating black eyes confirmed his identity, as they bore into hers, taking in her changed appearance.

"Tadaima." He mumbled.

She remained mute for a couple of seconds, her eyes still wide and staring, as if she was chilled to the bone with the fear that speaking would wake her up from such a beautiful dream.

"Okaeri." She whispered.

There was a silence for a minute, consisting of Sakura and Sasuke merely staring at eachother. Sakura, in disbelief of his return. Sasuke, with a sombre countenance at the sight of her physical changes. He could see from the trees that she was thin. Malnourished to the point that her clothes hung looser and he could see the outline of her ribs through her camisole. Now that he was closer, he was aware of the dark bags under her eyes from insomnia, and how her once bright and healthy pink hair had become limp and dulled. He saw the dirt on her feet and the goosebumps on her skin, and realised that she probably didn't care if she died of cold out here. Frankly, her decline in health was the last thing he wanted to see. He wanted her to live a normal, happy life until he returned, but he couldn't hold off the annoying swirl of guilt in his stomach that his absence had left scars on someone he cared about. As one of his precious people, he couldn't stand the thought of her crying over him.

But that's what she was doing just now, he reminded himself grimly, mentally wincing at the thought.

Sakura rose from the bench, and took small, unsteady steps towards him, eyes unblinking and abnormally large. She quivered slightly in the cold, before stopping when she was literally less than a foot away. Her face was lifted to his, and she raised her hands to gently tap and touch the features on his face. Reassuring herself that she's not dreaming, he thought, as he looked into her glassy green eyes that were searching his with desperation that he wasn't a hallucination. Her ice-cold fingertips lightly brushed his nose, eyebrows, cheeks and lips, sending a series of shivers down his spine.

"Sasuke-kun?" she breathed, thinking that if she heard his voice, then she would feel certain that he was actually here.

"Aa" he muttered, before using his single arm to wrap his cape around them both, pulling her back to the bench to sit together. He was well aware of the awkwardness in such actions, since he had always distanced himself from Sakura somewhat, but even he had enough morality to share his cape with a shivering girl wearing nothing but pyjamas. He was never good with words, and she knew it, but he would at least try and give her an explanation for his return. She deserved at least that much. But he wasn't used to being huddled in a cape with a girl wearing nothing but a camisole and shorts, and as a result, he felt his nerves jump up every time she shifted a little beside him, on the icy stone.

"Kakashi…he sent me a message with his dogs." he spoke slowly, answering her unsaid questions. "He told me…he told me that you had been suspended from all ninja activities because of Depression."

She turned away from his face. Half because she was ashamed that he knew about her deteriorating mentality, and half because she was embarrassed that she was close enough to feel his heat and his expanding chest when he breathed.

"Sasuke-kun…" she whispered, her words drifting off with the breeze. Her thoughts were so incoherent, that she couldn't seem to place them in enough order to create meaningful sentences. And yet, right at that moment, his being felt like the only inherently precise thing in the entire world.

"He also told me" he continued, interrupting her with a somehow stoic yet scowling expression, "that you didn't think I was going to come back"

She grimaced, despairing that she had practically betrayed him. He didn't deserve to be betrayed. Of all people, she should've known that. The guilt settled at the base of her stomach, like a heavy lead weight. For his sake, she could've tried harder.

Sasuke made a "tsk" under his breath, "I have to say, Sakura. I never thought you, of all people, would have such little faith in me"

"I'm sorry" she hushed, "I know that you stick to your word, but I couldn't help but think sometimes, that you had left us for good." She paused, "I've had the most stupid fears that Team 7 will never be together again like we used to be, and that you would leave me, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei even though we're all okay now"

"Sakura" his face was an unreadable blank void, as he stared at the ground in deep thought, "Do you remember what I said to you just before I left Konoha again?"

Sakura gave him a look like he was dumb, "I would never forget, Sasuke-kun" .She recalled what she had been remembering earlier that night, and smiled, "you said, 'I'll see you soon' and then you poked my alien forehead and said 'thank you'"

Sasuke's face flickered with a quick smirk, in gladness that she had warmed up a little at his return. She wasn't crying anymore, and that could only be a good thing. With Sakura, that was always a good thing.

"I.. I want to thank you again", he told her, unsure of his own words. This was his stupid awkwardness creeping in, just at the times when he needed it to remain at bay.

She frowned, "Why?"

He looked away from her, hiding his nerves, "for everything that you did for me. You and Naruto. Back then" he paused, glaring at the memory, "I was just sinking deeper into darkness. There didn't seem to be another way. Darkness, it was the only thing I could see…but you…" he trailed off, not used to expressing feelings so much.

Her large green eyes analyzed his face, pressing on, "but me…"

His face softened from a glare into a smirk-smile. She couldn't tell which it was more like.

"But you - annoyingly - kept shining the light on me…and I'm...I'm grateful for that" . He muttered the words under his breath. Who would've thought that he could find it in him to say such embarrassing things.

The corners of her mouth turned up into a small smile and her eyes watered with tears that leaked from her eyes and ran down her face. She was happy. He was grateful and she was happy. He took a minute to compose himself and attempt to calm his nerves. He wanted to do this, and he didn't want anything as stupid as nerves to hold him back. You can do this…he thought...you're an Uchiha…

Calming his heartbeat and clearing his mind of all other thoughts except those of the present, he turned back to her. He allowed himself to let go of the cape for a second, and it fell away from their shoulders. Sakura gasped in surprise as she glanced at the fallen cape, before noticing his only hand which he had lifted to hold her bangs back from her face, exposing her dreaded forehead. Her breath halted in her throat, as he leaned towards her, pressing his lips to the cold skin of her forehead. She felt her face crumple as more tears spilled from her eyes. She couldn't believe that Sasuke Uchiha was kissing the one part of herself that she hated. She had always been so self conscious of her large forehead, and he knew that, but now here he was, kissing it. Her heart suddenly filled with the wonderful bright red nostalgia of her genin days. Although she had originally claimed that her dream was to be Mrs Uchiha, her dream was warped until she merely wished for him to acknowledge her, along with her faults. That was her true dream, and now here, at this moment in time, he was making it a reality.

He pulled away from her head, burying the lower part of his face in his palm, trying to hide the nervous dark pink spreading slowly across his pale cheeks.

"I still love you Sasuke-kun" Sakura whispered, feeling happier than she had in so many years.

Sasuke smirked from behind his hand.

"...You're still annoying"

A/N: my first one shot, so feel free to correct any grammar mistakes, comment or criticise etc... Constructive criticism is welcome too. Thanks for reading, by the way. Also, this was really glitchy when I first posted it, and I want to apologise for that. It was because I was literally just new to the site, and had no idea what I was doing.