DISCLAMER: I own half a dozen Naruto posters but sadly not the manga itself. Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto-senpai-sensei-sama and TV Tokyo

Please read the author note at the end :)

Fly Away – Part 1: Evasion

Chapter 1

Again one of these winter afternoons when you wondered if the sun would kindly warm the village beneath or simply hide away shyly until spring came. Dots of grayish clouds scattered in the pale azure sky, only letting a few sun rays pierce through and light the earth. The air was fresh too, a wind just cold enough to send a chill up one's spine played with the rare leaves starting to grow on the nearby trees.

Sakura absent-mindedly breathed in the pure air that went through the window of her patient's room, spacing-out for a moment before her gaze returned to the middle aged woman in the hospital bed. She cast a quick glance at her clipboard, rubbed her tired eyes distractedly and commented on the woman's condition. Cases of flu -either severe or regular- were all treated in Konoha's hospital since most of the villagers placed their trust in its skilled medic-nins and preferred them to deceitful herbalists. With the injured shinobis coming back from missions with broken limbs because of slippery ice and snow added to the affluence of villagers contaminated with the flu, medics- including Sakura- were stuck in hospital 24/7. Especially since Tsunade, the current head of Konoha's hospital, had recently promoted her to one of its highest positions. It had only been four months, but it was draining everything from the pink-haired jounin.

Sakura finished explaining the recommended treatment to the sick woman, then turned to the window once more and walked over to close it and prevent the chilling breeze from coming in. Her usual jounin attire with a blouse over it proved not to be enough against the wind's assaults as she found herself shivering every now and then from the cold.

"Please don't. It's way too warm in this room" pleaded her patient tangled in the white sheets of her bed.

The pinkette gave an apologetic smile "You will get better faster if I close it."

The woman looked disappointed but Sakura quickly waved it off and went to the door, politely saying goodbye before taking her leave. A sigh escaped her lips as soon as she closed it behind her. Sakura stole a quick glance at her watch as she walked as hastily as her weary body would let her through the clinical white corridor. Half past five in the afternoon. That meant at least six more hours of being stuck here. She sometimes wondered if she would ever get out of this place. Sakura loved her job of course, she had always wanted to be useful to people and to be able to help them. Being a medic was her vocation. However she wished she could have a break from time to time. More and more these days, she developed a thirst for freedom. Absolute freedom, with the world before her and all the rest behind… 'As if this place was a prison' she would always mock herself. But the feeling was still there, it had been for about a year now and it would stay. And as it was becoming harder and harder everyday to cope with her imposing amount of work, she began dreaming of a change, a way to escape all this and live her life… Shaking her head and rubbing her eyes again, she strode towards another room where a patient was surely waiting for her, then another, and another...

"Sakura-san, you should go to the front desk. Some people are waiting for you" a nurse caught Sakura on her way out of the radiography center.

"They'll wait a bit longer, I'm busy right now" the pinkette didn't even stop walking.

"The receptionist said it was important, that I needed to find you fast or she wouldn't be able to handle him!" The ebony haired nurse started panicking at what her failure would ensue.

Sakura let out a long sigh at that, "Naruto…" She grumbled something too low for the poor nurse to hear then harshly handed her the folder she had been carrying.

"All right, give that to Shizune for me. There's a patient waiting in room 305."

She didn't wait for the nurse's protests and marched angrily towards the stairs leading to the ground floor where the reception hall was, her annoyance growing into something that could send the blond flying through a wall. The young medic often thought of her friends with longing during her long days stuck in the hospital. Sakura missed spending time with Naruto, she loved him like a brother after all. But she knew him too well. It was always the same when he came by to the hospital: he would start by asking her to go for some ramen with him and Hinata, then she'd tell him she couldn't because of the unhealthy mass of work she still had to do. At that point, Naruto would try to make up the time he wouldn't be spending with her by making small talk, which would soon mold into chatter, then a friendly argument or two and some laughter echoing in the hospital hall. Sakura always had a great time talking to her teammate and laughing with him was one of the things she loved most in this world…However, Tsunade did not see things this way.

These chats with Naruto could go on for hours to the great misery of Shizune, Tsunade and the rest of Sakura's colleagues. The hero of Konoha had interrupted the green eyed jounin's daily activities this way twice in the past, and each time Tsunade had given Sakura the worst lectures she had ever experienced, ranting about how irresponsible she was and how Tonton almost got squashed in the corridors because of the chaos her absence had caused. Sakura had ended up with twice the amount of her usual work to make up for, constant head-aches and paper work to finish at four a.m. in her office.

Therefore, she could not, would not let Naruto disturb her this time. The ramen-loving freak would not lead to the death of her and she was going to shoe him out of this hospital quite literally.

The rosy-haired young woman stormed down the stairs ready to 'kick some ass' as she would have put it but stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her. A mess of feelings including stupor, astonishment, warm relief and intense joy suddenly took over her mind and body, leaving her speechless and frozen on the spot. She tried to force a sentence out of her mouth, but since the task seemed completely impossible at the moment, she tried with a word. Still no sound, even her breath wouldn't come back. All thoughts evaporated from her mind as she slowly recognized the silhouette standing by the obnoxious blond near the reception desk. A cloak dusty from long months of traveling the world but more importantly, pale skin, night-colored hair, obsidian eyes…

"Teme! I told you we're gonna surprise her" Naruto loudly complained to his unfazed comrade, earning a few weird looks from the medics passing by. "Now go wait outside where I told you to!"

The other man didn't even snort; his eyes narrowed slightly though, just like they always used to in the past "Don't talk like you can order me around."

Naruto chuckled, a vein popping up on his temple with his rising temper. His voice became more taunting "You know as well as I do that I can kick your ass whenever I want, teme."

"Hn" The raven haired man grunted, almost amused. It was still the same response after all these years even though he had changed so much.

His hair was longer, Sakura noticed, and tied by some sort of deep blue bandana so that his dark spikes were lowered a bit. He still wore dark clothes too, but his missing left arm was clearly noticeable whenever he made certain movements with his cloak. 'He probably hasn't changed all that much' she concluded in her mind.

Then, his charcoal eyes found her standing at the bottom of the stairs, her body stiff in utter shock. He simply observed her silently, just as she had done, completely forgetting the pestering blond beside him. It looked as though he wanted to speak for a second but Naruto -who eventually turned back to see what had captured his rival's attention- beat him to it.

"Sakura-chan! Well um…Surprise!" He said, failing miserably at hiding his barely controlled excitement and motioning to the man standing beside him as to silently add 'ta-da!'

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura heard his name spill from her lips in a soft whisper. She was filled with so many emotions, her inner turmoil gradually evolving into something much worse that made her heart ache and beat wildly in her chest. Flustered, she rapidly pondered on what to do about her current situation: She could run to him and jump into his arms to relieve herself of all these feelings that had plagued her during his agonizingly long absence, showing him just how much she had missed him. But Sakura knew this would only lead to an immediate rejection and more pieces to pick up from this heart of hers that he always managed to shatter so easily… Or she could play it safe and simply welcome him warmly with a bright genuine smile, the one that was only for him.

Sasuke shortly made his way to her in a few long strides. As he stood right before her, she followed the movement of his right hand with her viridian eyes and felt a gentle pressure on her forehead when he poked her there. Choosing her second option, she flashed him a tender smile at this familiar gesture that she knew meant much more to him than a simple poke. Surprisingly, he was the first to break the short silence installed between them. His words were few, as usual, but well chosen "I'm back, Sakura."

Her eyes widened at that. He was back, yes…Maybe not for long but having him here right then was more than enough for her brain to stop functioning and for her heart to take control. Her feelings got the best of her as she finally opted for her first option and jumped onto him, closing the short distance between them and wrapping her arms tightly around his back. He had grown so tall over the years that she couldn't reach his neck so easily anymore; her figure seemed smaller than ever nested against his broad chest.

"Welcome home Sasuke-kun!" she exclaimed, overjoyed.

The pink haired medic felt him stiffen a bit more than he already had at that but it didn't matter, this was just how he was. It was so good to see him again… Even better to feel him in her arms, even though he probably did not return these thoughts. She sighed against him –out of pure bliss this time- and was about to free him from her embrace when she heard a whiskered shinobi's footsteps approaching them, obviously annoyed that he was left out.

"Team 7 group-hug!" He shouted a little too loud through the hospital hall, a mischievous grin clearly noticeable on his face.

And with that, Naruto's strong pair of arms encircled his two teammates as best as he could, not without earning a few giggles and some groans of protest.

"Let go, dobe!" The tallest young man snarled.

"You know you like it." Naruto grinned from ear to ear at his best friend's growing infuriation.

"I said let me go, Naruto" Sasuke lowered his voice to a threatening tone.

"Don't look at me like that! You know you're a big sentimental inside!"

"Naruto…" The raven haired young man's glare only hardened at these words.

"Yeah, very deep inside…"

Sensing the upcoming danger, Sakura quickly interrupted them, struggling to make her voice reach them from under the mess of tangled arms and clothes that their 'group hug' had become "Guys, I'm suffocating here!"

Naruto jumped and mumbled an apology, scared that his female teammate would hit him for his stupidity like she always did. Instead, Sakura took a deep breath when she saw the surface again and grinned at him. When she looked over at Sasuke again, she noticed how hard he was trying to cover up the barely detectable blush of embarrassment forming on his pale cheeks. His jaw tightened even more when he saw her watching him with sheer happiness painted all over her features. The Uchiha was doing his very best to hide his true emotions as usual, perhaps because they were in public, but Sakura knew that what Naruto had said earlier wasn't so far from the truth when she saw the gentleness in his eyes despite his otherwise hard expression. Only her and the blond jinchuriki could decipher such things about him and she took pride in it.

The three reunited members of Team 7 stood in silence for a while, stealing knowing glances full of curiosity, excitement, and joy at each other. Naruto was scratching the back of his neck with a toothy grin on his face, Sasuke was smirking as his hand disappeared under his cloak and into his pocket, Sakura was simply beaming. None of them had noticed how the people who had been watching the commotion they had made suddenly seemed stunned and scared when a figure reputed in the village for her very short temper and Herculean strength came into view at the end of the entrance hall.

"SAKURA! There are more than fifty patients waiting for you and their daily check! Shizune and the other medics are about to snap and Tonton will need surgery if you don't get back to work NOW!"

"Tsunade-shishou!" Sakura turned around hastily to face her fuming master. The blonde former Hokage was giving her a look that was not to be taken lightly. Sakura felt so small then, it seemed Tsunade was towering over her like a bird of prey about to dive on her victim.

"Explain this mess!" Tsunade bellowed. She didn't use to yell at her favorite pupil so often in the past, but as Sakura had grown into a highly talented medic, it was only Tsunade's role to make sure that she would keep enhancing her capacities and not leave her duties so easily. The sannin had always been an adept of tough love after all.

Sakura fumbled uneasily with her fingers as she looked for an appropriate answer, silently begging that someone would come to her aid. Fortunately for her, Naruto heard her prayers.

"Hey granny-Tsunade!" He grinned sheepishly, feeling her rock hard glare shifting from her pupil to him. "You see, I brought this bastard over here since he just came back and…"

Tsunade looked over to the raven haired young man Naruto was referring to and her hazel eyes widened slightly in surprise. "So you're back, Uchiha" she said more calmly, now understanding what all this tumult had been about.

Sasuke just nodded in acknowledgement. The short pause that followed was Sakura's cue to speak "Tsunade-shishou, you know, since Sasuke-kun just got back…"

"You're not taking the day off. You've already wreaked havoc in this hospital in fifteen minutes of absence" the former Hokage cut the pinkette off in a final tone.

"But! Old-Tsunade!" Naruto interrupted, scandalized. "We've gotta go to Ichiraku's to celebrate and all! Without Sakura…!"

"You'll have to go later. Now Sakura, people are waiting upstairs."

"Alright…" Sakura sighed, defeated. Her little dream was over. Sasuke was back, but she wouldn't be able to spend any time with him with her excess of work. She glared at the floor before recomposing herself and facing her two teammates with an apologetic smile. When Tsunade cleared her throat in impatience, Sakura frowned and rapidly took her leave without looking back.

Sasuke was taken aback by this. He knew Sakura had a lot of work at Konoha's hospital but had never imagined she would be so loaded with it, Tsunade's words and attitude had been enough for him to deduce that much. The worst was how she looked, not only her saddened expression but also the dark circles under her eyes that she so desperately tried to conceal with make-up. She loved her job, he knew it, but it was so strange to see her free spirit imprisoned, caged in this place that wouldn't let her spread her wings and fly. Sasuke gazed at his comrade beside him. Naruto was completely crest-fallen. He had probably already planned the evening at his favorite ramen restaurant and called his girlfriend beforehand.

Sasuke turned back to see Tsunade's retreating back walking towards the stairs. "Hey" he called blankly.

The older woman looked over her shoulder at Naruto's jaw hanging open in disbelief and Sasuke's impassive look. The latter continued "When does she finish work tonight?"

Naruto blinked at that, his eyes finding a new light of hope like a kid who had been promised some sweets. Tsunade turned around towards them and gave the blond a sorry smile before her gaze returned to the Uchiha's. "Not until at least midnight, I'm afraid."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at that, his disapproval clearly showing through his darkening orbs. Naruto voiced his thoughts for them both "You're overworking her! Let Sakura-chan have a break!"

Tsunade sighed deeply. She knew she was asking Sakura a lot, but she only had her pupil's best interests in mind and also needed a medic with the likes of her in the hospital during the winter yearly epidemics. "The hospital is in need of a medic like her these days. I can't let her go so easily."

"C'mon granny!" Naruto was practically begging on his knees. "I haven't seen her in weeks because of her job! You can let her out one night, can't you!?" Sasuke's scowl deepened at his friend's words.

"If Sakura goes on like this she won't last much longer" Sasuke added bluntly, to which Naruto nodded frantically in agreement.

"You're underestimating my pupil" Tsunade chuckled proudly "But you have a point." She too had noticed the well concealed rings under the young woman's eyes.

"See!?" Naruto encouraged. "Please, granny-Tsunade, just this once!"

There was a long pause when only the chatter of nurses and noises around them could be heard. The blonde former Kage seemed deep in thoughts as she looked at Naruto's anxious and pleading smile then stopped her hazel eyes on Sasuke's determined gaze. The young man's return was truly an exceptional event. Besides, Tsunade couldn't deny that she knew of her student's feelings for the sole survivor of the Uchiha, she had also seen Sakura's eyes shining with a brightness that had been gone during the long months she spent working in the hospital. Finally she turned towards the stairs and looked over her shoulder again with a smirk.

"She'll be at the ramen store around ten."

A.N/: I finally posted it! Thank you for reading the first chapter of "Fly Away"!

Firstly I would like to explain a few things concerning this story:

I was rather disappointed at the lack of explanation we got from Kishimoto concerning Sasuke and Sakura's relationship at the end of Naruto. Not only that, but he left many questions unanswered and loose ends after chapter 699 (Team Taka, etc...).

Which is why I decided to write this story! I want to tie up these loose ends and give Sasuke and Sakura the developement they deserve (without going as far as to make them travel to the moon, hopefully).

Also, I started writing this before Gaiden came out, so maybe this will not totally stick to the canon storyline (well, this is fanfiction after all). I'll do my best to keep it more or less "realistic" anyway!

Again, thank you very very much for reading and if you want then please leave a review to comment on style, characters or parts you liked (or even hated) so I can improve and make more people happy.^_^

Obviously this will be a multi-chapter story, so stay tuned for the next chapter (at Ichiraku, yum)!