A/N: Ayeee, I'm back. I don't know how long I will be, but I'm back. This will be a re-write of my old "10 Signs You're Falling In Love", except it'll be multi-chapter and I'm half the embarrassment I was six years ago. I still don't own Naruto.

If you miss me, or think this story is at least mildly entertaining, send me some love! I hope you enjoy!

1. You can never stay mad at them. You actually have to try to stay angry.

"So how much do you wanna bet Kakashi-sensei is gonna show up after we eat his food, and then complain about it again?" Naruto asked, referring to the last time they invited their sensei out to lunch. He showed up 30 minutes after they finished to see that all of his food had been eaten too. Needless to say, he was upset.

"Do we even still call him Kakashi-sensei? It's Hokage-sama now, right?"

"Well…I call my dad tou-chan, not Yondaime-sama."

"Oh yeah."

"I guess."

Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, and Naruto sat around the Leaf Village cafeteria, half way through their meal. An extra bento sat at the edge of the booth they occupied, waiting for the fifth member of the group.

"Isn't he busy?"

"With what? All the foreign affair crises he's been dealing with lately have been settled." Naruto said as a matter of fact. "I should know. I was in charge of it."

"Oh," Sakura took a mouth full of her food.

"Yeah, he's probably sitting in his office reading ero-sennin's old novels right now."

"How many times can he re-read the same erotic novel before getting desensitized?"

Naruto shrugged noncholantly. "As if I know, I've never stuck my nose in those nasty books."

"Hmph," Sakura scoffed from across the table. "I'd like to believe that!"

"It's true!" He complained, "Ne, Sakura-chan, why are you still so mean?"

"Eighteen times," Sai answered instead, earning a look from his female teammate and a nod of approval from the blond. "He should continue it. It's a good series."

"Kakashi-sensei does not need to be any more perverted than he already is."

As if on cue, there was a poof beside him. "Sorry I'm late, I didn't want to come." Kakashi brushes off the dirt on his cloak as he takes a seat. He laughs and mumbles "Relax, I'm kidding."

"How are you, sensei?" Sakura piped up cheerfully.

"Good, good," Kakashi lowered his mask to eat. "Been busy, not reading erotic fiction." Sakura averted her gaze to the floor and Naruto was suddenly very fascinated with his half eaten bento. Sasuke grunted in amusement.

"So, Sasuke, how's house hunting going?"

"Hn, fine, I guess." He flushed a little bit when everyone's curious gaze turned to him. He wasn't used to the attention. Sasuke was more of a spectator in their conversations. Although he would never admit that he did enjoy being part of these gatherings, he secretly just found comfort in listening to them talk about their interesting lives. "There's a decent place by the dango shop."

"Isn't that far?" Naruto asked.

"From?"

"Me, who else?" he joked. "What if you wanna hang out or something? Crash at my place. It'll be on the other side of the village, 'ttebayo!"

Sasuke sighed and tried not to smile. "I think I'll live."

"Suit yourself."

"So you're moving over there?" Sakura asked quietly, also secretly lamenting over the fact that it was on the other side of the village from her own apartment.

"I don't know yet," he brushed it off, truly unsure. In reality, he was still considering moving back to the Uchiha compound to save money, even if that meant getting triggered every night. It was either that, or room with one of his team mates, but he decided against being a burden to his friends and starting up rumors if he lived with Sakura.

"Is the village treating you well?" Kakashi asked sincerely.

This week marked six months since Sasuke had returned to Konoha for good. Although he was uneasy at first, Sasuke was beginning to get used to life in the village again. Most of the villagers grew to look at Sasuke with respect and admiration again, and the ones he did know were slowly adjusting to life with the Uchiha once more. The only person he harbored much tension with was none other than Sakura.

It was spring time, and Sakura was the first one to turn 21 out of all of them. He hadn't seen her since he told her he would be back. Sakura didn't know what she expected, to be honest. So when he returned, although a huge weight was lifted off of her shoulders, they never got to talk about their relationship. She seemed rather playful and happy around him when others were also present. But when they were alone together, things got pretty awkward. Sasuke concluded it's because she was afraid of getting close to him again; Kakashi argued it was because of all the sexual tension.

"Is it just like old times yet?"

"Are girls fawning over you again?"

"Hn," Sasuke scoffed. "Nope. I'm glad, too. That was annoying." Sakura cringed at the last part.

"You reject all those girls? Don't you need a date to the festival comi-?"

"You don't need a date to the festival." Sakura cut him off, annoyed.

"That's because I already have one!" Naruto elbowed her and laughed, enjoying Sakura's irritated grunts.

"When is the festival anyway?" Sai asked.

"It's in three days."

"Good news though, Sakura-chan, I have enough money to spoil you this time." Naruto claims, half joking.

Sakura threw her head back in laughter, "So you learned your lesson after all." She poked at his nose.

"You're going with Naruto?" Sasuke spoke up, slightly uncomfortable at their behavior. He didn't know they had gotten this close. He suddenly wished he didn't speak though when Sakura turned to him, surprised, and Kakashi hid his smug smile in his mask.

"Yeah, it's tradition," The blond answered for her. "Ever since the first time I took Sakura-chan on a date to the festival something like six years ago, we've been going together." He leaned over to Sakura, a large grin on his face and he added, "and she totally fell in love with me that night." Part of Naruto was amused at how he could hear Sakura growling threateningly. The other part of him was doing it more for the fact that he could feel Sasuke's glare boring holes into his head. Sasuke wasn't being very subtle either. He wouldn't be surprised if he looked over to his best friend and was met with the Sharingan.

"Don't you mean: ever since the first time you dragged me to the festival with your sob stories on how lonely it would have been to go alone?" Sakura joked, pushing his face away.

"Hey, you had fun!"

"Yeah, yeah, I did." Sakura laughed.

Sai frowned then. "Wait, what about Hinata?"

"Hm? Oh Hinata will be there, but she has clan business to attend to." Naruto said slowly, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "That's actually why I wanted to see all of you today." He turned a little red and hesitated. "She has clan business involving me."

Sakura gave him a 'What did you do now?' look. Naruto chuckled, "Hinata and I are engaged."

There was a second of silence before Sakura began to suffocate Naruto in a hug, squealing something that sounded like "Oh my God, no way! Since when? How did you propose? I love you two so much!" all in one sentence.

The rest of the conversation was history to Sasuke.

Sasuke congratulated him, inwardly frowning. He was trying not to let his previous issue to get to him. Sakura was Naruto's best friend, too. He also had the same right to spend time with her. And Naruto said it himself: they had made it a tradition to go on a date every festival. There was nothing bad about that, right?

Then Sasuke wondered why he should even be angry in the first place. It's not like he asked Sakura to go with him first. And it's not like he was going to either, even if he wanted to. But as much as the mighty Uchiha Sasuke was not afraid of failure in any other situation, he was most definitely afraid of Sakura's rejection. A large part of him still believed he was very much unworthy of her love and company, which is why he felt like she was choosing Naruto over him.

Furthermore, Sasuke wasn't afraid they were going to watch the fireworks, gaze into each other's eyes, and fall in love on the spot. He was very aware Naruto was dedicated to his now fiancé, Hinata, who wasn't even worried her soon-to-be husband was going on a date with one of his best friends. So why should Sasuke be? He was also very confident that Sakura's heart was his and only his. Whether or not she had been showing it lately, he had no reason to believe her love for him was about to falter, especially after her last confession. Right?

Still, nobody could blame him for wanting to spend time with her instead. He hadn't seen her in months since he turned over a new leaf. He missed her, and if he was going to be completely honest, a lot of his time alone was spent wondering how his future would be now that Sakura was back in it.

But right now, the issue was the fact that she was going to spend time with the blond – time that could and should be spent with him instead.

"Right, Sasuke?" he heard Naruto's voice again, and realized how detached he had been from the group since he got lost in his thoughts. "Sasuke?"

"What?"

When Naruto repeated himself and asked for his confirmation again, Sasuke just shrugged, diverting everyone's attention back to the chatty blond. In his own little corner, Sasuke was pouting.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered for only him to hear. He looked down at her at an angle. She was looking up at him, concerned. "Are you okay?"

For a moment Sasuke considered telling her what was on his mind.

"Yeah," he decided against it for now. "I'm fine."

Sasuke sat in his empty apartment, hands folded under his chin. His eyebrows knitted together in a slight frown. The festival had started about an hour ago and here he was sulking like a small child. It had been on his mind for the last three days, keeping him from getting anything accomplished.

He wondered what they were doing at this very moment. Naruto was probably complimenting her on how drop-dead gorgeous she looked right now. Just like he used to when they were younger (little did he know, Naruto was actually complaining how she had drained his week's earnings, to which Sakura rolls her eyes and treats him instead).

Sasuke grunted and stood up from his seat. 'Focus, you're supposed to be upset!' he inwardly told himself, 'not thinking about how beautiful she probably looks right now…' He unconsciously walked toward his closet where he kept an old kimono that belonged to his brother that he salvaged from the Uchiha compound. It was clean and ready to use, tempting him.

Then some more questions ran through his mind:

What if Naruto ran out of money to pay for the things she wanted?

What if Sakura was actually having a horrible time because he wasn't there with her?

What if Naruto does run into Hinata, leaving Sakura alone?

What if some nasty old man starts making a move on Sakura and Naruto can't protect her virtues?!

What if, what if, what if? His thoughts suffocated him.

To be honest, he was quite upset that Naruto had borrowed what was his, without asking first. At least, that's how Sasuke saw it. But to be even more honest, Sasuke was more irritated that Sakura agreed to go with Naruto, when he was sitting right there in front of them.

Without another thought, he pulled the kimono off the rack. Sakura was right anyway: you didn't need a date to enjoy a celebration like such. And besides, he reasoned, he was not a child (despite the sulking he was just doing). He might as well go celebrate with everyone. That's why he was back, right? To live a normal life again.

And if he runs into her, he told himself as he slipped his one arm though the kimono, he'll give her a piece of his mind.

Now, Sasuke was not a man of many words. When he told himself he was going to give her a piece of his mind he meant he was probably just going to tell her, "You should have come here with me instead", and anything she said after that would be dismissed with a "You're annoying".

He strolled casually around the large festival grounds, both keeping an eye out for a pink head of hair, but also reminding himself he would be as stoic and passively angry as possible. Come to think of it, he wasn't sure why he really needed to get this message across. He just really wanted to see her tonight.

He walked around, repeating his goal in his head to make sure he stayed upset.

The longer he walked, the faster his heart seemed to beat. It was a mixture of anger and a little bit of pain, which was annoying because Sasuke was not used to this sinking feeling in his chest and stomach. After what seemed like an hour, he finally found her, just standing in the middle of a crowd that was watching a very enthusiastic Lee challenge Chouji to an eating contest. Sasuke scoffed at the ridiculousness of the two men and also wondered why Sakura was not the center of attention instead.

She looked heavenly, just like he had imagined. She was dressed in a white and pink silk kimono, her hair half pinned back. Her baggy clothing concealed all her womanly features, but he knew they were there. She stood tall and gracefully, smiling affectionately at the boys. She looked nothing like the savage who punched out Kaguya a few years ago. Sasuke was suddenly aware of the butterflies in his stomach. He took a deep breath and approached her.

"Sasuke-kun!" she seemed pleasantly surprised at his presence. She held herself back from hugging him, despite the sudden strong urge to do so. Instead, he was greeted with a genuine smile. But after watching him just stare at her, her face fell slightly. "Sasuke-kun?"

"Sorry," he looked away, a shade of red tinting his cheeks. "You look very pretty." He added quietly. Although he wasn't looking at her, he sensed her smile grow tenfold. Sakura felt her ears heat up.

"Thank you, that's sweet." She then elbowed him playfully. "It's been a while since I've heard a compliment from you."

"Hn," he turned his whole head to keep her from seeing his tainted cheeks. "Where's Naruto?"

"With Hinata." She replied simply. Ah, he knew it! "Don't worry," she reassured him when she saw his frown. "I let him go."

"Kakashi?"

"Gambling." Of course.

"Sai?"

"Oh, I don't know." Sakura pondered, a glint in her eyes. "With Ino I think. He came here with us but she stole him away sometime after Shikamaru ran off with Temari."

"Aa." Sasuke really didn't care about the rest of that, but she seemed to enjoy talking about her friends, even if they all pretty much left her alone.

"So have you been having fun? Relaxing? When was the last time you went to a festival?"

"When I was a little boy. And no, I actually haven't been here very long."

"Hmm," She pondered, and then giggled. "Debating on whether or not you wanted to mingle with this many people tonight?"

"Yes and no. But I figured I do need to get out more." She laughed again at his comment. "And there's free food."

Sakura looked at him, perplexed. "The food isn't free."

"It's free if you're this attractive."

"Ah," she played along and laughed, encouraged by the small smile he was hiding and the soft chuckle he let escape his throat. "I thought you were above that, Sasuke-kun."

The sound of her laugh and the way his name rolled off her tongue made him completely forget about everything he had been angry about a few hours earlier. She seemed genuinely excited and at peace to be here with him right now. And although Sasuke wouldn't admit it, there was no place he would rather be.

"It's a resource." He answered.

She giggled again, her chest feeling lighter after the tension lessened. She was extremely relieved to know he wasn't upset…anymore at least. Sakura felt comforted by his presence. Even though she was having a good time with Naruto and occasionally mingling with other friends, nothing quite matched just being here with Sasuke.

It felt so surreal to her. The Uchiha Sasuke, the man she loved who had been missing for a large chunk of her life, was standing beside her, talking to her as if they were friends. If felt like old times, only better because his aura seemed much brighter. She really did like this new redeemed Sasuke. He was still the same, quiet, gentle heart, but she could definitely see how much he had grown. Despite knowing their relationship was full of tension, Sakura smiled at the idea that they had a lot to improve on, and this might have been the beginning of it.

Suddenly a loud "YOSSSHHH!" was heard as Lee emerged, his face was full of food and crumbs. He ripped off the bib he wore to dance around and gloat about he had beaten Chouji, of all people, in an eating contest. He left his opponent behind, who was too busy sulking, quietly mumbling, "I…I wasn't fast enough…"

With a deep breath, Sakura decided to bring up the issue.

"Ne, are you okay Sasuke-kun? You've seemed pretty aggravated this week."

"Aa. I'm okay," he said smoothly. He wasn't lying. For some reason, as soon as he saw her, he couldn't channel any more anger towards her.

"Mmm, alright," she agreed once she sensed how relaxed he actually was. Whatever it was, she concluded, it couldn't have been that important. Then she was in front of him. "Hey, you want to go play some games? Walk around? Are you hungry?"

Sasuke looked at her excited little bounce and felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter again at the thought of being alone with her. Forget Naruto; she obviously already had for the night. Sasuke looked around. He could have sworn there weren't as many people here as when he just arrived.

"On my way here I found a nice spot to watch the fireworks." He suggested shyly, and watched as her eyes widened and her face turned a bright shade of red. She shrunk into her already small form and suddenly Sasuke wanted to just pick her up and take her away with him.

"Sure," she finally answered, wearing the biggest smile he had ever seen on her, "I would love that."