Comrades

The sun streamed through a gap in the curtains, falling on the young couple. Sakura begrudgingly opened her eyes to find a face she loved more than any other. It was rare that she would wake up before him, so she liked to take the opportunity to stare at him as much as she wanted. His face was almost back to normal, except for the light redness around his eyes. People would probably suspect that he just didn't get enough sleep instead of suspecting the proud Uchiha of crying. She hoped he wouldn't retreat into himself after that and feel awkward. He didn't like to open up and show what he thought was weakness. Although, if he thought crying showed weakness, he couldn't possibly think she was very strong. Shaking her head a little and clearing that thought away, she looked up at him again.

His arm was around her middle, as it usually was these days. Sasuke didn't like to openly show PDA, but it seemed he enjoyed snuggling at night. Laughing slightly, she decided she wouldn't tell him that to his face. She doubted he'd find it as endearing as she did. Scooting closer, Sakura leaned up to kiss him lightly. Immediately, the arm around her stiffened before relaxing again. Leaning back a bit, she saw his eyes open slowly.

She smiled at him and said, "Morning. I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's a reflex," his voice still seemed tired, but he gave her a small smile.

Possibly because he just woke up, his eyes were softer than normal, like he hadn't realized he didn't have his usual mask on or guard up. She loved to see him so true to himself, even if she knew it wouldn't last long. Lost in her thoughts, she was surprised when he kissed her again, more deeply, as his hand came up to the back of her head. They had kissed several times in the past, but they had never kissed deeply or made out. Sakura was surprised that her boyfriend was this forward. Maybe he felt closer to her after last night. Whatever the reason, she didn't complain and just let herself melt against him. They separated for air, and Sasuke rested his forehead on hers while keeping his eyes closed.

Sakura wanted to say she loved him, but at this moment, it felt like that would just put pressure on him to return those words, whether they were true or not. She knew he had feelings for her but not how far they went. Maybe he was still just trying to figure out what he felt for her. He didn't seem to show much interest in anything other than his revenge as he matured, so a small part of the medic worried he mistook feelings of strong friendship for something more. She was basically the only girl close to him, after all.

Stopping her spiraling thoughts, Sakura quietly asked, "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine."

"Hey, promise me one thing."

Sasuke pulled away from her to see her now serious face looking back at him. He took a breath before nodding, saying, "What is it?"

"If things start to get that bad again, tell me. Before you want to hit something."

A smirk rose to her companion's face as he just said, "Okay."

Satisfied, Sakura sat up and stretched her arms high above her head, answering, "Good. Well, now that that's settled, we should probably get up. I don't have much left to do before we leave thanks to you, but we're leaving this afternoon." She got up from the bed, making her way toward the bathroom to get ready when she heard a voice stop her.

"Sakura," and when she turned to him, he was looking at her seriously. "I will tell you everything. Just… not quite yet."

She smiled at him and said, "I know," before leaving the room.

 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As he jumped through the trees, Sasuke wished he could have selective hearing. They started the mission, and Sakura and Hinata were perfectly happy to begin chatting about what was going on in their lives, which apparently included their love lives. Sasuke had heard people say that nothing was off limits when girls started to share with one another, but he had never seen it firsthand. He definitely didn't like to be a spectator on something like this. Thankfully, he hadn't come up too much in the conversation yet. Hinata was finishing recounting her tale of when Naruto walked her home one night when the conversation shifted a bit.

"…So, we got to my house, and I wasn't really expecting anything, but I thought maybe he'd finally say something. Instead, he just said, 'Well, see you later!' before jumping up on the rooftops to get home. He's given some signs, but he won't actually say or do anything. Maybe I'm misinterpreting things…"

"Oh, come on! You aren't misinterpreting anything. That guy's just so dense, he may not even realize what it is that he's feeling. I mean, Naruto didn't notice you liked him when practically the whole village knew." Seeing her friend's face redden, she added, "It's fine. You don't have to be embarrassed."

"But what if he decides that he doesn't like me?" Hinata's timid voice was almost too low for Sasuke to hear, which he would have preferred. Why did they need to discuss this now?

"He won't. I can tell that he's practically in love with you already, but hey, why don't you ask him out first?"

"I… I can't do that! What would I…? I wouldn't know what to say if he rejected me!"

"Like I said, that's not going to happen! I asked Sasuke out."

Hinata's eyes grew wide as she dared a look at the Uchiha, who was resolutely looking forward, pretending he couldn't hear what they were discussing. He had no intention of getting pulled into this conversation, especially if it was going to concern his feelings and relationship with Sakura.

"I didn't know that, but still, you're so much braver than I am. I don't think I could…"

Sakura suddenly turned to look at Sasuke with excited eyes, saying, "Why didn't I think of it before? Sasuke, you're his best friend, so what do you think? Has he said anything to you?"

Looking over at the girls, who were both looking at him now, Sasuke did his best not to show any emotions as he answered, "I'm not getting involved in this. I don't even want to be hearing it."

Seeing an opportunity, Shikamaru interjected, "He's right. Can we not discuss your love lives right now? We're on a mission."

Sakura giggled as she gave him a knowing look. "Oh? You sure you don't want help on getting together with a certain blonde woman from the Hidden Sand?"

"What?? No!"

This time Hinata joined in the laughter and added, "You two are pretty obvious. She won't say no, so you should talk to her. I know I'm not one to talk here, but I'm rooting for you both!"

"Alright, this conversation is officially over. Why are women such a drag anyway?"

Sasuke was immensely relieved when the two girls accepted that they should change topics. He'd never thought about asking someone out or being asked out before he returned to the village after the war. He just figured people would naturally grow closer together if they developed feelings, and if they didn't, well then, they'd remain a comfortable distance from one another. Did it matter that much who first said something to the other? Hinata seemed to think it did.

Not giving the girls the option of bringing anything else up, Shikamaru stopped in an open field and began, "Alright. Gather around, guys. We need to go over the strategies."

The mission revolved around reports of children with sharingan eyes. They had sickly white skin and were good at ambushing travelers to take their supplies. Sasuke knew the mission details before agreeing to go, but he didn't want to face someone with a sharingan again. He was confident in his abilities, but it was a bit eerie, especially with the anniversary of the massacre only a few days away. He tried to shake that thought and listen to Shikamaru's plan so he could get this over with as soon as possible.