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Sakura Haruno was many things, a heavy sleeper was not one of them. This fact was made abundantly clear by Naruto’s heavy snoring filling the room while he lay splayed out across the floor taking up way more room than he should’ve physically been able to. While she knew that even if Naruto wasn’t making a racket in his sleep she would still be restlessly tossing and turning, Sakura felt a sense of odd relief pinning the blame of her insomnia on the blond’s obnoxious snores. In all honesty, she wasn’t sure how it came to this, the whole sleepover thing seemed to be planned so haphazardly that Sakura still believed it was just some throwaway joke Naruto made.
——————
It was an early morning—at least compared to the mornings when Kakashi’s tendency to be more than fashionably late would delay their schedule—when they met with Yamato and Sai waiting by the door of the Hokage’s office. That day they had been called in by Tsunade for what would be, without a doubt, an incredibly boring and lengthy briefing on their new team which would ultimately be paired with her nagging Sakura and Naruto for the mess that was their previous mission in the Hidden Sand. It was on her way to the Hokage’s residence that Sakura had bumped into Naruto leading to them walking the rest of the way together. While she had a lot on her mind Sakura wasn’t exactly displeased at having a walking buddy even if an awkward air laid between them. No doubt Naruto was thinking about their missing third member, it was the odd two and a half years they had spent apart that served as a reminder of the distance that had only grown between them after Sasuke’s defection. When they were younger Kakashi had helped them ignore the lost banter and bustle but now they just walked in silence, morning air sweeping through their hair as they both avoided the simple idea of engaging in small talk as though it were the plague.
The meeting was just as Sakura expected it to be, far too long and much too boring. In her defence, she really tried her best to pay attention but in the end her wandering mind took over and she relinquished the reins to her racing thoughts as Tsunade droned on about team finances and chain of command or something of the sort.
Naruto really looked different. Not super different but changed in some way? Sakura couldn’t put her finger on it because he still looked like the Naruto she remembered, just a little taller and a little less orange, though the latter wasn’t that drastic an improvement, bright orange isn’t a particularly stealthy colour for a ninja. The thought did cross her mind that pastel pinks weren’t any better but she quickly dismissed it. The truth was in all aspects she felt as though Naruto was still stuck in the past, sure he was a little less rowdy and Jiraiya definitely taught him to think before he spoke, but she felt like her life outpaced his significantly. He still had that Naruto charm to him and his fighting style still consisted of charging in gung-ho—even if he gained the ability to develop some semblance of a plan beforehand—but Sakura, she gained so much confidence in the time Team 7 went on hiatus. Tsunade gave her a skill that was her own, something that made her valuable even if she still fell victim to her own feelings of inadequacy from time to time.
Sakura was still lost deep in thought when she heard Tsunade mention her name. She thought that her end was set in stone but thankfully Tsunade was just explaining to Sai, Naruto, and Yamato her capabilities as a medic and that it was imperative for her to remain as safe as they could keep her, it was simply protocol for medical shinobi to hang back in case any other members of the team got injured but Sakura felt unwelcome tension at Tsunade’s instructions. In any other team Sakura would’ve felt indifferent to being protected, it wasn’t a reflection of her strength but rather a reflection of the importance her role held, on high stakes missions the loss of the team’s medic basically signed the funeral papers for the rest of the team and she knew that, but she couldn’t help but feel upset. She was done with people treating her as though she were simply the mandatory kunoichi of the team and she resented the prospect of Naruto treating her as such. Notably, Sakura understood that Naruto didn’t ever see her that way even when he and Sasuke used to come to her aid years ago but it was hard to see that when Sakura held that opinion herself. She came to resent the weakness she displayed as a genin, vowing to never let herself fall back to old habits but Naruto’s presence and being assigned to a set team again made it feel like she would just be chasing after her male teammates rather than being able to fight alongside them.
The morning quickly faded while Sakura spiralled into tangent after tangent of loose thoughts about Team 7, the old Team 7, her family really. When the briefing was finally at an end. She didn’t pay attention to most of it but got the general gist of things, she definitely didn’t miss the passive aggressive talking to Naruto got (Tsunade spared her, probably because of her success against Sasori and good work helping Kankuro but that didn’t mean she was spared the extra, ‘ totally unrelated’ training). By the time they got out of the Hokage’s residence lunch had come and gone and Sakura was painfully aware of the fact that she skipped breakfast that morning. Naruto must’ve done the same because right on cue his stomach growled and he yelled out “Oh man, I’m starving, lets get lunch”.
Yamato gracefully invited his new team to lunch on him Sakura nodded in agreement while Naruto burst out with an even louder “Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
Sakura, seemingly the only person to notice something was amiss, very matter of factly stated the obvious “That Sai guy left so I think it’s just us three”.
“HUH, wait when did he leave he was just here”, Naruto exclaimed, taking no notice of the small handful of shinobi that had lingered at his act of slight public disturbance.
Yamato must have noticed too because soon he was shepherding them off to Yakiniku Q for lunch which Sakura accepted as a welcome break from Ichiraku—not that she disliked the place but she was starting to get a little sick of ramen after Naruto returned and she kept getting roped into after mission dinners and the sort.
They had a nice lunch and conversation was purposefully kept light and far away from any mention of Team 7’s dubious past, or more accurately their traitor of a past member. Even though Sakura tried to contest Yamato paying for everything she gave up quickly, realising that it really wasn’t going to be worth her breath as Yamato appeared to be incredibly stubborn about treating his new team (minus Sai).
Naruto and Sakura stood outside the restaurant after thanking Yamato for the meal, watching him walk off after a quick spoken “see you soon”.
“So, what now?” Naruto turned to Sakura, cocking his head to the side waiting for her response.
“Oh um I’m not sure, I mean if you wanted to do something I don’t have a shift at the medical centre today so…” Sakura trailed off slightly, she was honestly surprised that Naruto didn’t just run off, between him coming back and the kidnapping of the Kazekage they hadn’t exactly caught up. Sure they had a conversation over ramen once or twice but they really never properly talked about their time apart or the plethora of other subjects that they probably should’ve already worked through.
“So you’re free, is what I’m hearing”, Naruto winked…Wait did he really just wink at her? She had heard some interesting rumours about Jiraiya (along with some gripes from Tsunade) and now she was realizing that maybe he wasn’t the best influence personality wise.
She decided that she was definitely overthinking it and bluntly replied, “Yeah”.
For a moment a pensive expression crossed Naruto’s face, it was so quickly wiped away by his characteristic shit-eating grin that Sakura almost thought she imagined it, almost.
“Welp, why don’t you sleepover, we have a lot to catch up on that we haven’t had the chance to talk about yet”, he paused smirking a tad more cynically than the moment before, “and we can even go bother Kakashi, I mean he’s still on bed rest so it’s not like he can avoid us”.
While Sakura didn’t exactly enjoy going to the Konoha hospital—or any medical facility for that matter—when she didn’t need to she liked the idea more than going home and having a boring afternoon that would lead to a restless evening so she decided to mentally ask the question “why not” and upon finding no worthwhile answer her mind was made up.
“Yknow what sure, that sounds fun”
——————
When they got to Naruto’s apartment they had realized his fridge was completely empty and he had quite literally no snacks, zero, not even instant ramen which was unusual for him.
“I completely forgot that I had to get groceries today” he definitely looked less guilty than Sakura felt he ought to look.
Sakura sighed and replied, “I guess we can go visit Kakashi now and pass by the convenience store on the way back, visiting hours will probably pass soon so this works out for the better in the end anyways”.
So not even five minutes after arriving at Naruto’s apartment they left, arriving not much later at the hospital. Naruto hung back while Sakura went up to talk to one of the shinobi manning the reception desk, asking what room Kakashi was staying in. She walked back to Naruto having been told Kakashi was on the second floor in room 273.
“Follow me”, she started down a hall and Naruto had to jog up to her side before falling in step with her.
“Wait, shouldn't we wait for someone to show us the way? Last time I was here I was told they prefer people to be brought to the room they are visiting by a member of the staff so they can keep track of visitors and so no one gets lost and…”, Naruto started rambling about the importance of protocol for the safety of those in recovery so quickly that Sakura barely got in her piece.
“Naruto”, she finally interrupted him.
“Yeah”, he looked at her eyes wide, looking slightly puzzled at the amused cadence she spoke his name with.
“I am a member of the staff, medical shinobi and all that, remember?"Sakura found it almost endearing how Naruto got so flustered at the idea of breaking certain rules despite his headstrong persona. If another person questioned her the way Naruto did she might have felt some annoyance, after all she is seen around the hospital a lot. But Naruto’s slip in memory brought her a sense of nostalgia—even if it might have been a tad misplaced—so she didn’t mind his conviction to adhering to the rules.
Naruto’s eyes managed to widen even more, eyebrows shooting up both in an ‘oh yeah’ moment and in light of Sakura’s self-assuredness. He felt happy she found her place but was also a little jealous that her place was so far from him and their team.
“OH YEAH!”, his response was a little too loud for a hospital and got a few (well deserved) stares from a group of medics further down the hall. “Sakura, you’re seriously amazing, believe it”, he truly meant it.
She snickered in response, “Well Naruto, you’re seriously something else” she smiled to herself as Naruto contemplated if that was meant as a compliment or not “The room is just up these stairs, first one on the left”.
And with that Sakura and Naruto walked up the stairs, the stairwell echoing their steps dully back at them, the blue tint the white walls had made the space feel bigger than it actually was. Opening the door to the second floor they arrived at Kakashi’s room and before even a single word could be spoken Might Guy swung open the door with his usual gusto, slamming it straight into Naruto’s face, hard enough to break his nose and knock him over.
“SAKURA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE”, Might Guy is practically shouting, if Naruto’s exclamation when the door hit him hadn’t stirred everyone on this floor Guy’s greeting definitely did.
Naruto slowly got up clutching his nose while blood trickled down his face. “Hey, Bushier Brows Sensei” he said trying to muster his usual cheerfulness but failing, “probably because he was just decked by a solid metal door”, Sakura thought to herself.
“NARUTO MY BOY”, Guy faltered for a second, “Uhhhh what happened to your face?”.
Before Naruto could answer, Sakura answered Guy’s question “You hit him with the door when you slammed it open”.
“Sorry Naruto I didn’t see you there” He leaned a little closer and spoke quietly, well quietly for Guy at least, “Uh Sakura, do you need me to get a medic or do you have this handled”.
“Oh we’ll be fine, thanks for the offer though”, Sakura liked Guy, she thought people made him out to be denser than he was but she knew he was incredibly considerate just a little loud sometimes.
Guy smiled and with a “Have fun” and another quick “sorry” to Naruto he left as quickly as he slammed open the door.
Sakura guided Naruto into the room, who was still holding his nose, blood having already stained the skin on his hands a light red hue in trails. Kakashi just watched them enter, Sakura guessed he heard the commotion, he would have to be comatose to not catch it in all honesty. Kakashi stayed completely quiet while Sakura placed her hand over Naruto’s bruised nose (and face), a soft green-blue glow casting across the two. Sakura concentrated and understood that it was out of both a respect of that concentration and an intense fear of Tsunade that made him wait to greet them, she could not however, say the same for Naruto who immediately started spewing out a play-by-play of Guy smacking him in the face with the door. Sakura pulled away her hands from Naruto’s now slightly mended nose, content enough with the job for now and felt a little pity for their old teacher who definitely didn’t need a recounting of the whole door fiasco considering it happened only 5 feet away from him. But nevertheless he only smiled at Naruto warmly and listened.
Naruto didn’t take long to catch Kakashi up to speed and once he did Kakashi spoke with some humor in his voice. “Shouldn’t you thank Sakura, Naruto? She could always break your nose again if you don’t give her your gratitude”.
Naruto laughed at this a little and said, “Sakura would never do that, besides that’s just what I was about to do”. So he turned to Sakura and continued, “Thank you for fixing my nose, you're seriously a lifesaver”.
With the faint warmth of medical ninjutsu fading from her palms, Sakura only huffed out a breath of laughter, she missed this.
It felt like the old times again, Kakashi’s snarky remarks, Naruto’s cheeky responses, and her own warm laughter. It was hard not to miss it, but her mood dropped when she remembered the missing piece, Sasuke. His sneaky smirks at whatever foolishness the rest of the team got up to, his banter with Naruto just to mess with him, the glances he would give Sakura when he thought she wasn’t looking. She knew that they would never really get back to that, even if by some miracle Sasuke was allowed to return to the Hidden Leaf they wouldn’t be the same. He wasn’t the same young boy dead-set on revenge that was out of his grasp just enough to let him enjoy the time with his Team, until he could truly face Itachi as an equal. Naruto wasn’t just the odd one out with the inability to sit still anymore, he grew in 2 years even if Sakura wasn’t happy to admit it. He was the only true reflection of the happy family she found in Team 7 and now he wasn’t even that. And well Sakura herself changed a lot too. She found a place, one where she called the shots, where she was considered to be a natural talent, where she could escape from her own insecurities for a bit and Team 7 could never be that for her. Even Kakashi had changed, he had to after everything that happened between his students, if he wasn’t able to move on Sakura knew she and Naruto would remain stagnant, unable to grow into the shinobi they were today.
That habit of letting her mind wander when she was reminded of her genin days was going to get her in serious trouble one day because she hadn’t even realized the conversation had lulled and both Naruto and Kakashi were staring at her looking slightly concerned until Kakashi cleared his throat.
“Sakura, you feeling okay?” Naruto was looking at her with the same wide eyed stare he did earlier, making her feel slightly bad for zoning out.
“Oh yeah, sorry I was just thinking about stuff”, she mumbled back desperately trying to think of some way to change the topic.
Kakashi started to say something that no doubt would lead to a conversation Sakura did not want to have, so she cut him off before he could get his thought out.
“So, what was Guy doing here, I know you guys are close but I’m surprised he would visit again, no offence but I feel like there are more important things for him to be doing”. Sakura rattled off the first thing that came to mind, hopefully her discomfort wasn’t too apparent.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow, well shit ,he was definitely on to her. Thankfully he decided to let her change the conversation, probably deciding that he also didn’t want the conversation to stray to whatever it was she seemed so dejected about.
“He probably does have something better to do but you know how Guy is, eternal rivals and all that…” Kakashi turned his head as he trailed off and Sakura swore she saw his face flush a little under his mask.
Before Sakura could pursue that thought, Naruto interrupted, “Um, I don’t want to break anything up but it's getting late and I’m pretty sure the convenience store is closing early today so we should probably get going”.
She hadn’t realized but Naruto was right, between running into Guy and the conversation Naruto had with Kakashi she completely spaced out for over an hour had come and gone.
“Well I won’t keep you two any longer”, Kakashi told them both then adding with a dramatic flair, “enjoy freedom while I rot in here slowly”.
“You’re ridiculous Kakashi-sensei”, Naruto shot back teasingly.
“Besides you’re on bed rest not being held captive”, Sakura added.
With that they all burst out giggling in the hospital room, the open window letting a brush of wind in while the golden glow of evening danced across the three of them and all the furniture, including a small bouquet of flowers set on the side table next to Kakashi that Sakura hadn’t noticed when she bundled Naruto into the room earlier.
“Bye Kakashi-sensei!” Naruto called, stepping out the door.
“Bye” he responded then he addressed Sakura, “Bye to you too Sakura, take care of yourself okay?”.
She almost couldn’t stand the softness in his voice, Kakashi had always treated her like family and it never failed to warm Sakura’s heart, “I will”. She replied, despite his sweetness her sensei’s kindness didn’t stop her having the last word, “Oh and tell Guy that he has good taste in flowers”, Sakura couldn’t help but smiled to herself as she heard Kakashi’s small groan from the room behind her as she followed Naruto out of the hospital.
——————
By the time they got to the convenience store the sun had almost set and both Sakura and Naruto were ready to throw themselves onto the nearest couch, exhausted after spending a good part of the day just standing around talking, so they decided to just grab some instant ramen and bottled green tea and call it a day.
The walk back to Naruto’s place was uneventful but comforting, Sakura found that she was getting used to this new silence she and Naruto shared, it suited them well especially after the day they had. When they got back to Naruto’s apartment it was bathed in the remains of dusk, a purple-pink glow casting shadows across the floor and walls. The lights flickered on and Sakura moved towards the kitchen and set some water to boil before heading back towards where Naruto was before throwing herself on the floor, causing the carpet to scrunch up a bit when she did. They sat in silence for a bit as the whistle of the water boiling grew louder before Naruto spoke.
“Hey Sakura”, he almost sounded nervous, she thought.
“Yea”
“I’ve been thinking”
“That’s new”, her response was light and teasing but Naruto only continued in the same hesitant tone as before.
“I’m being serious, listen I’ve been thinkin about us and Team 7, and well Sasuke and…”, he paused and Sakura only held her breath not knowing what he would say next, “I think you’ve been thinking about it too”.
She considered this for a moment, sitting up while she wondered how to respond.
“I mean I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it, was I really that obvious?”, was what she decided to say after a pause.
“I mean a little, when we were visiting Kakashi earlier you looked a little sad and I guess I also felt a little sad so maybe I’m wrong but”, he trailed off again looking Sakura dead in the eyes as he did.
“I miss him Naruto, I shouldn’t but I do”, she continued, “But I don’t miss us, the old Team 7 all that much. I’m finally doing something important with my life and I think that if we had the old us back I would fall behind again”.
Naruto stared at her with a new expression, one Sakura couldn’t quite place but it looked too much like pity to her. Before he could voice a reply Sakura dragged herself up and went to pour the now boiled water into the instant ramen, watching the noodles slowly unfurl with the heat as steam hit her forehead. She heard Naruto enter the room behind her but didn’t turn around, she didn’t think she could stand to face whatever look he was giving her, mentally kicking herself for being honest where a lie would have sufficed. Sakura was preparing herself to tell Naruto that it was silly and to forget what she had said when she felt a familiar hand alight on her shoulder, feeling the soft warmth of it seep through the fabric and spread along the skin underneath. She whipped around gently, taken aback by the action pieces of her blushed pink hair seeming to float past her face as she did.
“Naruto?” Sakura spoke hesitantly, trying to look at Naruto whose cheeks seemed to reflect the overhead lights abnormally, glistening as he raised his head a little.
She barely registered Naruto slipping his arms around her shoulders before he pulled her into a tight hug, he really did get taller because she had to tilt her head up a little to avoid being smushed face first into his shoulder.
Naruto spoke, voice strained and gruff, “Sorry”.
“Why are you apologising?” Sakura quickly realised Naruto was crying softly, his grip on her shaky when he answered her.
“If me and Sasuke just got along a little more at the end…I mean if we weren’t so self-absorbed none of this would’ve happened”.
For someone who was top of her class back in the Academy, Sakura was quite dumb. This whole time she had been worried about her old team bringing back the qualities she hated about herself through their pity but that was never a possibility. Naruto and Kakashi, they both saw her strength even back when she didn’t. To even amuse the idea of them treating her like the pathetic kunoichi she saw in herself was completely ridiculous.
Naruto was still clinging onto her, mumbling incoherently about how he was such an idiot when she braced against his shoulders to push him back. He looked at Sakura, the corners of his eyes red and snot starting to drip from his nose. Sakura could feel herself tearing up a little.
“Naruto this isn’t your fault you know, I don’t think it’s really anyone’s fault”, she really was almost crying trying to blink back her tears vehemently.
“But Sakura, it is my fault. If I was just—” Sakura cut him off before he could finish the thought, tone blunter than she intended.
“You don’t blame Sasuke for running off, do you?” He paused at that, startled enough by her matter of fact tone that his mouth moved mutely for a second. When he managed to collect his thoughts he simply replied.
“No, of course not”
She smiled, “Of course, it would be silly to blame a kid for doing what they thought they ought to do in a situation as complicated as that”, Naruto caught a hint of condescension in Sakura’s tone, furrowing his brow a little in response.
Sakura’s hands still bracing Naruto’s shoulders, they locked eyes and started laughing uncontrollably. Rocking back and forth like possessed drunkards, their hics and snorts punctuated by deep wheezes to catch their breath.
“We’re such idiots Naruto, I mean we spent most of the day acting like strangers”, Sakura spoke a little out of breath and with a newfound relief in her voice.
“Yea, and we went through a nation crushing threat before we even tried to catch up”, Naruto responded with a haphazardous wipe at the tears running past his jaw.
“Who does that!?”, Sakura responded incredulously, bursting into another fit of laughter.
When the pair finally stopped giggling like maniacs Sakura walked over to the counter passing Naruto a steaming cup of instant ramen while she walked past him into the other room. Tossing herself on the couch and pulling her feet up onto it, she curled up to enjoy her ramen and green tea. It only took a second for Naruto to join her, legs stretched out in front of him as he started to shovel his own ramen fervently into his mouth. They ate and talked, reliving their genin stunts with notably improved moods for a while, punctuating their reminiscing with small anecdotes from their time apart. Sakura at no point found her mind wandering to less savoury thoughts about her genin days, she was fully immersed in only the fun that Team 7 had and for her that was enough.
——————
Eventually they decided to sleep and it didn’t take long for Naruto to start snoring loudly. Sakura envied his ability to sleep so soundly, she never had a particularly easy time falling asleep and that definitely didn’t improve after she started going on missions as a shinobi. Between her penchant for overthinking and the high stakes of going out on missions, she more often than not found herself staring at the ceiling of her bedroom before she decided to read or perform some other mindless task until she felt tired enough to fall asleep. Tonight, she decided to forgo the routine of getting up to do something for a while and instead just spaced off listening to Naruto snoring next to her until she drifted off.
——————
Sakura woke up to the sounds of cabinets clattering closed and the smell of something burning. She got up from her spot on the floor stretching out the kinks in her back and shoulders before padding over to the kitchen where she saw Naruto trying—and failing—to cook something that she couldn’t quite recognise. When he realised she was up Naruto turned around and said, a little too loud for someone who just woke up,
“Morning Sakura!”
“Hi, so uhmm whatcha making there?”, her apprehension must’ve been clear because Naruto only chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.
There was a pause before Naruto said, “I think we should just go out and get breakfast”
“Good idea” Sakura didn’t have to be asked twice, so after disposing of the dubious ‘breakfast’ Naruto made, they headed out to have a small meal at a nearby teahouse.
The teahouse was a quaint family owned place that served a surprisingly wide range of breakfast and dessert items, she had suggested the place because it had opened while Naruto was away training with Jiraiya and she found herself frequenting it. They had a relatively quiet meal, opting to languish in each other's company before they inevitably had to part ways for the chores a new day brought. Notably, they did comment on Temari and Shikamaru when they saw them walk into the teahouse, trying to hide behind their table. Luckily neither Shikamaru nor Temari glanced their way before they walked behind a screen because between Naruto’s bright yellow hair and Sakura’s pink hair they definitely stuck out like a sore thumb.
They finished their meal shortly after and said their goodbyes before parting ways. Sakura had only taken a couple steps before Naruto called out after her.
“Hey Sakura!”, she stopped to turn around and face him, “We should do this again sometime, I missed hanging out with you”
She called back, “Yeah, me too!” before they both turned back around.
Sakura couldn’t help but grin, Naruto tended to have that effect on people.