Work Text:
Sakura had just gotten out of the shower after a long day at work in the hospital. She was getting ready to make a quick dinner and go to bed when she suddenly heard keys turning at her front door.
Walking out of her bathroom, she sees Ino, Hinata, Sai, and Naruto step into her cozy apartment with bags in hand.
“What are you guys doing here?”, she asks as Ino waves her over.
Noticing her tired eyes, Ino asks “Don’t tell me, did you go to the hospital today?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“Ugh, you’re unbelievable.”
In the background Hinata is grabbing a calendar off the wall of the living room as Naruto and Sai head to the kitchen. As she walks closer, Sakura notices what date she’s pointing at. March 28th. Her birthday.
“Ahhhh, I guess I forgot about that.” Sakura says as she rubs the back of her neck.
“Sigh I figured”
“That’s why Ino and I prepared a small party for you. We made sure to bring ingredients to cook something for you too.”
“And a cake too, yknow!” Naruto chimed in from the kitchen, causing chuckles from the rest of the group.
“Well enough of that. You go sit down while we get everything ready.” After Ino says this, Naruto and Sai come over to usher Sakura to the couch and turn on the TV.
“Wait, but, let me—“
“Don’t move!” All four of her friends warn her in unison.
Intimidated by their sternness she decides to comply and stays situated on the couch.
— — — — — — — — —
Ino and Hinata had prepared quite the feast along with the help of Naruto and Sai. Additionally, they seemed to pick out the perfect cake that everyone enjoyed.
Ino slammed her hands on the table, “Well then, I guess we should start opening the presents.”
“Presents?” As Sakura asks this, everyone gets up from their seats and starts walking over to the area they placed their bags.
The first two to present their gift are Ino and Hinata. It seems it was a joint gift they thought of together. A beautifully engraved vase with cranes and petals filled with its own flowers is held up in their hands together.
“The vase came from the Yamanaka flower shop!” Ino says with a wink.
“And the flowers came from Naruto and I’s garden. Ino helped with the flower arrangement though.” Hinata added with a smile.
Ino leans in closer and whispers, “Therefore, if Naruto’s gift isn’t up to par, you can consider this one from him too.” The three women giggle together causing some confusion from the guys.
Sakura takes the vase into her hands and upon closer inspection, she notices a certain flower. Lavender, huh. This makes her recall a conversation she had with Ino not so long ago.
Back before Ino and Sai had gotten together, the blonde girl was pondering how to confess her feelings, choosing to do it in the form of a flower. Her options were between dogwood and lavender, the latter one’s meaning in the language of flowers being one she resonated with more. I’m waiting for you, huh.
When Sakura glanced back up, she saw Ino give her a knowing stare, as if she knew exactly what Sakura was thinking.
After a moment Sakura set down the vase and Sai decided to hand Sakura his gift. He placed a scroll in her hands and she unrolled it. It was a beautiful nighttime ink landscape painting with a waterfall and sakura tree. The petals on the flowers being the only things in color.
“Wow, thank you Sai! It’s beautiful!”
“Of course.” He said with a smile.
A short silence grew as Naruto was about to present his gift. Everyone waited with anticipation to see what he got Sakura. He dug into his pocket and brought out a card of paper. One month free at Ichiraku Ramen.
Sakura sighs, Hinata giggles, Ino rolls her eyes, and Sai just smiles with a small chuckle, all reacting in a lighthearted way.
Of course ramen.
Naruto just scratches his head in confusion.
— — — — — — — — —
After some time, the group of friends start to say their goodbyes as they all start to leave for the night.
As Ino and Sai leave, Hinata turns to Naruto and Sakura and says, “See you another time Sakura, I hope you had a fun time tonight.”
“Thank you Hinata, I sure did.”
“Then I’ll be waiting downstairs.” She says with a smile as she waves goodbye. Sakura is a little confused, but she waves back anyways.
The only one left now is Naruto. Sakura becomes more confused as he looks at her with a goofy grin on his face, hands behind his back.
“Well so what is it you wanna tell me? Seeing as you’ve stayed here for so long now.”, she says with her hands on her hips.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, hehe.” He teases in a singsong voice.
“Naruto…” she crosses her arms, growing a little impatient.
“Okay, okay, here.” He hands her a thin rectangular box. “From a certain someone.”
Sakura grabs the box and opens it. Inside is a simple necklace with a sliver chain. At the center is a cherry blossom charm, all of it in a muted pink color with the exception of the bottom right petal being in a more purple tone.
She picks it up from its place and holds it above her in front of her eyes, watching as it twinkles in the light.
“It’s so pretty.” She says with a soft smile.
“When did he even send this over?”
“It’s a secret.” He responds with a finger over his lips like a child.
Sakura laughs and then pauses for a moment. Looking down at the necklace, she begins to recall all her memories of who the real gifter behind the necklace is.
Naruto noticies her reminiscing and decides to break the silence.
“Haha, I guess that guy is good at picking out jewelry, yknow.”
“Haha, I guess he is…”
“Thank you, Naruto. For getting this delivered to me.” She says with a wide grin. She then pulls him into a sturdy hug.
A little shocked at first, Naruto decides to hug her back.
Sakura, suddenly pulling back, grips him at the shoulders. “Now, you go downstairs and make sure you hug Hinata as well, ten times harder even.”
“Eh…?”
Sakura just glares which makes Naruto just respond with, “Y-yes ma’am!” and a salute.
She laughs as she waves him goodbye. When she goes to her room, she sees from her window Naruto running up to a waiting Hinata. He then picks her up in his arms and spins her around much to the girl’s confusion as her face begins to redden. Giggling at the sight, Sakura gets into bed, readying herself to go to sleep.
Laying in bed, Sakura looks at the necklace again, holding it between her fingers. She smiles as she turns on her side, holding the necklace close, looking out the window at the full moon in the sky. The calming sound of the wind outside paired with the warm feeling in her heart lulled Sakura to sleep for the night.
— — — — — — — — —
The next day, Sakura meets up with Ino for lunch. As she approaches, Ino notices the girl’s beaming face and a particularly new piece of jewelry hanging around her neck.
“Where’d you get that shiny new necklace, huh?” She asks Sakura as she sits down.
Instead of answering, Sakura just continues to smile. Ino, knowing her best friend decides to take a hit at guessing who the sender of the gift is.
“Hmmm, let me guess…” she says with a finger on her lips.
“Sasuke?”
Continuing her refusal to respond, Sakura stays there smiling, but that was all the answer Ino needed.
The end.