Chapter Four

                                    

                                          
Chapter Summary: Sasuke has a general understanding or, perhaps, expectation of what it means to be in a relationship—more, she suspects, than either Naruto or Sai had starting out. But that small amount of knowledge likely has to compete with an inborn tendency to depend solely on himself. He's not used to explaining his methods to anyone. While it's a habit she intends to break him of—at least when it comes to her—she acknowledges that it isn't easy to change a lifelong habit.
                          
Chapter Beta: Sakura's Unicorn
                          
Author's Note: So when writing the end of this chapter, I sort of stole a quote from Grey's Anatomy, but it was so apt I couldn't ignore it. It completely sums up how I feel about Sakura's development from annoying genin to Sannin-Mamakura, and her relationship with Sasuke.
                          
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"There!" Sakura declares, exhaling in effort as if she spent the last hour lifting boulders instead of setting the dinner table. "Well, it's still kind of plain, but it looks a lot better than I thought it would."
                          
She beams at Sasuke, who placidly studies Kakashi's small flat. Besides dinner, she's brought a cheerful-looking table cloth, decorative candles, and several flower arrangements. Although it's not really to his taste, he has to admit the place looks a lot more lived-in than he's kept it during his stay.
                          
"And we didn't even have to move any furniture," she continues in satisfaction. Sasuke wonders if interior decoration is a skill he was supposed to learn at the Academy, but slept through. He doesn't say so, though, suspecting he'll get shoved for his trouble.
                          
He's not sure why she's making such a big deal about the whole thing, since it's only Naruto and Hinata who are coming. Kakashi couldn't make it—being 'up to his eyeballs in paperwork'—and Manako declined. She said it felt weird showing up without him seeing as he's the only reason they invited her.
                          
Blunt as her words are, they're true, and Sasuke not only appreciates her candour, but he's actually grateful she won't be there.
                          
With Sai and Ino also unable to attend, their only guests tonight will be the Uzumakis.
                          
"It's like a double-date," Sakura remarks as she adjusts the table cloth, and then looks up at him, sheepish. In a tone like she's confessing a long-buried secret, she admits, "I've never been on one before."
                          
He's oddly relieved to hear that. It must show on his face because she's grinning at him now, her face morphing into something resembling the girlish glee of their genin days.
                          
"We're getting married!" she squeals. Then—perhaps because they're alone—in an utter rejection of any decorum or maturity she might've developed, she dances up and down on the spot.
                          
Before he can control himself, his mouth pulls into a tiny, amused smile.
                          
She notices, pauses in surprise, and then her expression shifts. Her eyes soften and her cheeks turn pink—not in embarrassment, he thinks, but isn't sure what else it could be—and offers him her own smile. The effect suggests utter joy to him, a transformation of her usual attractiveness into something breathtaking.
                          
Sasuke is struck by the sudden urge to reach out and slide his fingers into her hair, to pull her close. To press his lips against hers until neither of them can breathe. It's a wild impulse, compared to the more tentative embraces they've shared up until now, but no less insistent.
                          
Before he can give in to it, however, there's a knock at the door and the spell is broken.
                          
Sakura's gaze slides away reluctantly, followed by the rest of her as she answers the door. Technically, that should be Sasuke's job, this being his temporary accommodations, but she seems keen to play the hostess. Far be it from him to stop her, even if his mind wasn't still on the moment they almost shared. He's not used to such basic urges driving him and is wary of the sudden loss of control he almost surrendered to.