"Sakura-chan! Funny running into you this evening!"

Sakura turned her head to the familiar voice and sighed when she saw Naruto. She definitely didn't want to run into this one. It was a Saturday, meaning she had the day off and for some reason…she wasn't in the mood to see anyone.

"Yo. What do you want?" she groaned. Naruto pouted at her reaction but her eyes then widened at the sight of his wife popping up from behind him, who was slightly panting in exhaustion.

"Naruto-kun! You were walking too fast, please slow down when you're with me! I don't want to have to keep reminding you!"

"Ah! Sorry, dear," Naruto panicked. "I keep forgetting!"

"Hinata!" Sakura smiled. Seeing Hinata definitely made her feel much better. She didn't want to deal with whatever ridiculousness Naruto was about to cause, all by herself.

Hinata waved timidly and warmly smiled at Sakura.

"How's the mother-to-be?" Sakura asked, looking at Hinata's belly. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. "Seems like we're all finally getting there aren't we?"

Hinata smiled at her and looked at her oversized stomach, "Yes we are. It's kind of weird but…it's such a nice feeling…knowing that we're bringing in a new generation."

Naruto grinned sheepishly and rubbed Hinata's belly in excitement. "I bet that it's going to be a boy! Right, Hinata?"

"No, no! It's going to be a girl!" Hinata snapped back, pinching Naruto's cheek in annoyance. Naruto yelped and bounced back as he rubbed his cheek, trying to soothe the pain.

Sakura watched the two and let out a low giggle. "Seems like you two have been getting along quite well."

Hinata blushed and looked away flustered, "Does seem that way huh…"

"Oi oi, why do you still blush like that around me? We've been married for over a year now," Naruto told Hinata, poking her nose. Her only response was a punch to his shoulder, which he gladly accepted. She had at least gotten more assertive towards him and that was more than enough.

"I can't help it! Idiot Naruto-kun."

Sakura watched the two as they nagged and bickered at each other. It was most definitely one of those marriage scenes that she used to see in the theatrical plays her mom used to take her to when she was younger. This time, it was right in front of her and it was her friends who were playing the scene. Her eyes fell to ground and she braced her arm and squeezed lightly. Everyone was moving on ahead of her. Ino and Sai's wedding was just around the corner and Temari and Shikamaru had their wedding not too long ago. She was then reminded of the times when she was younger and when she'd fall behind Naruto and Sasuke all the time…always trying to catch up to them. She eventually did catch up to them especially after honing her skills and executing everything she'd learned from the previous Hokage and surpassing her. After Sasuke left though, she couldn't help but feel lonely often. It's been two long years since they've last seen each other. Two years, too long.

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and then at Sakura whose eyes seemed to be fixated on the ground. Somewhere inside their heads, they knew why she was acting this way.

"Sakura?" Hinata asked, putting a hand on Sakura's shoulder and looking up at her.

Sakura snapped out of her daze and looked at the worried Hinata.

"Are you alright?" Naruto followed.

Sakura smiled lightly, feeling foolish for feeling jealous towards the genuine couple. In time, she'll probably experience her share of having her family; she just needed patience…a lot of patience.

"I'm fine…" Sakura said quietly. "Just dozing off a little, it is getting late."

Hinata looked at Naruto and back at Sakura. "Say, Sakura…if you haven't eaten dinner yet, would you like to have dinner at our place? We're buying the ingredients right now and it would be nice if we could catch up properly."

"No thank you, Hinata. I do appreciate the offer though." Sakura bowed and waved goodbye. "I'll see you around. Naruto, you better take good care of you wife and child for the time being! Or else you'll have to answer to me."

Naruto grinned widely and interlocked his fingers with Hinata's. "Yes I will."

Sakura walked away and smiled in relief. She was sure that that family was going to be a happy one.

Sakura finally arrived at her apartment and turned on all the lights. She put her groceries away and went to the fridge to open a bottle of wine.

"One of those nights, I guess…" she muttered to herself.

She poured herself a drink and went to her bedroom, looking over her mission reports as she took sips of wine on the bed.

Suddenly, there were sounds of disturbance coming from the living room. Sakura froze but then quickly set her drink aside and quietly put the papers away, taking a kunai from the weapon organizer under her bed. She furrowed her brows nervously and wondered what kind of person would be barging in at this time of night. Did they know whose house this was? This house belongs to the student of the great Tsunade. The person breaking in must be full of it to think that they can take on someone like her.

In the blink of an eye, she felt a breeze behind her. Her instincts made her turn a whole 180 in a split second, her kunai clashing with another's as her other fist attempted to throw a punch at the assailant. However, all her attempts were in vain as the person grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards them at top speed with both kunais dropping to the floor. No normal shinobi would have read her moves so quickly. There was only one person that she knew of who could counter her with such speed and accuracy.

"Calm down, Sakura," said a deep, low voice. As she was being pulled towards him, she felt big arms wrap around her waist.

Her eyes widened at the familiar voice, the familiar scent, and the familiar build of the arms that were cradling her.

"Sasuke…kun…?"

The man pulled back to look at her and her eyes slowly filled with tears. Sasuke raised a brow and smirked.

"Crying again? You're always crying for no reason."

"Shut up…" She bit her lip in disbelief and pulled his body towards her, hugging him tightly and removing her arms from its original position and wrapping them around his neck. It's really him, she thought to herself. "For whom do you think I'm always crying for?" she replied, kissing his neck affectionately. She then buried her face in his shoulder and smiled. "Welcome home."

Without a word, Sasuke let her stay there and let her rest on his shoulder. He groaned quietly because he was the one that needed resting after such a long journey. Then again, it's been almost two years since they had last seen each other and the thought of her crying and missing him to this extent made him a little bit happy…or maybe a lot…he wouldn't dare show it, though. It was unlike him to do so.

He then felt uneasy. Ever since he realized that he felt the same way she did, he never thought that she'd still accept him into open arms like this. Somewhere in his heart, he couldn't forgive himself for the things he had done to her or the people of this village…even now, two years later, he still struggles trying to find inner peace.