The sound of the cheering and laughter around him was almost enough to make him get up and walk out.

Almost.

But as he looked around the room, he couldn't have felt more out of place. Moreawkward. People were laughing and hugging each other and drinks were being poured and the hum of chatter around him was louder than he was used to.

So as usual when it came to any sort of social situation, Sasuke did his best to try and stay out of as much of the action as he could. But with Naruto around, running up to as many people as he could find, talking to them and hugging them, Sasuke knew it was only a matter of time before he was dragged—literally—into conversation with some of them.

He cringed at the thought.

Yet a sudden presence by his side distracted him. Removing his attention from Naruto, he glanced to his right, only to look down on a pink head of hair.

"If you're trying to hide from him, it's not going to work."

He had to repress a groan, frowning at her words.

Sakura merely let out a light laugh and looked up at him. She studied his face for a moment before turning around and finding a table to set her drink. "Follow me," she said, turning back toward him.

She hardly gave him a moment to reply as she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and pulled him after her. Instead of resisting, Sasuke watched as she led them up a flight of stairs and away from the party.

He sighed in relief; there were only so many people he could handle at once, yet every ninja in the village seemed to be at the event. Although he supposed that winning a war was good enough reason to celebrate.

"There," Sakura let out a deep breath of air as she opened a door and led them out onto the roof, "that's better."

He nodded in silent agreement even though she wasn't looking at him to see his response. Instead he watched as she walked forward, jumping up onto the ledge and sitting herself down.

He was still for a moment, watching her lean down to observe the streets below. Then, almost hesitantly, he allowed his feet to move forward, approaching the edge of the roof.

"Have you missed this place at all?"

Sasuke looked down at her from where he stood, noticing that she hadn't averted her attention from the brightly lit road beneath them.

He shrugged, "Not really." He thought for a moment, "It's all very… nostalgic though."

She turned to him and smiled. "Taking a trip down memory lane are we?"

"Definitely not."

She let out a light laugh, swinging her legs over the edge of the roof as she did so. "Of course not." She leaned down once more to look at the street beneath them, letting her hair obscure her face from his view. "Did you miss anything?"

"No," he replied without hesitation.

"Oh," she replied, less enthusiastic than before. "That's understandable, I guess."

Sakura didn't speak for a long while after that, and not finding any reason to initiate a conversation, neither did Sasuke. Instead he stood with his hands in his pockets, awkwardly looking out into the street, trying to find whatever had captured Sakura's attention.

But as she straightened back up she looked up at him curiously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Did you—" she hesitated, looking away, "did you miss me?"

He did not hesitate, although he did pause and think for a quick moment. "No."

She did well to hide it, not once changing her expression, but he could see in her eyes as her mood deteriorated. "I see." She tucked another loose strand of hair behind her ear as she nodded to herself.

"I didn't exactly have a chance to," he commented after a few seconds.

"No, I get it." She smiled toward him kindly, as if she understood. "I mean, I'm sure you were always busy with training and—"

"No, Sakura," he stopped her before she got carried away, "I mean, I never got the chance to." He paused, gauging her reaction. "You were everywhere."

Her eyes widened in shock at his words, as if trying to comprehend them. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times, as if searching for a reply, when the sound of a door slamming open reached their ears.

"THERE YOU TWO ARE."

And before either of them knew what was happening, Naruto was upon them, chattering excitedly and dragging them both back to the party. As the excited young man led them down the stairs, talking the entire way, Sasuke couldn't help but notice the slight blush on Sakura's cheeks. And when she looked over at him, she quickly averted her eyes, smiling to herself.

Raising a questioning eyebrow toward her, he idly wondered what he'd said…