Sakura is reading a book. More precisely, a medical text. More precisely, an enormous, exhaustively thorough medical text stolen from the personal library of the Hokage.

It's her day off, and between the fascinating material she's feasting her eyes on and the delicious cup of cinnamon tea in one hand, she's having a grand time. No missions, a rare day with no responsibilities down at the hospital, and most of her friends are out of the village so there is no one to distract her. She's enjoying it.

Then there's a knock at her door.

Frowning, and because she doesn't feel like being polite about anything, she yells, "Come in, it's unlocked!"

The door opens and with nearly soundless footsteps, Sasuke is inside, and she looks up in surprise, because when did she ever give him her address?

"Sasuke-kun, what are you doing here?" she asks, confused. Then, she reads the incredible intensity in his expression, his dark eyes locked on her and almost smoldering from across the room, and she's on her feet in an instant, her text forgotten, her tea left on the end table. "What's wrong? Has there been an attack?"

His deeply unimpressed glare is answer enough. Then he says, "You just leave your door unlocked?"

Sakura sighs, frustrated that she got all worked up for nothing, and sits back down on her sofa with her arms folded.

"Who'd try to break in to my apartment?" she asks him dryly.

He seems to consider that for a moment, because he shrugs. Then he says, "Winter's coming."

Completely bewildered now, she replies, "Yeah, in like six months…what's with you, Sasuke-kun? How'd you even know where I live?"

"I asked your mom."

"You what?"

"Winter's coming. You need carpeting. Too drafty in here."

Sakura blinks a few times, then lets out an annoyed groan. "Damn it, Naruto, drop the henge. I'm not in the mood."

It's Sasuke's turn to look confused, and then he is immediately and obviously offended.

"I'm not a henge! Damn it, Sakura, you need carpeting in this place. And a lock."

"Okay, Sasuke-kun, whatever you say. I'll make sure I get a carpet installed here before winter comes. In six months. Now if you don't mind, this is my day off and I really want to read this book and I've got no idea what you're doing here or why, and…"

"Just be quiet for once," Sasuke snaps, and Sakura's eyes widen. He looks angry, but she gets the sense that it's not directed towards her. Rarely is she the recipient of Sasuke's venom these days. In fact, it almost appears self-directed.

He appears to struggle with something, and finally he says, "Look, let me lay down carpet for you, all right? Just shut up and let me do this for you."

"You…want to lay down carpet. For me."

He doesn't reply, but the ferocity in his gaze is confirmation.

"Um…okay. Sure. If you really want to, then that's…"

"I'll be back tomorrow."

And he leaves.

Sakura is allowed five seconds of stunned solitude before the door is thrown open again and in comes Sasuke, full of rage and frustration and out of nowhere, he's yelling.

"Who doesn't lock their damn door?" he snarls. "Let alone a damn kunoichi! With a bounty on her head as high as anyone else in the bingo book? Living alone in this drafty-ass apartment without any carpeting! And you're supposed to be a doctor, huh? Best medic-nin in the world and you can't even figure out you're supposed to keep yourself warm?"

Sakura's jaw nearly detaches before she sputters, "Have you lost your mind? What the hell is wrong with…"

"You're what's wrong with me!" Sasuke shouts, and he's in front of her now, spitting mad and strangely unintimidating. "You're what's wrong, going out on dates with assholes like Inuzuka and leaving your door unlocked! You're what's wrong, arguing with me all the time and healing my wounds when you should be smart enough to conserve your chakra! And being there for me all the time when all I do is screw up! And…and damn it, Sakura!"

Then he's kissing her. He nearly knocks the wind out of her in doing so and it takes her eight seconds to realize that he's kissing her before she responds. Then all the confusion and shock and anger she's felt since he stormed inside and started lecturing her vanishes, because she understands now what's happening.

Sasuke's been bottling up emotions of his own, and she knows better than anybody what happens to feelings when they're repressed.

They become explosions.

She kisses him back, standing on tiptoe and drinking in his cedar scent, the warmth and hardness of his body pressed intimately against hers. She feels his frustration simmering like a live wire under his skin, knows exactly how far past his breaking point he's been pushed. Everything starts to make sense all at once, even if it doesn't.

When he pulls away, he's breathing heavily and then he's talking again, saying more to her in one minute than he has all month.

"Look. I don't know how to do this but you're…you're so annoying and I'm gonna do whatever I can to keep you. Understand? So stop dating other guys. Start locking your door, except for me. I…I have no idea what I'm supposed to do but I can lay down your carpeting and I'll be nice to your parents. Everything else, I can't…I can't promise I'll do it right because I know I'm gonna screw it up somewhere but…I figured out finally that you're the kind of girl someone should try for. And I'm gonna try, Sakura. I already told your parents I would and we're supposed to go over there for dinner tonight."

And for once in her life, the girl who never shuts up has nothing to say.

Nothing, except, "Uh…okay, Sasuke-kun."

Mebuki can't control her victorious grin as she surveys her two very welcome houseguests.

Sakura and Sasuke are arguing. They're arguing at the dinner table – her daughter very loud, Sasuke very quiet and vicious – and they're blushing.

They're blushing, which means they're happy. Her little girl is happy.

She watches them vigilantly, studies their close proximity and the way their knees touch under the table, and she feels her husband's inquisitive stare.

"What's with the smile?" asks Kizashi. The kids don't notice, they're too busy getting lost in each other's eyes.

"Just thinking about what Mikoto-chan would say if she were here, and could see this," Mebuki replies, and she looks at Sasuke, really looks at him, and sees his mother in every patrician angle of his face, in the dark depths of his eyes and the quiet, steady, limitless love that simmers inside him. She recalls her old, dear friend and understands why the Uchiha were renowned for their abiding respect for love. She recalls Mikoto, misses her, wishes she were here, and knows that, in a way, she is.

"And what'd you come up with?"

Mebuki feels her heart expand as she studies Sasuke, her daughter's soon-to-be-boyfriend and, doubtlessly, her own eventual son-in-law.

"I think she'd say the kids are all right."

note.. hey :) well obviously this story was begun well before sasuke and sakura were canon so it's not accurate at all, but i always liked the idea of sakura's parents bonding with sasuke, i really feel like they'd love him. hope you liked it, let me know if you did :)

xoxo daisy