Until Then

Chapter 33 ~ More Than This

Stepping out of the bathroom, the hot shower steam mixed with the cool air conditioned air, leaving Sasuke's cheeks dusted with colour. The towel she had left for him was neatly folded next to the laundry basket after he had shuffled it over his wet hair. There was so much a hot shower could fix, especially after a long day in the sun.

He found Sakura sitting cross legged on the floor with the brown coffee table placed infront of her. Two bottles idly awaiting him.

"What are you doing?"

Turning at the sound of his voice, Sakura's bright green eyes immediately gleamed into his mismatched ones.

"This is all I had in my fridge, I checked the expiry date so it should be fine. Come sit." She replied patting the empty space next to her. Taking in his clothes, the shirt fitted more snugly than it was meant for, and the trackpants was a spare Sakura had from the hospital. It was so different from what he usually wore, she made a mental note to get a shirt that was his size for the next time he stayed over, only to realize the weight of her words and swiftly dismiss the idea.

The Uchiha lowered down, knees bumping hers as he shifted against the bottom of the sofa.

Tilting the bottle, she popped the cap open with such ease that Sasuke wondered about her experience. "I can hold my alcohol, Lady Tsunade taught me well." She said with an easy smile.

'Wasn't Tsunade bad with drinking?' He thought ironically.

Sakura's observant eyes picked up on the sleeve deliberately pushed up to his elbow, as the other hung loosely to his side. Menial tasks must have taken a lot of adjusting to when you managed with one arm. He seemed to be managing better than they'd imagined, but he was Sasuke afterall.

"Are you sure? Don't you have work tomorrow?" He asked a tad apprehensive as she dropped some ice into two glasses with a clink.

"Yeah, but it's fine. You can't get drunk with just two bottles! Plus, we're sharing."

Sasuke stopped, it was something out of his experience. Sure he had drank before, but it wasn't to any point that left him without recollection. Besides, it was never something that offered any interest to him.

Taking the glass from her hands, he inspected the drink as the aroma fluttered towards him. It didn't look like sake, but then again, he wasn't particularly familiar with this.

The pair tapped their glasses together before bringing it up to sip. As soon as the taste hit his tongue, Sasuke's nose scrunched up slightly.

"I figured the ice might soften the sourness a bit." Sakura offered entertained by his subtle facial expressions. She noticed how he began to form an opinion on the flavour.

"Anyways, I was meaning to ask you."

"Hmmm?"

Taking another sip of the drink, "Ino's wedding is in two weeks. I guess there's still a lot of time, but I just wanted to tell you now."

He nodded lightly, listening attentively to her as she spoke. When Sakura had been going through the guest list with her best friend, there appeared to be a fair amount of names, as well as allocated plus-ones. Ino had very smugly nudged her, asking if she would be bringing Sasuke as her date. Sakura nudged her friend back with a bit more force and an eye roll. She was conflicted about if he'd come, but she also didn't want him to feel weird. The last social event he had willingly attended had been her birthday.

"We're all allowed to bring a friend so, I thought you could maybe come with me...?" She searched his face but he didn't give much away, so she narrowed her eyes jokingly. "We are friends, right?"