SasuSaku - One Shots?

How it Began - Part 1

So my first SasuSaku one-shot ended up being a lot bigger than I thought it would be, so I've decided to upload it bit by bit so it won't become some monster chapter that'll take 3 years to get through. Hope you enjoy!

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It was evening when he finally returned. Two whole years he had been gone...well, two broken years, considering his occasional weeklong visits, mostly for birthdays. The last time he had come by was July, to celebrate his own birthday – Naruto had insisted, claiming that if Sasuke didn't come back to celebrate by his own free will, he'd drag his ass back like he did the first time. Not wanting to lose a second arm (he had only just gotten used to fighting with one) Sasuke obliged, and surprised himself by actually enjoying it.

It was a small gathering – Sasuke said he wouldn't come back at all if Naruto had organised some big party – so it was just Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, Hinata, Ino, and of course, Sakura, all bundled inside Naruto's small apartment. As Sasuke sat there, listening absentmindedly to Naruto's exaggerated tales, he tried to recollect the last time he had spent his birthday with someone. The cat in the forest the previous year didn't count, he thought, but hazily remembered his mother, Mikoto, baking a cake for him one year. She tried to make it as plain as possible, knowing her son's dislike for sweet things. Itachi was there too, though Fugaku was away on business. His father didn't believe in birthdays as such, not that Sasuke minded. It was nice, sitting on his brother's lap, grinning over the glow of his candles as Mikoto and Itachi sang "happy birthday". It was a similar deal in Naruto's flat (except he was sat on the floor), and after being exceptionally embarrassed by the singing, finally blew out the candles in the hope that the attention would finally leave him.

Sakura had given him a present that night, just as he was leaving Naruto's home. It was a photo of team 7 after the war – Sasuke wasn't aware it had been taken, and was annoyed that he had been photographed mid-meal, with his mouth open – but accepted it graciously, along with a silver bracelet shaped like a dragon.

"The bracelet is from Naruto and I," she explained, "But the photo is from me. I hope it's not too cumbersome to carry, with the picture frame and all. I can hold onto it if you like-"

"It's ok, I'll take it with me. It's a nice momentum...I'd prefer to carry it." He said, before realising what his words must've meant to the Konoichi. A blush stained his cheeks as she laughed lightly, "Well then, be careful just in case it cracks!"

The glass had cracked eventually, as Sasuke had travelled to a particularly hot area near Suna. He discarded the frame shortly after, but was glad when he did – the back of the photo held a message:

Please come home soon, Sasuke-kun, and permanently! We all miss you here, especially Kakashi-Sensei. You should have seen the look on Naruto's face when he said so! Be careful, Sasuke-kun. See you soon! Xxx

He tried to ignore the kisses at the end, but smiled as he read it. He repeated the short note now, as he approached Konoha's gates. As he expected, three figures stood waiting for him – Naruto, Kakashi and Sakura. The former shouted as he approached, waving his arms frantically. Sakura called out to him too, and Sasuke found his pace quickening just that little bit more.

His former teammates grabbed onto him once he entered the village, Naruto crying out in annoyance as he realised he had just grabbed a sleeve, not his arm. He didn't understand why Sasuke didn't accept the prosthetic, and Sasuke wouldn't tell him. Sakura thought she understood why. He mostly had been a left-hand fighter, after all.

Kakashi, the current Hokage, welcomed him back with open arms. Sasuke relayed the important information – the stability of villages after the war, how repairs were doing, if he had come across any rogues. Naruto hounded for the meeting to be over quickly, and Sakura aided his appeal. Once Kakashi had let them go, the two practically dragged Sasuke (due to how uncharacteristically fast they were walking, as opposed to actual resistance from Sasuke) to a new block of apartments.