My Own Worst Enemy

Chapter 7 - Dumplings and Diaonds



That evening, Sasuke followed through on his promise to take her out to dinner. The idea of a temporary excursion was met with joy and relief from the nursing staff, who hastened to get Tsunade’s approval, which was granted just as quickly and cheerfully. He left her to get ready for only twenty minutes while he ran a few errands, but when he came back, he was astonished. She wore only a little make-up, and had added a matching light jacket to her ensemble. But she looked stunning, and he merely stood there in the doorway, staring at her until she began to grow nervous. “Sa… Sasuke-kun?”



“Gomen, Sakura-chan. You look…” he shook his head with a smile and held out his arm for her. She took it hesitantly, and they were off.



The evening was a complete success. The restaurant she’d chosen was a family-owned and operated establishment; they all knew Sakura on sight, and were exuberant in their greeting. They also insisted on giving her desert on the house, to welcome her back to the village. Of course, they also recognized Sasuke, though they might not have known his face. There weren’t too many people entitled to wear the Uchiha Paddle, anymore. Though soon, there would be one more.



Taking his order, the waitress didn’t even bother to ask for hers, just reaffirming, “and dumplings with chocolate sauce for desert, right Sakura-chan?”



With a smile, she nodded, and they both handed off their menus and settled in to wait for their food. Sakura didn’t notice the piece of paper Sasuke had left sticking out of the edge of his menu. Nor did she notice him slipping a small package to the waitress when she returned a few minutes later with their order.



The food disappeared slowly as they talked and laughed between bites. Easing her foot out of her slipper, she slid it slowly up Sasuke’s leg and enjoyed his jump of initial shock followed by a blush worthy of Hinata. But he surprised her in return by playing along.



Soon, the dishes were cleared, and a very large plate of dumplings was placed before Sakura with a bowl of chocolate sauce beside it. Just before she left, the waitress winked at Sasuke, told them to enjoy, and hurried of, though she stayed within sight. In fact, Sasuke could see that business around the restaurant seemed to have been put on hold, as the entire family watched their table as unobtrusively as possible.



Sasuke accepted his date’s invitation to eat some of the dumplings, but he took care that she would be the one to uncover the surprise buried within. When she saw the overturned bowl beneath the mound of dough-balls, at first she was confused. Carefully pushing a few of the dumplings aside, making sure they didn’t fall off the plate, she slowly picked up the bowl. And then she froze.



Lying in the center of the plate was a small box, just as Sasuke had asked the waitress, though he was amused to notice that she’d taken a pair of miniature red roses from one of the planter boxes in the restaurant and tied them together with thin ribbons of pink and blue before setting them in front of the box. He watched as the girl across from him set down the bowl and reached for the box, opening it so slowly, he thought time must have stopped. But the smile that lit her face when she finally saw the contents of the little blue box was enough to send time into a fast-forward. Nodding, smiling, and crying, she picked up the ring, and he helped her put it on as the entire staff and several patrons of the restaurant crowded around their table to offer their congratulations.



When the atmosphere finally quieted again, though everyone in the room kept shooting them amused glances, Sasuke and Sakura went back to eating their dessert, though her left hand was stretched halfway across the table, being held carefully in his right, her ring sparkling in the light. Gazing down at the ring, she had to wonder where he’d gotten it, how he knew her size, and if anyone had helped him pick it out.



Seeing her look, and hoping he correctly guessed what it meant, he murmured, “It was my mother’s,” before helping himself to another dumpling.



Glancing up quickly, she met his eyes with stunned ones of her own. “And you gave it to me?”



He shrugged, swallowing carefully before answering. “She would have liked you, and I don’t think she minds.”



Understanding the importance of such a gesture, Sakura could only hope the same could be said of her parents’ reception of Sasuke. “You’ll have to tell me about her, sometime.”



Shrugging again, Sasuke ate another dumpling. “Not much to tell. I know she was a kunoichi before she retired to raise her family. She was a very gracious woman, and always proper. But, I’ll admit, I don’t remember that much of the important stuff.”



“Important stuff?” Sakura asked around a bite.



“Things she liked, or didn’t like. What her favorite color was. What flowers she liked. Why she was the way she was. Important stuff.”



Smiling reassuringly at him, she squeezed his hand. “Some people might say that stuff is important, but what really matters is what mattered to you. And I bet you remember that.”



Sasuke sat in silence for a few moments, trying to remember anything he could about his mother. The waitress came with their check, which he paid before offering Sakura a hand up and escorting her out of the restaurant.



It wasn’t until they were halfway back to the hospital that he spoke again, altering their route to take them on a walk through a park. He told her about his mother’s perfume, coming home from school to find her making him a snack of one of his favorite foods, her helping to bind his wounds when he’d fallen and scrapped himself up, and ruffling his hair when he pouted about not being as good as Itachi while reassuring him that he was just as good a ninja as anyone could ever ask. He started in a monotone, but by the end, his voice was gruff and he found himself holding back tears.



Why? Why am I crying about this? She died ages ago. I’m over this. All I have to do is finish off Itachi, and then everything will be completely closed. So why am I crying?



As the first tear fell, he lowered his head to hide them, refusing to wipe his eyes in front of anyone, and admit that he really was crying. So long as he pretended it wasn’t happening, maybe it wasn’t. A sudden tug on his arm stopped him, and he couldn’t help looking at Sakura, letting her see the tears he wished would disappear.



But she didn’t look at him with pity or amusement. Her smile was sad as she led him over to a bench, pushed him gently down on it, and pulled him into a hug. He hadn’t realized how much he’d grown in the last few years; he was taller than her by a good bit, his head hitting her bust as she stood before him, rubbing his back and stroking his hair.



“You are allowed to cry for them, you know. There’s nothing wrong with it. Even Kakashi-sensei cries for Obito and Rin.” Her voice was the softest of whispers, but it was what he needed, and his arms came up to encircle her waist, pulling her tightly against him, removing any air separating their bodies as he wept.



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I apologize for the short chapter as well as the disgraceful amount of time between postings. To make up for it, I'm posting two - yes, two! - chapters today. So I hope you'll enjoy them both.

Have a great day and good reading!



Crimson Iris