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The first bloom comes early in the spring, surprising them all. “They’ll be gone before April,” comments Naruto. “We should get the team together for hanami soon.”
Beside him, Sasuke pauses. “The team?”
The jinchuriki rolls his eyes. “Kaka-sensei, Sakura, and Sai,” he says; usually, Naruto is the one who asks stupid questions. He doesn’t like stepping out of role. Still, he’s astute enough to catch the subtle grimace on his best friend’s face at the mention of their newest addition. “What’s with you and Sai?”
His inquiry is met with silence. Rolling his eyes again and taking a long step forward with his hands shoved into his pockets, Naruto stops to listen to the Uchiha by a streetlamp. “Why does Sai call Sakura ugly?” Sasuke asks, quiet and calm.
Naruto shrugs, stretching his arms up before holding them behind his head. “It’s a nickname,” the blond says. “Sai calls me Dickless.”
“But you are dickless,” Sasuke retorts, a poorly concealed smirk growing on his face.
Naruto lands a hard elbow to his ribs, but sees through the ruse. “So are you saying Sakura-chan is pretty?” Naruto demands, scrutinizing Sasuke’s face to find a marginal slip-up or crack in composure. “I mean, Sakura-chan is really pretty, obviously,” he baits his teammate.
The raven-haired man follows a lone petal with his eyes. It floats in front of both of them, its forked tail riding the early spring breeze. “Yeah.”
“So you agree--” Naruto throws his arm over Sasuke’s shoulders-- “You think Sakura-chan is pretty.”
Sasuke scowls. “What are you getting at, dead-last?”
“You’re full of shit,” Naruto proclaims. “It’s been more than a month since we all got together. We’ll have a picnic by the river at peak bloom. I’ll invite Sai and Kaka-sensei.” He squeezes his rival’s shoulders, earning him a contemptuous glare. “That old grandma Tsunade has been hounding Sakura-chan about the hospital, but maybe she can come too.”
Sasuke shrugs his way out of the blond’s grasp. “Sakura told me that the hospital has been busy lately.”
“We’re still Team 7, we’re a family and we have to stick together,” the blond replies quickly, ready to launch into one of his famous lectures. “We’re all really happy to have you back.” His best friend’s scowl twists into a grimace. “It’s just a picnic.”
“Yeah, a picnic.” With his right hand, the Uchiha grasps what’s left of his dominant arm.
“And,” Naruto quips, a wide grin splitting his face, “I bet Sakura-chan will come if I tell her you think she’s pretty.”
Sasuke’s withering gaze cuts through him -- or it would, if Naruto weren’t Naruto, or if Naruto couldn’t discern the slight tremble of the Uchiha's bottom lip. “Don’t.”
“Fine, fine. I won’t tell her, the way I didn’t tell her you used to run to her from the river when she was done with the campfire back when.” He wiggles his brows for emphasis.
The blush that spreads across Sasuke’s cheeks summons memories of their genin days. “Idiot.” The Uchiha’s hair is longer now, so he hides behind it to the best of his ability -- not that Sasuke could ever hide shit from Naruto, he doesn’t know why he bothers trying.
“Bastard,” the blond replies fondly, happy to fall into step next to his ex-criminal teammate. “So,” Naruto says, after a low whistle, “when did Sakura tell you that KG’s been busy?”
And the concrete is there to greet him promptly after.