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"Good morning Sasuke-kun." Sakura chirped walking towards the brooding Uchiha
He sighed as a response not wanting to talk.
"What's got you in such a bad mood today?" Sakura asked leaning on the bridge that Kakashi and Naruto promised to meet them at.
"Nothing. Leave me alone Sakura." he replied not even looking at her. Instead, he stared ahead of him at the cherry blossom tree that was losing its pink petals due to it being the end of spring.
"Well, I can't do that Sasuke-kun. You see, I love you." Sakura said in her cheerful voice smiling at Sasuke brightly, it almost blinded him.
"I find that hard to believe." He mumbled still not looking at her.
"Oh?" she questioned standing beside the Uchiha facing him with her hands behind her back. "Why do you say that?" she asked with slightly wide Veridian eyes.
"I know the things I've done in the past and I myself find it almost impossible to forgive my actions. How can you?" he asked finally shifting, only his eyes, to the veridian ones boring into his own.
"Because I love you!" she said again, the smile back in its place. She walked to stand in front of Sasuke blocking his view of the deteriorating cherry blossom tree.
He watched her face as, from the corner of his eye; he saw the cherry leaves and petals falling to the ground behind her.
He took a deep breath before speaking."Can you honestly tell me that when you are reminded of my actions, you don't feel the slightest bit of hatred? Can you honestly tell me that since the day I left you, you haven't hated me for even a second?" he asked monotonously as if this is a normal conversation between teammates or people for that matter. "Can you honestly tell me that the memory of me…leaving you that night doesn't spark up enough hatred in you to pummel me the ground this instant? Can you honestly say that when you relive that moment in time, not because you wanted to but because it refuses to move out of your memory, when I directed a chidori to your back, doesn't hurt you enough to kill me? Can you honestly tell me that that the moment I held a kunai to your neck with every intention of killing you doesn't hurt you so much that the pain is so unbearable you want to send me back to wherever the hell I had come from? "Sasuke finished panting because he had become louder and louder with each word he spoke. He had stood up straight in front of her with her shoulders in his hands as if to try to knock some sense into the girl.
Sakura stared at him, completely shocked by his outburst.
"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura started taking his hands from her shoulders and holding them in hers. Tears were threatening to fall out of her eyes as old painful memories played in her mind like a movie. "I can honestly say…" she began again directing her eyes towards the onyx orbs of the Uchiha that were slightly wide due to disbelief at his own outburst. "…that all those memories, every time they unwillingly popped into my mind…doesn't bring up the slightest bit of hatred in me towards you… even for a millisecond. Because I truly, honestly, unconditionally love you. I can't help it Sasuke-kun." She finished silently apologizing for her feelings because she knew he didn't want them. He had made it painfully clear on numerous occasions. Tears had begin to stream down her soft cheeks as she smiled at Sasuke in an attempt to reassure him.
"I refuse to believe that!" he said raising his voice a little and pushing Sakura's hands away from his. Sakura's eyes widened again at his actions, although she should have been used to his cold demeanor.
He walked away from her, not wanting to look at her as tears cascaded down her peach and creme skin. He stood under the cherry blossom tree with leaves falling on him as the wind blew making his dark hair swing.
"Why?" she breathed out the question desperate to know the answer. She turned to look at him though, she was still afraid to walk any closer. Afraid that he might shrug away from her touch again.
"Because…because I refuse to believe that someone as pure and innocent as you can have such feelings of love towards someone as corrupted, unpleasant and hateful as me. It's not fair. It's not fair that you have to love me. It's not fair that you have to love someone who repeatedly puts you through an immense amounts of pain. It's not fair." Sasuke finished quietly looking at the, now cherry petal covered, ground beneath him.
Sakura was stunned, to say the least. Such words coming out of Sasuke's mouth made her realize how much he had changed since he had returned 3 months ago. It made her realize why she continued to love this man even though everyone questioned it. This was a side of Sasuke that no one had the privilege of knowing. It's a privilege that came with being in the same team as him. His moments of power, his moments of vulnerability, these were things only ream 7 got to witness. These are things that specially she got to she. That's why she loved him, like nobody else did. She's seen him at his best and she's seen him at his worst and she loves him at both.
It would be a lie to say those memories didn't hurt her. They hurt her so goddamn much, but she had never in her life felt hatred towards the man in front of her. Just love…always love.
She finally pulled up the courage and started walking toward him and he raised his head up at her as she stood in front of him under the sakura tree. They were showered with cherry blossom petals as she put her hand on his masculine chest over the black shirt he was wearing.
"I don't HAVE to love you. I CHOOSE to love you Sasuke-kun. You did hurt me." Sakura said looking at the ground because the tears won't stop and he stared at the top of her pink head, listening intently. "You made me sad…" she said sniffing but suddenly she shot her head up making Sasuke jump a little although he made no show of it. "…but I never hated you, you have to believe me, I never ever hated you Sasuke-kun. I only loved you and still do because I chose to. I love you because even though you don't show it, I know you care for team seven. I love you because, even though you don't say it, I know you think of Naruto as your brother. I love you because you are lonely and I want to make that loneliness disappear. I love you because you love your family so so much Sasuke-kun. I love you…because you are you. You are Sasuke Uchiha and I love you for it. Whether you are trying to protect me or trying to kill me I love you because I want to." Sakura finished as gallon and gallon of tears dropped to the ground between them.
Sasuke stared at her. His heart was beating at an indescribable speed that he was sure Sakura could feel it beating underneath her soft small hand.
They stared at each other, because the situation has escalated and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of them staring at each other, Sasuke sighed and wrapped his arms around Sakura's shoulders and pulled her into an embrace. Sakura's eyes widened, almost popping out of their sockets as he hugged her for the first time ever. She could've sworn her heart stopped beating for the briefest of seconds.
"Stop loving me so much. I don't deserve it." He mumbled against her hair.
"You do. You do deserve it sasuke-kun." She cried into his chest overwhelmed by the rare turn of events.
"Even if I don't deserve it…I still…want it."He said closing his eyes to enjoy the familiar warmth that always emitted from her tiny body.
"What?" she muffled into his chest because, did she just hear him right?
"Even if my almost non-existent heart doesn't deserve to love you …it does Sakura."
"You…you love…me?" Sakura asked, her words still muffled by his shirt. She didn't dare look up. She couldn't, she just could not.
"Yes, I love you Sakura. I love you so much." He said pulling her closer to him, hugging her tighter.
"Sasuke-kun? Are you playing a joke on me? " Sakura asked clutching his shirt with her hands at the front hoping desperately for this to be real.
Sasuke chuckled, which was like music to Sakura's ears. 'He's laughing. Sasuke-kun is laughing' she though as she cried harder unable to believe this was happening, waiting for her to wake up from this wonderful dream.
"No Sakura. I truly and honestly love you." He said again trying to reassure her.
"I…I love you too, Sasuke-kun." She said quietly sounding an awful lot like Hinata. Then she cried. She put her arms around his body and hugged him tighter and cried, cried like a baby, because she was so beyond unbelievably happy, she couldn't take it. "I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you." She repeated over and over again hiding her embarrassing face in his chest.
"I know" he mumbled each time with a slight smile gracing his perfect lips.
Naruto watched from a far as his teammates finally found their happiness. He watched as cherry blossom petals fell around them making the moment a truly memorable one.
"I got to remember to make fun of Sasuke for this whole cheesy confession thing." Naruto thought as he put his hands behind his head and walked towards Ichiraku's where Hinata is probably waiting for him. He couldn't wait.