Sakura's Wish Come True
By Trisana of Burns
AN: The first part of this takes place at the same time as Cinderella Tenten.
Sakura stood on the balcony of the grand hall, watching the stars outside. She had only come to the masquerade as a favor for her mentor, Tsunade-sama. Though the woman wasn't Hokage any more, hadn't been for almost a year, she still acted like it sometimes. Sakura shivered a bit and closed her eyes, allowing her mind to wander and a vision to form.
In it she was standing exactly where she was when a young man dressed in all black asked her for a dance. She was going to refuse when something in his eyes drew her interest and she agreed. On the balcony they danced, him in black and her in pink. The twirled together until the hour of unveiling began to chime and he pulled away from her. Before he disappeared she asked him to remove his mask, but has he did, the vision dissolved into reality.
Sakura sighed and hung her head a moment before opening her eyes and looking up. What she saw made her freeze. Before her stood a young man, just like in her visions; he was dressed from head to toe in all black, including his mask. As she stood there, speechless, he reached for her hand, silently asking for a dance. She looked up at his face and found something there, something she wanted to know. So she took his hand and they swayed gently to the music.
As they danced, Sakura though that they looked like opposites; he was in his black suit while she wore a strapless, calf length, pink dress, flowers embroidered on the bodice and skirt. She didn't care though, and leaned her cheek against his shoulder, reveling in the fact that he was there. They danced until the clock began to chime midnight, the hour of unmasking. He pulled away from her and began to leave. She froze, knowing what happened next.
He had one foot on the railing, ready to leap away, when she grasped his sleeve. He turned his dark eyes on her. She removed her mask and set it aside, then reached for his. He leaned away from her seeking hand and she pulled it back. Sakura let her eyes drop from his face and stepped away. The young man stepped forward and took her hand; his touch caused her to raise her eyes. The smirk on his lips had her forming a grin. She let out a squeak of surprise when he swept her up in his arms and leapt from the balcony to the ground below.
In the shadow of the balcony, out of sight from those inside, he placed her feet on the ground and took her hands. He raised them to the ties that held his mask in place and, closing his eyes, let her do the rest. When she held the black fabric in her hand, he opened his eyes and wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her close. She wrapped her arms around his waist, happy at the fact that he is actually there in her arms.
With a simple kiss at the corner of her lips, he whispered, "I love you, Sakura-chan."
Her jade eyes met his onyx ones and she smiled. "And I you, Sasuke-kun."
"I'll ask you one question before I go. If someone, anyone, were to give you an engagement ring, would you take it?"
Without missing a beat, she replied, "Depends on who gives it and what it looks like."
He nodded. "Know this," he told her, "I must leave now, but I love you and I will return."
"When?" she asked.
"One year. I will return one year from tonight. Meet me on the balcony, like you did tonight. I'll be waiting for you." He gave her one last kiss before stepping from her embrace and disappearing into the darkness.
She brought her fingers to her lips and smiled. One year and he would be home.
One year later
Sakura stands at the railing of the balcony during the party once more. This year her dress is white and only reaches her knees; there are sequins scattered on the front, sparkling silver in the light. She wears no mask this year, but wears a necklace instead. The necklace is a curving trail of seven square diamonds that grow in size. She found them beside her bed on her birthday with a note. It said, "This is a Journey Necklace. It's to show how our lives and our love grows bigger as time goes on. Happy Birthday, Sakura-chan." She now wore it every day, tucking it away safely when she was on missions. Sakura fingered it as she watched the stars in the sky.
Hands slid around her waist and breath fanned across her neck. "Miss me, Sakura-chan?"
The young woman turned in the man's arms. "Only every minute of every day. What took you so long?"
"I had to see the Hokage before I could come. He was insistent about it." He took her hands in his and pulled her in for a kiss.
As he held her hands, Sakura felt something cold and smooth slide on the ring finger of her left hand. When she pulled away, her eyes fell on the ring that now sat on her finger. A thin band of silver with a large, clear, square diamond rested there, as if it belonged.
"You said it would depend on the person and the ring. Do you accept it and me? Will you become my bride?"
Tears formed in her eyes as she lifted her hand to see the ring in the moonlight. She shifted her green eyes to him and smiled. Her arms around his neck she kissed him deeply and said, "Yes."
AN: In writing this, I realized that of all the couples I normally write for (NaruHina, NejiTen, SakuSasu, KenKao, and Sandles), NejiTen is the only one I haven't had engaged at least once. I must remedy that somehow… I'll probably write what happened with Naruto and Hinata in Cinderella Tenten next then do the NejiTen. We'll see how classes go.