12:30 PM Chapter 1, a naruto fanfic

12:30 AM

A sudden movement caught the corner of her eye, and she looked up to see…

Their eyes interlocked, and she really did try, but it took three times until her eyes dragged away from his.

She fiddled her fingers together and stared for a time at her lap before she turned her head back towards him only to stop, so her head was slightly angled towards him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

"You… you forgot this."

Sakura battled with herself internally until she finally looked up to see her watch in his hand: thin, long pink leather strips with a monologue clock, the hour and minute hands studded with tiny crystals.

Her eyes snapped up to meet the dark eyes that caught hers. Her breath subtly caught within her as she realized she was trapped again, within his powerful, locking gaze.

"…I didn't… I've got one," she finally spoke, tugging the beige sleeve of her coat upwards to reveal her black one.

Her eyes lingered upon her watch on her wrist as silence elapsed between the two of them.

After a while, she realized he wasn't going to talk. Of course. She let go of her sleeve which slowly slid back to place as she swallowed, taking in a silent breath of air.

"Sasuke Uchiha, what do you want?"

He wanted bluntness, and so be it.

The one request she will allow, as long as it meant he would leave soon.

He didn't answer directly; instead, he walked around the bench, coming to stand next to her.

"May I sit?" he inquired.

Sakura froze, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. Bastard. "Yes," she clipped shortly.

He sat down, the soft fabric of his pants pressed against her legs. She was wearing white stockings, but the heat between them was inevitable.

Her eyes widened, and without turning her head to meet his look, she spoke icily, "Please leave some space, Sasuke-san."

She could feel his burning gaze, but she ignored it, staring straight ahead at the giant, illuminating sign ahead of her, labeled: Boarding Flight, 13A.

"Sasuke-san…" she started tensely, but before she finished, he acquiesced to her demand, moving away an inch.

Sakura gritted her teeth. She crossed her left leg over her right, away from him. Anything to be further away from him.

Once again, silence settled in between the two of them, but this time she did not have to worry about him speaking, because the next minute, she found herself gasping as his whole upper body bent over hers, his overwhelming presence surging around her. She shrank subconsciously as his hands went over her shoulders to grip the bench's arm behind her.

Her widened eyes met his navy striped tie, and slowly, almost reluctantly, it traveled up until it hit his chin. Her eyes paused there, but a cold hand gripped her chin, pushing it up until her large green eyes caught his.

"Am I intimidating you?" his low voice queried slyly, dangerously.

Sakura's eyes narrowed against his. "I…"

His eyes.

Once she looked eyes with him, it was impossible to escape. He stared into her soul, her bare soul which she revealed without flinching. Despite everything, she was bare whenever he caught eyes with her. She could not hide from him.

Her hands came up to press against his shoulders.

"Sasuke-san…"

"What?" he cut in sharply, his eyes narrowed and eyebrows knitted tightly together.

"Sasuke…" she trembled, leaving the honorary out because she knew, he did not like it, "What do you want?"

His eyes searched hers for awhile until finally, he replied, not only in a form of a question rather than a statement but also in the brevity of one word: "Why?"

In the next second, Sakura had pushed all her weight into her hands as she attempted to topple him, but his arms instead came to encircle her closer than before.

"You want me to be frank, but what about you?" Sakura snapped. "Why what? Stop avoiding the point! I'm not a freaking genius; I'm not a mind reader even though I know you! Just… tell me, for the sake of time and possibly mine, what in the world do you want?!"

She was breathing slightly by the end of her small rage, and Sasuke took in the small marvel of her flushed pink cheeks which complimented her pale face.

She was right, of course; and this time, he agreed to go by her favor.

"Why are you leaving?" He did not insert the [me] behind the four sinful words, but she would have gotten the implication. She was a smart girl. Not as smart as him, but regardless.

Sakura froze, all her strength leaving her hands until it was just pressed faintly against his white collar long sleeve. She removed her hands from him, looking away only catch a glimpse of his arm, tense next to her, still gripping the bench arm behind her.

"…Because I've got a job, a very good offer in America," she stated, a generic memorized line she had planted in her head for whoever wanted to hear. Of course, he wasn't everyone, and this was a useless smoke screen that he wouldn't accept.

Indeed, his eyes did narrow quite dangerously at her and his head leaned closer towards her, his dark hair hanging around her, snatches of hair covering the airport around her. Well, even if his hair wasn't in the way, she wouldn't be looking at her surroundings, simply because she would be looking at him.

But she wanted him to ask it. She wanted him to prove to her he did care.

Even if he did wait till literally the last minute, as she is waiting to board her plane, to ask her.

She looked at him, her eyes silently willing him to.

But he didn't.

Instead, he removed his hands from the bench's arm, and he withdrew, back into sitting position, this time leaving more than just an inch between them.

Sakura sat up and gulped down a silent air of disappointment. She resumed her previous staring at the sign, the sign that was the beginning footmark of a whole new chapter of her life.

Her head tipped down towards her lap as seconds tipped by.

It was tense now, a block of frigidness wedged between them, the third being sitting invisibly on the bench with them.

They did not speak.

"Attention boarders for plane 13A, destined for New York City on December 12. The plane will be boarding in ten minutes. Please have your ticket and belongings ready to go."

The message was repeated twice, as people around Sakura started to arouse from their seat and belongings started to rustle.

Sakura stiffly turned to pick up her soft pink bag from the floor. She rustled through it for her phone, which as she opened, read 12:17 PM. She nestled the bag on her lap and slid a hand into the front pocket of her snug coat, her fingers finding the objects she sought.

She tugged them out.

Her ticket and passport.

Next to her, she felt him tense. She tensed up as well.

"Are you afraid?"

The question popped, floating into the air as Sakura grabbed at it, fleetingly, before she answered, "Yes."

"But… I am also …," there were a million words Sakura could use to describe it, but as her mind circled trying to pluck the one word she could use, she finally settled on the most basic, simplistic word that she felt described the essence the most, "…excited." She could not hide the dreamy happiness in her voice as the insides of her tickled, her mind leaving the shiny, noisy airport and transporting her into blank white rooms of a hospital, into the loud city denseness, cars, buses zooming around her.

She did not realize her eyes had closed, until his following response shook her awake.

"That's… good."

Sakura turned her head slowly to meet his face, a small genuine smile tugging at her lips.

"Yeah," she murmured softly.

Rather than reply, the both of them ended up staring into each other's faces, Sakura's emerald eyes gently searching Sasuke's onyx eyes. This time, it was a comfortable silence.

"Attention boarders for plane 13A, destined for New York City on December 12. The plane will be boarding in five minutes. Please have your ticket and belongings ready to go."

Once again, it was repeated.

Sakura searched her mind for anything, anything she could say to Sasuke. There were so many things that were missing, so many holes between the two of them that she often wished they had fixed, but time was of essence, and none of them were dealt with. She hadn't expected him to show up at the airport tonight (and at such time too, midnight), much less acknowledged her feelings for this decision, and it made her insides twinge with burning questions she had often wanted to ask him during the last aching months revolving the offer and her decision.

But… this is it. She is leaving. Leaving behind Japan, leaving behind her life -the routine, the environment, the friends, the childhood place she grew up in. Leaving behind Sasuke.

And there are no turning backs, no regrets. She had warned herself, she had told herself the consequences of leaving, and she had accepted them. There is no time, no allowance for her mind to slip.

"Sasuke, thank you for coming here tonight." She met his eyes again and for some reason, something started to prick.

"No problem."

"I…"

"Attention boarders for plane 13A, destined for New York City on December 12. The plane will be boarding. Please come up with your ticket and belongings. It is currently 12:30 PM, December 11."

Sakura found herself standing up, clutching her bag to her.

She turned to find Sasuke again and found he had stood up as well, coming to stand very close to her, his neck at her eye level and his smell coming to wrap around her. She gulped, taking a quick step back but then forward again.

"Attention boarders for plane 13A, destined for New York City on December 12. The plane will be boarding. Please come up with your ticket and belongings. It is currently 12:30 PM, December 11."

"You…" Sasuke started, his eyes telling her to finish the sentence.

"I…"

People started to move around them, children clutched in hand, food wrappers thrown into trash, straightening of rumpled jackets and suits.

"I have to go," Sakura finished, turning away just as she felt the wetness in her eyes.

She was going at a good speed and with determination, too, but-

"Sakura."

Sakura, not Haruno, not Sakura-chan. Just Sakura.

She turned around. They were feet apart, people surging between them. Like a river, cutting between two banks that will never be together.

He was in his usual posture: back slack, slightly drooping, his hands dug deep in his pockets. He was wearing black slacks with a white collar long sleeve, a tie around his neck. He was dressed for the occasion.

The time to say good-bye, so whenever she thought of him, she saw him dressed nicely and handsomely in his slacks and collar tie, the gentlemen that covered up the many flaws of the raw person Sasuke was.

"Are you happy?" he asked softly, but there might as well not be the space between them, because she heard his words, loudly and distinctly, as though he was whispering right into her ears.

She nodded, his image swimming in front her.

He asked a second question. "Miss me?"

Her throat thickened, as her eyes traced his face, over and over again, memorizing them: his noble nose, his jaw, his forehead. His eyes.

She nodded slightly.

They shared a heated look then, and Sakura suddenly knew Sasuke could see the tears. Which, unfortunately, increased the wetness, and it was harder now to keep them in.

His last question was at the tip of his tongue, and she knew even before he asked.

"Love me?"

He whispered it.

She heard it.

But she never got the chance to answer it.

At that time, the announcer went out for the last time. A surge of people came between them, blocking both of their views.

And the moment it happened, both of them turned away.

Either they both knew the answer, or they both did not want to know.

Damnit, Sasuke!

Sakura ran, tears now freely dripping down her face.

Damnit, Sakura.

Sasuke strode away, hands deep in pocket, glower visible on face.

"Are you alright?"

Sakura nodded, wiping her face as she awaited the lady to return her ticket.

"Have a nice flight."

Sakura nodded.

"Good bye, sir."

Sasuke ignored the driver who had transported him from the airport to his car.

He left a $100 tip.

At this point, he didn't give a fuck.

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A/N: um yeah. so this was a brief image I had, and once I started typing, it all just came out. Bad timing though; I'm resuming school tomorrow, and I'm gonna have such a great time waking up early in the morning… ch, slap me.

Incidentally, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but I think it might be two chapters. I'll see what I can do.

It would be great if you could review!!!!

P.S who FELT the earthquake?

*Raises hand* I DID! But at my place, it was like a gentle rocking so I was actually enjoying it LOL