A/N: I decided to write this little one-shot because I was bored. I hope you think it is good.
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"My bubble my rules" — Bart Simpson
Under the Moonlight
She sat in her own private garden watching the full moon as it bathed her and her surroundings in an ethereal glow. She liked sitting there when the nights in Konoha were too hot to sleep in and needed to cool off, or when she wanted to contemplate her choices in life and the events that led up to her sitting outside basking in the moon's glow. She also sat there when he was on a mission and she missed him and wanted nothing more than for him to return and wrap his arms around her and hold her just to make sure that yes it was real. They were real.
She was doing that now, waiting for him.
Whenever she was like this, her mind tended to drift off to how their relationship began.
The small smiles here and there whenever they saw each other. The 'good mornings' and 'good evenings' when they happened to catch each other leaving their workplace; she the hospital and he the Hokage tower after turning in his mission report.
A few conversations took place after that. He would always ask how she was doing and whether or not she was tired. She would always reply she was in excellent health and happily content. This went on for a couple of months always making their conversations last a couple of seconds more than the previous day when he was called away on a mission.
The mission had lasted six months and in that time, she had come to realize how much she actually cared for him. His polite manners and caring nature became things that she missed and was desperately in need of being in his presence once again. She had gone too long without one of his smiles and little chats.
The day he returned, she was not expecting him to come home the way he did; yet, seeing as how he was in ANBU she knew in the back of her head that the life of a secret operative was one of much higher risk towards death than that of regular shinobi. He was being rushed to one of the operating rooms when she caught a glimpse of him and froze in shock.
She could not believe it was him. It could not be him. She had been waiting for him for all this time to tell him how she felt; how much she had missed him, his smiles and greetings. She had waited all this time to tell him how much she loved him.
She was startled out of her shock when Tsunade yelled at her to get inside the O.R. and save him. She needed no further prompting. When she entered the room she saw all the other medics focusing their chakra into him, trying to save him; well she was not going to let him die, not when she had to confess her love to him.
When she was sure that he had been healed enough to move him, he was placed in a room with a view of the village. It was dark when they had transferred him and the moon's light beams came in through the window. She did not have the heart to leave him. She did not want to be separated from him a moment longer. His relatives had been notified of course, but she assumed they would come in the morning so she decided to stay by his side until he woke up.
It was starting to get chilly outside so Sakura decided to go get a shawl when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her arms and felt his hands settle on her protruding midsection clearly showing the familiar baby bump through her night dress.
He knew that she waited for him when he went out on missions when she could not sleep or when it was too hot inside, but he could not feel anything else but happiness in the fact that she would wait for him. He knew that she tended to think about their past and he sometimes indulged in it too when they were alone together.
When he woke up in the hospital room on that particular day, he knew he was not alone in the room. He felt a familiar chakra signature beside him and when he turned his head to the side he indeed found her there by his side sleeping with her head on her forearms. He gave a small smile to no one in particular, content with knowing that she was there with him.
He did not know when he started to fall for her, but he had noticed a change in her demeanor some years ago. He like most people had thought her weak, but started to admire her when she pushed herself to her limits to become a better kunoichi. His admiration toward her only increased when she became as skilled as their Hokage and for her ability to take care of those whom she considered to be friends and family.
His admiration turned into a crush which he himself was embarrassed to admit, but had managed to smile at her every so often and greet her every chance he got. With each increasing conversation they had, he could not deny that her beauty, wit, and kindness were things he just loved about her.
After having realized that he loved her, he could not hide his feelings towards her and decided to confess his love to her before some other mediocre man not worthy of her took her away from him. Yet having been called away on a mission that lasted six months was not something he was expecting, but duty called and so he left with a heavy heart that perhaps when he came back if he ever did, she might not be waiting for him.
On the mission, the only thought that kept him going to succeed in his mission was her and the hope that perhaps she had also developed feelings for him and waited for his return. They had caught him by surprise on his way back and he was terribly wounded. He hoped to be able to get back in time and complete the mission, but most importantly he wanted to get back to her and see her if he could for one last time. It was outside the hospital where he fell to darkness.
She woke up with sunbeams infiltrating to room through the curtains and jerked up once she realized that she had fallen asleep. She stood up and walked over to check his vitals to make sure he was okay. When she turned back around to look at him, he was asleep. She decided to take the opportunity to really look at him and study his features.
His pale skin was paler from the blood loss and his dark hair was not as shiny as she remembered it being, but it did not matter to her. All she had cared about was the fact that he was here alive and by her side. She had grabbed one of his hands in her own and caressed it knowing that now that she had him with her; there was no way he was going away again so soon. She had tears running down her cheeks and landing on the sheets just thinking about how close she was to losing another loved one and had never even gotten the chance to tell him that she loved him.
When she looked back up at his face, she gasped when she saw him awake and staring at her with what looked like to be worry in his eyes.
He had of course been awake for some time, but had chosen not to let her know that he was awake. When he felt her take his hand in her smaller ones, he was immediately filled with a sense of completeness, but when he felt a drop of water on the back of his hand he quickly opened his eyes only to see tears running down her cheeks.
He wanted to know what was wrong so he could fix it. When she looked at him and heard her gasp, he knew it was time to tell her before he lost his courage and she left.
"Saku—" he could not even finish when he found himself with his arms full of a crying pink haired beauty telling him that she loved him and to never scare her that way again.
She loved him.
"Saku—" before he could even finish pronouncing his name, she dove toward him and hugged him all the while crying how much she loved him, how much she missed him and how much he better not scare again or else.
She stopped crying when she heard him call to her softly and before she knew it, he was kissing her. She had been kissed before, but not like this. This kiss was full of love and promises of a happy life together. A slow sensual tangle of lips and tongue promising what would the kiss eventually lead up to when they were ready; a kiss that signified the start of their relationship.
He pulled her close to him, his hands running up and down the sides of her belly to help her relax and to let her know that yes he really was back and safe where he belongs. Only one more month and he would be father to twin boys.
Everybody was happy for them; Naruto and Hinata who had finally managed to snag the hyperactive ninja; Ino and Shikamaru who even though found married life to be 'troublesome' would not change it for anything in the world; and the rest of them would always be happy for them.
"How was your mission?"
"It went well. I'm perfectly fine, no bruises or anything."
"That's good to know"
He chuckled. "You couldn't sleep."
She shook her head. "It was too hot inside. Plus, I missed you. I thought perhaps you would join me in the garden when you got back."
"Hm" he nuzzled her temple "Maybe we should go inside. It is starting to get a little chilly out here."
"Don't you have a clan meeting tomorrow?"
"Hai, my uncle wanted to start talking about handing over the title of clan head to me by the end of next year. The meeting doesn't start until the afternoon, so we may sleep in tomorrow. Kami knows I need to sleep before the twins arrive." She giggled as he led back to their room.
His uncle had been a skeptical about his relationship with Sakura at first, but then accepted it when he found out that she was the apprentice of the Hokage and the top medic-nin after the Godaime.
They went to bed tired and with smiles on their faces, content on just being able to hold one another in their arms. Laying in bed with his beautiful wife facing him he gave her a kiss on her forehead, her cheeks and then a slow sweet kiss on her lips. He closed his eyes knowing that this feeling of being complete would never leave him and he was spending it with the woman he loved,
"Aishiteru Sakura"
"Aishiteru Neji."
Through a window, a couple slept contentedly in their bed, under the moonlight.
Owari
A/N: I know this story sucks; it is 3:11 A.M. where I'm living. It did not come out like I was expecting it to, so this is where I left it off. I hope that some of you will like it, and will hopefully drop me a review. I will try to write other one-shots when I am more rested and can think clearly. Please be kind :)
Posted on December 30, 2007
Change made on January 26, 2008:
I made a little change at the end :)
I have a poll concerning this one-shot. It is about a possible sequel. Let me know what you think!