60secs
Summary: For them, it was those precious sixty-second moments that mattered the most. But in the end, a minute was just too short. —sasusaku.
They first met at a party.
It was that time of the year again. The overrated, sweets-filled, highly-marketed festivity that people all over the world celebrate in thy name of love: Valentine's.
Clad in a simple figure-hugging carmine dress, with long sleeves of lace and a braided brown belt, Sakura sat at their table after getting herself a strawberry daiquiri. It's been three hours since the Valentine's party, courtesy of the student life association, has started, and people were now dancing with alcohol-induced vigor at the centre of the vintage-themed hall. The DJ was blasting some pop-electronica number, and when she saw some couples humping like hormonal teenagers, Sakura shook her head. As someone who doesn't fancy big social events, the pinkette had no intentions of attending Cupid's Affair, but Ino being her bestfriend, she was ultimately dragged into coming. Glancing around, she couldn't help but feel a tad out of place.
"Sakura-chan!"
Turning around, Sakura saw Naruto, her friend from statistics class, approaching her with a boyish grin while pulling with him an unknown guy. Reaching her, the blonde-haired boy gave her a light hug, a compliment on her attire, and promptly left her and his male friend after saying, "Keep him company for me for a while, ne, Sakura-chan?"
Blinking like a lost cat, she uttered, "What… was that?"
Naruto's friend sighed, then sat down on the chair beside her, facing the mass of dancing university students. "Apparently, that was the dobe's attempt on matchmaking."
Blushing a bit, she coughed to dispel the slight awkwardness that his simple statement brought on. After cursing Naruto in her mind for putting her in such a situation, she glanced at the male beside her. Spiky, ebony locks, flawless pale skin, a jawline and pointed nose that girls would spazz over, onyx eyes that held confidence and charisma, and an impassive but poised aura. He was definitely a lady killer. Not wanting to be rude, Sakura faced him with a shy smile and introduced herself. "Well, I'm Haruno Sakura, in the life sciences department. Oh," she paused, then added, "And Naruto's an idiot."
With amused eyes, he nodded his head towards her and replied, "Ah. Uchiha Sasuke, in the engineering department."
It was silent for a while, until the green-eyed female asked, "How did Naruto drag you to this party, Sasuke-san?"
The male looked at her with a questioning gaze, and she chuckled in reply. In a lightsome voice, she continued, "I can tell from your expression. And knowing Naruto, he probably went around and convinced all his friends to come."
With a quirk of his lips, he rested his elbow on the table to support his head with his hand and casually replied, "He was about to tear off my ears with his whining."
Imagining the scene, Sakura held in her giggles. Deciding to be a bit playful (most likely due to the alcohol), she joked, "Was he whining about you being a hopeless single young adult on Valentine's?"
"Was that the reason you were dragged here?"
Sakura spluttered, not expecting that to be his response. Eyes on the empty glass in her hand, she blurted out, "Well, I guess we just found out something we have in common."
When she turned around to face him, she met his enigmatic gaze. For sixty seconds, all they did was look at each other. See each other.
Then he gave her a captivating smirk, and her heartbeat drummed.
In that sixty seconds, she knew it was the start of something new.
He knew it, too.
-x-x-x-
-x-x-
-x-
Sakura caught his eye.
She was an attractive young woman, with luscious carnation locks, eyes resembling of sparkling emeralds, and a lean, fit figure that can only result from regular workouts. Their time spent together at the Valentine's party, albeit short, enabled Sasuke to glimpse at her interesting personality; she was a bright, goal-driven student with a dash of randomness and whimsicality. One moment, she was talking about the lab reports and psychology essay waiting for her at her dorm. Next, she was babbling about bungee jumping and coffee making. To Sasuke, Sakura was a refreshing kind of person, who let him simply listen to her rambling as if she knew that he wasn't much of a talker. Despite all this, he was just interested then.
The "I like you" came during their first encounter since the party.
It was an ordinary Friday, six days since their first meeting. Sasuke's last lecture for the day just finished, and he was headed to the cafeteria for a quick bite. After buying his light meal, he intended to go home, but a splash of pink in one of the tables near the huge glass windows made him change his mind. As if on instinct, his feet led him to sit down across Sakura, who looked up from her bowl of thai noodles in response to his presence. Her eyes widened, then she quickly gulped whatever was in her mouth to greet him a simple "hi". She was wearing glasses, and the onyx-eyed male found it endearing when she pushed it up the bridge of her nose to keep it from falling.
Sasuke thought that the atmosphere between them might be a little awkward due to his sudden presence (and Naruto's not-so-subtle attempts in matchmaking them during the party). However, that wasn't the case; they stayed in the cafeteria for quite a time, just talking about anything and everything. This time, Sasuke was more engaged in the conversations, and he could tell that it pleased Sakura. They learned about each other's passions, future goals, childhood stories, and many more. Sasuke likes tomatoes, was homeschooled until age eight, and once wanted to be a professional basketball player. Sakura was a certified life guard, drinks coffee daily, and was deathly afraid of raccoons.
Around three hours passed, and the two exited the cafeteria just as the sun was setting. Sasuke was about to offer to accompany her back to her dorm when Sakura, with a cheeky smile, grabbed his wrist and pulled him outside the main university building towards the Layla Browne Theatre, where most art majors spend their time in. No one was inside except for them, and Sakura pulled him on stage, where a sleek, grand piano was sitting near the edge. The pinkette took a stool somewhere behind the curtains, and instructed Sasuke to sit.
"Hey, I'm not that good in this, but I recently learned how to play the instrumental of one of my favorite songs. Umm, listen well, 'kay? Then you can tell me what you think later," the emerald-eyed girl said, her eyes crinkling. She sat down on the piano bench, shook her hands, then started to play.
With a lovely smile on her face, her fingers flew gracefully across the white and black keys. She was weaving a beautiful, dreamy tune that tells a tale of a nostalgic love. It started off with a soft melody, where her right hand was dominating the piano. It gave off a calming aura, and Sasuke could only see her. Then, the melody built up, and when the chorus came, it overflowed with wistfulness and yearning. By this time, Sakura has closed her eyes, lost in her world of music.
Sasuke thought it was perfect.
When the song ended, she looked at him with a shy smile, silently asking what he thought of her impromptu performance. Despite only knowing each other for a mere week, much less interacting with each other twice, he couldn't deny it.
"I like you," Sasuke blurted out.
In the sixty seconds following his unplanned confession, Sakura blushed prettily, and stuttered that she likes him too.
Sasuke didn't wait another second to walk up to her, cradle the back of her head with his right hand, and kiss her.
In that sixty seconds, they thought to themselves. Naruto wasn't much of an idiot, after all.
-x-x-x-
-x-x-
-x-
Though the "question" never came, they were a couple now. Most of their time together was spent in school. They would meet in between classes, go to dinner together, or Sasuke would stay at her dorm 'til the wee hours of the night, watching movies with her or snuggling under the sheets, simply relishing being with each other. Both of them were inexperienced when it came to romantic endeavors, but that didn't hinder their blooming relationship. In fact, it had the opposite effect; knowing that they were experiencing new things together made their moments much more special.
Sakura couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend.
Sasuke might not be the most expressive person out there, nor a romanticist with an ever-present supply of charming words. But the little things he does for her always make her day. He would walk her to class, their hands entwined, then send her off with a faint but handsome smirk. When stress from schoolwork was getting to her nerves, he would buy her something sweet, like her favorite cookie crumble frappuccino or a small box of french macarons. During her boring lectures where the professors ramble in such monotone voices, Sasuke would save her by sending text messages of short riddles or a random memory from his childhood. Whenever she and Ino had a small quarrel, he would take her somewhere peaceful and share his earphones with her, playing music that would calm her down and bring a smile on her face.
There were times when Sasuke would stare off at space and she can't read him, or times when he shares his opinions and she can't seem to fully understand them. But isn't that what their relationship is for? To keep learning about each other 'til the point that nothing is hidden anymore, and they're looking at each other's guts? For Sakura, unravelling Sasuke's mind was a constant challenge that she loved.
It was four months into their relationship when summer came, and Sasuke invited her out on a sunny Saturday. He didn't say where they were going, only that she needs to wear light and comfortable clothing, and bring flipflops and a hat. It was a two-hour long drive from the city, and when Sakura woke up from her nap, she was greeted with a familiar scenery from her childhood days.
She remembers this beach, with its pristine white sand, crystal blue waters, and homey-looking cottages. As she treks along the sand barefoot, she remembers playing with other kids around the bonfires, building sandcastles with her mom, and the way the sun sets in the horizon, splashing the surroundings with hues of oranges, yellows and greys that never failed to amaze her younger self. It was a place she spent a lot of her days in when her grandparents where still alive.
Turning back, she saw Sasuke smiling faintly, with his left arm outstretched towards her. Taking his hand, he pulls her down to the blanket spread out behind him, and they lay side by side, her head snugly placed on his shoulder. Sakura asks, "Sasuke? How did you know this place?"
He replies, "Ah. You once told me about your favorite place when you were a kid, and how you got in trouble a lot while running around like a monkey in this place." Chuckling, he ignored Sakura's pouty mumbles and continued, "I wanted to visit this place because it's important to you."
Her heart fluttered. She didn't expect Sasuke to remember a small childhood story of hers that she never even explained in full detail, and the fact that he wanted to see the places special to her showed just how much he cares about her. The dark-haired boy has his own way of expressing his feelings, and its this kind of things that makes her realize how important Sasuke really is to her.
Snuggling closer to her boyfriend's warmth, she mumbles. He couldn't hear her clearly, so he prompts her to say it again.
"I love you."
It took sixty seconds for Sasuke to digest her words and flip them over. Hovering above her, he sees Sakura covering her embarrassed face with her hands, and had to bite his lip to stop from grinning like a lovesick fool (which, technically, he is).
"Sakura, say it again."
Seeing Sasuke's warm gaze, probably the warmest look he's ever given her, she stutters out, "I, uh, l-love… you." Closing her eyes, she repeats, "I love you, stupid."
Smirking and his heart racing, he rests his forehead against hers and replies, "Yeah, I guess I love you too."
-x-x-x-
-x-x-
-x-
They were heading home from a seventh-month anniversary dinner in a French restaurant Sasuke's aunt owns, when it started raining. The heavy pattering caused Sakura to turn up the volume of the radio, and her lip-syncing to the indie-rock music kept Sasuke entertained in the driver's seat. Sakura tried getting her boyfriend to lip-sync with her, but all he did was give her that elegant smirk that she couldn't help but adore. At the red stoplight, Sasuke was about to move in for a quick kiss to stop her from her coaxing when suddenly, a truck from the adjacent bend came at them, its tires screeching wildly, scaring the pedestrians nearby. It struck them with such a powerful force, that their car flew and hit a building on the other side of the street, hitting another car in the process. People were shouting, and some brave ones were trying to go through the wreckage to find the victims of the accident.
When Sasuke opened his eyes, the world was blurry, and he could feel his body being pierced in various places. Adjusting his sight, he sees the front of the car completely wrecked, and blood trickling down his face. The first thought that came to mind was his girlfriend. Fighting through the pain, he looks to the side to see Sakura, and absolute dread fills him.
Sakura, who just opened her eyes, sees a large fragment of glass piercing her torso, essentially bounding her to her seat. Hearing someone calling her, she looks towards the driver's seat. Sasuke's eyes are frantic, and he tries reaching for her despite the wrecked car door weighing down on his lower half and a nasty gash on his head. She reaches for him halfway, and both of their hands are shaking.
They just kept holding to each other's hand, fighting to keep breathing, but they're loosing too much blood, and it keeps getting harder to stay awake. Breathing raggedly, Sasuke calls out, "S-sakura?"
She looks at him, and the words he utters next would have made her the happiest woman on Earth, if the circumstances were different.
"Will… will you marry me?"
She doesn't know when she started crying, nor when Sasuke started crying, but she knows that their time has run out, that she doesn't feel pain anymore, and that miracles don't exist.
The only thing she can see is the boy that she would give her everything to, the only boy she would want her happily ever after with. But not everyone is lucky enough to get that happy ending. With broken eyes and a broken smile, she replies in a ragged breathe, "Idiot S-sasuke. We're only 20 years old." She's sobbing now, but she continues, "Y-you idiot, idiot, idiot. I love y-you."
Sasuke smiles, and despite the agonizing pain and his blurring vision, he uses all his remaining strength to move their entwined hands closer and kiss her knuckles.
"I guess that's an 'I do'."
When the emergency services arrived consisting of police, paramedics, and firefighters, they were sixty seconds too late.
fin.