She sat on the roof of the Hokage Tower, the Konoha wind teasing her hair and the birds chattering like they'd nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon.

She traced the roof tiles with a finger, thinking as she so often did of . . . him.

….

"Do you still love him?" Ino asked, "After all this time?"

Sakura bit her lip as she helped Ino sort flowers. "Yes. Always."

Ino sighed quietly and allowed a pause to stretch between them before laying down the flowers and turning to Sakura, hand on hip. "You know what? Maybe you should just forget about that dick. For too long I've watched you throw away your happiness on him. Look around, Sakura, there are plenty of other fish in Konoha – like that guy who works with Inuzuka Hana. I know he likes you. "

"Ino." Sakura replied, blinking at the sudden outburst. She looked down and focused hard on the daffodil in her hand, trying not to let her lip quiver. "I can't . . . I can't just forget about Sasuke. I can't forget that I love someone. It's not a switch I can turn on and off."

"You can damn well try to forget about someone who doesn't deserve you!" Ino snapped. Seeing the hurt look on Sakura's face, her tone softened. "I'm sorry. It's just that . . . well, I don't know how you stand it. You've given him everything – never so much as looked at anyone else. And in return he gives you an assassination attempt and a halfhearted apology because you fixed his arm."

"Kakashi-Sensei got there in time to stop him from . . . he wasn't in his right mind anyway." Sakura reminded her firmly, refusing to acknowledge the event outright. Ino severed the stem of an orchid between the fingernails of her thumb and index finger, glaring at the two halves.

"All I'm saying is that as a friend, it's my job to make sure you're happy. And as far as I can see, pining after Sasuke's going to bring you nothing but heartache.

….

Sakura smiled sadly to herself as she watched the streets of the village spread out before her.

Silly Ino, she thought, trying to fend off the bitterness that was creeping into her mind. My heart has been aching for fourteen years and it's still pumping just fine.

Still, Ino's words bothered her. Was she right? Should she just . . . let go of Sasuke? Could she just let go of Sasuke? It was a prospect she dared not think about for fear of the answers she would discover. Because deep down, in her heart of hearts, Sakura knew that her deepest fear was not that Sasuke would never love her back – she'd come to terms with that obstacle long ago.

No, Sakura's greatest fear was that she did not love Sasuke, and never had.

….

It had been a long time since he'd walked the streets of Konoha – so much had changed in his absence. There was a new Konoha Outfitter shop, and the laundromat had moved to the other side of the village. Most noticeable was the toll the war had taken on the ninja population; so many houses were vacant. Sasuke watched them with a stony face and a blank mind, trying not to compare these empty rows of houses to the haunting memories of the silent dwellings, and the blood-spattered cloak, and the lonely Uchiha symbol on the back of Sasuke' own shirt, quaking as seven-year-old shoulders heaved with silent sobs. He resisted the urge to shudder.

Don't think about it. He reminded himself, It's in the past.

As Sasuke continued along the avenue near the Academy, two children wandered into his path, chasing a rogue ball that had bounced into the street. One of them caught sight of him and tugged the other's sleeve, eyes wide.

"That's him!" The boy whispered, pointing at Sasuke, who stared straight ahead and kept walking as though he hadn't heard. "The Last Uchiha."

"Come on Nisan, let's go." The little girl picked up the ball and shrunk away into the shadows of an ally. "Mummy says he's dangerous."

Even in Konoha, Sasuke knew he didn't belong. Oh well, he was only here for a short supply stop anyway before carrying on his mission of hunting down the remaining White Zetsus. Besides, he didn't particularly like Konoha anyway because the nostalgia it brought was nearly too much for him to handle. There were so many memories, both good and bad. The bad ones he didn't like because . . . well, they were bad, and the good ones he didn't want to remember in the interest of the aloof and cold persona he carried with him at all times. He wore that persona like an iron wall of defense against the constant whirlwind of change surrounding him. That uninterested and scathing personality was familiar and – dare he admit? – yes, comforting to him, having been with him since that dark day so many years prior. It was the one thing that would certainly never change.

And so Sasuke did not let the children get to him as they scurried away, and he did not allow himself to mind the wary and guarded looks the citizens of the village gave him as he passed. Wherever he went, whispers and dark glances followed – not just in Konoha, but everywhere.

"Uchiha prodigy . . ."

"Follower of Orochimaru . . ."

"Too bad he turned out the way he did . . ."

"Better stay away from my son . . ."

"Kills in cold blood . . ."

"Most wanted nin throughout the world . . ."

"Cursed seal . . ."

The remarks were endless; some were true and some were not, but it did not matter. Soon he would be gone and the villagers would be glad to see him go, as everyone always was.

Well, almost everyone.

Sasuke had to squint and shade his eyes to make out the lonely form on top of the Hokage Tower with its pink hair blowing in the wind. Of course, he'd sensed her chakra some time before. Sasuke stopped in the middle of the road, wondering whether he should keep on towards that one small person, or run in the opposite direction. He'd avoided her since he'd arrived in Konoha two days before, with the full intention of avoiding her for the entire length of his stay, but for whatever irrational reason was now having second thoughts.

He thought.

And he thought some more.

And he thought about how Uchiha were not known for their cowardice. Surely his parents (who had accepted death willingly) were the best examples of that. So Sasuke squared his mental shoulders and continued on, still ignoring the muttering all around him.

When he arrived on the roof of the tallest building in Konoha, Sakura was facing away from him. Was it merely his imagination, or was she trembling slightly? She must have sensed his chakra, so why wasn't she throwing her arms around him joyfully like the Sakura he'd known for so long?

For several seconds the two of them just stood there, not saying a word and not looking at each other. Then slowly, Sakura turned and her eyes wandered, as though afraid of catching on his face. Finally, she allowed her eyes to find his and whispered one small word.

"Sasuke?"

". . . Sakura." If hers was a question, his was a statement. It held no emotional tone, no abnormal stress, it was merely a flat three syllables. Sa. Ku. Ra.

But so much more than that, so much more than just a word. That name flooded his mind with memories he tried so hard to forget. The female giggles, shy and giddy all at once. The chunin exams and severed pink tresses on the ground, and the cracked, sobbing voice: Sasuke please . . . don't leave me.

He fought off those memories with instinctual panic, all the while keeping his face stony and unchanging. This, Sasuke knew, was why he did not reach out to Sakura, did not ever touch her bright cheek or twirl her pink hair or allow her to get within a two-foot radius of him. He was so. Fucking. Afraid. Afraid that she'd be the one to crack his warm and safe mask of coldness. Afraid that she was the threat to his unspoken vow never to love anyone.

He had loved his mother and father. Brutally murdered.

He had loved his brother. Condemned by most of the world.

He had loved himself. Turned into a monster.

Sakura, he knew, would also meet some type of unforgiving demise were he to allow himself to fall for her.

"Im sorry." Sakura interrupted his thoughts, and her eyes darted away from his once again. "I'll leave if you wanted to be alone." She turned away but Sasuke's arm (without consent from his brain) reached out to stop her, pulling short before his fingers could touch her shoulder. Sakura stopped and looked at him with dull eyes, as if telling him to hurry up and get it all over with.

"You've changed." He said. Which he realized was rather lame and cliché.

Sakura's tiny smile looked suspiciously forced. "I guess I've just gotten wiser . . . what about you?"

Wiser? What did that infer? Sasuke forced himself to take it smoothly and not question her. He shrugged in answer. "I haven't changed. Same as I've always been." It came out sounding more defensive than he'd intended and he could tell Sakura thought she'd made a mistake in asking him.

"Oh. Right." Then she stepped back and turned once more. "I suppose I'll be going now. My work shift is going to start soon."

….

More than anything, being in Sasuke's presence made her feel tired.

Haruno Sakura was tired of waiting.

For Sasuke.

For love.

For anything.

The sun was nearing the treeline from the view on top of the tower, casting a yellowish evening light on the village below.

"I suppose I'll be going now." Sakura told him, "My work shift is going to start soon." It was partly true – she had every intention of exiting the scene, but her shift at the hospital had ended hours ago.

Maybe it was time. Maybe she should just cast all of her feelings for this man into the inferno of the sun and watch it sink beneath the horizon, gone from her sight.

"Are you giving up?" Sasuke asked quietly, his voice only curious, and not concerned or hating or angry like any reasonable human being's would be. It was an arrogant thing to say, but Sakura knew that Sasuke was arrogant. It was only his personality shining through, which she noticed with a rather sarcastic tone coloring her thoughts.

Sakura considered her options. She could tell him that yes, she was giving up and there was nothing he could do about it. She could reply that she wasn't sure and didn't know how long it would be till she was sure, so he shouldn't bother asking her tomorrow. Or she could say nothing and leap off into the sunset, leaving the question hanging.

What she said:

"No, of course not!"

It was a reflex response performed out of habit, easy as tossing a shuriken. Sakura wasn't quite sure what to do. She opened her mouth and then closed it again uncertainly.

"If you haven't given up," Sasuke said, "Then act like it. Idiot."

Sakura saw him raise his arm, reach out, felt the touch of skin-to-skin contact as he poked her on the oversized forehead.

And that touch was all it took. In the way that a tsunami crushes the things in its path, so were all of Sakura's doubts and fears crushed by the rush of emotions brought on by this contact.

And it made her feel alive. The roar of blood in her ears and the cool wind on her arms and the pinpricks in her eyes that were gathering into droplets like crystalline stars.

Sasuke.

I will not give up. That's my ninja way.

…..

Nice going, Idiot, a voice inside Sasuke's head remarked, Now she's crying.

He watched the tears flow freely down Sakura's face; she didn't even wipe them away! More unsettling was the genuine smile that accompanied them, which bubbled into a laugh while yet more tears cut rivulets down her cheeks.

Jesus, all he'd done was poke her on the forehead and she'd gone crazy! He was going to have a hard time explaining this to her parents, not to mention Naruto.

Without warning, Sakura rushed forward and threw her arms around him, still laughing.

"I'm glad you're back, Sasuke."

Sasuke froze stiffly as she hugged him, not being one for physical contact. But slowly, he began to relax. Again, his arms acted on their own, reaching around her waist, pulling her closer.

He had allowed her to break the two-foot radius rule. Her cheeks were red and her hair was soft, and Sasuke knew his mask was cracking.

And most importantly, he did not care.

All he cared about was holding Sakura, and brushing back her bangs, and touching his lips to her forehead, and the way she smelled a lot like perfume and a little like the hospital . . .

…..

From the Yamanaka flower shop, Ino could make out two figures silhouetted against the sunset on the roof of the Hokage tower, locked in an embrace.

Although she was an expert on mind techniques, she couldn't read minds. And certainly not Uchiha Sasuke's . . . Perhaps she had been wrong about him after all. Ino smiled and ran her hand over the silky petals of a rose, cutting the stem and placing it in a vase of water to stand sentry over the shop for the night.

A really long A/N: I always kind of thought the SasuSaku relationship was poorly executed. Personally, I don't think Sakura really loved Sasuke until the end of the war. First she had a schoolgirl crush that developed into an infatuation. That was never love. Then Sasuke left and she didn't see him for at about 4 years, in which the "love" she supposedly had for Sasuke only grew. Which in itself is extremely unlikely, even if she had loved him before he left. I think that Sakura never really loved him at all, but fell in love with the idea of Sasuke. That is, she (not really knowing Sasuke at all), had created in her mind what she thought Sasuke was like, and fell in love with that, rather than his true personality. Then at the end of the war when she truly met him again, that's when she had the chance to fall in love with him.

As for Sasuke, I could easily see him falling for Sakura. Let's face it, the girl's dedicated and practically worships him. With the added bonus of being very powerful.

idk maybe I'm crazy, but those are just my thoughts.

thanks for reading, feedback and constructive criticism always appreciated!