Answer to a shipping prompt on Tumblr :D Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO

The gates were standing tall as the masses of shinobi returned. It had been an effort, but Konohamaru has especially overseen the construction of the gates himself, saying that the shinobi had fought for the village, and it was only suitable that they have a village to return to.

It had been brutal, and there was certainly not as many shinobi returning to the village than the number that had left. Names were still unaccounted for, and Shizune had set up a unit for the purpose of reporting the missing soldiers and discovered dead. Their numbers had certainly dwindled down and the people understood that they would have to work together to pass through the coming hardship.

But for Sakura, there was one extra addition that she did not have when she had left for the frontlines.

"Oi! Teme!" Naruto turned his head around, looking straight past her to the figure who walked behind her. There were no set lines within the masses making their way home, but Sasuke was definitely lagging behind the rest. The blonde grinned in his naturally oblivious way, and waved at his friend. "You're like an old lady!"

Behind her, she heard a scowl that was typical of the bickering that used to pass between her teammates. She cast her gaze to the side and saw that Kakashi had pulled out his book- she hadn't a clue where he had managed to salvage that- and had his nose buried in it once more. Sai was to her left, and was as silent as ever; obviously just as content as she was to bask in the moment.

For a second, she could almost imagine that it was like their genin days.

Everything had been so easy back then; Naruto was the annoying one, Sasuke the withdrawn one and Kakashi the lazy teacher who was always late. This day, where the sun was shining down with a vengeance, it could have been like any other day in her childhood. She could imagine that they had been returning from a mission, if she tried hard enough.

Of course, now they had Sai, and everyone within the team had changed somewhat. Kakashi's past had caught up to him in ways that had never been imagined. Naruto had shown his tremendous growth and maturity throughout the stages of the war. Sasuke had overcome the death of his brother and the betrayal of the village to his family and had come to their aid when they had needed it the most.

But to her, her team was still the same as it had been all those years ago.

Kakashi was still the man she wanted to scold for reading pornographic material in front of children. Naruto was still capable of being loud enough for her to slap around the head. Sasuke was still moody and withdrawn- though for different reasons now.

And Sakura…as much as she didn't want to admit it, as much as she knew that she had grown stronger in herself as a person…she knew that she was still the same girl from before.

"We're home!"

The voice of the loud blonde broke through her thoughts, and she looked up at the gates that soared high into the air- the only thing that still truly looked as though there had been no invasion. The painted characters of an still appeared to be fresh, and Sakura wouldn't have been surprised if it hadn't just been done the day previously.

But it didn't matter to her; the sight was still the same.

It felt as though she were just returning from a mission, her team at her side and her family waiting for her inside their cosy house. She had missed everything about her home, about Konoha and now she was relieved to be back.

And proud to have saved it.

"Come on, Sakura, Sasuke-teme!" Sakura hadn't even realised she was spacing, but Naruto's loud voice cutting through her thoughts brought her back to reality. "Let's go to Ichiraku's!"

She glanced behind her and realised that Sasuke had also stopped in his tracks and was staring at the gates.

That's right, she thought to herself as she tried to examine her teammate's blank face, this is your return.

Over the years since he had had, Sakura had dreamed about this moment. How would she act? Would she rush to him in tears? Would she throw her arms around him, only for him to tell her that she was annoying? Of course, she had never really considered the possibility that she would be walking beside him.

But here she was, the two of them having fought in the war.
"You need to go to the Hokage's office," Sai helpfully replied with his plastic smile, dashing Naruto's ideal return to the village. "Technically, you never completed your 'top-secret mission'."

The blonde jerked visibly and took a moment to absorb the truth in his teammate's words. Then, realising what they meant, he snapped his head around and dropped his mouth open in a silent protest.

"Sai right, Naruto," Kakashi chimed in before the boy could refuse. "I'll even accompany you."

He waved at the two other members of the team behind him, and took off on the path of the Hokage's tower with a depressed Naruto at his side. Sakura was silent, knowing that Kakashi was likely only accompanying him to see whether Obito had arrived with the Hokage's entourage yet.

"We'll see you two tonight at Ichiraku's," Kakashi farewelled them, and Sakura immediately noticed a bounce in Naruto's step.

Some things had changed, but other things certainly hadn't.

Everything about their relationship was ironic, Sakura realised.

Sasuke walked behind her, his pace steady but deliberate. If he wanted to be on par with her, he would. As it was, he was constantly remaining a few metres away from her and letting her take the lead.

A younger version of herself would have dropped back and clung to his arm for feigned support as they went through the village. Now, she didn't want that. She loved him, but she wasn't going to force any affection on him that he wasn't interested in.

That had already been rejected.

The irony of their situation was that the aforementioned rejection had taken place at the very place they were walking past now.

The buildings running alongside her had suffered damage from the invasion, but most of it was barely visible now that reparations had begun. But to her, it was still the same street. The bench was visible from the corner of her eye; the bench where she had woken the next morning with only a recollection of an unanswered confession to soothe her.

It was while she reliving these memories in her mind, that she vaguely recognised that Sasuke's footsteps had stopped.

She raised her eyebrows slightly in confusion, and wondered what had captured his attention. There was nothing of notable value here, at least for him. She began to turn around and started to voice her concern when his voice, so soft yet demanding, interrupted her.

"I love you with all of my heart."
She froze immediately, her mind running blank at the completely unexpected words coming from him. For a single moment, she even believed they were of his own making, and a lump rose to her throat in response.

But then the realisation hit her.

"That's what you said to me," he continued, still behind her in his voice that managed to be so soft and yet intense. Her heart began to pound louder at the thought that he actually remembered. He didn't need to; she doubted that she would be the only woman to ever confess her feelings to him, so there really was no reason for him to still remember.

Maybe it was the location that jogged his memory. This was the real moment that his return to Konoha truly would begin and where better to start then where he had left off?

Even their positions were the same as that time.

"Thank you," she finally found her voice and replied to him in a blank, unreadable tone. She diverted her eyes from the street before her and focused on a small crack in the ground that spread from between her feet. "That's what you said."

There was a strong silence, and she couldn't help but feel that, despite all of the training she had done, she was suddenly reduced to nothing more than the girl who had begged him to stay years ago.

Here she was, pathetically hanging on to his every word, and just hoping beyond all belief that he would not crush her. But at the same time, she knew that things had changed. Despite understanding, there were moments where she would look at him, and all she would see was a hand laced with lightening rushing towards her heart.

Things were not the same, and neither was their relationship. But it wasn't lost.

"I remember," Sasuke finally replied, blunt in response, but not unkind.

Once, she would have rejoiced at the fact that her confession had remained in his memory. It would have made her heart bounce with happiness. Now, though, she knew that it wasn't enough. When things were so different, it wasn't going to suffice for what had happened.

And Sasuke wasn't stupid. He would know that.

"You tried to kill me," Sakura reminded him, no accusatory tone in her voice. She adamantly stared ahead and refused to look behind at him, for perhaps there was a part of her that was scared of what she would see.

"Aa."

There was no trace of remorse, or shame, or anger. There was nothing. She pressed on, needing no further comment from him on what they already both knew.

"And I was going to try to kill you."

"Aa."

She shook her head, and ran a hand through her straggled hair that was dry from lack of care in the frontlines. But the gesture was relieving to the tumultuous emotions rushing inside her.
"I needed to kill you."

"Aa."

He made no effort to deny the obvious. Again, she was merely stating a fact to him.

"But I didn't," she pressed, an almost lighter tone coming to her voice. "You're here... I didn't need to do anything."

She heard footsteps, but Sakura made no effort to turn around and face him as he approached her. He was mirroring their position, it seemed, however unintentionally.
"I've always told you that you're annoying," he broke the silence. She had always wondered whether he really understood the affect that those words had on her; she was still unsure whether he remembered when he first said them, long ago. "Why is that, when I've fallen to a new low, you're always there, even when I don't want you to be?"

She frowned, taking in his words in a new light. What did he mean?

"Every time that I wanted to forsake Konoha, and everyone that had ever been precious to me, you were just there," Sasuke muttered, and Sakura could almost hear the scowl on his features. "You were an annoyance. Why were you always there?"

It was never coincidence; she had Naruto had searched endlessly for a lead on their friend. He must have thought that they had scurried after him like the lost lapdogs they were. But why?

"I wanted to save you," the pinkette replied softly, her spine stiffening as she waited for the reaction to her words.

"I wanted to kill you."

Her lips began to purse, the blood escaping them and leaving them white and fragile.

"I did not want to come back."

His words were spoken in the tone she always attributed to him; unconsciously harsh. But he was not wrong. When she had met his gaze as he had aimed his chidori at her, she had seen the intent clearly written in his eyes. He would have killed her.

"I did not want to be saved."

He had been prepared to kill both herself and Naruto to ensure that he would return to Konoha, and it was almost surprising that he was now returning of his own will.

"I did not want you."

She stood there, her fists clenched as she once again felt the form of him standing so close behind her like on that night so long ago. Her muscles tensed as she felt him raise his hand and for a moment, she wondered whether he was going to try to knock her out again.

Her body turned to face him instinctively, her questioning words ripe on her lips, when she was taken aback by the sudden touch on her cheek.

His palm rested against her skin; his fingers callous from years of handling a sword and the scars on his were evidence of Aoba's summoning. It was the first time she had felt his touch in years, the first time that it had been willing. His hand cupped her jawline, and using it as leverage, drew her face closer to his.

Her eyes widened and she offered no resistance despite the puzzlement she felt at the action.

"I was not in my right mind," Sasuke finished.

In that moment she felt the breath leave her lungs all at once. It escaped her as her lips parted and the air moved through the gap, relieving her body of the pressure that was building in her chest and tightening around her heart.

Except, it took her a moment to realise that her lips were phrasing words- words not spoken from her mind as she had trained them to do, but once more from her heart.

"I love you with all of my heart," Sakura repeated, her eyes fluttering shut as she relished in the moment. Despite everything that had happened, despite everything that he had done, she was just currently content with his presence. Later, there would be time for the tears, for the anger, for the apologies.

But for now, he was just here.

"Thank you," Sasuke answered in a murmur, slowly coaxing her head to rise and meet him as he bent his neck and closed the distance between them.

They were ironic. It was only natural, then, that the very place where her love for him had been abandoned, would be the place where it was accepted.

Thanks for reading! Please drop a review and tell me what you think! :)