Meh, I don't even like SasuSaku. But I thought it'd make for a cute Christmas story. I'm bad at cute.

It was Christmas, again.
It was Christmas and Sakura was alone, again.

It was nothing new to her, really. She'd been alone the past few years, as she waited for Sasuke to return. In her heart, she knew her efforts were futile, but it didn't stop her from hoping. She sat on the bench where she'd last seen him five years ago, glancing up every now and then in the hopes of seeing him walk down the path to Konoha, walking back to her. In her lap she held a small, neatly wrapped gift, one she bought for him just in case.
He doesn't even have to stay, she thought to herself, biting down on her lip and feeling the slight taste of blood in her mouth. He can just stop to say hi, just to me. I'll leave with him. At that last thought she choked out a bitter laugh. Would she really do that? Would she really leave everything to go with him? She wanted to be able to say she would, but didn't know if it was the truth. At the end of the day, she was just a goody two shoes, and the thought of being an international criminal was too much for her to bear. And if she went with Sasuke, that's what she would be. That's probably why Sasuke didn't like me in the first place. A frown tugged at her lips as she clenched her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms. If I wasn't such a goddamn good kid, maybe he'd have liked me. Her body shook, and she could not decipher whether it was from the cold, or from her frustration with herself. Several snowflakes found their way to her face and she knew she should go inside, but she had an hour until her parents wanted her home, and she intended to wait until the very last minute. Even if, in her heart, she knew that she was waiting on something that would never happen.

He watched her from a distance.
The same as he'd done the past few years. It was always the same routine, and it always managed to sadden and anger him simultaneously. He couldn't wait for the year that she wasn't there, when she found someone else to obsess over. He wondered how long it would take her to get over him, if ever. He ground his teeth together, finding himself angry with her. It had been five years. Five goddamn years, and she still wasn't over him? He watched her thin body trembling with cold, and he knew that he couldn't let this go on any longer. He scraped his nails down the rough bark of the tree in front of him and formed a quick hand sign.
"Henge no jutsu," He whispered before stepping out from behind the tree. He swiftly made his way to her, standing before her for several moments before she finally acknowledged his presence.
"What do you want, Naruto?" She asked, a bitter edge to her voice. He cleared his throat before taking a seat next to her.
"What are you doing out here?"
"Like it's any of your business," She sniffed, trying to subtly wipe tears from her face.
"Waiting for Sasuke?" His question was greeted with a look of horror, as if that was the complete opposite of what she was doing. Her defensiveness, however, told him everything he needed to know.
"What? Like I'd ever," Sakura scoffed, rolling her eyes. She flipped her hair back only to have it fall right back in front of her face.
"Sakura. You need to forget about him. It's been five years, let it go." He hesitated at first, afraid that he might be moving into things too quickly. But he didn't have forever, and what he had to say couldn't wait.
"You don't know what I need." The bitterness in her voice became more pronounced, and he felt his frustration rising. He dug his fingers into his leg, holding back the urge to shake her and tell her to get a hold of herself. The truth was, he didn't want to hurt her. He did care, and all he wanted to do was see her get on with her life.
"Yes, I do. Sakura…you have parents, you have friends, you have people that care about you. It's Christmas, stop waiting for him and go spend time with those who are actually here."
"Yeah, well you don't know what it's like! You…you don't know how it is to have someone and lose them. You never had anyone." She raised her hand to wipe away a runaway tear, and continued. "It's like…you just keep waiting for them to come back. Hoping they'll change their mind and realize they miss you. And when they don't, it's hard. You just have to accept that…that they don't really care. And they're not coming back." She lowered her head and let out a soft sob, and her words tugged at his heart. He'd never really thought about how deeply she'd been affected, only saw her as a silly young girl in love with a boy.
"Sakura…he's not coming back. If he could love, he would've loved you. He did care, he just…he had other things to attend to, and he couldn't bring you with him. He didn't want to hurt you." For the first time she lifted her head and looked into his eyes, a suspicious expression clouding over her face.
"How do you know all this?" Sakura was many things, but she wasn't dumb, and he knew he'd be better off if he came out with the truth now. He released his jutsu, clamping his hand over Sakura's mouth immediately after.
"Sakura. Listen to me." He breathed quietly into her ear. "Not a word of this to anyone, understand? I am here to see you. I did this for you. So don't tell anyone. Do that for me." There was a brief moment of silence before she nodded. He was hesitant in his decision to reveal himself, knowing Sakura was such a good kid, it'd be hard for her to keep a secret like this.
"Sasuke…" She whispered softly, feeling like everything was a dream. "Is it really you?"
"Yes. I…I do know what it's like to have someone, and then not anymore. I understand how difficult it is, and I didn't want you to do that anymore."
"What are you saying?" Sakura asked, her green eyes brightening hopefully. "Are you coming back?"
He shook his head quickly, not wanting to give her the wrong idea. "No. But I needed to come here and tell you so. Look at me, Sakura." He turned his body to face her and reached out, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. "I'm not coming back. I can't. And you can't come with me. You need to understand that." A small cry escaped her lips and she looked at the ground. He quickly touched her chin with his hand and tilted her face back to his. "No. Look at me. I appreciate your concern for me. And I care about you greatly, more than anyone else." Admittedly, he didn't care much for anyone, so it wasn't saying much, but still. "I…love you, Sakura. And that's why I don't want to see you sad anymore." He glanced down at the present she was holding and smiled slightly. "I see you got me something. If you really want to give me a gift, forget about me. Move on. I want to see you happy with someone else, someone who's here. I don't have anybody. You have so, so many people that care about you…don't take that for granted."
"So you're…you're not coming back?"
"No, no, it's too late for me. I'm…I'm an international criminal." He chuckled sardonically, never having said that out loud before. "But believe me, if anyone could've saved me…it would've been you, Sakura."
A small smile crossed Sakura's face, and while she didn't look happy, she looked okay.
"Here, take this anyway." She held out his gift. "Merry Christmas."
"Sakura, I meant what I said. I care about you a great deal, and if you really want to make me happy, then you'll move on and be happy as well." He smiled, taking the gift from her before leaning over and lightly kissing her forehead. "Thank you."
"You're wel-," Sakura looked up; he'd vanished as quickly as he'd appeared. She chuckled softly to herself, still in disbelief of what had happened.
"Sakura!" A chipper girl's voice came from down the road, and she looked over to see Ino and Hinata waving at her, dressed in Santa hats and laughing. "What are you doing out here? Come hang out with us!"
You have so many people that care about you…don't take that for granted. Sasuke's words echoed in her mind as she stood up and smiled at her friends. "I'm coming!" She shouted, running towards the two girls. And for the first time in five years, her smile was genuine, and she felt okay.