Another request from a tumblr anon. (:
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Wherever You Are
"Sakura, thank you." Those were the words last spoken by the boy who broke her heart before she blacked out as he walked away from the place he had considered his home.
She woke up in a cold sweat with her heart beating a hundred miles per hour. Leave it for that memory to haunt her again just when she was on her first mission alone with one Uchiha Sasuke since his return a year prior.
They had settled in an inn for the night, not wanting to risk travel in such an ungodly hour. Awkwardness aside, the mission went on peacefully.
Until that bloody nightmare just mere seconds ago.
She didn't even notice the moisture brimming her emerald eyes until they spilled over her heart-shaped face. Not long after, silent sobs followed and she was again in the agony of that dreaded night that Sasuke decided to follow his vengeful will.
Sitting up and gently turning to look beside her, she was relieved to find him still engulfed by sleep - oblivious of the little dramatic scene she had once again created; and more importantly, that he was very much present and alive.
Turning back again, she sat up and viciously wiped her eyes. She refused to be that helpless little girl once more. She was stronger now. She should be able to stop him if he…
"Why are you awake," of course, it sounded more of a demand than a question.
Stupid. She thought to herself. She couldn't master the skill of stealth and she dare call herself a ninja? She hated herself at this moment; pity, and remorse, and gratefulness, and relief and every other emotion that never fails to resurface in the presence of Sasuke, and only Sasuke.
He was aware of her unwavering feelings. He was Sasuke. And she was Sakura. Years apart have not been enough to make them a stranger to the other.
Breathing sharply, she gathered her wits. "I'm sorry to wake you, Sasuke-kun. Please go back to sleep." she said with a silent plea while keeping her back to him,
"I asked you a question."
Sighing, Sakura ventured for the half truth. "I had a nightmare."
There was a pregnant silence that followed and Sakura could almost picture Sasuke scoffing at her childish reason. Minutes passed and she thought he had slept again, choosing to ignore such unimportant matter.
She was proven wrong.
"I'm not going anywhere, Sakura."
Eyes widening, she turned rigid as the air seemed to get knocked out of her. Before she could speak again, her unspoken question was answered. "'I love you with all of my heart. If you were to stay with me, there would be no regrets.'" he recited the all too familiar confession. "Even in your sleep, you just couldn't keep your mouth shut."
Sakura didn't know which surprised her more: the fact that she actually talked in her sleep, or the way that Sasuke seemed to remember that night as well.
"I'm sorry." She apologized again.
"You are so annoying." A sad smile graced her lips at the familiar comment, but she said nothing. Then, she heard shuffling from the bed next to her, and the quiet footsteps that followed.
To her complete and utter shock, Sasuke walked over and stopped in front of her. He kneeled, and wrapped his strong - and currently shaking - arms around her waist, burying his face into the warmth of her stomach.
"I'm sorry," he repeated her words.
Dumbfounded, she could not find the words to answer him. So he spoke for the both of them. A definite first for the reserved sole survivor of the Uchiha clan.
"I am to remain wherever you are."
xx
