It wasn't that he had never thought of her that way. As a lover. In fact, quite the opposite, she had rather forced him to think of her as anything other than a friend- so he had never thought of Sakura as a friend, or as a sister that he had no love for other than what came with blood bonding. Sasuke actually had admitted to himself that any affection he had for Sakura was a range from amusement to admiration, more as a distant acquaintance with whom he had taken a liking to. Certainly there was room for a development into affection and desire, passion and love… he just didn't particularly need or want such weak emotions. After all, any hopes of a normal life for himself had been crushed that night when… Itachi….

Sasuke rolled over on the hard cave floor and blanched as he saw the pink haired girl asleep just a few feet from her. Not that he had forgotten she was there, but her presence was so familiar that he was shocked at his lack of shock at her appearance. Like rolling over and seeing Suigetsu and Juugo the other side or sitting up and catching sight of Karin at the cave entrance on guard, Sakura's unusual presence within the group had no affect on Sasuke. He smiled a little… just like old times.

Again, it was not that he hadn't ever thought of her that way. And he knew she used to never think of him that way- but lately she had seemed less nervous when confronting him- more determined, focused, more like she'd prefer being his friend.

Sasuke had never cared for the endless obsession, the gossip, the attention he received from women. Especially not from Sakura! He had frequently decided and told her that she annoyed him- he had no patience for those who wasted their time trying to please other people.

So why did it upset him so much that she no longer fancied him? Well… it didn't upset him nearly as much as it would anybody else in the situation of being upset, but for the emotionlessly calm state Sasuke generally in, any hint of distress wracked his mind like an avalanche, and this was beyond a twinge of discomfort!

If any other woman stopped showing Sasuke single-minded devotion, he wouldn't mind, quite the opposite. On occasion he would meet women who had no interest in him, and it was then he felt more at ease. But with Sakura it bothered him, and his head was filled with strange questions. Did she just not care for him like that anymore? Had she moved on? Discovered love in another… in… Naruto?

Sasuke pictured the two together and grit his teeth unwillingly. This was so annoying- why did he even care? He had shut off any hint of affection he had ever had- ever- for those two… so why was he so fervently missing the days that he had spent with them in Konoha?

He turned his head again and stared at Sakura's sleeping form. She certainly wasn't being kept awake by annoying thoughts. It was amazing that she still trusted him enough not to kill her- or leave- while she was sleeping. After all she had come out of nowhere and insisted to travel with the group for a bit; the group had been about to settle down for the night anyways, so Juugo had persuaded the others that it wasn't much harm to just let her stay with them the night. Sasuke was rather resenting the decision.

A sigh escaped him- irritable, troubled. It wasn't that he had never thought of Sakura that way, after all. He had… he even had warmed up to the idea while still in Konoha. But those thoughts had been fleeting- vague- a long time ago… he glanced at her sleeping form again. Remembered wide green eyes, a tender smile, soft fingers against his skin….

"Sasuke, Juugo, Idiot…" Karin whispered, reentering the cave, addressing Suigetsu as 'idiot'. "She's sound asleep, we can go now."

"Right," Suigetsu grumbled, looking too tired to comment on the 'idiot'. Juugo sent Sakura an apologetic look.

"It feels mean to just leave," he said again, in a hushed voice all the same so as not to wake her.

"It doesn't get any easier the more times you do it," Sasuke admitted without thinking. He got to his knees, but instead of getting up, crawled closer to the sleeping Sakura. He leaned over her, slid the hair back from her face, and brushed his lips against hers, ignoring the gasp and muted exclamations from Karin and Suigetsu. Sasuke stood up. They were all staring at him. He pressed his lips together but did not show a hint of emotion beyond that.

"Let's go."

It wasn't that he had never thought of her that way. And it just killed him that he wasn't allowing himself to.

A/N LOL sloppy one-shot because I was bored and feeling like a romantic slob. Aaaand when that happens I go to dA and look at pics of SasuSaku... because... I can........ NO, I didn't proof read. NO, I didn't try hard. YES, I wrote as I thought. Hope you liked it anyways, despite the bad grammar usage and crappy organizing skills and plotline. LOL I make Sasu-kun ooc on purpose sometimes, because I don't like the REAL Sasuke DDDD I'm so devious. Anywho, blah blah Naruto belongs to Kishi blah blah.

--2:51 AM, November 22, 2009