Title: Reconciliation

Author: TheTrueAwesomeness

Rating: T-rated (Just because)

Setting: Alternate Universe

Pairings: Sakura X Sasuke

Genre: Romance and Drama

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any characters from Naruto. This story, however, is mine.

Summary: More often than not, people make mistakes. When Sakura gets herself a new boyfriend, someone who isn't a certain raven-haired Uchiha, Sasuke realizes that he definitely made a few mistakes, ten to be exact. But he's ready to reconcile. He's ready to make up for all of his mistakes. He's ready to get the girl.

Reconciliation: Prologue

"I don't know why you insist on hanging out with me." an exasperated pink-haired beauty said, looking around at the various pairs of eyes watching them, owners of whom she knew would do anything just to... dethrone her, so to speak. She knew that they would go as far as to come up with elaborate, two-thousand-nine-hundred-thirty-step plans just to be able to sit where she's always been seated: in the midst of the person who had unsurprisingly caught their attention, and who they desperately wanted the attention of.

"You make it sound like I force you to hang out with me." the boy, no, the man in question said dryly, resisting the urge to furrow his perfect brow at the implications his friend's statement left in his mind. Does she not enjoy their little get-togethers like he does?

He heard his companion sigh.

"It's not that I don't enjoy being with you," she started, unconsciously answering the question he refused to say out loud. Some unnamed feeling flared up inside Sasuke's chest, the chest most people figure to have ice instead of vital organs. "It's just that I'd have even more fun if I wasn't always glared at by your fan girls. And your fan boys."

An Uchiha-influenced smirk graced her lips.

The man glared at Sakura's impish ways. His features showing one of the only few emotions he allows himself to show freely. She was once again being –

"Annoying."

She looked at him in mock hurt. Green eyes wide, and seemingly on the verge of tears. She pouted. "I'm just tired of being seen as competition. Especially when I'm not. You don't have to be so mean, Sasu-chan." She faked a sniffle.

Ignoring the last sentence, especially the childish nickname that she had reminded him of once again, and letting slide the pretend pain she showed at what he had said, his mind focused on the gist of her statement: I'm not competition... He felt a soft, yet painful pang in his supposed ice-filled heart. Did she have to constantly remind him that she was not vying for his attention anymore? Regret filled him at remembering those moments when he turned down her offers and love declarations, not knowing that he would someday be yearning for such propositions and words. He remembered all those mistakes that had led to now: Sakura not being his.

Sasuke frowned. It was truly ironic how she was the one pretending to be hurt, when he was the one who actually felt... pain.

Upon seeing the frown marring the Uchiha's normally blank expression, Sakura stopped pouting. She guessed that it was her immaturity that made him frown. To her, what else could it have been?

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, I was just kidding around." she said, her voice filled with guilt. Sasuke couldn't help but note how empty it was, hearing his name rolling of her lips without the honorific he had grown so accustomed to hearing.

She moved her hand over to where his lay, and he let her. After all, she was the only person he'd allow himself to have any physical contact with. Sometimes he even found himself itching for any sort of contact – accidentally brushing his hand against hers, dusting imaginary dirt off her shoulder… he would even provoke her into poking him annoyingly throughout all hours of the day, it didn't matter. Just as long as there was a physical connection between them. Something solid. Because it was quite palpable to him that their connection romantically was non-existent.

Another pang went through him, once again remembering all the mistakes he had recounted just moments ago. It didn't take him a long time to recount everything, and it wasn't hard to list everything in his mind. He already memorized every wrong he had done. A sad kind of mental to-do list. Only in this case it's more of an I-Wish-I-Hadn't-Been-A-Complete-Idiot-Because-Now- I-Regret-Doing-These List.

The annoying part, other than having to keep the feelings he harbored from Sakura a secret, was that he knew he couldn't blame anyone else but himself for not realizing sooner what she truly meant to him. He had come to that revelation a little too late. Or rather, he had let his pride be in the way of accepting the feelings he held for the girl he had known practically all his life.

And so the sad, well-known truth is that Sakura isn't his. The hand underneath the pink-haired beauty tightened into a fist. No, she didn't belong to him, she belonged to –

"Kiba-kun!" Sasuke's center of attention said; surprised and, much to the raven-haired man's disappointment at not being the reason for such a reaction, happy at the sudden appearance of the inu-enthusiast. She let go of his hand almost immediately.

"Hey, Sakura!" Kiba said happily, hugging her from behind and kissing her cheek. The lone man in front of them glared at the dog he deemed unworthy to have who was supposed to be his. But of course, amidst the lovey dovey show affection, the glare went unnoticed.

Unnoticed.

Still very much unnoticed.

And finally after what seemed like hours to Sasuke, which in reality was just seven minutes and twenty-eight seconds, the inu-lover lifted his head from his girlfriend's shoulder and nodded at him politely, "Sasuke."

He nodded back, knowing that he would be told off by Sakura quite expertly if he didn't show any respect to the Inuzuka. He didn't bother hiding the annoyance he felt at having the dog barge into his andSakura's private lunch date, only to be ignored and forced to watch such a gooey display between said man, who he detests, and the woman he yearns for.

Despite the numerous, murderous thoughts and plots going through his brilliant Uchiha mind, Sasuke didn't fail to notice the pinkette move to stand, the hand that was comfortingly over his just a few moments ago now being held by the dog he already deemed undeserving to have Sakura. She looked at him and he raised a perfect brow in return, earning a few obnoxious he's-so-dreamy sighs from his deluded fan girls (and boys) who had the gall to watch him.

"Sasuke, Kiba-kun and I are going to that new ice cream parlor down the block for dessert," she started, giving him a look that clearly said: I'm so sorry for the sudden interruption, I'll make it up to you. "Would you like to join us?" she added just to be polite. She already knew his answer.

Repressing a very non-Uchiha like sigh at the pinkette's premature departure from their little tete-a-tete, he simply replied the trusted one syllable word, or grunt, he's used all his life, "Hn."

Understanding right away, she gave him a slight smile at his, well, Sasuke-ness. "Okay. See you, Sasuke."

The raven-haired man watched as the Inuzuka led her away from where he now sat alone. As they moved to turn at the corner, Sakura smiled at him widely and mouthed what he knew was: Thanks, Sasuke.

And just like that, they were gone.

She was gone.

The sigh that he managed to repress in the presence of the pinkette and her dog came back up and left his lips.

It was times like these that the Uchiha absolutely loathed himself for his naivety. Times when the world made him see over and over again that, of course, his best friend was going out with someone else. It was as if Kami was punishing him for his idiocy by making it so that whenever he and Sakura were together, something would come up. And because it was obvious that Kami hated him so much for hurting the precious cherry blossom when they were young, that 'something' always had to be KIba.

But of course he knew well enough that he could not do anything about the current situation. Sakura was with Kiba. And just because he hated that little fact (and, Kami, did he hate it), there was really nothing he could do.

And for a long moment, the regretful raven-haired man sat quietly, unmoving. His mind filled with thoughts that plagued him since the moment years ago that he accepted his feelings, thoughts that doubled a few months after that when the pinkette told him that she and the inu-enthusiast were… dating.

It was all because of him and his stupid mistakes.

Thinking that he had had enough of all the partly perverted stares he was receiving from the various strangers around him (which weren't worth putting up with without Sakura in his presence), the Uchiha stood from where he sat. Unfortunately, that was also the exact same moment one of his braver fan girls chose to come up and speak to him. Leading to a very public, very wet collision, because of the glass of iced tea that was once in the hand of the poor girl who very much wanted to offer it to the raven-haired heartthrob as a gift of some sort.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm so sorry!" The stranger started apologizing, trying to wipe off some of the iced tea that had completely soaked the Uchiha's navy shirt, obviously enjoying the opportunity to touch him.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was not as thrilled.

Not because some girl he did not know, let alone care about was practically molesting him. Not because he was soaking wet and sticky from the iced tea. But because he realized that he was acting like such a hopeless, desperate baby. Ever since he personally owned up to his feelings for Sakura, ever since she told him that she and the Inuzuka were dating, he's been moping around, thinking about all those mistakes he made and feeling sorry for himself. He wasn't acting like the Uchiha he really was. Uchiha's are determined, stubborn, proud and very hot pain-in-the-asses who did everything they could just to get what they want. Rather than wallowing in his self-pity, why didn't he just find a way to make things up to the cherry blossom he's had his eye on for so long now?

Sasuke mentally cursed at himself for not seeing that earlier, grateful that finally someone unintentionally slapped some sense into him. Or splashed, rather.

Pushing the very much overjoyed fan girl to the side, effectively ending the delight she was getting from being able to touch him, he unconsciously sat back down, ignoring the fact that his shirt was wet and clinging to his upper body in such a manner that the number of people ogling at him had raised exponentially. Extracting a piece of paper and a pen from the bag he had very conveniently brought that day, he started writing down all the mistakes he had done, planning to see each one having an X mark beside it someday, indicating his success in amending such idiotic actions.

He finished writing with a flourish and stared at the list.

He had always known that he did wrong by Sakura, but seeing it all written down had his confidence fall somewhat. He had made, one, two… ten major mistakes that put him in the stupid situation he was in now.

What if making up for all of these weren't good enough?

What if things were irreversible and Sakura would forever be someone else's?

The image of her in the embrace of a faceless guy who was not him flashed into his mind.

No. Determination flared through his body. He had to try.

He was going to get the girl.

So, I'm trying my hand at drama. I find it queer and a tad sad, because in my mind's eye, while Sasuke's having all of these heartbroken thoughts, on the outside he'd still look quite calm and stoic. No one would ever think he was a sad sad man determined to make things right. What do you think? Feedback would be very much appreciated. =)