It was already morning. She woke up to the smell of something exotic yet familiar to her senses. Her eyes opened slowly, trying to get used to the sudden brightness invading her sight. The first thing she realized was that she was staring at someone's chest instead of the usual bedside table she had.

What a gorgeous chest you have, Sasuke.

Careful not to wake him up, she shifted a little, so she was now eye-level with him. He looked peaceful, serene, like there was never a worry in the world they lived in.

But then again, was that even possible?

Extending an arm that originally rested on his chest, she brushed off the few strands of hair that covered his eyes. This was the only time that she got the chance to do so without him grunting in annoyance at her. During his sleep, there were no grunts, no hn's, no irritated frown. Only light snores. Something only she knew even existed.

As much as she would love to stare at his ebony black eyes, she still thanked the heavens for the sight upon her. Those eyes she loved so much were free from seeing the cruelty of the world they lived in, even though she knew first hand that he had already seen the worst one could even handle. But still, it was nice to have some sort of escape, a place of refuge.

Because even if she offered and tried her best and swore by her life to do so, to remove all the darkness and unkindness of real life, she couldn't give him that. She was just human, after all. Just like him. Just like everybody else.

She tensed up when he snorted a little, almost making her jump. It was so sudden that she was afraid that he might finally wake up, but immediately felt relieved when she heard his snores continued.

A sigh of relief escapes her. Sleep was his only form of relaxation (actual relaxation, she corrected, because training is not considered as such, as much as he would like to tell her) so she made sure he got plenty, if not enough.

She stroked his cheek, moving down to his jaw, slowly, and felt his arm wrapped around her waist tighten its hold on her even more. Although it's been like this for years, she still couldn't help but blush at his action. Because every time feels like the first time. Every time she felt that warm fuzzy feeling in her heart and she felt the need to explode from happiness and joy. Not to mention the butterflies that have taken up permanent residence in her stomach fluttered quite often.

And then she lightly touched his lips. The same lips that growled in pain during missions when something was wrong. The same lips where all the grunts and hn's came from. The same lips that frowned when he was not satisfied with the way things are. The same lips that smirked at her in amusement. The same lips that kissed her quite hungrily when just came home from a week-long mission.

The moment she removed her fingers from his lips, his eyes fluttered open, slowly at first, before blinking the sleep away. Those beautiful, beautiful eyes.

Sakura didn't say anything, and neither did he.

They just stared at each other's eyes, one never leaving the other. No movement was made, not even a sound. Eventually, though, she offered him a small smile. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun."

And just like every morning they have spent together waking up to, her waking up first and staring and contemplating his face until he wakes up, he shifts a little and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead. She closed her eyes, as she felt his soft, soft lips touch her. There goes her heart. There goes the butterfly.

"Aa."

She truly loved the mornings.

Something I wrote at 1am a few days ago, so forgive me for anything that you did not like. Short, but I'll make up with length with the upcoming stories. I already have two more completed, just needs to be typed and edited. Also, thank you to those who read, reviewed, and added tomatoes to their favorites.