Being with you

by La coccinelle bleue

At that moment, he could recall comparing her, and her presence, to the smell of fresh paint. SSM day 1

Whew, barely in time, back after a long time away, please enjoy and review.

Title: Being with you.
Summary:At that moment, he could recall comparing her, and her presence, to the smell of fresh paint. SSM day 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Prompt: The Smell of Fresh Paint
Rating: K+
Note: The prompt's there, if you squint.

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They met at his mother's annual fundraiser for the free clinic at Konoha General.

The chief of surgery of said hospital and Mikoto Uchiha had been friends since before anyone could remember, to say that the two presented an odd duo was the least that could, in fact, be said. Mikoto , with her charming, sweet and healing persona was the yang to Tsunade's imposing and demanding yin. Needless to say, the fact that Mikoto had delved into the demanding and imposing field of business and Tsunade into the healing field of medicine raised several eyebrows.

Which was the reason for the fundraiser. When Tsunade brought up the idea of adding a free clinic for the poor to Konoha General, Mikoto had been all too happy to provide the financial back up on both fronts, donating generous sums herself and organising events, such as the fundraiser, to draw other donators.

Mikoto knew people, she knew people that had money, and as such, the reception hall had been packed to the brim with the elite and social cream of Konoha.

Sasuke had to remind himself, several times, that he loved his mother dearly, and that was the sole reason why he had attended the event in the first place. Mikoto had implored, then resorted to guilt tripping him into attending, reminding him that it was she who had carried him around for nine months, then suffered through hours upon hours of labour to deliver him hale and hearty into the world, Sasuke had promptly conceded, not wanting his mother to go into another tirade of what else she had done for him.

He had been in the process of eyeing, his disgust apparent on his face, in spite of his best efforts, said social cream when she had walked in, accompanying Tsunade, and greeted his mother and him, from that very moment, he knew that Dr. Haruno Sakura was different.

Sasuke had believed, whole heartedly, that every single breathing soul in the vicinity was there to see and be seen, and not to donate for the poor, unfortunate souls. They were there to prove that they had money, as was the case of every other social event, the higher they donated, the more impressive they seemed, but she had proved him wrong.

Sakura had been there, because she cared, because it had been her idea, in fact, to set up the clinic in the first place. She had been there to prove to people that their money would not go to waste, and to oversee the completion of her project, not for personal glory, the advancement of her medical career nor even a sense of triumph, but for the people, for the poor, unfortunate souls that everyone else couldn't care less about.

Sasuke, tired and bored with his monotonous existence, had been instantly drawn to her, drawn to different. At that moment, he could recall comparing her, and her presence, to the smell of fresh paint, they were both strong, imposing, heady, and invoked that odd feeling where you know that it's going to make you dizzy and turn your world upside down but you can't stop breathing it in anyway.

It was an odd parallel, but Sakura Haruno proved to be an odd person. Unpredictable, chaotic, spontaneous, it was only logical that they attracted each other, after all, opposites do attract.

Sasuke glanced at his wrist watch for what seemed like the umpteenth time since he arrived at the café, and was dismayed to discover that another quarter of an hour had gone by, which meant that he had been sitting there, like an idiot, for the past half an hour. Feeling a bubble of anger rise until it threatened to burst out of him, he stood, and walked the short distance to the counter to pay for his coffee.

She crashed into him the second he stepped out of the warmth of the coffee shop into the frigid, late December air. He recognized her immediately, in spite of the fact that her most striking feature, her strawberry blonde hair that extremely resembled pink never mind her protests, was covered by a light grey beanie bag that threatened to fall off at the slightest provocation.

Her apology froze at her lips the second she raised her head to look at him. "Sasuke." It was amazing how much of her thoughts her bright, the brightest he'd ever seen, green eyes revealed. Her expression went through several transitions, from embarrassment, to surprise, to happiness, and then it settled on remorse.

Her teeth sunk into the left side of her lips, and her brow furrowed, creating a v shape between her eyebrows, if he weren't so irritated with her he would have thought that she looked adorable.

But he was irritated with her. Very. He shoved his quickly freezing hands into the pockets of his coat and frowned at her. "You're late." He admonished. "Again, Sakura."

Her furrow deepened. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun, but this guy-"

"Save it." He hissed, and started walking. He tilted his head over his shoulder when he heard her run to catch up to him. "Word of advice, Sakura. Next time you try to explain to your boyfriend why you didn't show up for lunch, don't start your excuse with 'this guy'."

Her small hand latched onto his shoulder, anchoring him to place. "I certainly don't like that implication." She huffed when he shrugged out of her clutch and started forward again."Will you stop for a second? You're being rude."

He twirled to face her, the shadow of a sardonic smirk threatening to lift the corner of his mouth. "Rude?" He echoed. "What do you call being late, for the umpteenth time?"

"I told you, I had a surgery, I couldn't just bail, and say that I had a lunch date with my boyfriend." She retorted. The color red seeped into her cheeks in her indignation, and her beanie hat slipped backwards until it threatened to fall off onto the snow covered sidewalk, her bright green eyes shone even brighter, a small amber flame of affront coming to life in them. At that moment, Sasuke could not help but think that Sakura was so damn beautiful when angry, that thought was quickly dismissed in favor of his own feelings of affront. He was the wronged party here, and he will not, in any shape, way or form, allow her to turn the attention onto herself, like he was the bad guy.

Instead of turning aflame, his eyes took an opposite approach, further cementing the difference between the two of them, he could almost feel his black orbs turn into ice as he sneered. "Of course not." He allowed, then took two a small step forward, she faltered backwards, obviously conscious that the town square was not the place for such an intimate assault on her personal space.

It was his turn to anchor her to place, on hand on her shoulder, the other adjusting her grey hat, he leaned forward, so close that it almost appeared that he was kissing her. "But you weren't at surgery, were you?"

He did not give her time to gather a response, and distanced himself from her. Even with his back turned to her as he began to walk away for what felt like the hundredth time that day, he could almost see her standing there, stupefied, mouth agape much like a fish out of water. And while he realized that that represented a comic image, he was still…hurt.

Not angry, though he had felt unreasonably angry earlier, when he called the reception's office to inquire about Sakura's whereabouts only to learn that his girlfriend had long since left the vicinity, and had clocked an hour ago into the free clinic. And that her shift would end five hours later. But then, to hear her lie, to his face, after his pride had already been wounded at coming up at second place, it had cut somewhere deep inside him, somewhere he hadn't even know existed until he met Sakura and suddenly developed a vulnerability that wasn't there before.

He was not used to this. He kept telling himself. He was Sasuke Uchiha for god's sake, girls waited on him, not the other way around. And yes, that sounded arrogant, and conceited, but it was the truth, based on actual and proven fact, it did not come from the depths of an overinflated ego, but from the reality.

"Okay, fine." She called after him, jogging to walk by his side. "I lied. But only because I knew that you'd pitch a fit." She argued, she reached for his hand, inside the pockets of his coat, her fingers felt like ice, and he didn't have the heart to push her hand out, in fact, he had to exert considerable effort not to grab hold of her other one and rub it until It was warm again. This weakness, the weakness that she awoke inside him, made part of him, just a tiny part, detest her.

"Sasuke-kun," She tried again, her voice soft and coaxing. "There aren't many doctors out there that are willing to put in extra hours for free, volunteers are scarce, I can't bail, too, the clinic, the patients, they need me."

"And I don't?" He bit out before he could think better of it. He didn't detest her, he rectified, he detested this pile of mush, this pathetic, useless human being that she degraded him into, without even knowing it.

"I realize that, and I need to be with you too." Need to be with you, not need you. That stung. "But the clinic needs me more."

That did it for him. "Heaven forbid that someone falls victim to a premature death, because I wanted to have lunch with my girlfriend." He shook his head. "I won't keep you longer, Sakura. Go." He ordered. "We both know where your priorities are." He shook his head again. "I have to get back to the office."

He crossed the road, purposely putting as much distance between himself and her, and refusing to give her another opportunity to catch up with him and turn him, once more, into a needy, sentimental fool.

It seemed that the workers at the office could sense his rotten mood, and so gave him wide berth as he entered the tall building that housed Uchiha corps. He chose to forgo the elevator in favor of the stairs, some physical effort was exactly what he needed to restrain himself and come back to his senses, never mind that his office was in the twenty second floor.

The stairs were quiet, which was both good and bad. Good because he wasn't in the mood to hear anything, and bad because the silence gave him more than ample chance to think over what happened in the last half hour.

The nerve of that woman! To stand there, and offer him excuses, and expect him to understand, when it was the fifth date that she stood him up on in less than a month, was simply inconceivable. To think that people though that he was the selfish, insensitive one.

At first, he had thought that her diligence and dedication to what she believed in impressive and worthy of respect, after all, those were traits that he expected to find in the people that worked under him, demanded really, he had admired her for them. But there was only so much diligence and dedication directed something or someone other than him.

He had understood, and he still did, that he couldn't always be number one, he couldn't forever be her first priority, and had accepted to be demoted to second or even third place, but to be demoted from her list of priorities all together to the person that was supposed to always understand, did not sit well with him.

He had duties and responsibilities himself, he was co-president of Uchiha corps, for god's sake, the largest and most accomplished business in the country. And no, he did not believe himself more important than her, or that his job had more meaning than hers did, she was a doctor, she was the one that was out there saving lives, but rather that his job was just as important as hers, and demanded an equal amount of time and attention if not more. And yet, he made the time to see her, to spend time with her, and he did not mind making time for her, he enjoyed it, he looked forward to it.

Truth to be told, though never out loud, it scared him to realize that he was the weaker party in their relationship, that he needed her more than she did him.

In his turmoil, he almost walked right past the door labeled 22. He shook his head, and attempted to evict all thoughts of personal life from his mind. Office was a place of business, not lovers' spats.

He took his place on his black, leather chair and reached for the papers that he left on his desk, all thoughts focuses on his work, intent on putting in a good day of work. His good intentions flew out of the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city, though, the second that his older brother breached his sanctuary, uninvited and unannounced.

Sasuke fought to quell the groan that tickled the back of his throat. Itachi never came to his office on business, the old man was too lazy to cross the hallway that separated their offices, and instead, opted to exercise his prerogative as the eldest, and called Sasuke over t his office whenever they had business to discuss. There was one thing, and one thing only, that could nudge the older Uchiha out of the comfort of his own chair and into his brother's space, and that was to meddle into said younger brother's personal life.

"Just came back from lunch?" The older asked, going for an air of innocence and nonchalance, and failing completely, not because he was a failure at acting, no, Itachi Uchiha failed at nothing, but because Sasuke simply knew his brother too well.

Out of deference to his brother's age and the respect that it warranted, he opted not to ignore the ridiculously rhetorical question, and dignified it with a shallow dip of his head.

Itachi was not dismayed. "How's Sakura?"

Sasuke leveled his brother with a stare that clearly demanded he drop the charade and ask what he really wanted to ask already, Itachi knew him just as well as he did him, and so, words had never been the default mean of communication between the two. They understood each other perfectly ,with or without verbal conversations, which was why they proved to be an effective business duo, he supposed.

"Had a lovers' spat?" Itachi elaborated before Sasuke could ask how he found out. "My office door faces the elevators, remember? You took the stairs again."

Predictability was not something that Sasuke wished to be associated with his person, but he supposed, with an elder sibling that simply did not grasp the concept of personal space, that was inevitable.

"She stood you up, did she?"

Sasuke wanted so badly to reach over the wide, mahogany desk and wipe that condescending, patronizing, and mocking, smile off of his brother's tanner face. Respect, he kept reminding himself, he respected his older brother and should not, in any way, shape or form act violently towards him.

"She did not stand me up." He denied, his indignation sounded incriminating even to his own ears. But lying to Itachi, a person that he had once believed to be an extension of his soul, simply was not possible. The older Uchiha had a way of silently, effortlessly, coaxing the truth out of him. "She was late."

Itachi's head bobbed in a pensive nod. "Which is not exactly an uncommon occurrence." He commented. "Which is the reason you're in such a fine mood, in the first place."

Respect went out of the window as the last of Sasuke's patience went down the figurative drain. "Yes, you ass. I'm in a great mood, I'm all sunshine and rainbows, because I spent half an hour waiting for my girlfriend to grace me with her presence."

Itachi gave another pensive nod, choosing not to comment on Sasuke's strong language, which was no doubt, a result of pent up frustration and obviously not aimed at him. He couldn't call Sakura an ass, after all.

"The same girlfriend," He started, "Who happens to be a doctor, a life saver, and as a result, could not possibly abandon her work, her life saving work, to attend to the needs and wants of the spoiled and occasionally bratty, Sasuke Uchiha." He shook his head. "Cheer up, Sasuke. She had work to do, it's life, not the end of the world."

Itachi stood and adjusted the jacket of his dark blue suit, smoothing invisible wrinkles out of the material. "Besides, we have a meeting with Fujitsu Shin in fifteen minutes."

Sasuke's head snapped up at that. "How many times do I have to tell you not to spring these meetings on me? There's a little useful thing called a memo, use it, you insufferable -"

"Oh, don't be so uptight." Itachi admonished. "It's like father never retired."

The inevitable apology came in the form of a basket, nearly overflowing with a certain red, not vegetable, fruit, two days later.

Sasuke had just stepped out of a much needed shower, dressed in sweatpants, and a towel draped around his neck, protecting the skin of his shoulders from the rapidly cooling water that was dripping from his wet locks. He had every intention of drying his hair, then escaping from the frigid winter air into the comforts of his war, big bed, when the doorbell rang.

A dark expletive made its way to his lips at the interruption, he was in no mood to accept, or entertain an visitors, especially since he had planned to sleep, never mind the fact that it was still barely past eight and therefore, still quite early.

He made his way towards the front door nonetheless, not taking the time to slip into a shirt since he planned to send whoever was at the door on his or her way the second he opened the door.

He felt almost stupid not to have guessed the identity of his nocturnal visitor. The scent of sterilizer that characterized his girlfriend assaulted his nostrils and alerted him to her presence, even crouched on the floor as she was, hand wrapped around a sparkling, red tomato.

She sprung up so quickly that she barely missed his chin, luckily, aware of Sakura's sporadic and spontaneous behavior, he had already moved a safe distance backwards.

Sakura's mess of pinkish hair was gathered into a bun that was just as chaotic as its owner, her blue scrubs were partially covered by a black trench coat, signalling that she had just come from the hospital. Her expression quickly melted into that of motherly concern as she took notice of his attire, or lack thereof.

"Are you crazy?" She hissed. "Why are you not dressed, in this cold? You'll get sick."

He levelled her with a stair, his silence a clear dismissal of her worry, he eyed the basket in her hands, clearly demanding an explanation.

Sakura's hand rose to the back of her head, and she gave him a sheepish smile. "Peace offering?" she extended the basket between them, holding the handle with both hands, a warm blush taking over her cheeks.

He raised an eyebrow. "You mean a bribe." He deadpanned.

Her blush deepened."Well, call it whatever you like. Are you going to leave me standing outside? It's cold."

He felt it unnecessary to point out that the hallway was air conditioned and therefore it was not, in fact cold, and he stepped out of the way to allow her entrance. The rosette slipped into the comforts of his apartment with no further ado.

He followed her, silently, into the living room, he walked past her, towards his room where he retrieved a shirt. He found her sitting on the small space on the coffee table, tomato basket perched on her lap. She stood when he returned, placing her offering on the space that she been occupying.

"You haven't been returning my calls."

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd be too busy for that." He shot back, walking into his kitchen for a glass of water, she followed him there, irritation evident on her heart shaped face.

"I know, I got a taste of my own medicine, Sasuke-kun." She sighed, and she sounded so defeated, so forlorn, that he felt a portion of his being lean towards her, prepared to offer comfort and ease her worries. "And I don't like it, I don't like it when you're angry with me. No matter how desering of that anger I am."

She took a step forward, until she was standing between his legs, leaning back against the counter as he was, and took his free hand in her much smaller one. Instinctively, he wrapped his appendage around hers, eager to protect.

"I understand that I messed up, I wasn't being fair to you, I get that." She raised her head, her green eyes shining even brighter with barely contained moisture. "But, please, can you forgive me, this time?"

She cupped his cheek. "You're everything to me. And I hate to believe that you'd think you're anything less than that."

Sasuke realized, at that moment, that he had a hidden masochistic side, because even though he knew that he could not possibly be her everything, that it was an innocent, unintentional lie made up for the sake of his mental well being, he pulled her into the cocoon of his arms, eager to comfort and be comforted. Eager to accept the false sense of security that said lie lulled him into.

In spite of coming from 'old money', so to speak, and being the leader of her own business, entirely separate and financially independent from that of her husband, Mikoto Uchiha was as dedicated a housewife as a woman could possibly be. She did her son's laundry until they were old enough to handle it on their own, ironed and folded her husband's clothes with outmost care, she did the vacuuming, the mopping, the sweeping, the dusting, and the cooking.

Sasuke was especially fond of the cooking part, among her many gifts and talents, his mother had a knack for creating culinary masterpieces out of scratch. He adorned her cooking, he adored her, which was why he made it a point to always come whenever she called to invite him for dinner.

When she called to invite him, and Sakura, for dinner on Saturday, a smile of irony lifted the corner of his mouth. He replied in the positive anyway, in spite of knowing, deep down, that he was setting her up, and himself, for disappointment.

She called him half an hour before dinner time to tell him that he should go ahead and go without her, that she would catch up. Fifteen minutes into the dinner she called with apologies tumbling out of her mouth.

"I am so, so sorry, Sasuke-kun, please don't be mad." She pleaded over the phone, she sounded tired, and exhausted, and it seemed like pandemonium was exploding around her.

But he didn't care, damnit.

She said that she would come. "Sakura," He started, "You said that you were free."

"I know." She replied, her tone coming dangerously close to a whine. "But the ER is swarmed, and I-"

He couldn't hear anymore, he was sick, and tired of coming in second to a damn building, for god's sake. The hospital this, the ER that. Would it be so hard, so impossible, for her to put her responsibilities aside for two possibly three hours?

It was Konoha General, the largest hospital in the country, it had to have an arsenal of doctors, many of them trauma surgeons such as herself, surgeons that could take over for her when it was not even her shift to begin with.

He returned to the dining room to be met with the questioning expressions of his parents and brother, and sister-in-law, Conan.

"She's not coming in." It took tremendous control to keep the bite out of his tone, has family was innocent, it was Sakura that he was angry with, he had no right to take it out on them. "She sends her regards and apologies, but the hospital," He swallowed."Needs her."

Her mother gifted him with a brilliant smile, reaching for his father's dish to serve him. "Well, that's understandable. Another time, then." She looked at him. "Come sit down, dinner is only getting colder."

Sasuke complied with his mother's instructions, he could feel his temperature rising, he took his seat beside Conan, who, almost as if she were aware of his emotional state, covered his hand with her own, squeezing lightly.

"She's a doctor, Sasuke." She whispered so no one could hear but him.

In a split second, he felt his anger directed towards his sister-in-law, and anyone who reminded him of his girlfriend's profession in a bid to urge him to be understanding and considerate.

He stood abruptly. "I'm going," He cleared his throat conscious of the four pairs of eyes staring, wide at him. "I'm going out for some air."

"Sasuke," His mother called after him. "What about your dinner?"

"I've lost my appetite."

Sakura, bless her, did not call back. He did not trust himself to speak to her, the reason that he hang up in the first place was to avoid saying things that he might regret. As it was, a little voice whispered in his ear, fueling his rage, telling him that he didn't need this drama in his life.

This was the reason that he never did relationships before he met Sakura, his encounters with the other sex had been just that, encounters, brief and to the point, he didn't like the dependency that came hand in hand with relationships.

But Sakura had seemed worth it, her company, to be with her, made him want to change for her, to adapt to her way of life and to adapt to the alterations that she made his.

Clearly, she wasn't prepared to do the same.

They ran into each other four days later in the café they usually frequented. Literally. He was just coming in as she was leaving. She glanced up him, her hesitancy obvious. She smiled weakly. "Hey, I thought you'd never come."

So they hadn't figuratively ran into each other, after all. She was there, waiting for him. He thought it childish to point out that Karma was, indeed, a bitch.

"Can I buy you some coffee?" He could tell that she knew that she was walking on eggshells with him, her timidity was obvious in the way that she reached for an errant, rose curl, in the way that her index finger twirled with the lock, and in the way that her apple green eyes were trained on his chin, rather than his eyes.

He nodded his agreement, and motioned inside. They took their seats at their usual table, and ordered their usual, black coffee for him, and a mocha with strawberry crepe for her. It was just like her to substitute lunch with a sugary treat, and he had never been one to take lunch in the first place.

Their orders had just been placed in front of them when she spoke up, her hand went up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear, another sign of hesitancy. "You've been avoiding me."

There was no accusation in her tone, she was simply acknowledging something which they both knew to be true. "Aa."

She laughed nervously. "You're back to monosyllabic sounds, not a good sign, surely." She took a sip of her beverage, then smiled at him. "May I ask why?"

He raised an eyebrow at her, as if asking her, are you really going to pretend that nothing happened? He took a sip of his own steaming coffee, the beverage was hot and sent a scorching trail down his chest, but he liked that feeling, it snapped him out of the daze that he usually was in whenever around Sakura.

"I've been thinking." He replied.

Her fork stopped mid trek to her lips, which hung open in surprise. Of course, she wasn't surprised at the fact that he had been thinking, he wasn't Naruto, she was surprised over the ramifications behind the words.

"That really doesn't sound good." She straightened in her chair, loosening her brown scarf around her neck. "Look, Sasuke-kin, I know that I haven't been fair. I know that. But I've been busy, and I have surgeries, some of them only come once in a lifetime, and I'm-"

"But that's the thing, isn't it, Sakura?" He interrupted. "It's always something or the other. It was fine at first, I was okay with it. The surgeries that come once in a lifetime, the extra hours that you had to put in. I understood all that. But these days, you're willing to blow me off, blow everything off, to treat a stray kitten with a scratched paw!"

"That's not true!" She hissed back at him, conscious of the people around them. "I love you."

"But you love medicine more. It's not your first priority, it's your only. And everyone else is supposed to step aside, well, I love you too much to hold you down."

She physically recoiled at that. "What-"

"I've never been comfortable in second place, call me selfish, but I've always aimed for first place, first or nothing at all."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

He closed his eyes. The words that he had just said left a burn deep inside his throat, and a bitter taste in his mouth, his body tensed up at the ramifications of what he had just said, every nerve, every ,muscle opposing his decision, urging him to take back the words while he still could.

But he didn't.

He stood, paid for both of their orders, in spite of her initial offer. "You're frighteningly smart, Sakura. Figure it out."

His hand lingered in a show self-abuse on her shoulder for the briefest second before he walked away, eyes on the door. He told himself that it wasn't moisture prickling at the corners of his eyes.

Everyone tried to intervene.

Ino, Sakura's childhood friend slash enemy, something they both called frenemy, and someone that he considered a friend, -though, he'd never admit it even with a gunpoint aimed at his heart- arrived at his apartment the following day, armed with his knucklehead of a best friend.

Sasuke could swear that those two were the reason that world accused all blonds and blondes of being stupid. The barrelled into his apartment, and assumed similar poses, with their arms crossed over their respective chests.

"You broke up with, Sakura-chan." Naruto accused, abandoning his patronizing pose to point an offending finger at him.

Ino pitched in. "She's practically living at the hospital, pretending that she hadn't spent the night bawling her eyes out!"

He fixed them both with a bland look. "You've said your peace." He pointed at the door. "Now, leave."

Two identical pairs of blue orbs narrowed at him. Ino took a threatening step forward, he merely raised an eyebrow at her. "I know you love her, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"What she said, bastard." Naruto added.

Ino sighed. "Look, I know that she's been busy, and kind of neglecting you, all of us really, but do you know how selfish, how unsupportive of you that is?"

"I have no interest in discussing my personal life with the two of you, so, if you two could show yourselves off, I have every intention of getting some sleep." He leveled them both with a stare that he hoped conveyed his irritation and determination. He didn't wait for them to leave, he turned around and headed towards his bedroom.

The last intervention came in the form of someone that Sasuke could not simply order to leave.

His mother arrived, dressed in a sharp, crème suit, her luscious hair gathered into a professional bun at her nape. She sat, ramrod straight, her grace and education evident in her pause. She crossed her legs and adjusted her skirt then directed her brilliant, white smile at him.

"Would you like anything to drink?"

Her smile widened. "What's going on?"

Years of experience had taught him that it was best if one did not play dumb with one's mother, for that served no purpose other than making one look dumb. "Who told you?"

She shook her head. "You and your brother will never learn, when it comes to you, I know everything." She sighed. "Now, I know that on July twenty third, twenty seven years ago, I had son whom I've raised to be an intelligent man. Now why, in heaven's name, is this intelligent man behaving so foolishly, that is a question that I'm hoping you can reply."

He swallowed. All his accomplishments, and achievements aside, Mikoto Uchiha had the keen ability of making him feel like a five year old caught with his hand wrist deep in the cookie jar. "Mom, with all due respect, what's happening between Sakura and me, is exactly that, between Sakura and me."

She scowled. "You're my son, Sasuke, your business is by extension my business."

He opened his mouth to reply, but she held one finger in the air in front of him, halting whatever he had to say. "I'm not done talking, I am your mother, you will listen to me."

He clamped his mouth shut.

"That girl has been, is, good for you. She brings out the kindness, the gentleness that I know you have in you. She's everything that you need. And she has changed you. Sakura has made a better person out of you, a person that cares about other people? You know why?" She raised a challenging, black eyebrow. "Because she cares." Her eyes, the same shade of black as his, softened.

"That was the whole reason you fell in love with her, Sasuke."

He bowed his head, feeling like that kid with cookie crumbs tumbling off of his lips, properly chastised and remorseful.

"Don't you think that it's a bit hypocritical for you to abandon her for the very same reason that were drawn to her in the first place?"

"I love her, yes, I love the Sakura the woman, not the doctor who seems to have taken over her completely." Briefly, he marveled at the bond that connected him to his mother, the only person on earth that could make him tear down his boundaries, to the very last one, and shamelessly bare his soul, flaws and all.

"Men!" She exclaimed. "You are willing to accept that women are a collage of complex entities, but will not admit to the fact that these entities are part of a whole, you can't pick the woman you love apart and keep the pieces that you like and discard the rest." She huffed. "Do you think that you are perfect? If you do, then I suggest you leave the comforts of dreamland, and step into reality my son, because you and Sakura are just as flawed as you are perfect, perfect for each other, and flawed as individuals."

"Mom-"

"Don't 'mom' me." She interrupted. "For god's sake, must I teach you the concept of push and pull?" Mikoto paused, drew in a breath, as if her outburst had drained some of her energy. Slowly, a smile claimed her bow shaped lips. "I'm sorry for bursting out like that."

Because Mikoto was all that was elegant and graceful, she made it a rule to never raise her voice, or take any tone that was above casual and serene. "I don't like talking to you this way, I love you, you know that, but so does Sakura. And if she neglects you," She ignored his horrified expression, as horrified as Sasuke could look, that crossed his face at her choice of words and continued. "Then that's just because that's the way life is. You've neglected me more times that I can count because of work, did I break up with you?"

His mother painted such an absurd picture that it was all he could do not to laugh. Still, his lips twitched, and his mother's smile widened in response.

"You're trying not to smile, I can see it!"

Sasuke finally gave in to the force tugging his lips upwards and shook his head. "Act your age."

A full out laugh tumbled past his mother's lips. "Coming out as childish is a fair price to pay if it means seeing you smile." Just like that, the air grew serious around them, once more. "You don't smile enough these days, in fact," She sighed. "Prior to meeting Sakura, to being with her, it seemed like you never smiled. No, don't frown." She added when she noticed the fall of his expressions.

"Let's try this, would you care for Sakura, would you love her as much as you do, if she were an entirely different kind of person? Hypothetically speaking, were she to abandon a sick child, a bleeding man, or a dying-"

"I know what you're getting at, mom." He cut her off. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Sakura, she's not doing this because she has to, because she has the duty to the sick, she does it because she wants to, because she rather spend eight hours bent over an operating table, elbow deep in some poor human beings abdomen than spend time with me! And If I can't convince her not to, then I won't make it harder for her."

"But can't you see what a great person she is for it? Do you think that she loves you less? Sasuke, if you do, then I've overestimated your intelligence."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Mom, there's no reason-"

"There's every reason, Sasuke. You have to understand this, Sakura's love for medicine is not Sakura, it is simply part of the person that loves you so much, entirely separate and on a whole other level from her feelings for you. I love Sakura, much like the daughter I never had, but if you think that I'm doing this completely for her, then you are sadly mistaken."

The Uchiha matriarch stood, and smoothed the wrinkles out of her skirt and jacket. "I'm doing this for you." She shook her head one last time at him before she started her trek towards the door.

Out of their own volition, his feet carried him towards the door. He opened the door for her, like she raised him to do.

She gave him one last look, then reached into her purse. She pulled out a neat, elegant envelope, she handed him to it, then cupped his cheek. "She's being honoured for the very same reasons that you're shunning her."

"Don't be an idiot. Please."

It was only when Sasuke failed to get any work done over the expanse of the following three hours that he reached for the neat, crème envelope. He fingered the lip then pulled out a card.

You are invited to attend the awarding ceremony of Dr. Haruno Sakura, for her astonishing, and humanitarian services.

The classy, white envelope remained in the safe haven of his bedside table drawer until the day of the ceremony.

Sasuke, the confident and self-assured tycoon, had never known the meaning of the word turmoil until that day. His mother's words played out in his head constantly, robbing him of both his ability to sleep and think of anything other than Sakura for the two days that followed.

On one hand, he stood behind the decision that he made, he was no rag doll, and he would never allow any woman, no matter how much he loved her, to render him into one, but on the other hand he did love Sakura, immensely.

But the real question that remained, was that love enough for him to go back to her? To continue with her in spite of, well, everything?

Another part of him told him that he was being uncharacteristically and overly emotional, looking too far into things, or the lack of a better word an attention whore.

It was really an unconscious decision on his part to dress into a sharp, black tuxedo, and head armed with the invitation to the hall that would hold the ceremony. The same place that they met.

All he knew was that leaving Sakura was not an option, because over the past few days, he had gotten a taste of what it was like to be without her, and he didn't like it, but he still wasn't willing to go on as they were, which put him at an impasse that only could be resolved between the two of them, face to face.

He had nothing to say to her, at least, nothing that he prepared, but he still got into his car and drove to the familiar reception hall .

The number of people that turned out for the ceremony made his mind go blank for a few seconds, when his ability to think returned, he found himself wondering, were all this people really here to award Sakura? Because of the work that she did at the clinic?

Walking through the hallway, he was sent on an involuntary trip down memory lane. He and Sakura had met on this very same hall, they had struck up conversation there and were instantly drawn to each other.

His mind started to play wicked tricks on him, the music, the walls, the paintings decorating said walls changed into a setting that he had seen a little under two years ago. He stopped at the entrance of the reception hall, green met black and his every atom of oxygen escaped his lips. She was standing at the podium, seemingly having already accepted her award, he saw her in the soft, crème dress that she had worn the day they met, instead of the elegant marine blue gown that she wore today.

The rosette stopped talking for a few seconds, staring across the room at him, from the corner of his eye, he spotted his mother sending a smile his way. The rosette cleared her throat then continued talking about why the clinic was an important and a necessary addition to Konoha General.

That almost made him laugh, here she was accepting an award, for her, to honor her, and she was still trying to convince people that they needed to donate, almost as if the two years between the day they met, and present day had never happened.

Sakura had not changed, on bit. And why should she? Why should he hate her for the person that he'd thought she'd become when she had remained the same person that he had fallen in love with.

The comparison that he made all those years ago came back to him, she was like the smell of fresh paint. She was bad for him, she could destroy him, harm him, but he couldn't get enough of her.

Smiling at her as their eyes met again, he mouthed a congratulation. He could have sworn that he was a tear glisten as she smiled back at him.