The raven-haired boy looked up at the clouds and let his thoughts wander. He thought of his teammates, and all the missions they have done and all the memories he had made over the last five years as team 7. His teammates. His friends. He thought of Naruto, the blonde-haired fox-child with whom he had competed with for the last five years. His best friend and rival who had always been a great challenge for Sasuke. He thought of Sakura, the pink-haired girl who had always obsessed over him and worshipped the ground he walked on. He always thought of her as annoying, persistent, and meddlesome. He couldn't bring himself to admit that he had feelings for her, but deep down inside, he wanted to hold her in his arms and lock lips with her and tell her he loved her. He always asked himself, did she really feel the same way about him? She always obsessed over him, but did she truly love him the way he did her? He couldn't tell her until he was absolutely sure. The girl with bubblegum hair, the girl of his dreams, the love of his life.

The sun had started to set. He had fallen asleep under the large oak tree. He stretches his arms and legs and begins to walk back into town. As he walked through the city streets, he began to wonder about Sakura. He couldn't stop thinking of her. As he let his mind wander, he stopped watching where he was walking. As he walked, he tripped on a pothole, landing face-first in the dirt road. He sat up on his knees, rubbing is scraped cheek.

"Need a hand, Sasuke-kun?"

He looked up, seeing those beautiful green eyes looking down at him. As he looked at her, he began to blush, quickly looking back down at the ground. He reaches his hand up, meeting hers. He feels her soft hand gently pulling him upward. As he stands, he stumbles, falling into her arms. The grab each other's wrists, and stand, gazing into each others eyes, and they slowly move there faces closer together. Sasuke's heart began racing, his eyes wide. Sakura was surprised, but did not back away.

And then, they locked lips in a loving embrace, just as Sasuke had imagined so many times before. Those few seconds felt like hours to the two young ninja, and when they backed away, they were both blushing a bright red color. Sasuke pulled the girl closer, and whispered in her ear.

"I love you, Sakura-chan," he said softly

"I love you too, Sasuke-kun," she replied, with love and surprise in her voice

He smiled, and as he began to release her, she held tight.

"Don't let go, I've waited a lifetime for this moment, hold me close," she urged

Sasuke held her, and gently stroked her hair. And as he held her, for the first time in over ten years, he didn't feel alone.