"Oh my goodness," Sakura said, wiping the tears flowing down her cheeks and attempting to stop the oncoming flow. It was so embarrassing, crying in front of Sasuke— who was totally unaffected by the movie, lucky him— but she couldn't help herself.

Sasuke fell into step beside her and casually handed her a handkerchief (guys still carry those around?) and said gruffly, "Why do girls insist on making themselves cry by watching movies like that?"

"It's a sweet love story," Sakura said in response, still wiping her cheeks. "About how anybody can fall in love, even with something as terrible as cancer. It's so heartwarming, you know?"

"Either way, the girl knew that her time wouldn't be guaranteed forever, and the guy realized that for himself towards the end of the film. If you're already at that high of a risk to fall into the hands of death, why would you fall in love?" Sasuke said, strolling to his car and opening the door for Sakura. She'd insisted on taking a cab (seeing as Yamanaka dropped her off) but it was dark outside and Sasuke refused to let her. In a cab or not, nighttime New York wasn't exactly safe for pretty girls like her, alone.

Sakura's eyes narrowed at his words, and immediately Sasuke knew that he'd provoked her to start up a debate. The action hit him chest with nostalgia— back in their high school days and even in their shared classes in university, Sakura was the only who rose to a challenge he unwittingly put out. She was undeniably intelligent, snarky when need be, and always put up a good fight.

"Why wouldn't you?" Sakura fired back, green eyes flashing— she looked sexy as hell when she was fired up, Sasuke realized, just like in the old days— but still giving him a sweet smile when she sat down in his Volvo and he closed the door.

"Because," he said casually, sitting into the driver's seat and turning on the ignition, "you're taking a huge risk with someone who may die anytime, and you're bound to suffer from tremendous heartbreak afterwards. And the guy, as well; if you're going to die soon, why won't you play it safe and just be friends? You're just going to be living your last moments in bitter hate because of your condition."

Sakura shrugged. "I suppose you do have a point, but—" she turned and looked at him, dead in the eye, and Sasuke felt his heartbeat stutter, "Wouldn't you take that risk? Wouldn't you want to live your last moments knowing what true love felt like— having somebody be in love with you as much as you were with them?"

Her words hung in the air, and after a brief period of silence, Sasuke murmured lowly, "You do have a point," he said, and he wanted to continue when his cellphone rang, cutting off whatever he was going to say next. Sasuke answered using his Bluetooth.

"Hello?" He said, and his mother's soothing voice answered from the other end.

"Sasuke? Sweetie, are you going to be home soon? Your father just arrived home; did you pick up the groceries yet?"

Sasuke felt his skin blanch as he remembered Naruto's messy handwritten grocery list that Sasuke was supposed to pick up for his family dinner. It'd completely slipped his mind due to his little date with Sakura…

"Shit," he cursed. "Sorry, mother, I'll be home shortly."

"Are you sure? I can send your father out if you're busy. Itachi isn't home yet."

"No, it's okay. Father needs his rest. I'll be there soon."

"You're such a good boy. Bye honey!" Click.

Sakura sat in awkward silence. "So, um, I could catch a cab. You really don't have to drop me off, you know."

"No," Sasuke said. "No, I'll just drop you off and then go to the grocery store…" He fumbled in his pocket for his phone, remembering the picture of the grocery list.

"Here," Sakura said suddenly, helping him grab his phone and zooming into the picture. "Why don't I go with you? I doubt you can even read Naruto's handwriting, anyhow," she added, emerald eyes sparkling with laughter.

Sasuke looked at the pretty girl sitting beside him and sighed. "Alright," he finally said, knowing full well Sakura would insist until he agreed with her. Turning around the car, he headed towards the grocery store with the most wonderful girl in the world, and he couldn't help feeling like he was a husband.

-x-

Mikoto Uchiha prided herself in having close relationships with her sons. She was a pleasant, sweet woman, who knew anything and everything about her sons. She was their mother, after all— Itachi and Sasuke taught her well in the art of facial expressions, tones, and body language. To strangers, her boys were seen as cold, indifferent— but she knew her boys better than anyone. So when her youngest child came home, she immediately detected that something was off with her boy. His normally pale face was slightly flushed, as if embarrassed but happy about something, and his usually stoic expression was brightened with a faint smirk. In his hands he carried four bags of groceries, which she intercepted and brought to the kitchen counter.

"Sasuke," Mikoto said, her back towards her son as she organized the groceries, "did something happen today? You seem awfully content." When her son didn't answer, Mikoto turned. "Why, are you ignoring your mother—" she said teasingly, but stopped when she saw a figure standing behind her son. A beautiful girl, with pale pink hair and vibrant green eyes, stood shyly behind her embarrassed son. In the girl's hands were two additional bags of groceries, which Mikoto quickly grabbed. A smile began creeping onto her face as her eyes sparkled with knowledge only a mother would know.

"Oh, I'm sorry dear! I didn't see you there," Mikoto said. "Come in, come in." The girl started to protest, obviously embarrassed, but if Mikoto Uchiha was anything she was persistent— and it didn't take long for her to convince the lovely girl her son had brought along to stay frothier family dinner. Normally, she would not invite any outsider, regardless of who they were, to their Uchiha family dinner. But this girl was different— Mikoto's intuition told her that this girl was unique, nothing like she'd ever seen before. It wasn't just the pink hair and bright eyes— it was the elegant way this girl seemed to hold herself, the calming atmosphere that vibrated off her posture, her smile.

Not to mention Sasuke. Mikoto could barely contain her happiness. Her son had never brought anyone with him, with the exception of his few best friends, and the simple fact that he'd brought a female home made Mikoto very happy. Her youngest son was a workaholic, and didn't get out often— but this girl seemed like a breath of fresh air that her son desperately needed. Her pale pink hair and eyes reminded sparked a faint memory in Mikoto's mind; come to think of it, the girl looked awfully familiar.

"Sasuke, dear," Mikoto said, gesturing to her flustered son, "why don't you see what your father is up to? I think he's upstairs." Nodding obediently, Sasuke left the scene and Mikoto turned to the quiet girl. "I don't think I've given you a proper introduction, but my name is Mikoto Uchiha," she said pleasantly, an easy smile curving on her pale face. "Feel free to call me Mikoto. And your name is...?"

"I'm Sakura Haruno," the girl responded politely, bowing. Mikoto's smile grew wider, recognizing her name. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Mikoto laughed. "Oh no, the pleasure is all mine. Why don't you take a seat while I get dinner ready? My oldest son should be home soon so I better get ready."

"Actually," Sakura said, rolling up her sleeves. "I'd love to help, if you don't mind." Mikoto shook her head, taken aback by the politeness of this girl, and not willing to make a guest work in her home but the rosette insisted. The Uchiha lady soon caved and led Sakura to the kitchen. Inwardly, she felt content; while she loved her boys very much, they were always too busy and not exactly the most talented people in the kitchen (yes, there was a flaw to the Uchiha brothers!) and having a girl around felt like she had a daughter (which, she might add, she'd always wanted). While Sakura started chopping and mincing vegetables in preparation for the dinner, Mikoto decided to struck up a conversation with the pleasant girl.

"So, Sakura," she said, "if you don't mind me asking, how do you know Sasuke?"

A faint blush dusted Sakura's pale cheeks as she replied, "We went to high school together. He was in my biology and physics class and we were lab partners. we went to Konoha University together, but were in different faculties so we didn't have many classes together." The corner of Mikoto's mouth tilted upwards as she confirmed her memory.

Standing before her was the same girl her youngest boy had a crush on for years. Although Sasuke had never mentioned her name in their house, Mikoto just knew- she remembered him mumbling about 'that annoying pinkie, who does she think she is?' throughout his four years at Konoha Academy; getting into an argument with Kiba because the boy had asked 'the annoying pink girl' out on a date; and finally, she remembered how on prom night Sasuke had changed into one of Itachi's old suits, bought a corsage, and drove to the hospital (Itachi told her afterwards) because 'of course that annoying girl has to go and shatter her damn ribcage during prom'. He'd been especially huffy that day, Mikoto recalled, but she knew it was a facade her son had.

This was the same girl that somehow managed to get under her son's skin, who managed to somehow break down the cautious barrier Sasuke hid himself in— and this was the same girl who managed to get her son to care for her. She remembered Sasuke's high school graduation— Sakura Haruno had been the captain of multiple sports teams, the vice president of the school, the school valedictorian, and she earned a massive pre-med scholarship to the prestigious Konoha University. She was popular amongst her friends at high school— and that night, if she recalled properly, her boy had eyes for no one but Sakura Haruno.

"How did you ever manage to get my son out of that office of his? He's usually so busy with work he barely has time for anyone," Mikoto brought up.

"Oh," Sakura said, laughing, "I sort've... didn't give him an option. I called him and invited him out to a movie but I didn't actually think he's come. It's nice having him around though," she said, cheeks pink, "I haven't seen him in so long. It was nice seeing him again."

Mikoto smiled. This girl did have power over her son— had it been anyone else, Sasuke would never have given up a day of work to go see a movie. "Well I must thank you," she said. "You don't know how hard I've tried to get that boy out. He works too much." She met the girl's surprised gaze with a smile that promised acceptance and turned back to her cooking.

-x-

Sasuke was practically squirming as he watched his father's eyes rake over Sakura's porcelain face, a look in his eyes that told Sasuke that his father was observing the girl. The rosette was sitting beside him, keeping a pleasant conversation with his mother— who appeared to be very fond of the pink-haired girl, he might add— and Itachi was watching the scene before him with clear amusement in his dark eyes.

The youngest Uchiha nearly jumped as Fugaku Uchiha cleared his throat, rumbling in a deep baritone voice, "The food is delicious."

"Thank you, dear," Sasuke's mother replied, her happy obsidian eyes flickering to his father. "Sakura here helped me with dinner!"

"Did she," Fugaku started, and Sasuke gulped— here comes the interrogation, he thought. His father was beyond shocked (not that it showed much on his face) when he found out that they were going to be having a guest at their tradition family dinner. He wasn't angry, really— but more curious. Sasuke knew his father was a man who liked to know the person he was dealing with; being a businessman his whole life, it came as second nature for him. "Your name was Sakura Haruno, you said?"

Sakura placed her fork down gently as she looked at Sasuke's father in the eye. "Yes," she responded politely, a pretty smile brightening her features.

"And you went to school with Sasuke?"

"I did."

Fugaku made a sound of acknowledgement, and Sasuke could practically hear the wheel's turning in his father's mind. It wasn't long before Fugaku posed another question to the girl, "Would you happen to be the same girl that beat out my son for valedictorian?"

"Uh," Sakura said, bright red dusting her cheeks, "I was." She turned and gave a Sasuke a look of awkward embarrassment. The entire table fell into silence as a brief emotion flickered across Fugaku's normally stern features— was that... amusement?

Sasuke didn't know what to say, but he didn't want his father to make Sakura feel more awkward than she already did at the moment, so he decided to speak up and break the silence at the dinner table, "Well— "

"You must be the very smart girl my son always talks about," Fugaku said, looking at Sakura with something between amusement and acceptance. "When he was in his studies, he would often come home and talk about a girl who beat him out on all of his studies. That's you, isn't it?"

At Sakura's nod, Mikoto also decided to speak up. "Yes, Sasuke talked about you all the time. You two were quite close, weren't you?"

Now, Sasuke was a sophisticated man who could handle the toughest business deals without breaking a sweat. He was known for being a stoic, emotionless CEO. He could handle a lot of things, but at this very moment...

...he wanted to crawl under the table and die of embarrassment. How could his parents betray him like this? Telling Sakura his deepest secrets— how he constantly talked about her— he couldn't even lie because it was true.

How horrifying. She'd never let him live it down.

Sasuke nearly gave a sigh of relief when Itachi spoke up, noticing the alarmed look in Sasuke's panicked orbs. Bless his older brother for always coming to the rescue— without Itachi, there were so many things that Sasuke wouldn't have been able to do.

"I also heard Sakura here is a doctor at the hospital," Itachi said smoothly, snatching the attention of the Uchiha parents. "Was it a paediatric surgeon, or something else?"

"Cardiothoracic surgery," Sakura said.

"Surgery? In your twenties? " Fugaku said, clearly impressed. Mikoto murmured in awe. "A lot of females in this society don't quite like the time commitment to the OR. How do you find time for this?"

At this one, simple question, Sasuke saw Sakura's vibrant emerald eyes light up with something akin to passion as she gushed, "Oh, I don't mind it at all! I love it," she said, smiling from ear to ear. "The feeling of saving someone's life— the ability to change someone's life, to help them become better— it's art. It's the life I want. I couldn't be happier in the OR. That's my sanctuary," she added, slightly embarrassed.

Sasuke watched in amazement as his father began opening up to the petite rosette sitting beside him. It was a sign that Fugaku accepted this girl— and his father was not an easy one to win over. But somehow, just by one visit and a few questions, Fugaku, Mikoto and Sakura became immersed in a talk about health and society and fund— almost as if they knew each other well, as if they were a family. Sasuke could barely contain his grin as he took in the view before him: the first and only girl he'd ever have feeling for was sitting at his dinner table, talking to his parents; his normally closed off father, contently chatting with Sakura with ease; and his mother, face faintly red from smiling from uncontainable happiness.

Dark eyes shifted to his older brother, who was also watching the scene before him with amused eyes. Their eyes met, and as the corner of Itachi's mouth lifted up, Sasuke knew his brother was pleased.

-x-

He avoided her for two weeks after this. Not in the "I-won't-talk-to-you" way; in fact, they'd been talking and texting each other every day since the Uchiha dinner date— but he never went to see her, knowing full well she was busy.

It wasn't that anything went wrong— quite the opposite, really. His parents were enthused with the pink-haired girl; his mother even went as far to say, over the phone one day, "Put a ring on that girl, Sasuke. She's precious. I want her as my daughter." His father— his father!— added in, "You won't find a girl like that anywhere." Even Itachi came by his office last Thursday, asking if he needed a break to go see Sakura. Naruto, his idiot of a best friend, was ecstatic at Sasuke's successful date.

"I'm so proud of you, teme! You can't do any better than Sakura-chan!" He'd said. "But," his cerulean eyes darkened, "if you hurt her, I will hurt you."

Sasuke responded with something along the lines of, "You won't be the only one."

-x-

It wasn't an uneventful two weeks without her, Sasuke mused, but it would've been better if she were there with him. But he had work and so did she— and he also had plans, lots and lots of plans, that didn't require her knowledge. He'd told his parents ahead of time and he'd secretly met with Sakura's parents while she was working— they'd liked him, much to his relief, and they were excited for their daughter. Sasuke recalled as his mother practically screamed in joy when he told her of his big plans, and he couldn't help but to smile, too— he hadn't seen her that happy in a while. Somehow, he'd manage to recruit the people he believed knew Sakura best— her best friend Ino Yamanaka (they'd went to high school together) and Naruto. The blonde duo was overly-enthused, ready to help in any way.

He wasn't sure just how much help they really were— their ideas completely clashed with his simple, straightforward approach— but much to Yamanaka's consistent nagging and Naruto's over confidence that they were right and he was wrong Sasuke swayed. "Cliche is the way to go," Yamanaka had said. "I would know, I'm a girl!" Noting Sasuke's discomfort, she had signed. "Fine. We won't make it too extravagant, like a flash mob or anything. It'll just be the three of us."

"Yeah, teme, listen to her! This'll be great!" Naruto had insisted.

Frankly, he didn't really care— if cliche was what it took to make the girl of his dreams happy, he would do it. He would do anything for her, really. All he truly cared about what the outcome and the look on the beautiful girl's face when he did.

-x-

"You know what to say, don't you?" Yamanaka demanded for the thousandth time. "Don't mess this up for me, you know. I've waited as long for this and you probably did."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he fingered the velvety box in his suit pocket. The words he was going to say ran in his mind, forever branded after nights of coming up with the right thing to say.

"You can do it, teme!" His idiotic best friend said, slapping him hard in the back. At his glare, Naruto simply grinned. "Make her happy, man. She deserves it."

Despite how grumpy he'd been initially at their idea, the two blondes were loyal to their word— they helped him until the very end, dealing with his frustration and his last minute doubts. Sasuke knew he was right in his choice— he'd chosen two people who loved the pink-haired girl as much as he did and he couldn't be more grateful at their efforts.

"Thank you," he said to them, his facial expression softening as he looked at the flushed face of the two excited blondes.

"No problem," Yamanaka said, a smile stretching across her features. "C'mon now, places!" Naruto grinned and gave Sasuke a thumbs up.

"It's all— " Naruto was cut off short when the door opened, revealing a confused Sakura.

-x-

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Sakura tore down the hall as her pager buzzed— emergency in OR five (her favourite room), it read. Heart failure on a trauma patient. Not focused on anything, she yelled at the nurses to move out of her way, scrubbing and throwing on her gloves and surgical mask, before stepping into—

— an empty OR room? She turned and grabbed the phone on the wall, dialling the number for the nurse's station.

"Yes, Yuki? This is Dr. Haruno. Could you please check if my surgery is in OR five? I don't think I'm in the right room."

"Oh, you're in the right room, don't worry," Yuki said in an amused tone. "Have fun!" She hung up. Sakura turned around and around in confusion. What?

There was no patient, no OR table... nothing but Sasuke, standing in the middle of the room looking more handsome in the couple of week she hadn't seen him, all dressed up in a suit. Had it been anybody, they would have seen a very stoic Uchiha— but Sakura could read traces of nervousness in the Uchiha's stance. On the walls of the OR room were bright fairy lights, and she could see red roses tucked in between each light. Before she could even say anything, like is that even allowed? Sasuke spoke up. "Hn."

"Sasuke? What's going on here?"

She watched as the dark-haired male swallowed, clearly struggling with his words. Could it be that he was sick?

"Sasuke?" she asked again, confused. Approaching him she placed a cool hand on his forehead. "Are you alright? Do you need to sit down."

"No," Sasuke said in a rushed tone. Sakura drew back, surprised. Sasuke looked tense— on edge, and he wouldn't meet her eyes. "No," he said, a lot calmer than before, but the tension didn't leave. "I'm alright."

Sakura was really confused. "Uh, okay," she said, "Well, I should probably check on where my patient is supposed to be— "

"There is no patient." Sasuke spoke clearly and loudly, but this only confused Sakura even more.

"What do you mean, 'there is no patient'," she said. "Then why am I here? And why," she added, gesturing the lights and flowers on the wall, "are there flowers in the operating room? What's going on?"

At Sasuke's lack of a response, Sakura huffed. "Look, I'll see you after. I have to get back to work." She turned, but before she could take a step she heard Sasuke blurt out three words that made her freeze.

"I love you." It was rushed, as if he'd been holding it in for quite some time, and when she turned she saw that all the tension had left his shoulders. She gaped as a furious blush began working up Sasuke's neck as he tugged on his collar absentmindedly. "I'm sorry. I, uh, I had something planned out to say, uh— "

Sasuke didn't get a chance to finish before Sakura saw her two best friends leap out from the shadows, both holding massive, sparkly signs, reading Will you marry me? in blue, black and white clouds... just like The Fault in Our Stars. She gazed in wonder as Ino flipped her sign over, revealing the standard 'OKAY?' from the movie.

She turned her attention back to Sasuke, who was now holding open a box with the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen in his hands. Tears threatened to spill over as she inquired, "You...you...?"

"Yeah," he answered, clearly flustered. He cleared his throat. "I thought the park would be a nice place, but you said the OR was your happy place, so..."

"Yes," she breathed. "Yes, yes, yes," she cried as she launched herself into his arms. She marvelled at how nice it was to have him so close to her again— and she barely noticed the glowing happiness in her best friends' faces.

After what felt like eternity, Sasuke finally loosened his grip, grasping her hand instead and removing the glove, slipping on the ring that promised her a lifetime of happiness and romantic movies and anything— absolutely anything she wanted.

Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much, but she couldn't stop. Sasuke leaned in, resting his forehead against hers, and breathed across her lips, "Okay?"

She could barely contain a shiver when she responded contently, "Okay."

Fin.


note: it's nearly 3:00 a.m. and I couldn't sleep and I'm also hungry lol...

-A