Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I wish I do but I don't.

Habits

-Sai-

Sakura thinks that he stole her first kiss, that he had taken advantage of her. Sai had to laugh whenever she told this story to anyone who asked. This was because he didn't steal her first kiss. In actuality, Sakura stole his first kiss. She just didn't know it.

It happened while they were on a mission together. It was an Akatsuki-related mission. For some reason, Tsunade didn't want Naruto to be involved, so she sent them both instead. During two-men missions, Sai and Sakura usually shared a tent since it made packing easier and faster when they woke up in the morning. If an enemy had somehow found their camp, they could easily just leave the tent behind and there wouldn't be a problem in their budget; shinobis didn't earn much money. The only problem was though, the tent was small and even if the two were in separate, individual sleeping bags, if they rolled around too much, they could end up sleeping next to each other. That was exactly what happened.

Sai was a light sleeper so when he felt something press into him, his eyes immediately flew open. To his surprise, a fair, slender arm was draped across his chest and a mass of pink lay on his shoulder. A nice vanilla scent met his nostrils. For some apparent reason, Sai's face started getting warm and his heart began to beat faster than normal. This has never happened before.

Slowly, the dark-haired artist tried to disentangle himself from Sakura's sleeping form but surprisingly, her grip on him was strong.

"Sa… Sasuke…"

Sai froze. Did she awaken and thought he was the Uchiha?

But no, she was still asleep. However, there was a new look on her face. Sai brought his face closer to hers, inspecting this new emotion. It looked like she was longing for something, pained by something, broken by something. Although Sai tried hard, he still couldn't understand why Sakura clung to the Uchiha despite his betrayal. Sai had begun to understand bonds, not fully but getting there. But he still wondered why Sakura and Naruto did their best to maintain this bond with the traitor even though they got hurt a lot in the process.

While trying to figure out this new emotion, Sai never noticed that Sakura had snuggled closer to him and the next thing he knew, her lips were only a few centimeters away. Again, heat rushed to his face. But before he could pull away, Sakura had leaned forward and their lips met. Shocked, Sai lay frozen as his pink-haired teammate kissed him. Sai often wondered if her lips were indeed as soft as they looked, and at that moment, he found out that yes, they were.

When Sakura pulled away and rolled to her other side, Sai suddenly felt empty. He didn't know why he had the sudden urge to wrap his arms around her and hold her close to him. He wanted to breathe in that sweet vanilla scent. But Sai didn't. He simply watched her back until promptly falling asleep himself.

The next morning, Sakura went about her usual, gleeful business, not noticing Sai's looks of confusion.

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After that incident, whenever he and Sakura were sent on a mission together, Sai would often find his pink-haired teammate draped all over him. It had become such a habit for Sakura to wrap an arm around him with her head on the crook of his neck, and a leg slung across his. She never seemed to remember what she did the night before since she often rolled away from him some time during the night.

Sai began to look forward to these missions, to be more specific, the nights. He would watch Sakura sleep until she rolled away from him.

When the ex-root member asked him about a certain emotion, Kakashi lent the artist one of his Icha Icha Paradise books.

"I think you'll find some answers somewhere there," the masked jounin had said.

So while he and Sakura were walking home together and she was talking on and on about one thing or another, he remembered this exact same scene in the book. Knowing Sakura's immense strength, he was a bit reluctant at first. But then, he decided to give it a shot. So he kissed her. And ended up flying against a tree.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she screamed at him.

Sai rubbed his jaw and blinked at her. He got up from the ground, dusted his clothes, and fake-smiled at her. "You were talking too much."

Sakura crossed her arms, red in the face. "So?"

He never noticed how cute she was when she was angry. "It was annoying."

She glared at him. "Why did you have to kiss me?"

He shrugged. "Kakashi-senpai lent me one of his books and the female character wouldn't stop talking so the male character kissed her and she shut up." He tilted his head to the side curiously, wondering why she was so affected. "What's wrong, Ugly?"

She shakily pointed a finger at him. "You stole my first kiss!" she accused.

Actually, you stole mine, he thought, but didn't say aloud.

"And the nerve you have of reading those ridiculous perverted books! Have you no shame?"

Indeed, Sai did have shame. He never finished the book. It didn't make much sense to him and he didn't find the answers he was looking for. But Sakura she didn't have to know that. So he simply shrugged and began to walk away. This time, his smile was genuine.

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Sai discovered that he liked seeing her turn red at his expense. He didn't even mind her yelling at him. He never kissed her on the lips again though. He'll save that for another time. However, after reading in a book that kisses are not only signs of affections, they are also signs to show how happy and proud you are of a person, he continued to give her kisses whenever she did something amazing.

Some days after he kissed her, Team Kakashi was out training. When she defeated him in a taijutsu battle, he was impressed. She had smirked at him before flipping her pink hair behind her shoulders. All he could do was stare open-mouthed at her. After Naruto, Kakashi, and Yamato left, he took her hand and kissed the top of it.

"Get a life!" she yelled, red-faced.

He continued to smile.

On their way home from another successful mission, Team Kakashi decided to rest and the two were sent to get water for the camp. While filling the water bottles, Sai took her hand and kissed her on the cheek. She slapped him.

"I dare you to do that again!" she screamed.

Sai shrugged, still smiling. "Okay." He kissed her other cheek.

She chucked one of the half-full canteens at him. It hit the side of the head and gave him a bruise. But despite his throbbing forehead, Sai continued to smile.

When they returned to camp, him still smiling and her scowling, Naruto asked what happened to his head. Before Sai could reply, Sakura said, "He was being a jerk."

Both Naruto and Sakura gave him death glares the rest of the night while Kakashi and Yamato looked on, sweat drops on their heads.

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Tsunade sent them on a two-men mission for the first time since Sai kissed Sakura. When he met his teammate at the gates of Konoha, he noticed that she looked rather nervous, as if someone was about to attack her. He wondered what was wrong and got a little worried. But on the other hand, the dark-haired artist was looking forward to the trip. They hadn't had one in months and he missed her late-night hugs already.

The first night of their mission, he remembered that one of his books said that women are impressed with men who could cook. Sai wanted to impress Sakura so he offered to cook that night. She looked surprised but gave him the "okay."

He waited for her to take the first bite.

How is it?" he asked, anticipating.

She smiled faintly and took another bite. "It's good, Sai. Not perfect, but good enough."

His heart swelled at the praise the pink-haired kunoichi gave him. He took a bite and wanted to gag. It tasted terrible! But he maintained his neutral face. If Sakura liked it, then he would have to like it. The dark-haired artist took a mental note to go to the library and take out some cook books.

After setting up their sleeping bags, he kissed her cheek and said, "Good night, Ugly."

He expected a punch, a slap, some cursing. However, when she managed a, "Good night, Sai," he was caught off-guard. And as usual, he simply smiled.

That night, inside his sleeping bag and feigning sleep, he waited. Soon enough, he felt Sakura's arm snaking around his waist and her head settling itself in the crook of his neck. Sai sighed in contentment as he breathed in her scent.

What is this feeling? Sai asked himself. Why do I feel like I must protect her at all cost? That I must make sure that she always smiled?

"S-Sasuke…"

Sai stiffened. He frowned. Why? Why was it always the Uchiha? Why never Sai? He waited. When Sakura finally untangled herself from him and turned away, Sai got up and went out into the cool night air.

He missed the smile that formed on Sakura's lips and her whisper of, "Sai…"

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Sai was surprised. After another training session, he gave Sakura a kiss on the forehead. Instead of yelling at him to leave her alone, she just smiled before walking away. She was no longer angry at him? She no longer told him to crawl under a rock and die? The shinobi was shocked at the sudden change but found that despite the fact that he liked seeing her angry, he liked seeing her smiling and laughing a lot more.

To his surprise one day, after kissing her hand after a job well done while treating Naruto, she pecked his cheek! Sakura kissed him for the first time since that night!

Sai had walked home, his mind muddled. That night, as he sketched by his apartment window, he looked out into the starry night sky and thought of Sakura. His Sakura. Before he knew it, his abstract sketch had turned into a portrait of the pink-haired kunoichi.

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They failed. After another attempt at bringing Sasuke Uchiha back to Konoha, Team Kakashi had failed once more. Sai wasn't close to Sasuke so he didn't feel any remorse at his loss. But he did feel remorse for his teammates. Naruto, Sakura, and even Kakashi were broken again. And all Sai and Yamato could do was give words of comfort that didn't help at all.

After Naruto left to find Hinata and Kakashi and Yamato went back to the Hokage tower to report to Tsunade, Sakura and Sai were left in the training fields. Sakura was staring blankly in front of her. Sai didn't know what to do, so he just sat next to her, staying quiet. After some time, he tentatively reached out and clasped her hand in his and ever so gently, stroked the top of it.

To his dismay, instead of Sakura smiling at him, assuring him that she was alright, she began to cry. Sai wanted to glomp himself. He was making it worse!

She sniffled. "Gomenasai, Sai. I don't want you to see me like this. I look pathetic."

He had a comeback ready. He was going to say, "Don't worry. You're pathetic enough already."

But he couldn't bring himself to say it. He couldn't bear to hurt her more than she already was. So instead, he made a decision.

He tilted his head to meet hers. He looked deeply into her beautiful green eyes. She wasn't ugly. She never was. She was beautiful. So very beautiful.

He leaned in and kissed her pink lips. They never lost their softness. Immediately, Sai felt a course of electricity run through him. He wanted to kiss her forever. He never wanted to let her go. However, he knew that he had to. He had no right to her. He didn't even know what this feeling was. When he pulled away, he smiled and leaned his forehead against hers.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "Everything will be alright."

He would make sure of it. The Uchiha must never hurt her again.

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Sai wasn't lying when he told Sakura he was just passing by the hospital when he remembered that her shift ended at that same time. So, he decided to wait for her. He didn't know why, but he felt that he just had to. When she came out, looking weary and tired, he smiled to himself and waved. Sakura looked surprised. Then, her face broke into a bright smile.

The dark-haired artist could feel his heart beating faster and faster at that smile.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked, coming up to him.

He shrugged. "I was on my way home when I happened to pass by. I knew your shift was almost over anyway so I might as well walk you home. It's getting pretty dark."

"I see. Well, I'll have you know, I'm used to walking home by myself." She giggled. "But I guess some company is nice. Thanks Sai."

"Hn." Secretly, he was pleased that she welcomed his presence.

"Now, since you're here, I might as well tell you all about my day."

As Sakura narrated the happenings of her day, Sai listened and for the first time, he didn't interrupt her. He decided that he liked listening to her. Her voice was so… the only word he could think of was melodic.

When they reached her apartment, she turned to him. "Thanks, Sai."

And to his surprise and delight, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his cheek. He couldn't say anything. Well, he could, but he didn't know what to say. Before he could muster enough courage to say something, anything, she had already closed the door. He stared at the wood before breaking into a grin. He suddenly felt lightheaded, but a good lightheaded. All he could feel was the tingle on his cheek that he didn't notice a potted plant in his way and knocked it over.

Before turning the corner towards his own apartment, Sai turned around and looked at Sakura's window, second floor, third from the left. He smiled genuinely before heading home.

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It had been months since Sakura first kissed him, the kiss that she did not recall because her subconscious was in dreamland, the kiss that Sai remembered clear as day because that was the moment that changed the way he saw his pink-haired teammate. He was very confused. What were this feelings? He spent long hours reading about every possible emotion and all gave him the same conclusion: love.

But Sai didn't know love. He didn't understand it. Of all the emotions he had tried to master since abandoning his Root ways, love was the hardest comprehend. Yamato once told him that the reason Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi never gave up on Sasuke was because they loved him. Shizune told him that the reason why Tsunade-godaime endured the hated paperwork as Hokage was because she loved the village and its people. Sakura told him that the reason why he suffered so much after his brother's death was because Sai loved him. But how was it possible? How was it possible for a person to love someone who had betrayed him? How was it possible for a person to love people she probably had never met before? How was it possible for a person who was trained not to feel still feel something after the loss of someone close to him? And how was it possible for a person to love someone who punched him in the face the first time they met? Sai did not understand love at all.

While he walked Sakura home from the hospital one day, he didn't know why, but he took her hand. Immediately, she stopped talking, a confused look on her face.

"Why did you stop?" he asked her.

"Um… I forgot what happened next."

"Ah, I see."

As they walked together in silence, hand-in-hand, Sai decided to ask her about love. Maybe she could give him the answers he had been looking for. After all, he felt this emotion towards her so she was the best source.

"Sakura." It felt so good to say her name. "May I ask a question?'

"Um… Sure. What is it?"

He stopped and gestured to a nearby bench. As they sat down, he saw a look flash in her face. A look of realization and hurt.

"Did I ever mention that this was the exact spot I told Sasuke that I loved him? That was also the night he betrayed the village."

Sai wanted to beat himself up. He didn't know that. If he did then he wouldn't have asked her to sit at this particular bench. "Oh?"

She nodded. "Yeah. And I fell asleep right on this bench." She chuckled softly, patting the bench. "It's funny. Usually, I could never sit on this bench without breaking down. Now, however, it feels different." She beamed at him, pink tints on her cheeks. "Maybe it's because I'm with you."

The ex-Root betrayed no emotion, even though inside, he was breaking. "Do you still love him?"

She sighed. "True love means letting that person go if you feel that it's the best not only for him, but also for you. I love Sasuke and I would never give up in returning home; that's my duty as his friend and teammate."

Sai's eyes began to burn. Why was he feeling so… Depressed?

"But…"

At this, he turned his head to her. Sakura's attention was on the starry sky.

"I'm no longer in love with him. That's why, I'm letting go of my feelings for him. It hurts, but it's for the best."

He now felt more free, more elated. She no longer loved the Uchiha! She was no longer pining for a love that could never be returned! But then… Where did that leave Sai?

"What's it like to fall in love?" he whispered.

His Cherry Blossom blushed as she brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Um… Well… it's when you care about somebody so much that you can't imagine life without that person. This person can be considered your life as well…"

Sai wanted to be with her always. He would never leave her like the Uchiha did.

"…You can't bear to see them sad and hurt and when they are sad and hurt, you will do anything just to see them smile and laugh again. Usually, you want the pain they feel to transfer to you…"

Sai didn't like seeing Sakura upset. In fact, he hated seeing her upset, it just wasn't her. Sai wanted her to always smile, to always be happy. While she was pining over Sasuke, Sai kept wishing that he would feel the hurt instead, not Sakura.

"… It also means sacrificing everything for that person, your happiness even your own life."

Sai looked at her. He would do anything for her. He would protect her at all cost. She was his Cherry Blossom and he would die before he could allow her to wilt.

Sakura gave him a curious look which turned mischievous. "Why do you ask? Are you in love, Sai?"

He chuckled, happily. "Yes, I believe I am, now that you've made it clear to me."

"Oh really?" She flashed him a smile. "Who is she?"

Sai couldn't help but smile as well, a real smile, a happy smile. "I believe I am in love with you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura gaped at him, shocked. Sai was much too happy to notice her surprise. Everything was clear to him now. He loved her. He was in love with her. He wanted to be with her, he wanted to protect her, he wanted to see her smile always, he wanted to be the reason she smiled, he wanted to be a significant part of her life. He loved her.

Before he knew it, Sakura was in his arms, kissing him fervently. He stiffened, his mind going blank as to what to do. Finally, instinct took over. His arms found their way around her waist as he returned the kiss with much gusto.

When she pulled away, her smile was wide. "Aishiteru, Sai-kun," she whispered in his ear.

How good it felt to hear his name spoken with so much affection, so much love. She loved him! Sakura Haruno loved him!

He rewarded her with another true smile, a smile just for her. He caressed her cheek, her soft skin sending bouts of electricity throughout his body. "Aishiteru, Sakura-chan."

And with that, he kissed her once more.

After finalizing their relationship and assuring Naruto that they were indeed in love, Sai found out that even when she wasn't asleep, Sakura still loved to cuddle. And so, mission or no mission, he and Sakura cuddled whenever they could. Sai loved it. And he loved her.