Chapter 3: And with some adjustments… progress

For the rest of orientation week, Sasuke and Sakura bumped into each other. He was not deliberately seeking her out, nor was she following him.

Maybe it was gravity. Sakura had been somewhat of a satellite when they were kids. No, that wasn't really accurate. Satellites orbit at a certain distance, usually geosynchronous. She did have a tendency to orbit around him, but she approached him too.

In any case, he was starting to seriously consider proposing to Sakura. He wasn't in love with her, but that wasn't really important for his ideal marriage. If he and Sakura had mutual respect and understanding, then that was enough to make it successful. He could easily see Sakura as his wife. He would come home to a delicious dinner and be greeted by their sweet, adoring children. Sakura, at times, was an annoyance but it was something he could easily tolerate. Usually, that trait would manifest itself as part of her overly caring nature. Yes, Sakura would be well suited to be his wife and mother of his future children.

As he thought about it, new plans started forming. He had to take Sakura out on a few dates to prove to her how serious he was. However, it was proving a little difficult. No matter how many hints he's dropped, Sakura was either blissfully ignorant, or pretending to be. He had to depart from his plans again. (It was never part of the plan to have to romance his future wife. Why wouldn't she just accept a marriage interview?)

Sasuke was taught to ask the parents' permission to marry their daughter. He hadn't done that yet, but he was already making plans to make himself known to them. After some time, he would make his intentions known.

This was already becoming much more complicated than it had to be. But nothing interesting was without some difficulty.

-S-

School started. He and Sakura shared several classes together. He managed to persuade Sakura to carpool with him instead of her cousin. Sakura was still saving up to buy for her own car. (He would have bought her one, but he already knew she would refuse.) She lived near him and it was more convenient for her since their schedules almost always matched. Sakura would be able to stay long hours in the library and lab without having to resort to public transportation. She gave in when he reminded her how dangerous it could be for her to travel alone at night, even with her pepper spray.

After two months of patience and not-dates, Sakura had finally agreed to go on a date with him. He was now two months behind schedule, but at least he's making progress towards his goal. Sakura need not agree to the proposal immediately. And there was no threat to their relationship.

Sakura was hesitant and nervous after confiding in him that this would be her first real date. And was he really serious about this? Because she's loved Sasuke-kun for a long time and it's always been just him. While for him, there could be plenty of other girls more suited to be his girlfriend. He could almost hear her concerns. She wasn't voicing them, but the expression on her face was enough.

He didn't mention that he wanted to skip the dating and boyfriend-girlfriend phase. Lately, it was becoming the norm for him to have to change his plans to suit Sakura. But he also found that maybe he didn't mind it too much. He took note of every change he'd had to make and complained about it. Yet, he was still here refusing to let go of her hand.

Wasn't it obvious? But maybe she needed to hear the words.

"Sakura, I claimed you as my wife when I was five," he reassured her.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd remember that. And I never took you seriously because you were younger than me. And you were five! You didn't know what you were saying," she reminded him.

"I'm still younger than you. But it's never mattered. It never stopped you from accepting. I know what it means now and the offer still stands."

"Because you were only saying that to be nice! And should we really be talking about this on the first date?" she asked, trying to drop the conversation.

But he wasn't having that. "That's what all this is leading towards. Our age difference didn't stop you from having a crush on me." Tell me what's the problem.

"I'm worried that we're going to date and you're going to realize that you don't truly want me to be your wife. And you're just holding on to the nostalgia of childhood. And you're just tired of having marriage interviews with strangers. That you're settling for me, someone you think you know. And then you won't like me anymore. And you won't want me as a wife anymore. And -"

Sasuke cut her off with a kiss. She was starting to ramble now and he didn't want that.

He took note of all her concerns and he would put her fears to rest. But not right now. Tonight, they would have a nice date.

"Sakura, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be. And neither would you."

And then there were more and more kisses. He dropped off a very flustered Sakura at her apartment. And he went to sleep very pleased with himself.

A/N:

*Does anyone want to see some tidbits of SasuSaku as kids? They mention it, but I'm not sure if I should show that scene.

*SasuSaku knowing each other before age 12 is one of my headcanons. I figure something had to have happened for Sakura to develop a deep enough crush on him to forsake her friendship with Ino. So yeah, childhood romance appears in my fics.

*I like this fic because I see Sasuke as being OCPD (Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder) because he's a perfectionist and he always has goals and plans. In this story, he has to step away from his plans and make changes, hence detours.