a/n: :)

Everyone had crowded around on the ground, so there were hardly any spots left to take, and all that were available Sasuke immediately rejected with his infamous grunt. Sakura commented, through her still cherry-red face, on his distaste for crowds, and of course Sasuke just grunted once again. He finally settled upon the idea of being up in a tree, where they would be alone, away from everyone else, and Sasuke's mind was at ease with knowing that in the tree no one would be able to see what he wanted to do.

Sakura saw that Sasuke had been looking up at a tree branch for quite sometime, and she was started to feel antsy for some unknown reason. It came as no surprise to her when Sasuke, who still had her dainty hand in his, quickly jerked her in the direction of the tree just behind them. By controlling the chakra in to their feet, they began to run up the tree quickly so no one would see them, think that their spot was the best, and begin to infest the tree as they had the ground.

They got settled in to their positions on the thick branch; Sakura was in the middle and because her dress was short, her legs were together and placed tensely to the side of her, knees slightly bent. For support, her hand was on the branch and her head rested on her shoulder. Sasuke sat with his back against the tree "coolly". They were pretty far away from each other, but neither one minded really, it gave Sasuke time to strategically map out what he was to do, and it gave Sakura time to let everything the night had brought sink in a little. Here she thought the past week had been great, she hadn't really liked Sai, not until she began to sing and saw him listening, but she enjoyed being around him. However, she couldn't place a finger on why she even liked being around him to begin with. She was so deep in her thoughts she didn't notice Sasuke had been yelling at her.

"Oi, Sakura!"

"Oh… yes?" she replied dazedly.

"Did you just not hear a word that I said?"

"Uh, no… Mind repeating it for me?" she asked as she turned to look at him with a smile on her face. The blush had finally died now that the two weren't touching.

"Hn. Maybe its better you didn't hear." He muttered.

She laughed a cute laugh, "Oh, sure. Like that doesn't make me more curious."

"Isaidyousanggreattonight." His voice was muddled and barley audible, but she understood him.

She couldn't help but radiate a warm, glowing smile. "Thank you, Sasuke-Ku-" She stopped herself, and she laughed. "I almost said it again!"

"You know, you can still call me that if you want to. I mean, unless you want to keep embarrassing yourself further by saying 'cookie' or 'carpet'." He smirked as he remembered the events of two months ago.

"Don't judge me," she replied and stuck her tongue out at him. She re-positioned herself to have her legs thrown over the branch casually. She was beginning to feel more comfortable.

Sasuke smoothly walked over and sat down beside her, and threw his legs over the side as well. There was a long moment of comfortable silence between them. The wind blew in from the East, the warm breeze once again. The kind Sakura absolutely adored. The leaves rustled and the warmth spread throughout all of her limbs. She was happy. The wind then carried the scent of Sasuke right into her nose as she took a long deep inhale. She loved the smell of him as well. She looked over at him and smiled. He felt her eyes and looked over to find her just smiling at him. He smirked, as he asked "what?"

"Nothing," She smiled wider. "You know, I see why you don't like crowds now. Down there, there's no way we could've felt that breeze… or gotten this spectacular view of the sky… We would have been too focused on the noise of people talking." She inhaled deeply again, getting the full scent of Sasuke.

There was a moment of silence once again, but this time Sasuke broke it with what he thought would be a sore subject. "What did you ever see in that Sai guy, anyway?"

Suddenly, the warm sensation tingled her body once again. And it was at this time she realized why she had liked being with Sai. Even in the beginning, when she first met him, she had commented on how Sai was like Sasuke. The quiet, cool, sometimes emotionless persona. She liked the idea of "melting the ice cube". She wanted to be the one who melted Sasuke. However, she knew that he would never open up fully to her, so she settled for someone like him. That's why she never liked Sai fully, until the moment that she sang. She wasn't singing to Sai, she was imagining Sasuke the entire time. She wasn't admitting it to herself that she liked Sai; she was admitting she liked Sasuke once again. And then, to have the person that is most like Sasuke not care about her, toss her aside as well, it was more than she could bear. However, now she was with the real "ice cube" himself. And he was there for her the night of Ino's party, let her stay the night, tried to protect her heart, and now he was sitting there right beside her, looking as gorgeous as ever. And she was fully happy.

"You know, he never really deserved you anyway. Like I said, he's an ass." Sasuke stated as he closed his eyes, and leaned back on his hands. He threw his head back, opened his eyes, and looked up at the stars.

Sakura was afraid of what she was about to say. She didn't know how he would take it. Would he return her feelings, or he would he shoot her down as he did before? She was taking a risk, but she felt that she had to. She needed closure. And she needed to know whether she would ever be able to break the outer shell of him. The question she was about to ask could give everything she's ever wanted, but it also had the potential to destroy everything. "Then, who do you think deserves me?"

As soon as the question escaped her lips she began to regret it. The breeze stopped as well as her breath. All she could do was stare straight out in front of her, elbows rested on her knees, and her head placed in her palms waiting for his answer. When she finally heard his voice, after what seemed like ages, she jumped a little at the sudden tone.

"That's a difficult question that I probably shouldn't answer. We all know how you feel about me getting involved in your personal affairs."

She heard it. There was no doubt about it. That glimmer of hurt; it was there. He did have feelings for her. The breeze began again and she felt the tingle. She smiled. He was beginning to melt. For her.

"You choose who you want to like, I can't do that for you." Sasuke closed his eyes.

"What if I wanted you… to be in my personal affairs, Sasuke?" She turned to him anxiously.

He sat up and stared at her straight in the eyes. His stare wasn't cold, in fact at that moment it was soft and somewhat confused. "What do you mean?"

She started to blush and looked up at the sky, the wind slowly tossing her hair to the side.

"What kind of personal affairs do you want me in?"

She was quiet, and continued to stare above her. Abruptly, she felt a warm hand on her chin, and the hand pulled her face towards the owner. Her eyes were wide as she saw Sasuke's eyes were closed, lips barely puckered, but noticeable, and time completely stopped. Their lips touched. Electric tingles ran over her lips, traveling over her cheeks, to her forehead, seeping into her brain where the ecstasy ran through her nerves to everywhere in her body. It was nothing she could have ever imagined her first kiss to be. She closed her eyes sinking in to the kiss with Sasuke. Her Sasuke.

They parted and when they did, Sakura could see the faint blush on Sasuke's cheeks, and she lightly traced it with her thumb, slightly cupping the side of Sasuke's face, and smiling genuinely. She expected his skin to be cold, like his normal stare, however his skin was so soft and warm, absolutely perfect. He reached up to touch her hand and he smiled. It was not a smirk, but for the first time since she had known him, he truly smiled. The most perfect, beautiful smile she had ever seen. She was both speechless and breathless at his beauty. He finally took down his shield, and she, Sakura Haruno, was the one to do it. Her heart fluttered with the feeling of triumph, a sweet victory. And what a sweet, sweet victory it was.

a/n: thank you and goodnight! :P