title: love month
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH ON LJ!
rating: T-M

summary: o10; Home is where the heart is. Sasuke realized where both truly belonged.

.o10.
Home

Home.

A place where one lives.

Not including family, peace, happiness, nor coziness.

That's just something you have to be lucky to get.

Sasuke realized that he didn't have a home. Sure, he had a small apartment where he lived, but it wasn't what he could call a "home."

The last time he had a home was when he was a kid, Itachi was still sane, and mom and dad were still alive. The past was the past. He had desperately been trying to find homes all across Japan, from Konoha (no…), to the Sound (nope), to the forest and woods (absolutely not).

Sasuke had a lot of places he could live at. But they weren't what he called a "home." None of them provided a family (they were long gone), peace (waking up to the smell of rotting human flesh? Great new scent for candles), happiness (could knowing that you were going to kill your brother be considered happiness?), or coziness (try sleeping on a bunch of rocks for three days straight).

However, finding a home wasn't the biggest deal that Sasuke had at the moment. He wanted revenge, then, realizing what he had done, regret, and after that, once he could control his crazy-psycho-bitch powers, settle down and find a home for somebody to share with.

Sometimes, if his team (could he call it a team? Team Hebi? Hawk? They sure as hell weren't Team 7) was near Konoha, he would sneak out when everybody was sleeping and stand on the hill that made Konoha visible to passersby. Sometimes, he would feel a tinge of pain in his heart, as if he missed something there, and then look down at the bench where he was alone with her.

Sakura.

Suddenly, the pain in his chest became worse, and, though he didn't want to leave, he forced himself to. It took great skill not to have to turn back and walk down memory lane again.

He wondered how she was doing. Remembering the last time he saw her on top of the cliff as he put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, remembering the same, stinky ramen smell he had…and then Sakura's cherry sweet aroma wafting towards him…

What was Naruto doing, too? Was he becoming the ramen pig that he usually was? The poor fellow spent so much time trying to get him back that he could have used that to train. Sasuke let out a chuckle and a smirk.

Poor old Naruto. He never changed.

It was near dawn, and Sasuke realized that he would have to go back. Knowing that his team wouldn't believe him when he said he would go out "for a stroll," he hunted down a nearby deer and killed it, bringing home the venison for breakfast.

So, as the four of them ate, Karin talking about what a good sleep she had last night while asking the same about Sasuke as Juugo and Suigetsu talked about the pretty girls they had to rape and kill, Sasuke couldn't help but think about what was happening in the small city of Konoha.

More so on what Sakura was doing.

.

.

.

It was infuriating how every time he looked at Karin, he saw the face slim, the hair shorten and lighten into a pastel pink, and the fierce red eyes dissolve into big, sweet green ones. And every time Karin would open her mouth to say something stupid, he could just imagine sweet Sakura laughing and charming him with that annoying voice of hers.

"Sasuke-kun!" Karin would say. He immediately thought back to Sakura's genin days, where all she cared about was him and her "Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun!"

Immediately, he would feel guilty and divert his attention, shaking his head so that the pink faded and the jawbones got wider, the sweet green eyes reverting back into the fierce red ones.

"Hn?"

Karin snuggled up to him. "I was just wondering what you were thinking about."

Sasuke shrugged her off. "Hey. Don't touch me."

"But Sa—"

He glared at her, causing Karin to whimper and let go of Sasuke's arm. Sasuke shook himself free, feeling Karin's touch on his arm, remembering how Sakura used to do that, too.

Damnit, why was his mind full of Sakura? It should have been full of revenge and death and blood and torture, but instead, he had a girl in his mind.

Now he knew why his dad always preferred Itachi.

Sasuke didn't know what to think anymore. 24/7, his mind was full of Haruno Sakura. "Sakura this, Sakura that," he muttered. He remembered how she would always look at him, and how Naruto would always look at her and then at Sasuke with disdain.

He remembered her soft hugs and how she held him tight during his pain, helping him however she could, even if it wasn't very much.

He also remembered her sweet words, her tears, her begs and pleads for him not to go, and how safe and warm he felt when he was with her.

Then, it hit him.

Sasuke realized that he had a home.

It was simply back in Sakura's arms.

Slight changes 7.8.14