This Is Where We End?

Sasuke was tapping his foot anxiously. What the hell was he even supposed to say first? And now that he thought about it, he needed way more time than just a week. A week was too fast. There was no way that Sakura would agree to get back with him that quick. And it would feel kinda weird if they were to get back together in such a short amount of time. He sighed and constantly glanced back at the door to see if she came in yet.

They had agreed to meet at a small coffee shop near Sakura's work place. Sasuke looked at his watch and noticed it was already time that Sakura got off work. 'She should be-,'

He was quickly torn out of his thoughts when he heard the door open and he took a deep breath when she walked into the cafe. She looked around for a bit then stopped when her gaze met his.

Sakura averted her eyes down and then walked over to him. "Sorry, did you wait long?"

"No, I just got here." Sasuke lied. "...um, did you want to order something to drink?"

Sakura just shook her head. "I'm fine, thank you."

A brief silence filled the atmosphere and neither of them dared to look at each other. Sakura cleared her throat softly and she hesitantly spoke first. "So, um...why did you want to meet?"

"Ah, I just wanted to see how you're doing." He answered quickly. He hated this. He hated this awkward tension between them. He used to be comfortable around her but now it felt so strange. Maybe it was because they haven't spoken for a while, or maybe it was just unfamiliar to transition from seeing her everyday, to not even seeing her at all.

"I'm doing good." Sakura murmured bluntly. This wasn't what she expected. Why was he asking her these useless questions? He could've just called her or something...but then again, that probably would've ended on an awkward note, too.

"How's work? I heard you got promoted." Sasuke was trying to get a conversation going. He didn't know how he would go to the topic of their relationship, though. 'Why is this so hard..?' He thought as he waited for her response.

"I did." Sakura nodded. "I was actually offered an all paid-expense business trip to France. It's a really a good opportunity for me."

Sasuke made a faint smile at her. "That's good. Why France? What did your company want you to do?"

"They're sending me to do a collaboration with a famous artist for our company's image and commercial line. It's gonna take a lot of work to plan the design and commercial ideas, so I'll be there for a while."

"Ah, that sounds really amazing. How many weeks?"

Sakura hesitated to tell him. But, it wouldn't really matter to him, right? In three years time, if she came back, she didn't even know if she'll ever see him again. That thought made her heart ache. Well, it wouldn't be no good to lie to him about it, either.

"I'll actually be gone for three years."

Sasuke's expression dropped. He didn't expect that at all. Three years?! That was way too long! "When will you be leaving?"

Sakura stayed quiet, hesitant to answer that, too. "Um...they need an answer by this week. So if I accept, then I'll probably be gone by this Sunday..."

Sasuke sat, speechless. Wow, life really has its twists and turns, huh. He had a week to get her back, and at the same time, she was going to leave to go across the world.

"...Sasuke?" She called his name quietly when he didn't say anything.

"...don't go."

Sakura's eyes widened at that statement. "What?"

"Don't go." Sasuke repeated. "Three years? It may a good opportunity, but you'll be gone, and so many things can change in three years. What about Neji and Ino? What about all our friends? What if you never even see any of us again?" He didn't want her to go. Three years of not seeing her, that was too much. He couldn't do that. If she really was going to go, he would probably do everything he can to go with her.

"I'll just keep contact with you guys. We've stayed friends for more than 5 years, I'm pretty sure we'll all be fine. It's just a business trip, it's not like I'm permanently moving." Sakura shrugged.

"But we'll miss you like crazy."

Sakura smiled. "And I'll probably miss you guys, too. But it's my job, and I'm kinda enjoying life right now, so there's no logical reason why I shouldn't go."

Sasuke clenched his hands into fists. How was he supposed to convince her to stay? If she was going to leave, how was he supposed to ask her to stay and be with him again? She was enjoying life. That meant she was completely fine not being with him.

"So, even if I asked you to stay, for me...you wouldn't?" He asked quietly.

Sakura was a bit taken back by that and narrowed her eyes. "Why would I stay for you?"

Ouch. That hurt. Sasuke stared at her for a moment before letting out a small chuckle. "Right. Why would you?" He felt stupid. She obviously didn't have feelings for him. She let him go because she didn't want to hurt him anymore...meaning, she was just with him because she felt sorry for him. "Well, whatever you choose, I hope you'll be happy and successful." He faked a smile at her.

Sakura knew it was fake. She always knew when he faked his smiles. He always did that whenever he was with her when she mentioned Naruto. But, why would he be faking a smile if he was sincerely happy for her? "...are you dating Karin, now?" She suddenly asked.

Sasuke was surprised she brought that up. "Uh, not yet."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "It's been almost 2 months since we've broken up. You should be with her already." Wow, she was amazed herself that she brought that up like it was nothing.

Sasuke didn't know she could do that. She talked about their relationship with such ease like it had no impact on her. It kinda...irritated him. "Just because we broke up, you expected me to date her immediately?"

"That was the reason why we broke up anyways, right? You were going to be with her, and you were going to be happy. That was why I let you go. So that's why I'm just a bit confused as to why you aren't even dating her yet." Sakura was scared she was coming off a bit too bluntly, but everything she said was true. She wanted to know why he wasn't with Karin yet. Karin was his first love, after all. He shouldn't be waiting this long.

Sasuke almost scoffed in disbelief at the way she said that to him. "I don't get why you let me go easily. I know you never felt anything for me, but just because I brought up something that I was having a hard time with, you broke up with me."

"I didn't feel anything for you? I wanted you to be happy. You even said it yourself, that you would leave me if I told you so. You wouldn't have any objections to it, so why are you so worked up now? Wasn't that enough proof that I at least cared about you? I didn't want to hurt you-,"

"You always hurt me! Breaking up with me? That was your way of easing my pain? You were the most important person to me-, "

"I obviously wasn't, if you even had thoughts of going back to Karin! I saw the way you looked at her!"

"Then why didn't you ever see the way I looked at you?!"

"I did! But you gave her the same look you always give me, so that obviously meant I wasn't even that important-,"

"She was my first love, Sakura! What if you saw Naruto, again? I'm pretty sure you'd leave me in a heartbeat to be with him!"

Sakura flinched at that comment. She stayed quiet for a few moments because she knew if she yelled at him, the argument would just keep building. She finally glared up at Sasuke and slightly shook her head.

"...I wouldn't leave you for him."

She simply stated and then stood up. Before Sasuke could say anything, she quickly grabbed her purse, turned around, and walked out of the cafe.

Sasuke was a bit dumbfounded by her response. She...really wouldn't leave him for Naruto? Even if she saw Naruto, again?

But then, wouldn't that mean she would be choosing him over Naruto?

Sasuke's eyes widened. No way. Without any further thoughts, he got up and ran out the cafe after her. His eyes searched frantically in the parking lot to see if she was still there. He finally spotted her opening her car door.

Sasuke quickly ran to her and Sakura gasped in surprise when he suddenly grabbed her arm before she got in the car.

"What are you-,"

"You would stay with me?" Sasuke asked her anxiously.

Sakura didn't say anything. She didn't know if she should even answer that.

"If you were to see him again, and you had to choose between us, who would you choose?"

"If it was between me and Karin, who would you choose?" She asked, instead.

Sasuke's grip on her arm loosened and he gazed at her intently, as if he was in deep thought.

"You."

Sakura looked up at him and their eyes met. She was just so confused right now. If he chose her over Karin, why did he even mention getting back together with Karin in the first place? She gently pried his fingers off her arm and took a step back from him. "...I'm going to go to France. I think it's better if we just don't start anything, Sasuke. Go and be with Karin, and be happy."

He didn't stop her as she got in her car and drove away. He knew that when she made a decision, there was no way of changing her mind. He realized that she never even answered him.

Was this it? She was going to leave just like that? She was going to be gone for three years and this was how they were going to end things?

He didn't want to be with Karin. He knew that even if he promised Karin that he'll love her wholeheartedly, Sakura would always be there in the back of his mind. And he knew that if Sakura returned after three years, and they happen to bump into each other again, he would probably fall for her all over again.

'But I can't just let her go like this. We can't just end like this.' After all that he's done for her and after all that time they've been together, it just didn't feel right to let each other go like this.

She's enjoying life right now. She's happy. She probably doesn't even need him in her life, but something was just missing. He just felt like he had to be with her.

If she really was going to leave for France, he was going to go with her. He'd rather drop everything and be with her, than to be with Karin and risk the possibility of never seeing Sakura again.

When Sakura got home, she sighed in frustration and threw her keys and purse on the couch.

What the hell was he doing?

He asks to meet with her, gets her all flustered and angry, and then tells her that he would rather choose her over Karin? That doesn't even make sense. 'All the more reason why I should just get away from this place.'

The more Sakura thought about going to France, the better it sounded. She would miss Neji and her friends, but she would be doing something she loved, and she would be away from Sasuke.

She would be away from all the heartache and guilt that came whenever she saw him.

Without even hesitating, she got her phone out and called her company.

"Hello?"

"Hi, this is Sakura Haruno. I've decided to take the offer to go to France as a representative for our company."

"Oh! That's great! We've been waiting to hear from you. You'll be departing on Sunday afternoon, then. Come by on Friday to get the information that you need for your travel and we'll also tell you everything you need to do. Don't worry too much, because we'll be calling and setting up meetings very often to update you on what we're working on over here so that you'll know exactly what to do over there. We'll also provide hotel services and transportation services for you over there, so all you need to do is focus on the job. We'll have everything else taken care of."

"Thank you so much. I'll see the CEO on Friday to collect what I need, then." Sakura replied before ending the call.

She plopped down on the couch and scrolled down her contacts. She stopped when she reached Sasuke's name. She honestly felt bad for just leaving like that...if they don't see each other again after today, then that would mean they didn't end on a very good note. She didn't want that. But the way she left today, it would be weird to just call him again to casually meet up.

It would be easier to not say goodbye, anyways. If she saw him again, it's gonna be hard to not think about him when she's in France.

And besides, she loved her life right now. She was past her grieving for Naruto, she finally opened up to her friends, she was doing great at work, and everything seemed so stress-free. She was still in love with him, but she knew they couldn't go back to what they were before. There was going to be too much guilt for all the misunderstandings and heartbreaks that happened between them.

Her eyes saddened as she kept her gaze on his name in her phone. "I'll miss you, Sasuke...but we're probably just not meant to be. It's better this way."

Taking a deep breath, she hesitantly clicked on his name and then deleted his number.

"We can both be happy. You'll be with Karin, and she'll give you everything that I never did. I'll be in France, I'll try to forget you, and I'll meet someone new...and I'll start over."

Stay tuned for the next chapter!

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