Waiting Moments

That night, Sakura laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. She looked over to Sasuke, who was already sleeping.

She didn't know if he kissed her because he wanted to or because it was just a task. He even dropped Karin's ring like the ring meant absolutely nothing to him.

'...he...likes me, too, right?' She thought. She wanted to ask him if he had any feelings for her, but since Karin just broke his heart recently, she didn't want to rush him into another relationship just yet; although technically, they were already "married".

Sakura blushed at the thought. What would it be like if this was real...? To be able to stay with him forever, to support him, and to even have a family...it sounded like a perfect picture.

But she also knew she shouldn't rush into things. She was graduating high school next year, only turning 18, so she was still very young, and Sasuke was turning 19 next year. If they were to make the marriage real, she wasn't sure if she was able to stay with him forever. Marriage meant a lifetime of commitment, and she was pretty sure in the future when they're older, they might want a divorce.

'So...the original plan is the only option...' Sakura sighed and grasped her blanket, pulling it up to her shoulders. But if they stuck to the original plan, she didn't know how she would bear with the thought of being apart from Sasuke. Even though she already broke the rule of not falling in love, she knew she had to leave in nearly 2 weeks.

'Then, I should at least tell him. Before the marriage ends, I should be honest and tell him how I feel.'

The next morning, they both woke up at the same time and Sakura cursed herself for not waking up earlier. She wanted to leave to school first to avoid going together. It was truthfully kind of awkward for her since she was the one who asked him to kiss her.

"You ready?" Sasuke asked quietly as he scanned the bedroom door open.

"Yea." Sakura muttered as she grabbed her school bag and followed after him.

Like it was normal, he reached over and held her hand casually. After that kiss yesterday, he was sure as hell he wanted to stay with her. No matter what, he wasn't going to let her date Gaara or any other guy.

She is his wife after all, legally. If they were legally married, then really...this marriage wasn't fake at all.

It was only fake under their conditions, but if they removed all their little immaturity from when they first met, and they actually love each other...this marriage was definitely real.

Sasuke made small smile at that thought. This marriage was real.

...he knew had to tell her that he didn't want to stick to their original plan.

When they got to school, as usual, they walked over to their group of friends.

"Heeey guys!" Juugo greeted and specifically winked at Sakura.

Sakura just smiled at them.

"Oh my gosh! Can you believe it? We're seniors after this week!" Ino squealed and hung onto Sai's arm. "Well then, we'll be graduating highschool." Sai made a faint smile.

"Oh yea...that means you guys aren't gonna be attending here anymore..." Sakura muttered. She's gotten so used to them at school...it'd be weird without Sasuke and the guys now.

"Don't worry, we can always hangout. And we can give you guys rides to school and stuff." Neji shrugged.

"Awww, but I'm gonna miss you all!" Ino pouted.

The bell rang and interrupted them.

"Well, see you guys at lunch." Sai replied as he dragged along Ino. Neji and Juugo also walked away.

"...I guess things have been sorted out?" Suigetsu grinned at Gaara, Sasuke, and Sakura.

Sakura nodded at him.

"That's good to hear. I'll be off, then. See ya at lunch." He replied before hopping off to class.

Sasuke slightly glanced over at Gaara. "Aren't you going?"

"I was planning to walk her to class." Gaara's gaze averted to Sakura.

"I'll walk her to class." Sasuke insisted.

"Hn. I have things to talk to her about..." Gaara just glared at him.

"...Sasuke...um, go to class. I kinda want to talk to him, too." Sakura said calmly. She could see that Sasuke was already getting angry.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes, but he silently obeyed. "I'll see you later then." He turned around to go. Just as he took a few steps forward, he quickly turned around and gave Sakura a quick kiss on the cheeks.

Sakura blushed at the sudden contact and watched as he just smirked at her and then walked away.

"...well, you two are certainly much closer now. As I expected." Gaara put his hands in his pockets. Sakura turned her attention back to him. "Y...yea...he went to work things out with Karin yesterday. They're officially broken up now."

"So you're together with him now? The marriage isn't fake anymore?"

"We're not like that. I like him, but he just got out of a relationship. I don't want to rush him into things."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "So you mean you want to stay with him? You're not sticking to the divorce plan?"

"I want to stay with him, yes. But we're still going with the plan. I mean, we're both really young and staying in this marriage...it's just too complicated, even if it's real."

"...what are you saying? So you both really love each other, but you guys are still gonna separate?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm not even sure if he's in love with me..."

Gaara didn't get how she couldn't see it. Of course, Sasuke's in love with her. Was she always going to be in denial when it comes to love? "Sakura, you're really dense sometimes."

"...what?" Sakura wasn't sure if she just really heard that. How the hell was she dense? He was insulting her!

Gaara just smirked at her surprised expression.

"Nevermind. Come on, we're gonna be late."

During lunch, Sasuke was giving Sakura more physical contact than usual. He was casually holding her hand and putting his arm around her shoulder.

Not that Sakura minded, though.

After school, Sasuke went to the car first...as usual, to avoid the fan girls. Sakura saw him walking across the street to the car and quickly ran after him. "Why are always the first one out?"

"To avoid people." Sasuke simply stated.

"Geez, you could at least stay and talk with us for a while..." Sakura muttered as she glanced back at her friends, who were just coming out of the school gates.

"...I'll take you somewhere. Hurry up." Sasuke replied as he got in the car.

Sakura just sighed and got in, too. "Take me where?" It's been a while since she and Sasuke have been out together alone. And she wondered why he was giving her so much attention today.

"You'll see."

Sakura ended up falling asleep. The ride was far longer than she thought.

Sasuke glanced over at her and a smile graced his lips. He knew she was either confused or curious about everything...it was like their relationship was literally real now.

He just needed to confirm their feelings for each other. He was sure that she felt something for him, and he was definitely sure of what he felt for her. He just didn't know how the whole situation will go now. He was intending to tell her that he wanted the marriage to be real now, but that would mean a whole-lifetime of commitment.

He didn't know if he was ready for that. And he knew she wasn't ready for it either.

Sasuke let out a sigh and turned to park. He actually drove them to the very same mansion that they had stayed in on their 3-day honeymoon. He just wanted to remember the memories they had there...without Karin, of course.

After all, this was where he started to like her. He let out a quiet chuckle, remembering how he had to chase after her horse and she broke her wrist. Those playful and comforting days with her was so fun.

And it was the first time he'd gotten jealous over her and Naruto. His mind flashed back to when he made her cry...he was honestly guilty that he yelled at her that day, but it was just because he didn't want her to go back to Naruto.

Sasuke looked at her and then reached over, gently shaking her shoulder. "Sakura, we're here."

Sakura stirred and her eyes fluttered open. "W...we're here...?" She mumbled sleepily.

"Yea, come on." Sasuke laughed softly at her half-opened eyes.

Sakura yawned and slightly stretched out her arms before she got out of the car. She narrowed her eyes when she noticed the big house...it looked familiar...then she gasped, realizing it was the place they stayed on their honeymoon. "What are we doing here?"

"I wanted to spend some time together alone." Sasuke simply replied as he walked over to the door, unlocking it.

Sakura blushed at his words, but quietly followed after. "...you even have the key to it?"

"Yea, of course." Sasuke smirked and opened the door. He slipped of his shoes before going in.

Memories flashed in Sakura's thoughts. She remembered she broke her wrist here and frowned. 'I wonder if the horses are still here.' She thought as she walked over to the back door. She was surprise to see that they were still there. "Who takes care of the horses?"

"Oh, our employees. They come twice everyday to clean and everything." Sasuke glanced at her. "You wanna ride them again? Hopefully you won't be so cocky this time."

Sakura glared at him. "Shut up."

Sasuke took her hand and led her outside. "...then why don't we just ride one together again?" Sakura blushed faintly. "Do you want to?" Sasuke asked again as he patted the white horse.

"It doesn't matter." Sakura wanted to, but she didn't want to make it obvious.

Sasuke smirked at her...he could totally tell she was nervous. "Get on, then." He held her arm to support her as she got on the horse first. Then he pulled himself up behind her and took hold of the reigns.

Sakura felt like it was deja vu. She felt exactly as she had the day they rode the horses together. Her heart was racing and slowly, she let herself relax against him as he pulled on the reigns to make the horse go.

Sasuke couldn't help but smile when he felt her lean back against him. Boldly, he placed a gentle kiss on her head and resisted the urge to laugh when she suddenly froze up.

Sakura frowned. It wasn't fair that he always did things like that to her. Pushing down her nervous guts, she turned her head and Sasuke was taken by surprise when she suddenly pecked him on the cheek.

Sasuke was a bit too happy to say anything. That was frankly, the first kiss he's gotten from her. "...you know, you should make the first move more often." He managed to joke.

Sakura's thoughts once again drifted to their marriage. She would gladly show more affections if their relationship was official. "Sasuke..." She called his name quietly.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her cautious tone.

"...um..." Sakura paused and hesitated. She wanted to ask what his feelings were, but then she already told herself that she wouldn't rush him into things. Letting out a sigh, she just shook her head. "Nevermind, haha. I forgot." Sakura laughed it off.

Sasuke didn't buy it. He stopped the horse from walking and then got off. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Sakura just shook her head again. "It's nothing important." She lied.

"Tell me anyways." He urged on.

Sakura bit her lower lip, not wanting to tell him, but she knew he was stubborn and persistent when he didn't get his ways. "What does all of this mean?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"What does all of this mean?" Sakura repeated. "This. Us. I know our marriage condition was that we're not supposed to have any love, but..." Her gaze met his. "...you can't tell me that there's nothing going on between us. If this is all just going to end in 2 weeks, I want to know your real feelings."

Sasuke honestly didn't expect her to bring up the topic first. He averted his eyes away and stayed quiet for a few moments. "When you give me your last task, I'll give you an answer."

Sakura sighed quietly. "You're not fair, you know that." She glared at him.

Sasuke only made a small smile at her. He was going to tell her that he wanted the marriage to be real, but until she gives him her last request, he wasn't going to say it...nor will he say that he loves her.

He was curious about what her last task would be...he just hoped it won't be something that'll break his heart.

Sorry for the extremely long wait.

This chapter probably makes you guys even more anxious now, huh? Next chapter will probably tie down everything.

Review.