i want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck, chain 'round my neck / not because he owns me, but coz he really knows me / which is more than they can say / i recall late november, holding my breath / slowly i said, "you don't need to save me, but would you run away with me?" / "yes"

- call it what you want, taylor swift (reputation)

the stars are out and the road is silent, sleeping and unaware of the tremor in his bones as he walks her home.

sasuke does this every night, picking sakura up from her late shift at the hospital and eat late dinner with her either on her house or his, so why is he always this nervous? why does he feel like crawling out of his skin whenever they accidentally touch? he doesn't understand.

he has touched sakura before, but that was the genin sakura he knew. he wasn't here in konoha to witness the birth of this all-new sakura haruno who walks leisurely beside him with a soft smile on her lips. he wasn't here to watch her work her way up to become the strongest kunoichi in the entire shinobi nation. a small part of him was disappointed in that.

sasuke wasn't here to see her bloom into this beautiful young woman that she is right now.

"you're quieter than usual, sasuke-kun. is there something in your mind?" her voice pierces the night and his quiet musings. sasuke sees sakura looking at him with those wide eyes of hers and the tremor in him intensifies.

he looked away, "i'm good." putting his hand inside his pocket and remembering his gift to her, he added, "don't worry."

sakura offered a small smile, "you might be hungry already. c'mon, let's hurry."

they walked the remaining distance from her house and after a few minutes, they finally got there. sakura unlocks her door and entered her place, "so, what do you want for dinner? i recently went to the grocery to stock up so we're loaded tonight." she giggled slightly, the sound resonating throughout the empty space.

sasuke was silent as he removes his shoes on the foyer, eyes glued to her clan symbol etched on her red shirt, wondering what would it look like if it's his clan symbol instead? the back of his neck started to burn and he immediately put away his thoughts for another day.

he thought he was doing good until he followed sakura on her kitchen and he saw her rummaging inside her refrigerator. "i learned this recipe the other day that includes a lot of tomatoes that's why i bought some earlier. is that okay for tonight?"

"aa."

it's the only thing he could utter because this scene, this view, gave him so many nostalgic memories—an image of his mother on the kitchen as she makes breakfast, his father brewing coffee, and his brother chopping vegatables beside their mother. looking at sakura as she prepares to cook him dinner for the 4th time since he got back from his trip outside konoha 2 weeks ago gave him that.

there's a lump in his throat that feels like gratitude and a feeling in his heart that beats like love.

is this love? is this what they call it? the shaking of hands for being unable to hold theirs, the nervous pumping of heart whenever they're near, the inexplicable urge to know if their lips are as soft as they seem to be?

his lone hand still grips the small box inside his pockets and his feet moved even before he could think. sasuke reached her form, her back still facing his as she starts to chop onions, and his one and only arm decided to slowly circle her with it.

the sound of knife hitting the chopping board stops all of a sudden and the quiet is between them again. it has always been comforting, this silence, but this time it's charged with something he couldn't explain.

"i have something for you," he whispered.

sasuke heard her small gasp of surprise. he detached his arm from her and opened his large hand offering a small box to her. with trembling fingers, sakura took it from him.

"when i was in wind country, i met a foreigner from a different land. he is a civilian and he makes jewelries," he explained softly behind her, head peeking over her shoulder to look at the gift he gave.

he continued to explain as sakura removed the necklace from the box, "i learned that in their country, that symbol is your name's initial." together, they looked at the snake-like shape on the pendant made of white gold and even without him seeing her face, he knows she's smiling. it made his cheeks burn.

"it reminded me of you so i bought it," he quietly confessed. she doesn't need to know that since they have the same initials, he also has an identical one on himself now hanging on his neck covered by his high collar. the foreigner mentioned that in his country, couples do it all the time—buying two identical stuff so they can wear it together.

isn't that what they are? a couple, right?

sasuke heard her chuckle softly, "it's so pretty." she twisted slightly to look up at his face and he saw her cheeks tinted pink. "help me wear it?"

he only has one hand so he just gathered her pink hair and lifted it, exposing her bare neck in display. sasuke fought the desire to bury his face in them. he watched in fascination as she deftly locked the chain in place with her nimble fingers and she turned to him making sasuke drop her hair.

her green irises look up at him and he's mesmerized, in awe of the affection and faith in them, and never even dared to flinch when she placed her hand on his shoulder to help her reach his face. her lips found the corner of his and he could smell mint and chocolate. he felt her lips stretch in a smile against his skin and his hand went to grip her waist.

"thank you, sasuke-kun."

as soon as she said it, sakura turned around again and faced the kitchen counter. he silently hopes she couldn't feel through her back the wild beat of his heart since his chest is against her clan symbol. sasuke can smell her pink hair, like antiseptic and jasmine at once, and it reminded him of how good she is. she has saved a lot of people, including him, and she still keeps on working to make sure she can save more in the future.

the future has never looked this bright in this village knowing that his former teacher is now hokage and his rival and best friend is grooming to be next. sasuke knows that this village that his brother loved so much is in good hands. so why does he still feel like running away?

"if i ask you..." sasuke drawled on, wondering how can he express his thoughts well but failed. he swallowed the nervous itch in his tongue and asked sakura, "if i ask you to run away with me... would you do it?"

moments passed and his heart was beating erratically against his ribcage. he shouldn't have asked, he knows she's loyal to konoha. he was about to retract his question when her answer rendered him speechless, even though deep inside his heart, a tiny part already knows.

"i was willing to leave this place and run away with you when we were young and naïve," she softly answered. her voice was full of love and a slight exasperation as if she can't believe sasuke doesn't believe it. sakura turned her head on the side, "what more now? what more now that we're both what we are?"

and what are they? what are they now?

in love, his mind offered. sasuke silently agrees, a smile forming on his face.

sakura huffed, "but not now, sasuke-kun. you and i need to eat first." she peeked around to face him, "got it?"

her smile was radiant and her eyes were gleaming in the soft light of her kitchen. he smiled softly, nods and moves to stand beside her on the counter to prepare the pan so they can start to cook.

and as they work on their dinner and spend the night together, sasuke learned that they can call it what they want, and for him he will call it love.

~fin~