Oasis
He had completed his quest, avenged his clan. Now there was nothing, he felt nothing. Kakashi had been right. Revenge had not brought back the dead, nor had it restored some sense of balance to his world that he had always been certain that it would.
He had not found justice and he couldn't help but question, 'What was it all for?' He just felt lost, like a man wandering a barren desert. Was this what he had become? Was this the fate of the Uchiha clan?
A flash of colour, familiar pink and green entered his vision. Sakura.
If he was lost in a desert, she had become his oasis, his necessity for survival. For in the years that he had been gone, Sakura had grown in so many ways. She was stronger, braver, more confident, but essentially, she was still Sakura. All the things that made her her were the same- her kindness, her compassion, her temper, her capacity to love.
And remarkably, after everything that he had put her through, after all the pain that he had caused her, she still loved him.
Feeling his eyes on her, she turned and the smile that lit up her face was just for him. As she drew nearer, he felt himself relax. When she was right in front of him, she didn't speak. Perhaps she sensed that he had something to say.
"I-," but what came next, he wasn't sure. The words stuck in his throat. 'I need you? I love you?'
Her small hand slipped into his. "I know." And it didn't matter if Sasuke didn't know what he wanted to tell her because Sakura understood him better than he understood himself.