A/N: Would people be interested in reading Sakura's perspective? Let me know since they're both pining haha. Sorry for the long absence, I just updated my other story as well so for a longer note about what's up with me, check that out!
It was getting dark outside when Sakura sighed with noticeable reluctance, "My parents might be getting worried about me, so I guess I should go." She could tell Sasuke had lingering questions, but they no longer had the luxury of spending all their time together. Just sitting on the couch with him was already strengthening her memories of domestic life, shedding light on their old routine. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to say she missed him.
"They don't know about me, right?" Sasuke moved from Oto to Konoha when he was sixteen, so he wouldn't be in their memories yet. He didn't know how he would explain himself to them now, so he would hang back until it was appropriate.
"No, they don't. From what I can tell, I'm the only one who remembers life from before. It's strange." She felt less frightened now that she had Sasuke back, but she wasn't quite comfortable yet.
"So what now? Just be..normal?"
"As normal as we can be, given, you know," she said as she gestured to herself. One thing she definitely remembered from their adult routine was that Sasuke made a mean cup of coffee, so she would be expecting some of that in the future.
He nodded. "How are you getting home?"
"I walked here, but—"
"I'll drive you home. Just tell them you were with Ino, that always worked before." The smell of his car's leather interior brought back a wash of memories too.
He would have to figure out how to distance himself while also not letting her out of his sight. He just wanted her to be safe. He glanced at the girl riding in his front seat and sighed. He had his work cut out for him.
Their lives were more separate than before, so they decided to start getting reacquainted in the mornings when Sasuke drove her to school. She used to ride her bike, but since he had a car, he figured he might as well give her a lift. It gave him a reason to drag himself out of bed in the mornings. His leave from work was ending soon, so he needed to get used to waking up early again.
She always looked shy when she got in the car, as if she was afraid of intruding on his space like she had at the grocery store. Neither of them were ready to talk about that yet.
It was strange how she got ready for school, putting on a touch of makeup and carefully picking out her clothes, as if she was always anticipating seeing her crush. Even when they were married, she still felt like a schoolgirl with a crush sometimes. Was Sasuke still considered her husband? Thinking about it for too long made her face heat up.
He would pick her up and drop her off around the block from where she needed to be so that fewer people saw them or asked questions. "My friends would be so jealous if they knew," she once said with a giggle.
What? That her 25 year old boyfriend/husband who also wasn't her boyfriend/husband had to drive her in secret? He raised a questioning eyebrow at her and she elaborated, "I get driven to and from school by this handsome guy in his cool car!" He shook his head with amusement. She was extra excitable as a teenager, he forgot how much she mellowed out as they got older.
"Go, or you'll be late."
"You're always such a grump in the morning," she teased before getting out. She leaned through the open door and asked hopefully, "Same spot after school?"
"Ah. I'll see you then. Have a good day." The warning bell chimed in the background and Sakura zipped towards the gate, calling out a final goodbye. He waved even when her back was turned to him.
Even when he begrudgingly returned to his normal work schedule, Sakura didn't mind waiting longer at school. She just wanted to see him. She took the time to finish her homework in the library so she could try wrangling Sasuke into doing something fun with her after school. Even if he offered excuses about having to do mundane tasks like go to the post office and pick up his dry cleaning, she wanted to tag along and spend time with him.
"Can we go get ice cream?"
"No." He wasn't going to allow himself to get too attached to someone who was still a child. Previous experiences or not, she deserved to live an uncomplicated life for a little while longer. She should go home and...watch TV? Or something.
"Why not?" She pouted. "I finished all my homework."
"Congratulations."
"Sasuke," she implored.
"It's almost dinner time."
"Exactly! I'm hungry."
"I'm sure your mother is almost finished making a lovely dinner, you don't want to spoil your appetite."
"You know she's a horrible cook."
He considered this. He never liked going to Sakura's house mainly because that meant he would be subject to Mebuki's disastrous attempts at cooking. "Fine. Drive through only."
"Oh hell yeah, soft serve!"
He pulled up to the curb to wait for Sakura to get out of school and parked the car with a sigh. He noticed a teenage couple half-hidden in the shadows, making out against a brick wall. He remembered that feeling: like he couldn't get enough of Sakura, like he had to be close to her at all times. It had never really dulled, he just got better at dealing with it. And while he was no longer a hormonal teenager, he was still a hot blooded male. His urges had just gotten more complicated and tied with his emotions. He missed the intimacy and closeness he had with his wife.
Sakura surprised him by flinging the car door open at that moment. He blinked his thoughts away and nodded in greeting while she got settled inside.
"I have something for you," she said shyly, not quite meeting his gaze. She unzipped her backpack and pulled out a small box.
"Oh?" It was just a normal Wednesday, what was the occasion?
"Well I realized we missed Valentine's Day so…" She felt a little silly about it, but she ended up being quite pleased with her selection. She didn't want the gift to feel juvenile, but she had to acknowledge that their relationship was just different now. If you could even call it that. She just felt like Sasuke was doing everything for her, all for nothing in return. She wanted to be there for him too. (But if she really thought about the Sasuke she had known and loved, she'd realize that he was doing everything for her because that's what he wanted to do. He had known and loved her just as much.)
He opened the box to reveal a small bottle of cologne — no, it read Pillow Spray. He had seen this before: a calming spray with essential oils meant for your pillowcase to help you sleep. He had never considered using one, though.
"You need to take care of yourself too, Sasuke," she said softly, kindly. She knew he was wrapped up in making sure she was adjusting to this new life, but he couldn't forget himself.
She must have remembered the way he used to get nightmares, must have known that they'd come back with a vengeance—especially now that she wasn't there to comfort him at night.
Every single one of them was about losing her again.
He bowed his head, "Thank you, Sakura." Everyday he was unbelievably grateful for her. And that's why losing her terrified him so deeply.
But to express his gratitude, all he could do was offer a smile, squeeze her hand, and drive off.
They were walking in a park on a crisp Sunday morning when the gaps in her memories truly revealed themselves, like the light that filtered through the tree leaves: not all of it could reach the ground. Parts of the path before them were dappled with shifting shadows and Sasuke felt thrown and uncertain.
Sasuke had chuckled to himself, pointing out a wooden bench. "Remember our date there? It lasted all but two minutes because the food from that cafe gave me food poisoning."
"Huh? What cafe?"
"You know, the one near our—uh, your school. They sell dango and stuff." Sasuke hated sweets, and eating them even for Sakura's sake was a mistake. He had felt horrible about ditching her because it was one of their first real dates. But neither of them would've enjoyed it if he stayed. He always thought he made it up to her ten times over since then, though. Now he wasn't so sure.
"But I've only been there once, and I shared with Ino? This was recent too, like, last week."
"You mean you…"
"Don't remember. Uh, let me think," she said, clearly straining for something that was just not within her grasp. He hated seeing her struggle, especially when it should have been as simple as remembering a funny memory.
She wasn't the type to give up easily, so when she sighed and said, "I'm drawing up blank," Sasuke knew the memory just wasn't there anymore. He nodded slowly, trying to digest the fact that this wasn't something he could simply remind her of. He would have to tell her every detail and even then, the memory wouldn't quite be her own, not like it used to be.
"That's okay," he reassured himself more than her, "I'll remember for the both of us. The woman at the shop is kind of old and very kind. Is she still like that?"
"Uh, I think so? Yes? She might be. I'm sorry, I'm just getting confused. I thought a young man served us when I went this time. Or was that the tea shop? Maybe the bookstore? Oh Sasuke, I really don't know," she looked up at him, clearly distressed. Although seemingly mundane, she could tell this was a memory he cherished, and she didn't want to let him down.
He shook his head, "Don't worry about it. We can go together another time." He was quiet for the rest of the walk, lost in his storm of thoughts. Her memories had started to layer on top of each other, and Sasuke's list of fears was growing; he didn't want her to forget her old memories of him.
A/N: Gosh I forgot how fun this story was to write! Hopefully the gift scene wasn't too corny, I literally had no idea what to actually gift him. Next chapter will have Sakura's 17th birthday (so smut is still not happening yet, I won't write underage)! So sorry for the wait on updates though :(