Summary: People usually couldn't wait for him, and he most certainly didn't expect her to. However, she managed to astound him with her eternal patience for him.

Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, at all. All the characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei.

As Time Passes

Patience

Moments of happiness were brief for her, but she'd wait forever to be with him. At night, he forgot all his pain, all his fears, all his hesitations to be with her, only with her. In the morning, he put back his mask of cold, cruel emotions, his true nature hidden from prying eyes. She waited patiently for him to make the first move.

She waited even longer, was more patient than ever, when he left on those long, arduous missions of his. Everyday she was her normal, perky self but at night, all those tears dammed up in her emotional reservoir spilled, untamed. She would cry, pitying herself, consoling herself that tomorrow, tomorrow would bring her closer to his arrival. When he arrived, she'd latch onto him, not caring that people would see her with him like that.

He never spoke of his affection for her, nor did he display it often, even if his world consisted only of her. She would wait until the end of time for him to speak those words. His actions, however, spoke of his entire emotional dependence on her, his one and only confidant.

She would wait for him to stop wallowing in self-pity, for him to open up to the world, or even just to her. She could not help his old wounds heal, if he did not admit to her that he wanted to rid himself of the pain. Patiently, she'd tell him that it was not an act of weakness to ask for help. He merely shrugged it off and busied himself with other tasks, such as impregnating her, his wife.

She would wait for him to slowly fit into the mold of normality, helping him adjust to the world at hand. As he was an ANBU Captain, a leader of an assassination platoon, and the one she belonged to. Because of his rank as a ninja, he fitting into the mold of normality was highly unlikely. Even though, she was there to help him through. It was a hard task, waiting for him, but as a wife, she would do so faithfully.

"Sasuke-kun, you're leaving again for another mission tomorrow, aren't you?" she asked softly as she curled up next to him, resting beneath the covers.

"Yeah, it might take a week, maybe a bit longer than that."

"Even as your subordinate, with all my medical technique, I can't go along with you, right?"

"No," he said firmly as he pulled her closer against his body, "You, Sakura, will not be endangered while you are pregnant."

"An assassination mission? Of whom?"

"Daimyo of a small country, a corrupt one, as well as a dictator."

"Okay then. I'll wait for you and protect this child." Sasuke nodded as he drifted back to sleep, with her in his arms. "And maybe, you'll let me heal your wounds." Her words went unheard for her husband was already sleeping soundly.

Owari

It's cute, can I say that?

Not much else.

In any case, these stories aren't going to be long, since they're the type devoid of any major storyline. If these one-shots inspire you to write any more, by all means go ahead.