Wow. It's been a while.

Well, this is just a drabble I did about Sakura, waiting for Sasuke to come from home. I was watching a lot of depressing AMV's about Sasuke, and a few about Sakura, and I just got inspired. I hope I kept Sakura in character... this is the first Naruto fanfic I've done. Also, constructive criticisms are welcome, but flames are not. I have a "You flame, you pay," policy. Got it?

Oh, and a note to my regular readers (If you don't read my other stories, you can skip this part): I'm SO sorry for being gone for so long. I've been going through some rough times, and it's really been screwing with my writing. The other stories are not dead, just on hiatus. I'm gonna finish them- they're all planned out. However, I hate it when people poststories and then never finish them. I have realized that I have been doing this, and for that I am eternally sorry. Because of this, I have decided to not post any stories until I am completely finished with them. Then at least I know I can satisfy my readers. In addition, I have about a billion ideas for fanfics. including ones for Naruto, Fruits Basket, Corpse Bride, Newsies, and even some more Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean. Just keep in touch; they'll come out in good time!

Sorry about that long intro. Please read &review my story... hope you enjoy!

The sunset was beautiful. The rich reds, golds, and pinks painted the sky into a masterpiece of nature. Sakura had a wonderful view from her bedroom window, and every evening that she was home, she would watch it carefully, waiting until darkness covered the land before she left her window.

Yes, the sunset was beautiful, and she loved to watch it when she could. But that was not her sole reason for keeping such close lookout on the horizon.

Sasuke had been gone for two years now. It was two years ago that he left her sleeping on a bench, wondering if he was ever going to come back. Her heart yearned and cried for his return, but her head was constantly telling her to move on. He was not coming back; he was never coming back. The Village Hidden Among the Leaves was no place to gain power. It was with him, that monster of a man: Orochimaru.

She remembered the Chuunin exams, when Team Seven had first met him. Sakura grimaced, remembering the night when both Sasuke and Naruto were so battered that she was the only one who could look over them.

Fear.

Anxiety.

Impatience.

The emotions she felt that night weren't too different from the ones she felt now.

Fear that he was never coming back. Anxiety of where he was and what he was doing now. Impatience that she had to wait this long, and she still had no answers to her burning questions.

The pinks and reds had now changed to violets and blues. The sun was almost set, and there was still no sign of Sasuke on the horizon. She sighed in hopelessness, but she did not turn her eyes away from the sky. He could still come home. It could still happen.

But it probably wouldn't.

She missed him. She knew she would when she watched him leave, but she never thought that it would tear at her heart like this. Many had told her that it was impossible to fall in love when you weren't even ten years old yet. And maybe she hadn't truly loved him at that age when she first confessed her crush to Ino. But she was sure that what she felt for him now was nothing short of true, real love. Why else would she care so much about him? Why else would she cry herself to sleep on the nights when she was feeling lonely, knowing that he was nowhere near her? Why else would she stay so vigilant at her window, hoping and praying that tonight would be the night he came home?…

The sun was now gone. The sky was now covered in dark blues and blacks. A few street lights from the town were the only thing that helped Sakura see the dim skyline. Still, she didn't want to leave her seat by the window. She usually felt this urge to stay at the window, but most of the time her hopelessness drove her to leave it and go to bed once the sunset was gone.

But tonight, her love and last shred of hope for his return kept her eyes glued to the entrance of the city. She quickly changed into her sleepwear and grabbed a blanket off her bed before settling back in her chair, promising herself that she was not going to leave.

Life wasn't fair. She had loved him with everything she had. She had watched over him in particular in every mission they had together. She had given him everything.

And even though she lived for his rare smiles and his odd way of showing that he cared, she did not exactly receive anything more from him.

It wasn't so much that she demanded more from him, per say. He had already given her so much; he was her first love. No. She didn't demand more.

She just wanted to know why.

Why did he leave? Why couldn't she stop him? Why, after everything she gave, was fate so cruel as to snatch him away?

Sakura watched in frustration as clouds darker than the night sky clouded over the moon. The landscape became darker, and Sakura rested her head in her hands, closing her eyes.

It didn't matter.

Nothing mattered anymore. All that she hoped for, all that she wanted, all that she thought she earned… pointless.

Her love for him could not keep him. Her pleas for him to stay fell on deaf ears. There was no one who saw her tears. There was no one to hear her heart's cry. Though everyone saw a determined young lady, no one knew the broken soul she was inside.

She could not have made him stay. Nothing would have made him stay. He had thought it through, made his decision, and carried out his plan. And although it was his reason for leaving…

… his determination was just another quality that she treasured.

Sakura started as the thunder boomed above her and the rain poured freely outside. It picked up to a heavy downpour in just a few seconds, and Sakura knew that sitting by the window was now pointless. She couldn't see thirty feet out of her window, and from the looks of it, the rain was not going to let up anytime soon.

But still…

She stood, dropping the blanket to the floor, and deftly moved her hand to the latch of her window. Opening it, she stuck her head out just barely, hoping to make out something… anything…

Nothing.

The drops of rain mingled with the hot tears cascading down her cheeks. A whisper escaped her lips.

"I love you, Uchiha Sasuke. Please be safe, wherever you are. And please don't forget me. I'll be waiting."

Drawing her head slowly back inside the house, she closed her window. Grabbing a towel from her bathroom, she towel-dried her now soaking head and tossed the towel carelessly on the floor. She gathered her slightly damp blanket off the floor and curled up on her bed, not bothering to get under the sheets. She had a mission to complete with Naruto tomorrow, and for her own sake, she hoped it wouldn't be anything too serious. She knew she needed sleep if she was going to be of any use the next day.

Sakura's thoughts swirled about in her head before she let sleep overcome her.

Maybe tomorrow… maybe he'll come home tomorrow. It could happen…

But it probably won't.