and it's hard to be at a party when i feel like an open wound / it's hard to be anywhere these days when all i want is you / you're a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town

- this is me trying, taylor swift (folklore)

his long-distance girlfriend's resounding laugh over the phone echoes like the chorus of his favorite song and sasuke smiles. even being a thousand miles away from each other, he can clearly paint a picture of her in his head as she continues to laugh through the receiver.

"why is it my fault that the news headlines are all about you going solo to that event?" she giggles, a little out of breath from her hearty cackles. "you already had that lone-wolf image even before we started going public. your mother was worried you'll end up alone."

sasuke sips his champagne and grimaces from the lukewarm temperature of it. he places his flute on the balcony's banister before turning around and leans his back on it.

"don't remind me," he grumbles, wanting to make her laugh again. she did.

"it's okay, love. you look handsome, by the way. all black suit? ooh la la, sir."

even without her there in front of him, his gaze automatically averted to the side as if a little shy. he can feel his cheeks getting hot. four years and ten months after he confessed to being in love with her, sakura never fails to make his heart stutter without effort.

sasuke recovers, "yeah, too bad you're not here to see it for yourself. you're missing out."

her tone becomes somber and sounds like an apology as well, "i know, sasuke-kun…"

in this foreign city with its different timezone and bizarre people he couldn't care about, sasuke wishes she's there with him, celebrating his success together. the film he put his blood, sweat, and tears into for two years had won the highest and most prestigious award tonight.

this award is voted not just by executives who run corporations or panels who don't know jackshit about films in the first place. the viewers do— the people who consume his art and the people who he makes these films for. they were the ones who made this possible. it's something that he dreamt of ever since he was a kid who had his first-ever film camera at 8 years old.

and now, two decades later, here he is— the youngest recipient of the filmmaker of the year title. proud is an understatement; even the word happiness can't even amount to the feeling itself. it's a culmination of everything he's sacrificed for, and now he's reaping the fruits of his labor outside his family name.

sweeping his eyes across the room where the afterparty is, he can see his parents talking to the big names in the industry. from the way his father's shoulders are up, sasuke has a feeling that uchiha fugaku is making propositions for possible business deals. looking at his mother's look on her face, he knows mikoto is fondly exasperated at her husband. sasuke smiles briefly.

he's not alone in this party— he has his entire production team somewhere near the open bar, he has the film heroes he looked up to since he was a child scattered throughout the venue; hell, this place is jam-packed with all kinds of public personalities that he only hears about...

...just not the person— his girl— he wants to see the most.

"i miss you," sasuke whispers. he looks up to the sky and sees the stars twinkling in the night sky. they're bright and pretty, but not as pretty as the one who holds his heart in her hands. it might be the alcohol he consumed (no matter how little that was) or the significance of this night, but he continues to whisper his feelings to her, wishing she's here and not a thousand miles away.

"it's hard to be here when i know you're there, probably sipping your morning tea, and not feel like i'm the one missing out," he says, laughing slightly. "it's hard when i watch all these great films and you're not there to share your bad take on them."

sakura giggles softly, "i hate you. you love my bad takes!"

he nods his head like she's there, "i do."

the silence is lovely and he hears her breathe before answering back, "i miss you, too."

sasuke feels like an open wound in this party where anyone could be watching to add salt to him. he's feeling quite vulnerable without sakura around, to be honest. she's a force to be reckoned with and he feels safe, so so safe, whenever she's there beside him. two years of being away from her is one of the most difficult things he's ever done.

"i'll be home soon, love," sasuke promises to her. "for now, just look at my pictures so you won't get lonely."

there is a gush of wind on her end. sakura says something but he didn't quite catch it.

"what was that again? i didn't hear you."

"-said nah…-wanna see…-in person…"

sasuke frowns, "where are you?" he looks at his watch and after some calculation he says, "it's just 6am there. why are you outside already?"

her voice became clear again but this time, he can hear some background music behind her voice. "sorry, i had to get out so i could have a better reception."

she's never a morning person, and the fact that she woke up this early to congratulate him makes him feel like he's won a thousand awards already.

"go back to sleep," he says. sasuke straightens his body so he can go back inside and get his parents so they can leave. he doesn't want to stay longer anyway. "i'll ask my parents if they want to go back to the hotel early. you should get more rest, too."

as a passionate young doctor, sakura is always on-call. leaving her for a long time made him worry the most because she tends to overwork herself. and since he won't be there to take care of her, sasuke literally made her swear that she won't do it.

but knowing her like the back of his hand, he knows she did it at least a couple of times. the brat.

"wait!" she exclaims. "answer me first!"

sasuke lets out an amused huff, "hm?"

"...is oikawa tooru really there? the volleyball star? can you get me his autograph?"

his eyes dart to the tall brunet in question, laughing boisterously and charmingly, and sasuke's mood turns sour. "no."

"psh," sakura pouts (he knows this for a certain) and whines. "you're no fun!" the noise in her background is a little louder now. it sounds like the clinking of tableware and faint chattering of a crowd. sasuke pays it no mind.

sasuke unconsciously glares at the athlete as he makes his way back inside, "i'm not gonna walk up to him and ask for his signature when you can just do that yourself... oh right, you're not here. bummer."

sakura has gotten into volleyball lately and that oikawa is the only thing she can talk about for weeks. seeing the man who got his girlfriend's attention in the flesh makes him annoyed. her words suddenly turn his head upside down though.

"you're right," she says playfully. "i guess i can just do it myself, then."

his feet stopped walking; his brain started to process the meaning of her words. when it hits, he murmurs her name.

"sakura…"

"perhaps you should also find someone who can give you an autograph… maybe from… a pretty lady, all dolled-up in a green dress that she thinks you might like..?"

sasuke presses his phone harder against his ear, and he can definitely hear his mother's favorite song in the background— the one about the way you look tonight— the same song playing where he is at right now. he excitedly whips his head around, once and then twice, and suddenly there she is.

the bottle green of her dress can't compare to the green fields of her irises, but sasuke won't complain. not when she looks like a dream come true— his dream come true.

she smiles that smile that he's only ever seen through computer screens and kissed through the phone for the past 21 months, and sasuke moves.

there are cameras around; these people who already took too much of his time, and he can't give a shit anymore. can you blame him? how can he ever think of anything else when he's got the love of his life in his arms once again?

"you're insane," he murmurs against her neck as they embrace. "you're fucking crazy."

her strong arms wrap around his neck while his own are gripping her by the waist. sakura yelps in happiness and tightens her own hold on him, "crazy for you."

sasuke laughs, boyish and carefree against her skin, and he kisses her neck as the first tears prick his eyes. he whispers, "you're here…"

she's not just a film reel in his head that he plays when he misses her. she's not just a flashback his mind has provided for him at nights when he feels lonely. she's not just a childhood town that he wants to keep on visiting when he needs solace from the chaos of his life.

she is safe harbor, a lighthouse, and a signal fire.

she is oasis in the desert; the cardinal north in his directionless life.

she is love and she is real and she is here.

sakura pulls back to look at him, her emerald eyes smiling at him, and sasuke feels like he truly won tonight.

"so…" she teases him by running her hand down to his chest and playing on the lapels of his suit. her eyes are mischievous while she thumbs behind her as she says, "you better let me go now because i have an autograph to get. oikawa-san might l-"

sasuke gently grabs her chin and slots his lips between hers. he feels her smiling against their kiss and he can't help but smile back. his heart is beating so loud he's afraid it might get out. but then again, let it be.

let the whole world know that his heart beats entirely for haruno sakura only.

a/n: i am back asjldjafj i just got in a bit of a writing slump for the past month that i wasn't able to write at all for that long. i am so sorry to anyone of you who keeps on reading my stuff :( i appreciate you all! i also got busy with work, also with our upcoming project, the legacy zine for the uchiha family! our interest check is still open for the last 4 days so please answer it and let us know what you think! hopefully i can get back on track with updating, at least this series, so i can finally finish it. thank you so much!

ps. this was also supposed to be posted on july20 since it's the 20th entry, and i really just had to make oikawa tooru from haikyuu to make his cameo because july20 is his birthday aasfajkdhfajk i love him pls :(