(This one is kind of a rough draft (of sorts) so, I apologize if it doesn't flow very well but I'm trying something different; so, please be kind.)

Sakura Haruno was scared.

So, she ran.

She ran away from the one (the only) person that she would ever love; for the rest of her life...

... she ran away from the man with her-black hair and matching (piercing) eyes.

She should have known that he would find her in the end; he found people for a living after all. It was only a matter of time, right; though when he did, would she let herself feel again?

Can Sakura let herself give into him; in the way that she desperately wanted to?

A Sasusaku au one-shot.

(It's slightly angsty at the beginning, but with a happy ending I promise; it's a romance).

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— Past: 10 weeks ago —

The very first night that they made love, Sasuke Uchiha openly confessed his affections for the female with striking looks and naturally pink hair.

And that night, when the young man had finally fallen asleep (with his lover wrapped protectively within his strong embrace) it was the happiest that he had ever been in his life. That is, until he awoke the next morning...

... alone; with only cold and empty sheets to keep him company.

Sasuke was devastated and heartbroken. But he wasn't going to give up on her. No... not without a fight.

She may have slipped out of his grasp (this time) but he wasn't done with her yet; Uchiha pride be damned, for the woman who had stolen his heart would be his.

When he found her... he would never let her go.

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— Present —

She was cleaning a table when he walked in that morning and the pinkette couldn't stop the rolling of her viridescent eyes as a soft and gentle smile formed across her plump, pink lips. She watched him as he removed his top hat and long, black overcoat before taking his usual seat in one of the small corner booths that lined the quaint little restaurant's exterior walls.

Sakura slowly stood from her slightly slumped position; hands pressing against her back to help support the weight of her (now) slightly rounded belly as she walked (or waddled rather) towards him. She placed her hands on her hips once she reached his table and gave him a playful glare.

"Sasuke."

"Sakura."

He looked up at her; jet-black hair ruffled slightly, in its normally spiked appearance, while his equally dark eyes seemed to pierce right through her very soul. Sakura crossed her arms over her chest; hoping this would help ease some of her growing anxiety. "I thought I told you not to come in here... again."

The Uchiha placed his large hands on the table; face void of emotion. "It's the only restaurant in town with a decent breakfast menu."

Her thick lips clamped shut for a moment as she glanced behind her; observing the few customers that sat sporadically around the small space (which mostly consisting of the elderly) before turning back towards him.

"Are you positive that's the real reason?" When the young man only shrugged as a response, she sighed; fingers coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose while she closed her eyes briefly. "You can't keep doing this, Sasuke. Coming in here... while I'm working, I mean. I've already told you... that... that we can't do this."

"Why? Why won't you at least talk to me about it," he questioned earnestly; eyes scanning her slowly before they came to rest on her bump. She began to shift on her feet; anxious with the way that he was gazing at her growing stomach. He met her gaze once more. "All things considered... I feel I've been very patient with you, Sakura. We need to talk. You can't shut me out and you can't keep me away." When the man tried to reach for her hand; she refused. "You know Sakura, that I lov..."

"Okay," she hissed; a sour expression twisting her features as she pulled out her notepad and pen. "We can talk today after my shift. Will that make you happy?"

"Extremely." His soft smile was contagious and she found her demeanor shifting as she slowly began to relax once again. Sasuke was right of course; the couple needed to talk about a lot of things. She was just afraid; afraid of what all that could possibly entail—

Last time they tried to talk, it ended in her being pressed roughly against a door frame in her workplace while Sasuke—

— Flashback: 3 weeks ago —

She was panting; harshly...

... and his hips pressed against hers as he slowly pulled one of her legs upwards.

She pulled away from his lips; gasping for breath and his lips trailed up her throat as she wrapped her delicate fingers around his thick girth.

"S-Sasuke..."

He pushed forward at her breathy whisper; his full length sliding easily within her tight hold and he groaned out his approval against her heated skin.

Slowly, his large hands moved to her hips; fingers dipping beneath the fabric of her short, loosely-fitting skirt before he began to lift the fabric up...

... and Sakura guided him towards her dripping sex with slightly shaky hands—

— end of flashback —

Sakura shook her head, to try and free her mind of the annoying thoughts (of him) and turned to place his order.

Today... it was going to be a very long day.

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— Past: 8 weeks ago —

Sasuke finally found her and at first, he couldn't be more thrilled.

Sakura had been hiding in a rather small town, which was only about two hours (by car) away from their original location and was apparently working as a waitress at a small diner just on the outskirts of the main city (if you could even call it that).

After the initial excitement of finding her began to wane... all Sasuke could feel (for a while at least) was a red-hot and seething anger.

It had taken the detective a while to actually find her; and it was his job to find people. So, he felt that he should have been able to do so rather easily; but he hadn't. She was good at hiding her tracks; not good enough though, in the end.

He had been planning on giving her a piece of his mind, but—

As Sasuke watched her work, he realized that he hadn't seen Sakura so relaxed and... at ease... as she looked while working in the small diner.

The only other time he had ever noticed her this happy, was when she was with him. Back home, Sakura was stressed, anxious, and overworked a majority of the time... and he always felt slightly guilty for allowing her to live that way for so long.

So secretly, he was happy for her; though, he did miss her and he definitely hadn't changing his mind as to the reason behind his find her in the first place.

He still wanted her.

And as he left the warmth of his car and slowly, silently approached the quaint little restaurant, he had only one thought in mind; in the end... she would be his.

He just had to convince her—

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— Present —

After Sakura's long shift at the diner, Sasuke had come to pick her up and taken her out for dinner; though, she continuously insisted to him that she wasn't very hungry.

But he was just as stubborn as she; and so, in the end, they had compromised and decided to go to a cheaper place rather than the steak house that he had originally planned on.

Sakura's stomach was in completely knots and she couldn't stop worrying her hands together as they sat across from each other. After they both had placed their orders to the older waiter, (who gave the younger couple a warm and friendly smile) he walked away; leaving them alone once again.

Silence ensued.

Sasuke was watching the pinkette (closely) and she realized that it was with both the sharpness and accuracy in which she had seen a predator watch its prey.

It was slightly unnerving, and she shifted in her seat before clearing her throat to try and break some of the tension that was growing between them.

"So," she started as she finally managed to meet his gaze. "What do you want to talk to me about, Sasuke?"

"Really, Sakura? Like you don't know." The man's tone was somewhat accusing, and it irked her to hear it. Her pregnancy hormones were kicking in, and she gave him a heated glare while her plump lips pulled down.

"Well, I don't know what you want me to say," she huffed as her small hands balled into tight fist. "I guess it's all my fault, right? It's always been my fau..."

"When, Sakura? When where you planning to tell me," he asked; interrupting her speech and when she only gave him a confused look, the Uchiha simply nodded his head towards the direction of her protruding belly. Sakura blushed deeply and decided to looked away; unable to respond to him right away due to her throat growing dry and unable to meet his firm stare any longer.

"I... I don't know," the pinkette whispered; almost incoherently as she lowered her head in shame.

"If I hadn't come...," he asked; his tone growing soft as he watched her deflate before him. "... if I hadn't noticed it... if I... would you have told me?"

A long pause. Then silence—

"... yes. Eventually," she responded as she looked up slowly to meet his sorrowful expression and her heart clenched painful in her chest because Sakura had never seen him so... broken... before. Not in the two years in which they had grown to know each other and it hurt her that she was the reason behind it; when it could have easily been avoided... if she hadn't been such a coward and a scaredy cat. 'Why am I like this? Why did I hurt him so? I'm such a horrible human being...'

"Why didn't you just tell me right away, instead of running from me, Sakura? Instead of running away... from us... from what we had?" He leaned forward; his large forearms placed flat against the tabletop and expression slightly hard; though she could easily see the pain and hurtful feelings being hidden behind his onyx-colored orbs.

She knew him so well—

"I guess... I was just scared," she confessed on a sigh as she placed her hands on top of the table. The irritation from earlier slowly draining from her body as she leaned her aching back against the seat. Sakura gave him a tired smile, but he didn't return it. His expression and posture remained... unchanged.

"Why?"

"Really, Sasuke," Sakura asked as she rolled her green eyes at him and sat up a little straighter in her wooden chair. "Just look at me will you. I mean serious... come on. It's not as if I'm able to meet your families' expectations of what your future wife should look like... or even be like for that matter! I'm not... I'm just not a good fit to be with an Uchiha."

Sasuke frowned as he leaned forward. "You think that I give a damn about what they think of you?"

"Well, shouldn't you? They are your family after all."

He shook his head in the negative. "I don't and I never have."

"But...," she tried to protest but he stopped her.

"I'm not following their plans for me, Sak. I never intended to... even before I met you. You just helped to push the changes a little quicker than I had originally planned to but I'm not complaining by any means. Besides, it's not my family but my stupid uncle who has the stick up his ass and is all about the old traditional way of doing things. Trust me... my mother, father, and brother all love and adore you, love. As do I. So, stop being such a stubborn ass woman and come home with me, Sakura. Where you belong."

The pinkette swallowed harshly and felt the tears beginning to form in front of her irises. "Sasuke, i don't know if..."

"Look," Sasuke spoke; his voice stern and slightly hard while his gaze was stormy. "Do I have to get down on my hands and knees in front of you to beg you to come back with me? Because I'm not opposed to doing so if that's the case; my damn Uchiha pride can go fuck itself at this point." His tone turned light as he unlaced his fingers from around one another. "Although, I ask that we go somewhere a little more... sanitary... if you don't mind."

Sakura Haruno couldn't stop the wild laughter or the silent tears from dripping down her face that accompanied his comment. She watched his lips twist and pull into a genuine smile and this time... when he reached for her smaller hand with his larger one... she didn't try and pull away.

"So, what do you say? Will you come home with me, Sakura?"

A long, rather drawn-out pause rested between them for a full minute; in which she contemplated and worried her bottom lip anxiously as a million scenarios swirled within her overworked brain.

"We have a lot to talk about still," Sakura finally settled on as she met his gaze head on. Without hesitation; he responded.

"I know."

It took the woman only but a second after that to decide that what she truly wanted was to be with the young man that she had fallen in love with, for all of two years, and simply nodded as words seemed to fail her.

Sakura's throat was being clogged by the jumble of random emotions tumbling within her. 'Stupid pregnancy hormones...'

She reached over, and with a single hand locked at the base of his head, (to hold Sasuke closely to her) the pinkette placed her soft lips upon his; so firmly and passionately that they both failed to notice the round of applause that surrounded them from the other costumers, who happened to overhear the heartfelt moment that transpired between them.

Author's Notes:

If any of these sound like your own writing or another you have read I apologize but I didn't copy anyone's work. This is entirely my own writing.