a/n: You can read this with this *background music*: Sara Bareilles' Gravity (Instrumental version of MizNessaKeys) on Youtube.

I just realized that this is the perfect song for this whole story, so I put up a couple of lines from it as this fic's summary - and even the lines below. It's too fitting!


Between the Lines

.

.

"I don't wanna fall another moment

into your gravity"

.

.

He was staking his claim on her, and he hoped it would be as clear as the day for Sakura's colleague who seemed to be looking at him cautiously.

Sasuke tightened his hold around her waist, loving her scent and the soft glide of her hair against his skin when he had snuck in a kiss against her forehead.

He knew he had made it home.

But he also knew that Sakura was still in a haze of perplexed wariness about his actions. He could feel her body stiff, closing up on him, and he regretted having committed the capital mistake of telling her to forget about everything.

A couple of forced smiles later, the crowd had finally dispersed. His sudden announcement had seemed to successfully satiate their irrelevant fantasies about other people's lives. That Gaara had also thankfully gone away.

Sakura briefly closed her eyes before drawing a sharp intake of breath. She hastily moved away from his reach and shot him a distraught look.

"You're not supposed to be here . . . Sasuke."

He noted with a sinking feeling that she had dropped the –kun. They were back to square one.

Her voice was trite and tired, and he knew it was his doing. He chose to not respond as he met those inquiring eyes.

Disappointed that he didn't seem to be willing to carry on this conversation, she persisted.

"And you weren't supposed to say things you didn't mean. You told me to forget about – "

"Oh, Sakura!" chimed in a jovial, raspy voice.

She twirled to see her mentor with his wife. The sight of Mrs. Kazuo who looked stylishly timeless in her midnight blue scoop neck knee-length chiffon dress awed Sakura too much she wished she'd stay as elegant as the older lady when she aged.

She then immediately gave a radiant smile. "Kazuo-san, congratulations on your golden anniversary!"

The older lady glanced at her bump before smiling appreciatively at her. She pitched forward, and Sakura did the same, brushing cheeks with her.

"And congratulations on your pregnancy as well. You look gorgeous, darling," she said, positively amused as she tenderly framed Sakura's face in her hands.

As expected, her eyes then flitted to Sasuke. "And this is . . . ?"

Sasuke boxed his shoulders, extending his arm once more to put around Sakura's shoulder.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura could only give a tight-lipped smile as she fidgeted beneath his touch.

The older man then stepped forward, and Sasuke took his proffered hand, shaking it firmly.

"I'm also extending my warmest congratulations to the both of you. I've known for quite some time now about my student's condition but I never got to meet you."

Dr. Kazuo's wife touched the base of her throat in a delighted manner as her eyes flickered between Sakura and Sasuke. "You are such a lovely couple! Don't worry. Soon, it'll be your turn to celebrate your golden anniversary."

Sakura could no longer bite back her protest, so she dared to speak up. But Sasuke always had a way of stopping her.

"Yes. We're looking forward to it. We're getting married next year," Sasuke offered before looking warmly at Sakura who pointedly averted her eyes.

A fresh wave of congratulatory remarks was sent their way before the older couple finally excused themselves to entertain their other guests.

Sakura, once more, walked out of his embrace.

She looked at him with unwonted melancholy.

"Sasuke, why are you here?"

He wanted to tell her. But not in this manner. Instead, he held out the carnation Ino had given him, hoping to appease her.

Sakura was startled by this and mindlessly lifted it to her nose before tucking it inside her clutch bag. After a while, Sasuke responded.

"I . . . don't know."

She gauged his expression, and when she realized he wouldn't give a proper answer, she let loose a feeble sigh.

"You don't know?" she asked even though it sounded more like a statement.

She cast him a crestfallen look before she turned, more than ready to run off elsewhere, somewhere he couldn't follow and muddle her life again.

The lights then dimmed, and a spotlight now illuminated the center space. A slow, velvety music began to play in the background, and in a minute, they were trapped in the commotion of couples embracing each other.

Sakura panicked, looking for a way out when she felt him enclosing her hand in his, spinning her around.

"Dance with me," he said with all the intent of not ending it.

It was a suspenseful moment for her as she allowed him to lift her fingers to his lips. But as soon as she felt those tendrils of traitorous affection for him, she was cruelly reminded of that night he had made himself clear.

He'd never want her the way she wanted him.

She drew her hand back sharply. "Sasuke, please . . . just leave me alone."

He understood her hesitation. After all, he had forced her into that situation.

He walked slowly towards her, and he could see her eyes nervously flickering about his face.

"Sasuke," she exasperated, "You don't have to go this far to pretend – "

"I'm not pretending. Dance with me, Sakura."

She finally stopped pacing away, and he was prepared to erase the scanty distance between them. He brushed his knuckles against the side of her face before gently snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her close.

He almost smirked at her surprised gasp. He then went for her hand once more, interlacing his fingers with hers.

Sakura's mind was going blank. She was caught up in a whirlwind of emotions, and she couldn't distinguish between what was real and not anymore.

In a gesture of desperation, she placed her other hand on his chest in an attempt to still his actions, and for the first time, be the one to push him away.

"What are you doing, Sasuke?" she asked crossly though her tone was softened by a deep resignation to his sudden unusual behavior.

Sasuke tentatively let go of her waist to slide her stubborn hand up his shoulder before closing the distance between them once more.

"Dancing," he remarked simply.

"But I haven't done this before!"

Her eyes widened at her unexpected outburst. She quickly found interest in her feet, ashamed by her out-of-the-blue confession.

He then let out a faint roll of laughter, and it surprised him as much as it did her. But sharing such moment with her felt so incredibly natural. She consciously gazed back at him.

"Aa. I haven't either," he said affably, smiling at her.

He then started to move side to side, taking her with him.

"Uhm . . . so how do we do this . . ." she whispered shyly.

"Trust me, Sakura," he whispered back, squeezing her hand.

With a final sigh, she let him take the lead. She had a lot of things to talk to him about so instead of enjoying the soothing lullaby of the music and parleying with silence, she decided she'd get it across to him outright.

"You're confusing me too much, Sasuke."

Sasuke chose to remain silent, so she continued.

"You can't keep doing this. You asked me to forget . . . don't you think you're being a bit too unfair?" she let out a wry laugh. "And I suppose you still don't know, do you?"

What he did instead was to hold her closer so that he was already engulfing her in a full embrace.

"Stay," he implored, accommodating more of her lithe body, his nose snuggling into her hair.

She felt like they had had this conversation before, and she had known very well the outcome. She shook her head weakly.

"You're always pushing me away . . ." she breathed before feeling the impending waterworks.

She pulled away from him, scooting back as far as she could.

"Don't make this any harder for me, Sasuke. Just keep . . . pushing me away because at least then I'll know where I stand."

She swiftly turned about and passed through the midst of the couples in motion until she was able to come out of the hall successfully. She quickly fumbled for her phone inside her clutch bag, haphazardly dialing her best friend's number.

"She won't come."

Sakura instinctively wheeled around, and Sasuke was glad that he hadn't lost her.

"She's the one who told me you're here," he supplied as he strode towards her.

Sakura could simply stare at him bafflingly.

"I'll be taking care of you from now on."

She was about to react when she felt a twitchy, quickening movement inside her stomach. She gasped at the sudden sensation, foreign yet warming.

Sasuke was at her side immediately.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" he asked breathlessly.

His pale, panic-stricken face came into view, and it somehow calmed her. She shook her head, pressing a hand to her belly.

"I think . . . the baby kicked," she said, evidence of a smile twinkling at the corners of her lips.

A breath of hearty relief escaped him, and seeing her cheer up for a moment had him feeling an overpowering impulse to hold her again . . . and kiss her.

Sakura, oblivious to his overwhelming emotions, just beamed down fondly at her bump, splaying her fingers over it and stroking it, imagining that it was her baby's hair that she was ruffling.

Sasuke then placed his hand atop hers and dropped to his knees, carefully leaning against her bump.

"What are – "

She felt another jerk, and he started rubbing circular motions on her bump with his free hand.

"Aa. I felt that, too."

When he looked up at her, she was blushing prettily, and the sight throttled him so much that in the next second, he was already cupping her cheeks, rapidly diminishing the distance between them when he felt her squirm away before slapping him.

The piercing sound rumbled through the expanse of silence. Sakura looked at him, heaving, words crowding behind her lips as she realized what he was about to do and what she had done instead.

Sasuke would never blame her. He simply looked back at her, instantly regretting once more that the life of her eyes was now discolored by the tears he knew she was trying to hold back, and it was – everything – had been his doing.

"I'm sorry," he uttered woefully.

Sakura shook her head briskly. She wanted to apologize for having to resort to such an action, but she felt an adamant sense of vindication for what she had done. He couldn't just mess her up every time and get off scot-free.

But fate this time had been rather benevolent to the both of them because the mounting tension was cast away by an unexpected yet timely presence.

"Sakura."

She turned around to see Gaara looking at her with concern heavily etched on his face.

"Gaara-kun," she almost whimpered, poised to run to him. She wanted to go to her friend and ask him to take her away, but she thought it wouldn't be right to drag him into the troubling mess she was in.

"Are you okay?"

Gaara made a step towards where she was, but Sasuke's backside suddenly blocked her view.

"I'm taking her home," he said icily, unfazed by the firm look the other man was giving him.

He was willing to fix what he had broken, and he wouldn't let anyone menace his plans to patch things up with the woman he had cruelly wronged.

Sakura wanted to protest. She didn't think it'd be possible for her to spend any more harrowing minutes with Sasuke.

"Sasu – "

"I understand," the other man uttered before giving a final nod. "I'll see you soon, Sakura."

She wasn't even given the chance to respond as Sasuke already caught her wrist, pulling her along as he made his way to his parked car.

She could only stumble after him, too powerless to pull away from his grip.

"Sasuke, you're not obligated to – "

"It's my duty," he declared judiciously before facing her, "After all, we're getting married soon."

It was the third time she had heard him speak about their marriage, but the effect on her this time was unrelentingly strongerthat before she knew it, Sasuke had already opened the door to her side of the car, and she could only go in.

A strangling silence settled around them on the drive home, and she needed to break it. Nothing unusual.

"Can I have my car back?" she began.

Sasuke only spared her a glance. "You have no need for it. I will still be – "

"Like I said, Sasuke, it's not your duty to – "

"It is. As your husband-to-be."

She then threw up her hands in exasperation.

"What do you mean anyway? Why are you suddenly bringing up this topic? Marriage? Are you even half-serious ab – "

The car skidded to a halt.

Sasuke looked at her resolutely. "I am. I intend to marry you."

A bubble of hope was surging up inside her even though it was illegal. So she had to ask.

"Why, Sasuke?"

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. His feelings were threatening to spill, but he didn't want it to be expressed this way. He still had a lot to atone for, and he was well aware that he had been confusing her. He would take it slow this time. He would prove it to her through his actions so that she wouldn't even think of asking.

Words would never amount to what he had all along been feeling for her.

He gave the safest answer he could.

"It's for the child."

Sakura tore her glance away, her head slumping against the headrest as she blinked back the tears once more. Of course, she thought. Nothing more. Nothing less.

"But you don't have to go through such lengths. We're fine as it is," she said dispassionately.

He could tell that this whole conversation was tiring her out, but he would insist.

"No. We're not."

"Please don't think like you're stuck with me because of the child. You can always fall in love and settle down with someone else . . ." she said, still turned away from him.

At this point, she couldn't care less anymore about his real intentions. She just wanted to get home fast and rest, pretend this night never happened, that she hadn't hoped again only to be denied once more.

Sasuke grimaced. "That won't happen."

He wished for her to look back at him. He needed her to see that his sincerity was genuine this time. He planned to settle down but never with someone else.

Sakura just sneered, plopping a hand through her hair as she angled her head back towards him.

"Now I feel guilty. You'll be stuck with me forever and be forced to have a life you never wished to have."

Sasuke opened his mouth to rebut what she said. He'd never have regrets.

"Sasuke. Please just give me back my keys. You've done your fair share of taking care of this child in my womb and now it's my turn to take care of myself. Don't worry. I'm as healthy as I can be and I'm not as careless as you think. I promise you I won't let anything to happen to this child."

"That's not – "

"I'm tired. Let's just go home, shall we?" she finished as she forced out a smile.

He wanted her to understand, but maybe he also had to give her time to adjust. He wouldn't rush her. He wouldn't mess up this time.

He resumed driving and thought of an interesting topic that she might want to engage in.

"I was able to close a number of deals with some investors," he volunteered.

Sakura looked at him quizzically, not knowing how to respond, belatedly realizing that he was still in his business suit. She then noted his rather strained appearance and mused that he might've been too busy fixing things for his company.

"That's good then," she muttered after a while, expressing her silent support for him despite herself.

From the front mirror that was well directed to her side, he could see her now looking out through the car window, and she knew she wouldn't take him up on his offer of starting a conversation. But he was satisfied for now.

When they arrived home, there were no words needed. Sasuke just knew she'd sleep in her room and would never again share a bed with him. She was already halfway to her room when he called out.

"Good night, Sakura."

Sakura stopped in her tracks but didn't look back anymore, only giving a faint nod.

Distressed by her unresponsiveness, he tried once more.

"I'll be leaving your keys on the table."

"Thank you."

But it wasn't enough for him.

"I'll be . . . frying some eggs for breakfast."

She half-turned this time, shaking her head despite the slight curve of her lips.

"No need, Sasuke. I'm going in."

"You looked beautiful tonight, Sakura," he said with a little more stress. You've always been. Please look at me.

His words echoed enticingly in her ears, but she immediately refused to feel anything about his statement and walked on, head held up high until she was able to enter the comforts of her room.

He had no choice but to also proceed to his room, and it was so achingly different from when she was still there. But as he lied down in his bed they once shared, he noticed that her scent still hung about in the room, and it calmed him considerably.

Her seeming unresponsiveness was starting to worry him, and he could only hope their relationship would progress in the days to come.

Soon enough, he'd tell her he was ready to be a father to their child and to be the husband she had always deserved.

...

Tbc.

Thank you so much for all your support! I may not have been sending you personal thank-you messages but please know how you are all brightening up my every day. To be perfectly honest, I think I've reached this point where I'm more than tempted to abandon this romantic shell of mine. I've been daydreaming of other worlds and of more intricate plotlines which are not necessarily centered on romance. But I guess I'll never be able to walk away from the SasuSaku crazy shipper in me, so let's all see this through, shall we?

I'm starting to have a very tight schedule again, so you won't probably be seeing me for weeks. But if I get enough 'free' time, I'll try working on some oneshots first before updating this one. I promise to give an update before October though. In the meantime, reviews~?