Falling in love with Haruno Sakura was not something he was prepared for. In fact, he didn't think he was capable of even accessing such deep emotions for something in a romantic way.

But here he was. Barely two decades old and utterly fascinated whenever his gaze landed on her.

He understood what Sakura represented in his life. He's known since the tiniest bit of his resolve wavered the night he left Kohona for the first time. But that was different.

Sasuke wouldn't fool anyone if he told them he held any romantic feelings for Sakura then. That just-- that just wasn't the truth but it didn't feel like a total lie. Instead, his feelings for the pinkette were much more complicated than a simple label.

She was someone he considered precious. Her and Naruto. Those two wormed their way into his heart despite his better judgement. Kakashi, too, but the old man didn't have the exact same hold on Sasuke like the other two did.

Naruto, for all his loud mouth complaints and proclamations of being the Hokage, was a true friend to him. He found a brother without even wanting another one. He saw his rival. And so he would feel jealous of the blonde's growing power. Naruto was his best friend.

Sakura. Sakura was this eternal light in his life, welcomed or not. He was genuinely annoyed with her character when they first met, and even for the first few weeks of them being placed on the same team. She was a fan girl and seemed quite committed to that role. But then, her affection seemed to-- not dwindle, that wasn't the right word, but become distant. And he didn't know until that night, but her less forward ways in gaining his affection were a result of her deepening emotions.

She was still not shy about her affections, but they were much more calm in their delivery. And by working as a team, he found that, while she wasn't nearly up to the caliber of her teammates, she was stubborn. So stubborn that she endured a brutal beating while taking care of her boys in the Forest of Death. And seeing Sakura hurt, an image still burned in the back of his mind today, sent his mind in overdrive.

He didn't get it. Why her stubborn affection for him led her to stand against Gaara or confront him on the night he left. Nor did he understand when they saw each other after three years, how the awed look on her face could hold so many emotions just from hearing his voice.

And the bridge. The damn bridge where he almost killed the love of his life, albeit he didn't understand at the time, but even then he had known that Sakura filled a role in his life he never could quite put his finger on.

He understood what that role was as he joined the war-- seeing her heal Naruto, watching her not back down, the pride surging within him as she decimated hundreds of mini Juubi, how she risked everything to save him after he had been separated, and when she pleaded with him again to just come home. And he knew in those moments what Sakura represented to him.

Love.

He knew she truly loved him, even though she shouldn't after everything he had done. And he knew it would all be more painful if she loved him. So he wanted her to hate him, to despise him as he went to kill their best friend.

His efforts were futile.

She was there, in the end. With her glowing green hands and tear stained eyes.

He apologized for the first time, then. Sasuke understood that Sakura was different compared to everyone else. Their bond, it seemed, had not been severed all those years ago when he thanked her, not when he ignited a Chidori behind her back and slashed a kunai aimed at her throat. No, it was still there. She was just waiting for him to truly understand that.

Sakura was a patient, enduring love. How Sasuke didn't see that until she was healing the stumps that used to be his and the idiot's arms, he didn't know.

She remained the quiet and reassuring love as he went back to Kohona and went through his short sentence and rehabilitation. She made sure he ate, consistently checked on his well-being, and simply remained a vital supportive crutch for him to lean on as he relearned the way life is meant to be lived when not consumed with revenge.

It was at the gates of Kohona when Sasuke finally accepted the emotions he tied to the pinkette. He knew he loved her. He knew she was irreplaceable in his life and represented a future that he could one day go home to. But, in accepting those feelings, he knew he didn't deserve such devotion. He didn't deserve her.

So when he returned a year later, he wasn't surprised when the words 'Come with me' had slipped out of his mouth when he told her he wouldn't be staying long.

And now, he was transfixed on her presence beside him as they traveled throughout the land. The small giggles that would escape her lips every so often, the way her features softened considerably when they were in the presence of children, and how she would sometimes reach out for his hand when they were resting against a tree and no one was around.

It was a quiet transition, he supposed. Falling in love sounded like it happened rather quickly. But here they were, just short of a decade from they were first assigned onto Team 7, when he realized he was in love with Haruno Sakura. A little less than half a year had gone by during their travels and Sasuke wasn't sure if he was surprised when he noticed the way everything felt easier when in her presence.

Sasuke didn't deserve her love. But she was still giving it to him willingly and he couldn't help but fall just as deeply for her.

Maybe he didn't love her when they were kids nor was he infatuated with her like she was with him for the better part of their years. But Sakura was different. He always held her to another standard.

Sakura made Sasuke believe in love again. And that was a feat not just anyone could do. No, it took years of pain and hardship to get them to this point.

But it might all be worth it. For this feeling welling inside of him, the one that made him eager to respond to the kisses she sometimes peppered him with or hold onto her tightly as the moon hung itself in the sky.

Falling in love with Haruno Sakura was still something he couldn't prepare for, even with all the years behind them. But even if he was late in realizing, he had Sakura patiently waiting through it all.

Haruno Sakura was, after all, the embodiment of eternal love in his eyes.