She was lying on top of me, out of breath. The sweat sticking our naked skin together, her long pink hair falling all over my chest, ear pressed precisely over my heart.
I think she liked it. Feeling how being with her sent my heart racing. After making love, she'd often press her ear against my chest and lie in silence.
But that day, after a while, she broke her silence.
"Sasuke?"
Her voice was soft. But still a little raspy.
"Hn?" I was staring at the ceiling, unmindfully running my fingers through her sweaty yet silky hair.
"Will you," she lifted herself off me, just enough so that she could see my face. "Will you… marry me?"
Marry?
That was completely out of the blue. We had never talked about marriage before. And I couldn't come up with a reply immediately.
"A girl I work with... She was living with her boyfriend... She thought they'll get married in the future because that's… that's how it works. You love someone, live with them, then in the end you get married and start a family together... Right?"
She stared at me for a few seconds, expecting an affirmation. But I couldn't give her one. Not because I didn't agree with her. But because I wasn't at all anticipating this conversation.
"But... When she asked him about their future... he said he didn't want such commitments and couldn't promise her anything. He said he loves her but things like marriage... he doesn't know if he'll ever be ready for that..."
We had never discussed our future together or anything. We had just met at the university, fallen in love, and then one thing happened after another and we moved in together. It all happened so fast. We didn't have a proper plan or anything. What we were doing, it could be best described as testing the waters.
I understood her insecurity. And it pained me to think she was worried one day I'll leave her. After taking everything she had to offer. She was afraid of being used and then discarded.
"Do you want to marry me?" I asked tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yes. I want you to be my family"
There was something in the way she spoke. It was so raw, so sincere. It felt as if she showed me a piece of her heart.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I want to marry you and have lots of babies and raise them together," she spoke in a hurry and then hid her face in my chest.
Babies?
Babies? Of me and Sakura? I got this picture in my head. Of Sakura, pregnant with our baby. A warm smile on her face as she gently caressed the bump where a new life was nurturing. Perhaps that was the most serene image in the universe.
But we still had a long way to go before we could have that.
"It's still too early for a baby. Parenthood is a way more serious commitment. We're still too young for that."
She looked up at me.
"But we could get married if you want to. We're old enough for that." I wrapped an arm around her.
She blinked.
"You... want to get married?"
"You don't?"
"I do but... You're still studying and..."
"And I will be studying. Nothing has to change. Except I'll get to call you my wife instead of my girlfriend."
Wife.
There was a nice ring to it.
The way I saw it, it was totally fine. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her and if she felt the same way about me, there wasn't any reason for us to not get married.
For a few seconds, she just stared at me. And then, I saw tears gathering in her green eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she shook her head, "I'm happy." She put her arms around my neck.
I think that's one thing about being young. You're kind of over-enthusiastic and restless. When you want to do something, you want to do it right away. Without wasting any moment. You don't even consider the possibility of changing your mind in the future. You think that you know everything you'll ever need to know. At least that's how I thought back then. I was so sure I was going to spend the rest of my life with Sakura. I loved her and she loved me. And we thought that was all we needed. Love. The ultimate magic spell. That solves every problem and makes your life a rose-coloured dream.
We registered our marriage a week later. We decided to keep it at that. I knew my parents were never going to turn up even if we tried to have a formal ceremony. And with our income, we could only dream of having one.
"I've always wanted to be a bride," she told me. "To wear a wedding dress, walk the isle and have the perfect fairy-tale wedding. But what I never really considered was that to have a wedding, I'll need someone to marry. Now that I have you, I understand that that actually is the most important part. I no longer care about anything else. As long as it's you, I don't care if I don't have a wedding."
But I didn't like it. I didn't want her to compromise her dreams for me. I wanted her to have it all. So I promised her we'll have a wedding. Later. When I graduate and get a proper job, I told her we'll have a wedding and she'll get to wear a wedding dress and be the most beautiful bride to have ever walked down the isle.
That evening, we went to a studio and had a photo taken. Technically, our wedding photo.
Then we went for dinner at her favourite pizza place. On our way home, there was a recently opened wine bar. We thought some wine would be a good idea. Especially since our 'wedding dinner' comprised of a pepperoni pizza and cola. So, we went in.
It was a small place, run by a young-looking woman. Since the bar was exclusive to wines, there was neither any crowd nor any commotion. Instead, it had a calm and comforting ambience.
Although there were tables available, we decided to sit at the counter.
We were sipping our wine when suddenly, leaving her half-empty glass on the counter, Sakura left her seat. She walked up to the piano in the corner and turned to the blonde woman who was serving wine to two new customers. She didn't have any employee it seemed.
"Can I play?"
"Go ahead."
With her permission, Sakura sat on the stool and her fingers started to play with the black and white keys. Now, I don't know shit about music but there was something in her playing because everyone in that small bar were all at once looking at her. Until that point, everyone was enjoying their own time, at their own table, with their companions, detached from the others. But Sakura's playing brought everyone together, capturing the attention of every single person inside that small bar.
It was as if there were pearls thrown haphazardly here and there and her music became a string and held them together, making a necklace out of it. It was magical.
When she stopped, no-one clapped. Afraid of breaking the spell she had cast over the place but everyone commended her. She thanked them and walked back to me with a sweet smile.
"You play well," the owner commented from behind the counter while wiping a glass.
"Then, will you hire me?" she asked all of a sudden.
Taking both me and that amber-eyed woman by surprise.
"What?"
"Can you hire me to play here?"
"I'm sorry. This bar is more of a hobby thing for me. I don't make enough profit to afford a pianist. If I could, I'd have hired one by now."
"I'm not a pianist. I just learnt a little when I was a kid. I haven't played in ages. But it felt great, sitting in front of a piano after so long, I just want to play again. I get home from work early in the afternoon and don't have anything to do other than waiting for him," she pointed towards me, "So, I thought it'd be fun if I could come here in the evening and play the piano for a while. Anything you can pay me, no matter how little, will be a bonus for me."
.
.
.
"You never told me you can play the piano." I was sitting on the bed, watching her get undressed.
"I had forgotten," she looked at me through the reflection in the mirror, "Until I saw the piano."
She turned to me. Clad only in her underwear. I held her hand and pulled her close, giving her a kiss.
"Did you think I played well?"
"Well, I'm not the best judge but I believe everyone in that bar agreed that you did."
I tugged at her arm, making her sit on my lap.
"And you know what else I believe?"
"What?"
"That you looked dangerously sexy, playing the piano like that," I pulled her close and whispered into her ear, making my voice as sultry as possible, "You almost gave me a boner in public. Take responsibility"
And I watched in amusement as her face went red and her eyes went round.
.
.
.
From that day, there was a slight change in my routine. Instead of returning home to Sakura, after work, I went to the bar, enjoyed the sight that she, my wife, was, sitting in front of a piano and drawing enchanting sounds from it. Then, after she was done, we walked home together. Hand in hand.
My life felt like a rainbow. Colourful and beautiful and rare.
But another thing with rainbows is, they only last a short while. I had somehow forgotten about that part.
Note: That was Tsunade. I love her and try my best to include her in my stories.
Thank you for reading my fic.
Love,
June ❤️
[08.03.2020]