Chapter Nine: Memories

Attention all Sasusaku shippers like myself; you're absolutely going to LOVE this chapter! I guarantee it!

Even though it wasn't the birthday party that she had been expecting, Keiko enjoyed every minute of her birthday party and really hated to see it end. After everybody had had supper together and Sasuke kissed Ami goodnight he bent down to Keiko and then hoisted her up inside his arms. "Well, did you have a good time?" he asked her with a grin.

"Yep!" she exclaimed. "And thank you for all of the presents." She told him.

"You're welcome sweetheart, but your sister and I have to go now. However, I do have one more present for you." He told her.

"Oh really? What's that big brother?" she wondered as Sasuke simply just grinned at her.

"Sachi is going to be spending the weekend with you as well. I figured it would be the perfect chance to get to know each other more." He told her.

"Okay big brother, I love you." She told him as he smiled warmly at her and then planted a kiss on her cheek.

"I love you too." He told her before he sat her down and then hugged and kissed Sachi goodbye as well. "You girls have fun now." He said as he slowly stood back up and then turned back around and went back over to the door to grab his coat and shoes. "Come on Cherry." He said.

"Hold on Sasuke, I've got to use the bathroom first." Sakura said before she turned around and walked back down the hallway.

"Cherry?" Kakashi questioned with uncertainty while Sakura closed the bathroom door behind her.

"Yeah, it's my uncle's nickname for my aunt since that's what her first name means." Sachi explained as Keiko nodded and pointed over at her.

"Yep, what she said except for me they're my big sister and brother in-law." She said. A few minutes later the toilet flushed and Sakura exited the bathroom and grabbed her shoes.

"Come on Ami, it's time to start getting you ready for bed sweetheart." Her mother said while she smiled down at the baby inside her arms and kissed the top of her head before she carried her down the hallway. Sasuke and Sakura said goodbye to everybody else and then walked out the front door back towards their car.

"Well, that was fun." Sakura began as Sasuke took her hand and afterwards kissed the back of it.

"Yep, but now we have the rest of the weekend to ourselves." He told her. "What do you want to do now? Is there any particular place you want to go?" he asked her.

"Actually there is." She began. "Do you remember where we first officially met?" she asked him.

"Yeah, on the bridge outside of the ninja academy." He told her. "Why do you want to go there?" he wondered as she simply just grinned at him.

"Oh, you'll find out later." She told him as he smiled lovingly at her.

"Alright, whatever you say." He told her as he unlocked the car and then they both climbed inside of it and drove away.

….

"I still can't understand why you wanted to come here." Sasuke began as he took his cellphone out of his pocket.

"Umm,.. Sasuke,.. what are you doing?" she asked him.

"I'm checking to see whether or not I got any texts from your mother, and considering I don't,.. I'm assuming that means the girls are alright." He told her.

"Oh don't worry about that Sasuke I'm sure that they'll be fine." Sakura began waving the thought away with her hand. "And I'm sure that Ami is already asleep by now." She said but Sasuke just simply shook his head.

"Ami isn't the one that I'm worried about. It's Keiko and Sachi. I don't want them to stay up all night giggling." He told her.

"Come on Sasuke, you know that Keiko isn't like that." She said.

"Yeah but I know for a fact that Sachi is and I really don't want her to be a bad influence on her." He told her while heaving a light sigh.

"Listen babe you worry too much. My mother is watching the girls and I know that they'll be fine. Right now, it's time to just focus on us." She told him while leaning into kiss his cheek. Sasuke sighed again and gave her a quick peck on the lips before putting away his phone.

"Yeah, I guess you're right Cherry." He told her.

"Of course I'm right now let's go!" she cried as she took his hand and dragged him down a path through the woods right past an old Japanese oak tree.

"Sakura wait! Where are you taking me!?" Sasuke cried as Sakura giggled.

"You'll see in a few moments mister impatient!" she exclaimed as she pulled him into the clearing but that's when suddenly she gasped and widened her eyes as she froze while coming to the sudden realization of where she was at.

"Sakura, what is it? Are you alright?" he questioned her anxiously out of concern as Sakura stared at the old familiar wooden bench and suddenly her memories all came back to her. Flashbacks suddenly started going through her mind at the speed of light. When she had first confessed her love for Sasuke and how she pleaded him not to leave and even how he had thanked for it afterwards before knocking her out and her waking up on the bench and discovering that he was gone.

After a few minutes Sasuke realized what had been bothering his wife as he noticed the bench and he took her hands inside of his and turned to face her. "That was a long time ago Sakura." He began inside a whisper. "I'm not like that anymore." He reassured her when all of a sudden tears started streaming down her cheeks.

"I know, I know you aren't Sasuke." She began. "But sometimes I still can't help but wonder what would have happened if I had been able to stop you." She explained as he placed a tender hand to her cheek and gazed deeply inside her eyes while wiping away her tears with his thumb.

"You might have not been able to stop me, but you came awful close." He told her. "Anyways, none of that matters anymore. I finally was able to realize what I didn't realize yet that night. I love you and I promise that I will never leave you or hurt you again. In fact, the only reason that I didn't take you with me on my path to revenge is because you're the last person I ever wanted to see get hurt and I will never forgive myself for being the one that hurt you for as long as I live." He told her as he kissed her lips again. "I want to spend the rest of my life making it up to you though." He said. "That is, if you'll let me." He added as she nodded at him.

"Of course I will Sasuke. I love you more today than I did back then and I want our family to continue to grow so you can restore your clan." She told him.

"It'll happen, I promise you that it will." He told her as he kissed her lips for a third time. "We'll make new happy memories together Sakura, and even though they won't replace the bad,.. at least it gives us something more to focus on." He told her. "Which speaking of focusing on stuff, where exactly were you taking me again?" he wondered.

"Oh right, I'm sorry. I forgot." She apologized as she stifled a laugh while she took his hand and then continued leading him around the corner to another bridge that was over a small lake. "I figured that it would be really romantic out here underneath the stars and the moonlight." She told him as she led him on top of the bridge and then hunched over the railing and gazed down at the water of a family of geese that was swimming by. "Isn't this place beautiful?" she questioned him with a dreamy sigh.

"Yeah,.. beautiful." He replied with a grin although he was looking directly at her when he had said it. It was as if he was falling in love with her all over again. She stood back up and turned around to face him. "Would it be legal if I proposed to you again?" he asked her as she simply just grinned back at him.

"No, I don't think so." She replied.

"Well in that case,.. I love you Sakura Uchiha. Will you spend the rest of your life married to me?" he questioned.

"Hn." She began as she smiled at him. "You don't have to ask me twice." She responded before they both closed their eyes and wrapped their arms around each other and started kissing passionately underneath the night sky.