"Because That Which Is Destroyed Can Always Be Fixed And Rebuilt."

The moon stood proudly in the sky. It was a busy night in Konoha. People were all over the streets doing their business. The village was quite busy. However, a little close to the large gate, it was a lot different. The guards stood in boredom as one of them yawned. His eyes watered from the need to sleep as he threw his gaze at the vast and almost empty land in front of him.

"Just another boring night, eh?" One of the guards on the other side of the gate spoke. It was more of a statement rather than a question.

"Yeah."

It was like any other night, really.

Except for the hurried steps of a frustrated black-haired male who was heading towards the gate.

Behind him was none other than his best friend and the hero of the village: Naruto, who was following him with an amount of confusion that surprised even himself. He knew he was an idiot. A lot of things confused him in his life, just… not that much.

"For God's sake, just tell me what's going on! Where are you going?!"

He sounded like an angry wife that had a quarrel with her husband. The guards of the gate witnessed the scene with a 'what the hell is going on?' expression on their faces. Now THAT is an unusual scene.

Sasuke didn't answer as he had only one thing in mind: find his pink-haired lover. She was nowhere in sight, and he didn't even have to look in the village. Something inside him spoke that this was her doing. She meant to hide the stone. She meant to leave him for a whole day. She meant…

To make him forget her.

Well, how unfortunate for her. He couldn't. And he is glad he couldn't.

Just as he laid foot outside the gate. He froze.

His eyes could not be deceiving him, right?

She was standing there in front of him, right?

Well, technically she isn't, but is she there at least?

Sasuke took slow and unsure steps, his best friend long forgotten as he grabbed his shoulder and yelled in his ear.

Sasuke kept going closer and closer until he stood five feet apart from her, and he took his time to absorb her presence. She is beautiful. Sure, it was only one day but it felt like a thousand years to him. God, how he wished to hold her in his arms, or now arm, and let himself drown in her scent.

"Sakura?"

"I'm sorry," she uttered as she saw the state he was in. His clothes were messy, as if he wore them in a hurry. A line of dried tears appeared on his face, and his eyes, they were a disaster. He was crying. How unusual.

The woman was right.

"I'm so sorry I left. I wish I'd known better."

Tears, again, started forming in his eyes. He wanted to say that HE was sorry, but it was the usual cliché. How can he ever correct his mistakes? How can he ever atone for his sin? This sin?!

"Teme…" Naruto whispered as he witnessed the messy state his friend was in. He was calling that name again, or the trees, whatever. However, as far as he can tell, there were no cherry blossom trees where his friend was looking. The road was just empty. Green trees, black from the night, stood tall and gloomy.

"Why did you leave me?"

'Why wouldn't she?'

Sasuke's hoarse voice broke the silence, and his head slowly lowered in pain. It was a question he knew she didn't know the answer to, so why was he asking? Apparently, regret now got the best of him.

"Stop regretting, Sasuke-kun." His head now snapped back up to her as her gentle voice tickled his ears, and he found himself yelling.

"Just how can I? Why would I?" He sure was a scum, but not that low. He was the reason behind all of this.

"Things like these happen," she started again. Things like WHAT happen? Is it usual that people go and disappear, be completely forgotten, because of some wish?

"People all the time quarrel, fight, have ups and downs. We just happened to be at the wrong place, Sasuke-kun, and I'm equally responsible."

No, no, no, no, just no! Please stop where you are going with this conversation. Is it now your fault? Anger was slowly building up in his chest, but he did not dare voice his thoughts, and he didn't stop her either. He just stared at her like the utter loser he is.

"I shouldn't have said that. I failed to see your emotions, even though I believed I could see through you."

"You…" he finally voiced, "You are not… do not…" he didn't even know how to form a proper sentence, "it's me tha-"

"I know you love me."

He felt exposed under her gentle gaze as his mouth stopped mid-sentence.

"I know you love me. I knew you loved me back then. I was just blinded by anger, by my own thoughts that haunted me. Deep down inside a voice stated it was not real, but I subdued it.

I regret saying this as much as you do, Sasuke-kun."

He was dumbfounded.

"I regret it because of where we are now. Words do hurt, Sasuke-kun. I should have been more careful."

His eyes widened. He couldn't bear it any longer. He opened his mouth to stop her line of thought, which to him was very, very stupid, only to freeze by her next words.

"And you should have been more careful with my heart, Sasuke-kun."

His heart sank as her eyes pierced through his, but there was no hint of anger in them. There was just sadness. Suddenly, he felt a huge weight on his chest. Feelings of pain, guilt, sorrow mixed in his heart, and he found himself reflecting. Memories of the past days flashed through his eyes until they landed on that very first day at the hotel. His decision, his feelings, her feelings…

He felt as if he was thrown in the sea with pure force. He was suffocating, drowning…

"Why did you do it?"

'Why were you acting that way if you loved me?'

He was drowning…

"I…" his dry mouth didn't help him. It was a situation he did not expect.

He was facing her, facing himself, his actions.

He gulped, "I was stupid."

It was not enough.

"I was stupid to decide to break your heart."

Not enough.

"I was stupid to decide our relationship on my own."

Certainly not enough.

"I was stupid because I denied my love for you. I was stupid because I didn't take your feelings into account when I took my decision. I was stupid because I still decided to live in my past, to repeat my mistake again and again and again like a moron. I haven't learned, have I? I fucking haven't learned, Sakura."

That was the longest speech to be ever heard from the last Uchiha.

The long-forgotten Naruto stood in confused shock. Sasuke was confessing his love and stupidity at the same time, and he was confessing that to no one at all. Naruto wanted to speak, but somehow it didn't feel right. He felt he needed to be silent.

"Well, you have now."

The hand that clenched his hair eased a bit as his whispered voice came out, "have I?"

"You have."

"What's the use of it now?"

"It doesn't matter. I understand, you understand, it doesn't matter now."

His eyes were glued to the ground.

"Let's take our time to heal… together."

'Let's not end up like them.'

"Will we ever heal?" His question had a hint of hope.

"We will."

"How can you be so sure?"

"We will."

"Will you come back to me?"

"I hope so."

"I'm sorry…"

"Apology accepted."

She now took a small step as she lifted her head slightly to see his lowered face better. It was when he finally saw her smile, that familiar warm smile he fell in love with.

But it is not over yet. He wants to feel her under his touch again. His lone hand lifted slowly only to stop mid-air. It's no use.

Sakura lifted her hand to stand an inch before his.

"The first thing I would do if I ever comeback is to lock our fingers like this," she chuckled.

"And I would instantly pull you into a hug."

She now giggled as a soft blush adorned her cheeks, "who would've thought you would be this romantic, Sasuke-kun…"

She pushed her hand closer as he pushed his. It was a moment when they both entertained the thought. Their fingers parted and intertwined as their hands locked.

And they indeed locked.

Their eyes widened in unison as they immediately froze, both fearing to make the slightest move or break the eye contact.

Were their hands locking? Is this feeling real, or is it another twist of fate.

A minute passed.

Sasuke dared to move his eyes to where their hands met, and Sakura found in it the courage to shift her gaze as well.

Their hands where locking.

"Just what are you guys doing here at this time?" Naruto's voice broke the silence that almost lasted forever. Their eyes, once again, snapped to him as he looked at them in confusion.

Another silence fell as three gazes locked. The three standing there by the gates of Konoha is certainly unusual.

Without a second thought, Sasuke pulled Sakura into his embrace.

Sakura found herself being pulled until her body landed in a warm chest.

His hand came to her head as he held her even closer to his chest and his widened eyes stared into nothing in particular. Sakura's were equally wide, except that her vision was blocked by his poncho.

She hesitantly lifted her arms to his back, and when they landed there, she held onto his poncho like her life depended on it.

"My eyes! My innocent eyes! Have I been looking for you guys everywhere only to see you hugging each other?! And why here anyway? What the hell is wrong with you guys?!"

Again, both blocked their idiot friend's voice as they held onto each other, both fearing to let go, both wanting to stay like this forever, both hoping this was real.

And it was real.

"Sakura!"

A blonde yelled as she stomped to where her daughter was. Her pink-haired husband, on the other hand, had his feet glued to the ground as he witnessed his daughter being held by none other than the infamous Sasuke Uchiha.

"MY EYES!"

Sakura felt two fingers on her ear. Then she found herself being pulled away from Sasuke's embrace, "Ow, ow, ow, mom! That hurts!"

"So this is where you've been! I told you to buy me some tomatoes from the grocer's and you are here doing… THIS! We've looked everywhere for you, you know! I was so worried! Your dad was so worried! We even went to the hospital! Naruto didn't know where you were, your sensei didn't know where you were!"

"Mom, I'm a 19-year-old woman and a kunoichi! I'm also the apprentice of the great Tsunade-sama for God's sake!" Sakura desperately tried to break her ear free from her mother's grip. Sure, she couldn't use her superhuman strength in that situation, could she?

Sasuke's body was unmoving as he witnessed the scene in front of him. Sakura's mother yelled, Saukra yelled, Naruto was naturally yelling, and now Sakura's father came to rescue his daughter from her mother and yell as well.

In the middle of this his eyes met hers, and a smile, unbeknownst to him, crept to his face.

Her lips followed suit as they smiled back, but this time the smile was different. It was pure…

Happy.

'We can take our time to heal…'

'Together.'

"The things that are most important aren't written in books. You have to learn them by experiencing them yourself."

(A/N): How long has it been? Seven years? I owe everyone an apology. A lot of time has passed, a lot of things have happened, and i still found myself thinking of this story every once in a while. I finally gathered the passion and the courage to finish it.

I'm really sorry to have kept you all waiting.

If you are still reading this, I'm glad you are. at least I got to let you know how it ended even if you are no longer interested. Sorry if it seems rushed or not what you expected. I literally stopped writing with the previous chapter of this story only to come back to this final chapter. Thank you for coming back to read it… I hope you are doing fine now and things are going well in your life.