Title: I was sure we could see a new start
Summary: Sasuke never really knew Sakura had a thing for mementos, until now.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Prompt: Souvenirs
Rating: K+
Warning(s): Some angst. Not overly so, though.
Comments: Idk I just like the idea of Sakura having a thing for keepsakes and mementos and things. I just see her as that type of person.

He didn't really mean to find them.

He had just been looking for her stash of kunai and shuriken, to use in their impromptu sparring match, and had accidentally stumbled upon them as he opened a large drawer of a worn desk in her closet. Having seen her ninja outfits above it only moments before, Sasuke simply assumed she kept her training gears there.

Instead, he found a bunch of random objects—no, souvenirs—neatly placed in lines, grouped, and... organized—from old to new.

Almost as if they were forming a timeline.

He picked one at the beginning of the first row: a small, withered flower that he couldn't tell the original color of. One that also looked as though he could ruin all too easily in one wrong move. Deciding he didn't want to be on the receiving end of his maybe-girlfriend's nasty punches, in case she held every single object, including this one, dear to her, he slowly lowered the tiny thing to safety and back into its original placement.

Odd, he thought, as he slowly began surveying the array of diverse items. I wonder why she's keeping them. They don't seem to relate.

Then, something caught his eye, and his breath hitched. His hand reached out almost robotically, hand wrapping around the object, feeling the familiar cool of the metal—

"Hey, Sasuke-kun, what's taking so long? Did you find them or—"

Sasuke nearly jumped at her voice. He didn't have the time to draw away from the desk for more than a step before she came into her room and found him standing there, holding his old, scratched up headband, and in front of an open drawer that she recognized all too well.

"Oh," she said, eyes widened in surprise, but seemingly not mad. "I guess you snooped a little."

Instead of feeling irritated at her jibe, Sasuke merely blinked, still a little stunned from what he found.

"Why do you have this?" he finally said, once he'd recovered. He looked down at the object in his hand, frowning deeply at the scratched and worn material. He clenched his hand around it tightly. "I understand they're mementos, the things you keep in there," he said. "But this… I don't see why you'd keep this."

Sakura regarded him, for a moment, with careful precision. She looked thoughtful, as though she was trying to choose the right words for him to understand.

"Sad keepsakes," she finally decided on telling him. But then she shook her head, taking back her words. "Or more like… nostalgic keepsakes." She nodded to herself, and smiled lightly. "They remind me—"

"They?" He hadn't meant to interrupt, but he had been taken completely off guard.

So she has more than one sad souvenir? he thought to himself, inquisitive.

Sakura's smile grew softer.

"Yes," she affirmed, stepping closer to him. She took the headband from his hands and approached the open drawer, putting it back to its rightful place before beckoning him forward.

He did as prompted.

When he was close enough, she gestured to a specific row—the last one—and ran her fingers across each object with utmost affection and care.

"You know where this is from, right?"

He recognized it instantly. "The underground lairs," he said, before looking at her curiously. "Where did you get that?"

"Our first reunion, two years and a half after you left. You blew up the area, remember?"

Slowly, he nodded.

Of course I remember, he thought, looking at her almost suspiciously. Though I don't know why you'd want to remember that.

She pointed to the next object, a few placed ahead. "You know what that one's from too, right?"

Sasuke looked at it, for a moment, thinking. He wasn't sure why he would recognize it, it looked especially ordinary to him, except maybe the darkened tip—

His eyes widened. "Is that—"

Sakura smiled. "Yeah," she said. "It's the poisoned kunai I tried to kill you with."

If Sasuke wasn't confused before, he definitely was now.

Why in the world would she—

"They remind me of Team 7," she started, finally getting to give him the explanation he had interrupted earlier. "The happy days… they remind me of those moments where you forgot about your revenge, when you were with us. When you laughed and you smiled and we were family. Our best days." She paused, and bit her lip, looking down again. "But it's not just that. It's the bad days, too. When you abandoned the village. When we were left behind, training and fighting and searching for you. For years."

The incredible sadness in her eyes made him grasp her forearms gently and speak up, "Then why do you keep them? Why make them souvenirs?"

He didn't understand. They made her sad and they held awful memories, he didn't get why she would want to keep them. After all, ever since he'd been back in the village, those memories were never mentioned—not after the original discussions and extensive apologies, anyway—for the sake that it completely ruined the moment, each and every time.

Sakura looked at him dead in the eye, then, forest green full of honesty, love and trust. "Because, Sasuke-kun," she whispered, touching his face affectionately. "They are reminders of the hard work we all put into getting you back with us." She smiled, and kissed the corner of his mouth lovingly. "I want to remember, for the rest of my life, just how much blood and tears and sweat I put into getting you to return."

Her lips brushed his in a sweet, lingering kiss, then.

When she pulled away, she opened her eyes and whispered, "I want to remember the painful part of it all, because it makes me eternally grateful to have you here with me, now."

Sasuke's heart swelled incredibly, and it was all her could do to wrap his arms around her fully and bring her in an intense, passionate kiss, so he could try to tell her exactly how he felt about those words.

A/N: At my grandma's right now, and the advantage of her going to bed early and not having internet is me having so much time to write my remaining prompts. WOOT. (You're likely reading this on Sunday when I get back, but this was written on Wednesday.)

Hope you liked this one, it came to me pretty naturally. Also, just to clear up with the maybe-girlfriend thing, it's just that they've been dating-ish for a little while and they've hugged and kissed a few times, but never anything that serious, so he didn't know if he could call her his girlfriend yet. I wanted to put that in the story but it didn't fit in there at all. So meh.

Love you all, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!

DeepPoeticGirl