Title: I will not give you up this time
Summary: Nearly a decade passed by since their circumstances demanded them to break up, but still, their hearts only belonged to each other.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Prompt: exes meeting again after not speaking for years au
Rating: T
A/N: I loved writing this.

He was the last person that she expected to see when they arrived at their rented little summer house. At first, Sakura wasn't sure she was seeing things quite right; still muddle-minded from their ten hour overnight drive, she reasoned with herself that she had to be dreaming—because last she'd known, Sasuke had left to pursue his studies in the States, where he'd later on decided to indefinitely stay once his family followed suit as well, spurred by the expansion of their company business into the country.

She truly never thought she'd see him again.

(and yet…)

"Oh, right!" Naruto piped in, after no doubt noticing her gawking out her window. "I forgot to tell you, Sakura-chan, but the bastard's here, too! He came all the way from Boston to spend the summer with us!"

But only, Naruto hadn't forgotten; by the lilt of his voice and the glint in his eyes, Sakura could tell that he'd always known Sasuke would be here—he just wanted to surprise her.

"Been awhile since you guys even talked, right?"

The exceptionally proud grin that spread to his lips made her wonder if maybe he'd been the one to invite Sasuke.

(or maybe he was just proud he'd been able to keep the secret so well.)

"Uh—right," she could only respond, still a bit dazed.

"You and the bastard better catch up, then," Naruto said, shifting the car into park as he pulled into the driveway. He gave her a wink, and then grinned again, swiftly getting out of the car. "Hey, Sasuke!" she heard him yell. "Help Sakura-chan unload her stuff, why don't ya! I'm gonna go help the others!"

A deep, rooted blush crept to her neck. Scowling, Sakura rolled down her window and shouted, "Naruto! Don't be so rude! You don't even know if he's busy with something else!"

"I don't mind," she heard Sasuke say in return. Taking his hands out of his pockets, he started his way towards her, nodding at Naruto when they crossed paths. The latter simply clapped him on the shoulder and grinned even wider, trotting down to join their friends in the other car already unloading their luggage—leaving them alone.

And knowing Naruto, Sakura pondered, he was also likely going to tell the others not to bother them, too. Her heart pounded a little.

Sliding out of her seat, she made her way to the back of the old Dodge Charger, and popped the trunk, trying to keep herself from blushing again when Sasuke reached her side. Close enough to touch, she couldn't help but to think, softly biting the inside of her cheek. And when he reached for the heaviest bag, handling it with ease, Sakura caught herself wondering if he still worked out every morning, as he always used to.

But she quickly pushed the thought away as it inadvertently roused a few improper memories.

(after all, she would always think fondly of the mornings where he came home to her apartment after one of his usual sessions, still sweaty and flushed, always prompting her to kiss him breathless, enticing him in another kind of activity that they were both too-happily indulgent in.)

"Naruto told me you graduated from med school," he spoke then, drawing her from their past and catching her completely off guard. He had never usually been one to start small talk, after all.

She blinked quickly. "Ah—yeah," she replied, shifting to face him more properly. He was still clutching the weighty bag without much noticeable trouble, seemingly holding no intent of carrying it back to the house in the near future. She swallowed tightly, stomach fluttering. "It's what this whole trip is about, actually. We always said we'd go here when everyone graduated."

Sasuke nodded. "Congratulations. I'm sure that made your parents proud."

Sakura smiled softly, reminiscing their reactions on the day of her graduation ceremony. "Yeah, it really did."

"Are they well?"

Her mouth parted; he sounded so genuinely concerned. Even after nearly ten years since their breakup, Sasuke still cared, she thought fondly.

"Yeah, they're pretty amazing actually." She smiled. "My dad retired from his work last year, and he's trying to coax my mom in doing the same so they can go travel everywhere like they'd always wanted."

Sasuke snorted. "Maybe he'll manage to convince her in the next five years," he said, lips quirking slightly.

Ah, so he did remember her mother's workaholic tendencies, Sakura mused, smiling wider. Gods, how her heart felt warm. "Try ten," she joked back, a teasing glint to her eyes.

Sasuke's lips curled at this, his smile faint and small, but so genuine all the same. So beautiful.

She'd really missed his smiles.

With a saddening gaze, her mind took her back to the night where things all changed; when their relationship took an end despite their true desires, and both their hearts shattered.

("I can't—I don't want to leave you hanging when I might not ever come back. I don't want for this to tear us apart. Especially if I… can't make time to visit. Or call. It's not fair to you."

It wasn't something he wanted—that much was made clear in the past half hour, since he'd started this conversation—but it was still something they needed to do, left without choices by their current situation. They both deserved something better than whatever mess this would surely become when he would catch his flight tomorrow.

Sakura understood that, but it still hurt more than she could express, heartbreak tightening like a vice inside her chest, leaving burning tears in its ache.

"Okay," she told him after a brief moment, wiping the wetness from her eyes. She tried her best to keep her voice from sounding as inconsolable as she felt. "Okay. I understand."

But Sasuke, the soulmate he had been through the last four years, saw right through her facade; his arms went and wrapped around her small form soundly, pulling her against his chest. "I wish things were different," he murmured, pushing his nose to her hair.

Feeling how taut his jaw was, and how closely he held her, Sakura couldn't help but to break apart in his embrace, her own arms winding tightly around his back. She cried and cried and cried, and he held her wordlessly through it all, pressing soft kisses to the crown of her head.

"L-Let's just… let's just keep pretending for tonight," she whispered, then, hiccuping lightly as her face nuzzled his chest. "Let's f-forget about everything for now, and we—we can just be us for one last time." When his arms tightened around her, but he answered nothing, she pulled away to look at him and whispered, "Stay with me. Please." She cupped his cheek. "Stay here, and make love to me. Give us both something good to remember this by. To remember what we've been."

His eyes slipped shut, and his jaw clenched tighter, face leaning into her touch. Then, he looked at her again, eyes sparking, and swooped down to kiss her hard, murmuring sweet words of forever as he brought them both to their bedroom, shedding their clothes as they went.

Just one last night.)

"I'm sorry," she heard him say, his voice so quiet, snapping her back from wistful memories. He must have read her sadness into her pensive trance just like he always used to be able to, she realized, taking in the solemn look on his face.

It seemed Sasuke still held some remorse about it all. Sakura nearly fell to the impulse of wrapping her arms around him to take all of his guilt away.

"Oh, gods, Sasuke-kun, don't," she said. "Don't be sorry. Never be sorry for what happened. You did what you thought was best for the both of us."

His fingers clenched against the bag. "Did I?" he replied, frowning deeply. He looked away. "…For so long, I've been thinking… I never should have cut things off the way that I did, all those months after I'd settled in."

("Maybe it's best if we don't keep talking," he'd said, back then, looking so defeated through her computer screen. "I still—and I know you still—" He clammed up, and mulled his lips, running his hand through his hair. "It just—it would be best, this way. For the both of us.")

"You were trying to move on, Sasuke-kun," she persisted, heart twisting again. How could he blame himself for this? He had only tried to do the right thing—the best thing. "We both were. And you didn't think either of us could do it if we kept talking the way that we did—especially when you knew by then that you weren't going to return." Biting her lip, Sakura tried her hardest to give him her most encouraging smile. "You were trying to give us both our lives back."

He finally looked at her again for that, yet his guilt couldn't seem to wash away. "But it still upsets you," he said. "What I did upset you."

Her green, green eyes softened. Her heart warmed a little bit more. She smiled tenderly. "It's not like that, Sasuke-kun," she assured, touching her hand to his arm. "It's just… It's been so long since we've seen each other, you know? It's hard not to get caught up in all the good memories—we had something really great."

Sasuke's gaze shifted to the place where her hand touched him, lingering slightly, and then he met her eyes again, causing her heart to skip a few beats. His lips curled once more, in that same tiny, breathtaking smile she loved so much to see.

"…We did," he quietly admitted, features fond.

He missed what they were, too, she saw then. Her throat grew tight, heartbeat pounding deafeningly. Maybe they still had a chance.

(but that was jumping ahead a little too fast now, wasn't it?)

Trying hard not to blush, Sakura went on, "Ah—um. We should probably get these bags inside now."

In reply, Sasuke merely nodded, and waited for her to grab her own set of luggage. Then, he turned to lead the way, holding the front door open with his foot to allow her through first.

He really hadn't changed, she thought, suppressing a smile.

Kind of debated in adding a little more, but I realized that the other scene would have basically been unnecessary, as it would just be reiterating what was established here :)

Hope you enjoyed this happier prompt!

DeepPoeticGirl