Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
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Sasuke sat on the settee by the window, staring up at a starless sky.
The events that conspired earlier that evening still ricocheted off the edges of his mind. He knew Sakura loved him, he was grateful for it when he was twelve and he's grateful for it now, but his chest still constricted painfully every time he saw that love manifest itself in the things she did and said. Earlier he thought the tightness in his ribs was because of guilt that he'd never been able to return her love.
But Sasuke was older, wiser, and far past denial now. He loved her. There was no running away from it. He'd loved her ever since he found warmth in the cocoon of her arms in the forest of death, warmth he knew he didn't deserve, but warmth that surrounded and healed him anyway.
But he was a boy carrying the weight of revenge and betrayal on shoulders, and the demons in his mind left little room for anything other than hatred. When he finally admitted to himself that he was in deep, he was already a man, standing at the gates of a village he was leaving for the second time.
He stared into bottle green eyes looking at him expectedly, the echo of her offer to accompany him still ringing in his ears (another hysterical promise made by someone on the verge of losing a loved one) and he knew he was in love with her.
He wanted nothing more than to accept her offer, take her hand, and travel the world with her. To see places he had seen before with new eyes and her by his side. But Sasuke knew he'd already used up his pitcher of selfishness for this lifetime, and he wasn't going to displace her from her rightful place in Konoha.
This time, though, he knew there was no reason to leave her with a farewell disguised as a thank you. Because this time he knew that, however far he treaded, he'd come back to those wide, green eyes.
His hand rose in the most sincere symbol of affection he knew and his knuckles grazed her forehead.
"I'll see you soon, Sakura."
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Sasuke sighed, leaving his spot on the settee and collapsing on the bed of his motel room.
Throwing one arm over his eyes, he wondered why even after his epiphany his chest still tightened at her actions and words.
Sighing in defeat, Sasuke tried to regulate his breathing in an effort to fall asleep. He had almost lost himself to a world of dreams (which were surprisingly filled with a lot of pink and green) when he was jousted back to reality by a sharp sound emanating from his window.
Surprised, he blinked once, twice, before realizing that the sound was of a pebble hitting the window. Fanning his chakra out to detect the culprit, he was mildly surprised to sense Sakura's gentle chakra.
Walking towards the window, he threw open the shutters to see the same pink and green he was just about to dream of.
"Sakura?" he raised one angular brow in question.
"Hey, Sasuke-kun. I know this is wildly inappropriate, but can I come inside?" she replied, a sheepish smile playing on her lips.
He stared at her for a long moment before answering her question by moving aside. In one swift leap, she was on his window sill.
Throwing her legs inside the room, she gracefully got up and walked over to the tiny table that occupied the center of the room. Sasuke's eyes followed her languid movements as she placed a plastic bag on the table and sat down on the sofa next to it.
"Sasuke I-" she started, staring at the ground with a frown marring her forehead. "I'm sorry. About earlier tonight. I was way out of line."
Sasuke stared at her. These days it was hard to see traces of the girl he grew up with anymore, but no matter how much Sakura changed, her heart was still the same. She still couldn't hurt people.
'No matter how much they deserve it' his mind added bitterly.
How many hurtful things had he said to her without remorse? Yet, she couldn't return the gesture.
Eyes turning slightly downward, he answered. "Hn, it's okay Sakura."
"You could've waited till morning though." He added, turning around and walking towards the window to close it.
"Ah, I could've yes, that would have been the rational thing to do." She answered. "But I knew there was no way I'd get any sleep tonight if I didn't apologize right away."
Sasuke slowly nodded, then glanced in the direction of the bag she'd brought with her.
"That's some onigiri I picked up on the way, consider it a peace offering." She offered him a sheepish grin.
Sasuke looked amused as he eyed her and then the packet on the table.
Shaking his head, he exhaled an airy laugh.
"Sakura, there was no need for all this."
"Tch, tch. I didn't ask. Just accept it graciously and thank my thoughtful, generous self." Said she, waving a hand in the air in dismissal.
"Aa." He smirked.
Moving forward, he picked up the packet she'd brought and moved to a chest of drawers by the door of the room. Pulling open one of the drawers, he pulled out some crockery and arranged the onigiri. Picking up the plates, he placed one in front of Sakura and sat down at the edge of the bed with the other.
He watched Sakura's eyes widen as she looked at the plate and then at him.
"Sasuke-kun, that's not necessary, I brought it all for you anyway." She said, frowning a little.
"Tch. Just accept it graciously and thank my thoughtful and generous self." He repeated her words from earlier, looking smug.
Sakura stared at him for a moment, and then the sound of her throaty laughter filled the room. At the back of his mind Sasuke wondered why the mirth in her eyes made him feel so accomplished.
Grinning widely, Sakura accepted the plate.
"Arigato, Sasuke-kun."
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They ate in silence again, but this time the air around them felt lighter. There were no unvoiced questions lying suspended between them this time.
Some time between the meal the room was filled with the pitter patter of raindrops. The sound was gentle and meek in the beginning but gradually progressed into a thunderous roar, a soft drizzle turning into one of lightning's infamous thunderstorms.
They finished the onigiri, cleared away the utensils, and spoke a little about the disease that was rampant in the small town. Sakura tried her best to explain the terms Sasuke struggled to understand from the scroll earlier that morning, and did a fairly good job for most of the part.
Sensing the conversation was coming to a close, Sakura moved towards the window, intending to exit the way she had come in.
Opening the latches, Sakura lifted the window a little before Sasuke was behind her and shutting the window down again.
Turning around, she looked at him quizzically.
"Don't be stupid. You're not going out in the rain, spend the night here." He spoke, securing the latches once again.
"Sasuke, it's all right, I'm not staying far from here. I can probably make it in under a minute." She argued.
He sighed deeply.
"Sakura, just stay."
Her lips parted and her heart thundered wildly in her chest as her mind registered his words. The rush of blood in her ears was almost as loud as the thunderstorm raging outside.
Quietly, she nodded.
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After much bickering, an exasperated Sasuke gave in to her request of she occupying the couch. He insisted she wasn't imposing but she wasn't hearing any of it.
He loaned her one of his t-shirts to sleep in and both of them settled in for the night.
After about twenty minutes of lying in silence, Sasuke spoke.
"Sakura?"
"Hm?"
"Why'd you use the window?"
Despite the darkness, Sasuke could see a faint blush dusting her cheeks.
"Well, I-err. Um." She stammered. "It was past midnight, Sasuke, I didn't want the lady at the reception to get any ideas about why I was visiting you this late." She finally bit out.
Despite himself, Sasuke chuckled.
A/N: HEYYYY I'm so sorry I know I didn't update last week but life has been especially unkind lately and I'm swamped with other work. I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again! I hope Sasuke doesn't seem too OOC. I imagine that he's a little more open now, considering he's on the road to recovery and everything. I also wanted to show how he's more at ease around Sakura. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, let me know in the reviews!
PS- I haven't had time to edit the chapter. I'll revise it in the morning.
PPS- At this point I've just given up on line breaks.