A/N: Thank you sooo much for all the feedback and the support! You guys have no idea how much it means to me. It really keeps me going! Enjoy!

8. You'll get high just by their smell

Sasuke blinked twice and rubbed his eyes, just to make sure his Sharingan wasn't just messing with his head again. It really was Sakura. She was walking, and it seemed like she just got back and was headed to the Hokage's office.

His legs started moving toward her, and before he knew it, they were standing face to face. Her eyes widened, as if she was surprised to see him in his own village.

"Hi Sasuke-kun," Sakura broke the silence, sounding very flustered. She was avoiding eye contact, so she didn't see his next move: he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around her. His chin rested on the top of her head. She really felt just how much he missed her from this hug. She hesitated at first, but when she saw no negative reactions, she excitedly wrapped her arms around his midsection.

Sasuke knew he missed her, but he didn't know he missed her this much until she was in front of him once again. He missed the way they just seemed to fit perfectly together. He realized how empty his arms actually were for six months without her.

Her hair tickled his face and her soft scent filled his nose. It was a pleasant haze. He forgot about everything else around him.

"You smell nice."

"What?" she pulled away gently, surprised.

"Nothing." Sasuke broke eye contact and Sakura pushed herself onto him again.

"What's with you?" she giggled, her voice muffled from his shirt.

"You're back early." He said instead. It was half a question, half a statement. She understood.

"Yeah," she kept her arms around him (it just felt so right) and looked up to see his calm expression. "You're not angry?"

To be honest, Sasuke actually knew why she asked him if he was upset. He knew all along that her mission wouldn't take nearly as long as she claimed it would six months ago. He didn't know how long it would really take, but he knew she wouldn't be gone for two years. Furthermore, a few months back he had asked Kakashi about Sakura's return. After doing his best not to laugh, Kakashi simply told him that "she would be back soon."

Although it hurt, and it was very annoying, Sasuke felt like he deserved it. He felt like he deserved to hurt for her, and he deserved to wait for her return. So for a few more months, Sasuke just dealt with the pain of her lies and her absence and waited.

He kept a blank expression in an attempt to convince her that he wasn't mad, but his heart was beating unusually fast. "Why would I be?"

Sakura just shrugged. Then her mouth stretched into a large grin and she cupped his face with both hands. "You missed me, huh?" Embarrassed, Sasuke stepped backward, out of her grasp, and she pouted cutely.

Although it was easy pushing her own thoughts of him and their relationship aside alone, spending six months with Ino who was trying to convince her that Sasuke was in love with her really started to take its toll. She was now more alert regarding his behavior toward her.

But as much as she would try to play Sherlock Holmes and study him until he cracked, she was more giddy and excited to spend more time with this love struck Sasuke. As much as she would have fun teasing him and watching him get flustered over her, she knew that she herself would get twice as flustered.

"Do you want to talk over lunch?"

When he so boldly invited her to lunch on the spot, Sakura tried not to sound too eager in accepting. She never imagined this dream to ever become a reality, and he was standing so close it made her heart beat crazy fast.

"Sure! Where do you want to go?"

"So tell me how working at the hospital went." She asked as they waited for their food to be served. They sat at her favorite dango shop, across from each other.

"It was tough at first, but I think I did a decent job."

"Oh really?" she chuckled. "Uchiha Sasuke did a good job watching kids?"

"Yeah, I guess they liked me after a while," he humbly told her. "One of them said they wanted me to be their Jounin sensei when they graduate from the academy."

"Oh? Which one?"

"Maiko."

"Ahh, she's got five more years to go."

"Actually four," Sasuke corrected her confidently. "She turns eight next week."

Sakura's smile grew and she punched him lightly in the arm, "Wow, look at you! Are you gonna take my position in the hospital now too?"

Sasuke, who was trying not to smile at this point, looked away. "You're so loud."

"When is that anyway?"

"When is what?"

She looked at him funny, "You testing for Jounin."

"I don't know," he brushed it off, as if it was the most unimportant thing to him. Because really, he played a vital role in the Great Ninja World War, and he aided in taking down the purest form of evil to ever exist. On top of that, he now held the Mangekyō Sharingan and the Rinnegan, a powerful and widely feared combination. Why did rank matter? "You know I'm still a Genin too right?"

"Oh, yeah…"

"Mm," he shrugged. "What about you?"

"Wow it's really been that long, huh?" she pondered. "I tested for Chuunin while you were away, of course. Then Tsunade-shishou helped me apply for Jounin before the 4th World War." She poked him, "So I'm higher ranked than you."

"Tch," he scoffed, but inside he was full of admiration. When they were twelve, he never thought she would ever get this far and accomplish all that she has.

Then the smile on her face went from teasing to genuine. "I really appreciate what you did for me, Sasuke-kun."

He returned her smile. But then he turned serious, and before he could think, he blurted out, "It's not enough."

"Huh?"

He looked up at her, equally as surprised. He didn't mean to actually say that! It was too late now. He cleared his throat and adjusted the plate in front of him. "It's not enough to make it up to you."

"Sasuke-kun…" But before she could say anything else, server came out with their food and he handed her a pair of chopsticks, signifying the end of that conversation. She was lost in thought for a second, until he interrupted her.

"What about you? How was your mission?"

"Hmm, I told you about most of it in writing," she thought for a moment before digging into her food. "I think it was very enlightening, for everyone who was part of it."

"Did you meet new people?"

"Of course I did!" she smiled. "The other villages were very welcoming."

"Did you make new friends?" He hesitated a lot, "keep contact with anyone?"

"Yeah, some medics who wanted to keep contact with me even after I left."

Sasuke was getting a little frustrated with this beating around the bush. "Did anyone try anything with you?" How much obvious can he get?

"Not really," she brushed it off so easily, it brought much relief to him. "I mean, I had a few men take me out once or twice, but I wasn't having any of it."

At this, Sasuke let out the breath he was holding in. Sakura felt a lot of the tension relieved herself. She inwardly laughed at how subtle he was being. It was cute. She continued to tell him the things she learned while she was away, to which he would either nod in agreement or ask a related question.

After the meal, they began walking to her apartment when she suddenly remembered something important. "Oh, I almost forgot! I was on my way to go report to Kakashi-sensei!" she brought a palm to her forehead, "How could I forget?"

"Because I'm more important," He joked.

They stopped walking. "Hah, in what world?"

"Yours."

Sakura was speechless for a good five seconds. Then she rolled her eyes and tried her best to hide the blush on her cheeks. "You're so full of yourself." She reached up to hug him, "thank you for lunch, Sasuke-kun. I'll see you around!"

When she let go, she almost instinctively leaned forward to kiss him. Catching herself, she waved awkwardly instead and took off.

The next time Sakura ran into Sasuke, he seemed very on edge. He was scowling, and she found it cute rather than intimidating. It reminded her of when they were twelve. The only difference was this time, when she called out to him and asked him to open up, he didn't reject her.

However, before he told her what was up, he asked if he could let out some frustration first at the training field. He requested they work on taijutsu because he needed to train his speed and practice some chakra control anyway.

He told her to go all out, to really get his mind off of whatever was troubling him. She agreed, eager to please him, but he could still see the hesitation in her fight.

"You seem slower today," she commented.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Do I?"

"Yeah," she distanced herself, "and your chakra control could be better."

"Hn," he looked away.

"You've been making fun of Naruto and his new diet," she teased. "Maybe you should go on it too."

He rolled his eyes and charged at her, kunai in his hand, until they collided. He knew she was strong enough to stand her ground, so he put more force into his push. She was doing a great job of keeping him distracted from his problem; she could see the glint in his eyes that showed her he was very invested into this fight and it was relieving plenty of tension inside.

She knew she shouldn't have let up, because as soon as she faltered slightly, her left foot slipped against a rock and she fell into the shallow bank of the river. He gracefully fell with her. Quickly and instinctively, they helped each other out.

Sakura was laughing. She sensed his attitude lighten up, so she decided they were done for today. She was about to tell him when he slipped and fell onto her, taking a face full of her chest.

"Fuck, sorry." He scrambled off of her, fully expecting to be punched into next week. Instead, she laughed some more, laid down on the grass, and pulled him back on top of her. He looked down at her smiling form. She seemed so angelic.

Her hair was sprawled around her head and she looked at him lovingly. The way she looked so calm and content softened his heart, and it showed when his expression relaxed.

"So who angered the infamous Uchiha Sasuke this time?"

"Nature," he frowned. "There was an infestation in my apartment complex this morning," He blandly answered, switching their positions so that she laid on top of him instead. She let her head rest on his chest and he continued, "and my landlord charged twice this month's rent to fix it, even if the complex was rendered uninhabitable for a month."

"Oh,"

There was a moment of silence until Sasuke spoke up again. "It's fine. It was a really old, rundown apartment anyway. It was bound to happen."

Sakura smiled at his attempted positivity and nuzzled into the crook of his neck. "Besides," she teased. "It's not like you spent most of your time there anyway."

The water was cold and the grass was a little rough, but being this close to him made her feel so comfortable. Sasuke, on the other hand, was finding the situation more and more difficult. She smelled so nice, and on top of that, she was drenched and he could feel her on top of him.

He honestly wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this going. Maybe if she would stop being so damn perfect, he wouldn't fall in love with her so hard. How long has she been this alluring to him anyway? Sure, when they were younger, he thought she was pretty, and that she was good company, but it never really occurred to Sasuke that she was this remarkable and that he loved her this much.

"Well," She continued the conversation, feeling her ears heat up. The situation seemed so familiar. "Do you have a place to stay?"

All of a sudden, it was Sasuke's turn to lose his cool and become slightly flustered. "No." He hid it better though. "Actually, I meant to ask if I could crash on your couch for a while…"

"Oh!" she brightened up at the different way this turned out. "D-did Kakashi-sensei say no? Sai?"

"I haven't asked them." He answered simply. She blushed, and he felt her turn quiet and flustered, "What?"

"I just…I didn't think I would be your first choice."

"You're not."

"Oh…" He looked down to see her face fall. He made a sound, indicating he was joking, and she rolled her eyes. Then she smiled. "Well my couch is always open, Sasuke-kun."

"Aa." He seemed very much relieved. "Thank you, Sakura."

They spent the rest of the afternoon in comfortable silence together. He could have sworn she fell asleep too.

Sasuke lay comfortably on her couch. It had been a few days since she let him stay in her apartment. It didn't feel very different, seeing as he was already pretty used to spending nights with her. He spent most of his time outside, running errands and taking care of missions, and even occasionally helping her out at the hospital, but whenever he came home, it felt so right to come home to her.

She would be returning from work any minute now. Some days Sasuke would get back before her, other days vice versa. He was fumbling with the necklace he had gotten her a while ago, wondering when he would ever gather the courage to give it to her, and if he even should to begin with.

As soon as he hears the door open and her voice call out, "Tadaima," he quickly shoved the necklace back into his pocket.

"Okaeri." He answered instinctively. This routine brought peace to his heart.

She could tell there was something on his mind when she greeted him. And even though she was tired from a long day at work today, she promised him she would come talk to him after she cleaned up and got ready for bed.

"What's wrong?" she asked, making herself comfortable on the couch beside him. She was in her pajamas that Sasuke dreaded being around so much.

"Nothing," he lied easily. "I've just been thinking."

She began to fiddle with the bottom of his shirt, waiting for him to elaborate. When he didn't continue, she looked up to see his face was indeed distressed.

"What about?"

"Sakura, you deserve better." She frowned.

"What are you talking about? Where did this come from?" Instead of answering, he just looked at her longingly, and she felt the pain in his heart. "Sasuke-kun…"

"I don't know," he looked so annoyed with all the inner conflict, that's all he could bring himself to say.

"Well," she looked down, just as scared. "Let's start with this: how do you even feel about me?"

"I don't know, Sakura. I never thought about these things before. Lately, you're the only person I've wanted to see. You're on my mind 24/7, and I get anxious whenever I'm not with you. It's driving me crazy."

"I've never felt this before. Unlike…Naruto. He knew he had a crush on you since day one, and when he married the Hyuuga he was so sure he was head over heels in love with her. He's always known what it felt like to want someone this way." He took a deep breath. "It's very new to me. And it's scary. On top of that, you're such an angel, I don't feel right keeping you all to myself. I'm not good for you. That's how I've always felt. You know that."

"Sasuke-kun," she looked down. "That's not true."

"Maybe," He confirmed. "But you know, if I really allowed myself to love you, it would be such a burden to you."

For a moment, Sakura considered punching him out right there. What the hell was he going on about?! She let him finish. "There's still so many things I'm unsure about."

"Like what?"

"I just can't seem to forgive myself for everything I've done to hurt you," he started, and when she was about to protest, he stopped her. "And you can't just do it for me."

Her heart felt very heavy; he was right.

"There's also more I wanted to see, outside these gates." He added softly. "I came back…because I wanted to see you. But I don't really feel like I finished seeing everything."

"Then take me with you this time…"

He was quiet and shy for a moment. "I want to," she brightened up, but she knew there was going to be a but. "But I can't just take you away from your career and your home here."

She frowned and stayed quiet.

"I'm sorry, Sakura." He rested his chin on the top of her head. "Not right now."

She sighed; now was not the time to be together and she knew it too.

"I love you," she said quietly anyway, her voice raspy and muffled against his shirt. He gave her a slight squeeze, and was about to respond when she spoke up again first. "You don't have to say it back." A wave of guilt washed over him. He pulled her closer, and it seemed to suffice, for she relaxed in his embrace.

There was a brief silence before she seemed to lighten up.

"Are you sniffing my hair?"

"What? No." he answered too quickly.

"Yes you were."

"Go to sleep, Sakura."