Author's Notes: What I had intended to be a short oneshot is now going to be a mini-story, no more than 5-6 chapters long, maybe with an epilogue. Depends on what you guys think.

Thanks to everybody who's reviewed.

Disclaimer: I own nothing and no-one.

Hammers and Hearts: Chapter II

The time that has passed since he was brought back to Konoha has been measured not by minutes or hours or days or even weeks, but by suspicious whispers and hushed accusations. It is exactly as he had suspected it would be, and behind every corner there is another reminder that he is Sasuke Uchiha, traitor and murderer.

He spent the first week in a guarded cell with his chakra sealed and was questioned for hours daily by the Interrogation Squad. They always asked his reason for returning and he could give no answer, but he saw pink hair and green eyes.

Stepping beyond Konoha's gates is forbidden, and he is allowed no contacts from outside the village. Not trusted, he is watched constantly. The flitting shadows of the ANBU follow him everywhere, and he can sense their eyes when he walks down the street and in his restless sleep. Pretending not to notice them, he goes from day to day, a ghost walking among the living.

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She comes to him when he least expects it, as naturally and easily as if they had planned to meet. One day his feet had somehow led him to Team Kakashi's old training grounds. Standing in the middle of the empty field Sasuke found it all vaguely familiar- the way the dirt shifted beneath his feet, the swaying of the trees, the battle-scarred landscape. He didn't have to look over when he sensed a presence to know that it was Sakura who stood behind him.

"Hasn't changed, has it?"

"Ah," he replied, almost bitterly. "Some things don't ever change."

After a short silence she countered, "And some things do."

On silent nights when the rest of the village sleeps, he climbs on his roof and stares at the moon - a fingernail glowing in the torn sky. One moment, he's alone with his thoughts, and in the next breath, Sakura is there beside him. She sits so close that he can smell her shampoo and see the delicate curl of her eyelashes.

Sometimes she is silent and they simply sit side by side, their bodies blurring into the black horizon as they perch on the edge of a sleeping world and know nothing but each other's presence. One night she sat back, leaning on her hands with a sigh.

He could see the moon reflected in her viridian eyes and the smooth curve of her cheek when she whispered, "It's a beautiful moon."

Sasuke turned his eyes back to the sky and away from Sakura upturned face.

"Yeah. It's a traitor's moon."

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It is a cool and still night when he goes to the gates of Konoha through which he left so many years ago. He walks the same stone path, past the same buildings and under the same streetlights. The moon is full and large, and it is all too familiar.

"Sasuke?"

He hears her soft voice call from behind him and though he is not surprised that she is there, it is like they've accidentally wandered into yesterday's dream. There is something raw and aching deep within his chest, and he doesn't know if he wants to laugh or scream.

Instead he says, still not facing her, "You called my name then, too."

Sakura keeps her eyes trained on his form, silhouetted by moonlight. "I couldn't make you stay then." Her throat suddenly feels thick and she has to swallow before continuing. "No matter what I said, I couldn't keep you here."

"No, you couldn't make me stay," he agrees. "But…"

There is a breeze that unsettles some of the branches around them and in the slight pause he takes, they can hear the leaves falling. Sasuke shifts slightly on his feet and Sakura is suddenly thirteen years old again, horribly in love and desperate to keep him from leaving. She is reliving that night, the same fear clenching her heart and terrified that he will disappear from her life like smoke in the wind.

Taking a hesitant step forward she calls, "Sasuke-"

His name is still on her lips when he vanishes from her sight and appears again behind her. It is that night again- the same moon, the same stone bench where he left her, the same two heartbeats. But they aren't the same people. They aren't the children who had yet to kill, yet to feel the last breath of a dying man on their faces

The breeze is gone and the air is still, as if the world is holding its breath, waiting. Sakura barely breathes, afraid that any movement will blow this fragile moment to pieces, and she will wake to find him gone. Sasuke is so close that he can feel her body heat in the cool of the night and he vaguely notes how small she is, almost a head shorter than him. He can see the tenseness in her back, and his eyes follow the smooth curve of her shoulder.

Finally daring to speak, Sakura whispers, "This is where you said thank you."

Sasuke takes another step closer and inhales the smell of blossoms and rosewood, secretly gathering the courage to speak. His chest just barely touches her back as it rises with his breathing and Sakura forces herself to remain still.

"There aren't many things I allow myself to regret," he says huskily, leaning close. "But everyday since I left I have regretted not saying what I really wanted to tell you."

Sakura's eyes widen at his words and she almost shudders at the feel of his breath so close to her ear. She licks her lips, preparing herself to ask the next question.

"What did you really want to tell me?"

Several silent moments pass, neither of them speaking and both beautifully vulnerable. In these few seconds, the world doesn't exist and it is only the thundering of their hearts echoing in their ears that proves this is real.

She nearly jumps when Sasuke slowly pushes her hair away from her neck and over one shoulder with his hand. He stares at the pale column of her neck before taking one calloused finger and running down its length, leaving a trail of heat. Sakura forgets how to breathe when he takes a thumb and gently traces circles on her skin, barely pressing down.

Unexpectedly, Sakura is overcome by the need to see his face, his dark unfathomable eyes, and smooth and proud feature. She wants to hear him say the words he couldn't all those years ago and look him in the eye while he says them.

She whirls around, but she is alone. He is already gone, leaving only the ghostly touches on the back of her neck and unsaid words hanging in the cool air.

Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Just so you aren't confused, Sasuke hasn't left Konoha or anything like that. Why he left Sakura there, is up to your own interpretation until the next chapter.

Reviews are always, always appreciated. Please feel free to critic or tell me of anything you don't like so that I might change it if I can.

Thanks for reading!