Title: With All My Heart
Date: February 17, 2008
Word Count: 2,595
Summary: She didn't know why she was sitting here, with the man she had loved for so long, in the place where her heart had shattered…
Pairing: Sasuke and Sakura
With All My Heart
"…So…"
"…"
Haruno Sakura inwardly sighed as she uncomfortably fidgeted where she sat, putting her mind to smoothing out the wrinkles on her white Medic's Coat and placing stray strands of her cherry tresses behind one ear. It wasn't that she didn't like being in Uchiha Sasuke's company, it's just, she had to go back to work soon at the Hidden Leaf Hospital and she wasn't exactly keen on being in a place that held such, heartbreaking memories, and that her companion wasn't even saying anything at all even when he was the one that pulled her off the street, 'to talk'.
So, where was the talking?
"…Well," The pastel-haired kunoichi started hesitantly, "Congratulations Sasuke…If I recall correctly, today is you last day of probation…No more just C and D-Ranked Missions!"
Her cheerfulness almost seemed forced...
"Hn…"
…But at least she got a sound out of him…
"I bet Naruto has already got plans to celebrate," She continued with a soft smile, jade eyes unconsciously gazing over the cobblestone street and the stone bench she and her companion resided on, "He might have already started to pester Tsunade-shishou for Team Seven to be reinstated…"
"…Aa."
Now, Sakura was getting a little annoyed. Sure, of course she was happy that Sasuke had returned to Konohakagure no Sato just one year ago and she would love to think that their friendship had grown at lot more stronger than the bond that they had had when they had been Genin, but this strange behavior from him was making her uncomfortable and the setting wasn't helping her at all either.
'I love you with all my heart!'
Immediately, she shook her head to cast away such forbidden thoughts. She wouldn't dwell on it because if this passed year, Sasuke had failed to mention it at all, then he had forgotten. It was only best that she forget that moment as well.
'Don't leave me!'
It was easier said than done…
With a tired sigh, Sakura began to stand, her hand taking up the strap of her Medical Bag and hefting it up to her shoulder, Sasuke's obsidian eyes instantly darting onto her form, "Sorry Sasuke, but I really have to go, my shift at the Hos–"
The Medic was surprised to feel a hand grasp her wrist, preventing her from walking away, an almost urgent or panicked tug following. Surprised, Sakura turned to look back at her ex-comrade, dark eyes staring directly into emerald.
"Stay," He stated, but the hardness of his voice made it seem like a command.
And Haruno Sakura didn't take too well to commands.
"I wish I could Sasuke, but seeing as we're sitting here in complete silence, I think I could be doing a lot more good by going back to the Hospital."
Again, another tug to her arm and Sakura frowned, watching and feeling as Sasuke pulled her back into the seat beside him, "Just…stay."
And although Sakura knew it was best to just go back to her duties, save lives, and be the kunoichi that her experiences had led her to be, she couldn't help but hear the slight undertone of need in his voice and she obediently sat down, because he still had that power over her, much to her dismay…
…She still loved him…
"…Alright…" She whispered, gently placing her bag back onto the floor and sitting upright, hands in her lap.
If anything, this meeting probably would have not taken place if it was not close to dusk and that the area they had gone off to was rarely visited. It was the only exit out of Konoha, but shinobi hadn't been making appearances in and out of the Gates of Hidden Leaf. War was far and few now that Orochimaru and the Akatsuki had been defeated.
A little exasperated with the continuing silence, Sakura opened her mouth, "Sasuke-"
"You and Naruto still care," His deep voice cut through, strong yet still quiet, "After all that I've done to you…Why?"
Surprised, not only with the question but for him to start talking at all, Sakura was left speechless. When he had spoken, her viridian eyes had snapped over to his form to watch him and there she sat, gaping. After a while, she registered that he was starting to frown at both her silence and her staring before he glued his obsidian orbs at her in an irritated glare. She looked away and down at her lap.
"Well," Sakura started as she smoothed out her coat again, "You're our friend Sasuke…Of course we care for you…You, Naruto, and I had been through so much despite the little time we spent together…Strong bonds were formed from that…"
She smiled as she reminisced from the past, her nimble fingers running along the pink hair that flowed over her shoulder down to the middle of her stomach, "Naruto found a brother…Kakashi-sensei found a son…I found…" She stopped herself and took a breath, "…Well, we were just close like that…So it was only natural that we do our best to gain those bonds back…You are a part of us…"
Silence again and Sakura was starting to feel a little self-conscience. She needed to learn how to stop running her mouth. If she revealed that she still loved Uchiha Sasuke, her friendship with him could very well be lost or awkward forever.
"…But I tried to kill both you and Naruto…" He responded, almost angrily, "Don't you hate me for that?"
"Do you want us to?" Sakura countered with a glare, "We'll choose our own emotions thank you very much…And although it hurt that you would try to destroy those bonds or kill us, both Naruto and I knew that maybe, deep down, you were just driving us away, protecting us even…Because your goal was a dangerous one and Naruto and I knew you wanted to fulfill it."
"Then why did you keep chasing me?" He asked with a deep frown, "Why did you keep trying to stop me?"
Sakura shook her head, "We never wanted to stop you Sasuke…We only wanted to help you…Because we felt that's what friends should do…We felt that you shouldn't carry the burden alone…"
Sakura smiled, "And give Naruto some credit Sasuke…His priority for becoming stronger was not to become Hokage…His priority was to become strong enough to save you……And he did a lot to get where he is…"
Sasuke shifted, his dark eyes watching her questioningly, "…And what about you?"
"Me?" Sakura laughed, "Well, of course I wanted to better myself…Especially when I had two teammates that were leaving me in the dust…" She frowned as she rubbed her hands together from the cold, "…I didn't want to be the weak one anymore, the one that needed to be protected……I wanted to become someone that would be able to protect you and Naruto too…"
Another contemplative silence befell the two friends, one crossing his fingers together over his face, elbows resting on his thighs, while the other leaned back against the stone bench and watched the sky turn from the pinkish-orange hue of sunset, to the darkest of blues of night.
The change of light was actually making this whole setting a lot more familiar to her. A dark, cold night. A boy and a girl. A proclamation of love. The feeling of failure.
"Why do you never call me Sasuke-kun anymore?" He asked softy, almost hesitantly.
The kunoichi stiffened, her jade eyes wide, and her hands clenching into tight fists, "What…?"
"…You don't use the suffix –kun anymore…Why?"
Sakura remained quiet, thinking over her answer. Was it that she didn't want her to scare him away with thoughts that she still may like him (even if she still did)? Was it because she wanted to let go of that love she had for him, which meant the dropping of such a suffix? And why did he wish to know? Did he want some kind of sense of familiarity of the past? Was he testing her…?
Sakura shrugged, trying to come off as nonchalant, "Change maybe? I mean, that was four years ago…And I'm sure it annoyed you too and I felt that I've matured and dropping a suffix like that just shows it…I don't know…But I suppose not using it has become habit."
"Do you still love me?"
The abrupt question had Sakura snap her gaze at him, finding him to be looking down at the floor, so she returned her gaze back to her lap, frowning. What kind of a question was that? Where did he come off to ask her that? It was her own personal business anyway, right? And again: Why did he want to know?
"Sasuke, I don't think that's a–"
"It's only a 'yes' or 'no' question, Sakura," He interrupted, glancing her way.
She wanted to retort so badly that, 'It's a very personal question!' but, then she would come off as insecure and might hint at him that she may still have feelings for him.
Instead, she looked down at her black boots, her pink hair cascading down to obscure her expression from him and asked, "…What do you think?"
He was a silent after a moment before he answered, "…Hn…"
Sakura released a tired sigh, fatigued from a long day and the conversation itself, "Of course I care for you Sasuke…I could honestly say that you're one of my best friends…One of the people who has shaped me into who I am today…"
"I meant do you love me," Sasuke stated, "Not care for me."
The Medic turned her head to glare at him, "What kind of a question is that?"
"A simple one," He shrugged.
"And why are you so interested?" Sakura snapped, sitting up straight as she glared emerald daggers into deep obsidian.
He continued to stare directly into her angry gaze, his own expression neutral, and her own gaze almost wavering as she stared deeply into those windows of the soul, into eyes that should have been as expressive as they were when she knew him at 8-years old.
He looked away, "…Four years ago…"
That was all he needed to say for Sakura to know what he was referring to. Her eyes had widened and she quickly turned away from him, her eyes almost watering with tears full of anxiety, fear, the need to vent because she didn't want to go back to that moment of time. The time where he had shattered her heart to pieces. She didn't want to remember that confession. She didn't want to bring it up at all, analyze it, or for him to mention it.
He had no right!
Sakura stood and lifted her bag in one fluid motion, intent on leaving this place under the moonlight, so much like before, to leave the man that still held her heart and the conversation that was starting to make her suffocate, "I need to go Sasuke."
She was only three meters away when his voice stopped her, glued her in place, legs refusing to move, "…You said you loved me back then…"
Sakura tried to blink back her tears, tried to shake her head away from the memories as the grip on her messenger bag tightened, "…Back then Sasuke…Back then…"
What she would give for someone to just pass by, for Naruto to jump out of nowhere, offering an invitation for Ramen. What she would give for something, anything to break this horrid spell.She cursed herself as a single tear escaped her clenched eyes and she bit her bottom lip to prevent the incoming sob. She wasn't weak anymore. She wouldn't show weakness. Especially in front of him.
"You said you loved me with all your heart…"
Why was he bringing this up? Why was he torturing her? Here of all places? He wasn't supposed to remember, he wasn't supposed to speak about this with her, she wasn't supposed to cling onto these feelings, that past, that moment in time. She didn't regret it, but she didn't want to remember it either.
"That was…A long time ago Sasuke…"
"…Only four years…"
"Four years can seem like four lifetimes to somebody…"
He was quiet, and Sakura could feel her Ninja reflexes kick in as she felt a shift in the air behind her, her heart beating rapidly as she listened to the even breathing not inches away. They were in that same position, like those four years ago, those four lifetimes ago and Sakura couldn't handle it. She moved to walk away, hurry out of there as quickly as she could, but the gentle tug of her wrist by his hand prevented her, yet again, from moving.
"…I remember it like it was yesterday…" He whispered.
Denial coursing through her, Sakura shook her head violently, still trying in vain to keep the tears from slipping as she weakly tried to tug back her wrist, "Well, I don't…So let me go…Let me go…"
"No," Sasuke stated simply, almost roughly, almost possessively, "I won't…And I know you remember…I know you still love me…"
Sakura shook her head even more, failing as the tears continued to fall, failing to tug herself free, even with the strength of the Godaime Hokage, "No I don't Sasuke……I don't want to anymore…"
"…Why?"
Sakura sniffed, refraining to lift up her hand to wipe away those cursed tears, "Because despite the fact that I have forgiven you…Despite the fact that I care for you……I can't forget that you had hurt me…That you had left me after what I said……My heart just can't take that pain…"
They were both quiet, the gentle wind picking against the silence, whistling through their hair and the trees around them.
"Just don't bring it up anymore Sasuke…" Sakura continued in a whisper, "I don't want to lose what we have…I don't want to lose that friendship…"
"…And what if I want more than friendship…?"
Sakura's eyes widened and she gasped as she felt Sasuke tug on her wrist again, her body obediently turning to his wishes, so that she was facing him, solely looking into his deep eyes. Gently, his calloused thumb moved up to wipe away her tears before he managed a small smirk.
"What if I wanted you to love me again?" He asked softly, "Would you give me that chance?"
Emerald eyes still wide, Sakura quickly looked to the floor to avoid his gaze, "Sasuke…I…"
"……I love you Haruno Sakura…"
Shocked with such a confession, Sakura returned her gaze upward, eyes continuing to widen, "What?"
Sasuke smirked, leaning down ever so slowly, "Hn…You heard me."
And his lips locked with hers, slow and patient even when she didn't respond, almost scared that she would pull away and reject him if he took things too far. But when Sakura finally registered what was going on, her eyes closed in bliss, returning the kiss after so many years of pent up emotion, her arms wounding around his neck as the messenger bag fell to the floor, his own hands taking a place at her waist and the back of her head, trying to make the kiss deeper, closer, more passionate.
When they broke apart, breathless, Sakura timidly looked up through her lashes, the reality of what just happened, still sinking in, "…You really mean it?"
He nodded his head, obsidian orbs almost softening with lips curving upward into a small smile, "Aa…"
Sakura smiled as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, content when Sasuke returned the gesture tightly around her waist, "…I love you too…With all my heart, Sasuke-kun…"
A/N: First crack at a One-Shot…Seemed sucky and rushed to me, but reviews are appreciated!! Thanks!!
Might do a Sequel to this...Who knows??
Disclaimer: Me no own…
MuChAs LoVe!!!
Luvinukag83