"Sakura, I'm sorry."
"You don't have to apologize, Sasuke. It's me."
Her simple words made me want to fall into pieces right here in front of her. The fact that she said "it's me" broke my heart. Like she was the one who would stand by me no matter what. She smiled like it was no big deal, all the things I did and put her through, put our team through. It weighed on me, my own selfish decisions have been the heaviest burden I've had to carry around. I wasn't going to let her just wave it off and accept my apology.
"Sakura, you don't understand. Do you remember that night I left the village and you tried so hard to get me to stay? You even offered to go with me. Do you want to know something? I considered taking you with me."
A gasp sounded from her but she said nothing, so I continued. "I thought you would be useful to have by my side in case I needed any kind of help. But I left without you that night, and to this day, I still wish I had taken you with me."
Anger burned through the tears in her eyes, "Why didn't you let me go with you? I would've helped you!"
I sighed, "Because I couldn't let you become a missing nin and abandon the leaf village. That was my choice to do so but I couldn't let you throw away your future over me."
"How could you make that decision for me? I wanted to go with you, you know I would have in a heartbeat."
"I didn't want you to be hated by everyone the way they would come to hate me." I said sorrowfully, reaching a hand up to wipe away the tears that were falling on her cheeks. She held my hand and sobbed, pulling me into a hug. I wrapped her in my arms and squeezed her, willing her pain to flow into me. I rubbed her back in soothing motions, letting her cry it out.
"We don't hate you, Sasuke. We never did." She whispered into my ear. Relief flooded through me. At least she didn't hate me. I couldn't take her word that nobody else hated me, but she was all I cared about. I hugged her tightly, feeling her sobs slowing down.
Gently we pulled back and she wiped her face. When she looked at me, I can't describe the way my insides felt. It was like my organs, my soul, everything inside me was lifted and turned upside down then right side up. Her eyes glistened in the light, the tears left tracks on her cheeks. She was a mess, but she was perfect.
"I didn't mean to make you cry, Sakura. I know this is unexpected and if I'm upsetting you I can leave."
She sniffed, "Please don't leave, Sasuke. I don't know what I would do if you left again."
"I won't leave as long as you want me here."
"That's all I've ever wanted." She said, looking at me with genuine hope in her eyes.
"There's another reason I wanted to talk to you, Sakura. I just need you to not cry when I tell you. Can you do that, beautiful?" I asked, brushing her hair out of her face. She nodded eagerly, wiping her face one last time and looking at me to show there'd be no more tears.
I sighed, prepared myself. Here goes.
"While I was finishing my mission, I thought of going home. When I thought of home, I thought of you. Ever since then I couldn't get you off of my mind. Your smile, your desires, your strong will, everything about you that I could remember- I thought of. It was a major moment of realization for me. When I said I was sorry, I meant I was sorry for every time I hurt you or was mean to you or called you weak. Because you're not weak, you're so strong, stronger than I ever imagined. And it hurt to realize that because I wanted you to know that- to know how I felt about you."
Sakura had started crying again somewhere in the middle of my speech but that's okay. I pull her to me and let her cry on me, whispering soothing words to her. It feels so good to have her in my arms, like a long time coming, except I never dreamed of being here like this. Like I said, things change.
"You are what made me come home, Sakura. You are home."
"Oh, Sasuke!" She cried, tightening her grip around my shoulders. She wasn't close enough so I pulled her onto my lap and rocked her, brushing her hair and shushing her. She smelled like everything I ever dreamed her to smell like. Floral but strong and sweet all mixed together. She was the embodiment of whatever perfume she wore.
After some time, she quieted down and pulled back. I caressed her cheek, holding her as I gazed onto her beautiful face. Those eyes of hers have never looked so stunning in all my life and I was beyond myself to see them gazing back at me the way they were now. My heart hammered inside my rib cage, this moment was too much to handle.
Her hands came up to hold the hand that caressed her cheek, they were warm and soft against my skin. Goosebumps rose beneath her grip. Her sweet, delicate lips parted as she exhaled. My thumb brushed her skin, our eyes were locked on each other.
"I've waited so long for you, Sasuke." She whispered.
"I know, baby. I'm sorry for making you wait."
"It was worth it." She whispered, before our eyes closed and our lips collided in a long awaited kiss that made my heart burst and explode. It was gentle and slow, natural but foreign. I gripped her waist as her hand found my neck and pulled me closer. Our tongues found each other in a heated dance, our teeth bumping against each other on occasion as we found our footing in a foreign land. I was reluctant to let go but I knew it had to end at some point, otherwise we'd be here till the sun rose (not that that would be a bad thing).
"I forgive you, for everything."
"You don't have to. I know I screwed up a lot. In more ways than I can count."
"Just you being here is enough for me. But, still I know you made mistakes and I can see that you regret them. I wish things were different for our past but I don't want this moment to ever change."
"I don't want this moment to ever end."
"Well there's going to be plenty more moments between us, that is, if you can stick around long enough." She mused, grinning.
I poked her in the ribs and started tickling her, joking that if I did leave I'd just have to take her with me.
"Don't make me use my strength on you, I can pin you down before you can say your own name."
"I'd rather say your name instead," I winked at her, throwing her off guard. We both sighed and she rested her forehead against mine, closing her eyes.
I smiled and picked up a lock of her hair, remembering. Thoughtful I say, "I did always have a thing for girls with long hair."
She smiled from ear to ear and kissed me again. I was home.
A/N: Okay, so I rewrote the story "Sasuke wakes up" because it was unfinished, too cheesy, and just wanted to redo it. I know this is corny or cheesy or whatever but I couldn't help it. I'm thinking of making this into a longer story because I'm loving Sasuke's devotion to Sakura and I want to show that more, but for now, this is a 2-chapter story. Thank you for reading!