I'm back! Sorry about the long long wait, personal things have happened which left me unable to continue with the story. I'm really sorry if you've been waiting for a long time but thank you so much if you've stuck around. I appreciate it!

If you've forgotten the story I would suggest re-reading the chapters. I will be posting on a regular basis now, so it won't be a waste of time!

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Why did they always insist on coming over to the house all the time? It was so annoying, if it wasn't Naruto, Hinata or Ino then it would be Shizune or Kakashi. They all kept saying spending so much time with Sasuke had turned her as anti-social as him. Probably there was some truth to it. After all Sakura would have much rather spent the time alone than spending it with others. Unfortunately for her Ino had invited herself to the house right now but what Sakura really wanted was some alone time and a drink to go with it.

'I've been waiting forever to ask the question.' Ino gave a big girly smile while lying outstretched on her bed. 'What's sex with Sasuke like? You're so lucky ending up with a gorgeous guy like that…' Ino let out a girly kyah after her sentence.

This is embarrassing…

'Ino.' Sakura's face turned bright red as soon as she heard the word sex leave Ino's mouth. How could she ask such brazen questions like that? But the thought had crossed her mind, perhaps if the events in her life hadn't occurred maybe she would be the same as Ino.

I shouldn't get mad, Ino doesn't understand.

'He's really dominating right! Ne, Ne! I bet he is the type who takes control of everything?' Ino pressed a finger to her lips. 'It's kinds weird you have your own bedroom and all, I don't really understand it… But… I bet he comes in the middle of the night butt naked and-'

'It's enough!' She screamed. Her embarrassment had turned to anger when she thought about the times her and Sasuke had spent at Sound together. Her heart had started to pound heavily in her chest.

Ino looked taken aback by Sakura's reaction with a concerned look on her face. 'Sakura…I didn't mean to upset you.'

Sakura couldn't stop the painful rasps which had taken over her body. The tears seemed to be never ending in her life.

'Has he…' Her tone became more assertive. 'Has Sasuke done something to you?' She grabbed Sakura by the shoulders staring into her eyes. 'Look at me!' Frustated by the lack of a response she was getting, Ino grabbed Sakura and started shaking her by the shoulders. 'Answer me Sakura!'

'No. No. No. He hasn't.' She lied. 'You just reminded me of things I would rather forget.' She gave Ino a weak smile in an attempt to reassure her.

Her heart wanted to spill all of its secrets to Ino, more than anything right now. But she couldn't. If Ino knew she would tell the others and Sakura had decided a while ago she didn't want the truth to come out. It wasn't for Sasuke, it was for Keizo, she didn't want him to grow up and find out he had been the product of rape. It was just too cruel, no she would let Keizo believe her and Sasuke were in love and still loved each other. As for her feelings? She had no choice to swallow those bitter feelings down. Alcohol always made the swallowing bit feel easier. The only person who knew the truth was Sasuke and Sakura knew he would never talk about it. As long as Sakura kept her mouth closed then the truth would never come out.

For the next hour and a half Sakura was constantly reassuring Ino she would be fine and it would be okay for her to be on her own. In reality she just wanted Ino gone so she could reach the next bottle in the cupboard but she would have to do her best to keep up the lie everything was normal.

'Well, Sakura. Take care of yourself, yeah? I'll see you at the wedding this Saturday.' Giving a half hearted smile and a wave Ino left.

Crap! I had completely forgotten about the wedding… This Saturday? It's only four days. I haven't even prepared in the slightest!

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

'You don't have to worry! Me and Daddy already sorted everything out!' Keizo kindly told her everything for the wedding had already been dealt with by Sasuke and himself. They had gone out shopping together to get the family gift for the new couple and the outfits they would be wearing.

No need to stress then… I guess the only thing I can't complain about is Sasuke's organization skills…

A part of her worried about the outfit Sasuke had picked out for her. In her head she imagined a horror of a dress covered in an Uchiha fan symbols. Recognising the fact Sasuke was always well dressed himself, it was only logical to safely assume he did have good taste for clothes and she wouldn't look completely ridiculous. Completely being the key word here. For this time at least Sakura would place her trust in him.

Things had gotten more intense at the house since the moment between her and Sasuke. Sakura always knew he would watch everything which happened around the house and her but he would never be obvious about what he was doing. Now it seemed he wasn't even trying to cover it up, almost as if he wanted her to know he was keeping a close eye on her without actually saying it out loud. This had the affect of driving Sakura to becoming a nervous wreck, what if he had discovered about her drinking problem? What would she do? What could she say?

Sometimes she felt like admitting everything to him, she wanted all her tension and problems to just go away. But she felt that wasn't dealing with her issues. No. That was just a way for Sasuke to pick up the burden. As close as he physically was, they couldn't have been anymore mentally separate. As much as Sakura tried to fight it, alcohol was her only source of comfort in this world.

I'll deal with life alone… It's my life after all…

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

The day of the wedding had finally arrived. Even though Sakura wasn't getting married herself, she was filled with nerves for Hinata. Hinata was such a shy girl, how would she handle being the centre of attention by almost the whole population of Konoha? Even she felt sick in the stomach thinking about it, no it was bad enough having Sasuke as Naruto's best man! Although she understood the brotherly bond between Naruto and Sasuke, Naruto would have been much better off choosing someone who normally communicated with more than two words per conversation. Sakura had no idea what Sasuke's best man speech would be like but hoped everyone would be too drunk to remember it.

Sakura remembered going to previous weddings as a big rush with everything in a mess, people panicking about where they had left things and it being a struggle to leave the house with everything prepared. Not so in the Uchiha household, Sasuke had organised everything and him and Keizo were already fully dressed by the time she had gotten up. It was a strange sense of calm in the air.

'Mummy! You have to get dressed soon, there isn't enough time.' Keizo had climbed into her bed shaking her in an attempt to wake her up. Sometimes Sakura sincerely wondered who the adult was and who the child was when it came to her and Keizo.

'I'm awake! I'm awake.'

Quickly taking a shower and blow drying her long pick locks, Sakura opened her wardrobe to find a full length, one shoulder emerald green dress. The colour of the dress matched her eyes perfectly; she guessed that was the main reason why the dress had been chosen. It was a beautiful dress. Carefully taking it out of the wardrobe she laid the dress against her body looking at herself in the mirror.

It does suit me… Once I put it on… I'll look like a completely different person…

Only when she removed the plastic wrapping she saw the top part of the dress was like a corset attachment. Was she going to have lace it up herself? It was impossible her hands couldn't reach! A feel of dread came over her when she realised there was no other option but to ask Sasuke for help.

Knock. Knock.

There was only one person who it could be. Sasuke. Even though he was the one who had brought the dress, she felt uncomfortable about him seeing her like this. Sakura wasn't the type who liked to dress in a way where she would stand out from others. Yes, she thought the dress looked good on her but what would Sasuke say?

Quickly slipping on the dress, she took a deep breath and responded to the knocking on her door 'you can come in Sasuke.'

He's going to see me sooner or later. Anyway it's Naruto's and Hinata's big day not mine. So get over yourself.

Watching the door slowly open, she saw Sasuke look immaculate in a black Tuxedo suit. He easily could have been mistaken for a model or a handsome movie star. Even if you hated him, Sasuke's good looks were completely undeniable. She felt plain, no ugly, beside him.

Unable to look into his eyes she focused on the floor next to him. She couldn't be bear to be under his intense gaze.

'I knew I made the right choice.'

Well I suppose that was the closest thing to a 'you look pretty Sakura' comment I was ever going to get.

'Umm. Sasuke I need help with the back part of the dress.' She lifted her arm to point at the part she was talking about.

'Hn.' Within a matter of seconds Sakura felt Sasuke's hand on the bear skin of her back. A strange sensation filled her body as she felt the contact of his hand on her bare skin, another part of her was afraid feeling far from comfortable.

Sensing her awkwardness Sasuke attempted to comfort her 'Don't be like that. I've seen you naked many times.'

'Oh… Yes. Of course.' The blush on her face couldn't have gotten any redder. Why Sasuke so blunt and direct all the time? But admittedly it helped calm her down, she always assumed the worse when it came down to him but now he was touching her nothing bad was happening. He wasn't the monster like before.

As she felt him lace up the corset, slowly Sakura became accustomed to his touch. The strange sensation in her stomach was growing and growing. It confused her, why did she feel this way? His touch was gentler than what she had ever imagined, almost as if he was consciously taking care not to cause her any discomfort. Had he always been this considerate? Time really had changed Sasuke in more ways than she first recognised. As soon as she felt Sasuke finished tying the bow immediately she jolted away from him.

'Wait. I'm not finished.' There was something different in Sasuke's voice, something Sakura had never heard before but what exactly it was Sakura couldn't place her finger on.

Sakura watched as Sasuke pulled out a silver necklace from his pocket. He gently placed the necklace around her neck, it was a silver chain with an Uchiha fan symbol made out of diamonds. The diamonds were small but very high quality, it looked as if they were gleaming. Sakura knew this necklace was the real deal and could only imagine how much it had cost.

'Sasuke- It's- I- How much did it cost?' Sakura tried her best not to be insulting but despite her best efforts she couldn't help but blurt out her thoughts.

'Nothing.' Sasuke's tone was colder than usual. 'It was my mothers. But now it belongs to you. In fact everything she ever owned now is your possession.'

Sakura couldn't hold in her gasp. Sasuke never ever spoke about his family. Not even in the remotest offhand comment. The reason for it was obvious enough; it was an extremely painful subject for him. So Sakura never brought it up, in fear of offending him. But the gesture of giving her his mother's necklace was an action which spoke more than volumes. Sasuke saw her as his family now.

As his hands left her neck, she spun around looking into his eyes with tears in her own. She had never expected him to be so thoughtful. What had she ever given him in return?

'Sasuke. I –'

What words could I use? What can I possibly say to him?

Flustered Sakura blushed a deep red colour. Trying to find the words to thank him, she was stopped in her tracks when she felt Sasuke's left hand gently glide up her spine.

Tension slowly started to fill the air. Her body felt hot in the places where Sasuke's touch had been. Her own reactions had caught her off guard.

Why am I feeling so… flustered? Wait… Do I like Sasuke touching me?

Sakura looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Like a meek little lamb she was completely mesmerised by him and his every movement. Frozen in place she watched his face getting closer and closer to her own unable to move an inch. Watching the smirk grow on his face, she surrendered completely to him when she felt his lips on her own.

At first it was so gentle as if he wasn't really there. But as the seconds passed his kisses became stronger and stronger. Completely wrapped in the moment Sakura barely registered the thud when Sasuke had manoeuvred her against the wall. Moaning against his lips, Sakura felt the heat inside her body getting stronger and stronger.

It's not enough… I want more….

But as soon as the thought appeared in her mind, she felt Sasuke pulling away from her. Resting his head against the wall next to the side of her ear, he seductively murmured into her ear 'I'll wait. For you come to me.'

Sakura watched him compose himself like nothing had happened, his usual blank look had returned on his face. Sakura too attempted to compose herself but in a much less graceful way than Sasuke had. Her mind wouldn't stop thinking about the words he had just said to her.

Wait for me?

'Mummy! Wow!' Keizo had quickly run into the room, destroying the tense atmosphere between Sasuke and Sakura. 'You look so beautiful. I have the prettiest mummy for sure.' He had a big smile on his face with his sharingan activated.

'What did I tell you about the Sharigan?' Sasuke began to go into his usual don't use the Sharingan than absolutely necessary rant to Keizo.

But this made Sakura smile; it felt so normal, as if things had their own routine which she finally aware of.

Is this the feeling of home?

Letting out one of the first genuine smiles she had given in a long time, smiling she said 'Ahem. I think we have a wedding to go to.'

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

I wonder what will happen at Naruto and Hinata's wedding? We want them to have a happy day right? Hmmm. Let's hope nothing bad happens!