There was nothing left. I had given up hope. Sasuke was gone. The Hokage was gone. Kakashi sensei. The entire village. Everything I had once taken for granted was taken from me.

I often found myself sitting against the cold hard wall of the shelter. Sitting. Thinking. Crying. I couldn't get Sasuke out of my head. We were meant to be. He was my one and only, and now he's dead.

The only thing that gave me comfort was Lee's efforts to keep me stable. Always trying to cheer me up. Telling me things will get better, but never mentioning Sasuke. Not one. As I can recall, after that day, the name Sasuke Uchiha never escaped his lips again. Maybe it was for my sake. Maybe it hurt him too much to say. Sasuke had become close to all of us. Especially during the time of the siege.

He and Lee had grown particularly close. They planned the attacks together. With everything riding on his life, and his position, Lee offered to take Sasuke's role once he returned to full health. Sasuke refused. He had that look in his eyes I knew all too well. He was angry. Rage. He was ready to kill everyone and everything that came in his way. I should have known then what was going to happen. The thought of that loss was to big for me to linger on then.

I wish there was an easy way to tell our story. A soft kind way. No emotion. Without the sorrow and pain that those days were riddled with. But there is no easy way. Our times were rough, and that's what makes our story worth telling. We triumphed over our losses. We fought back, and gained everything that we had lost. And after everything that that bastard did, we still had the ability to love. That's what rebuilt our village. Not strength, or intelligence. IT was our ability to keep on loving, no mater the situation.

I wish I could go back. Make it easier on Lee. He only did what he thought would help. And it did. But then that day came…

The daily conversations with Lee had become routine. There was no more talk of loss. None of Konoha and what she used to be. We just talked. Lee and Sakura. About feelings, the weather, food, dancing. Whatever came to mind, and whatever distracted us from the terror all around us, where Orochimaru ruled.

That day I sat at the door. The tiny glass box that lead to the surface world. WE had only used it once. To get in. None of us had ever left the shelter since he came.

"It's raining."

I knew he was behind be as I spoke. Lee always appeared to talk when I was feeling that way. He said nothing as he sat down behind me. I could feel his warm breath against the back of my neck. His arms wrapped around me.

I don't know how long we sat there, starring outside at the world we once roamed so freely. I was longing to be there again. A simple kunoichi of the village hidden in the Leaves.

I could see it again. Sasuke. Kakashi. We were training. Naruto was goofing off. Sasuke showing off. Kakashi rolling his eyes at both of them. I was pulled out of this dream when I heard my name.

"Sakura."

It was Lee. His arms still bound me tightly. His words still tingling the back of my neck. The feeling came back. The feeling I never thought I'd experience again. The feeling I got when I was around Sasuke. But now it was Lee who was calling my name. Caressing my face. I could feel his cheek brush against mine as I closed my eyes.

He was going to kiss me. I knew not then. I thought he was being the same old Lee. I was still lost in that world that no longer existed.

I pulled away. He let go of my waist. His head back where it originally was. I turned to hi, his legs still strattling me from behind, in the most comforting atmosphere I'd ever felt. A tear ran down my cheek. And another.

"Lee… I can't."

He said nothing.

"I still… Sasuke…"

His face grew red. His eyes began to swell with tears he had been hiding for almost two years.

"Sasuke is dead, Sakura. Dead. He's not coming back."

And then he left. It was the first and last time I had ever seen him cry. I had no idea the feelings he had been hiding everyday for two years. Every confrontation. Every casual 'Hello' or 'Goodbye'. He loved me. And I was oblivious. Still in love with Sasuke.

If that was really love. Was it simply a crush? They say your first love never dies. If that's so than maybe he was my first love. He was everyone's first love. Sasuke Uchiha remains in out hearts to this day.