Date: 6/18/13
Rating: T
Genre: Angst, Cute, Drama, Romance
Prompt: Post-war, Sasuke tries to apologize to Sakura, but instead of saying "I'm sorry," he says, "I'm home."
He told her she didn't have to. She told him she didn't mind. And as Sakura raised her arms to the sky, stretching her muscles after a long day at work, sighing in pure contentment, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder why she even bothered with him. He kept his distance. He rarely spoke. And yet, it didn't seem to matter to her. Even after everything he's done, to both the village and to her, she was there. She was always there. And he didn't get it.
Maybe that was just his guilt talking.
Because she wasn't like Karin. She didn't demand an apology. She didn't ask him why. She wasn't expectant. She wasn't angry. She wasn't bitter. But Sakura wasn't a lot of things. And he didn't know what to say or what to do. He couldn't place into words his repentance, words that were so easy to say to Karin, words that plagued him whenever Sakura smiled or laughed or showed him kindness. Because it reminded him how she still loved him. Because it reminded him that he didn't deserve it.
"Look, there's Naruto," she said, stopping to point at the ramen stand. She laughed. "I guess the village hasn't changed too much, has it, Sasuke-kun?"
But he didn't even glance at Naruto. He sighed. "Yeah."
The sun began to set as they continued their walk in silence. But while Sakura seemed comfortable, Sasuke was far from it, unable to ease the discomfort of his troubled mind. Standing in front of Sasuke's apartment, Sakura gently bid him goodbye and she gave him a smile. Hopefully, she'd see him tomorrow, she told him. However, before she could leave, Sasuke grabbed her by the wrist. "Sakura, wait," he said, ready, tired of his hesitancy, "I—"
She turned her head and looked at his hand that hadn't let go. She tilted her head. "Yes, Sasuke-kun?"
It must have been the way the rays of sunset cast a halo around her face, or the way the wind blew through her hair, or the way her smile reached her eyes because Sasuke couldn't bring himself to say the two words he had been yearning to say to her, because he realized he didn't need to. The time for apologies had already passed—not forgotten, just forgiven.
Sasuke relaxed; he should have known. Gently pulling her into his arms, he held Sakura tightly in an embrace, burying his head in the space between her neck and her shoulder, breathing in her scent, breathing in her self. And then he knew; he was sure of it now.
"I'm home."
You're home.