"Sakura, will you marry me?"
Sasuke watched as Sai dropped down on one knee in front of the whole crowd, with a ring in his hand, causing Sakura's hands to fly over her mouth with a gasp. He felt his jaw clench as Sai declared his undying love for Sakura, recalling the first time they met and fell in love, and asked the question.
"Sakura, will you marry me?"
It was a grand party that Sai had thrown on Sakura's birthday. Everyone was there. Their friends, their family. Sai had even invited Sasuke, despite knowing that he and Sakura had a history. Ancient history. Young love. A thing of the past. If only he knew.
"Sakura, will you marry me?"
There was pin drop silence in the hall, as people stood still, holding their breaths, staring expectantly at Sakura for a response. Sakura, who was looking at Sai with a mix of love and wonder in her eyes. Sasuke knew she was trying to control her emotions and failing, as he had spotted the wetness that had started to appear in her eyes. He watched with gritted teeth and closed fists as Sakura slowly lowered her hands and nodded shakily. Her lips forming a trembling "Yes".
Sasuke closed his eyes as the crowd went wild, cheering and congratulating the newly engaged couple. Few moments later, he opened them again to see the couple in a tight embrace, kissing. Naruto ran up to them, clapped Sai's back and hugged Sakura. Ino was there too, hugging her best friend, her eyes too watering. Sakura's parents came next, then Kakashi and Hinata, then her colleagues. Both of them were now surrounded by their loved ones, while Sasuke stood outside the circle, alone and forgotten, his ears ringing, his mind numb. Slowly, he backed out of the hall and walked outside their house, embracing the silence and dark of the cool night.
He knew it was nobody's fault that things couldn't work between him and Sakura. Yet he couldn't help blaming himself for letting the love of his life slip away from him. They had been friends once. When they were kids. Goofing around the neighborhood, teasing Naruto. They went to the same school, sat in the same classes. They had grown up together. They had shared their firsts together: first dance, first kiss, first love, first heartbreak. They had loved each other, yet they had hurt each other. Sakura wanted Sasuke to stay in the same city for college. He knew Sakura wanted to pursue her career as a doctor. But he had dreams of his own and he could not sacrifice them even for her, just like she didn't sacrifice her dreams for him. So they ended things there; as Sakura received her acceptance letter from Konoha Medical School, and he, with Naruto, a job offer from the country's top security firm.
It was only when he had returned after five years, having lived his dream, and saw Sakura again, that his old feelings for her rekindled. The moment he saw her walking toward him, in a pink dress that hugged her body, a folded white coat in her arm, giving him a smile as she welcomed him back to the city that had witness so many memories of them together, that was the moment when Sasuke realized he wanted to be with her. That he still loved her. That he had never really stopped. He would've said so right away if it wasn't for a dark haired man behind Sakura, standing rather close to her and looking at Sasuke with a small smile that stopped him from making a move.
He would later find out that Sakura and the man named Sai had been going out for two years by that point and had recently moved in together. Sasuke took in the information calmly, but his insides were on fire. He assured himself that his attraction toward Sakura was only a temporary thing, only a nostalgia. But, it only got worse. The more he met her, albeit in social gatherings most of the time, the stronger his feelings grew for her.
He started looking for signs that Sakura might feel the same way. It wasn't long until he succeeded. It happened at Naruto and Hinata's wedding which Sai wasn't able to attend, leaving Sakura without a date. Sasuke, calmly and collectedly, asked Sakura for a dance, which she accepted. For the whole time they danced, Sasuke kept looking into her eyes, searching for a hint, anything that might indicate that she felt something for him. But Sakura just smiled at him, her eyes betraying nothing. He felt a stab at his heart. Removing his hands from her waist, he left the dance floor. He entered the male washroom, stood in front of the sink and splashed cold water on his reddened face.
After having himself composed, he exited the washroom, but as he crossed a closed room, he heard muffled sobs, causing his feet to halt. He moved closer to the door and listened. As soon as he recognized the voice as Sakura's, he immediately opened the door and entered the room. Sakura, who was sitting on the bed with her back to the door, jumped at the sound and turned around. Sasuke took in her red face and swollen eyes. Sakura was looking at him with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights, and Sasuke knew. He knew the Sakura he had danced with few minutes ago had been a fake.
Feeling something elevate in his chest, Sasuke crossed the room in two long strides, took her face in his hands and kissed her full on the mouth. He felt Sakura gasp and trying to pull away, causing him to deepen the kiss. It wasn't long before Sakura was kissing him back, grabbing his hair and pulling him toward her until there was nothing but clothes separating them. They stood there for a while, their mouths moving in a rhythm, his hands roaming on her body and hers grazing his jaw and neck. It would have gone forever if it wasn't for footsteps and a laugh that caused them to jump apart. Sakura looked at him with a shock and left the room at once. Sasuke stood there, panting, then fixed his hair and exited the room just as another couple arrived at the door, drunk and asking if the room was free.
Ignoring them, Sasuke followed Sakura out in the parking lot that was surrounded by darkness. He could see her in the moonlight as she rushed toward her car. Sasuke called after her.
"Sakura, wait!"
Sakura stopped and looked back at him. Sasuke moved toward her so that there were only a few feet between them.
"Why are you running away?" He asked. Sakura looked aghast.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I can't do this."
"Can't do what?" Sasuke demanded.
"I can't be with you!" She replied, looking down at her feet.
Sasuke took a step toward her. "Why not? You clearly still love me. And I still love you. What's the problem then?"
"Love isn't enough." Sakura whispered, closing her eyes. "You have no idea how much time it took me to get over you after you left. I know we ended things amicably, but it still hurt so much. It took me months, Sasuke-kun, months to forget everything we had and move on."
Sasuke opened his mouth to object that it hadn't been easy for him either but she cut him off.
"I don't blame you, you know. We both wanted different things from life, and there's nothing we could've done about that. But, it has been too long now. Even if we got back together again, we'd only end up hurting ourselves just like last time. I don't love you. Not anymore I love Sai. He is always there for me and supports me. I hope that you too would find someone who would love and support you. Goodbye, Sasuke-kun."
Sakura turned again and moved toward her car. But Sasuke refused to give up.
"That was a good speech, Sakura. I would've fallen for it, had I not seen the many different faces that you wear in one day. You conceal your emotions so well that even I got fooled. You let me dance with you so you could show me that you were over me, hoping I would move on." Sasuke took a deep breath and moved closer to her.
"You did well there, Sakura. I was convinced. But then, apparently, the emotions got the better of you and you found yourself a quiet room to cry your heart out. And I'm willing to bet it wasn't because Sai couldn't be here with you today. It was because you could no longer suppress your feelings for me and couldn't act on them either. You thought no one could hear you cry, but I did. Are you telling me what followed after that means nothing to you?"
Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around. She was crying again. He cupped her cheeks, kissed her forehead, her eyes, her lips, tasting her tears.
"Let me be with you, Sakura. We can make this work." Sasuke murmured.
Sakura pursed her lips, then shook her head. "Its too late Sasuke-kun. Sai is going to propose soon and I'm going to say yes. You're right. My feelings for you are still strong as ever, but my feelings for Sai are strong too, and I will not break his heart over anything. Please do not force me to make such a decision. I wish for us to remain friends and nothing more."
She took both his hands in hers, looked up at him and smiled. "I will always love and care about you, and I wish you would find someone too, who will love you like I never could." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Goodbye, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke stood there, immobile, as Sakura slid inside her car and drove away. He knew this face of Sakura's wasn't the fake one. He knew what she had just said was the truth. He knew he had lost her.
That was weeks ago. Now, he stood outside their house, listening to the muffled music, gazing the sky. He took a deep breath and willed himself to go back in and congratulate the couple. Sasuke doubted he would ever love anyone as he loved Sakura Haruno, but he was starting to learn that love and union were not necessarily mutually inclusive. So he straightened himself, held his head high and reentered the house. He was Sasuke Uchiha. He did not bow down to defeat. He did not give up. But he also did not force his will on others. He did not hurt his friends. So he would chin up and stand beside Sakura as she marries the man she loves. For now, that will have to be enough.
A/N: I wrote this story a few years ago and then just forgot about it. I found it in my Tumblr blog recently and when I read it I became incredibly sad. How can your own writing invoke such an emotion in yourself? Crazy, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story. Or rather, I hope this story made you as miserable as it did to me. Heh!