.

.

He wasn't staring.

He wasn't. And if anyone were to argue otherwise, they'd be wrong. He wasn't staring—he was merely looking.

And it wasn't creepy since they were together…basically.

Yes—they were basically together. No, they were definitely together. After all, what woman would let a man she was in love with stay in her apartment if they weren't together? What man would stay, knowing that woman loved him, if he didn't intend to take proper care of those feelings?

Whether or not they'd spoken about the forehead poke or his parting words upon his return was irrelevant. They were together. Like the color of the sky, the saltiness of seawater, or the warmth of a fire: It didn't need to be stated aloud to be.

He knew how she felt. And certainly, she knew how he felt. Certainly, they were together now that he was back.

Surely they'd been together his entire trip, honestly speaking. Words were unnecessary between the two of them.

He was back home, in her home. Why else would he be here? He held little love for Konoha. Naruto would've let him stay over if he'd asked. He had money to rent a room while he looked for his own place, if he'd wanted. Since he'd come here, obviously they were well and truly together.

So he wasn't staring and this wasn't creepy. But…

No. This wasn't creepy.

It was normal. He hadn't seen Sakura's sleeping face in his whole two years of travel—so of course he'd be a bit distracted by its current availability. That was a normal human response. A normal male response to one he was certainly together with.

Although, not quite as normal were his thoughts. She was like poetry; like prose he'd never been able to write before. A dream made real. The unattainable gift granted at the end of his journey. A savior come to Earth, cursed with mortality yet blessed with the divine. Her tresses fanned the plush white pillow as strands of pink silk.

If he were less…himself, he would've reached out to brush his fingertips against that heavenly silk. He'd stop his feigned attempts at pretending to read the scroll in his hands, stand from the windowsill he'd claimed for the past few hours, and move closer to the sleeping woman. Brush the hair off her cheeks. Slip into the sheets behind her. Meld her body against the front of his.

And if he were less himself, that thought might've been fantasizing. But fantasizing would be creepy, like staring. So it was a good thing he was himself and neither fantasizing nor staring.

Eyes skimming the mound under the comforter, he noted how her creamy leg peeked out of the edge, and how her shorts had hiked up so high it didn't look like she was wearing anything at all, and—

"Sasuke, how long do you plan on staring?"

When had she woken up? Why hadn't he noticed? How hadn't he noticed? He'd been sta—looking at her for at least thirty minutes.

"...I wasn't staring."

"Okay. Sure. You weren't staring."

"Hn."

Green shone mischievously in the moonlight. "So what scroll's got you so engrossed?"

He glanced down, realizing he hadn't a clue which random one he'd plucked off her shelf half an hour ago. "It's—" The words stuck in his throat.

Upside down. The damned thing was upside down. Frowning, he slowly flipped the parchment around, unsure how to explain that this wasn't what it looked like.

"Well if you're all done not staring, why not come to bed?"

His gaze flicked back up to her shifting over under the blankets, making room for him beside her. Even in the dark, he saw the red of her cheeks. The night's quiet made the nervous shake of her voice more pronounced despite the question coming out so confidently.

…Certainly, though, she knew how he felt? Certainly, they were together now that he was back and in her home—in her bedroom? Surely they'd been together for the past few years while he traveled?

She knew that. She had to know that. It didn't need to be said.

Not between the two of them, at least.

Right?

Rolling up the scroll, he slid off the windowsill and approached the bed. Face hopeful and breath still, she watched carefully, pulling the covers further back for him. Her movements appeared forced and jilted—chakra jittery and anxious.

…Was she scared? Did she think he might…deny her?

"I was staring." The admission slipped out before he realized. Her eyes widened and he cleared his throat. "No, what I mean is—"

A giggle cut him off. Her whole body seemed to relax into the mattress.

"It's okay. I get it. You're tired, right? So you were eyeing the bed?"

She was wrong, but sleep did sound nice. Sleeping next to her sounded even better. Even though he usually slept terribly when anyone else was around, he'd imagined her sleeping soundly by his side hundreds of times while he was away.

Studying her expression, he suddenly felt uncertain himself. They were together. Definitely.

Although he was only going to lay beside her if—when she acknowledged that fact with the same certainty and understanding he did…

"Sakura, as for why I came back…" Why was this so hard? Was it him? He sighed, lost for the right thing to say. "You know, don't you?"

"Of course I know, Sasuke. So stop worrying and stop staring and lay down!" Her hand shot out from under the covers to pat the space she'd made.

After a moment's hesitation, he yielded, slipping onto the bed. Settling down as a weight lifted from his shoulders.

"...I was just looking."

"Just looking, huh? That's pretty…"

"It wasn't creepy."

"I didn't say it was."

She was smiling at him under the sheets. If he were less himself, he would've closed the small space between them and buried her grin in his chest. But as it were, he couldn't make his arms move the way his brain knew they must to make that happen.

Then, as if reading his internal struggle, Sakura inched forward instead.

"I think I was so excited I forgot to say it earlier, but..." Ducking her head down into him, she whispered, "Welcome home, Sasuke."

Now that her gaze wasn't pinning him with that all-knowing and too-welcoming look, his limbs were more cooperative. Closing his eyes, he laid a tentative hand on her waist. He hadn't been staring, so it wasn't creepy; though he supposed he could let her tease him this once.

"Aa. I'm home, Sakura."

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