-XXX-

SASUKE

I put the key in the lock and quietly entered our house. It struck me when I realized how much I had missed our home during my absence on a business trip. How much I missed Sakura. We'd text each other, checking to see if the other was okay, Sakura texted me to tell me how Tsunade was doing, or I'd remind her to lock the door and not go anywhere alone. I used to smile at her replies, which were always cute and a bit cheeky.

One evening Sakura mentioned to me that Tsunade seemed more tired than usual. To dismiss Sakura's concerns, I called to the nursing home twice until head nurse Mei had to laugh at our concerns. I hurried to be home already. I wanted to see Sakura, check on Tsunade with her, and be back in my office, working on our future project. Our client had approved our proposal sooner than we had anticipated, so Minato and I agreed to go back home early.

Fortunately, we managed to catch the last flight of the day. And by the time we got back, it was a little after midnight. As I got out of the taxi in front of my house on the way from the airport, Minato laughed at the impatience with which I grabbed my suitcase. "'I don't want to see you in the office first thing in the morning, Sasuke. Enjoy your morning with your wife and I'll see you in the afternoon." My boss said to me nicely and I nodded. "Thanks."

Now I set the case on the hall table, went inside, turned on the living room lights, and stood there mesmerized. It wasn't the same room as when I left. The rich burgundy red color Sakura had chosen now adorned the massive wall across from me. The creamy coloring of the adjacent walls looked both luxurious and attractive. A couple of cushions had also been added, as well as the two armchairs she had shown me earlier in some magazine, and the result was that the room looked welcoming and comfortable. Homely.

The biggest surprise, however, were the pictures she hung there. She used some of the prints she found in a box in the storeroom, but on the red wall there were a few photographs of landscapes I had taken myself. She had them printed, matted and framed. I was astounded at how good they looked, and at the fact that she had managed to choose the ones I liked best. The whole room looked just amazing.

I ran my hand over the edges of the new chairs. They were some good-looking pieces. The effect was still masculine, but more subtle with what Sakura had created here. On the small table next to the newly acquired chairs was a photo of us that Yamanaka had taken on our wedding day. I picked up the frame and looked at the photo. Sakura was smiling into the lens and her face was literally glowing. Our faces were close together and I was smiling too, it just wasn't as obvious. But we both looked happy and peaceful.

I ran my fingertips over the photo and thought how odd it felt. After some time, I put the photo back in its place, grabbed my stuff from the hallway and made my way up the stairs to our room. I stopped at the bedroom door, as I was surprised to see Sakura sleeping in my bed. I was convinced that despite her hesitant agreement to stay in my bedroom, she would have already moved back to her own room.

She was currently hugging one of the pillows as if it would escape from her. Her fingers were clenched roughly in the material, her hair tossed on the starched white sheets. She looked young and vulnerable. I remembered once thinking how weak she was. But she certainly wasn't. Now that I knew her better, I knew she had a will of fire. If she didn't have it, she'd have folded long ago, but she'd endure anything.

She survived the loss of her parents, life on the streets, the painful discovery that Tsunade had Alzheimer's, and even endured me. Me in all my selfish, short-sighted, egotistical glory. She staggered under the covers and kicked off her blanket with a clumsy movement of her foot. Surprised, I froze and stared at her, because I saw that she was wearing my t-shirt that I had slept in the night before I left.

My wife was lying in my bed with my clothes on. Strangely enough, I was more than satisfied with both facts. With a muffled sigh, I put my suitcase in the corner of the room and took out my sleeping clothes. I took a quick shower in the bathroom, pulled on my sleep pants and got ready for bed. I made sure to be quiet so as not to wake her. But since the sound of the shower didn't wake her, it was clear she was very tired.

Then I carefully slipped under the covers into our bed next to her and pulled her back against my chest. She was a little startled and immediately woke up. However, when she realized I was holding her, she immediately stiffened. I thought it would calm her down instead when she found out it was just me. "Sakura... I'm home." I told her, feeling relieved that it was that way. "Sasuke-kun?!" She perked up in surprise and turned her head back over her shoulder to look at me. "How come you're home already?"

"The meeting went well." I began to explain. "Great, even, so we wrapped it up early." Her heart rate calmed down a bit after my eventually brief explanation. "Oh, that's great." She replied with a genuine smile on her lips, but after a moment she stiffened again and began to slowly wriggle out of my grasp and out of the bed. "I'll go to my room now that you're back..."

I waited for nothing and pulled her back to me. "Stay." I whispered next to her ear just loud enough to be heard. I tightened my grip around her waist and rested my face in the hollow of her soft and inviting neck. „You don't have to say it twice, Sasuke-kun..." With a quiet satisfied chuckle, she snuggled back under the covers and relaxed under my grip. "Your bed is really good."

I couldn't resist the urge to tease her. "Hn... And my shirt?" I asked, tugging at the hem of the worn out t-shirt she stole from me. "Is it really good too?" Embarrassed, she pushed my hand away from the only piece of clothing she was wearing. Well, except for her underwear, which I assumed she had on underneath. I didn't want to think about the other option just yet.

"You know, Sasuke-kun..." She started to make nervous excuses. "I've been busy and haven't had time to do laundry. It was lying around, so I just happened to use it." Her whole body was heating up like a chimney, probably from her little lie and our proximity together. "I saw how much you got done." I changed the subject to calm her down a little. "You like it?" Her voice was shy and hesitant. It was clear that she was waiting for my opinion and that she was hoping in her mind that I liked it.

I lifted my head and kissed her gently on her forehead. "Great job, Mrs. Uchiha." She giggled into the pillow at my gesture and it warmed my chest. "I'm glad you like it, Mr. Uchiha." She responded to my teasing with my own play. "Ah..." I agreed and pulled her closer to me. I leaned into her soft and tender body, which I had missed so badly my entire business trip.

I knew that after all the hard work and adjustments in the house, Sakura must be tired and exhausted. And after my trip home, I was also drained. "Get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning." I reached for the blanket and pulled it up to Sakura's chin, so she wouldn't be cold by any chance, since she had so skillfully kicked off all of it earlier. "All right..." She mumbled sleepily, now clutching my hand instead of a pillow. "Good night, Sasuke-kun..."

"Good night."

…

Sakura stared at me over her coffee cup and picked up my employment papers again, which Minato had recently returned to me, edited. "Just like that? He just canceled the trial term out of the blue?" In disbelief, she read over and over through the documents that now proved I was a rightful employee of the Namikaze Group.

With a mouth full of scrambled eggs, I nodded. I finished the food in my mouth and then looked at her thoughtfully. "I'd say Hinata's visit had something to do with it." She kept biting her thumbnail in disbelief. "What makes you think the fact that Hinata was here had anything to do with it?" She asked with curiosity in her voice.

"When she was here, she saw that we got along well." I sipped from my coffee cup and continued to explain the situation. "She even knew we had a fight and then we made up later. I'm almost certain that if Minato had any doubts, he believed what his trusted former secretary told him."

"You're right, that makes sense..."

"Furthermore, Minato said I did an excellent job. This was probably his way of rewarding me then." I took a sip of my coffee and stabbed more scrambled eggs from my plate onto my fork. Sakura placed the contract back on the table and finally looked away from it so she too could focus on her breakfast.

After a while she smiled brightly at me and spoke words that pleasantly surprised me. "I knew you'd impress them with how great you are at your job. I am not surprised at all. You've always had amazing ideas, Sasuke-kun." Her praise was doing strange things to me. I scratched the back of my neck, as if to touch the warmth her words evoked in me.

I simply nodded and said to her in a sincere voice: " You've always supported me. Thank you for that." The smile she then rewarded me with was wide and genuine. I looked down at my plate and realized the normalcy of the whole scene. Is this what marriage is like? A real marriage? Tiny moments of union that make us feel complete and connected? I dug into my pocket and slid a small box towards her. "This is for you." I said brusquely, grabbing my mug.

Sakura didn't move an inch to take the box. I've never seen anyone like her. All women generally like luxury, trinkets, gifts and a paying husband or boyfriend. Or so I thought, because Sakura wasn't like that. She was modest, and it was the little things that pleased her the most, which always messed with my head.

"Your bonus." I pointed out, pushing the box closer to her when her hesitation lasted too long. "Open it. It won't bite you." I suddenly remembered that I'd said the same words to her when I'd gotten her an engagement ring. Even then, I practically had to force her to take the box.

So Sakura reached for the box in response to my encouragement, her cheeks turning pink with nervousness, excitement and anticipation. She placed it carefully in her palm and hesitated again, as if savoring the moment before she opened the lid, wanting to savor the moments when she could speculate what might be inside. It was amusing to watch the changing expressions on her face.

When she gently lifted the lid of the box and saw through the crack that there was a necklace inside, she widened her eyes in surprise. I could tell right away that she liked it. It was tiny and delicate, with a pink diamond set in a silver cherry blossom flower. It was as beautiful and special just like her.

It wasn't the most expensive necklace in the store, and certainly not the biggest, but it was like it was made just for Sakura. Even Minato nodded in approval as soon as I tapped my finger on the glass cabinet in the jewelry store. Sakura looked up at me before touching the necklace or taking it out. "I don't get it, Sasuke..."

"It's... a gift." I felt a slight flush and warmth rise up on my face, so I grabbed my coffee cup and sipped from it, so the woman sitting in front of me wouldn't know I was slightly embarrassed. Giving out gifts and buying jewelry for someone I cared about wasn't on my daily agenda. "A gift? For what?" But her eyes followed me, refusing to dwell on the box and necklace without an answer.

I shrugged nonchalantly, as if it was no big deal. "You deserve it." I pointed to my employment contract. "Without you, this wouldn't exist. Think of it as a thank you." I added with complete sincerity. It was important to me that she trusted me. I wanted her to know that I realized how much she had done for me. And to make her feel how grateful I was.

"It's beautiful." She said with happiness reflected in her gorgeous and sparkling eyes. She took the necklace carefully out of the box and ran her fingers over it gently, as if testing it's surface and examining it's edges. "Wear it if you like it." I smirked, and Sakura didn't wait for a thing, clipping it around her delicate neck.

I examined her intently. It fit her well and suited her perfectly. "Do you like it?" Again, she had a tendency to touch it and that was proof to me that she was really thrilled by it. "It's..." she spoke in a strangled voice. "It's stunning." I nodded in agreement, mentally contemplating the fact that I'd originally wanted to buy earrings, but I realized that Yamanaka and the other women at my work often wore a necklace, so I figured Sakura might like one too.

"We can buy earrings to go with it, if you'd like." I offered that she could have the whole set if she wanted. But Sakura just shook her head. "No. This is perfect." The air between us was charged with emotions. She kept touching the pendant with her fingers and peeking at me with her cheeks blushing.

"All right..." I cleared my throat and returned entirely to my breakfast, which I was slowly enjoying since I had missed Sakura's cooking a lot on my business trip. We both ate in comfortable silence, glancing at each other now and then. Once Sakura's plate was empty, she stood up and walked away from the kitchen table that newly filled the empty space in the kitchen, where we would now be eating together.

She went to the sink to pour out the rest of her coffee and then returned to the table. However, she didn't go back to her seat, but she stopped next to my chair. She startled me because she took my face in her hands and kissed me lightly on the cheek. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun..." She whispered a little away from my face, her hands losing contact with my skin painfully soon. She straightened up and walked on, heading upstairs.

I turned over my shoulder after her and watched her slowly walk up the stairs, her hand still resting on her pendant hanging around her neck. It was only after I turned back to the plate and Sakura was gone that I realized I had unknowingly placed my fingers on the exact spot on my cheek where she had kissed me. As if I wanted to capture her kiss. And I really wanted to.

-XXX-

End of Chapter 27