Ever since the raven-haired boy came back to the village, he has been on her side almost all the time. At times there were a few exchange of conversations, but most of the time they simply lingered in a comforting silence side by side as the Uchiha survivor walked the pink-haired maiden home.

It kind of became a usual thing, Sasuke would be in front of Sakura's house on mornings to walk her to the clinic she and Ino have opened before he would go on his own to accomplish whatever mission the Sixth Hokage would entrust to him for the day. And then by the end of the day, he'd be waiting for her outside the clinic to walk with her until she's safely inside her apartment.

She never bothered to ask why he does this and why he's always around, because it was only lately that she gets to see that serene look on the former rogue ninja's face.

And she likes that, for she has always desired to see him that happy.

"Sakura."

"Hmm?" They were walking towards her house one night when Sasuke halted his steps.

"I..." Love you. "Uh. Never mind."

She gave him a puzzled look but he just looked away and suddenly resumed walking, this time, a bit ahead of her.

She just shrugged it off, respecting it whenever he needed his space or time of silence. He's Sasuke Uchiha anyway. And that's nothing unusual for him to be out of words.

"Goodnight, Sasuke-kun." She smiled and turned to look at him after unlocking her apartment's door.

And with a simple nod, he left and headed to his own place. Maybe next time, he thought, a bit disappointed to himself that for once in his life, he was quite afraid.

It's been three months since he came back and made it his personal commitment to make sure she's always safe. Since then, he desired to maximize getting to spend time with her, yet he couldn't bring himself to say three simple words that he had realized were the mere explanation as to why his heart longed for something missing when he was on his journey of redemption.

"What in the world, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura laughed one afternoon they were both released early from their usual workloads.

He arched an eyebrow at her while trying his best to stifle a laugh as well. He didn't find what he did funny, it was kind of just a normal Uchiha Sasuke thing, but it was her musical laugh that was too contagious that caused him to almost release his own cackle.

"You left Naruto sleeping with his mouth open in the Forest of Death!" She continued to laugh, returning his phone that contained the photo the Uchiha jonin (yes, finally) had taken just a few minutes ago.

He rolled his eyes and stared at her clutching her stomach, with the photo probably still etched in her mind. "It wasn't my fault he slept while he's on a mission that I ended up doing the task alone. Tch. That dobe."

"You won't tell this to Kakashi-sensei, will you?" She asked, amused with his playful revenge. At least, it wasn't the kind of revenge that urges him to make some mad declaration about destroying Konoha anymore.

He shrugged. "Oh, yeah? He may or may not have received a copy of it already."

And then she cackled again. A grin appeared on Sasuke's lips as he watched her lean at him for support. Everything seems light with her around, that's something he wouldn't and couldn't deny.

"Sakura?"

"Yup?" She responded when her cackle died down.

"Uhm, I..." Love you. "...want to invite you in my apartment for dinner, if you don't mind." His lips curled up into a small smile.

"You're inviting me to dinner?" She crossed her arms on her chest. "Or you're inviting me to cook for you so you wouldn't have anything to do?"

"Duh. It's the other way around, silly." He snorted.

"Wait, you are cooking for me?"

"H-hey!" He tried to swat her hand that suddenly reached for his forehead.

The pink-haired maiden continued to tease. "You're not sick, are you?"

He heaved a sigh, feigning irritation. "Just tell me if you'd take advantage of this time to rest because I'm gonna do the work for you."

Sakura's musical laugh filled his ears again. "Duh, you already got me when you said 'dinner'."

"Got you, huh? Then let's go!" A grin appeared on his lips when he grabbed her hand and ran with her towards his place, leaving Sakura blushing as she stared at their hands.

Sasuke prepared the ingredients of their meal in the kitchen while Sakura was seated on the couch. If this was how it would look like if they become husband and wife, he wouldn't mind. He felt his cheeks suddenly warm up at the thought.

"Do you need help?" Sakura almost startled him when she suddenly appeared on his side.

"I..." Love you. Shoot. Not that. He cleared his throat. "...guess so." He then gave in so they could make the work faster.

"And then you said you'd do the work for me." Sticking her tongue out, Sakura grabbed a knife to begin chopping some of the vegetables on the counter.

He smirked. "At least I'm doing you a favor of being able to eat immediately."

"Ah, shut up and let's finish this then!" He laughed softly at her remark.

Sakura bit her lip and smiled when he heard him release a laugh. It was rare, yet she always feels victorious whenever she hears him like that and sees him smile, especially because of her.

It's been seven months of spending time with Sakura and Sasuke's own thoughts still bug him to the core. Maybe there's no need to tell her his feelings and just let his actions speak for him, but then, he remembered that any girl wouldn't just end up married with a guy without laying his intentions andhim speaking a single word. At the end of the day, he still needed to let her know.

But how? Every time he tried to open up about what he feels for her, he abruptly gets tongue-tied. It was kind of embarrassing, really, for it was entirely a new thing to the Uchiha Sasuke. Who would have thought that a shinobi as topflight and ferocious as him would end up tongue-tied, standing awkwardly with sweaty palms while he's in front of a petite pink-haired girl? He never thought that such a day would come.

Sakura remembered how she never bothered asking Sasuke about them. She was already well-content with what they have – if they even have something. But in the course of how many months, she has seen different sides of Sasuke that he never showed to anyone. She appreciates that slow yet radical change in him. Ever since, that's what she has always wanted, for him to finally open up to the people who care about him so they could carry his burdens with him. And somehow, as much as she didn't want to presume, she couldn't help but feel rather special knowing that there are things that Sasuke only shares or does with her.

She was sure that there are also things that he opens up to Naruto only, or just to their former sensei. However, it doesn't take a genius to know that those two could easily fall into the categories of Sasuke's friends, brother-figure, and father-figure. Sakura, on the other hand, didn't know the category she belongs to. Regardless of this, she still absolutely values whatever relationship they have now, to the point that she was afraid that if she asks him anything about it, she might push a different button and end up ruining everything that they were slowly able to build.

Until one Saturday, the guy she has always loved came to her doorstep and asked if she wanted to go out since it's their rest day.

"Nothing, really. I just...want to spend time." Sasuke answered with a nervous smile when she asked him why.

For some reason, she thought that his smile was far from those genuine ones she has seen in the past few months. And for a moment, fear crept in her mind.

What if he decides to end whatever they have now? What if he's gonna tell her he's leaving again? Or announce to her that sure, they had a lot of fun in the last seven months, but it still wasn't what he was looking for, and she still wasn't enough for him?

"Earth to Sakura," he suddenly uttered when she just stood there by the door, lost in her own trail of thoughts as she stared at the raven-haired guy she had waited to come back for years after the Fourth Shinobi World War.

"O-oh, yeah, sure." She grinned. That's when he beamed like the recent usual way, taking away all the worries that gave a pang in her chest just a few moments ago.

He entwined his fingers with hers – a gesture that seemed quite natural to them recently, despite her lack of understanding about his motives – and started pacing through the streets. He really had no specific place in mind. But he thought that the right time he was waiting for was actually just around the corner.

He was terrified that if he keeps on delaying, she would just be swept away from him, something he would never allow to happen. He would never push her away again, instead, he would pull her closer, so close she wouldn't find any reason to let go.

"Have a seat, Miss Haruno," he uttered when they reached a cliff with a bench facing the vast cerulean waters almost outside the boundaries of Hidden Leaf.

Her eyes sparkled as she took in the beautiful view in front of them. But as he stared at her, he knew she was the most beautiful view he has ever seen.

And then she chuckled as she remembered how Sasuke was too much of a gentleman with his words earlier. "I'm not used to you being like this." She said, also referring about the kind of Sasuke she was with in the past months.

He then sat on the bench as she did the same. Turning to her with a smirk, he said, "Well, you better get used to it now...and for the rest of your life."

"Huh?"

There was a long silence as she looked at him with a puzzled expression written all over her face.

It's now or never, the raven-haired guy thought a few moments after. He exhaled deeply, eyes blazing even without the Sharingan, and then he finally said, "Sakura, marry me."

"S-sas..." Is the man she has always loved really proposing now?

He continued with an intent gaze at the girl in front of him, "I realized this has always been the right way of restoring my clan, not any sort of revenge, justification, or whatever non-sense. If I were to restart the Uchiha clan, I want it to begin with a strong sincere bond like you and I have."

In a flash, he suddenly remembered all those times that he had tried so hard to sever his bonds with Team 7, especially to Sakura, the one who went out of her way to stop him from leaving many years ago on his last few steps away from Konoha. But he now knows that it's futile, because what they all have is something akin to a family, something close to the one he had lost so many years ago. Who wouldn't want to keep such bonds?

"And I don't want anybody else to restore my clan with, Sakura," He admitted genuinely. "I wouldn't mind if my children would have pink hair as long as their mama is you." He chortled, making her gasp with a blush. "But really, the only woman I would want to journey with for the rest of my life is you. I want to give you my last name, Sakura. Would you be willing to accept it and carry it behind your back?" He smiled with his eyes fixed on hers, so glad that he finally got to let all those genuine words out for her to hear.

However, somewhere deep down those onyx orbs was a little slice of doubt swimming towards their surface, one that he wanted to keep hidden until he hears her answer.

Sakura was parsing everything that he had said, making sure that she wasn't merely hearing things. She bit her lip as her eyes started brimming with tears.

But then, anxiety won in swimming past doubt towards the surface of Sasuke's eyes. He blinked through his inner panic at the sight of Sakura tearing up. Did I say anything wrong? Shoot. Was it too romantic? Or too insensitive? Did I hurt her again?

"Dang it." She chuckled with her tears – tears that are, this time, not brought by heartbreak due to unrequited love nor agony due to uncertainty of her lover's return. It was as if her heart was gonna explode with all the joy it bears right now. "As if you don't know my answer to that, Sasuke-kun."

He tilted his head to one side. After all that he has done to her and many others, he didn't want to assume. He needed to hear from her and he knew that only her confirmation would bring his breathing back to its normal pace right now.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura then said, "It's a yes, silly." She bit her lip again, as if it would help in stopping the crimson stain from appearing on her cheeks. "It's always been yes if it's you."

Sasuke was at a loss for words with his mouth opening and then closing again. He didn't know that there would be something better than the warmth and happiness he has been feeling in his heart because of her. The fact that she would now be fully his, and vice versa, made him realize that even after losing everything before, it wasn't the end for him for he could start again – he could love again, and this time, create his own family.

If this is what real love does then he wouldn't ever want to let go.

He then smiled, and caught her in his tight embrace as he muttered the three words he never imagined he would actually say to someone, the three words he has always wanted to tell her.

"Pardon?" Sakura suddenly said when he pulled away.

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "Oh yeah? You heard it."

"Wow, the attitude." She crossed her arms and smirked. "I didn't. So, come again?"

Astounding her, her now fiancé stood from the bench and turned his back on her, about to walk away. "You've proposed with quite a lot of words and that short statement I didn't catch can't come out of your lips now?" She continued to challenge, a smirk not leaving her face. "Nice one, Uchi—"

"I love you," he cut her off and stated, simply yet genuinely without facing her as he tried to conceal the redness of his pale face. "I love you, Sakura." But he was smiling. Finally, he said it out loud. He never thought it would give him such a pleasant feeling just releasing those words from his lips.

And then, she beamed so widely it might cut through her cheeks. She rushed towards him and hugged him from behind, thinking about how all her waiting throughout these years were indeed not in vain. "Guess what? I love you too."

He smiled even wider, something that you would rarely see from Sasuke Uchiha.

Yep, he's not letting go.

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© September 2018 AriannJS
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Hey! Ariann here! Thanks for giving your time to read this book! Hope you enjoyed this one shot!😄 Kindly leave a vote and a comment about your thoughts and "feels" about this and the rest of the stories!☺️ Would love to hear from you! Thanks & God bless!

- A