[fluff]

Sakura stared for long hours at the ground below her the whole walk to the Hidden Sand Village. She was set on a mission of her own accord to receive updates on the child therapy centers she'd worked so hard to start a few months ago in the Hidden Leaf Village. It thrilled her to think that her work was growing into the surrounding villages and that more and more children suffering from the after-effects of the war could be helped and treated with professional care. Just as the ground below her moved from the brown dirt of the forest to the white grains of sand, Sakura was urged to look up at the village she'd been walking for miles for.  

"There it is... The Village Hidden... In the... Sand..." Her voice trailed off every step she took because the closer she got to the gates of the village, the more she started to recognize a certain man dressed in a turban and coat. 

She smiled to herself. What a perfect coincidence.

"Sasuke!" 

Sakura ran the rest of the way to the gate and, without thinking, threw her arms around him. She stepped back after a few moments as Sasuke took some time to compose himself.

"How've you been?" 

"Good! You? How's your arm?" 

"Nothing to worry about. I'm getting used to it." Sasuke looked down where his left arm used to be and shrugged his shoulder. 

"Make sure to say something right away if anything's bothering you, okay? I'll take a look at it." 

"Yeah, thanks," he replied as he patted her on the head. The simple gesture made Sakura smile happily and nearly blush. Nearly. 

"Looks like you're really working hard, huh, Sakura? Doing all this stuff to take care of kids' minds."

"I'm surprised you know about that, Sasuke." 

"Yeah, well, we're from the same class, after all. I just wondered what you were up to while I was gone from the village. Actually." He paused for a moment. "I wasn't wondering just because we're from the same class. I had another reason." 

"What?" 

"Sakura,"

Sasuke looked intently into Sakura's eyes as if his dark pupils captured hers and held them tight, never letting go. 

"Sakura." 

"Sasuke..." 

For some odd reason, Sakura knew what was happening. Not because she was expecting a few certain words to come out of his mouth, but because she was feeling a slight sense of dêjà vu. 

"I love you, Sakura." 

The moment those words settled into Sakura's mind, she knew. 

"That dream..." 

"Huh?" 

"I dreamt this... A couple of months ago when I came to the Hidden Sand Village with Ino for work as well, and... I dreamt that I found you here... Waiting for me." 

Sasuke looked at Sakura and smirked.

"You wanted to tell me something, but my dream got cut off just before you could say it. I never wanted that dream to end, and a little piece of me really wanted it to come true."

Sasuke brought his hand up to cup her face as their eyes never broke contact, "I was waiting for you, you say? I think you're the one who was waiting for me. After all this time." 

"S-Sasuke..." 

"I love you, Sakura."

This is what you wanted to tell me? After all this time of not knowing what he said next in my dream... 

He really said it.

"Thank you for waiting." 

This is a dream come true.

It really is.  

~~~

Written by xX_Fang_Xx 
***a majority of the quotations written originally by Masashi Kishimoto, taken straight from the novel, "Sakura's Story".

If you haven't read it, go check it out. It's, low-key, every SasuSaku lover's dream come true. 

Random fan of the day: adrienette2017