-Chapter 44-

On the very last night before they had to leave, Sakura went out to an observation deck behind the cabin overlooking the field below. She leaned against the railing, sighing in content as she watched the stars twinkling overhead.

She closed her eyes, letting the breeze gently caress her face.

She opened them again when she heard someone approaching, and when she turned to look she smiled warmly at Sasuke.

"Hey," she greeted as he stood next to her. "Finally get tired of Naruto's rambling?"

He groaned in reply, causing her to giggle. "Sometimes I swear someone needs to Flex Tape his mouth together."

"Aw, but that wouldn't be quite as much fun, now would it?" She teased, gently hip-bumping him.

He merely huffed a laugh.

The two of them stood there for several minutes, enjoying each other's company in the moonlight. Said moon was suspended silently above them, shining and full.

After a few minutes of thinking, Sasuke broke the silence. "You know, if you'd have told me about everything that would happen in the past two weeks, I'd have thought you were crazy."

"Yeah," she agreed with a sigh. "It's been almost too crazy. I honestly can't remember the last time we all slept in the same cabin as a team."

He shook his head.

"Even though it was scary," she admitted, biting her bottom lip for a second before continuing, "I guess I can't deny it was fun."

"Can't argue with that." he chuckled. "For the first time in a while, I actually feel like I've actually been able to step out of Itachi's shadow and make my own friends."

She turned to see him looking peaceful, a hint of a smile curling his lips as he watched the water. He turned his head to gaze at her, his eyes softening.

Her heart did a flip-flop at his gentle face, and her cheeks burned.

"W-- well," she stuttered, "did you manage to have fun in Cabin 7? Even though you got stuck with a loudmouth and a hothead?"

He smiled in amusement. "I'd have to say that I did, yes. Honestly, if it wasn't for Naruto, I don't think we would've made it out."

"No, we wouldn't," she agreed with a giggle. "All I can think of is when he carried you all the way back to camp. He seriously has a chance in the Olympics with lungs like that!"

Both of them laughed at the image of Naruto running in bright orange getup.

After a moment when their laughter died down, Sasuke managed to catch a glimpse of a shooting star. He pointed it out. "Hey, look. What are the odds?"

"Awesome!" She beamed. "Let's make a wish!"

Both of them stood staring at the sky, trying to think.

"I... I wish that Sasuke would accept my feelings," Sakura finally thought.

"I wish for more chances to hang out with Sakura," Sasuke thought, letting out a slow exhale through his nose.

...

She peeked over at him to see him looking lost in thought.

Just when she worked up her nerve to break the silence, he looked over at her with a soft, innocent smile. It was easily the most breathtaking thing she'd ever seen. It took her a few more moments to calm her heart and work up the nerve again.

Finally, she asked, "You... wouldn't mind hanging out more when we get home, would you?"

"Of course not." He answered quickly. He blushed pink, rubbing the back of his neck. "I-- I mean, if you want to," he coughed.

She leaned in closer. "I'd like that," she whispered, almost reverently.

He mirrored her movement and stepped closer. He seemed to hesitate, but he slowly wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they watched the stars.

...

"This is... really nice," he confessed after a while of awkward silence.

"Hm?" She asked, cocking her head in confusion.

"This. Friendship." He coughed into his hand. "It's been a while since I've been able to be friends with a... with a girl."

"Because every single one falls in love with you the minute they see you," she teased.

"Well yes, but actually no," he replied. "I mean, every single girl our age has a crush on me; I'm not stupid enough to miss that. But... I don't want someone who's just gonna be infatuated with me while I'm still struggling to sort out my emotions. Just talking about this is... taxing, to say the least, for me."

"I get it," she nodded slowly. "Not the 'in love' thing, but I get the loneliness. Before I met you two, I didn't have very many friends that I could see on a regular basis. The only ones I had were Tenten, Ino, and Lee."

"Guess that's just one more thing we all have in common," he mused thoughtfully, casting his eyes downward. "We're all just lonely."

...

"Hey hey, lovebirds," their teacher teased, appearing from the bushes. He startled them into jumping away, both stuttering excuses.

"We were starting to miss you." He continued, silencing what they had to say.

Naruto gazed at them almost jealously for a second, but he seemed to shake it off and grinned at Sasuke.

"Anyways, I've got the s'mores ready, so if you wanna come back to camp now." Kakashi stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Ooh, great!" Sakura lit up at the thought. But then she paused, thinking. Then, she asked, "Do you... think you could give us a minute?"

"Whatever you need," their teacher winked at her, gesturing back to camp. "C'mon, Naruto."

"More s'mores for me if you don't hurry!" The blond called over his shoulder with a grin.

Sakura shook her head as they left. Once she was satisfied that they were gone, she turned to Sasuke, who was gazing at her curiously.

"What do you still need to say?" He asked.

"I..." she began to lose her nerve, but she steeled her resolve and clenched her hands together. Marching towards him, she gently pulled him close and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

When she pulled away, she managed a squeak of "I love you, Sasuke. I really... really do love you."

With that, and her face going a flaming red, she whirled around to run off. But before she could, Sasuke grabbed her hand, pulling her back around.

"Do... do you really mean that?" He asked, eyes wide. Then they narrowed. "Are you just crushing on me?"

"No!" She shook her head vigorously. "I may have questionable taste in men, but I would never lead you on like that."

He just stared at her, his expression softening again. "So..."

"Sasuke, believe me when I say it." She caught his other hand, looking hard into his eyes. "I truly, deeply, love you. Even if it took all this crazy shit happening for me to realize it, I've fallen in love with you."

This time his face began to burn, and he turned away for a moment out of embarrassment at the confession.

Her heart dropped a little, and she sighed. "I-- I'm sorry if that was too forward, I--"

Then he surprised her. He reached up and gently pressed his index and middle finger to her forehead in a poke.

The move surprised her, but when she got over it, he confessed, "I... I haven't loved very many people in my life before. Of course I love my mother... and maybe my brother... and I guess my father."

"Do you..." she swallowed hard, breathless as she leaned in. "Do you... love me?"

He leaned in too, whispering almost reverently, "I think... I'm starting to."

He gently kissed her cheek for a split-second, and just as quickly as he started it, it was over, and he was stuttering, "C-- come on, we should go before Naruto eats all the marshmallows."

Sakura pressed her fingertips gently to the spot he'd kissed for a moment. Then she giggled, taking his hand. "Yeah. Kami forbid Naruto gets a sugar high right before bed again!"

The two began walking back to their cabin, the breeze rustling about them and through the trees. Above them, two branches were intertwined in a rough outline of a heart.