His love for her was not instant.

In the beginning, he was a young man with a plan (for even though he had been twelve, he was hardly a child or teenager).

She was an annoyance.

But she got under his skin. She fought by his side. She learned about his likes and dislikes (and he in turn, learned hers). She insisted on loving him. She blatantly ignored his aura screaming don't-touch-me-don't-get-near-me and sat within his bubble, touched him, and made him food.

He saved her more times than he can count. He started feeling responsible for her. This was one person he could always save, always protect. She would not get hurt (would not die) while he was around. He didn't realize this, but she had become a symbol for the family that he couldn't protect.

The Forest of Death changed a lot of things. He was reminded of his inequities.

She got hurt.

A rage had consumed him. He failed again. It seemed the only thing he could do in this world was seek vengeance. His hands could not save after all.

He had to settle on killing her enemies.

Then arms he couldn't break out of even if he had wanted to envelope him. She was still alive, and she plead for him to stop.

(He still felt like a failure.)

The hits kept coming. He was useless in stopping the Sand kid. He couldn't stop that certain man, couldn't make a dent while trying to save the dobe. He despaired.

He needed to let it all out. He fought with the dobe on the rooftop. They screamed their anger at each other, and readied their strongest attacks. The world was nothing but the two of them at that point.

Until she ran in between them.

She was a fool, without an ounce of self-preservation. She put herself in a position between them all in the name of what? Some notion of love?

This wouldn't be allowed to happen again. He would sooner rip her heart to shreds than allow her to ever endanger herself again. (He knows that he and the dobe will fight again. They still needed to see each other's guts.)

He wasn't going to reach the place he needed in Konoha. There was no other solution but to leave. So he left her on a bench and thanked her. Thanked her for understanding him enough to know that he would leave. Thanked her for allowing him to pretend for a while that he could be something other than an avenger.

The next time he saw her she wasn't even a blip on his radar.

After that…a lot of things had changed. His entire world view had been put on its head. Her view seemed to have changed as well. If there were any truths in this world, one would have been that she would never hurt him. Then that truth came crashing down as well. She came at him with intent to kill and he responded in kind.

He was directionless. There was no truth to the world but that it was wretched. Nothing really mattered anymore.

The dobe showed up. He always showed up. Maybe that was a truth, but not one he wanted.

Time goes by. Many things happen. He spoke with that certain man. He heard the truth behind Konoha's founding. He found his new direction.

They fight side-by-side-by-side for the first time in years. They are teammates once more, if only for a while. He did have his plans, after all.

But it felt nice. It felt like the impossible could become possible for a while.

He got separated and lost in a dimension. He had no idea how he long he walked the hot desert. It was hopeless.

Then hope arrived in the form of a certain girl, and he ran. A move he had never had success with worked, and he caught her as she began to fall.

Things shifted in him. He always thought he was saving her…but she saved him. He understood now.

It wouldn't change things. He still had a plan. The needs of the many were more important than the needs of the few (of him).

The goddess was vanquished and it was time to enact his plan. He shreds the girl's heart. She would not interfere in what needed to be done. (She would live. Who cared if her feelings were hurt?)

The dobe. The freaking dobe.

(They finally saw each other's guts.)

The plan changed. The dobe and him would change things together.

Time moved on.

He poked her in the forehead as he leaves the village because that is one sign of affection he knows for sure is genuine. She mattered to him, and it was time that he expressed it to her.

So he left the village, but always returned. They went on dates. (At least, that's what the dobe called them. He just thought of it as spending time with her.)

She was his family, and then his family grew.

He realized belatedly that he probably should have asked her to marry him a long time ago. (But that's another story. One yet to be written. They still haven't wed. Their daughter keeps asking; she wants to be Maid of Honor.)

No, his love for her was not instant. It was something that grew unnoticed, and had almost gone unacknowledged.

But it was there, and it was real.

Standard Disclaimer(s) Apply

This story was written as a response to the fanfics I have seen circling around that make it seem like Sasuke's love for Sakura was something he always understood or acknowledged, that make it seem like an 'instant' thing.

So...this was my interpretation of Sasuke's interpretation of his relationship with Sakura, with a head canon thrown in that they never actually got married. I kind of think of once Sasuke understood his love for her, they moved on into a quiet relationship together. Their dates are spent reading next to each other, or drinking tea together, drinking in the scenery. A quiet, content sort of love, without the need of a title of 'husband and wife'.

Tell me what you think! The style was pretty experimental, and I may have some tense issues. I would appreciate feedback!