AN: She knows.

Chapter Nine: Haruno Sakura

Sasuke-kun allows her to travel with him after the Five Kage Summit, he finally acknowledges her presence, her strength and skills, but most of all her. After so many years of crying and training and hoping, Sasuke-kun was accepting her. It's a bittersweet moment for her, she's finally the one that's not being left behind, this time she can stand on equal ground and be of actual help. This time the one left behind is Naruto, he tries to go but he can't, he's the Hokage and his first duty is to the people of Konoha. He can't go gallivanting around the Nations, he's chained to the village and this time it's him that watches their backs as they leave, together.

It's hard at first; Sasuke-kun sets a pace that's almost brutal in his search for White Zetsu, but she doesn't complain because she can finally keep up with him. It's odd, they are like strangers at first, they've both changed and the children they remember to be from their childhood are different from the person they have standing in front of them. Sasuke-kun is no longer the little boy she remembers; instead there is a quiet but strong presence at her side. As for herself, she's no longer the shy and obsessed little girl from before. She walks with confidence and can stand next to him without blushing. After all, one single punch from her can level a whole town to pieces. They are different but they get to know this new side of each other.

And romance blooms in this long and unforgiving quest, he actually grows to love her. He loves her for the woman she was and is now, he loves Sakura as she is and she has loved him as long as she can remember, they are finally Sasuke and Sakura.

Sasuke and Sakura.

It's five years into their marriage that they finally consummate it. It's on the forest floor and only the sound of animals around them, their moans swallowed by the night. It's the ultimate sign of love from Sasuke-kun, he trusts her enough to give a part of himself to her. And she so cherishes and protects that moment because she could die at that moment and she would die happy, Sasuke-kun was finally hers.

She knows almost immediately that she's pregnant, and she cries and cries and cries. She's finally giving Sasuke-kun what he has always sought; a child. She is finally making a family with Sasuke-kun and when she tells him of the news, it is a new side of him that she sees. He drops to his knees in front of her and hugs her middle, his face pressed to her stomach and cries. He cries like a little boy, he cries like a little boy who has found his family again.

He wants her to return to Konoha but she won't. She's with him now to the end, and she's so surprised because he's so gentle and loving and careful with her. He eagerly seeks her and the child, he holds her for hours and talks to the baby, and his eyes are always bright with happiness and anticipation. During these years, he mentions Naruto only once, when he touches her stomach during her fifth month of pregnancy.

"Naruto..."

He says no more and instead caresses her baby bump gently.

Karin delivers the baby and she's such a beauty. The perfect combination of Sasuke-kun and her, soft pitch black hair and black eyes.

Little Uchiha Sarada.

Sasuke-kun makes her return to Konoha with Sarada, he won't take no for an answer. His wife and child will stay in the village protected by Lord Seventh. Protected by Naruto. He leaves again and this time neither her nor Naruto can follow him. This time they both get left behind, but she has her baby with her, a little piece of Sasuke-kun.

Sakura is a good mother and tells Sarada all about her father but she can't help her baby from missing her father because she can only be a mother not a father.

When Sarada graduates, Sasuke-kun finally comes back to them. The visits are sporadic and short but Sasuke-kun reconnects with her and Sarada. He's home more often and she finally has her little family together again.

She's not an idiot, she knows about Sasuke-kun and Naruto. And she can't say that she didn't expect it, all these years she knew it was going to happen. She knows of the early mornings and late nights, that they sit for hours at the Hokage Mountain, she knows that Hanabi knows and she can only hope they understand like she does, like Hinata does. It hurts, the ache in her heart, but Sasuke-kun genuinely loves her, he loves her as his wife, and as the mother of his child but she is not Naruto.

She is not bright summer skies or wide sparkling smiles. She is neither a tranquil summer afternoon nor a violent summer storm. She is Sakura and Sasuke-kun loves her like that.

She knows that Sasuke-kun is going blind, he will lose his sight in the coming years and no medicine will be able to stop the process. She knows Naruto is dying, despite the fact that Kurama and him are friends now, the demons chakra is still poisonous and after years of usage Naruto is slowly but surely dying. There is no remedy for either of them. So she lets them be, let's them have the company of each other and let's them love each other.

She makes Hinata understand what Sasuke and Naruto have. She can give Sasuke all of herself and it would not be enough to be close to what Naruto is, neither can Hinata and so they both accept it despite how painful it is. That the ones they love the most love them back but it cannot compare to the love they have for each other. Yes it has been Sasuke and Sakura for some time but Sasuke and Sakura cannot compare to Sasuke and Naruto.

Sakura lives with this knowledge and she bears it with strength, she will allow Sasuke-kun to be happy, she will let him have his family and his sunshine. She will let Sasuke-kun stare at those sky blue eyes for as long as he can because soon all he will see is darkness. And she may not be able to save him from it this time, the sunshine and sky will no longer be around to anchor him, she will lose him and so she lets him have what he wants. Because despite all these years, she knows she is only Sakura and that's somehow still not enough.