Love Bite.

Chapter 28

Laugh until we think we'll die
Barefoot on a summer night
Never could be sweeter than with you

- Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Sakura's parents had gone away for a weekend, longing to get away from the city and make a peaceful retreat from their jobs for just a few days, which ultimately meant that Sakura and Sasuke had the house to themselves.

Sakura had awoken that morning in Sasuke's arms. It was a lazy Sunday, and she pecked his nose before lazily stretching out. Catching a fleeting glimpse of the time, she noticed they had slept in till 11am. Quietly, she chuckled; after all, it couldn't be helped if they awoke at a dangerously late time when they hardly slept the night before.

Stealthily, she got out of bed, trying not to disturb Sasuke, but failing. He awoke with a large yawn and tried to pull Sakura back into bed.

"Sasuke, it's 11. We should both get up. I'll make breakfast… or lunch? Or maybe we should just call it 'brunch'," she said, finally settling upon the most fitting word.

He hummed lazily, stretching out his arms as the duvet covers fell off his luscious, bare chest. "I'll help you," he offered, just about to get up.

"No, it's alright," she retaliated. "I'm your girlfriend; I'm supposed to be the domestic one." She smiled lightly, just then noticing that she was completely naked. Quickly, she pulled on Sasuke's t-shirt – the first thing she could find on her wooden flooring from their haste last night to get each other's clothes off. She could smell his delicious scent on the t-shirt, which reached just below the hips, not leaving much to the imagination.

As she sauntered downstairs to her kitchen, she quickly whipped up a variety of coffee, orange juice, toast and cereals. She juggled it all on a tray and was about to mount the stairs again, before something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. It was a manila envelope fallen through her letter box and lying neglected on the doormat. She placed the tray down on the stairs before prancing over and carefully picking it up. It was addressed to her and in the corner was a stamp, bearing the University of Oxford. A little of her breath was stolen from her as her fingers started to shake in anticipation. In a daze, she carried the tray and the letter back upstairs to Sasuke.

When she entered the room, she placed their breakfast on their bed, in which Sasuke immediately dove in for a piece of toast and a cup of freshly brewed coffee. He noticed Sakura staring at the envelope in her hands and intriguingly asked, "What is that?"

"It's a letter from Oxford," she said, her voice shaking with both worry and excitement.

"Well… what does it say?" Sasuke impatiently asked, sitting a bit taller at this.

"…I haven't opened it."

Sasuke sighed. "Are you going to open it?" The conversation was going in tangents. He was just as excited as she was, since Oxford had ended up being her first choice. She really, desperately wanted to get in.

"I can't," she said, her fingers void of any feeling. "Can you do it for me?" She looked up at him hopefully as she perched on the side of the bed.

He accepted and took the envelope from her shaking hands, smiling up at her for reassurance before he slid open the letter and pulled out a pristine piece of paper.

He scanned through the contents, gasping inwardly at what it said. However, Sakura couldn't interpret his reaction and feared for the worst. She screwed her eyes shut tightly when he started to read it aloud.

"'Dear Miss. Haruno,'" he started, "'Let me congratulate you on the behalf of University of Oxford! You have been selected for the admission in the course of Medicine for the autumn term of 2011.'"

As soon as he had read the first sentence, Sakura's eyes snapped open and she stared in wide eyed shock as Sasuke's lips formed the most angelic words she had received in her life. She screamed when he looked up and beamed at her.

"Oh my god! I got in! I can't believe it!" she squealed, jumping up and down on her bed, successfully spilling coffee and orange juice on her white duvet covers but not even caring. "I'm going to England, baby!"

She laughed as he pulled her down and onto his lap, kissing her feverishly in pure joy. "I'm so happy for you, Sakura," he said. However, Sakura could detect an inkling of disappointment and she pulled away from him, placing both her hands on his crossed legs, which were covered by her thin duvet.

She forced him to look straight into her eyes. "We can still manage a long-distance relationship," she whispered, hating the very words she was speaking. It was so hypocritical of her, as she knew that long-distance relationships almost always ended badly.

But what choice did they have? He was staying where he was to start his training to become the heir to his father's business, missing out on his chances of university.

He shook his head, his black, wispy hair falling across his face. "I don't want to be away from you."

She thought about this for a moment, before suggesting something that she had constantly thought about for weeks after applying to all her international universities. "Then come with me."

He looked up quickly, a shimmer of hope shining in his eyes, as he tried to search her face for any signs that she was joking. When he found none, he realized she was being wholly serious.

However, his father's business flashed in his mind. "What about the Uchiha Company?" he asked innocently. "I've got to complete my training here with my father."

A sneaky smile crept onto Sakura's face and a special glint glittered in her eyes in a 'I've-totally-thought-about-that-too' kind of way. "I know it won't be easy, but why don't you extend and globalize Uchiha&Co. and set up an English headquarters in Oxford?"

He widened his eyes at how much thought Sakura had put into it all. But then he smiled lightly and kissed Sakura again. "I'll bring it up in the next board meeting." He winked at her before picking her up at her waist and spinning her around the room, in a celebration of, not just Sakura getting into Oxford, but also just for life in general.

.&.

"Should I pack the t-shirt or the long sleeve?" Sakura held up two pieces of clothing that she couldn't decide on whether to take to England or not. She had already accumulated six boxes and three suitcases full of her belongings which she just couldn't bear to part with.

Sasuke had been helping Sakura for the entire day and he was simply hungry and craving a cigarette, but he couldn't smoke in Sakura's bedroom. "Both," he vaguely replied, uninterested at her menial dilemma.

"Yeah, you're right. After all, I heard British Septembers can still be relatively summery, which calls for t-shirts. But when winter comes, I'll be able to wear the long-sleeve too," she babbled on, oblivious to Sasuke's boredom.

"Do you really have to pack so much?" he asked, plucking disinterestedly at some fluff on his jeans, as he sat on the edge of her bed.

"Sasuke," she sighed hopelessly, "I'm only going to university once. I want to make the most of it. And it starts with an extensive wardrobe. After all, as soon as I heard that the apartment that your parents had generously paid for came with a mahoosive walk-in wardrobe, I wouldn't dare leave it half empty!"

Yes, that was right; not only had Sasuke's father set up everything in Oxford for Sasuke to own his own Uchiha&Co. offices, but in celebration of a great idea, he had paid for the apartment that Sasuke and Sakura were to live in together. AND he only got the crème de la crème of all apartments!

"Be a darling and help me zip up this suitcase," she asked, as she jumped onto the top of it to squish the lid down desperately. He zipped it up quickly, before lifting her up and onto solid ground. "Phew, so glad that's finished," sighed Sakura, as she gazed around her bare room. She couldn't help but to think of all the things she was leaving behind whilst away at university. It so sickeningly nostalgic and she felt a hard, emotional lump form in the back of her throat.

Sasuke, sensing that something was wrong, asked if she was okay. At that, Sakura immediately wailed out despairing cries. He put his arms around her and cradled her, letting her cry into the nook between his neck and shoulder.

Until that moment, she hadn't felt sad about the whole ordeal. Even though she had spent the last day comforting Ino whilst she whined and cried about how her best friend was leaving her, Sakura hadn't shed a tear. It wasn't until the reality hit her at full force did she feel the need to get all sappy and emotional. "I'm going to miss everyone so much!" she wailed, as Sasuke patted her head awkwardly. Obviously he was uncomfortable with crying females.

Over her shoulder, he held his wrist up to quickly look at the time. "Sakura, we have a plane to catch in an hour," he said, attempting to be sympathetic.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, attempting to clean up the mascara trails. "Yeah," she said, acting strong, "I'll need some help getting all of this into the car," she said, waving her hand at all the boxes and suitcases. They were getting driven to the Uchiha building's rooftop to take a private jet to England; it was the only way Uchiha's travelled.

"Sure," he said, already picking up two suitcases in each hand to take to his car.

She breathed in deeply when he left the room, as she walked around in slow, calming circles. She looked around her once more, smiling silently to herself when she put her whole past in retrospect. A lot had happened here in eighteen years. But as she whimsically picked up her Louis Vuitton Speedy and exit her room, she was certain that she was ready to take on the world - one small step at a time, starting with Oxford…

FIN.

1 story. 28 chapters. 131 pages on Word. 1785 paragraphs. 4621 lines. 66271 words. 304013 letters.

Over and out.

:'(