12

Apprehension filled Sakura as she made her way towards the meeting spot. To say she had been surprised by the request was an understatement; Sasuke was not an outgoing person concerning things of this nature.

He probably wanted to talk about the hospital visit, maybe put water under the bridge. Or at least, that was the assumption. They had not spoken since and she had taken to avoiding him. Not that she hadn't kept up on his progress, but the pink haired girl had felt that more distance was good distance.

She loved Naruto with all her heart and it had taken a long time for her to realize that. However, she still loved Sasuke and being around him confused her. A part of her wanted to hate him, to be angry and scream at him. Another part wanted her Sasuke back, the one that she had fallen in love with and had been completely devoted to.

That was impossible, she knew, but who could ever truly forget their first true love?

As always, her breath caught in her throat when she saw him standing near the three posts at the training grounds. Their training grounds. Sakura let herself hope for a moment, as Naruto had been telling her about how Sasuke was slowly but surely starting to come around. They could never be together, but she so desperately wanted her old team back.

She wanted Sasuke back. The old Sasuke.

He was as handsome as ever. Hands in his pockets, gaze focused on something in the distance. The Uchiha was wearing a high collared black shirt and pants, his clan symbol large and proud on his back. The only thing that looked out of place was the black headband around his forehead. The one which would always be a reminder he was not the twelve year old boy she had loved anymore. A sign as his time as an avenger.

He knew she was there, but didn't acknowledge her presence. Fighting the urge to wring her hands, Sakura let out a small breath, gathering her courage. The past year she had spent avoiding the Uchiha had been draining on her. She had done it to get over him because, if she were honest with herself, she had given up on him. Doing so brought mixed feelings, from disappointment to shame. Naruto still believed in him and she hoped this encounter would make her start believing in him too.

Sasuke eventually turned to her as she neared, dark gaze cold. His expression was stern and he made sure to have her full attention before he dropped the hammer.

All her hopes were crushed the moment he opened his mouth.

"Sasuke-kun..."

"Stay out of my affairs." They both said at the same time.

Sakura blinked twice at him, emerald eyes clouding with confusion. She didn't even try to smile nervously at him in an attempt to shake off the tension. "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said." He was moving now, closing the distance. "Months ago, you approached Hinata. I overheard."

It took her a moment to register the words. She had almost forgotten about that incident. As always when it concerned the Uchiha, her feelings went all over the place. Confusion was replaced with anger and even jealousy. Yes, she had been trying to look out for Hinata and had been basically told to 'shove off', which had made her angry. The two females weren't really on speaking terms because of that. Hinata had even tried to turn it on her, which had really been the cutting point for her.

Her previous friend had completely ignored her warning and had continued to care for Sasuke, swearing that nothing romantic was going on. No one was fooled by that. This was Uchiha Sasuke, it was impossible to be around him for any period of time and there not be something romantic there. By Sasuke's tone, even Hinata had not been impervious, despite her 'love' for Naruto.

"I only told her the truth, Sasuke." She dropped the honorific. If he could be rude, so could she. "You've hurt Naruto and me. You and I both know you could just as easily do the same to Hinata-chan. She was my friend, I didn't want her to get her hopes up. I guess I shouldn't have bothered."

"Sakura," he spoke slowly, as if dealing with a troublesome child. Still, his gaze did not unthaw and his expression remained hard and unyielding. "You don't know me." The empathized words were growled out. "Your crush on me? I never facilitated it. I never led you on, I never pretended to treat you as anything other than a teammate and a friend. It's really funny that you've always claimed to know me but even Naruto saw what you didn't."

She didn't know him? How could he say that after everything? "Oh? And what about the times you and I would just sit and talk? You told me a lot about yourself that you didn't tell anyone else. Whenever Naruto would get out of hand I was the one you looked at, knowing I would relate to you."

"You're right." He straightened, putting his hands at his sides. "I did do those things, because I considered you to be a friend. But really, Sakura, when did I ever deceive you? I never told you I wasn't going to Orochimaru, I never told you I was going to stop pursuing power or my brother. Your feelings of betrayal, as I said before, are your own."

"You were going to leave without a word!" she exclaimed, years of anger and frustration finally bursting through. "We could have helped you! We wanted to help you! I begged you to take me with you!"

"I didn't want your help and I didn't need it. And Sakura, let's face it, all you would have done was hold me back. You were useless to me."

The bluntness of his words struck her like a physical blow. Sakura blinked back hot tears, refusing to cry in front of him when he was being so damn cold.

"You could barely hold your own at the chunnin exams," he continued, driving the daggers deeper into her heart. She took two steps back, he moved that many forward."You would have kept trying to dissuade me from my path. Better yet, Orochimaru would have destroyed you. He would have used you against me and then I really would have had to betray you. I never would have gained the power I needed as quickly as I had if I had stayed with you."

"You don't know that –"

"Yes, I do. What I needed to kill Itachi...no one in Konoha could have given that to me. No one would have wanted to." He turned away from her then, looking up at the sky.

"No matter what, no matter why, I had to be the one to kill Itachi. No one else. He wouldn't have been able to go in peace."

Now she was turning away, because she didn't want him to see her tears...and she didn't want him to see the truth.

She didn't know him. Naruto understood him, but she didn't. She wasn't sure if she ever would.

"Stop comparing Hinata to you." Sakura was actually beginning to hate his voice. She remembered his words from that day, when he had accused them of clinging to something they had thought they had known.

Somehow, Naruto had learned what was underneath Sasuke. Sakura had scratched the surface, but that had been it. She now knew more about Naruto than she ever had about Sasuke, and the knowledge hurt. It hurt because it meant that even though she had been their teammate, she would never share the same tight bond they did. She would always be somewhat of an outsider. And now, Sasuke would never let her in.

It was only after a very long moment of silence that she spoke again. "You...don't hurt Hinata-chan."

"I won't." Two simple words and yet from him, they meant so much. "Not intentionally."

"Not even then!" she snapped, now wiping at her face. Damn her tears. "Because...she deserves real happiness, Sasuke. Everyone deserves someone who really loves them." Somehow, she managed to look up at him. "She said it...that she didn't...what happened?" Were they...together now?

"She didn't lie to you." He explained. "Things happened. Changed." With the lack of elaboration, she knew she wasn't going to get much else out of him. "Now we're together. I'm only telling you this because I want you out of my business and I know Naruto can't keep his damn mouth shut around you. I wanted to save a step."

Breathe in, breathe out. Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat and resisted the urge to let out a shaky sigh. "Do you...love her?"

"I'm with her." Was what he said, but the look was what made her see beneath the words. His lack of elaboration was also a test. A complicated test, but one she didn't want to fail. She had failed in so many different ways concerning the two most important men in her life, she wanted to pass this one.

"All right." A nod and a slow smile. "I'll do as you say." Sakura let out the breath she had been holding. "Congratulations, Sasuke. I...I'm happy for you."

She could tell she passed when the cold gaze softened just a fraction. He shrugged, a powerful roll of the shoulders, and tilted his head slightly, hands back in his pockets. "Hn. You should make up with her, before she thinks you hate her." And with that, he was gone.

Sinking to her knees, the kunoichi hugged her middle, sobbing with a smile on her face. She felt upset, jealous, relieved, sad, angry, and just so many different things at once that all she could do was start laughing.

xxxxx

"We should burn it down." Sasuke suggested, wrapping his arm around Hinata's shoulders. "I'll even start the fire." With his free hand, he raised his fingers to his lips in the familiar gesture used for the Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu.

Hinata quickly pulled his hand down, a smile touching her lips. "No! We can't burn the house down, Sasuke-kun. The Hyuuga plan to use it. We never let anything good go to waste."

"Tch. There's nothing good about this damned house." He muttered, dropping his arm to travel down the gravel path leading to the place where he had been rendered his most vulnerable. Almost another year had passed since he last set eyes on what had once been his prison and had Hinata not insisted on coming, he would have happily allowed an eternity to go by without venturing near this part of the Hyuuga estate.

Her hand landed on his shoulder as she brushed past, white eyes sparkling with emotion. "Nothing?" she asked. "I feel one good thing came from living here with you."

Instead of responding, Sasuke closed the gap, interlacing their fingers as they walked up the wooden steps together. "Why are we here, anyway?" he wanted to know.

The inside had remained virtually untouched, save for the obvious signs of cleaning and upkeep. Hinata guided them around, going through the rooms, lingering in the kitchen. Their last stop ended up being his old bedroom, now devoid of his belongings save for the furniture. She let go of his hand, walking over toward one of the windows and opening the blinds. Mid-afternoon light seeped in, drawing more attention to how vacant, how lifeless the room now felt. After everything that happened here, Sasuke found the scene surreal and admitted to himself that perhaps Hinata had a point. The foundations of their relationship had been built in this small home he had compared to a prison. Without it, would their relationship ever have happened?

She turned to him, closing the distance and grabbing both of his hands. She glanced up at him, lavender eyes bright as she smiled. "I wanted to come back to the beginning," Hinata began. "When you first asked me to be with you, I didn't know what to do at first. A part of me wanted to be by your side, but I was also afraid. Later, I learned you were also afraid, and it helped, because it made me feel we were in this together. Now, it's been a year, and we've been through so much I wanted...I want to say that I'm...that I..."

Sasuke pulled her in for a soft, lingering kiss, his hands delving into her long tresses. As they parted, he pressed his forehead against hers and let out a sigh. "Yeah. Me too."

X X X X

"Are you sure about this, Hinata?"

"Yes, otousama."

"Uchiha, do you know what you're asking for? With your past, your history, I shouldn't even allow you to glance in my daughter's direction, much less marry her. The only thing you have going for you is your bloodline, and while the council may approve based on those qualifications, as her father I need something more. Why should I approve this union when you have already proved your disloyalty to the village?"

"Hiashi, if you doubted my loyalty to the village, I wouldn't be here. It's not my loyalty in question."

"Oh? Then what is?"

"You want to know if I'm doing this to restore my clan, or whether or not I love your daughter. That's what you really want to know."

"And your response?"

"I want to restore my clan because I love her."

X X X X

"Hinata-chan," Sakura's smile, while genuine, carried a tint of embarrassment and regret. Chances are, her friend wouldn't even remember the discussion they had five years ago, but she felt the need to make amends. "I know I've said it already, but congratulations...to you and Sasuke-kun."

No envy or jealousy marred Sakura's heart as Hinata turned, emanating radiance in her beautiful white wedding gown. There was only a sense of contentment and acceptance, of knowing everything had happened for a reason, because both of them couldn't be happier with their lives.

"Thank you so much, Sakura-chan." Hinata beamed, looking every inch of the princess she was on her special day.

"I...wanted to apologize. Years ago I said some things...and I was wrong about everything. I was angry with Sasuke and a little jealous of you for catching his attention the way I had always wanted. Now that I look back, it all seems so silly. Watching you two today, Sasuke-kun won't smile but I know he's happy. You two belong together, and I'm so happy things worked out for all of us."

"So am I, Sakura-chan."

X X X X

"So, idiot, how does it feel to be a father?" Sasuke asked, staring out into the horizon. Beside him, Naruto chuckled as he flipped another burger on the grill.

"It's pretty great...well, besides not getting any sleep. Everyone still wants me to do Hokage stuff even when I'm dead tired. That part sucks, but everything else is awesome. What about you?"

Hinata emerged from the back door of their home then, chatting amicably with Sakura as they both carried trays of food. Both men were immediately on their feet and at their wives's sides, taking their burden over to the lawn table. The moment they set the trays down, Sasuke wrapped his arms around Hinata's round belly, arching a brow at Naruto.

"What about me?" he asked. Hinata giggled when he bent over to kiss her. "I already told you, anything you can do, I can do twice as good. I can handle anything this little guy can dish out."

Sakura rolled her eyes and exchanged a knowing glance at Hinata. "Here they go," she mouthed to her friend.

"Oy! What's that's supposed to mean, Sasuke?" Naruto scowled at the Uchiha. Then, as if reaching an epiphany, he blinked at the spatula in his hands. "And why the hell am I flipping your burgers, you bastard? I'm supposed to be the guest here!"

"Fine, I'll take it back. Only a real man should be handling a grill anyway."

"What was that? Say that again to my face!"

"Naruto..." Sakura sighed and resisted the urge to slap her hand against her forehead. "Sasuke-kun is baiting you..."

"No way, Sakura-chan! I'm the best at grilling! Tell them!"

Sasuke grinned. "Oh, look, now he needs Sakura to prove his manhood. Way to go, idiot, you sure showed me."

"Oh, I'm going to do more than show you." Naruto snatched up one of the trays and began placing food on the grill. "This is going to be the best barbeque ever! Your tastebuds are gonna cry after eating one of my awesome Uzumaki Burgers!"

"I give up." Throwing her hands up in the air, Sakura walked over to the small playpen next to the table to pick up her daughter.

Hinata turned in Sasuke's arms, a wry smile on her face. "Sasuke, you can't let Naruto-kun cook all the food. You two should do it together."

"Meh. It's more fun screwing with him." At Hinata's lingering stare, Sasuke let out an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll help the idiot..." his hand slid up and down her stomach affectionately. "In a few minutes."

AN: That's it, guys. Done, finished, no more. I know this might not have been the ending folks were looking for, but after so long I figured it was time to put this story to a close. Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, faved, and otherwise enjoyed this story. You all are awesome.