Daylight

Twilight

The midday sun gleamed in through the window and pierced their eyelids open. Sasuke pried his eyes open to find their locks of hair entwined like a thread of fate; heads almost touching. Her back was to him, fully clothed, lying on the same spare mattress  she had set out for him on the wooden floor of her living room. Sasuke slid the blanket off, resulting in Sakura to abruptly sit up, her eyes wide with alarm. 

"Sasuke! I'm so sorry. After I went to bed I heard you call me, but you were sound asleep, and so I stayed in case you woke up. I must have dozed off-" She was rambling, waving her hands around gesturing at the blanket which she slept on top off rather than under. 

"Sakura, it's fine." In truth Sasuke was likely more embarrassed than Sakura as he had been the one calling her in his sleep. Despite that, he couldn't conceal the smirk playing on his lips.   

Sakura took his response as an opportunity to get out of the awkward situation by jumping up  and into the shower. 

The rest of the day flew like cherry blossoms blowing in the wind. Although they had slept in, they had managed to see the newly weds off just before their honey-moon. As the hero of the Shinobi world, Kakashi had authorised Naruto and Hinata a three-month long honey-moon - they were able to afford such a long break due to the peace that Naruto himself had forged. Naruto made Sasuke and Sakura promise to dine with them in their new home once they returned. For the first time in a long time, it was Sasuke's turn to say farewell to someone who was leaving him, it was a strange feeling. Sasuke couldn't help but keep his purple pupil on Sakura, wondering how her heart must have shattered all those times he left her, and his heart broke a little. But also found that his heart swelled for her happiness. 

He found himself accompanying Sakura in her daily duties. From helping out with paperwork at Konoha hospital, to listening to sorrowful children cry their hearts out at the new clinic, and finally, teaching taijutsu at the academy as guest teachers. They ended their day with a picnic on a grassy hill beneath the twilight sky. The grass swayed in tune with the rhythm of his beating heart, and the flower petal's fragrance embraced them both with comfort. The breaking of the sky into a burning pink and red streaks left a hue on her locks that Sasuke couldn't turn his mismatched eyes away from. She closed her eyes to take in the ethereal moment as they sat side by side; both their pinky fingers itching to touch the other, with only a few strands of green blades in between acting as a barrier.

Once the sun had set, she finally found the courage to speak the words she dreaded to hear the answer to. She dared not look at his handsome features, even in the darkness which concealed all emotions. She whispered into the crisp night, a voice so slim her words may have been meant for the ears of souls. 

"How long are you staying?"

He closed his eyes and exhaled before giving her his answer. 

"Until Naruto returns." 

She shouldn't have been surprised, but even the growing darkness of the night could not cover her shock. 

"Won't you stay a bit longer? I know Naruto's missed you, almost as much as I have."

Sasuke smiled inwardly at her confident confession, and allowed his fingers to brush against her for a moment before using his hand to push his weight up. He towered over her and reached out his hand towards her. "It's time we went home". 

She took his hand and they made their way. Neither of them spoke another word, they didn't have to. Their hands had been clasped together and they knew: they were in love.  

***

They watched the sun set together in a field of grass for the next three months. Their relationship had been progressing ever so slowly, but it was the right pace for Sasuke. Each night he would be left to sleep on the mattress, and she would drift of to sleep on her own bed. Each day they spent further apart with Sasuke taking on menial missions within the village to rebuild his reputation with  the people of his home, now that he had convinced the rest of the world of his vow to never return to the darkness. But each night they came back together on a field of heavenly love; whispers in the night, and the caress of hands touching. The tingling sensation he felt was as if someone had lit a fire inside him, but the interlocking of his fingers with her clammy hands were enough to cool him down and not flinch at her touch. With each day that passed, and every moment that he wasn't with her, he found the pulsing of his heart speaking her name, longing for her presence.