#SasuSaku fics

[katlou303]

Update! Chapter 16 of a light exists in spring has just been posted!

[alaxiasposts]

Helppppppp!!! I have been trying to locate a fic about Sakura finding Sasuke in a lil hut away from civilisation. Falls in love, loads of smutty scenes, and then goes back and comes back to him because he is preggo(?) please help!!

[jyacira]

Yokai AU

[lizzy06]

Naruto Fic Recs!! (AO3)

Fandom Masterlist

Hey guys these are my favorite Naruto fics!! Hope u enjoy them too <3!!

No Paring

becoming the memory✨💖 by iinsomniatic(Time travel fix it, Jiraiya raises naruto) Out of options and about to die, Jiraiya writes a seal he’s sure isn’t going to work anyway. Then he wakes up, and damn it all, it’s October 10th. [ONGOING] From me to you: Unsent letters ✨✨by Lady_Ye(oneshot, suicide note)This made me cry so hard!! [COMPLETED]

Naruto Uzumaki x Sakura Haruno

Artistic purpose ✨by StormyInk (one shot, fluff) sai gets his new inspiration of drawing from his friends with which he also sets something off!! [COMPLETED] Just like me by bendingwing (oneshot, fluff)The beginnings of narusaku [COMPLETED] The Children of Omelas byFangirlJo (oneshot, Utopia, Dystopia, inspired by the one who walks away from omelas)She was 8 when she noticed the blonde boy in ragged clothing with bruises, sores and cuts all over him. She doesn't think the adults ever noticed him despite his bizarre looks, but she did.[COMPLETED] Date Night by TwinEnigma(oneshot Wingman sasuke, funny)In which Sasuke tries to do something nice for Naruto and Sakura's first anniversary. Hilarity ensues. [COMPLETED] Of pink and orange by FairyLetters (oneshot, reader is a spectator, fluff and angst)You watch as Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki come to an understanding that Sasuke Uchiha has left again.[COMPLETED] What now? by Kameodash(oneshot, after war)Naruto and Sakura try to cope with the trauma of the war together.[COMPLETED] Leaving You by THE_MAN42(oneshot, Love confession ,Sad ending)Naruto dies in her arms.[COMPLETED] Shinachiku and the Multiverse of...Wait There's a Multiverse?! by DuchessofChaos (time travel,falling in love) shinachiku travels to a world where his parents don't exist[ONGOING] Open Hearts by gabriella0807(post war,fluff)After the war there is a lot of work left to be done and many problems to be solved in the Shinobi world, while our heroes need to heal and move forward with their lives. [COMPLETED] Baby its you ✨by Behla(fake dating, friends to lovers, crush's wedding, single bed) Haruno Sakura finds herself in desperate need of a date for the wedding of a man she's been pining after for over eight years, in order to convince him and his bride that she's getting over him.[ONGOING]

Nara shikamaru x Ino Yamanaka

Red Ribbon by amuk(one shot,humour, friendship)They made a promise and Ino spent three years searching for Shikamaru to keep that promise. Time changes everyone, though, and Shikamaru looks cozy with his coworker, Temari. Some promises can't be kept. [COMPLETED]

In the forest 💖💖💖✨by SenkaHitomi(LadyTegan) - (post war, mission gone wrong, slow burn) shikamaru returns in catatonic state from a mission and ino must go into the labyrinth of his mind to bring shikamru back! [COMPLETED]

Its her again... ✨✨by atmymercy (Highschool au, pinning) Ino gets jealous of the girl who sits beside shika on his train and this leads to a whirlwind confrontation of her feelings..[COMPLETED]

Uchiha sasuke x sakura Haruno

Before the storm ✨by crissy_writes_garbage(Time travel to past, pregnant sakura)Sakura is pregnant and lost, a combination that leads to more trouble than necessary. Specially when you're lost in the past. [COMPLETED]

Gaara x Sakura Haruno

words that tie, ties that bind by Binxxx(soulmates, angst,SHUKAKU THE THERAPIST)During the chaos of the Chunin Exams, Sakura discovers who her soulmate is. [ONGOING] The four heavenly treasures by IRinna(arranged marriage, politics, friends-to-lovers)Princess Sakura of the Land of Fire is offered in a political alliance to the Land of Wind to help survive the incoming war. There she meets Gaara, leader of Wind and one of the champions of the Four Heavenly Treasures. [COMPLETED]

Uchiha Madara x Sakura Haruno

The Black bull by Vesperchan (oneshot, beauty and the beast elements)Based on the classic Scottish fairytale The Black Bull of Norroway.[COMPLETED]

Itachi Uchia(xf!reader)

Ikigai ✨by MissWriter97(arranged marriage, senju reader, alternate au) Uchiha Itachi gets married to the women he does not love to prevent the massacre! This is a lovely fic...[ONGOING]

Senju Tobirama(xf!reader)

A Step in Time by MizzGinger (senju tobirama x Princess! reader ,arrange marriage, time travel, second chances) This is and alternate au story with a lot of war time drama going on!! It has a brilliant set up!![ONGOING]

The Home I crave✨✨ by cafeinthemoon93( arranged marriage, angst, slowburn, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers )I really loved this fics, the detailing and pacing were chef's kiss!![HIATUS]

Some other pairing stories

Iruka x reader

Growing along the line✨✨💖 by FreakyPseudWriter(fake dating, strangers-to-friends-to-lovers, fluff)After a really bad day at your workplace you meet Umino Iruka, who quickly makes you open up to him. But you certainly didn't expect him to suddenly claim you two were romantically involved! [COMPLETED]

Sasori x Sakura Haruno

Bait and Hitch✨✨ by Aelynthi (fake dating, coworkers, crush's wedding)When Haruno Sakura finds out Sasuke is engaged, she does the only thing she knows to do in order to save her pride—she lies.[ONGOING]

[randomprose]

no use i just do

he may not understand it, but Sakura will always love Sasuke —for ssmonth24 day 24: confessions

Haruno Sakura loves Uchiha Sasuke. She loves him in all the ways that matter despite everything and anything. 

It’s just a fact of life—a universal truth. The sky is blue, water is wet, Naruto wants to be Hokage, and Haruno Sakura has always loved Uchiha Sasuke. 

Sakura doesn’t say it or throw around the phrase as much as she used to, but she radiates it. In every look she sends his way, in every word she speaks to him, the way her eyes always find his even in a crowded room or across a sea of people, the way she gravitates to him even without meaning to, and even the way she breathes when she’s around him. Everything about her speaks of her love for him. Her very existence itself is an expression of that unyielding and unconditional love.

To this, all Sasuke could ask is, "Still? After all this time?"

Sakura just shrugs, not even bothering to defend herself. Not like there’s anything to anyhow. Sakura has never been ashamed of her love. 

"Why?" Sasuke continues to prod, truly baffled. "There's nothing—I’m not—I’m just—” I have nothing to offer. “What do you even see in me?"

“You,” Sakura answers easily without missing a beat as if that’s enough of an explanation. “Just you.”

“And that is enough for you?”

“Well,” Sakura looks considering, hands clasped behind her and expression wholly open, always open when she’s with him. “It’s not like I didn’t try to stop. I did try to talk myself into some sense, you know?” Tried to make herself see reason and consider focusing her affections on Naruto instead—strong, dependable, steady, and safe Naruto who would never hurt or make her cry. At least not knowingly. There were other candidates too, of course. Sakura has long since passed that phase of self-doubt and insecurity, has gained confidence in herself and her skills, and knows full well of her worth. “I’m fully aware that I am a catch, Sasuke-kun. Even if you’re not aware of the fact.”

“No, I am,” Sasuke replies because he is, in fact, very aware.

“Good.”

“What happened then?” If she knows she could do better—so much better—how come it’s still him she chooses? “Why haven’t you stopped?”

“What can I say? I just couldn’t,” she shrugs again and her smile is lighthearted as she says, “Looking back, it all seems so silly. I tried to stop and I just couldn’t and after some time I just gave up trying to not love you. Sure, I hated you at times,  but that’s not the opposite of love, is it? Besides,” here her smile turns rueful, “I could never truly hate you, Sasuke-kun.” 

“Why?” he asks again, a tinge of desperation seeping at the word. How can she not hate him after everything? “How can you—What’s there to love?”

"What's not to love?” 

“Don’t answer my question with another.”

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” she retorts. “What’s there to love you ask? Everything. All of you. The good and the bad and everything in between.”

“Tch,” Sasuke shakes his head. “There really is no accounting for taste.”

“That there isn’t,” Sakura laughs, then she sighs. "It's no use, Sasuke-kun. I just love you."

It is in Sasuke’s nature as an Uchiha to self-destruct. It is also in his nature to be selfish and to take without giving, but for the life of him, Sasuke could never be selfish enough when it comes to Sakura. Because everything the Uchiha touches seems to get tainted and doomed to a life of loss, destruction, and heartache, but despite everything he has taken from her—and will continue to take from her—Sasuke cannot bring himself to damn her to a similar fate. 

“You should try again. To stop,” Sasuke says, looking at her imploringly with his mismatched eyes. "I'm broken, Sakura. Beyond repair.” He doesn’t know if he’s doing her a kindness by trying to make her see sense—because maybe she’ll listen to him if her own logic fails her—but Sasuke goes on to make his case against himself anyway. “There's no use trying to fix me. I can't be fixed."

"Is that what you think I've been trying to do all this time? Fix you?” Sakura says, throwing him a funny look before rolling her eyes. "Idiot. I've always known. Even when we were genin, I knew I couldn't fix you. That's not what I was or am trying to do. It never was."

"Then what is it that you want from me."

"Nothing! I just want to love you.” And it’s the truth too. It always was. Once she realizes what she feels for Sasuke is more than just childish infatuation and passing fancy, Sakura has never asked for anything in return for her affections. “The least you could do after everything is to let me."

Sasuke meets Sakura’s gentle gaze and considers her words. 

He supposes that, despite everything, he’s always known that it was always going to be Sakura for him, that it was always going to be them in the end, even when he didn’t allow himself to think about those things.

In the lofty years of his youth, he had often thought of returning to Konoha after settling the score with his brother and finding Sakura waiting for him. He had argued to himself that she was a logical choice and the reason his mind conjured her as a first—and only—choice was because she was his closest female companion being his teammate and somewhat friend. Not to mention, he found her the least annoying of the girls who used to fawn over him, never mind why he never questioned why he found it so.

And in the rare times that Sasuke has allowed himself to think of a future for himself after accomplishing his goals—misguided as they were—and beyond the battles and the tragedies he’s faced, it is Sakura who is a constant in those musings and the only one he sees himself with, be it settling down and continuing his other goal of restoring his clan or even just simple companionship for however long the fates shall allow Sasuke’s wretched life to go on. 

The fact of the matter is, Sasuke is to his bare bones a selfish bastard who has always thought of Sakura as his—just as much as he has always been hers as he has come to realize. 

(It does not cross his mind that Sakura is as selfish and as greedy as he is, maybe even more, in the way she loves him—how she would let Konoha burn rather than hurt him, forsake her duties if it meant she could be by his side, defend him to the death against those who speak ill of him.)

"Okay," Sasuke sighs in surrender, but it is of the sweet kind. “Okay.”

"Okay?” Sakura asks, peering up at him as if in confirmation.

"Yes."

Yes, you may love me and this time I will allow myself to be loved and reciprocate in the ways I know how. This is an act of selfishness as much as it is a kindness. For both of us. 

"Good."

The smile on her face is pleased and Sasuke lets the pleasant feeling wash over him with the knowledge that he is the cause of that.

“Sakura,” he calls to her, and her name almost sounds holy as he rolls off his tongue. Reverent like a prayer or benediction. Heavy with meaning and all the things that Sasuke cannot form the words to say.

Sasuke takes his hand and moves to close the gap between them. Sakura feels herself rooted on the spot, tensing when he steps into her space and loops his arm around her in an embrace. It takes her a second to relax and her arms to come up and wound around his waist to return the embrace. A memory comes to her unbidden and she pinches the skin on his back in warning.

"If you knock me out and leave me on some godforsaken bench again, Uchiha Sasuke, I swear to all your ancestors I will—”

Sasuke chuckles and squeezes her to him to stop her tirade.

"I already apologized for that."

“Tch.” Sakura puffs her cheeks and pouts, even as she lets him hold her against him and buries her face into his chest. "Whatever."

"I'm sorry. And thank you.” Two things that have never been easy for Uchiha Sasuke to say, but no one else has ever been more deserving to hear from him as much as Haruno Sakura. “For loving me. Even after all these years. Even when I'm—” 

"Batshit insane completely off your rockers and out of control?"

"Tch." Sasuke lightly tugs at the ends of her hair in annoyance, to which Sakura only snickers. He's trying to be sincere and maybe a little romantic here dammit and there she goes and ruins it. "So annoying."

"Ehh, you love me." She looks up at him with a teasing look and a cheeky grin before catching herself. "I mean—”

Eyes never leaving hers, Sasuke takes Sakura’s hand and puts it over his chest where his heart beats for her, hoping it’s enough for her to know even when he can’t find the words and the courage to say them yet.

I do. With all my heart and soul and everything that I am in my wretchedness, I do love you.

[thatbakedpotato]

you ever read a fic that changes the literal trajectory of life? that renders you incapable of picking up another piece of literature? cause same.

[theredconversegirl]

hi! i’ve been trying to find this fic where it’s like after the war sasuke gets jealous that sakura spends a lot of her free time with the other teams and when he tells naruto about it naruto is like i used to feel the same way until sakura told me what it was like for her to be alone after we both left the village or SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAJDJD i can’t remember that well but im trying sooo hard to find it and i cant

Hi nonny,

Thanks for stopping by! 💕

I believe you're looking for this fic:

time spent By: sincerelyLen  Uchiha Sasuke is not oblivious to how popular Haruno Sakura has become over the years. Once in their lives, she tried to spend most of her free time solely with him. However, years later, Sasuke begins to feel a frustrating displeasure rise when he realizes how happily she splits her time with others, especially those who are not a part of the immediate Team Kakashi. [Rated K+, complete]

This story is an all-time favorite of mine and I was overdue a re-read. Love me some Jealous Sasuke hahah. 🥰

I hope I got it right (lmk if this is not the fic). Happy reading! 😊

xoxo

[airashisakura]

Lists of fic that I read over and over again

Warm by CatFlorist

interim by stannide

A Cornucopia of Conundrums and Murphy's Law of Love by zgs1994

Perpetual Winter by thefangirlslair 

In Pieces by Masami Aomame

All I Want for Christmas by TheRedConverseGirl

Tribute by SouthSideStory

Recently, I've realised that I just crave for some of the fics to be read again. So I'll be collating here the fics which serve to me as a comfort on my bad days. I promise to keep updating this list to help other fellow readers too.

Love,

Airashi!

[ellewons]

ᡣ𐭩 An eternal girl in love 𐙚 Pedido pessoal 𖦹๋࣭⭑Fanarts by @tenartist, @meoowwxx + official arts. ୨ৎ Créditos dos materiais utilizados: ᡣ𐭩 ⭑.ᐟ 13/09/2024

[catflorist]

omg that sasusaku art you reblogged... i would pay so much money for your take on that prompt!!!

hi anon! here you go! :) thank you for this prompt, it's been a long time since i wrote anything and it was really fun! i hope you like it!

inspired by this incredibly beautiful artwork by @millientea!

dreams [post-war sasusaku, rated T] ao3 / ffn

In the brief time between the break of his fever and the break of dawn, Sasuke was absent of all his guilt. He held onto Sakura’s hand, and fought sleep to experience the sensation for as long as possible.

After the war, Sasuke's injuries keep him stuck in the hospital. Sakura visits every day.

First Sasuke lost a war with himself. Then he lost an arm. Then the infection and the fever struck, making him keel over then shiver feebly in his hospital bed for three days straight.

His more lucid moments were filled with strangers whizzing into his room to poke and prod him and stick needles horribly into his arm. And when the fever took hold, it carried him downstream to delirium. His nightmares were kind enough to visit him in waking hours, magnified and painted in strong color and detail. And each time he drifted briefly back to consciousness he was greeted with hot, billowing pain at the stump of his arm and the sound of his vitals blaring.

Later a team of doctors inform him that he’s survived a deadly case of sepsis and avoided a second amputation of his left arm. He’ll need bedrest and continued close monitoring. Naruto’s healing well, he hears. Figures.

The days blur. An IV chains Sasuke to bed, where he chokes on boredom thick as smoke. He memorizes the markings of each bird that lands on his windowsill. He watches a ball of dust in the corner move three riveting inches to the left over the course of twenty-four hours. He whips out his sharingan to memorize the lines of his palm, and compares that image to a corresponding record from the last time he was bored to death in a hospital. His heart line has grown longer.

Monotony breaks whenever Sakura breezes into his room.

“I brought you apples.” She smiles at him, a little knowingly. The apples are cut neatly into decorative slices.

She visits at the beginning and end of each shift. In the mornings she smiles brightly in a crisp white coat, and twelve hours later she still smiles brightly, with tired circles under her eyes and loose uncombed hair. This time she’s wearing civilian clothes, here to see him even on her day off.

She’s fearless, for her part. He’s quiet.

When he thinks back to the haze of fever, he remembers slender and cool fingers smoothing damp hair from his brow. A swirl of healing chakra that felt like the way her voice sounds. When he awoke, a nurse mentioned the doctor attending his case invented a new chakra technique on the spot to siphon away the infection.

Sasuke didn’t need to ask who. She never said anything, and he never asked.

He suspects Sakura’s involvement elsewhere, too. When he thinks about why he’s not kept in handcuffs or locked away entirely. In the roasted tomatoes that appear on his meal trays. The reason why Naruto is allowed the occasional visit, shuffling in on crutches and staying until the nurses chase him away.

Sakura sets the plate of apples at his bedside. Today, they resemble rabbits. Sasuke has never eaten more apples in his life, but he does not think of complaining.

“Good news. Your IV is coming out tomorrow!” She smiles, waiting for his reaction.

Right. He should be happy. The feeling flickers dimly and goes out like a damp torch.

Sasuke doesn’t know what his life will look like from here on out. There’s nothing left to hunt after. The main sources of his suffering have all vanished or changed form. All that awaits him is empty space and time—time to reflect, to let the cumulation of all his actions and decisions sink in.

He doesn’t regret the desertion, the treason, as much as others might hope. If he were to go back in time, knowing what he knows about the village, his choices might even look similar. But he regrets hurting the people who cared for him.

He regrets hurting her.

Sakura’s smile has faded. “What’s wrong?”

Sasuke wants to sink under his blankets, to be alone with his guilt. “Nothing.”

“Are you in pain?”

He throws her a glare. “I said it’s nothing.”

Years ago, this would have been enough to scare her away. Now green eyes meet his with full force. “Don’t do this. Don’t be distant.” Sakura’s fingers flex and curl at her sides. “Whatever is on your mind, you can tell me.”

She treats him with such kindness, such patience, though he’s certain he doesn’t deserve it.

“Why are you here, Sakura?” he asks quietly.

“I’m a doctor,” she says, with a flash of irritation.

“You know what I mean.” Sasuke’s vision swims like the beginnings of a migraine. “Leave me. Get on with your life.” He wants the words to carry a touch of contempt, but the lump in his throat filters it all out.

“Why would I leave you?” The pure sincerity of her voice cuts him through. “We just got you back.”

His tongue feels thick and heavy. “I’ve hurt you.” How could she forget?

“I’ve hurt you, too.”

He manages a shake of the head. It’s not the same.

“It’s in the past,” she insists. “We want you in our lives—we always have!”

“I don’t understand why,” he bites, gaining strength.

“Because I love you!”

Birds take off from the windowsill.

Wringing her hands, Sakura clarifies, more weakly, “I love all my friends.”

An icy flame tears through Sasuke’s entire body. He doesn’t believe her. Somehow, he must have tricked her. After everything he’s done, how can someone lower themselves so deeply as to love him? Hot pressure rises behind his eyes. He opens his mouth to recite every reason why she’s wrong.

“So get used to it,” Sakura snaps, recovering and doubling down, like she knows what he’s about to say. Sakura, who has always been a little brazen with her affection, who has so much love and care to give that it confounds him and most others. “I don’t care what’s happened or how long it’s been. You’re still my teammate.”

Sasuke feels a phantom of his past self crouch on his chest. It whispers, push her away, break the plate of apples. Trust yourself and no one else. Be alone. This is the way he knows to protect himself. It’s worked so well, all throughout his life, he can’t imagine anything different.

Does he need to protect himself, from her? Did he ever?

“And…you’re still my friend.” Sakura’s shoulders rise and fall in a deep breath. “If that’s what you want.”

Outside, a raven’s feather drifts in a slow spiral of wind. Sasuke nods.

Sakura straightens. “Good.” Her eyes are jade reflecting fire. “Being friends won’t kill you, I promise. See you in the morning.”

In the morning, Sakura arrives to remove his IV. She’s still carrying an air of quiet victory. To inch this close, to insist on picking up their friendship exactly where they left it, that’s some audacity. Bravery, even.

He needs it.

His heart would crack without it.

Sakura carefully loosens the adhesive and presses gauze over the IV site. Sasuke is already looking away, taking a shallow breath to prepare himself.

“There’s no needles at this part,” she says.

It’s true, he hates needles—one glimpse and he breaks into a cold sweat. But he’s never told anyone. It bothers him that she noticed. “How did you know?”

“I’m a doctor,” she says, which explains very little. “It’ll be quick, I promise.”

“Still hate it,” he breathes.

“I know,” she says. “Done.”

He looks back. She smiles when their gazes meet, holding down pressure on his arm. He didn’t feel a thing.

“You make a small sound.” Her voice is soft. “Under your breath. Like you’re trying to speak but hold it back.”

Sasuke thought he hid the discomfort well. If he can miss such small details about himself, no wonder he was wrong about almost everything—what path to take, and where to place blame, and who to trust. His world has turned over too many times to count.

His senses hone in on Sakura’s touch, muted as it is through gloves and layers of gauze. She’s never changed. Never failed to ease his hurts.

He wants to ask about the fever. The infection that strode in like one last attempt by the world to kill him. She saved his life.

He feels his hand float through the air, stretching towards her face.

Empty air buzzes where his fingers should be grazing her brow. He’s still not used to the loss of his dominant hand. His stump lowers back to his side. Sakura’s expression remains calm, unknowing.

“Thank you,” he says instead.

He knows what the words will mean to her. And so he says it.

A soft smile overtakes Sakura’s face. Sasuke is known for his infamous gaze, but now he doesn’t know where to put it. When to meet her crinkling eyes and for how long. If it’s considered normal to observe the rise of her cheek, the strands of pink hair falling around her face. If he should risk a glance at her smiling lips. The decisions overwhelm him, and he finds he must look away.

Something is different, he thinks.

.

.

“He’s on your roster today? Good luck.”

Sasuke’s room is stationed at a quiet bend of the hall, a blind spot between patient rooms and administrative offices where hospital staff stop to gossip before continuing on their rounds. Whether he wants to or not, he’s often forced to eavesdrop.

“—ripped out his IV. Yes, just ripped it out. Three times. Maybe four. Wouldn’t let anyone touch him.”

“Have you noticed all those horrible birds outside his window? The crows?”

A laugh. “Never seen anything like it. Like a curse, I swear—”

“Excuse me.” The conversation grinds to a halt at Sakura’s sharp voice. “Room Four is still waiting on warm blankets.”

Footsteps scatter in two different directions. Sakura sweeps into his room. Her face is a storm. If he saw that expression on a battlefield, he would reach for his weapon. He pictures her cutting apple slices into playful shapes to reverse the effect.

“Don’t listen to them,” she mutters, and throws the curtain divider closed.

“I don’t care.”

“I care.” Absent-minded, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth, Sakura does something she’s never done before: she sits on his bed. All Sasuke’s attention is pulled to the hand’s width of space between his ankle and the slight dip of her weight on the mattress. He slowly shifts his legs away, careful not to draw her notice.

Sakura pulls a velvet pouch out of her coat. “Here. I brought something.”

The most exciting part of Sasuke’s day was when the scent of antiseptic wafted through the door a little stronger than usual. His interest spikes. “What is it?”

Sakura opens the pouch and pours dozens of black and white Go pieces onto the bedspread. She begins arranging the board among the folds of his blankets, and after a moment, Sasuke leans forward to help. He hasn’t played Go since he was a child, but the smooth, round stones feel familiar in his palm, and the rules come back quickly. They play five games in a row without speaking. Sakura wins the first, and he wins the last four.

When they look up again, it’s dark. Sasuke’s neck is stiff from bending over the game for so long. Time has never passed so quickly for him in the hospital.

Sakura is sitting fully atop the bed now, as she has for the past three games, legs crossed with a pensive hand held to her chin. She packs away the game pieces in silence and pulls the drawstring shut. A crease lingers between her eyebrows.

“You could have died.”

Her eyes swell with tears. She doesn’t make a sound.

“I didn’t,” Sasuke says, soft as he can.

“But you could have.” The tears flow faster than she can wipe them away.

“You didn’t let me.” It makes his gut twist to see her cry, even if she cries because his life matters to her.

“I almost didn’t bring the flowers that day. I didn’t know if you’d want them.” Sakura lifts a sleeve to her face. “If I wasn’t there when the shock hit…”

Sasuke struggles to follow. His memory of the whole ordeal is hazy. He has a vague recollection of a nurse removing a vase of wilted flowers from the bedside in the days after the fever lifted.

Sakura’s shoulders tremble with a sob. “I could have lost you.”

“You didn’t lose me.” He catches her hand. Fingers slide together like whispering a secret. “You have me.”

She lifts her tearstained face. Sasuke feels feverish as his words echo back in the silence of their breathing. Her lips part, bitten and red.

“You only ripped out the IV twice, Sasuke-kun.”

Her expression is knit with determination. Sasuke can’t stop himself—a smile twitches onto his mouth. Sakura seems confused by the reaction, studying him hard.

Movement flashes in the corner of Sasuke’s eye as a large black bird lands smoothly on the windowsill. He recognizes this one for a miniscule nick in its leftmost flight feather.

“And the birds. They’re ravens,” he says evenly. “Not crows.”

Sakura smiles, sudden and shining and wide. Sasuke doesn’t fully understand the meaning of the exchange, but contentment sweeps over him.

The warmth of her hand lingers long after she lets go, and he remembers something about the fever.

.

.

The infection stalls for days, but when the worst comes, it comes quickly.

First Sasuke’s mouth fills with saliva, then arrives a tsunami of inexplicable dread, and that’s all the warning he receives before an important current in his body shifts off-course and begins to sweep him away. Sasuke breathes deep. A sweet scent hovers in the air. Sakura arrived a moment ago with fresh-cut flowers.

His stump throbs with such a sick, bleeding ache that he loses his grip on his senses. His limbs are all trembling. Another breath. His lungs allow just enough air to call out her name.

Footsteps, a sharp voice. “Sasuke? What’s wrong?”

Healing chakra skims over his body. Sakura lets out a tense breath.

Sasuke knows suffering like he knows the face of an old friend. He can feel it loom over him, its breath ghosting the back of his neck.

“It’s—it’s serious, Sasuke-kun.” The air thickens with chakra, a thrum strong enough to detect by ear. “But you’re going to be fine.”

The breath returns to his lungs, but in exchange, screaming hot pain erupts at his arm and reverberates through every corner of his body. Each pain that flares and fades is replaced quickly by another. His mouth and the tip of his nose go numb. His vision cuts in and out. He is a boat tossed by angry waves, kept afloat solely by the light touch of Sakura’s fingertips.

“Don’t leave,” he hears himself say.

Her voice finds him like sunlight. “I won’t.”

“Do you hate me, Sakura?”

Not long ago, Sasuke hated her. The ache of hatred never left his chest. He hated her so much that her face sometimes replaced his nightmares, and he would wake up blinking away tears. He understands if she feels the same.

He never hears her response. A dark, turbulent quiet rushes over his head, and his old friend follows after him.

At dawn on the day his fever breaks, Sasuke floats awake, greeted by swirls of light floating on the inside of his eyelids. His body feels like his own, but different, like he’s been pulled apart and put back together in a different order. He curls his fingers—the numb tingle of phantom pain lights on one side. The fingers of his other hand tighten around something.

He opens his eyes to a world washed in soft grey. To Sakura’s sleeping face, her hair silver in the light. A dream? No, his mind doesn’t grant him peaceful dreams.

Her head rests tired and heavy on the edge of the bed. Between them lies their hands, tightly clasped, as if they met in a moment of turbulence and held on ever since. Long enough so he can’t distinguish her touch from his own. Flowers watch on the windowsill, shedding petals.

.

.

Sasuke plays more games of Go. Less needles are stuck into his arm. He begins to walk again. He feels fresh air on his face. Sakura’s visits continue like clockwork, until one morning she fails to walk through his door.

He sits and watches the birds as morning stretches into afternoon. The chair that has never left his bedside remains empty. After years apart, how quickly he’s grown accustomed to her presence. But this stretch of time is coming to a close. When he leaves the hospital, he doubts he will see her so often.

His window looks out onto the hospital roof, crisscrossed with pipes and exhaust vents, and a small sliver of the street. When the wind blows just right, the branches of a sakura tree wave into view, buds unfurling.

Hard as Sasuke tried to shunt away his past life, he could never escape the spring. The torture of falling petals, of green and pink. The world around him transformed as if to ensure he could never forget her.

Daylight is getting long when Sakura wobbles in, rubbing her eyes. “Hi.”

Sasuke’s spine straightens. “Hey.”

She sits in her spot by the bed, where he’s been playing a game of Go with himself. “How’s the game?”

“I’m losing,” he says.

Sakura smiles and shifts one of the white stones to a dangerous location. Warmth floods Sasuke’s chest, though now he’s certain to lose. Their hands move back and forth over the imaginary board, bold and quick.

Sakura yawns victoriously as she captures his last tile. “Another?”

Exhaustion shadows her eyes, but if he answers yes, she’ll delay sleep even longer. Does she ever sleep? Hospital staff are always wandering the halls to seek her opinion, or pull her into surgeries, or hand her a stack of paperwork. Yet she carves out a portion of her valuable time for him.

Sasuke shakes his head. But he’s not selfless enough to give up her company so soon. “How are you?”

Her tired gaze lifts and flicks away. A faint blush dusts her cheeks. Why? Is it strange for him to ask? He’s still ruminating when she answers. “I’m okay. It’s been a long day. Emergency surgery, complications, everything. I can’t remember the last time I slept…” Their fingers brush twice as they put away the game pieces. “I’m really sorry I couldn’t come earlier.”

“You don’t have to be sorry.”

Sakura leans against his bed and drops her head onto her arms. “Hope you didn’t miss me too much.”

What can he say? He did miss her.

Springtime has come again. The season used to drive him mad. The sakura flowering all at once, all over the continent, wherever he looked. The petals scattering like rain in the wind, catching in the folds of his cloak. The sight of blossoms on bare wood, crossing over his head in a blooming lattice. The five-petaled flowers, the five fingers of a hand he would never touch again. The color. It tested his patience, his devotion to his goal like nothing else.

Sasuke skims his fingers over the pink wave of her hair. He’s always wanted to, deep down. Sakura cracks open her eyes, catches him red-handed in his affection. He runs a thumb in the barest caress across her cheekbone. He is at his weakest in the spring.

“Come here,” he mumbles, fairly certain that she will. Terrified that she won’t.

“Where?” she whispers.

Sasuke lifts his chin. He rests his hand on the blanket. His fingertips burn from touching her. “Here.”

In the brief time between the break of his fever and the break of dawn, Sasuke was absent of all his guilt. He held onto Sakura’s hand, and fought sleep to experience the sensation for as long as possible. He did not deserve her, but he pretended he did.

Even as Sakura slides into the bed, rests her head in his lap, he cannot fully believe what he’s seeing. She presses closer to him, as if she wants to be close, and her eyes drift shut, as if his presence soothes her. A spell falls over Sasuke as he listens to her breathing. His hand lowers to her back.

Maybe, in the end, it’s as simple as she said. She loves him.

Sleepy green eyes blink open with a trace of shyness, of the girl that used to blush each time he spared her a glance. He will never admit how often he tested his powers. “You don’t mind?”

“No,” he says.

Sakura climbs higher. She folds her arms across his chest like he’s a pillow and tucks her cheek into the crook of her elbow. Sasuke’s heartbeat grows unsteady. Her hair smells the same, like jasmine.

Sasuke never imagined a future beyond his revenge, that his life could continue on and contain moments lit in a glow like sunlight through petals. Holding her awakens desires that have nothing to do with pain and sacrifice. He wants to stroke her hair until she falls asleep. He wants to visit her dreams. He wants even more. His chest aches in the way he once thought was hatred.

He touches her cheek, straightening out a lock of silky hair. She doesn’t stir.

Sasuke closes his eyes, and like he’s never had trouble with it before, dreams.

.

.

.

.

[southsidestory]

RATING: Explicit

SHIPS: SasuSaku & NaruHina

SUMMARY: There is a place where two legends once fought, a valley that saw their lifeblood spilled. And in Konoha there is a monument, a stone face shaped out of the golden bluff, which honors the champion—the Second Hokage: Uchiha Madara. (AU in which the Uchiha rule Konoha.)

Read on AO3 and FFN

[jyacira]

blank period sasusaku!

[moldy-flowers]

I just know Sasuke was super awkward during the early stages of his relationship with Sakura.

Sakura: You know, you're really handsome Sasuke-kun...

Sasuke, panicking: uH you're handsome yourself Sakura.

Sakura: ???

[erimeows]

The Game That We Play

When Shizune and Shikamaru fall sick in the same week, Kakashi requests Naruto and Sasuke to accompany him as bodyguards to The Land of Iron for the summit. Everyone else is far too busy doing important work in the village for Kakashi to bother them- or, that’s what Kakashi claims. Sasuke swears the man just loves shoving him and Naruto together whenever he can. 

Sasuke is surprised to receive the request in code via carrier pigeon during a long mission in Ame, but he doesn’t question it. Kakashi has done a lot for him- protecting him throughout his childhood, doing everything he could to get Sasuke pardoned, and now, allowing Sasuke to atone for his sins by working outside of the village… Sasuke owes him a lot. The simple task of getting Kakashi to and from the summit in one piece is nothing compared to everything Kakashi has gone through for him. 

So, Sasuke makes the long journey back to Konoha so he can meet Kakashi and Naruto at the village gates. Naruto looks all too happy to see Sasuke, embracing the ravenette in a tight hug the moment he arrives. Sasuke pretends not to enjoy the attention. It’s a game they play- Naruto loves Sasuke far more than he should, and Sasuke acts as if he doesn’t notice even though he returns Naruto’s feelings tenfold. Each time they’ve reunited since the war, the game seems to go a little further. Neither of them say anything. But as much as everyone likes to imply it, Naruto isn’t stupid. 

They walk a long time. It takes a few days to get from Konoha to The Land of Iron, so after traveling from first thing in the morning well into that night, they set up camp in a nearby cave between the two lands. Sasuke knows that they’re getting close to the midpoint due to the cooler weather. 

Kakashi, with a copy of Icha Icha in hand, bows out into their tent for the night, stating that he’s going to go to sleep. For whatever reason, Sasuke doubts that.

With Kakashi ‘sleeping’, it’s just Naruto and Sasuke in the cave. Alone. Very alone. No Sakura or Shikamaru or whoever else to cut through some of the tension between them. Sasuke feels something that he’s only ever felt around Naruto, hot and warm and familiar, bubbling up just beneath the surface of his skin. Affection, fondness. Friendship. That’s what they call it, anyway. It’s easier to mislabel things. 

The two men sit across from each other, a shittily made campfire the only thing keeping them apart. It sits in front of Sasuke’s sandal-clad feet. The light it emits bathes Naruto’s face in an oddly flattering orange glow. 

“What’cha staring at?” Naruto asks, tilting his head. In his left hand he holds a skewer with a piece of seasoned meat on it. He burns it by holding it too close to the center of the flame as he plays dumb. As if he doesn’t know what he’s doing to Sasuke… Well, maybe he doesn’t. No, no, he definitely does. He’s not nearly as stupid as everyone thinks he is. “Do I have something on my face or… Something?”

Sasuke shakes his head. But instead of looking away with a blush, instead of staying silent and moving on to the next thing like neither of them have any idea what their feelings are, he acknowledges it aloud for the first time. He doesn’t know why he does it. 

“You know what it is,” Sasuke murmurs before adding on- “Stupid.”

And Naruto- sweet, easygoing, stupid Naruto- laughs and tilts his head. 

“What, you wanting to talk for once?” Naruto practically chuckles the words out. Sasuke shakes his head again. “Thought so.”

Sasuke looks for an escape to the situation- there’s a ravine right outside the cave that they’re in. It’s running with clear, clean water and they traveled a long ways- a nice, cool bath is what Sasuke needs right now.

“I’m going to go take a bath.”

“Oh, I should come, too!” Naruto says, standing up and gathering a change of clothes. 

Them bathing together isn’t… Completely abnormal. Despite how it makes Sasuke’s heart race, there have been times on missions where it’s been necessary. What is odd is leaving Kakashi completely unguarded.

“What about Kakashi?”

“C’mon, we both know he’s still up in there reading those boring books of his,” Naruto argues, and then calls back towards the tent. “Hey, Kakashi! You good if we go take a bath!?”

“Yes, yes, go on ahead,” Kakashi calls back from inside the tent. “I was going to stay up a tad bit longer anyway. This edition is just so good!”

Naruto turns back to Sasuke.

“Told ya.”

So, they go to the ravine together, walking side by side, both of them with a change of clean clothes, towels, and washcloths in hand. They undress without looking at each other- or, Sasuke thinks they do. He doesn’t look, though he can never be sure about Naruto. Part of him is terrified that he’ll look at Naruto and meet those big blue eyes of his. The other part of him is terrified that he’ll look at Naruto, only for Naruto to not be looking back at him. He isn’t sure which would be worse, and he doesn’t want to find out, so he doesn’t look, even as he hears Naruto haphazardly toss his clothes onto some nearby grass. Sasuke neatly folds up his own clothes and places them atop a large rock.

“Hey,” Naruto speaks up as they sit in the ravine, washing themselves with the fresh water. Sasuke glances up to see that Naruto is, in fact, looking at him. He shamelessly stares back, awe and fire consuming him from head to toe even though the water is ice cold. Naruto’s skin is sunkissed, glowing under the moonlight and noticeably unscathed for a ninja, unlike Sasuke’s which is mapped with scars. “Remember that time we kissed?”

“Which time?” Sasuke murmurs with red cheeks.

“At the academy.”

“Oh,” Sasuke nods. “Yeah. What, wanna do it again?”

There’s a pause, and for a moment, Sasuke wonders if he’s made Naruto uncomfortable- if he’s taken this game too far. But then, he looks over at Naruto to see the man nod.

Sasuke moves- perhaps faster than what is safe in this environment- and catches Naruto by the wrist. They lean in, the warmth of their bodies about to collide when-

“Hey!” Kakashi’s voice calls from the cave. Sasuke and Naruto jump away from each other instantaneously. “Hurry up, you two, I’m going to bed!”

“Heh,” Naruto laughs. “Maybe later.”

As fast as it happened, Naruto is out of the ravine and getting dressed- and then, he’s gone.

~

They arrive at the summit a day and some after their shared bath in the ravine. They’re around countless samurai and other ninja, in an environment far less intimate than that cave or that ravine. Sasuke isn’t sure whether he should be disappointed or relieved.

They sit in the back, watching as the kage discuss different events that have happened since their last summit the year before. Ever since the war, the kage have started meeting annually in an attempt to nip any conflicts in the bud, lest they turn against each other again. Sasuke doesn’t believe it will work for long, but it’s what Kakashi has decided is best, and Sasuke trusts him. 

As the other kage discuss a recent conflict in Suna, their respective guards whisper loudly about how Sasuke shouldn’t be there after what he did five years ago. Sasuke would argue that they’re right, but the prideful side of him wishes he could shut them up. He knows what they’re doing- whispering loudly enough for him to hear in an attempt to provoke him so he’ll never be welcome back if he lashes out at them again, so that he’ll have less of a chance of becoming Hokage. 

Naruto reaches over and places a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder.

And, as always, his touch calms Sasuke down immediately.

They manage to sit through the rest of the summit despite the cruel words of the others there. And then, they leave.

~

As it always goes on the rare occasions where they meet, Sasuke escorts Naruto (and Kakashi) home without a word. Though Naruto looks wistful as they exchange goodbyes at the village gates, he doesn’t dare say anything, instead turning away from Sasuke with a wave and walking with Kakashi in the direction of the Hokage Tower. Sasuke watches them with a smile.  Deep down, he knows that he and Naruto are going to play this game for the rest of their lives- and maybe, just maybe- he’s okay with that.

[randomprose]

winter burn

my headcanon is that Itachi truly believes he is contractually and legally obligated to tease Sasuke about everything but most especially Sakura— non-massacre au

“I’m home,” Sasuke called out as he entered the house. He sat at the threshold to remove his standard-issued ninja sandals, taking note of another pair that hadn’t been there for the past three days.

‘Aniki’s back.’

True enough when he entered the den, his brother was sitting across from their father reading a scroll. 

“Welcome back, ototou,” Itachi greeted with a smile except this smile was different than his usual polite subdued ones. This one looked much too saccharine and Sasuke just knew something was up with the way his brother was looking like the cat that caught the canary. 

To his credit, Sasuke didn’t show any signs of apprehension and even smiled and kissed their mother on the cheek when she passed by with a tray of tea and greeted him. He took the tray from her and set it down on the table before seating himself in one of the cushions.

“Guess what I saw when I was making my way home?” Itachi said with an air of casualty as if he was talking about the weather.

Sasuke knew better and didn’t rise to the bait. That tone sounded like the next dinner table conversation would be at his expense so he instead chose to drink the tea his mother offered.

“What is it, Itachi-kun?” Mikoto asked handing her eldest son a cup of tea.

“Why, I’m glad you asked, Mother,” Itachi answered primly, accepting the offered cup and taking a sip. “Actually, it wasn’t so much what I saw as to who I saw.” 

Itachi smirked and Sasuke just knew that his brother was up to something evil and maniacal that would be directed at his person as always.

“Well, what is it?” Fugaku asked, never one for beating around the bush, as he nodded his thanks to Mikoto for the tea.

Their father’s impatient tone only seemed to fuel Itachi. He hadn’t expected their father to be interested. As calm and innocent as he could (Sasuke snorted at this), he turned to his younger brother and delivered the blow.

“Sasuke, I didn’t know you liked dancing in the snow.”

“Sasuke-chan dances?”

“Aa, mother. He was with Sakura-chan.”

Sasuke could practically feel three pairs of inquisitive eyes on him as he calmly sipped his tea, his brother’s usual unreadable gaze shining more with amusement than curiosity. He felt the tell-tale sign of a blush coming on as he felt his face heating up and glared at his brother.

“You fucking creeper.”

“Sasuke! Language!”

“I was not creeping,” Itachi smirked as Sasuke didn’t even deny it. “I just saw you guys in passing.”

“Yeah, right. Don’t you have a life, you—”

“You walked Sakura-chan home, I hope?” Mikoto interrupted before her boys could progress into name-calling.

Sasuke ceased glaring at his brother to answer her, his expression once again mild, “Yes, Mother. Her shift in the hospital ended quite late.”

“That’s great, Sasuke-chan,” Mikoto smiled at her youngest, proud that she raised such a sweet boy. “I assume she likes to dance in the snow as much as she likes the cold?”

“Aa. She forced me to join her.”

“Ah. But you looked like you were actually enjoying yourself, ototou,” Itachi interjected, not at all done with his teasing.

“I hate the cold.” It was true, too. Sasuke had indulged Sakura, but he couldn’t walk fast enough to get inside his very warm house. Sakura lived on the other side of the village and jumping on the trees was out of the question with how wickedly cold the wind was.

“But you do not hate dancing with Sakura-chan?”

Sasuke didn’t bother to dignify Itachi’s question with a response. Itachi is definitely spending way too much time with Shisui. If he doesn’t engage, if he doesn’t give his brother the reaction he clearly wants from him, Itachi will get bored eventually and move on to other—

And then Sasuke sneezed.

To which Itachi laughingly asked, “Was it worth it, ototou?”

Sasuke silently got up from his seat, and turning to Itachi, smirked, “Of course it was.” He thanked their mother for muttering a quiet ‘bless you’ and handing him a tissue before heading toward the stairs. “Maybe if you stopped spying on me and actually spent more time with Izumi-nee, you’ll know just how worth it dancing in the cold is.” Sasuke threw a smug look at his older brother before disappearing upstairs into his room.

Fugaku smirked at the exchange as he turned a page of the evening newspaper. “He got you there, son.”

Itachi scowled before returning to his scroll.

[ddevours]

✦ㅤ  .ㅤ  ˚ㅤ o ritual do amor ( projeto )