Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, Kishimoto has given me a way to always be happy. Just thinking of the ending brings a huge grin to my face. :) This is rated M for a reason.

For the Love of the Amaryllis Flower

by theClosetPoet7

Summary: With them, it has always been like this, him doing whatever he wants and her patiently waiting for his return.

Haruno Sakura doesn't see him again until three years later, covered in torn up dirty clothes, looking every bit the person that he was. A wanderer. Yet somehow, still managing to be as flawless and handsome as when she last saw him.

Maybe even more godly as a man.

She remembers the exact time and day he finally walked back into the gates of Konoha for it was a day she had been patiently waiting for. Their blonde teammate had immediately sensed the dark-haired nin's chakra and had excitedly barged into her office, grabbed her hand and pulled her with him without so much as a clue as to where they were going. When they finally reached their destination, her heart swelled at the sight of their long lost comrade. Filled with a sense of joy that was far too big to contain, she had launched herself into his arms without hesitation.

Realizing her forwardness, her body warmed and pulled away, expecting to see an annoyed expression on his face. Shyly, she tucked a strand of hair away from her own only to be surprised when pale fingers lifted and planted itself on her most hated feature. Too stunned to respond or even understand the meaning behind the action, she sheepishly smiled at him and uttered the words she had dreamt of saying for years.

"Welcome home, Sasuke-kun."

At first, there was an air of awkwardness whenever she found herself in the same room as Uchiha Sasuke. Aside from the fact that she had loved him for so long, she just didn't know who she was in his life.

It didn't heal in a snap, their friendship, because they had spent a significant part of their lives growing without each other's presence. It wasn't as easy as the raven-haired's relationship with Uzumaki Naruto which seemed to have deepened all the more. Both men shared a bond that she never would understand even if she tried to, even when she so desperately wanted to.

He had promised that he would come see her when he returned hadn't he?

It didn't feel like anything had changed between them. Sure he was kinder and less cruel. He had finally begun to show bits of the person he truly was. Yet…

A part of her felt like she didn't know this person who looked like her first love.

"You've been avoiding me."

Emerald eyes sparkled with shock when he pointed out the obvious. But she refused to admit it.

"I'm not."

"Hn."

Curious as to why he didn't deny her claim, she chanced a glance at him. It still unnerved her, the change in his hairstyle. Of course, it suited him as expected, and he was getting more and more admirers because of the hint of mystery it brought by covering one of his eyes.

It bothered her.

Because it reminded her that he was changing. Little by little he was changing. Sasuke was moving forward.

And she should be happy for him.

Bam!

Strong hands pinned pale, dainty wrists against the wall of the dark side of the bar. A small and smooth body dressed in a little white dress and red high heels struggled to break the hold, only to fail because all she could feel was hard muscle and a vice-like grip that refused to let her go. She knew that she could get him off her if she used her chakra but this wasn't the right place to start a fight with her teammate.

"What do you want Sasuke-kun?"

The sound of his honorific laced with the bitterness struck a nerve in him. He stared at this feisty kunoichi. She looked hot as hell. And of course she already knew that, if the hooting and the cheering of the men in the establishment didn't give her any indication that she was attractive then he didn't know what would.

And when she started dancing.

Kami, he swore he almost broke the table.

"What the hell are you wearing?"

She raised an eyebrow at this.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you asking to be fucked?"

Her pretty face immediately reddened at the vulgarity of the sentence and she almost cringed because the words he uttered felt more like a slap. It made her feel cheap, like he thought her a whore.

"So what if I was?"

Onyx eyes narrowed at the challenge that he saw in her green irises. She was basically telling him to leave her alone. But letting her go back to the crowd was the last thing he was going to let her do. Holding both her hands up over her head, he stepped closer into her personal space and pushed his hips to her soft one. Bending down to look at the expression on her, he smirked at the medic's astonishment when he claimed her lips.

Haruno Sakura had changed. He didn't know what she wanted from him anymore.

But he sure as hell knew what he wanted from her.

She calls out to him the second time that day and he finds himself unable to avoid her any longer. It had been a while since he stole that kiss from her.

He turns around to regard her petite form, hands on her knees, trying to take in oxygen for she was out of breath. She lifts her head and he is suddenly overwhelmed by the determination that is set in her eyes.

"Stop running Sasuke."

He almost tells her that he isn't running from anything, when she wraps her arms around him and pulls him in.

"Sasuke-kun!"

Her gasps encourage him to continue what he was doing. Eager digits reached out to untie her emerald green bikini top. He pulls away to stare into her eyes as she removes the flimsy piece of clothing away from her. His mouth immediately goes dry at the sight of her creamy, perk mounds.

Reaching out to test how they would feel in his hands he takes in her disheveled hair and parted lips, eyes pleading for him to do something he knew she wasn't ready for.

His control almost snaps.

.

.

.

Sasuke grits his teeth as she pulled at his dark tresses.

He looks up to stare at her ethereal beauty, lost in the throes of pleasure. Sakura catches his gaze and instantly reddens at the sight of him bent over her, taking her to the edge. She briefly wonders if he has ever done this before but the thought is lost when she feels his wet appendage continue its torture.

.

.

.

It felt like coming home. Being inside her.

He loses himself in the feel of Haruno Sakura stretched around him, damp and moist, making it easy for him to thrust as hard and as fast as he wanted. Gripping her thighs enough to bruise, he pumps in and out, fighting for the release he had been waiting for months since they started whatever this was they were doing.

She blushes at the feel of his fingers laced in hers. Aside from when she had first woken up to find herself in Uchiha Sasuke's bed, she has never felt happier.

Her eyes sparkle at the sight of the elegant pendant dangling in front of her. There is a hint of a blush and an annoyed expression on his face as she stares dumbfounded at the item. Then a sigh of relief when she turns around, gathers her hair to one side and eagerly demands that he put it around her neck.

Later that night, the shiny jewel catches his eye as he pounds into her from behind.

Every now and then, she questions if the happiness she is feeling is going to last forever. And every now and then she notices the hint of longing in his obsidian depths as he stares at the gates.

She knows that he won't be staying long.

But her arm goes around his and his attention is pulled to her again.

There is a tint of desperation in him as he claims her tonight. His kisses are hungry, his hands are impatient and he pulls her to him as if he doesn't want to be separated from her.

She feels it in his touch, could sense it in the air.

He is leaving.

Sakura receives him, allows him to take her in whatever way he can.

Against the door.

In the shower.

On the kitchen counter.

At the edge of the bed as he looms over her, wrapping her legs around his waist, thrusting hard and deep.

Her room is filled with grunts, moans, gasps and sounds of flesh slapping against each other as they express their feelings for one another physically.

When he empties into her and lifts his head, panting at the mind-blowing ecstasy…

"Sakura."

…she places a hand to his cheek and looks at him with eyes filled with emotion.

"I love you Sasuke-kun."

She wakes up to an empty bed with nothing but the scent of him etched into her memory.

His departure does not surprise her at all.

She doesn't hear from him again until seven months later.

He stumbles into her room, waking her up from her peaceful sleep, refusing to say or do anything other than feel her welcoming warmth and hiss her name as she makes him see all the things he is missing by being away from her.

"You knew."

She glares accusingly at her former teacher.

"Sakura."

"You knew where he was, what he was doing, yet you hid it from me."

"He told me to."

"Since when has Sasuke been the boss of you?" she raises her voice a little, because despite being furious with the hokage, she still had respect for him.

"We can't stop him either way. He needs this. You should try to under..."

"Don't you dare tell me to understand!" she screams at him.

He gets up from his table and approaches her.

"I've been trying to since I found out that he was not contented to simply be by my side. For months before he left, I knew that he was going to leave again because for some reason, I alone, cannot make him happy! And I understand! I fucking get it!"

The copy nin wraps his arms around her as she lets out her tears, body shaking with her emotions.

"I don't know why I love a man who isn't even whole to begin with."

He finds her in the middle of a date, chatting happily with a civilian who looked like that actor she once had a crush on. His hands fisted as he watches them leave the restaurant, and he narrows his eyes as the guy's hand goes to hold hers. Jealousy fills him as he notices the subtle blush on her cheeks.

When her date drops her off, he follows her into her apartment, concealing his presence.

"Seriously Sasuke-kun, do you really think so little of my ability that I wouldn't notice you following me?"

"Who is he?"

"A friend."

"Do you love him?"

She blinks at the question and almost laughs in his face.

"Being away for two years, do you think you have the right to ask that question?"

He notices the same hint of challenge in her eyes before and he finds himself rising up to it. Deciding to do the first thing he wanted to do the moment he saw Haruno Sakura again.

He simply says.

"You are mine."

And closes their distance.

She considers these past few weeks their halcyon days. A time, where they didn't care about anything except for how long it would be before he feels the need to continue his path on redemption again.

The night after Naruto and Hinata's wedding, they find themselves locked in passionate embrace again. Bodies moving so painfully slow that she almost wanted to tell him to just fuck her. However, there was gentleness in the sensual way he was caressing her, as he plunged in and out, that told Sakura to treasure this moment.

After what seemed like an hour to her, his thrusts become more animalistic as he finally gives in to his instinct. In a matter of seconds she reaches sweet bliss.

"You're leaving again."

She points out as they catch their breaths. He turns to her and pulls her closer to his form. The pinkette starts to feel the sting of tears but tries to hold it back.

"I love you."

"Sakura."

"I love you."

His grip tightens.

"I love you."

"I know."

She bites her lip to stop herself from crying.

"But you're leaving anyway."

"Aa."

She pushes herself off him and starts to gather her clothes. She had to get out of his room, get out of his apartment, but he stops her before she even reaches the door, arms pulling her back to him.

"Just wait a little while longer."

Her eyes widen. This is the first time Uchiha Sasuke has ever given her a reason to hope for a future with him.

She puts a hand to his forearm and nods her head.

Sixteen days later, he sends her a ring.

Sasuke finds himself in Ame when he receives a letter from Haruno Sakura. It is the first letter she has ever written him. This time he had given her his location.

A smile makes its way to his face as he makes out her message.

.

.

.

"Yes."

fin

Author's Note:

Legend has it that the Amaryllis, a stunning red flower, began as a shy, timid nymph. Amaryllis fell deeply in love with Alteo, a shepherd with the strength that rivaled Hercules' and the beauty equal to that of Apollo. However, her affections were unrequited. Hoping that she could win him over by bestowing upon him the thing he desired most- a flower so unique, it had never existed in the world before, she heeded an oracle's advice. For thirty nights, Amaryllis draped herself in maiden's white and appeared at her beloved's door, each time piercing her heart with a golden arrow. When at last, Alteo opened his door, there before him was a striking crimson flower, sprung from the blood of Amaryllis' heart.

This romantic-albeit tragic- tale has defined the Amaryllis flower as a symbol of pride, determination and radiant beauty further given the meaning of victory after a great time of struggle, much like Sakura's love for Sasuke. The story of Amaryllis struck a cord inside me as it was heart-wrenching and oh so beautiful. It made me see its positivity despite being a story of unrequited love especially when, after years of hoping and praying, my beloved pairing has finally become Canon.

My fingers have been dying to type a one-shot like this ever since the manga ended. Sorry for the long hiatus. I know what happens next in both my stories (Sore ga ai deshou and Revolution) but I simply cannot find the inspiration nor the time to type up one chapter.

Hope you like this one-shot. R&R