Summary: Blank Period. Sakura makes a wish on her birthday. She gets more than she expected. SasuSaku fluff and smut. For Sakura's birthday.

Please don't read if you're under 18 or you don't want to read adult content.

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The Moon Is Beautiful

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Twenty candles were lit on the beautifully decorated birthday cake. Her friends were gathered around her singing Happy Birthday. Sakura smiled and blushed from all the attention, grateful for having them all there.

All except one.

"Now, make a wish, Sakura!" Ino said when they finished the song. "It will come true for certain!"

Sakura nodded, put her hands together and closed her eyes as if in a prayer. She didn't have to think hard what to wish for, over the years she'd always used her birthday wish for the same thing. I wish for Sasuke-kun to be safe on his travels. I wish that he achieves his atonement. And… I wish for him to return soon.

The last one was a self-indulgent addition, something just for herself. She understood he had more important matters to attend to and he would return when they were finished, not because she wanted him to. But Sakura liked to think that she grew from that immature twelve-year-old girl who wished on her birthday to become Sasuke's girlfriend. How little had she known back then, about the world, about being a ninja and, most importantly, about Sasuke.

Sakura opened her eyes and took in a huge breath.

"Be careful, Sakura-chan, or you could blow out the whole cake with your super strong breath!" Naruto joked.

She shot him an annoyed look. "I can blow you away if you don't shut up," she replied, snapping a finger at him. Naruto blanched and creeped behind Hinata to hide.

After taking another breath Sakura blew out the candles on the cake in one go. Everyone around whooped and cheered for her. Holding the knife at the ready, Ino swiftly cut the cake and presented her with the first slice. Sakura enjoyed the chocolate sweetness melting on her tongue, balanced by the sour cherries.

When the birthday party wrapped up, Sakura went home alone. She refused any escorts. As the top kunoichi, she had nothing to fear and it was a nice night for a stroll. Konoha smelled fresh and damp with greenery, the warmth of spring waking up the plants from their winter sleep so they would grow and bloom once again. The alley of cherry trees was especially beautiful, the delicate petals falling and fluttering in the air like snow. In the evening it looked downright magical, like a painting from a fairytale book. Sakura only wished she could share this view with someone. Someone she loved. Someone who, perhaps, loved her back…

Sighing, Sakura looked up at the moon and pictured that Sasuke, wherever he was at the moment, saw the same starry sky. The thought brought her a measure of comfort.

Sakura watched the heavens for a while longer then turned to continue on her way home, however she stopped short. A dark figure appeared at the end of the alley, coming from the direction of the village gates. She couldn't see clearly who it was, but her heart beat faster with a spark of irrational hope. Could it really be…?

The mysterious figure came closer until the pale moonlight fell on his face. Sakura gasped softly when she saw the same handsome face that she dreamed about so often.

"Sasuke-kun!" she called out and ran up to him excitedly. She stopped right before him, linking her hands behind her shyly. "Welcome back to Konoha," she said, eyes bright with happiness of seeing him again.

"Sakura," he replied as his gaze met hers with intensity that made her dizzy.

She drank in his appearance, noting differences after his long absence. He was taller and broader in the shoulders, but the rest was hidden under his black cloak. He inspected her appearance as well.

"You seem well," she said softly. "I'm glad."

"You look good too."

His casual reply felt like a compliment to her. Her cheeks pinkened.

"Are you… really back?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yes. I finished my journey." Sakura perked up at this, but her relief was short-lived. Sasuke continued. "There is a situation brewing in the east and I need to brief Kakashi on it."

"Oh… I see," she said, trying to hide her disappointment. How stupid it was to hope he came back for her, just because it was her birthday? It had to be entirely by chance that he returned this day of all days in the year.

"Do you know what time is it?" Sasuke asked out of a blue.

"Time?" She didn't have a watch, but she quickly calculated how long it had been since the end of her birthday party. "It should be midnight soon. You might still catch Kakashi-sensei at the office, he tends to read late into the night when he procrastinates on paperwork."

"That's not what I meant. I can talk to Kakashi tomorrow," Sasuke said, defying her expectations. She looked at him in confusion. "If it's still 28th, then I'm not late. Here," he pulled out a scroll from his cloak's pocket and gave it to her. "Happy birthday."

Sakura was on cloud nine. He remembered it after so many years! She hugged him on impulse. "Sasuke-kun! Thank you!" She let him go, quickly wiping the corners of her eyes, and beamed. "Can I open it now?"

Sasuke nodded with a small smile and she gleefully swiped her chakra-charged finger on the scroll releasing the seal. A potted pink flower appeared in her hands with a puff of smoke. Sakura inspected it carefully. Did it have a special meaning? She didn't recognize this one but she wasn't as fluent in the language of flowers as Ino…

"It's a species of moonflower that only grows on a tropical island far south. When I saw it, it reminded me of you. I heard it has special medicinal properties, so I thought it might be useful to you," Sasuke explained.

She raised her eyes to him again, her stomach doing strange flips and flops. He put this much thought into a gift for her? As if she couldn't love him any more than that... "Thank you. It's a beautiful gift. I will make a good use of it, I promise," she said fervently.

Sasuke nodded like that was a given and he never doubted she would do so. Sakura sealed the flower back inside the scroll and tucked it in her pouch.

For a second she stood there, unsure of what to say. Sasuke was finally right before her, in the flesh. Over the years, she fantasized about this reunion and what she would do when he came back. She had so many things to tell him about—but now, when the moment finally arrived, she couldn't think of anything. She sighed quietly. He was probably tired and would go to his quarters soon and then her chance to spend more time together would be lost.

"Walk me home?" she asked, hoping for a few more minutes with him.

Sasuke agreed with a soft grunt and they strolled side by side down the cherry blossom alley in a companionable silence. Sakura stole glances at him, committing his regal profile and sharp jawline to her memory. He caught her looking and she offered him a quick smile. Then she lifted her gaze to the night sky once again.

"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" she mused.

"Yes, it is," he agreed quietly. Their eyes locked again. Sakura was mesmerized by the weight in his gaze. Her heart fluttered, her lips parted slightly…

And then she tripped. In a flash, Sasuke's arm was around her, preventing her fall. When she turned to him, his face was very close. A blush bloomed on her cheeks.

"Be careful," Sasuke murmured a warning and she nodded, wide-eyed.

"Y-Yeah…" she replied, biting her lip.

A beat passed but he didn't move away. His gaze was focused on her mouth. Sakura's heart thumped wildly and she held in her breath, waiting for his move.

Sasuke cupped her cheek with infinite gentleness and she leaned into his warm touch. When his thumb brushed her lips, she gasped lightly. "Sakura…" he breathed out her name in wonder and trailed off, a lost expression making him look younger.

That's when she realized that he was nervous too and that paradoxically calmed her. She turned her trusting eyes onto him and with a shy smile took his hand, kissing it on the knuckles.

"Please," she whispered, the intimate sound shared only between the two of them under the cherry blossoms.

Sasuke leaned in and kissed her. It was gentle and slow at first, but Sakura's full reciprocation gave him confidence to press on firmer. Her arms wound up around his shoulders and everything else around them faded away as they kissed, their lips speaking a secret language of love with every brush and stroke against each other. Sakura felt like she was floating on this blissful sensation. She could stay like this kissing him forever. At this moment, the final piece of the puzzle that was their relationship slid into place, forming a complete picture. The special connection they had always shared was finally fully realized. It wasn't just a simple kiss, it was much more—it was a confirmation, a seal, a covenant. After that, there were no more doubts, no more hesitation. Only—love, unconditional and irrevocable.

"Sasuke-kun?" she murmured against his lips when they parted for breath. Her mind was hazy and she wasn't sure how long they stood there, just reveling in their kiss—a minute, an hour, a day? It felt like an eternity had passed in a blink of an eye.

"Hm?" he made a throaty sound, nuzzling her. Sakura stroked her fingers though the hair on the back of his head.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" she asked, but there was no uncertainty in her, only confidence in what they were to each other.

"Yes." Sasuke's eyes were scorching like his infamous dark flames when he answered.

Sakura smiled and took his hand in her own, twining their fingers as she led him to her apartment. As they walked through the sleeping village, they didn't see anyone, not even a ninja on a late night patrol. They didn't speak because there was nothing left to say between them. It was as if their souls mingled through the kiss. They simply knew what they wanted, what they needed, and in their mutual understanding agreed what their course of action was going to be to satisfy those pent-up desires.

Sakura found that surety very freeing. It gave a bounce to her step but she wasn't in a hurry anymore. She simply enjoyed Sasuke's presence at her side, taking delight in every second spent together, just walking under the moonlit skies.

With a rattle of keys in the lock, Sakura opened her door and they entered the quiet apartment. She slipped off her sandals and left them in the entranceway while Sasuke hang up his cloak.

"Would you like something to drink? Water, tea?" she offered. He'd come straight from the road, so he might have been thirsty. "Are you hungry?"

"Sakura," he said with a tone of fond exasperation. "I'm fine."

She nodded, twisting the hem of her shirt. "Then," she began and looked up at him with a small blush, "I'll show you to my bedroom."

She took his hand again shakily. Sasuke's big palm engulfed her own as he squeezed it. Reassured, she led him to her sanctuary, the private space she'd never allowed a man inside before. Sasuke was the first and the last one with that privilege.

"Well, here it is," she said, turning to him, then his lips were on hers again and she was consumed by another kiss, this one much hotter and demanding than before. Sasuke caught her by surprise, but Sakura quickly returned the kiss with an even greater passion as the boundless reserves of her love for him finally found an outlet. Sasuke groaned, overwhelmed by the magnitude of her feeling and reluctantly pulled away for a breath.

Sakura pressed herself to him, nuzzling his neck. He smelled of the forest, his own musk mixed with a soap. He must have bathed that day on his way to Konoha. Had he known what they were going to do? Could he have really suspected that? He must have, he was always good at planning and preparation. Sakura blushed, heart light and giddy, and trailed kisses down his throat.

Sasuke exhaled raggedly. This woman had a special power, her mere touch could bring him to his knees. "Sakura," he whispered with want, running his hand down her back and pulling her tighter into himself so she could feel his burgeoning need for her.

She let out an adorable squeak, then rubbed her body against his hardening length. He sucked in a breath, not expecting her boldness, but enjoying it immensely.

Sakura stepped away, bright-eyed with want, and gripped the hem of his shirt. "Allow me," she requested in a sultry whisper.

Spellbound, Sasuke nodded.

With care, Sakura pulled up his shirt and Sasuke bent a little to help her pull it over his head. She put it away absent-mindedly while her gaze roamed his toned, lean body, noting any changes from the last time she'd given him a checkup before he'd left on his journey. Her eyes clouded when she spotted a new puckered line of a scar over his ribs. She traced it with her fingers, sending a pulse of healing chakra into the skin which left it once again smooth and flawless.

Sasuke was looking at her. "You don't like scars," he said with a question hidden in the statement.

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. It's just, when I saw it, it made me think of all the pain you've suffered. I want to take away all your hurts when you come home," she confessed in a low tone.

He reached for her hand and put it over his chest so she felt the strong beat of his heart. "You do. All that pain doesn't matter to me because I know you are home and safe," he told her.

Tears came to her eyes and her lip trembled. She kissed him again, sweet and slow, as she stroked his broad shoulders and arms. Then, she lavished her attention down his torso, touching and kissing every inch of his skin as if he was her god and she—his most devoted follower. He shuddered when she licked down from his belly button down to his pants, kneeling before him.

Sakura turned up her gaze, full of love, and their eyes met again, sizzling as she undid his belt, opened the button and unzipped him. Then she pulled down his pants and he stepped out of them. After she unwound the tape from around his ankles, her hands slid back up over his muscular legs and to his narrow hips. In her position Sakura had a front row seat to not only see the straining bulge in the confine of his boxers, but also feel the heat coming off him on her face and smell the heady scent of his arousal. Her panties were already damp with her own erotic excitement.

Looking him straight in the eye, Sakura hooked her thumbs in the elastic waistband and pulled his underwear down smoothly. He stepped out of it as well.

Sakura's breath was taken away. Sasuke was standing before her in his full glory, his naked body revealed to her gaze at last—and he was absolutely gorgeous, sculpted like a statue of an ancient hero. And there was one more place on his body that she needed to shower in her love.

With a trembling hand she touched his hard member. It was so hot that she thought it would scald her. She wrapped her palm around the thick girth and gave it a stroke, marveling at the softness of his skin around the steely center. Her left hand cupped and caressed his heavy sack carefully as she stroked him slowly. Then she licked her dry lips and leaned in to kiss the tip tenderly.

Sasuke grunted. "Grip harder," he instructed in a rough tone.

Sakura tightened her hold. "Like this?" She looked to him for confirmation. He gave a sharp nod.

She stroked him again, firm and deliberate, then licked around the tip. Next, she kissed along the length of him down to the very base. Hearing him hiss, she went back and smiled at him before taking his member between her lips and gently sucking.

With a shudder, Sasuke let out a groan and pushed his hips forward, wedging deeper into her mouth. Sakura almost gagged but she controlled the reflex. Holding onto his hips, she drew back slightly and continued with her loving ministrations. She luxuriously lavished his member with her tongue as she leisurely sucked his pulsating shaft. He tasted a bit salty and musky, but she didn't mind, it was Sasuke's flavor and she accepted it like everything else about him. He was trembling and breathing harshly as she concentrated on giving him pure pleasure.

Sasuke pushed on her shoulders and she reluctantly pulled off his member. She gave him a questioning look.

"I won't last if you keep that up," he admitted gruffly with a slight flush and helped her to her feet. After a dizzying kiss to her mouth, it was his turn to explore her body. Sasuke undressed her slowly, needing help only once when he couldn't find a zipper. He returned her affections twofold by caressing every inch of her exposed skin. He made love to her breasts with his mouth and when at last he slid her damp panties off her legs, he wasted no time kissing up her inner thigh and spreading her nether lips open for his perusal. Sakura moaned when he licked a strip over her steamy sex.

"Sit down," he said, pushing her back towards the bed. She sank down on the mattress with a small bounce and he spread her knees. She watched him with lust-glazed eyes as he leaned to her pink center and began stroking the folds in earnest.

He tongued a little protruding nub and she moaned high. Sasuke concentrated his attention on that spot, flicking it gently, testing her reactions and catalogizing them and soon he had her singing his praises, her hand tangled in his hair and pulling him closer. Sakura was floating on the waves of bliss and when he stuck a finger into her wet passage, she was swept away by her release.

"Ah… Ah…" she couldn't muster anything more coherent to say. She was disheveled and short of breath, and yet her body still burned for more.

Sasuke smirked, proud of his handiwork, as he kept pumping his thick finger into her. "Hn, still too tight," he muttered and slipped a second digit inside, scissoring her clamping hole. Sakura blushed scarlet with realization that he was preparing her to receive his big erect member. A husky moan came out of her as he found a sweet spot inside that sent a jolt into her core while he worked her open.

"Sasuke-kun… Please," she whispered raggedly, voice full of need.

He slowed his pumping and gave her an evaluating look. She stared back pleadingly. Sasuke deliberately rubbed her sensitive spot once again and she let out another hoarse cry. "I guess you're ready," he said at length.

Sasuke pulled out his fingers and licked them clean, so casual in such a debauched act that it turned her on even more, then he climbed onto the bed. As he was hovering over her, his broad chest covered her completely. Sakura's gaze wandered down to his groin, hidden in the shadows, but she glimpsed the looming long shape coming out of it. It was more than a little intimidating from this perspective. Sakura gulped.

Sasuke bent over, leaving very little space between them, and kissed her gently. Just through the touch of their lips he was reassuring her that everything would be alright. Sakura sighed into the kiss, her worry exorcised out of her body as her tension unknotted.

Except that other kind of tension that was building in the pit of her stomach. She looked to Sasuke for relief. Understanding her without words, he sat back and put her thighs over his own. A shiver of excitement went through her when his hot, rock hard staff pressed against her inner thigh.

Sasuke took himself into his hand and pressed the tip to her opening. He looked at her for confirmation and the sheer love and desire in the dark depths of his eyes overwhelmed her. She couldn't speak, she could only return that look with everything she'd gotten. Their feelings resonated in a perfect harmony as their bodies were intimately joined for the very first time.

Sakura breathed deeply, adjusting to the stretch. Sasuke caressed her thighs and stomach to take her mind off the discomfort. He flicked her hard nipples and she squeezed down on him in reaction. It was starting to feel good, but the itch was even farther inside and she needed him to reach and scratch at it. She bucked her hips, moaning at how good it felt to have him move an inch deeper. Sasuke took her cue and pressed his hips forward, driving into her. When he slid in to the hilt, they moaned in unison at the exquisite feeling of becoming one.

With her eyesight hazy from pleasure, Sakura still noticed how Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek, his shoulders tense like pulled bowstrings as he made effort to control his movement. Rolling his hips, he gave her slow thrusts that only increased her frustration. She put a hand on his cheek.

"You don't need to hold back," she told him.

In his face she saw the exact moment her permission undid the last vestiges of his self-restraint. Then he pulled back and slammed into her, taking her breath away. Sakura gasped and clung onto him as he pounded her, harshly and thoroughly, and yet she still moaned for him to go faster and harder, delirious with pleasure. Sasuke growled and changed his angle by putting her leg over his shoulder. He claimed her, madly and desperately, and she loved every second of it.

The powerful grind on her most sensitive places made the tight coil inside her release among her frantic cries of his name. Sakura's body seized and held Sasuke in place with a vice-like grip. Her nails dug into his back as she drowned in her ecstasy.

Sasuke couldn't last much longer as well and succumbed to the mind-blowing pleasure she brought him. His hip thrusts stalled, stuttered and came to a halt as he came with a raspy groan, clutching her raised leg and pressing his face to the side of her knee. Sakura shuddered from the erotic sensation of his warmth as he poured all he had into her.

When he was spent, he let her leg down gently. Sakura whined at the feeling of a slow drag of his member as he pulled out from her sopping passage. Then he slumped next to her on the bed, resting.

For a while, they simply basked in the afterglow, too tired to do much or think of anything. Sakura turned on her side and took in his flushed, tired face, already drifting off to sleep. The sight of real Sasuke with her, on her bed, made her chest expand with a fierce joy.

"Sasuke-kun?" she whispered.

He grunted in reply.

"Thank you for coming back," she said. He cracked his eyes open and gave her a heart-stopping, lazy smile of male satisfaction. She couldn't resist, she just had to kiss him and so she did, shyness or shame having no place between them after what they'd shared. Their lips brushed together sensually as she expressed her love and gratitude to him, then slowly drew back with a small exhale.

Sakura stifled a yawn, feeling sated and pleasantly worn out. It was getting late and her birthday was definitely over by now. She pulled her covers over them. "Goodnight," she murmured to her lover.

Sasuke put an arm around her and gathered her closer. Sakura happily snuggled into his chest. She'd never felt so relaxed, so content as in this moment, wrapped up in his embrace.

The moon shone brightly through the window, silently watching over the two fated lovers as they fell asleep after their lovemaking, the first of many to come.

The End

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Bonus: Married

After being married to Sasuke for years, Sakura found that he couldn't surprise her often, but when he did, it was usually in the most unexpected of ways.

Like when he came back early from a mission to be there on time for her birthday. She knew he must have cheated and used the Rinnegan to get back from the other end of the world so fast, but she would scold him for it later.

"Happy birthday, Sakura," her husband said and handed her a plant with small, red flowers. She was reminded of that time he'd come back from his journey of atonement. He'd given her a flower back then too and it had all led to some more pleasurable activities that had bound them as a couple.

"Thank you, but what is it?" she asked curiously. Was it a medicinal plant again? Sasuke liked to give practical gifts.

"I heard a tea made from its leaves increases… appetite," he told her carefully.

Sakura cocked her head at his woolgathering. "You mean it makes you hungry?" she asked skeptically.

Sasuke averted his gaze. "I mean… sexual appetite," he said bashfully.

She opened her mouth in genuine surprise. "You brought me… an aphrodisiac," she summed up. And for her birthday, no less… Gears in her head shifted abruptly. "Are you trying to give me a hint, dear?" she asked with a teasing glint in her eye. "Do you think I am neglecting you?"

Sasuke looked at her like a deer in the headlights. Sakura smirked and touched his jaw as she leaned closer. "Would you like me to… show you more affection?" she purred into his ear.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. Sakura nipped his throat on impulse, making him groan. He grabbed and lifted her in a bridal carry. "Bedroom," he said and hurried through a portal he made.

Sakura grinned. Her husband apparently did not need the aphrodisiac tea and neither did she. All they had was their own everlasting love and that was more than enough to stoke the flames of their mutual desire, sustaining them indefinitely. She was more than satisfied with that and, judging by Sasuke's enthusiasm, he felt the same.

Sakura wondered what he'd bring her for her next birthday, but she forgot all about it when their lips met in a hot, passionate kiss.

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AN: Thank you so much for reading! I wrote this on spur of the moment, I thought that since I've written smut for Sasuke's birthday, Sakura deserves to get some too on hers! ;) I tried to write it in a more romantic style than my usual smut, so I wonder how it came out. Please share your thoughts, I will appreciate and take them into account for the future fics.

Until next time!