Epilogue: See You Soon

Sakura looked out over the terminal, watching the small groups of people standing together amidst suitcases and bags. She felt a small smile curl her lips, as she watched the people in front of her hug each other, some with tears sparkling in the corners of their eyes.

Still smiling, she turned to the boy standing beside her. She blushed slightly upon realizing that Gaara wasn't looking at the people surrounding them, but was instead staring intently at her.

Sakura couldn't believe that it had only been three months since she had been standing here, meeting and seeing Gaara for the first time. She felt like it had been a lifetime since that time. She had been a completely different person than she was now.

Sakura could barely conceive the fact that her biggest concern had been that someone might know of her immature crush on Sasuke. She hadn't even known what it meant to really be in love with someone back then.

"Gaara?" she asked, turning her full attention to the boy beside her. Gaara nodded, his face lightening up upon hearing her voice.

Sakura flashed a bright smile and reached up to brush a few strands of hair out of his eyes. "You look a little tired," she told him. "Did you sleep well enough last night?"

Gaara's eyes followed the movements of her fingers on his forehead. "… Yes," he told her. "… I have slept… and slept well… for a lot of nights now." His eyes darted back to her face. "… But even so, I'm still a little tired."

Sakura nodded in understanding. "Sure," she said. "Not having slept for most of your life, you have a lot of catching up to do." She let her hand drop. "But other than that, how are you feeling these days?"

Gaara pondered it for a moment. "… I'm feeling better," he told her. "… Like I said, I'm sleeping through every night. I get hungry and thirsty. I feel like I can think and talk more freely." His eyes intensified. "… And I have you." Sakura's smiled widened, though a small blush colored her cheeks. A small smile curled Gaara's lips as he mused: "… It is like I have been partly blind my whole life. And now… I'm starting to see."

Sakura lowered her eyes, fingering the edge of her dress. "I know what you mean," she told him in a low voice. "Before I met you, I had been living a rather lonely and sad life for a long time. But when you came into my life, everything changed for the better." She looked up at him again. "Like you, I was blind, but now I can see everything clearly."

Gaara's lips turned upwards in a genuine smile. "… The time I have spent here… has been the best time of my life," he told her in a soft voice.

Sakura reached out and squeezed his hand. "And mine," she replied equally softly, her mind filling with memories of Gaara; their morning walks to school; their shared table in the classroom; the times they had walked the dog together; the times they had played in the snow together; the night she told him she loved him; and the morning she found him sleeping beside her. At the thought of all those happy memories, she felt something warm and wet run down the side of her face. She quickly brushed it away.

"Listen up, everyone!" Iruka suddenly said in a loud voice, motioning to stand in the middle of the crowd. "You have five minutes to say your final goodbyes. All Suna students are to board in five minutes!"

Sakura stared at him in horror. All around her, her classmates started moving around, making sure to say goodbye to everyone, exchanging hugs, cheek kisses, and small parting gifts. She looked back at Gaara, who simply looked back at her with saddened eyes.

"Sakura!"

Sakura looked up in surprise, as Temari and Kankarou made their way over to her, Shikamaru and Sasuke hesitantly in tow.

"Goodbye, Sakura!" Temari said, engulfing Sakura in a big hug. "I'm so happy that I had the pleasure of meeting you." She pulled away, her face one big smile. "You're an amazing person."

Kankarou slapped her on the back with one of his big hands. "Bye, Sakura!" he told her, putting an arm around her shoulder and squeezing. "I'm glad I got to know you." He pulled her into a real hug. "You're really something, you know."

Sakura couldn't help blushing, feeling a little overwhelmed from their compliments. "You, too," she said a little sheepishly. "You're quite something of your own."

Temari sent her a soft smile, and Kankarou winked at her. Temari then put an arm around Gaara's shoulder. "We should go," she said. "We're boarding now."

Gaara nodded. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms securely around Sakura's body. "… Goodbye, Sakura," he mumbled into her hair, his voice shaking a little bit. "… You're the best friend… I've ever had," he told her. "… And… I love you."

Sakura squeezed back, burying her face in his shoulder. "Goodbye, Gaara," she whispered back, worried that her voice would crack completely, if she tried to speak. Tears burned behind her eyes. "I love you, too. I always will."

As they let go of each other, Iruka started shouting again, telling his students that their guests simply had to board the plane now. Sakura noticed how parents started to move forward, as her classmates let go of the foreign students, who began to move towards security.

Sakura noticed how Iruka turned towards their little group, motioning for them to get a move on. She noticed how Kankarou and Temari impatiently waited for Gaara to follow them. And she noticed how her parents stepped up behind them, wishing Gaara a safe journey home.

But none of that really mattered in that moment.

As if blind to the surroundings, Sakura gently cupped Gaara's face between his hands and leaned in close. "Safe flight," she whispered. And then she closed the last small gap between them, pressing her lips softly against his.

"Sakura!" Temari burst out, before joyous laughter erupted from her throat, and she had to cover her mouth with one hand. Kankarou and Shikamaru stared at them, their lips curling slightly upwards at the ends. Sasuke stood somewhat confused and insecure at a distance, probably wondering if this display of affection had something had to do with him.

Iruka stared at the two of them in shock for a moment, before face-palming soundly. Sakura's parents followed suit, ogling them for a while before hiding their faces in their hands in pure resignation. The few students still present simply stared at them, then at each other, expressions of shock, confusion and amusement playing across their faces.

As soon as Sakura and Gaara pulled apart, Sakura felt a big, happy, triumphant smile spread on her lips. "See you soon," she told Gaara.

Gaara seemed dumbstruck for a moment, before he was finally able to nod. "… Yes," he told her, smiling and slightly blushing. "… See you… soon." Temari shook her head at the two of them, before picking up Gaara's backpack and motioning him to follow. Kankarou winked at them, before following his sister. And with one last look at Sakura, Gaara turned around and walked after them.

Sakura looked after them with a goofy smile on her face. She looked over at Shikamaru, who raised an eyebrow and smiled a crooked smile. "I told you," he told her teasingly.

Sakura shrugged, her smile only widening. "So you did." She looked over at Sasuke, who only offered her an unfathomable expression. Sakura sent him a small smile. "… So you did." Then she turned around on her heel and made her way out of the airport, her parents trailing behind her in awkward silence, probably trying to figure out if they should scold her or not.

But before they had even exited the airport, Sakura felt her phone buzz in her pocket, fished it out, and was surprised to see that it was a text message from Temari. The text only consisted of two words, but Sakura wasn't the least in doubt as to what the real meaning of them were. She couldn't help smiling warmly at the words on the little screen.

'Thank you.'

A/N:

This is the end of "The Second You Sleep".

And it's a bigger accomplishment that it might seem. As most of you might know, I have written fanfictions for a long time, but only created an account hereon a little while ago. This means that most of my stories are pretty old. I started writing this one in 2009, but lost interest in it after six or seven chapters, but I stumbled across it again in 2013, and decided to try to finish it. As is probably clear from some of the earlier chapters, it was harder than I expected… but in the end, and after four years, it is finally finished. (:

A huge THANK YOU to all the people, who have been kind enough to follow, favorite, and review this story! And an especially huge THANK YOU and very big cookie to those of you, who have been with me from the beginning and reviewed frequently! I wish I could put all your names here, but that would make the Author's Note longer than the actual chapter, so I'm not going to do that. But do know that you're all very much appreciated! :3

Love to you all!

See you on the flip side. (: