Redemption |complete| (SasuSaku)

Is this the right time?

Friday, 22nd of September.

Sakura woke up feeling a movement beside her. She opened her eyes on a body. It took her a second to realise that it was simply Sasuke.

She lifted her head up to get a good look at him. She couldn't believe that he had stayed over night. A big smile formed on her lips. She felt so happy right now that the entire world didn't matter anymore. All she could think of was him on this sofa with her.

Her fingers started playing with his cheek. Her fingertips caressed every single inch of his skin. It was soft and warm and Sakura wanted to cover it with small kisses. Her thumb moved to his bottom lip and touched it slightly. She always wondered what his lips felt like. Maybe one day she will know.

He seemed so calm and free of any of the burden that he always carried with him. It made her so happy that instead of getting up, she put her head back on his chest after kissing the base of his neck. Her fingers still playing with his cheek, she closed her eyes and stayed like this for what felt like hours. She knew he was emerging from his sleep when his hand landed on hers. Sakura looked up and saw that his eyes were still closed but he took her hand and put it on his chest and held it.

"Morning." his voice was still sleepy and she felt so grateful to be able to hear it like that. She was cherishing this moment with her entire soul.

"You stayed..."

"Hn."

"Thank you." she poked him on the nose jokingly and got out of the sofa. "I have to go to the Land of Hot Waters, specifically in Yugakure to get some herbs. I finished all of them while I was in Tsuchigumo, wanna come with me?"

"Now?"

"Yes, whenever we are ready, there's no rush. It's not far away from here anyway."

"How long do you need to stay there for?"

"I don't know, maybe overnight or more. I want to visit the village a little bit, apparently it's beautiful."

"Hn. We will leave today then. Isn't there a festival at this time of the year?"

"I heard so, yes. We'll see."

Sakura walked to the kitchen and cooked something quick. She and Sasuke ate their breakfast and she moved to her bedroom to pack her bag. She couldn't wait to travel again with him. She was so exited that she forgot half of the things she wanted to bring with her. An hour later, they were ready to go.

After announcing their departure to the Hokage, they walked out of the village. Their four hour journey passed by pretty fast. Sakura occasionally tried to hold his hand but he wasn't as receptive as he usually was. She quickly gave up and accepted the fact that he will be the one coming to her eventually.

The gates of Yugakure appeared in front of them. The village was known to be peaceful. It had removed itself from any conflict and decided to live war-free. Due to that, it had flourished and was now known as a holiday destination. It was famous for its hot water and freshly married couples. Sakura never had the opportunity to come here. She had lied to Sasuke by telling him that she needed to buy plants here. In reality, she only wanted to go on vacation and she wanted him to come with her.

The streets were decorated with multitude of blue giant balloons and flowers. It was so beautiful that she couldn't stop looking at everything around her. The people were smiling and relaxed, the streets were clean and everywhere she looked at, she could see tents, restaurants, theatres, bars or gaming places. Everything here was built to make you enjoy your time. She broke her silence and addressed him.