SasuSaku- Without You

Sakura sighed, leaning against door of her and Sasuke's home. The twenty-year old was exhausted. It had been a hard day at the hospital; a group of ANBU had been injured on their mission and Sakura was healing them all day. She was out of chakra thanks to the effort.

'When I open the door, I'm sure Sasuke will be there,' Sakura thought to herself, biting her bottom lip. She turned the key in the lock slowly, as if any sudden movement would break it. She pushed the door open, hoping to find Sasuke lying down on the couch, reading a book or going over his mission reports. But he wasn't.

"Damn," Sakura whispered, locking the door behind her. She dropped her bag by the door, kicking her shoes off as she walked into the living room.

"It's been four months, where is he?" Sakura asked herself as she collapsed on the couch. The Uchiha had been sent on a mission with Naruto, Lee and Shikamaru.

"A two week mission?" Sakura asked, knitting her eyebrows together. Sasuke smiled softly, stroking her cheek.

"Don't worry, Sakura, I'm sure we'll be back before then. And as soon as I do, we can go out to dinner by ourselves or with Naruto and Hinata, I promise," he kissed her before pulling his pack on his back and walking out the front door. Sakura watched him go somewhat sadly.

"Well, at least it's only two weeks," she murmured, closing the door.

Sakura sighed again, rolling off the couch.

"I have a big day tomorrow at the hospital, I'm going to need to crash early," Sakura mumbled, stumbling up the stairs to the bedroom. She pulled her red shirt off and took off her shorts and medicine bag. She pulled on her pink night slip and crawled into bed. She hugged Sasuke's pillow to her chest, twidling with her wedding ring.

********************************

"Hey you guys! I can see the Gate!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. Even with several injuries and a sprained ankle, the blonde still managed to be the noisiest of them all.

"Naruto, I'm sure they can hear us all the way out here with you yelling like that," Shikamaru snapped. His shirt had been torn and he had cuts all along his arms and cheeks, but other than that, the genius was fine.

"Where does he find all that energy? It's so youthful!" Lee asked, inrigued by Naruto's endless energy. He was sporting a black eye and a broken arm with random cuts and bruises on his body.

"Hn. How should I know?" Sasuke asked irritably. He was in the best condition out of the group. He had only a cut on his cheek and a few cuts on his right arm. While Lee and Shikamaru bickered over Naruto's energy, Sasuke thought about what he had told Sakura before he left.

'Only two weeks. She'll be so worried,' Sasuke thought, smiling to himself at Sakura's old habits. She had always been concerned when he was out of her sight for too long. When the group finally made it to the Gate, they saw Genma and Ibiki on gaurd duty.

"Well, you guys finally decided to show?" Genma smirked. Naruto grinned.

"Yeah, we got tired of kicking ass," he said boastfully. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"The only ass that was kicked was yours, Naruto," he shook his head. Ibiki nodded at them.

"It's late now, almost eleven o'clock. You can report to Tsunade tomorrow in the morning," They nodded and slightly different times. Lee yawned.

"I hope we get a break before our next mission," he groaned. Sasuke folded his arms.

"What would Gai say if he knew you were slacking off?" he asked playfully. Lee huffed and turned away from Sasuke. Suddenly, Naruto grinned, pushing ahead.

"Sorry you guys, but this is my stop," his blue eyes flickered with delight as he pulled out his house keys. Shikamaru and Sasuke chuckled and Lee saluted him.

"I'm heading this way," Shikamaru said, taking a detour to the left. Lee followed.

"This is where I must also say goodnight," he said, nodding at Sasuke. He halfheartedly nodded back.

'Only two more blocks,' he told himself. Finally, he was in front of the house. He pulled out his keys, opening the door quietly just in case Sakura was asleep on the couch. She wasn't.

'She's probably upstairs,' Sasuke thought as he locked the door. He took off his shoes and dropped his pack next to Sakura's by the door. He walked as silently as he could up the stairs.

'Heh, just as I thought, dead asleep,' Sasuke smirked at Sakura's sleeping form, her bubblegum pink hair cascading down her collarbone. Sasuke's smirk turned into a soft smile. He took off his shirt, throwing it on the ground, deciding to put up with Sakura's scolding tomorrow. He walked over to her side of the bed, leaning down.

"Sakura, that's my pillow," he whispered softly. Sakura groaned, letting go of the pillow.

"Here you go, Sasuke," she mumbled, pulling the covers up to her chin. Sasuke raised his eyebrows. A moment later, she sat up right.

"Sasuke! You're back!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. He chuckled.

"Yeah I am, now are you only going to give me hug?" he teased. She giggled, pulling him onto the bed so she could slide onto his lap. Her tiredness was forgotten. She leaned in, kissing the soft lips she knew so well. She ran her hand through his hair as his tongue pried her lips open. He stroked her cheek gently, laying her down on the bed again. She sighed as he kissed her neck.

"Don't you have to get up early?" she mumbled, leaning into his body.

"Yeah," he said, pulling her closer to him as he laid back against the pillows.

"What's your point?" he smirked at her. She giggled, kissing him again.

"Works for me," she whispered into his chest, closing her eyes. She was finally back in Sasuke's arms.