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Sakura feels her mind start to wake; her eyes still heavy. Sunlight seeps through the blinds of the room, stirring her from her slumber. She feels a slight pang from the back of her head as she tries to get herself up.
‘What… What the…’
When she comes to—her mind still spinning—the smell of pancakes solidifies her resolve to get up.
As she makes her way to the kitchen, her mind starts to piece together just why her head feels like it’s splitting in two, and it’s—
‘Not good. Not good, not good, not. Good.’
Last night, Sasuke brought her along to the Uchiha Family Christmas Eve celebration held at the (huge) house of one of his uncles. Although this isn’t her first time meeting his family and joining them for celebrations, this is the first time she’s spending Christmas Eve with them. Naturally, it was a big deal, and Sakura wanted nothing more than to leave a good impression.
Mikoto was kind enough to not leave her side when talking to the older ladies of the family, and Izumi helped her get along with the cousins of their age group. Sakura would go as far as to say that she fit in so well, the only telltale sign of her being an outsider is her contrasting pink hair (seriously, not even the plus ones of the family members had vibrant hair).
It wasn’t that hard to get along with Sasuke and Itachi’s cousins—they were pretty fun and loud, contrary to how society views a family of such high standard. They stayed in a separate room from the older Uchihas, where the music was a bit louder and the drinks were a bit harder, while the kids were holed up in another room, caught up in the latest gaming console. It was chaotic but comforting, in a way—at least Sakura didn’t have to try to hide her more outgoing self.
“Another round of drinks!” Obito—who would qualify to make it to the adult’s table but he doesn’t want to because “old people are boring!”— hollered, emerging from the door with two hands full of expensive whiskey. Izumi was dancing with Sakura to the music while Sasuke was talking to Shisui and Itachi and a bunch of his other cousins.
Sometime later, one of the cousins called for a challenge that entailed taking many, many shots. One of the older women— Sacchan, was it — shot a challenging look to Sakura, as if to say “this is a rite of passage, sis.”
Not one to back down from a challenge and a chance to impress Sasuke’s relatives, Sakura drank, and Sasuke’s cousins cheered, hoisting her up on their shoulders. Sasuke looked annoyed, but, as drunk as Sakura was that time, she knew she did her boyfriend proud.
The night became a blur of games and more drinks—the Uchihas party hard , with Izumi and Sasuke taking turns taking care of her whenever she needed to step back for a breather. The night ended with her knocked out cold at the passenger’s side of Sasuke’s car.
Needless to say, she’s pretty embarrassed with how unhinged she was last night—and in front of her future in-laws (fingers crossed) at that.
“You sober?” Sakura hears her Sasuke call from the kitchen.
“Yes, but my head hurts. From all the drinks and the sheer embarrassment from last night.” She turned to the dining to see hot pancakes at the table, the smell making her belly grumble. Sakura’s heart lept through her ribs—Sasuke was rarely this affectionate. She knew cooking wasn’t really his forte, but here he is as he always does whenever she’s hungover. “I need my pancakes.”
“Aa, and I have them right here.” Sasuke pulls the chair for her to sit on. He strokes her back a bit before taking his place across her. “Let’s eat.”
Sakura feels her heart melt at the comforting taste of Sasuke’s “only-for-Sakura” pancakes until she recognizes a distinctly delicious minty taste. She finally feels Sasuke’s watchful eyes on her.
“Dark chocolate and peppermint?” Sakura muses. “Sasuke, you don’t even like peppermint.”
“Well, you do.” Sasuke takes a bite of his plain pancakes. “Merry Christmas, Sakura.”
Sakura feelsher heart swell. Even five years into the relationship, coupled with years and years of friendship, Sasuke’s small romantic gestures send her to the moon. She knows how reserved he is when it comes to affection—coming across as cold and uncaring to outsiders—so these acts of love can easily tear down her walls (as if she ever put up walls for Sasuke in the first place).
“Sasuke, these are delicious. I love them.” Head still spinning from hangover she has—thank god Sasuke managed to coax her to upchuck most of them before heading to bed last night. “Honestly, you’re the best Christmas present I can ask for.”
Sasuke only clicks his tongue, trying to hide his growing smile. They continue to eat, with Sakura recalling last night’s incidents, sulking at how embarrassingly wild she let herself be in the presence of those she hopes to be her future in-laws. Sure, it was the wilder cousins who mostly saw her in that drunk state, but still. Sakura feels her face heat up more at the memory.
“Don’t worry, Sak. They do that to every future Uchiha in the family.” Sasuke says, a teasing smirk on his lips.
“Not helping. At all, Sasuke.” Sakura pouts, ignoring the blush creeping up her neck at the ‘future Uchiha’ comment.
They clean the table up and wash the dishes together, falling into their morning routine. While Sakura hasn’t officially moved into Sasuke’s condominium, she’s stayed here often enough to have a daily routine with Sasuke. One would think they’re already a married couple at this point.
“I mean really,” Sakura starts to dry her hands and starts to walk back to her bedroom to get ready—they have Christmas lunch scheduled with Sakura’s side of the family later on, “I don’t think I can show my face to any of them ever again .”
Sakura feels Sasuke stop in his tracks.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Definitely.”
“…but you’ll be seeing them a lot more soon.”
Sasuke isn’t following her out of the kitchen, so she turns to look at him and—
“… Sasuke ?”
Sakura is met by a heart-stopping sight: Sasuke on the floor, bent on one knee, arms outstretched to hold an open red box. Inside the red box is a ring, the ruby-red gem gleaming under the morning light.
For once in their relationship, Sakura is rendered speechless. So, Sasuke speaks.
“I know this isn’t really romantic , even for my standards,” he starts, a nervous yet determined look on his face. Sakura has never seen hom this antsy. “You’re hungover and we’re in our night wear and we’re in the kitchen, I just—I couldn’t wait until the dinner I have planned tonight, Sakura.
“Although I think that I’m lucky to have the chance to see you like this: a little flushed and frazzled, fresh out of sleep, but still as beautiful as ever.”
Sakura feels tears fall down her cheeks, her hands pressed to her lips to muffle the soft cries that threaten spill out.
“I’ve known you for my entire life, so much so that life without you wouldn’t mean anything. You’re my life, Sakura. And I want to live out the rest of my days with only you. I’m not the best at this, you know that, but I promise you with all my heart, I will love you indefinitely, even beyond the end of my days, if you’ll let me.”
He’s only in a gray shirt and shorts but to Sakura, Sasuke has never looked more perfect .
“Will you marry me?”
And, with those four words, Sakura cries.
“Sasuke, yes. Yes .” She joins Sasuke on the floor, kissing him with all her might. “Yes, yes, yes. What are you being nervous for, you idiot—You know you’ve always had my yes.”
Sasuke slips the ring onto her finger after their breathless, loving kiss. She sits in between his legs on the kitchen floor, basking in the warmth of his embrace. It’s no grand gesture, no flash mobs or string quartets—but it’s better than anything Sakura could have ever dreamed of. It’s simple and candid and so full of love, just as they always have been.
“You know, what my cousins did last night,” Sasuke starts, nuzzling her pink hair “they really only do that for fiancés and fiancées.” Sakura could feel his smirk at the top of her head.
“They knew?” Sakura gasps, feeling embarrassment rise to her cheeks once more.
“Yes. And so do your parents.” He coaxes her up. “Whom we’ll be seeing in a few hours if we start getting ready.”
“Oh my god, my mom’s going to talk nonstop about this later.” They get up but fall into another embrace. When neither of them moves, Sakura buries her head on Sasuke’s chest. “I’m not sober enough for this.”
“You’ll manage, Sak.” Sakura feels the rumble of his chuckle through his chest. “Plus, you have me.”
“Yeah.” She smiles, her eyes meeting his. “I have you.”
A content sigh leaves Sakura’s lips as Sasuke presses a kiss to her forehead.
“I love you, Sakura.” He murmurs, and a warmth blooms from Sakura’s heart. “Truly. Infinitely.”
“I love you too, Sasuke. Infinitely.”