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Sasuke feels the mattress rise and he wakes to find his wife sitting at the edge of their bed, her back turned to him. The silk of her robe has fallen to one side, exposing a delicate shoulder and a portion of her back. He remains still and watches as she stands, not bothering to fix her robe, and walks to the open shoji door overlooking the garden. She pauses there, head tilting up, her long hair falling along her back. He continues to observe her as she wraps her arms around herself, seemingly content just looking at the night sky.
He waits for her to move, either to sit on the engawa, or preferably, to go back to bed and be by his side so he could wrap his lone arm around her and sleep while drowning in her scent. But Sakura remains motionless, so without a word, Sasuke pushes the bed covers to his side, stands up, and walks over to her. His wife doesn’t even turn around when she hears his footsteps approaching, nor does her eyes leave the moonless night when Sasuke reaches her side. He turns his head to look at her face, trying to discern her thoughts, his eyes travelling from the seal on her forehead, to her nose, her cheeks, her slightly parted mouth, and finally resting on her bright green eyes so enraptured by the night.
What are you thinking of?
He plants a kiss on her exposed shoulder, and only then does she acknowledge his presence, her head leaning towards his, but her eyes still glued to the heavens. He tries to win her attention by burying his face on the nape on her neck, pressing his lips there, and she releases a contented hum. Then he plants another kiss on her forehead, his lips glossing over her skin and pressing at a spot below her eye then at the corner of her mouth. He hears her sigh through her nose. When he takes a step back, his wife was still looking up at the stars, as if they were words from a book she were reading, her lips tilted into a soft smile.
He looks at her again, silently pleading for her to face him. Seconds pass and she doesn’t, so Sasuke finally glances up at the night sky wanting to figure out what had captured his wife so deeply that she won’t pay him mind. He blinks at the ordinary heavens. The stars are beautiful, he thinks, but they have always been that way. Every night, they make themselves known, and at dawn they start disappearing, only to reappear again at dusk. Still, he can’t help but close his eyes and breathe deeply, taking in the cool, post-midnight air.
“Sakura…” He turns to her.
“Hmm?” She doesn’t.
Sasuke draws her towards him, pressing her back to his chest, gently pulling her down to sit on the engawa. Her legs hang over the grass, and his on either side of her, his large frame hovering over his wife protectively, his palm resting on her thigh, his chin on her shoulder. “Sakura…” he calls again whispering to her ear.
Finally, she turns her head, her nose touching his cheek. She gives him a soft peck before returning to watch the stars, the weight of her body resting on him. He brushes her hair to one side, exposing her neck, and he breathes in her scent. His arm moves to wrap around her, his hand squeezing her biceps, and he pulls her even closer. His wife once again leans her head to his and some of her pink locks fall onto his face. Sasuke notes that her attention was still at the sky above them.
For the third time, Sasuke calls her name again. This time, his tone slightly sounding more urgent. His breath blowing into her ear.
“What is it, Sasuke-kun?”
Her voice breaks the silence of the night and the garden, and it sounded so good to his hears. Subconsciously, he tightens his hold on her.
“What are you thinking of?”
At this, Sakura lets out a light giggle, and she buries herself further into him. Why was her husband being so clingy tonight? “You, of course.”
“But I’m right here.” And to prove his point, he leaves a trail of kisses on her neck. Sakura sighs contentedly. A few moments pass before she speaks again.
“Well… It’s just…” She pauses and Sasuke tilts his head to take a curious peek at her. She was smiling, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her eyes finally peer into his own.
“Just what?” he presses.
Eyes never leaving his, her expression impossibly turns even softer. “I look at you and–”
Sasuke waits for her to continue, raising a brow.
Then Sakura laughs, abruptly turning away from his gaze to admire the stars yet again. Sasuke sighs, amused. In a flash, he is in front of her standing, his figure blocking his wife’s view of the heavens.
If she’s surprised, it doesn’t show. She looks at him with her eyes so full of love and wonder, and he feels his mouth tilting into a smile. He can’t believe this beautiful woman sitting before him is now his wife, and shall forever remain his wife for as long as he breathes and lives. For her happiness, he would do anything.
Sakura rises and puts her arms around his neck. But it was Sasuke who takes a step forward to close their distance. He cups her face with his hand, a thumb brushing her cheek.
“The moon is beautiful tonight, isn’t it, anata?” Their noses are touching now.
And though he knows there is only the light of stars, he answers, “Aa,” before finally capturing her lips in his. He moves his hand to the back of her neck, deepening the kiss. She pulls him closer, the heat on his back rises, and he swears he feels her heart knocking at his chest. She moans into his mouth, the tremors of her body filling him with want and unbearable yearning. And when she whispers his name in between kisses, Sasuke’s body surrenders. Lips over hers, he takes a heavy breath, eyes closed, forehead touching forehead. Unmoving, they remained. The dewy garden air surrounds them like a blanket. It is so quiet that they hear the soft thump of the shishi-odoshi, and the water running through its long narrow tube of bamboo.
After a long while, Sasuke then tilts his head back to get a long look at her face still angled towards him. Her lips are swollen, and her eyes shut. He feels her arms fall onto his waist, her chest rising and falling against his own. He brushes a few strands away from her face, his fingers softly grazing her skin, tucking them behind her ear. His hand dips onto the still exposed skin of her shoulder. He squeezes it lightly, and Sakura opens her eyes.
Sasuke’s breath hitches when green fills his vision which, he is sure, is brighter and far more arresting than what is above them both. What a blessing it is, he feels, that its gaze are fixated on him. Her attention on him. Her love on him. Do the stars know what an honor it is that she looks up and blesses them with her thoughts?
His heart swells and it rises up, reaching his mouth and his own eyes, washing them with gratitude, acknowledgement and of course–he knows–love. Sasuke smiles, and because of her, he finally lets himself be overcome with affection. There is only one thing he could tell her then, so he releases the truth of his devotion:
“For you, Sakura, every night.”