Back to the Past
One random evening after a night of simple pleasures of spending a night with his family, cuddling with Sakura on the couch with Sarada next to them, Sasuke laid in bed next to his wife who he's loved for so long. His coal black and purple eyes scanned her sleeping face, a soft smile creeping onto his face as he reached over to pull her closer, causing Sakura to stir, but she remained asleep. A soft hum came from the Uchiha man as he simply pressed his body against hers, resting his head on hers affectionately, and he drifted off to sleep...
He then woke up abruptly and looked around to find himself in a hospital room. He flung the covers off of himself and swung his legs over the side of the bed, pausing and looking down at his left arm. Odd. He lost that in his final fight with Naruto. Sasuke then noticed that both his legs and arms were shorter and his hair wasn't covering his left eye. He blinked and then horror sunk in. Was it all just a dream? A side effect from the coma? But how, it all felt so real. It all felt... Like something that would happen... Sasuke's shoulders slumped and he sank back down on the bed, despair filling him. His family gone, in an instant. The woman he adored, ripped from his grasp, his daughter, taken. His life he knew, all gone... He'd have to start all over if he wanted that again. But at least since he woke up before leaving the village, that meant that if the Sound 4 showed up, he could correct his mistakes and stay in the village. After all he also knew why Itachi killed the clan, so he now had no reason to kill his brother. Although Danzo might be an exception to the new no killing who was killed before rule Sasuke just set for himself. Sasuke just about jumped out of his skin upon hearing the door to his hospital room opening. He didn't even have time to see who walked in before the adrenaline wore off and he felt the pain of his injuries, leading to him collapsing and curling up on the bed, and he heard footsteps rush over to his bedside, a paper bag being set on the bedside table, an adult's arms snaking around Sasuke to lift him up into a sitting position. "Sasuke, are you alright? Can you hear me?"
Sasuke nodded. "Loud and clear, Kakashi." Sasuke sighed and hung his head, and he felt Kakashi's other hand come up to his head, beginning to stroke his hair.
"So what happened?"
"Adrenaline. I woke up and panicked which caused me to move too fast."
"Ah. Well now you can rest, since you know you're safe."
"Right..." Sasuke looked down, unsure if he wanted to believe that since his previous life flashed in his head, his chest tightening with the familiar feeling of loss and grief. His head shot up and his eyes met green ones as he felt Sakura sit next to him and place her hand on his shoulder, and her expression made it easy for him to guess what she'll ask. "I'm fine, Sakura. I promise." He instinctively placed his hand over hers, causing her eyes to widen and her cheeks flush a little, which Sasuke remembers they aren't married or even dating and he pulls his hand back and looks down again.
"Oh- You didn't have to-"
"It's fine, I just... It was instinctive..." Sasuke immediately tried to shut down the conversation and Kakashi softly sighed.
"Alright you two, maybe we should lea-"
"No, it's alright. I don't mind if you guys stay. I'd prefer it actually..." Sasuke spoke quietly, as if shy to admit he wanted their company. Kakashi then began to pull his arms away and, while Sasuke admittedly didn't want Kakashi to pull away since Sasuke kind of enjoyed just simply being held, Sasuke scooted closer to Sakura so Kakashi could move easier, and Sakura wrapped her arms around Sasuke and pulled him close, and Sasuke rested his head on her shoulder, sighing softly while Naruto simply pouted.
"That isn't fair..." Naruto muttered. Sasuke resisted the urge to snicker, reminding himself that by technicality, he's mentally the oldest and he tried to keep his maturity, so Sasuke opted for something else.
"If you want to join us Naruto, all you have to do is ask." The other three all gawked at the idea while Sasuke just looked at Naruto, waiting for a response.
"I... That's... Are you okay?" Naruto asked, visibly creeped out, and Sasuke sat up on his own, sighing.
"No. I'm not, honestly. Let's just say it was like one of those cases you hear of someone completely having a different life or something while in a coma."
"... I don't know what that's like."
"I do. It's... Not fun once you wake up..." Sakura placed her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, leading to him looking at her and she could see the love and adoration in his eyes, even with how he tilted his head while looking at her, and then she noticed he was staring at her short hair and his expression shifted ever so slightly. "I wanted to braid it so badly..." Sasuke whispered to himself and Sakura simply burst into laughter.
"So I have to grow my hair out again?" She giggled out.
"Well to be fair you do look good with short hair but I loved when you had long hair, I could braid that shit whenever I was stressed. Although missing an arm made braiding things so fucking difficult."
"You were missing an arm?" Kakashi asked skeptically.
"Yeah, let's just say in my coma life it felt like this once but I was stupid as shit. Speaking of being stupid, I need to speak to you about something important." Sasuke pointed to his neck, referring to the curse mark, which Kakashi's one visible eye widened and then his expression turned serious and he nodded. "By the way why do you cover your face? You literally made hundreds of soldiers fall for you as soon as it was removed just to drink water of all things." Sasuke spoke without thinking and then he lifted his head, rubbing his neck since he had hung it upside down to look at Kakashi at the foot of the bed. "Ow." Sasuke cleared his throat. "Okay maybe you three should start ignoring what I say because I have no idea where my filter went."
"How old are you mentally, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.
"Thirty-three..." he pursed his lips into a thin line while the other stared at him and Naruto hurries over.
"Was I hokage at least in your dream world?"
Sasuke smiled at Naruto. "Of course you were, lord seventh." Naruto's face lit up and he gasped happily, getting up to jump around the room and Sasuke quietly chuckled and he looked at Sakura when he noticed her staring at him in a way he knew all to well and he felt his face flush and he averted his gaze from her emerald green eyes he wished Sarada would have had so she wasn't burdened with looking so much like him.
"I see the way you're looking at Naruto. You were a father, weren't you?" Sakura asked plainly. "My dad looks at me the same way. What was her name?"
"I'm surprised you can tell it was a girl that quick. ...Her name was..." He paused, memories flooding back. "Sarada... She was so beautiful..." Sakura frowned at seeing how sad Sasuke looked when recalling his daughter.
"Who was her mother?" Sasuke's expression immediately changed, his eyes widening and his face tinting red, a smile being held back. "Funny enough... It was you." He locked eyes with Sakura who blinked and her face went tomato red. "Uh oh." Sasuke immediately reached for her as she began to fall back onto the bed, Sasuke's expression going from in love to pure terror and worry. "Sakura!" Sasuke immediately pulled her against him to make sure she was okay and she cleared her throat.
"I'm okay, I'm okay." She leaned back and Sasuke was searching her face for any change, her heart melting at the look of worry on his face and she hugged him, leading to him relaxing in her hold but his arms tightening around her. "You seem clingy."
"Should I not be?" Sasuke pulled back to look at her, his expression being a mix of dejection and nervousness. "I can stop-"
"No, no, that's not-" Sakura softly sighs. "Naruto, Kakashi-Sensei, could you-"
"Of course we can, Sakura. C'mon Naruto." The two quickly left so Sasuke and Sakura could talk freely, and Sakura held Sasuke's face, which he instinctively leaned into her touch.
"Sasuke..." His eyes were closed but she could see how tired he looked.
"I understand if you'd rather I didn't-"
"No! I'm not saying I don't want this... I DO want this, I just... I wasn't expecting this... Not this soon, anyway. After all, I thought you were-"
"I have no reason to kill my brother. I can simply speak to him, if he'll let me. So please... Just let me enjoy this..." Sasuke's voice had changed in the last sentences, becoming quieter and almost pleading, leading to Sakura caving and pulling Sasuke close, which he buried his face in her shoulder, his arms tightening around her. "Will this be weird... Since I'm mentally an adult and you're not...?" Sasuke asked nervously.
"Since it was a coma life I don't think it counts."
"Alright."
"So-" Sasuke cut her off by lightly gripping her dress.
"Please... I just want to be held..." Sakura softly sighed.
"Alright..." She contemplated kissing his head but she opted against it, but Sasuke lightly pulled back and then he flopped onto the bed, pulling her with him, causing her to yelp in surprise and freeze when Sasuke practically wrapped himself around her. (In reality it was just his arms and legs but c'mon, he's a snake, it makes sense) Sakura giggled and looked him in the eye, brushing his hair out of his face, enjoying how he looked at her, as if she was still his wife.
"Is it too soon to tell you I love you...?"
"I'm not sure... I think it's kind of complicated when it comes to what you may have went through-" Sasuke softly sighed and released her, curling up and rolling over. "Sasuke-"
"I'm sorry... I knew this would be weird... I won't push this on you. It wouldn't be right..."
"Sasuke, please-"
"If this gets too weird, promise me something..."
"...Sure..."
"Promise me you'll find someone better than me to be with... Our 'marriage' nearly fell apart because of me... I'd hate to cause that again..." Sakura could hear the fear and shame in his voice, including how it shook and broke along with the tremble in his shoulders.
She softly sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him close to her so she could have herself flush against his back. "I'd like to try making this work... I don't like seeing you this way, Sasuke... I can tell it hurts..."
Sasuke softly chuckles. "Funny how you're an empath, considering you were a doctor..." Sasuke sniffled and wiped his face, and Sakura blinked at the information. "Oh god, I need to stop talking... I'm sorry, this is going to be so weird for you..." Sasuke reached down to remove her arms from his torso but she held firm, causing him to wince in pain. "I almost forgot how strong you were as a kid..."
Sakura gasped and immediately released him. "I'm so sorry, are you okay!?" Sasuke nodded and Sakura rolled him over to face her, and she wiped away any stray tears. "Are you sure you're okay...?" Sasuke was silent for a moment.
"...I miss her... So much... She was so much like you, even though she looked a lot like me..." He chuckled sadly and Sakura could see the melancholy in his eyes. Her heart tensed and she pulled him close, leading to him burying his face into her shoulder, and she gently strokes his hair.
"I'm sorry you lost your family, Sasuke... I don't know how to help you, but-"
"Just- ..." Sasuke's voice fails him and he sighs, unsure what to say.
"I won't leave you... I promise..."
"Thank you..."