This Girl's Name Is Sakura Haruno [Naruto Fanfic]

Chapter Thirty-Four

"Sakura, you trying to play Sleep Beauty? Making me wait this long." Sasuke asked her, fingers combing through her pink tresses, gently loosing all the knots and tangles in her hair. Planting a kiss on her forehead, he mumbled, "Come on Sakura, wake up..."

The car crash was during the last days of spring, going into the early months of summer and now... summer was coming to a close. The hope that everyone had for Sakura waking up was slowly dwindling down to a single thin thread. But Sasuke... he still had hope in her. He knew that she heard everything he said, from the good mornings to his pleadings. He knew she heard them all, he just... knew.

Today though was going to be the last... the last of everything. Both them had agreed to fly over to the states to attend college; Sakura pre-med and Sasuke was to continue his studies in Business. They were going to share an apartment together, considering they were already engaged and Sasuke's possessiveness didn't help either. Everything was going to be fine and dandy, a classic happily ever after ending for the couple... that was until this happened.

Sasuke reached and searched for her cold, clammy hand. Grasping it tightly in his bigger one, he took a deep breath. "Please..." Shaking his head, a bitter smirk pulling onto his face, he said, "You're probably the first girl - no person, that I've begged to like this. You better feel special." Rolling his eyes, he muttered, "Oh, what the hell am I talking about. You're fucking special, so fucking special that I'm on my knees asking you to stay." To prove his point, he actually knelt down beside her bed, holding her hand tightly; a classic Sleepy Beauty scene.

Stroking her hand with his thumb, Sasuke choked out, "Listen to me."

"Stay. Stay with me - no, just stay. And wake up... that's all I'm asking. Open your eyes and stay." Sasuke mumbled hotly into her hand, his breath warming up her hands. "You don't have to wake up for me or because of me. Just wake up."

"You can't lay in this bed forever, Sakura. You...you just can't." He argued. "You have to - need to wake up. There's so many things that you need to do, to accomplish, to experience. And I can't - I won't let you let all this time pass by through your fingers just because you're tired and you're too stubborn to wake up. Do you know why?"

"Because you need to get your fucking ass out of this death bed and go to college, whether it's with me or without me, it doesn't fucking matter. You just need to, one way or another. You're going to fucking study your ass off and get that damn medic degree, you hear me? You're going to get that damn paper with your name all fucking pretty and sophisticated with the Dr. Haruno Sakura written all over it. Got it?" Sasuke couldn't even manage to sound angry, his voice was dry and hollow - defeated. "Then you're going to get yourself into the best hospital there is and have fun. You're going to work and enjoy it because you're a doctor and you love it. You're going to get your moment to shine in that pretty little white lab coat of yours, saving thousands of lives."

"You're also going to grow old with that special guy and have kids. And your kids will love you because you're the best mom they can ever have. There wouldn't be a moment where you wouldn't be showered with love." Sasuke continued. "But here's the best part," he began, smirking slightly, "you have to turn twenty-one, sweetheart. You have to experience the burn of vodka drowning down your throat, getting totally wasted at a bar on a Friday night, and that pain in the ass hangover the next morning. And all of the great things once you're twenty-one. Including sex. Yes, I said sex. Whether it's on your honeymoon or in your dorm, you're going to get it."

"I know that I'm speaking gibberish right now - hell, I don't even fucking understand what I'm even talking about but one thing I do know is that you have to stay. Please. Just please, wake up." He implored.