It's an irrefutable fact that Sasuke loves Sakura. Some fans may want that bond to be a platonic relationship, but whether one interprets Sasuke and Sakura's bond to be platonic or romantic, the series repeatedly shows that Sasuke does care deeply about Sakura and she's one of the people closest to him. There is far too much evidence showing that Sasuke genuinely cares about Sakura for any convincing case to be made to the contrary. I don't care if fans totally hate the ship, but one can't ignore that Sasuke had feelings for Sakura without being irrationally and illogically biased.

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A few things that need to be understood about Sasuke's personality, such as his reserved, chivalrous nature. Sasuke may be bold in battle, but he's far less confident when it comes to relationships, especially romantic relationships. I think fans look as his usual gruff, tough exterior when he's fixated on his missions and goals and assume that he's that confident, certain, and courageous 100% of the time, even in regards to his relationships. But surprisingly, at times Sasuke is uncertain and lacks confidence in his relationships. When it comes to romance, Sasuke is extremely reserved and modest. He's shy about romantic relationships, to the point when he'll only open up romantically to someone he really trusts. Thus why the usually stoic Sasuke is so visibly uncomfortable by Karin's unwanted advances.

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Sasuke is affectionate, but he doesn't lavish attention constantly or excessively. When he makes the effort for a sign of affection, it's not an offhand sweet-nothing. Sasuke's gestures of affection, whether great or small in appearance, are always great. Sasuke isn't showy with his feelings, and it makes his shows of affection all the more potent and meaningful, because you know that when he does finally show what's in his heart with an expression of affection, it means it's really important, not a trivial matter.

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Sasuke is very emotional, but that doesn't mean that Sasuke spews his emotions everywhere or that he wears his heart on his sleeve for all to see. It's the opposite. Sasuke's reserved nature typically holds him back from openly sharing or expressing his opinion much of the time. An introvert, he prefers to keep intel, information, feelings, and opinions to himself. It's his personality. Sasuke conveys his feelings and affection quietly, subtly, and indirectly, like the rest of his family did.

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It might help to remember that Sasuke's goal for about 600 episodes of the series was revenge. With revenge and later world domination on his plate, he didn't have room to think about settling down and committing to a lifelong partner. At one point his objective (cutting himself off from all bonds and friendship) went directly against that.

 

Besides, Sasuke was a child in Part I, and frankly he was too young to be thinking about romantic relationships anyway until the very end of the series, when he finally reached the maturity of adulthood. Sasuke only expressed romantic interest when he has the mental maturity of an adult and had reached a point where he could seriously consider having a romantic partner. To me this is a lot more normal than a kid crushing on their love interest since the age of 5. Even so, long before Sasuke saw Sakura as a romantic interest, Sakura was Sasuke's closest friend along with Naruto. Their friendship during their Team 7 days created the foundation for their relationship that later blossomed into romantic love.

 

Sasuke's love language is acts of service, which means that he shows his love for his friends/family through his work. He shows his love for his family by doing things for them, which is why he spends all his time out on missions protecting his family and their homeland.

 

Some fans have claimed that Sasuke is emotionless (a laughably juvenile and false view of Sasuke's character, considering how expressive and emotional he is throughout the series) or that he isn't able to properly to show feelings anymore due to his trauma. It's more of a case that Sasuke operates on an entirely different emotional frequency than other people do, which is why the whole series was about Naruto and Sakura both having to learn how to tune into Sasuke's frequency and understand his love language. Once you can read the frequency, his character becomes practically an open book. But this takes time (and probably watching the series about 3 times and carefully pondering his scenes) before Sasuke's love language frequency becomes decodable and easy to understand.

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Similarly, fans have claimed that Sasuke is emotionally handicapped or unable to express emotions, or too emotionally damaged to be able to express affection. This is incorrect. One could perhaps argue he is emotionally stunted, but it would be far better to clearly state the issue: Sasuke has severe trust issues, he has C-PTSD and survivor's guilt, and he's not ostentatious or showy with displays of affection. As I've said, he is emotionally reserved and a a sensitive person who takes things very personally and seriously. He doesn't freely throw signs of affection at people. Sasuke is quiet and subtle in nature, and so is his love language. Sasuke is plenty able to express himself when he wants to, and he expresses himself and his feelings for his friends plenty of times throughout the series. Sasuke may operate on a different frequency of showing emotion that's unique and not necessarily always easy for those around him to read (it's certainly not easy for the audience to understand), but he's definitely able to express himself when he wants to. He might be reserved, hesitant, or even shy with expressing his love for others, but he's definitely capable of doing it. He's not as emotionally inept as fans try to make him out to be.

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I find Sasuke to be perfectly capable of expressing emotion, and we see that in several times with his wife. He still displays the normal signs of affection: cheering her up when she's upset, kissing his wife, having meaningful conversations with her, holding hands, memorizing the shape and appearance of Sakura, saving her life, expressing admiration for his spouse, smiling because of his spouse (and Sasuke is a guy who rarely smiles), etc. He shows vulnerability, openness, and honesty with his partner and doesn't feel the need to hide undesirable aspects of his character from her. I agree Sasuke is cryptic, subtle, and reserved with his feelings, but even so it's not quite as much as fans make him out to be. He's still expressive with his feelings. You just have to know what to look for.