dezmari:

SasuSaku Month 2017
Day 12: Lights out Words Gone

This is a part two the the prompt of Day 7: Love You Goodbye. I was so surprised people actually liked it here’s a second part. This is for: @mcornilliac, @freshtoxinn, @cherrybipsa, and @gravityphoneperson. I’m glad you liked it.

Against everything in him Sasuke returns to the village,
Sakura’s words ringing in his head. “Stay
here…with me or leave and never come back.” He feels shame after being away
for seven years.

He keeps tabs on them through Naruto and he can live in a self-imposed
exile because he knows they are alright. But when Naruto tells him about Sakura
ending up as a patient in her own hospital time and time again he couldn’t not
listen.

“It’s always the same,
chakra depletion, she’s always up and running again in a few days. But I worry
for her.” She was overworking herself, pushing herself so hard she didn’t
have the energy to think. He knows that escape well enough.

He sneaks into her hospital room past midnight, the lights
are out in the room, but the moon outsides shines through the window and illuminates
the room. Her back is turned to him as she lies on her side, her pink hair
longer than he remembers.

“What are you doing here?” She asks, her tone hard.

He wanted to see her, needed
to see her, but he hasn’t planned beyond that. “Naruto told me about this
little game you’re playing.” His tone is harsher than he intended. She senses
it too because she brings herself into a sitting position and turns to him, her
eyes narrowed.

“You don’t get to come here after all these years and judge
me.” Her tone is controlled but her eyes were screaming at him, letting out years
of pent up anger. He remains silent until the anger drains out of them as they
realize the futility of it. What’s anger
going to do now? What’s done is done.

Her eyes are filled with pain then, in a way that mirrors
his own. After all these years she still hurts by abandonment, by watching him
walk away from her and their daughter, choosing duty again. He still hurts by having had to walk away.

He had resolved not to, he was going to stay. But there was
a threat, Naruto needed him, and when Sasuke declined the request Naruto had to
order it as Hokage. “No one in the village
can know.” And so he walked away and by preventing the threat to reach
their gates he saved countless lives by forfeiting his family.

He left that night with no words to them, there was nothing
he was in liberty to say that he hadn’t said before. His only parting words
were to Naruto. “Tell Sakura, I’m sorry
for everything.” Words he hadn’t had the strength to tell her himself. To
which Naruto replied, “I’m the one who
should be sorry.” You’re damn right you should be, you tore us apart.
Sasuke had resented Naruto a long time for it.

“I’m sorry for everything… for leaving, for coming back, for
breaking this family apart, I-” She cuts him off and he can see as tears form
in her eyes.

“I found out why you had to do it, I was so mad! I was mad
at Naruto, at you, at myself until there was no more anger in me. I had driven
you away, you chose not to fight me for us… and you never came back.” She wipes
the tears away.

“So much time wasted.” She murmurs and Sasuke wants to reach
out to her and take her in his arms but he holds himself in place. Too much time. They can’t go back to how
things were.

He takes a step back, he didn’t plan for when he had to walk
away. “I don’t know how to leave again.” He admits and when his eyes turn to
her there’s a smile on her lips.

“Then stay.” In two words she offers him the world. They can’t
go back to how things were but if he doesn’t walk away it’s a start.