I feel like I need to apologize for my long absence and completely abandoning my ongoing series (which I will try to get to as soon as possible, I'm determined to finish it). Thank you for reading and thank you for the patience. For now, all I have is this little drabble so, enjoy.
It came in flashes, completely randomly. Brought on by the chill he felt sneaking in through the edges of his clothes, reminding him of how she always insisted he wore his scarf during the rare times Konoha got cold. Or by the insufferable heat, making him feel like he was stuck in an oven, reminding him of how her usually straight hair turned into a frizzy, curly mess at the ends, sticking to her thin neck.
It was all still quite new to Sasuke, not denying his affections for his teammates, especially the pink haired wonder who managed to invade his thoughts more often than he would have liked. It was still hard, of course, not allowing the fear of loving someone overwhelm him, stop his heart and drain the blood from his face, because he had known before what it was to love someone strongly and to lose them afterwards.
Which is why, this time, things would be different. Which is why even though he missed them and their company, he'd leave as often as he needed to, and for however long it took to get answers. Because he would never again allow them to live in a world where they could get hurt.
But on this particular night, as Sasuke Uchiha camped out beneath the stars, he was reminded of Sakura by the crescent moon, its rays illuminating the forest better than the dying fire he had lit a few hours ago. He looked at the stars and tried to count them, and when he decided the number was too big to continue, he realized the same could be said about the ways in which he had managed to hurt the ones who loved him the most.
Sakura Haruno, whose mouth never closed for more than a few minutes. Whose naive, ignorant view of life used to annoy him to death. Sakura, whose blind affection for him used to cause him nothing but irritation, whose never ending stream of attempts to get him to waste his time on dates made him want to erase the concept of team work forever.
Sakura Haruno, whose arms caught him as he was ready to fall more times than he would like to admit. Whose determination made her work herself to the bone, all for a man who would deny her more times than any normal human could survive. Sakura, whose love and drive were so endless, so selfless, Sasuke could hardly believe the universe, after all this time, would allow him to be on the receiving end of such inhuman emotions.
The crescent moon had always reminded him of that one night. And her words were still fresh in his mind, loud and clear, as she had repeated them many times afterwards. He remembered the way in which his heart ached for normality, to turn around and tell her how incredibly stupid it was to assume he had hated her. But he never did.
A little feeling, hidden deep inside of him, started to come to the surface. And as Sasuke was looking up at the sky, wondering if Sakura was doing the same, he realized why that was. Remembering small details about her, things so insignificant he didn't even think it was possible to remember them, was the first sign of it, but of course denial soon followed every time his brain thought of entertaining the idea. But, not tonight.
Tonight, he physically ached to see her. Sasuke felt a sense of urgency, an undeniable need to make up for lost time, and for all of his mistakes. He wanted to sprint through the woods, back to Konoha, which stood a long, long way back, and show her. While having no doubt in his mind she would wait, he wanted nothing more but to go back and stop her from waiting day after day.
He wanted the truth, and to find answers, some of which he already had, he wanted redemption and to atone for his sins but after six long months he felt a bit of selfishness stir up inside of him. Because, above all, he wanted her with him, to see the world and see her in it. So he sat up, his body refusing to lay down any longer, and for the first time in a long time he had acted on impulse, so he didn't walk but he ran.