New Beginnings
Disclaimer: Not mine. Still.
Sakura walked through the corridors of SGS headquarters, specific destination in mind. She knew it was late, but she didn't know how late exactly and she didn't want to know. She'd deliberately avoided looking at anything that would tell her what the time was, not wanting to see red flashing numbers blaring at her accusingly. While she didn't see anything wrong with working hard, she knew she was sometimes a bit obsessive about it, especially if it was something that held her attention, but she didn't appreciate being thought a workaholic. She knew how to relax. She just didn't do it very often around the others.
She stopped abruptly when she reached the balcony. It was her favourite place for thinking or simply being, but tonight someone else had beaten her there.
"You're up late."
She didn't know how he did it. She knew she hadn't made any noise, but he'd still noticed her presence anyway. All before she'd even been able to pinpoint which of her team-mates it was.
"So are you," she replied, not giving away how startled she'd been. She supposed it was part of his old life, before he joined SGS. Only Eiji had the same preternatural awareness of his surroundings. That awareness was something they all possessed, you wouldn't get far as a Boukenger if you didn't, but those two had it stronger than the rest of them, an awareness they'd both honed in their pre-SGS days.
She joined him at the balcony, the light brown hair glinting in the pale light of the moon, the same smile on his face as he always wore flashing briefly. "Couldn't sleep."
It was only then she realised that the trousers slung low on his hips weren't his usual ones, but a dark pair of sweatpants instead. It made sense though, she thought. It would probably be really uncomfortable sleeping in leather trousers. She shook off the thought and turned her attention to the view outside the window. "I didn't think anyone would be here," she said. It was as much of an apology as she could give considering he was invading her place of reflection.
The smile grew a little more. "Neither did I." Despite herself she smiled back. That smile was infectious, once you saw it, it made you want to smile in response. On the surface Souta seemed open and instantly made you want to trust him. It was probably why he'd been so accomplished as a spy, people told him things, fooled by the seemingly open expressions and 'trust me' smiles.
That was why she'd refused to do so for the longest time.
Oh, she knew better now, of course and she would place her life in his hands without question, but back then that possibility was ridiculous, and she would have recommended immediate psychiatric evaluation for anyone who suggested it.
Noticing Souta had turned his head back to the view outside, she studied him carefully out the corner of her eye. For the first time in years she realised how truly little she knew this team-mate. Chief she thought she knew pretty well, although being blindsided by a couple of his more recent actions shook that faith a little. Masumi and Natsuki she was beginning to get to know, and Eiji… well, he was still new, but she thought she understood him a little better now than she had done. But Souta… she'd known him for a few years now, and yet she knew practically nothing about him. She wondered what had driven him out of his bed this evening, seeking solace - or solitude - out here.
Her scrutiny revealed a tension in him that was unusual. His body was tightly wound, despite the deceptively relaxed slouch against the balcony railing, and there were fine lines around his eyes that spoke of pain. His spy days, she decided. She didn't think there was anything that had happened since he'd accepted the blue accellular that would cause that kind of pain.
"Why did you decide to join SGS?" The question was out before she even realised she'd spoken and she forced herself not to give away her chagrin when he looked across at her in surprise. A couple of indescribable expressions flickered over his face, shadows there then gone, as if they'd never been, before the smile was back, the smile that hid so much.
"Everyone is looking for something. A Treasure that belongs only to them."
She smiled slightly as she recognised the quote. "Chief said that to me as well."
The smile became a quicksilver grin. "He does seem to like saying it," Souta agreed and she decided not to point out that that wasn't an answer. It had been a very personal thing to ask anyway and she knew that if it had been the other way round, she wouldn't have answered either.
"Did I ever apologise?"
Souta's startled and confused expression clearly said he had no idea what she was talking about.
"For my reaction when you joined SGS," she clarified and the confusion disappeared.
"Not in words."
Sakura flushed slightly, hoping it wouldn't be noticed in the dark, but before she could say anything, she was pre-empted by Souta continuing, "But you didn't need to. I never blamed you for your reaction." Now the smile had faded a little, becoming slightly ironic and the normally open expression was tense. "You were right not to trust me back then."
The last sentence was a kick in the gut and she began to wonder what he meant, if he'd done something or…
"I wouldn't have trusted me either."
She let out the breath she hadn't even realised she'd been holding.
"I think that is one thing we have in common, Sakura," he said. "Neither of us is particularly trusting."
"The past is the past," she said quietly. "We can't do anything about it now."
Whatever Souta had been about to say, it was cut off by the soft sound of a door closing, followed by softer footsteps along the corridor. Exchanging glances, they both readied themselves, just in case. But it wasn't necessary. Chief stared at them in surprise and… chagrin? at being spotted, but he covered it by gathering all the dignity he could muster and nodded at them in acknowledgement before calmly stepping into Eiji's room.
It was with a start of surprise that she realised the action didn't give her the blow to the gut feeling it always had, and she wondered when exactly she'd gotten over him, because there was no one point she could look back at and say that was where she realised that while she respected the Chief, and maybe loved him in some way, she was no longer in love with him. It was a strange feeling, strange but liberating, and she no longer felt like she was in a competition she was never going to win.
Turning back to the balcony, she noticed Souta studying her carefully and she met his gaze with a calm look of her own. Whatever he was looking for he seemed to find it, because his eyebrows shot up in surprise, along with another of those undecipherable expressions, before he too turned back to the view.
Despite the interruption, or perhaps because of it, the conversation flowed easier and Sakura found herself simply enjoying the presence of her team-mate. The time seemed to fly past as the sky gradually lightened, and she didn't even mind the sleep she wasn't getting.
When Satoru left Eiji's room the following morning, intent on finding fresh clothes for the day, he was somewhat annoyed to find Sakura and Souta still on the balcony. Finding them there the previous night had been a surprise and distinctly uncomfortable considering where he was headed and the identical amused expressions on both faces. Still, they hadn't appeared to be having a secret tryst or anything, not that he could reprimand them for it even if they had been, so he'd simply acknowledged them and gone into Eiji's room, as if he were caught sleeping with a team-mate all the time.
However, his initial annoyance at finding them there turned to amusement at the slightly compromising position they were in. Both were asleep, but Sakura was leaning into Souta, her face buried in his chest, and Souta for his part had an arm loosely around her waist, his head resting against the top of hers.
He smiled softly and walked carefully back to his own room so as not to wake them. Over recent weeks he'd seen signs that Sakura was no longer hung up on him and he had been relieved. He'd hated knowing he was hurting her even while he was following his heart, pursuing something he couldn't deny, but now it seemed he didn't have to worry anymore.
Maybe Sakura was beginning to see what had been in front of her all along.