Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. I simply own this specific plot.
"You tell me that you need me, but then you go and cut me down."
~Timbaland~
Love Me
He was there, like he had been for so many nights as of late. He sat there, as if it was him that spot belonged to. As if it was he that had left her with some of her most precious, yet confusing, memories. As if he had been the one that haunted her dreams – sleeping and waking.
"Is there something you need?"
"Lie to me."
No, that conversation did not belong to him. He wasn't right. His hair, his eyes, his voice, even his skin tone – none were right. And yet, he dared to sit up on that rooftop just as Gaara had; just as Sakura herself had after Gaara had left.
"I need you, Gaara."
"Then break me."
Those words she had uttered, those beautiful words – her confession of feelings. Was it love? Probably not, and yet it meant so much more to her than any childish "feelings" that she once had for him. The man who did, in fact, used to haunt her dreams. The man whom she had claimed to love more than life itself. The man who had, in the end, not just broken her heart; he had shattered it. And that was so much worse.
She turned away once more, as she had made a habit of, only to be stopped - this time by a voice. A voice that was all wrong; it was not Gaara's voice. This voice, while it too sent shivers down her spine, she could say that there was a huge difference. With Gaara, it had been from anticipation – what would he do next? – mixed with the adrenaline that a little fear will give you. Because, what's more frightening than being alone with one who had almost killed you at one point?
This voice though, belonging to him, gave her a different type of fear all together. A fear that he could strike at any moment. And he had before, hadn't he? He was the personification of everything she feared and hated. Someone that she couldn't save – no matter how hard she tried – and who turned his back on, not only her, but Naruto. The one person who cared for him more than he cared for anyone else – even himself. And that bastard left him.
For a brief moment she considered not stopping – leave him like he had left her. Ignore his existence like he had ignored hers for so many painful years. But she waited, because she wouldn't stoop to his level, not like that.
"Why?"
She stiffened, "Why what?"
"Why, do you come here?"
Still not looking at him, "That, Uchiha, is none of your business."
She continued on her way but then, he grabbed her wrist – just like Gaara had done so many times before – and she snapped because he wasn't allowed to touch her. He wasn't the red head of her thoughts.
"What do you want from me Uchiha?" it was screamed.
"Why am I Uchiha all of a sudden?"
She glared into his eyes – the ones that she knew to be a cold and dull brown – and hissed, "You were no longer my Sasuke as soon as you tried to kill Naruto and I. You have lost any friendship you may have had left with me."
As she ripped her wrist away, he grabbed the other one.
"Sakura…" he murmured her name so gently it caught her off guard – she quit fighting.
"W-what –"
"I'm sorry, I never meant to lose you – not forever. I thought –"
"You thought what? That when you came back I would still be here, waiting for you?" she shook her head sadly, "I'm not that girl anymore."
"P-please Sakura, love me." He pleaded in a whisper.
One lone tear slid down her cheek as she answered, "No, I can't love you Sasuke. I can't."
"Why?"
"You aren't Gaara."
He finally let her walk away.
