Title: Roses and Thorns
Author: TheTrueAwesomeness
Rating: K+
Setting: Alternate Universe
Pairings: Sakura X Sasuke
Genre: Romance and Drama
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any characters from Naruto. This story, however, is mine.
Summary: You can be sad that roses have thorns or happy that thorns have roses. This time, Sasuke chose the latter. SasuXSaku. Oneshot.
The rain was merciless that afternoon. The sky was a dark shade of gray, the raindrops beating against countless rooftops in Konoha, seemingly trying to force their way into the homes of stranded civilians. The wind was howling loudly as if showing the raindrops its support. An uncomfortable chill in the form of a wispy mist spread throughout the land.
A pink-haired woman watched the scene unfold through her bedroom window. She could hear her boyfriend in the kitchen, moving about, perhaps to make some tea in order to calm himself down. She continued looking out her window with unseeing eyes; she sighed, thinking about how the weather was doing such a good job keeping the proper ambiance. A storm for a storm.
She shivered; it wasn't because of the cold.
A tear crept its way towards her chin, then another, and then suddenly she was sobbing again, her body shaking with the onslaught of her emotions.
How could this happen again? How could they have another fight. This wasn't supposed to happen, at least not again, not this often. They were supposed to have their happily ever, to be lovey dovey, head over heels, after he came back and asked her to be his girlfriend. They were supposed to be. Well, she supposed for nearly a year they did.
But now they don't anymore.
Now, instead they had a fight almost every other day. Instead they woke up their neighbors with the volume and ferocity of their shouts. Instead they rarely slept in the same room.
You were too naïve, thinking things with Sasuke would be perfect. You forgot about the honeymoon stage of relationships. That wonderful first year you had with him was your honeymoon stage, it's over now. She thought to herself bitterly. He spent a good portion of his life as a rogue, Sakura, you barely saw him; he's not the same person you knew growing up.
And that was true. Sasuke was quite different from who he was before he left. He was much more mature now. Much more jaded.
But so was she.
Maybe that was the problem? She thought. That they had not grown together? That they had spent so many years apart, only clinging to image that they had of each other as children, not thinking for a moment that they could change, not considering the possibility that the way the changed could be out of sync.
Maybe they were okay that first year because they were too caught up in being together again to notice how different the other was, and now they've seen it. They've seen how much the other has changed, and neither of them like what they see.
Sakura wrapped her arms around herself as if not doing so would leave her completely unraveled. As if her arms were the glue that could keep her together.
She thought about going down there, talking to Sasuke, maybe they'd make up. Maybe things will be okay again. Like their first year together.
But then that afternoon began with them talking. About how it was going to rain. About Naruto and Hinata getting engaged. All they did was talk. Look where that got them. One was sniveling like a baby, the other was probably downing his fifth cup of tea in an attempt to feel better.
The worst part of it all was that Sakura couldn't even remember what they had fought about. It had only been a few hours, but she had already forgotten. That was the thing about fighting. It could be so easy to forget why you fought, but the feelings, the hurt, the pain, the rift that the fighting caused, they're so difficult to forget. To let go.
She hugged herself even tighter, making her already small frame smaller. That's how she felt, after all, so incredibly small.
Maybe the constant fighting was Kami's way of making her, them see that they're not working out. That they can't work out because they aren't meant to. That, simply, they're not meant to be.
That thought, that simple, innocent thought had Sakura crying even harder. It was a wonder how an idea could cause someone physical pain. But she knew that it was possible. It was exactly what was happening to her, something inside her chest twisting painfully, almost to the point that she couldn't breathe.
It couldn't be though. They were Sasuke and Sakura. They are meant to be.
Aren't they?
The part of her that would always confidently say, "Yes!" when that question came to mind stayed quiet for the first time in her life.
She would have groaned if she weren't crying so hard.
Maybe they aren't meant to be.
Maybe this is just a phase.
Maybe they are meant to be.
Maybe. Maybe. Maybe—
Maybe she was overanalyzing everything.
Before her mind could conjure up another critical thought she heard the door to her room open. She knew it was him. Who else would it be? But this time she didn't turn to look at him. She had too little strength to do so, so instead she stayed in her curled up position, unwilling to acknowledge his presence.
Footsteps. Soft, uncertain. She could hear him approaching, feel him stand only a few inches away, yet she refused to turn her head towards him.
"Sakura," he whispered. His voice was hoarse. As if he too had just finished a bout of crying himself. Perhaps he had, she thought to herself. That twist in her chest was back. This time she looked up.
She could clearly see on his normally blank face, in his usually guarded eyes, that he felt the same anguish that she did. And that he, just like her, despite his constant need to be manly, had shed tears as well.
"Sakura," he said again, this time kneeling in front of her. She could hear sadness in his voice. And, even as the rain adamantly hit the roof of their house, she also heard love.
He held her hand. Gently at first, almost as if she were glass that would break at the smallest application of pressure, but his grip tightened when he whispered, "I'm sorry." She saw a tear slowly trickle down his pale, handsome face. That wasn't right, she thought to herself. Sasuke was not supposed to cry. He was never supposed to cry. Not while she was around. Definitely not because of her.
All thoughts of not being meant to be, of hurting, of pain flew out of her mind and was replaced by the need to comfort him. To love him. And so in a flash the arms that were wrapped securely around herself wrapped around Sasuke instead. "It's okay," she whispered back, "I'm sorry too," she added. Not for fighting, but for causing him so much grief.
He hugged her back, his arms strong and comforting. She was wrong, it wasn't her arms that kept her from unraveling, it was him.
They stayed that way for what felt like an eternity, their breaths and the pitter patter of rain the only disturbance in the otherwise silent home. They both knew that things weren't easy, but neither of them cared. Neither of them cared how hard it was going to be as long as they had the person they were holding onto so tightly.
Finally, Sasuke pulled away. Not completely, no, only a few inches so that he could see her face.
"You make me glad that we're fighting," he said so softly that she almost didn't hear.
Her eyebrows knit together.
"What? Why?"
"Because it means that I still have you."
In that moment Sakura felt glad too.
A/N: Okay, this was random. More of a Drabble than a OneShot, I suppose. Huehuehue. The last line though, that is true to life. Review? :)