Dedicated To: Ally and Jenni. And Mother Goddess Beyonce. Without you, Beyonce, I would have never finished this. Thank you, Beyonce. Thank you.
Author's Note: This was originally a minific for one of those imagineyourotp posts (on tumblr), but then I didn't stop. This was nice practice for another one-shot I'm working on. And for a fun fact: The title of this one-shot was almost Goofy Grins, Presumed Mistakes and Old Sins.
"You've been losing weight." He wasn't accusing her. He was simply stating it. It's been some time since she's been here, so he was bound to notice. She didn't even need to lose weight, she's perfectly fit.
He moved his thumb to her lips when she didn't respond. "You shouldn't be worried for me." He expected at least a snort from her. Nothing. She really was worried. He brought his hand up back to her cheek, cupping it. "Sakura, I said you shouldn't—"
She clasped her hand on top of his. "I heard. It's… it's not that. The hospital has been busier than usual. I haven't had any time to have a proper meal in weeks. It's also why I haven't visited you in a while."
"That's a lie." Now that was an accusation.
"You think everything I say is." Now that was an accusation.
His smile was miniscule, but nevertheless, a smile. She was challenging him again. "And that's another."
He waited.
Once more, he moved his hand when she didn't say anything. This time, he brought his fingers to her forehead. (She had always been made fun for it because it was supposedly larger than normal. Sasuke had never notice anything different from Sakura's to any other's. In all of his life, Sasuke couldn't understand why women would point out every flaw. Heaven forbid you had a forehead ¼ of a centimeter wider than what was considered average.) He could feel creases as she pushed her brows together. She wasn't angry or confused. He knew she wasn't. Those creases were caused from her worrying too much. Sasuke was done with all lying. He expected no one else to lie to him—especially Sakura.
Being lost within his thoughts, he was startled when she got up and walked into the kitchen. He swore he heard her sniffling. There was metal clanking and draw slamming from her search of a certain object. Given where she was currently standing, and the noise of his refrigerator opening and closing, it was a utensil for food purposes. He heard chopping then the smell came to him. Apples. The last time she had given him some, he knocked the whole tray out of her hands. His angsty younger self was in no mood for acts of kindness. The Sasuke today would be more than happy to have slices of apples to eat, but this wasn't the time. The chopping stopped and Sakura cursed. She cut herself. (He assumed that's what she did since he couldn't see.) He knew that she would quickly heal herself.
"Konoha's top medicinal ninja, who can heal anyone and anything, but can't cut food without managing to hurt herself," he remarked. It was jokingly, though. He even made sure to give a goofy grin. Sasuke and goofy grin most certainly did not belong in the same sentence. So for him to be willing to show her, it meant what he said shouldn't be taken seriously.
Maybe she didn't look in his direction. Maybe she was so focused on her cut that she only heard him and thought it true. There was a loud bang—her fist hitting the counter?—and Sasuke actually jumped in his seat.
"I couldn't heal you." He wasn't supposed to hear that. It wasn't even supposed to be said. But it was, so he did. Even if she had mumbled it, it wouldn't have stopped him.
He hesitated. "I told you, and Naruto, and everyone else in this damn world, I've coped with it. It wasn't easy, but I coped."
He knew she was shifting around. He could only imagine what she looked like. Elbows on the counter while she held her head in her hands? Probably.
Sakura's short, shallow sob prepared him. He had been ready since she first arrived today. The reason she hadn't been around. The reason she's been worried. The reason why she would lie to him.
"Your eyes were everything," Sakura whispered, "and I couldn't save them."
It was Sasuke's turn to get up. He had been living in this house for seven years now, but he still had to keep his arms stretched out in front and to the sides of him while taking small steps. It wasn't because of furniture being rearranged—they were in the same exact spot since Sasuke moved here—he had a horrible tenacity to leave random objects lying around. He used to keep everything organized, but over time, he lost interest in tidiness. You couldn't blame him. He wasn't going to see his messes, so it wouldn't aggravate him.
The touch of the cold marble counter on his fingers, and his pinky toe slamming into the corner of a cabinet, notified Sasuke of his arrival. He reached out for Sakura, his fingertips grazed her arm, but she pulled away before he got close. She couldn't go far, though. The room was barely big enough for one person to move in, let alone two. Given where she was standing, Sakura could only move backwards.
"Sasuke… please don't." Sakura begged. That wasn't going to stop him. She was ready to push him away, but Sakura was off guard when he wrapped his arms around her waist. He was hugging her? The man wasn't known for being affectionate.
Sasuke knew Sakura was debating whether to throw him off of her or not.
She gave in. She let her arms move in between Sasuke's and his torso, and held him tightly. Sasuke felt his shirt damping where Sakura laid her head on his chest.
"I couldn't save them," she sobbed. "I tried and tried and tried, but—I—I! I'm sorry. I am so sorry. I am so, so, so, so—"
She stopped when Sasuke bit her ear. (And yes, she did yelp.) He said something that sounded like, "Sorry," but she wasn't one hundred percent positive.
"I'm not able to see anymore," Sasuke muttered into her ear, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to forget everything I've already seen. That's in the past now. No one can change it."
He felt Sakura ball her fist with the back of his shirt. "It's still my fault."
"No, it's not. It was mine." She flinched. Sakura gazed up to Sasuke. Their eyes met, not that he would never know. "My eyes were the price to pay for my mistakes. A consequence."
It was silent for a few minutes. Sasuke thought maybe Sakura was finally forgiving herself. But when she started to giggle, he was honestly surprise. "What?"
She wiped away some tears and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You would have never said that before."
He pulled her close, burying his face in her neck. "That's 'cause I wasn't listening before. It's easier now." He gave her a quick peck on the shoulder before standing up straight. "Are you done with those apples? I'm hungry."
"Depends. Are you going to knock them out of my hands again?"
Sasuke clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. "That was a challenge."
"Was it? Was it really?"
"And that's another."