Title: Dreaming
Day/Theme: Aug. 29 / without sense of time lost
Character/Pairing: Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto
A/N: A bit...odd...I'm not sure if the ending is needed. I'm considering getting rid of it entirely.
Summary: This is a recurring dream, not a reality. Just a dream that they fall in and out of, like travelers searching for an oasis.
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This is a recurring dream:
They, for it is never just one or two of the team. No, it is always all three, sometimes four or even six, but always the three at the very least. They are together, doing something normal, something ordinary.
It's a picnic, a swim, a race, a walk home. They move, slipping through the world like an old movie. She is always two steps behind, smiling and lacing her fingers through each other. Naruto is trying to keep one step ahead; Sasuke is walking calmly but with a bit of a jut.
They are as they have always been, as they used to be. As they should be. Naruto argues and jokes, occasionally rubbing his head when he makes a blunder. There are awkward pauses, Sasuke grimacing and scowling when Naruto goes one step too far, before Sakura makes a random comment.
It's almost, almost, like those first few months in Team Seven.
(Almost, only Sakura jokes with Naruto and Naruto grabs on to them too much, affirming they are here, with him, and there is always this step between Sasuke and Sakura, one that isn't crossed no matter how much Sasuke relaxes or Sakura smiles. Some things can't be undone.)
They reach their destination, this fork on the road, and Sasuke goes left while Sakura goes right. Naruto stands in the middle, and stares at the blue sky.
They stop, and look back, and make maybe the tiniest of steps to each other.
The tiniest, until it grows, like a colt's first steps, and then-
They wake up.
Sakura rubs her bleary eyes, stretching as she glances at the alarm clock. It's 4 am and she has just enough time to take a shower before she leaves for the hospital. If she happens to glance at the group photo before she leaves, her eyes soften slightly and her hands hover over the doorknob. Then she turns away and continues.
Naruto groans and rolls over, ignoring the bright red digital numbers. It's still too early for him and his stomach is starting to grumble. He still has to buy some sort of groceries or risk the spoiled milk. His arm hits the frame but he catches it before it falls. Sleepily, he curls up around the picture, dozing off once more.
Sasuke trains. He doesn't dream. He doesn't reminisce. He doesn't try to at the very least. If he avoids looking at the sky or the green grass, his companions say nothing of it.
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