Title: Healing

Summary: His heart only opens when hers wants to close.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I wouldn't mind owning Sasuke-kun though.

Theme: Post-canon

Medium: Fanfiction

Rating: T

Warning(s): Emotional, Violence

Comments: Short drabbles for now. This is part 6 of _?

EDIT: May 27, 2012: This is an edited version of chapter 6. Some errors were fixed and I added line breaks. Chapter 7 should show up in a little bit. I'm finishing it up. I apologize for the month-long wait.

-S-

"Oh. So now, it's foolish? What happened to 'annoying'?" Sakura asked, fighting the urge to yell at him. Sasuke had such an angelic face, but as soon as he opened his mouth the devilish smirk came out and Sakura wanted nothing more than to punch him. There she was giving him space, taking care of him (beyond what is required from doctors and nurses), and he insulted her. "And what makes you think I wouldn't have? That kunai has a very strong poison on it. It comes from a rare type of –"

"—snake venom, specifically Blue Krait,* which I have been mostly immunized against over the years. That, and various other poisonous substances. And you already know that because you are one of the medics attending me." Sasuke interrupted her. Really, Sasuke was getting on her nerves. She was already very tired from having to heal a pervert that was beaten up by a group of civilian fathers. Sakura had wanted nothing more than to break his nose, but her duties prevented her from doing so. She was about to speak again, but Sasuke abruptly cut her off confidently claiming, "You were unable to do it when your life was in danger. Much less now, considering I have sided with Konoha."

Sakura was rendered speechless at that. Sasuke did not even have his Sharingan activated and he could easily detect her lies. With a sigh, she decided that she should probably tell Naruto soon. Ever since Sasuke had come back, Naruto was always there, trying to patch up their Team. He was proving that the Naruto Bridge truly deserved his name.

"Fine. You're right as always. But… that doesn't really answer why you would…" Sakura had started out sounding irritated, but the concern won out, even as she fought to veil it. His explanation was true, of course. Yet, rather than explaining his own actions, he twisted the conversation so that he was in control. Sasuke gave answers that only served to confuse Sakura even more.

The wind rustled through the open windows. The hustle and bustle of the hospital murmured just outside the door. Still, to Sakura, it was a deafening silence again. One that Sasuke would not break. She knows this from experience. Who was the one that would sit at his bedside for hours despite the silence? Some things would remain the same. Sakura allowed herself to take some comfort in that. Even if a nagging voice in her asked if that was truly enough to console her. With a loud sigh, Sakura stood up and handed Sasuke the tray of food.

Sakura strode over to the door, taking carefully measured steps. Not too slow, not wanting to show hesitance, but not too speedy. She could not have Sasuke thinking she could not handle him. Admitting defeat for the time being, she slowly turned the knob. As her right leg crossed the threshold, Sasuke's voice drifted to her ears. It lacked the usual confidence and authority that every syllable from his mouth commanded.

"I don't know, Sakura."

It's the first time in years Sasuke has admitted to not knowing something.

-S-

As Sakura left the room in a daze, going back over her conversation with Sasuke several times, she found it was surreal. She heard every word, but somehow it all sounded like a foreign language. In hindsight, she should have just gone back to avoiding him. Deciding that Sasuke's words was not something she wanted to deal with at the moment, she shoved aside their conversation and saved it for a restless night.

When Sakura opened her office door, she was unsurprised to find Sai and Naruto already occupied her navy blue plastic chairs, comfortably shaped like gentle waves. Nor was she surprised to see no trace of laughter on his sun-tanned face.

"Sakura-chan, why was Sasuke poisoned?" He immediately asked, blue eyes looking at her, not in the same scrutinizing way that Sasuke's did, but still searching.

"I didn't poison him. He did that to himself," Sakura finally relented, finding herself defensive even though there was no hint of accusation in Naruto's voice. Naruto would just keep on pestering her until he got an answer anyway. No matter how many times she slammed the door on his face, Naruto would keep trying.

"The kunai and the poison were mine. But I wasn't planning on using it. I wanted to show him that we're different. We can't kill our own teammates. I wanted to see how he would react. But he took it from me…, " she trailed off, looking away from Naruto and Sai. The latter was silently observing the interaction, but she trusted that both of them would be able to piece it all together.

There was a short pause. Then Naruto shook his head, looking down on the floor and said in a voice far quieter than his normal tone, "He still hasn't forgiven himself." Another pause, and a new determination sparked in Naruto's voice, "Before we left the campsite to search for the rest of Danzo's minions, he wanted to see you. I think he wanted to apologize, Sakura-chan."

"I cannot confirm his ideas, but I can verify that the Uchiha did repeatedly appear before the medical tent. But he always left seconds later," Sai spoke up, noting his observations like a scientist reading lab results.

"That's ridiculous, Naruto. Sasuke wouldn't apologize to me, of all people. He was probably trying to ask for medical supplies. At least he had the decency to realize, it's impolite to disturb the girl he repeatedly tried to kill!" Sakura was seething by now. Naruto was trying to patch up Team Seven again, pretending they were all one big happy family. She had already acknowledged that a part of her could not stop caring for Sasuke, but she had no intentions of befriending a murderer.

"Give him a chance, Sakura-chan! Don't you remember? Sasuke has always cared about you. He never wanted to hurt -"

"Enough, Naruto! I refuse to listen to your constant defense of that traitor." Sakura was not yelling, but the hurt and malice was clear in her voice. "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

Naruto stood up and dragged Sai out the door, conceding that it was pointless to argue with Sakura when she refused to be swayed.

-S-

A/N:

1) Blue Krait is a real snake. It ranks at #3 in a list of most venomous snakes. Sasuke was immunized against it (courtesy of Orochimaru. That evil scientist was good for something after all!), but it's still a very potent neurotoxin. The effect was some muscle paralysis, which is why Sasuke immediately slumped down. Death happens within a few hours. So, Sasuke did still have to receive some antivenin but honestly, I forgot to include that. Let's just pretend Tsunade gave him some after healing his wounds.

2) An anon reviewer mentioned grammar errors. Please point them out to me. To be honest, I don't edit chapters before I post them… I just want to immediately post them. I'm the type of person that waits a while before going back and editing things. Because if I check it now, I won't catch the mistakes. I give it some time then go back and edit.

3) Oh, and kudos to mistressinwaiting! (Belated happy birthday, BTW) She caught the Itachi reference. ("Foolish girl" from last chapter). I really like Itachi in the manga, but usually dislike him in fanfics because they put him in a love triangle with Sakura and Sasuke (which I detest very much).

4) It's been brought to my attention that some readers may be confused about the interactions between Team 7, like why Naruto pokes fun at Sasuke so easily. My answer: It will be revealed in upcoming chapters. There's a reason for that and I'm very glad that the readers are noticing that something seems amiss.

5) Why do my line breaks keep disappearing? I just used -S- instead. I hope that's alright.