Inexhaustible

"Love given away wholeheartedly, inclusively, and unconditionally is inexhaustible."

Sakura can't remember where she read this, or why, but she believes in it.

Believed in it.

She had everything at her fingertips- at least, that's how it felt now. Naruto wouldn't leave her alone, she slept, breathed and ate with her teammates, and the most heartache she suffered was when Sasuke said 'no' to her requests for dates.

If only she had known Naruto would leave her to wander the world with his new sensei. That she would ache for something as tiny as the chance to see her team together again, even if it meant blows would be exchanged. And Sasuke. She wished her biggest fear concerning him was his rejection. Who knew what he faced in his new life- one hand-picked and conspicuously absent of her. Of everyone. She wasn't even sure she'd know who he was anymore.

Once, when Sakura's hair was still past her shoulders (though it wouldn't be for much longer) and her heart still forming callouses against petty hurts, she had given up on Sasuke.

When she had been trying to win Sasuke over, every smile was a victory, every consideration a success. She couldn't help herself- she may not be the best at ninjutsu, or taijutsu, but this was a battle she could win- or so she thought.

Sasuke was not nearly as convinced, it would seem.

But Sakura was a modern woman- there was bound to be a beautiful, talented man that would appreciate her, right?! She absolutely refused to love that stubborn ass of a man any longer.

It was the worst possible choice she could have made. Stripped of romantic intentions, Sasuke Uchiha merely became…her teammate. There was no adrenaline rush and smug satisfaction when he grinned at her, just the quiet thumping of a pulse that recognized the blessing of good genes. When he walked her home, she didn't feel triumphant but...shy. Affected. Without tunnel vision, she was finally seeing Sasuke... all of Sasuke. He caught her crying after a particularly miserable training exercise. She had become accustomed to his criticisms, but instead he held out a hand to her, and told her he thought she was improving. It hit her how much she preferred this Sasuke to the one she had chased- how much more endeared he had become to her.

She felt her heart might overflow. She felt more grateful than if he had said yes to every single one of her date requests. She took his hand, and mentally waved her white flag. By refusing to love him, she had effectively managed only to cement herself to the emotion more firmly. It was with a sense of half-amused fatalism that she mused that Sasuke would forever be wrapped in her affections- that she couldn't help but to adore him.

He was arrogant, and frustrating, and moody, and a person finally, and Sakura thought nothing could break her, that love flourished even without encouragement. Even if he didn't reciprocate, she could love him quietly, in her own way, and be content with that, couldn't she?

But time has a way of wearing a heart down. The years stretched, and Sakura grew. She'd never give up on her teammate, never, but her life went on without him. She went on without him. She went out on dates, and kissed other boys. She waited for Naruto, but not idly. They would bring Sasuke back and then...

Then...

That's where she always got stuck now. She had known the answer in the past- they would be together, and life would unfold the way it should've before this, her and Sasuke and Naruto living forever as friends and unrequited crushes, going on and on in a summer of adolescent joy and misery.

But now, Sakura isn't so sure that's what she wants anymore. She's changed- surely they had too. Emotions she swore to never relinquish had tarnished to almost imperceptibility. Where would Sasuke fit into her life now? The space for him was gone- she no longer felt his absence like she had before- then he had been a phantom limb, a presence she constantly compared her reality with- Sasuke would've smirked if he had heard that, Sasuke would love this restaurant, Sasuke would've been so mad if he had seen that.

Now, his interactions were mainly met with question marks and indecision. Would he say that? Did he still like that? Would she recognize his smile? Would he even want to see hers?

She's ashamed to have such an uncertain heart, but she has learned that love is finite... everything has it's breaking points.

Her mind is mired in all this as she tends Konoha's wounded as they trickle in from their most recent battle- one involving the two boys that somehow were her whole world, and yet, not remotely connected to it at all.

She was so busy helping the injured that she doesn't immediately notice. But Naruto's voice is so loud she can't mistake it, and looks up just in time to see them staggering towards her- that moron of a best friend and... Sasuke.

Here.

In Konoha.

His arm is draped around Naruto's shoulder, and there's a vulnerability, a neediness in his expression as his eyes flick back and forth between the two of them that Sakura had never, ever seen- never even imagined she could see. Everything narrows- the pained groans, the strange trio of ninja huddled behind Sasuke, even Sakura's own shaking hands.

And all of sudden, she's excited, and inadequate somehow, and intrigued, and settled. As if it had been the distance of a heartbeat, and not years, all the old feelings flood back as if a dam had broken. It's impossibly painful, yet so excruciatingly sweet. She doesn't know if she wants to laugh or cry.

She thinks she's finally understanding a few things now- She once thought love as fragile as a paper fan. But maybe it was more that love needs hope to survive. And she's learning that hope (love) is almost as tenacious as Uzumaki Naruto.

Maybe it's her, but it kind of looks like Sasuke agrees.

~*~

AN: Originally, I wanted this to be the phases of Sakura's love. But then it mutated. Even when it's about Sasuke and Sakura, it's still about Naruto *sheepish grin* I guess the series isn't named after him for nothing! Oh, won't Kishimoto put my Team 7 back together already? *hopes*