-We Will Never Part-
Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable content.
-Chapter Twenty Five-
-The Babysitter's Club-
The young mother, Suki, began fussing over the toddler and giving him warnings about listening and behaving. Sakura turned away from the pair and looked down the front path.
She froze.
'No!' she thought, watching the figure slowly making his way up to the house. 'This cannot be happening!' She wanted to run. Every fibre of her being was telling her to run. And yet, she stood rooted in place. Her muscles refused to move even an inch.
As the figure reached the front steps, the wooden porch creaked. Suki, alerted to the sound, turned to the door. A smile broke across her face. Sakura's heart sank. Any possibility of the situation being a mistake or a coincidence evaporated. Suki looked like she'd been expecting him.
"Good," Suki spoke, standing up. She brushed off her expensive looking slacks. "You're both here now, so I can leave. There's lunch in the fridge. Try and put him down for a nap around 2:00. If you have any issues or problems, don't hesitate to call me. Bye!" Suki then punctuated her statement by closing the front door behind her.
Sakura was left, in the front foyer, with an evilly grinning toddler and Sasuke, the boy she'd begun to like and completely alienated.
She was going to kill Ino.
From: Hyuuga Hinata (lil_miss_sunshine)
To: Fashionable piggy (littlemisspiggy)
Cc: Bear-chan (10.10i-score-every-time10.10); Cherry Blossom (xxvery_cherryxx)
Sent: Sunday, July 8; 2:57 pm
Subject: Re: Success… in Progress
Ino,
I believe you have a good heart. I believe you have the best intentions. I believe you mean well. These are the things I believe that I am using as evidence that you are a good person. A good friend.
I need these beliefs as proof, because what I am seeing from your email makes it hard to see you as a good friend. You see, good friends, good people, they don't ambush other people. They don't go behind backs and pull strings. They don't manipulate situations. They don't allow their friends to be forced into awkward situations.
I hope this was an oversight on your part. That you didn't truly realize what you were doing. Mostly, I hope for your life that this works.
Hope you are well,
Hina
It looked like a tornado had gone through the room. Only minutes prior, it had been absolutely pristine. Now, toys were strewn every which way, crumbs from his snack were ground into the carpet, and finger print smudges were on every surface. Sakura had absolutely no idea how it was even possible.
She was collapsed on a couch, watching the toddler tornado wreak more and more havoc on the living room. Sasuke was standing in the doorway, about as far away from her as he could get. They hadn't spoken more than a dozen words to each other and all of them had been clipped and angry.
The toddler was clearly picking up on the lack of cohesion between the pair. He'd begun to play the two of them against each other; asking them both for something while claiming the other had already agreed to it. Because neither of them were talking to the other, they couldn't easily corroborate the toddlers story. Sakura had only just caught on to this fact when the toddler spontaneously came up to her to ask if he could get out the paint and then claiming that Sasuke had already okayed it; this despite the fact that he hadn't been near Sasuke in over twenty minutes.
Sakura felt like a complete idiot. But mostly, she felt that if Sasuke and she didn't make up, or at least become somewhat cordial, the rest of the time they'd have to watch over the toddler would be extremely hard and possibly dangerous.
"Sasuke," she called out. Her voice startled the raven-haired boy; he'd obviously not been expecting her to call out his name. Nonetheless, he turned and looked at her, not in the eye, but close enough. At Sasuke's movement, the toddler paled. His little game had just come to an end.
"Do you think we could let the little monster here do some painting? We'd have to put down a table cloth or newspaper to protect against any mess, but I think it would be fine." Sasuke, still not looking Sakura in the eye, shrugged noncommittally. Sakura took that as a yes and went about collecting the needed materials for painting.
Once it was ready, the small child-sized plastic table in the living room covered in newspaper and the ground around it protected by plastic sheets and tablecloths, the toddler began to paint. Sakura took a spot on one side of the boy, carefully watching the toddler to ensure the containment of any mess. Sasuke then took a spot on the other side.
During the time that the little cherubic faced boy painted, Sakura snuck looks across at Sasuke. She'd felt bad, terrible, depressed after her fight with Sasuke a few days before; she was certain that he hated her, that she had decimated any relationship she'd had with him. Now, being in his presence, feeling the anger radiate off him, she felt even worse.
Sakura suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to apologize, to try to make things better. She was just working up the courage to speak, about to open her mouth, when the toddler stood up.
"Done!" he exclaimed proudly.
Sakura turned away from Sasuke and refocused on the toddler. She nearly fainted. In the maybe twenty minutes that the toddler had been painting, several pictures of colour with no discernable shape, he had managed to get paint in his hair, behind his ears, on his forehead and cheeks, up to his elbows, and even on the back of his neck.
"How-" Sakura squeaked out at the sight. She was momentarily stunned, all thoughts of apologizing to Sasuke pushed from her mind. Then she regained herself and immediately went into management mode.
"You, little boy, need a bath. Go on up! Sasuke and I will be up in a minute after we clean up here." The toddler nodded enthusiastically and speed off out of the living room. Sakura got to work cleaning up the paint and paintbrushes. As she worked, she could feel the heated stare of Sasuke on the back of her neck. This was the first time since that night that the pair were alone together. That realisation suddenly led to a changing of the atmosphere around the two.
"I'll go and make sure he doesn't make a bigger mess. You know stop him from touching walls and splashing water everywhere," Sasuke suddenly spoke. It startled Sakura a little, but she didn't stop him. It had been far too awkward in the room with both of them alone that she was a little glad to see him leave.
Somehow, she either needed to fix the situation, or begin to hope and pray that she wouldn't run into him ever again.
From: Bear-chan (10.10i-score-every-time10.10)
To: Fashionable piggy (littlemisspiggy)
Cc: Hyuuga Hinata (lil_miss_sunshine); Cherry Blossom (xxvery_cherryxx)
Sent: Sunday, July 8; 3:28 pm
Subject: Re: Success… in progress
Inie,
You little minx. (I have worse names for you, but I'll save them for your presence). I echo all of Hinata's sentiments about you and your actions. You've done something very, very bad, my lovely! Like Hinata said, I hope that your plan works out or I will be right beside Sakura as she whoops your butt!
Your loyal bear-chan,
Tenten
"Sakura," Sasuke's deep voice spoke from the doorway. Sakura was on her hands and knees, scrubbing the living room floor that, despite her precautions with plastic sheets, was speckled with paint. Sakura had just been wondering how such a mess had been created and yet she, herself, did not have a single drop of paint on her.
She continued scrubbing the floor, choosing not to look at Sasuke. She was certain that if she did, that same awkward, charged atmosphere that had dissipated only when Sasuke left, would return.
"Sakura," he called again. There was a slight pang of panic in his voice that time. Sakura picked up on it and tuned to look at him. His face was pale, white, like the blood had drained from it. He looked worried, his eyes wide and a little darty, his mouth drawn, and beads of sweat on his forehead.
Sakura bolted to her feet.
"What?" she asked, her tone quickly mirroring the panic in Sasuke's. Something was wrong, of that much Sakura was positive. She didn't know what, so her mind instantly began creating worst-case scenarios.
"He's gone," Sasuke spoke, his voice now not much more than a whisper. Sakura was now sure she knew what he meant, but she wanted confirmation.
"Who's gone? What's happened?"
Sasuke took a steading breath and recollected himself.
"The little guy. I went after him, but he wasn't in the hallway. He wasn't in the bathroom, or his bedroom, or any room or corner between here and there. I don't know what's happened."
Sakura stood still for a moment, processing all that Sasuke had said. Then without another word, she exited the living room. When she passed Sasuke, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him with her.
"He's probably hiding somewhere, thinking he's playing a silly game. We'll have to search this house from top to bottom."
From: Fashionable piggy (littlemisspiggy)
To: Bear-chan (10.10i-score-every-time10.10); Hyuuga Hinata (lil_miss_sunshine)
Cc: Cherry Blossom (xxvery_cherryxx)
Sent: Sunday, July 8; 3:51 pm
Subject: Well, gee thanks
My (back-stabbing) lovelies,
I am greatly and gravely disappointed in you two. I, alone, came out here to help Sakura. I dropped everything to check on our dear friend. (I am trying to actually pass math here).
I had to deal with dark-Sakura for quite some time. I was the one subjected to the full-force of her angry attitude. I was the one that pulled her out of that. And it was up to me to find a way to make sure that Sakura didn't return to her dark self.
I did the best I could and your support would be greatly appreciated. And I am fully ready to have my butt handed to me by Sakura if this goes south.
You know you love me,
Ino
"I am so stupid. How could I let this happen? Of course a toddler isn't going to go and get ready for a bath by himself. Especially this toddler. I should have walked him to the bathroom and cleaned up later…" Sakura's tirade against herself continued on with self-flagellation and things she should have done differently. She was whispering it to herself, not intending it for Sasuke to hear.
As she spoke, she looked above and beneath objects, in doors and hide-holes that were located throughout the house. She'd started with the route from the living room to the boy's bathroom. Even though Sasuke said he looked there, Sakura wanted to double check every inch. Once she'd cleared that area, she headed towards the top floor.
On the top step, a hand on her wrist stopped her aggressive progress. She turned to see Sasuke. Ever since arriving at the house that day, his expression had been pinched and angry. Now, Sakura looked down at a concerned face.
"This isn't your fault," he stated simply, "I could have followed him as soon as he left, but instead I just stood around in the room." Sakura expected more. More comforting words. More reasons it wasn't her fault. More something. But that was all she got. Sasuke was trying to comfort her, but he couldn't really because he was still angry with her.
"I'm sorry," Sakura blurted out. She was overwhelmed by a need to make things better. Their argumentative reactions to each other, their absolute lack of working together, had resulted in the loss of the toddler. Had they been communicating, been a cohesive unit, they would have realised that one of them needed to accompany the child.
Sasuke was a little surprised by her apology.
"I told you, this isn't your fault," he responded, his voice still comforting but with an edge of exasperation.
"I didn't mean for loosing the toddler. I meant for the other night, when I broke plans with you, then called you to come and pick me up. It was selfish and self-absorbed and I feel really bad. I never meant to hurt you or upset you. I will do whatever I can to make it up to you."
Sasuke was quiet for several seconds. Sakura hoped that it meant good things for her, that he was taking the time to come up with some way for her to make up her mistakes.
Finally, Sasuke let out a sigh and, for the first time that evening, Sasuke looked her full in the eyes.
"I was upset about the blow-off then come save me call. But mostly, I was upset at you about something that had absolutely nothing to do with you. I was putting my own issues on you, and that's not fair. I wasn't really that upset with you." He paused again and a smirk crossed his face. Sakura relaxed a little. The smirk was a good sign; Sasuke wasn't angry any more.
"But you did do wrong and you should make it up to me. How about we go for ice cream after this?"
"I'd like that, but first, let's find this monstrous little two-year-old."
From: Cherry Blossom (xxvery_cherryxx)
To: Fashionable piggy (littlemisspiggy)
Cc: Bear-chan (10.10i-score-every-time10.10); Hyuuga Hinata (lil_miss_sunshine)
Sent: Sunday, July 8; 5:15 pm
Subject: Success, but
Ino,
First, I want to thank you for coming out and helping me and being with me this past weekend. It really meant a lot to me. So thank you times a million. (I will also tell you this in person).
Second, I must admit that your conniving secret plan actually did work. Sasuke and I have essentially made up; I apologized and he accepted, and we are now mending our relationship. So there will be no butt kicking or the like.
That being said, never, ever do anything like this again. Hina and Tennie are right. It was not a great friend move and could have easily backfired. So, next time, just force us to talk to each other. Don't try to fix things through subterfuge.
Xox,
Cherry
Sakura and Sasuke eventually found the toddler. He was nestled, fast asleep in his parents laundry basket. He was still covered in paint, would still need to take a bath before his parents came home. However, when Sakura found him, she decided to let him sleep. Sasuke scooped up the sleeping boy and deposited him in his bed.
Sakura then collapsed on a couch in the still paint-covered living room, content for the first time in days.
-To be continued-