Title: Steel
Summary: It isn't just about him. It's about her and picking up whatever pride she has left.
Prompt: July 12th / Steel
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"You want to go back?"
She can hear the hurt in his voice clearly. Despite how emotionless he acts, she has always been able to find the signs in his voice, in the rough gestures he gives. And the pain is almost alive, standing beside her and willing her to stop.
Yet, no, this is not just about him. This is about her and she steels herself.
"Just for a while. You're not here anyways." She ignores the wince he makes at that. "And my apartment is closer to my workplace anyways."
"I..." He stops, unsure of what to do now. Sasuke has always done the abandoning—always leaving before he could get too close.
There is a long pause, a loss of words. Nothing she can say can explain exactly why she has to do this.
But, she can't wake up to an empty bed. Can't sit at an empty table for dinner and watch sitcoms and cartoons while waiting for the phone to ring. If it was just worrying about him, about injuries or death, she thinks she could handle it. Maybe not well, but she could handle it.
What she can't handle is being the only one in this relationship. It doesn't work if she can barely remember his voice or sees him in a passing glance. Where before he used to make time for her, now there is nothing.
And she can't ask for this time. She just can't—it sounds almost selfish to ask him spend more time with her when he could be saving the world. It sounds more than almost and she has never wanted to be the person to ask him to pick her or his work.
And she won't be.
"I'm sorry."