.
.
constellations
(the worst)
.
.
.
There is no snow on her journey to Snow. The leaves crunch beneath her boots, brown and curled, and every inch of her travel reminds her of him. The night air is cool, and she thinks of his caress. Naruto's laughter is buoyant, and she remembers the fond crinkle of his dark eyes.
The air is silent, the noiselessness oppressing, and she knots her fingers together behind her back as they walk forward, the lilting branches closing in on her.
She does not know why, but all at once the bubble of emotion she'd kept wrapped up for weeks—the smell of his letters, the loneliness, ink stained black on her hands, the pale skin of her patients, her own sallow complexion—comes up like burning acid and suddenly her lips are trembling and her eyes are stinging and the tears, hot and fast, slip down her face and soundlessly connect with her shirt.
Her shoulders shake, and the path blurs, and then all at once she's sobbing, hoarse desperation scraping up the sides of her throat, and Naruto turns around just in time to see her shoulder collide with a tree trunk as she sinks to her knees, mud soft and cold against her skin.
Naruto's hands are on her shoulders, and she bows her head, and his voice comes through like there's a river between then, all rushing water and muddled noises. "Sakura-chan," he pleads, and then softens. "Sakura."
Bloodshot eyes meet his, woefully glossy and brimming with despair. "I can't do this," she whispers, leaning forward so the lines of her cheekbones are pressed into the crook of his neck.
His arms wrap around her, and then they are holding each other in the middle of a dark forest, her arms trembling, soft hiccups and loss coloring her movement. "Tell me."
She mouths the words against his neck. "Waiting is the hardest thing."
.
.
.
notes: another song inspired this: the worst by jhene aiko (as evidenced from the chapter title.) take a listen! and also obvs read and tell me what you think!