title: love month
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH ON LJ!
rating: T-M
summary: o21; He broke up with her in order to try and save her misery later on. He saw that she was a wreck, but she didn't know that he was hurting even more.
.o21.
"She was a wreck, but so was he."
"Let's break up."
The words struck Sakura's heart like multiple daggers. She widened her eyes and looked at Sasuke, finding any signs to see if he was joking or not. She dropped the cookies she had made him in home-economics and bit her lip, hoping she was dreaming.
She tasted blood.
It was real.
"S-Sasuke-kun…why—"
She saw that Sasuke looked away, unable to meet her gaze, as if she embarrassed him. He put his hands in his pockets and said, "I'm not that interested in you anymore. It's just…I don't think you're as pretty as other girls, or as adventurous."
She knew what he meant. In bed. During sex. Hell, she'd even given up her first time to him, but now he was saying that she wasn't good enough for him?
Sakura was speechless. She felt warm tears blur her vision but didn't wipe them away.
Sasuke, seeing her face, felt his own heart broke, but he knew it was for the best. After all, he loved her so, so much, and couldn't dream of being with any other girl other than the one right before him.
But he had a reason and a job to fulfill, so he knew that he had to do, even if it meant hurting them both.
He forced himself to look away at her face, forced himself not to go to her and hug her, and forced himself not to wipe away her tears and his own that were coming.
Instead, he walked past her and deliberately made sure not to brush their shoulders. He looked back as she continued to look out at the sky, seeing the wind brush against her petite, sweet figure, and took the stairs down from the roof.
The roof.
By the time he closed the door, he let go of his choked sob and began to cry, running down multiple flights and wiping his tears, hoping nobody would see him. It was after school, and most of the clubs had already gone home, but still…
Sakura, my dear Sakura…
I'm so sorry.
.
.
.
Sakura didn't understand anything. Her hands shook and the cookies had been blown off the roof by the wind. She felt her face covered in tears and replayed the heartbreaking moments in her head, as much as she didn't want to.
I thought he wanted to talk to me about something else. Like how much he loved me.
She let out a piercing shriek that caused the birds on the roof to fly away, and ran towards the roof railing, clutching the bar with both hands. She had never felt pain like this before, and looked down from the roof to the ground.
It was about three, four stories tall? If she jumped, she could probably kill herself if she landed neck first…
"I'm not going to do this," she said, trying to shake the thoughts of suicide away. "I'm not going to prove that I'm weak!"
However, she couldn't help but imagine the scenario that would play in her mind, and how guilty Sasuke would feel that he broke up with her and was the reason for her death.
But she didn't want to go down just yet. She sat down with her legs on either side of the railing's bars, and lied there, thinking of what she could have done wrong to make Sasuke like this.
.
.
.
Now that Sasuke was single (the news spread around like the flu), many girls clung onto him without fear of being reprimanded by him. Sakura would always walk by and see his beautiful face, one that she was so used to, and sometimes he would make eye contact with her, causing both to look away before running in the opposite direction.
Sakura didn't know why, but Sasuke hid his spiky hair under a beanie hat and barely let his hair show. His bangs were covered up and his skin looked even paler and more ghostly, while bags were under his eyes. However, he still kept the same beautiful face that he was born with and that she was so used to.
Sakura was a wreck.
But him? Even more so.
.
.
.
"Itachi, what can I do?" Sasuke asked as he let his brother into his locked room, his back against the door and clutching the edges of his beanie. Itachi forced his brother to look up at him and frowned.
"Sasuke, stop crying. Here." He took off his scarf for Sasuke to wipe his eyes, and his brother wiped his nose with his sleeve.
"I'm sorry, aniki. It's just that…I miss her," he murmured. "I miss Sakura so much."
"Then get her back! I'm sure she still loves you!"
"After what I've done to her? She probably hates me right now."
Itachi sighed, squatting to Sasuke's eye level. "She may be hurt, but she still loves you. I can see that. Every time you bring her home she looks at you with those eyes that say that she wants to be with you forever. She wants to spend the rest of her life with you and I know that you think and feel the same way."
"I love her, Itachi."
Itachi sat next to his brother and ruffled his head through his beanie. "Sasuke, I know you're in pain right now, and I know that you thought breaking up with her was the best way to go, but I think you're just hurting both of yourselves. If she really loves you, and she does, she'll help you through this." He took off Sasuke's beanie, and Sasuke buried his face back into his knees.
He was completely bald.
"I don't want to tell her that I'm dying. Cancer's a fucking bitch. Why did it have to happen to me, of all people?" he said, crying again.
"Sasuke, you're not going to die." Itachi stared at him with firm eyes. "You're strong and you'll survive. And I know that she will be with you through the whole thing if you just let yourself explain."
"But she'll get hurt, too."
"Do you think she'll be as hurt as she is right now?" Itachi asked. Sasuke paused, thinking it over.
Itachi then pulled his cell phone out and dialed Sakura's number. "Hey, Sakura? Yeah, it's Itachi. I miss you too. Are you busy right now? Could you meet me at my house? Right now? That's perfect. Thanks. I'll see you there."
Itachi hung up before dusting his clothes and standing up. "She's coming, and you have to explain everything to her. I'll be listening and you can't leave anything out. This is your last chance, so use it wisely." He poked Sasuke's forehead again before giving him a smirk, receiving a weak one in return.
"Thanks, aniki."
.
.
.
"Itachi—?" Sakura began. Instead, she saw the one person she didn't want to see waiting for her.
"Sakura." Sasuke stood up, his beanie on and his skin still ghostly pale. He walked towards her, and Sakura wanted so much to run away. Instead, her body froze.
Sasuke then hugged her tight, crying softly in her shoulder. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "Sakura, I'm so, so sorry that I've caused you all this pain and I—"
"Sasuke, what are you—what's wrong with you? First you say you want another girl and now you're coming back to me? What am I?" Sasuke saw that she was angry, and he didn't blame her.
"Listen to me. I need to explain everything to you. I gave you a half-hearted one and I want you to understand the full situation. The reason I broke up with you…" Sasuke sighed. "It's better if I just show you."
He took off his beanie and Sakura gasped, looking at where his silky locks had originally been. She fully understood everything now. He wouldn't cut his hair just because he wanted to. Sakura had loved his hair and he kept it just for her.
"Y-You—"
"I have leukemia." He took out the weekly-pill container that held pills for every day of the week from his pocket.
Sakura began to cry before she knocked Sasuke and held him tight. "Sasuke-kun, why didn't you tell me? Why? You're such a fucking idiot! Unbelievable…we could've helped each other. I could've been by your side through all this. We could've shared the pain together…"
Sasuke held Sakura tight to him. "Sweetheart, I'm sorry."
"I love you," she murmured. "I love you and I don't want you to leave me!"
"I'm not going to," he said, hoping that it was the truth. He didn't want to die and leave her alone. "I'm going to be with you forever. I promise."
She looked up at Sasuke as he kissed her tears away. She wiped his own off his face.
"I love you, too, Sakura." He saw Itachi peek through a corner, and Itachi smiled, giving him the thumbs up.
"Hold me, please," she said as she held on tighter to Sasuke. "I just want to make up for everything."
.
.
.
"Okay, so there's one pill for today…open wide!" she said as he turned away, blushing. "I don't want it," he said. "It tastes bad."
"Don't be such a baby! Here." She swallowed the pill while adding water, kissing him and transferring it to him. He swallowed it, water trickling down his mouth as he chuckled.
"That's not fair!"
Sakura laughed. "Yes, it is! Now come on. There's four more to take."
"Can we do the kiss transfer again?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows. She pushed his chest playfully. "You're terrible!"
"Hn," he said as he took the pills and kissed her gently, smiling.
.
.
.
"Uchiha-san, we'll do more chemo on you. You know how this works, right?" the nurse said.
"Yeah."
When he had Sakura by his side, comforting him, he knew that he would never be afraid. Not even of death.
"I'm ready," he said as the nurse opened her mouth. She closed her mouth and then said, "Okay. The doctor will be in."
Sakura held Sasuke's hand while he was lying in bed, and she smiled at him, kissing his bare head.
"I'm gonna be here the whole time. Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. We'll make it through," she said, holding his hand even tighter. He saw that she was shaking and nervous, but smiled anyway.
"I love you, Sakura."
She kissed him again, unable to find the words. "I'll see you when you wake up." She kissed his nose before being asked to leave by the doctor. "I love you."
.
two years later
.
Sakura held Sasuke's hand as they walked together. They were both laughing at a corny joke she had just told, and said, "Hey, Sasuke-kun? Bend down to my level really quick."
Sasuke, a six foot three to her five foot four, bent his knees. He expected a kiss, but instead, she kissed his new hair, her fingers running through his locks.
"Hey," he said, frowning. "Right here." He pointed to his lips.
Sakura smiled before giving him a quick peck. He frowned again.
"Not long enough." He then picked up Sakura, as if she was a feather, and kissed her fully on the mouth, twirling her around.
Her hands clutched his hair as she felt how much he loved her through the simple action of connecting their lips as she floated off the ground onto cloud nine.
"I love you, Sakura," he said again, pulling apart.
She smiled, whispering her reply into his ear as she wrapped her legs around his waist.
Inspired by Koizora (movie) and Why Why Love!
Slight changes 7.8.14!