A slumbering Boruto rolled over, struggling to fight back the faint consciousness seeping into the edges of his mind. With his eyes still closed his ears drifted to the blasting air conditioning and the restless ocean outside. Blindly, he reached out to the other side of the bed to grab Sarada and pull her closer, but his hand was met with only linen sheets.

His heart beat faster as his blue eyes blinked open to confirm his fears. Sarada wasn't lying there beside him. He sat up, quickly scanning the room.

Without any light pouring in from the window, Boruto was sure it was still the middle of the night. There was no way she would leave him at a beach house with her parents, right? But where else could she be?

He tore off the blankets from his lap and jumped out of bed, hurrying to the bathroom down the hall. Momentary relief washed over him finding the door open and the lights off, but his question still remained.

Boruto padded over to the kitchen, wondering if he'd find her stress eating like that time he took her to Thunder Burger. He felt guilty after learning that was one of the usual places she would eat until she stopped feeling so overwhelmed.

The kitchen was dark and empty, save for the light coming from the microwave clock, reminding him just how early it was. The sun wouldn't be rising for another half hour. Last night had felt different, he was convinced she wasn't going to run away again. But maybe suggesting that they should be in a relationship was too much.

A sigh fell from his lips as Boruto ran his fingers through his blonde hair. Why'd he have to go open his stupid mouth? Things were fine in that gray space they were existing in. It was way too close to opening night to be making stupid declarations of love. If they choke during their performance, it'll be all his fault for psyching Sarada out.

Ugh, he wanted to bang his stupid head against the wall!

But just as he was about to head back to their shared guest room, a subtle movement outside caught his eye. Sarada was sitting on a daybed out on the deck that overlooked the beach, watching the eerily dark ocean waves crash onto the shore as she repeatedly and anxiously combed her finger through the ends of her inky black locks.

She whipped around to face him at the sound of him pulling open the sliding glass door. But her features relaxed upon realizing it was him as opposed to one of her parents.

"I couldn't sleep," Sarada shyly told him as her gaze returned to the ocean waves.

Boruto sighed, wrestling with relief and annoyance and concern. "I wish you would've woke me."

Had he not proven time and time again that he was someone she could talk to? he thought, ignoring the fact that he too was still learning to ask for help.

Her eyes avoided his. "I didn't want to bother you."

"It bothers me more when I wake up and you're not there. Then I'm forced to wonder if you're making yourself throw up or you've left me again."

Sarada winced. Her voice was small when she replied, "I'm sorry. I'm really trying not to do either of those things."

Boruto sat down on the edge of the daybed, trying to walk the tightrope between supportive and intrusive. "Do you want to talk about why you can't sleep?"

When she took a moment to respond, he almost expected her to say no or just dodge the question altogether. But she eventually answered.

"I'm so painfully, paralyzingly nervous about opening night next week. I don't want to disappoint you or the rest of the company relying on me, or Director Uzumaki who put so much faith in me, or Tsunade who gave so much time to make sure we were ready, or the audience who paid to be there… but especially I don't want to disappoint my mom." Sarada's voice cracked as the tears she had been fighting back rolled down her cheeks. "I just know I'm going to tarnish her legacy if my performance is anything less than perfect."

"That's a lot of pressure to put on yourself," he hummed, watching Sarada wipe her tears as she continued to stare out into the dark waters. "But you know I'll be up on stage with you basically the entire time. You're not alone in this."

Boruto tried to offer her the same reassurance his father's words brought him. But she didn't seem convinced.

"I know," she mumbled.

They sat in comfortable silence for several minutes before Boruto spoke again. "I'm proud of you."

A sad smile curved up the corner of her lips. "I really do appreciate you telling me I deserve to be prima ballerina or that I've rehearsed enough to do this performance in my sleep, but you have to understand, it's just hard for me to believe when your words have to compete with all the doubts I've carried my whole career."

"While I do think both of those things are true, that wasn't what I was talking about," he told her with a shake of his head. "I'm proud of you for tonight. I can't imagine this is the first time you've dealt with these feelings, but you usually cope with getting overwhelmed or feeling alone by binging, don't you?"

Her body stiffened as her anxious gaze flickered to Boruto then back to the ocean. He had always been so perceptive, she shouldn't really be surprised he had added the pieces together, especially after she involved him in her cycles but still, knowing she was so transparent made her feel uncomfortably vulnerable.

"Sorry for being so blunt. I guess I'm making an assumption based on the times you slept over at my place. After the fundraiser or after your magazine interview, which now I'm guessing they asked about your mom. But even when faced with those emotions again tonight you chose not to bury them with food or sex, instead, you told me how you were feeling and that's why I'm proud of you."

Sarada finally dared to look at him, his blue eyes full of genuine empathy. The night sky was growing lighter with each passing moment as the sun teased the water on the edge of the horizon.

As much as she wished to celebrate those small victories, she hugged her knees against her chest and whispered, "it's still so hard though."

"It'll probably keep being hard for some time," Boruto admitted. "But you know what I think might help? Telling your mom."

It was midmorning when Sarada spotted her mother sunbathing out by the pool. Pale legs glistened with tanning oil, designer sunglasses perched on her nose, and a spicy romance novel balanced in her hand.

The heavy lump in her throat seemed to grow with each step they took toward her mother. Her doubts were beginning to make her hands tremble. Could she actually tell her mom how she felt?

The constant fear of disappointing her parents by not dancing or looking or acting like the perfect daughter they had molded her to be only compounded when Sarada learned her mother had been forced to give up her career when she was born.

She considered backing away before her mom noticed them, but Boruto called out to get her attention. "Can we talk to you for a minute? Sarada wants to tell you something."

Sakura peeked up from her book to find Sarada hanging on Boruto's arm. He attempted to back away to give mother and daughter some privacy for their conversation but Sarada refused to let go of him.

Sensing their nervousness to share, Sakura slammed her book closed and ripped off her sunglasses. Her green eyes were bright with excitement. "You're getting married!?"

Sarada cringed while Boruto laughed awkwardly, "um, no."

A curtain of dark hair concealed her face as she turned toward Boruto, attempting to hide. Her face felt hot like she might cry before she even began. Her voice quivered as she whispered against his chest, "I don't think I can do this. I don't know where to start."

Her mother's expression grew more serious as she sat up on her lounge chair and set her book aside. "Honey, are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Boruto ran a smoothing hand over her hair. "You can't say the wrong thing if you just say how you truly feel," he encouraged softly.

After a few shaky breaths, Sarada found the courage to turn around and look at her worried mother. "I just… I wanted to tell you how sorry I am."

"Whatever it is, I forgive you," Sakura responded despite her obvious confusion. Her intent was to calm Sarada down but it only made her cry harder.

"I'm so sorry," she sniffled. Big tears rolled down her flushed cheeks. "I've been feeling so guilty ever since Tsunade told me, and I just don't know what to do or how to make it up to you. I can't promise I'll ever be as good as you but I'm trying so hard every day to make you proud."

"I am proud of you, and so is your father! Where is this coming from? What did Tsunade tell you?"

"It's not necessarily new feelings. She just pointed out the math I never thought to add up." Her eyes clenched shut, hating to even utter the words out loud. "That you were forced to retire when you got pregnant with me... That I essentially ended your career. That I took ballet away from you."

Sakura shook her head, green eyes glossy with her own unshed tears. "Sarada, that's not how I see things at all. I quit when I was on top, retired at my peak, and I don't regret that one bit. If I wanted to I could've trained after you were born and gotten back on stage, but I wanted to be remembered for my best and I was. And what I wanted even more was to be with you, to be your mother."

Sarada released the hand clutching Boruto's arm as her mother stood up and took a step forward. Sakura wrapped her in a tight embrace as she continued. "My mother was always working just so I could afford to keep dancing. And your father had grown up in the care of a dozen nannies, all very kind but they just weren't his mom. Neither of us got to connect with our mothers at that young age and it affected those relationships forever. I wanted us to have that special mother-daughter bond. I wanted to be there for you so much more than I wanted to keep dancing."

"Okay," Sarada mumbled against her mother's pink hair.

Sakura rubbed soothing circles into her back. "I'm so sorry that you were feeling like that, honey. You can always tell me when something is wrong, okay?"

"Okay." She pulled back to meet her mother's earnest gaze. There were no secret resentments underneath her words and that knowledge soothed her racing heart.

Of course, Sarada still wanted to perform perfectly on opening night and live up to her legacy, but knowing that her mother's love didn't hinge on her doing so was an incredible weight off her shoulders.

"Isn't there something else you want to tell her?" Her jaw clenched at the sound of Boruto's question behind her. Particularly because he was close enough for her mother to also hear.

Sarada glanced over her shoulder with a furrowed brow. "No?"

He sighed like she was deviating from the plan, but when did they decide this was supposed to be total honesty hour?! "Sarada, you know I'll do everything I can to support you, but I really don't know what's the best thing to do to help you. I think your mom will."

"But… But I've been better." It was almost three weeks since she'd last overeaten or forced herself to throw up. This morning he said he was proud of her progress!

"We both know something like that doesn't just go away."

When she turned back to her mother, Sakura's expression was worried again.

Fresh tears spilled down Sarada's cheeks. She had never admitted it out loud. To anyone.

"I just wanted… I-I didn't know… it's just…" Quick sharp inhales cut off each incomplete thought. Where did she even begin? "I sometimes… make myself sick…"

Rose-colored brows pinched together, clearly confused.

"I thought that if I could just lose some weight, I would be thinner and happier. I'd be a ballerina others admired, one worthy of your legacy. But every time I got overwhelmed, I just wanted to eat. And eating made me feel better, at least for a little bit but then I felt so gross and guilty…" she trailed off.

"So you'd make yourself sick," her mother finished for her. Sakura pulled her into a hug, squeezing her even tighter than before. "Oh, honey..."

"I'm sorry," she cried against her mother's shoulder.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't notice. I'm sorry you didn't feel like you could come to me with this, but we're going to get you whatever help you need to overcome this, okay?"

"Okay."

Without letting go of Sarada, Sakura reached out in Boruto's direction. When he placed her hand in his, she looked at him with tearful green eyes, gave him a grateful squeeze, and silently mouthed "thank you".