- Goodbyes -

Sakura floats, adrift in the void. She's not here, she's not there. She's not inside the resonance. She's just…somewhere else. It takes a while before she understands. This is the held breath between one moment and the next.

Even still, she can feel him there. Even after all this time, she will always feel him, when he comes.

…It hurts, Yume.

I know, Sak.

…I don't know if I'm ready to do this. Why is she doing this?

Yume's heart reaches out to hers. He feels what she feels. He knows what she knows.

…Probably for the same reason you're about to do what you're about to do.

He always knew her, right down to her very core. What a miracle he was…

Sakura knows she doesn't have a body here, and yet… she swallows hard. The pain in Tayuya's last words felt like her own. It was her tsunami and her avalanche.

…Is that why you're here? To try and talk me out of it?

Silence. And then…

No…I know you. I know there's no stopping you once you've made up your mind.

Through the dark, she feels her breath come shallow. She wills herself to ask what she must, even though she's scared to hear his answer.

…Why did you come back to me?

More silence. More dark.

She can feel his hesitation. But then…she feels it transform into something else. Something that isn't just his, but theirs. It's like he's becoming, and she's becomes with him. They are twin figures in the same picture, developing side by side.

Finally, he answers.

Because…I was wrong.

…what do you mean?

I said…I couldn't say goodbye to you twice. But now… Now, I wish that I had been more brave. I wish that I had been more reckless. I wish I'd just been…more. Maybe if I had been brave, we could have had more time. We could have had a hundred goodbyes together instead of just this one.

Shaking. She was shaking. Something warm runs down her face from eyes she does not have.

A hand reaches out through the quiet dark, unseen but still felt. He cups her jaw with understanding, his thumb resting in the valley of her cheek. It's his tenderness that finally breaks her. His unending acceptance and unconditional love.

I'm not going anywhere, Sakura. I'll say good bye to you as many times as I have to, but I'm not going to let you do this alone.

But this only makes her cry harder, because she knows there's not going to be a next time. She was making this decision for the both of them. It wasn't fair. It just was.

He answers her heart instead of her words.

It's okay…I'm ready to go with you. I'm not going to leave you ever again.

She tips her face up into his touch, finally allowing herself to cry. She lets go of her grief and her dreams for the future. She cries harder. Bigger. Louder.

Eventually, softer.

His heart is her life raft and she lashes herself to it. Together, they renew their bond. It feels like…coming home. She thinks back on all their time together, wishing they could have more goodbyes. Wishing they could have more time. She remembers the promise he'd made.

Do you remember…what you said to me in the water? About option two?

…I do.

Can…Can you say it again? Say it one more time, before we go.

His pause is her pause. His pain is her pain.

Option two…is you let me love you.

His voice breaks as he steps into her.

You carry me with you every day. We can share our time and share our lives. You will never lose me, and I will never stop loving you.

Sakura feels arms wrap around her, pulling her into his chest. She pours herself fully into his being, shared souls standing in the dark.

I'll show you how much you matter to me in all the ways that I know best. And…when our time finally comes, we will die together on the same day. And I'll never have to know another dreamless moment without you.

She cries. Not for the bad that is about to be, but for all the good that will never be again.

By some miracle she hadn't deserved, she'd been gifted three options. Three beautiful, wonderful options, and she'd been allowed to experience each of them. She'd loved herself. She'd trusted Shikamaru. And now…now, it was time to go do the rest of it.

I…I really missed you, Yume.

I missed you too, Sak.

…I'm glad you were here, in the end. I'm really glad we got to say good bye.

He doesn't say anything because he can't. He can't, so she doesn't ask him to.

Then, finally…

How do you know this is going to work?

….I don't. I guess…I'm just going to have to trust.

…Okay then.

Together?

Yeah. Together.

I love you.

I love you too.