Piece It Together

"I dropped out of med. school."

Sasuke considers her. It's the first time he's seen her in more than three years, and, upon showing up on his doorstep, flushed and breathless, that's the first thing she says to him.

A pause, and then: "Do you want to come in?"

He steps aside, leaving the way into his apartment clear.

Sakura fiddles with her too-long sleeves, an old habit of hers, he recalls. "Actually, could we take a walk? I…" She doesn't seem to know how to finish the sentence, so she leaves it hanging and ambiguous, as most things are between them.

"All right," he complies easily enough (on a whim), and grabs a jacket.

~x~

He remembers grass-stained sneakers, and backyard soccer games, and adventures in the woods.

She remembers fairytales, and love songs, and spontaneous promises of forever.

~x~

"Why?"

Sakura bites her lip and jumps up onto a park bench, arms out for balance. Even with that advantage, she's only a scant few inches taller than he is, and he wonders whether she will fall—

"I don't know. I mean… I've said I want to be a doctor for as long as I remember. But today, I was just sitting there in class, and I thought, 'Why am I here?' And I guess… I just couldn't answer myself. So… that was that." She looks thoughtful. "And so here I am."

—Whether he will need to catch her.

~x~

"Sasuke-kun," she says with a smile, big green eyes hopeful, "do you want to play with me?"

He looks at her, at her flyaway pink hair, and her rosy cheeks round with baby fat, and her tinytiny hands…

And he doesn't say yes, but he walks over to her all the same.

~x~

"Here you are," he echoes.

He doesn't ask for a better explanation, or criticize her decision, or try to make her reconsider. He keeps his hands in his pockets and studies the puffs of air that form every time he exhales.

"Why come to me?"

~x~

"Why are you crying?"

"Th-The other kids," she sniffles, "they're making fun of me! D-do… I really look that weird…?"

He crouches down to where she is huddled under the tree, and stays silent until she dares to meet his eyes.

"Yeah," he says, very seriously, "but I'll beat them up anyway."

~x~

"Mmm," she hums, and hops down from the bench, tripping on the hem of her jeans (ones he is pretty sure she has had since high school) in the process. He moves to steady her, but she has already righted herself.

Her lips turn up, in her own small way of reaching for the sky. "I don't really know that, either. Just… as soon as I filled out the papers, I thought of you, and I— needed you. To tell you. I used to tell you every little thing… and now, I wanted to tell you this big thing."

She looks up at him with large, earnest eyes. "Are you disappointed in me?"

~x~

"Let me help you," she implores.

"I can do it myself," he hisses, and keeps a moan stillborn as he tries to move his leg back to a natural angle.

For the first time, she disregards what he tells her to do and resets the bone herself, and when he cries out, she is there to hold his hand.

They go home together, his arm around her shoulders, hers around his waist.

~x~

He thinks about it.

"Not disappointed," he responds at length. "I'm surprised… but it's your life," he shrugs, "and I'd be a hypocrite if I tried to tell you how to run it."

A shallow laugh catches in her throat. "Yeah, I suppose you would," she murmurs, her hair falling over her shoulder.

"Sasuke-kun… do you have everything you thought you'd have?"

~x~

She partners with him on projects, and sits with him during lunch, and attends every one of his lacrosse games.

He hardly ever seeks her out (doesn't need to, she's always there, isn't she, this girl with the starlight-starbright eyes and the sunshine-smile), but sometimes he will slow down for her in the hallway, or make sure she gets home safely, or maybe even get coffee with her.

It's not much, and it's not enough, he knows, but it makes her happy, and that is enough.

~x~

"More or less," he equivocates, watching the way the pale sunlight slips through the trees and paints her a million different shades of bright.

I always thought I'd have you.

~x~

She's in love with him, and he's not sure why.

But she's special, this girl. He's not sure why that is, either, and he decides that, until he can figure it out, he won't let himself get too close. He has to wait until he knows he deserves her.

So he watches her go on dates, watches her laugh and smile and be with boys-that-aren't-him, and every day he asks himself,

Do I deserve her now?

He graduates and moves away before he thinks he can say Yes.)

~x~

They buy hot cider from a street vendor.

"What will you do now?" he asks, and sips the beverage, barely noticing how it scalds his tongue. He's more interested in watching the way her lips brush the rim of her paper cup.

She meets his eyes, and she smiles.

"I'm not sure," she tells him, "and that's kind of incredible, you know?"

He doesn't, because he has had a purpose all his life, but he is happy for her, this girl that has suddenly reappeared in his life after solongsolong.

"But," she continues, and something about her voice, suddenly soft and clear, and her eyes, very bright, makes him think, She's special, she's special, this is why she's special, "I'd like to finally kiss you." She tilts her head. "If that's okay with you."

He feels his lips curve into a smile, and he hopes it means as much to her as hers do to him.

"Yes."

AND THEN THEY STARTED MAKING OUT.

Not even kidding this time, guys. :P I think this came out pretty okay. I didn't really do as much with it as I could have, but I like the format and jinx. So... in your faces?

Disclaimer: I own nothing that is not mine.