[ Has Naruto ever let either of them go, really? Have any of them fully relinquished each other to their separate selves? Even when Sakura had not seen her husband for years, and when she and Naruto went weeks barely seeing each other outside their jobs, they are still a felt presence in even the most remote corners of her life, like air in her lungs. Air that, in the moment that Naruto pulls her up to stand on her own two feet, is so thick that it's nearly oppressive. Thick and charged with something Sakura can't give a name to; or perhaps more accurately, something she avoids giving a name to.
In a way, the look Naruto gives her is both comforting and not, but she understands his intent. Wordless, she squeezes his arm before she, too, lets him go, her own reassurance. She doesn't think he had ulterior motives. Whatever passed between them — it was unintentional, on both their parts.
But then there's Sasuke.
It's incriminating of her that she still avoids looking at him, but it would be equally incriminating if she met his eyes and he saw how flustered she is. This isn't something that happens to her with other people. This is the sort of thing that happens when he makes an off-color comment and she can't tell whether he means it the way it sounds or if he's messing with her. She'd made up her mind to find her composure before facing him, but the harsh quality to his voice when he speaks makes her eyes snap to him anyway, expecting anger. It's not what she finds.
Sakura has always been the scientifically-minded of the three of them, someone who weighs and calculates and builds hypotheses. In this, she draws a blank, and then tells herself that there are better times to figure out what's passed between them, like when they're not in the middle of a ruined floating temple. Or, you know, never. ]
Yeah. [ With that, she shuts the loose rattling thoughts away. With one last glance at Naruto, she steps forward, past Sasuke and into the newly revealed passage. ]
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In a way, the look Naruto gives her is both comforting and not, but she understands his intent. Wordless, she squeezes his arm before she, too, lets him go, her own reassurance. She doesn't think he had ulterior motives. Whatever passed between them — it was unintentional, on both their parts.
But then there's Sasuke.
It's incriminating of her that she still avoids looking at him, but it would be equally incriminating if she met his eyes and he saw how flustered she is. This isn't something that happens to her with other people. This is the sort of thing that happens when he makes an off-color comment and she can't tell whether he means it the way it sounds or if he's messing with her. She'd made up her mind to find her composure before facing him, but the harsh quality to his voice when he speaks makes her eyes snap to him anyway, expecting anger. It's not what she finds.
Sakura has always been the scientifically-minded of the three of them, someone who weighs and calculates and builds hypotheses. In this, she draws a blank, and then tells herself that there are better times to figure out what's passed between them, like when they're not in the middle of a ruined floating temple. Or, you know, never. ]
Yeah. [ With that, she shuts the loose rattling thoughts away. With one last glance at Naruto, she steps forward, past Sasuke and into the newly revealed passage. ]