A Rose By Any Other Name (A Sasuke Uchiha Story)

Chapter 47.

It didn't last for long, true, but it had been there enough for Mei to fall completely in love with it. The fact he'd done it only for her didn't help either. Sasuke immediately looked away, almost ashamed of what he had done, and as such Mei began walking once again, gesturing for him to follow. After hesitating for a moment, Sasuke did so, appearing at her side as they walked on through the forest. The silence that had once been so oppressive to Mei as she had wandered lonely and lost through the trees, trying to get a grip on her emotions and thoughts, was now merely peaceful as she walked with Sasuke, neither of them saying anything for now. The silence was companionable, especially after everything that had happened, and the both of them simply breathed in the atmosphere; the chill of the night, the slight dampness of the air from all the rain, the calm of the forest. It put both Sasuke and Mei at ease, and relaxed them both until Sasuke felt he could speak up, wanting to distract Mei from what he'd done, and something occurring to him now, he realised he could finally explain, prompting him to begin casually,

"But Karin, Mei...I know she acts like that around me, and I know I don't exactly yell at her and push her away from me. But that's because there's no point. It wouldn't deter her either way, and so I just ignore her—brush her off. It's the easiest way."

Surprised Sasuke had been the one to bring it up first; Mei took this information in, hating the fact that she felt a little happy feeling rise in her stomach at hearing that, almost smug. But shaking it off as much as she could, she concentrated on Sasuke once more, replying softly,

"I know, Sasuke. I guess at first it confused me, but underneath I understood that—it made sense. It was just that it was the first time being around other people while going out. I wasn't used to it, and I suppose I wasn't used to feeling jealousy, either. It got a little out of hand."

Pausing for a moment, Mei remembered some of the things Sasuke had said in return to her when they had had their argument, and as such added on firmly,

"But I never hung out with Suigetsu and Juugo to get back at you, Sasuke. I wasn't doing it because I wanted to get close to them, either. Things were just confusing, I was finding it hard to control my emotions, we were trying to figure out things with our relationship and I didn't understand why you hadn't said anything about how we were dating...by talking to Suigetsu and Juugo it gave me a way to push it aside. To think about something else. I guess in a way I was trying to avoid you—I was unsure of how things would be if I didn't."

"I know you, Mei; I know it's not easy for either of us to form bonds, let alone ones like we have. There wasn't exactly any signs anything was going on with you and Suigetsu or Juugo. But you were hanging out with them and not me, and automatically that put me on edge. I had my own share of jealousy...and possessiveness, too," Sasuke responded calmly, unable to hide a smirk as Mei teased,

"I don't mind the last part."

With that thought in his mind, something else flickered into Sasuke's head, reminding him of one of the reasons it had all happened to start with. After all, that hadn't been the only reason, meaning Sasuke began again a moment later, questioning bluntly,

"But Mei...when we first met up with Hebi. When I introduced you to them. Why didn't you do anything? I know neither of us wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but you ignored it completely. I thought you wanted them to know."

"I did!" Mei protested instantly, having wondered this herself many times, and glad she was about to get an answer, she responded firmly,

"I thought you'd mention something. Even if you didn't exactly admit it, I thought you'd at least suggest it. So they'd be able to figure it out. But you kept quiet—you didn't say a word, and I just thought you didn't want them to know."