Reaching Her

Time Away.

You ended up leaving the hospital soon after that. Before you left, you tried calming down Sakura - trying to reassure her that even though things are rocky, you two aren't going to stop being friends. It's just a hard time right now that you two will get through. You even reminded her that you still don't plan on going on missions until she can walk on her own again. That talk ended up helping a bit and she was able to fall asleep.

Leaving the hospital, you decided not to go home that night. You decided to take this opportunity to venture to the training grounds. You needed time to reflect on why you've been treating Sakura so nasty lately. You wanted time to reflect so that you can handle this situation better. You didn't go in too deep into the forest because it is starting to get late. You made your way to a part that you've been to before and laid down on the grass. You started looking up at the stars and surprisingly started to feel more relaxed. Being outside, on your own, with only the stars, over time made you feel relaxed. You slowly closed your eyes and took in deep breaths. When you felt more centered, you started to think about why you've been so nasty.

It didn't hit you at first but, you were stressed out about her family. You didn't mean to take it out on her but you did and you tried taking responsibility for it. Next time you see her, you have to take full responsibility. You ended up thinking about your talk with Sasuke and as scared as you were, it was still stressful. Then, you thought about the time Sarada ran away and ended up at your place. Afterward, you thought about how Sakura almost destroyed your home. Good thing you didn't end up homeless.

Her family has impacted your life and your home in more ways than one. You only let out a sigh. You decided to try to have a different conversation with Sakura the next time you saw her but at this point, you don't see the point in telling her about the kiss. She wasn't even herself. No need to stress her out over something like that. Right after, you realized that you didn't feel anything in that kiss. You took your hand and touched your lips. You thought you would have felt something - sparks. But there were none. Looks like you have let her go romantically. You let out another sigh as you got up from the grass and started making your way home.

You arrived home soon after and went to take a shower. You thought it would help relax you. Meanwhile, in the shower, you told yourself to be mindful and to take in deep breaths. In through your nose and out through your mouth. It was a long day and you wanted to wind down before retiring for the night. You finished up your shower, changed your clothes and got into bed. You looked at the time - it was really late. Good thing you didn't have much to do later. You could actually stay home and relax. Maybe visit Sakura? No. You wanted to give her some space considering the conversation you two shared - it got pretty intense.

Space will be good.

Right?

You let out a heavy sigh. How did things get here? You never imagined things would play out this way. How did they? Was there some way this all could have been prevented but you missed it while trying to fall in love with someone else? All you wanted was to find love. Your hands covered your face and you let out a frustrated grunt. You let your arms rest on your sides and thought stressing over the situation wasn't going to make it better. You wished you knew how you could make things better.

Maybe being less of a dick would be a good start.

You did a few stretches to help you calm down and closed your eyes to try to sleep. You kept thinking of her family. You forced yourself to stop as you finally fell asleep.

You slept in.

You felt the sun touch your face. You turned in your bed to look out the window and you could guess what time it was since the sun wasn't high at its peak.  2:00 pm? You checked your clock. 2:45 pm. You grunted. You definitely slept in. While you were rubbing your eyes awake, you heard soft knocking on your door followed by the bell being rung. What a terrible time to have company over. You walked over, slowly hoping they'd leave, to see who was at your door. Finally arriving, you looked through the peephole. It was Sarada. You would say she's here early if it wasn't mid-afternoon. You opened the door to let her in.

"Hey, Sarada. What brings you here?"

"You saw mama last night."

"I did."

"...did you two get into a fight?" You didn't feel the need to lie about this one.

"I wouldn't call it a fight. Mama and I got into a disagreement. We were able to settle things."

"Mama's eyes were swollen when I went to see her this morning. She said she was fine but I know she wasn't. So, I thought you might know why."

"...I see." You didn't expect to hear that. You didn't think she would still feel bad about things. You hope the conversation helped. But, you still felt bad about it too so in a way, it's not to know you two are still connected. 

"Are you going to see her tonight?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Mama and I said a lot of things to each other last night. Sometimes it's good for people to give space to each other to recollect themselves."

"I don't understand."

"I know you don't Sarada and that's okay. There's a lot me and mama don't understand right now neither but I'm sure we'll figure it out in due time."

"Really?"

"Really." You walked over to her to reassure her by place your hand on top of her head. Of course, while trying not to mess up her hair.

"Okay....can we spend the rest of the day together?"

"fuck...really wanted to stay home and do nothing and feel like the loser I am right now."

"Of course, we can Sarada. Where do you wanna go?"