Undeserved

Love is what you need the most when you deserve it least.

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His eyes are cold. They've always been dark, deep, but they've never been soulless, never been so cold. They never stray from the sky blue of Naruto's, but Sakura knows he's already surveyed the area. That's why he's chosen to fight here. They always fight where he chooses to, where he wants to—where he has the upper hand. Sakura's sick of it. Sick of letting Sasuke win. Sick of watching the two men she loves most fight, over and over. She's sick of it.

Naruto lets out an almost indecipherable sigh. Sakura sees it. She knows he's sick of it too. Sick of the fighting. Sick of the heartache.

Sakura's sick of standing back in a fight that was hers to begin with. This fight is her fault; her fault because she let Naruto promise to bring Sasuke back, her fault because she hasn't stopped him, her fault because she doesn't want him to stop, not if it'll get Sasuke home, safe and sound. Her fault because she loves Sasuke more than she cares to admit. It's all her fault. Sasuke unsheathes his sword and lunges forward; before she knows what she's doing, Sakura is in front of Naruto, offering herself as a shield, the sword digging through her skin, gushing blood in a splatter around the air.

"Sakura!" Naruto shouts. The worry in his voice is obvious. Sakura turns her head to smile at him, and blood from her forearm splashes onto her cheek.

"Let me do this," she whispers to him, but she isn't sure if he heard her, because she's turning back to Sasuke, who's cold eyes are melting under the shock of having hit Sakura. She looks at him, even though the pain of his blade, which is still embedded to her arm, is burning a hole through her. Her face is calm. She takes him in, the darkness of his hair, the coldness in his eyes, the shock on his face. She's reminded of why she loves him so much, though she doesn't know why the shock and surprise in his face leads her to that.

She smiles at him, a smile full of so much love and devotion that Sasuke stumbles back, pulling his blade away from her, splattering blood all over his own Akatsuki uniform. Her blood is dark even on the red clouds.

Sakura's arm glows green and then there is no blood, only the pureness of white skin. "Why do you fight so much, Sasuke-kun?" Her voice is soft and she feels weak, weaker than ever. No, not weak—vulnerable. She feels vulnerable, asking a question like that with nothing but her own flesh to protect herself. She doesn't let the vulnerability show on her face; instead she just looks up at him with wide green eyes; he's much taller than her.

Sasuke looks at her with freezing onyx eyes; she's not hurt anymore so there is no need for him to worry. He doesn't know why he worried in the first place. He stares at her, at a loss for words. He sees the moisture in her eyes, the beginning of tears. She hasn't shed them and it's obvious she doesn't plan to. There is a long moment of silence as her words echo in his mind. He feels heavy, heavy with heartache that he shouldn't have to bear. His eyes search hers and for a wild moment he wonders what it would feel like to kiss her. His voice is lost, like a little boy's, when he says, "What else is there?"

Sakura raises her hand to palm his cheek. "There is love," she says. There's a soundless crack in Sasuke's barriers. Sakura looks back to Naruto, standing there with wide blue eyes, ready to pounce at the slightest sound of trouble. "There is us, we love you." She cracks a smile, tender and wary. "You don't deserve it, but we love you. I love you." The information is nothing new; she's said it before and she'll say it again, thousands of times again if it's needed. But this time Sasuke stares at her as if she's grown another head. His sword clatters to the ground and his face leans into the softness of Sakura's hand.

Sakura smiles. She doesn't know where it'll go from here and she doesn't know if Sasuke'll come back; she doesn't know what the future holds for them, but she knows there will be no fighting, not for a while. And she's glad for that. Her thumb drifted over Sasuke's cheekbone. She reaches out to Naruto, grabbing his hand. She hugs Sasuke, and Naruto hugs her, and Sasuke stands there, uncomfortable in the closeness, yet reveling in the warmth.

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A review would be appreciated, and I know Sasuke's a bit OOC, but that's because he's having a moment of weakness, so it's all good. R&R.