Happy Accidents

Chapter 28: Amour Naissant

Sakura didn't realize who was standing just outside the door while she broke down. Once he'd done his checks around the house he'd come upstairs, hearing her from the hallway, stopping outside the door. His mind was at war with his conscience, but at the moment, he didn't care. Enough damage had been done, and in his heart, he knew he had to fix it. He gently pushed the door open, seeing her sitting on the floor; he carefully sat beside her, then reached over and put an arm over her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, his bare hand caressing her shoulder; he'd done the diligence of taking his gloves off to talk to her. His other hand came to her face, gently resting a palm on her cheek as he wiped away her tears.

She felt the hand on her cheek, the urge to pull away from him rising. The pessimist in her couldn't help but think this was just another of his yo-yo moments; give it a few more, and he'd pull away and give her the cold shoulder. "Sorry? Sorry for what?" She choked out through tears, sniffling and trying to wipe her face. She couldn't help leaning against him; his presence was still deeply comforting to her.

"That day, you went home early because you heard what I said, didn't you?" He hadn't pulled away from her; his fingers were gently running through the sides of her hair, reaching to tuck it behind her ear. The back of his knuckles stroked her cheek gently, his gaze locked on her.

"What?" She asked sadly, looking up at him. "You... You knew?" Just the thought of him knowing that she heard what he'd said frustrated her. It made her angry. "You knew this whole time, and you never said anything?!"  She stood up, moving away from him as more tears welled in her eyes; he stood when she did, guilt in his gaze and an apologetic expression on his face.

"I... I suspected." His voice was calm and level.

"So you knew. You knew exactly what you said, and you said nothing! I don't get it! I don't get you at all!" She yelled, hands balling into fists at her sides. "One minute you're all nice and kind and taking care of me, and you won't leave my side, and the next it's like I'm annoying you! You give me the cold shoulder, shut me out when I think there's something, and I'm just... It's not fair!" All of her frustrations were coming out now. She lashed out, attempting to brush past him through the doorway, even weakly thudding her fist against his chest.

He wasn't going to let her go by. When she raised her fist he caught her wrist; his grip was firm but gentle, enough that it turned her back around to face him in the hallway. His other hand wrapped around her back, pulling her tightly against him in a firm embrace.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, a hand reaching up to stroke her hair. "I don't... It's a lot to explain. I didn't mean what I said, that day. I... I said it to shut Naruto up. I knew if I said something like that, it'd get him off my case. If I'd known you were listening, I never would have said that. I'm so sorry." His voice had become softer and softer, and Sakura couldn't help what she heard. She could tell by his tone, by his body language, by the way in which he held her that he was sorry.

They stood there for a while, Sakura sniffling and sobbing against him. He continued to stroke her hair, whispering softly in her ear. She needed to get those emotions out, he knew; her frustrations with him were completely warranted. Once she'd calmed down he slowly released his grip, letting their gazes meet.

"Beautiful girls shouldn't be made to cry this much," he said, his lips twitching into a smile; his hand was on her face again, thumb stroking her cheek. She chuckled pitifully and leaned into his palm, her heart still a tussle of emotions. Right now, she couldn't quite believe those words, at least not when it came to herself, even if what he was saying was genuine.

"Why?" She asked. "I mean... why do you push me away so much? I just... I don't understand. Is it something I did?" She saw him inhale slowly, his gaze turning contemplative like he was looking for the right words.