BORUSARA - Oneshots xx

Dawn

Set during the time skip - Boruto gradually realizing his feelings for Sarada

Looking back now, Boruto had always known that he loved Sarada.

The realization had crept into his mind rather slowly, quietly, as a silent wanting to have her close to him, to be able to hear her voice and talk to her when his chest felt heavy and feel the warmth of her palm on his shoulder when he wanted to scream in despair.

In the years he spent away with Sasuke, he would glance at the moon, the same moon she could see, and wonder if he ever slipped into her thoughts the way she did into his.

He often found himself wishing he could spar with her, have her see him succeed after weeks of working on something, and catch the faint smile in the corners of her mouth when she thought he wasn't looking.

Boruto liked seeing her smile. And he loved that concealed smile more than anything because it was meant for him and him only. It made his chest swell with pride and blood rush through his body like a force driving him forward.

On rare nights when fatigue stifled his fears, she would come to him in his dreams, right before dawn.

In the dream, she would lie beside him and hold his hand on the pillow, touch his hair, run her fingertips over the features of his face, the edges of his lips, and his scar.

He would close his eyes and lean into her touch, tired and momentarily oblivious to the outside world.

Stay. Please, stay.

She never did. Boruto would wake up, wishing he could disappear, just for another moment, to escape the guilt that tore at his gut.

Sometimes they would sit on his father's stone face and talk about something ordinary. Something that didn't involve saving thousands of souls or stopping mass destruction.

The dream would be so vivid Boruto could even hear the echo of Thunder Train somewhere in the distance, see how the gold of the sun changed the color of her hair, and feel the wind on his face, a feeling painfully familiar. He would wake up more homesick than ever.

The nearer his return to the Hidden Leaf drew, the more often he dreamed of her running into his embrace at the gate.

No matter how hard he tried to feel her with his senses, to recall the scent of her skin, the warmth of her body, the rise and fall of her chest, and the beat of her heart, in his dream Sarada remained out of his reach, even though she was right there in his arms.

Longing for home and fear of never hugging her again blended into each other, never to be set apart.

It was after he returned to the village and spent days and nights training, fighting, talking, and going on missions with her that he first felt the urge to touch her lips with his own, to hold her and - kiss her, and have her kiss him back, and - his whole body shivered with some electric feeling at the thought.

At first, it had felt just as natural as it felt ridiculous. Sarada was his friend. They grew up together. He doubted she felt anything similar about him. Not that Boruto had much time or brainpower to analyze as they were saving the world.

All he knew for sure was that he needed her to be safe because if anything happened to her after everything that happened to his family, he would most certainly have lost his mind.

And when Sarada stepped into his arms and kissed him in front of the five great shinobi nations upon his return from the battle with Kawaki, Boruto stood frozen in shock for what could have been a second or an hour, overwhelmed with the feel of her mouth on his.

Then his arms wrapped around her waist, and he drew her closer, as close as he could without hurting them both, and his chest grew heavy with the sobs she swallowed, both his and hers, sobs of sorrow and relief.

They knelt on the ground together, shaking and holding on to one another, and that was when Boruto knew that there never was and never will be anyone else on this Earth or beyond it that he would love more than he loved her.

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(@Ladyuchiha96 on tumblr)

Disclaimer : Naruto and Boruto : Naruto Next Generations belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Ukyo Kodachi and Mikio Ikemoto.