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illwork4anime · 4 years

Text

Excerpt from Done with Love Ch 5

Scene: Shikamaru helps Sakura deal with feeling overwhelmed.

Status: In-Progress

Genre: Mystery/Romance

Ships: Sakura-centric with Shikasaku

[FF | AO3]

"It's just so much," She finishes, letting out a long breath. A moment of déjà vu settles over her and suddenly she's back on Kakashi's couch after the break-in feeling small and wanting to be given all the answers. "Tell me what to do. Tell me how I get through this."

"That's not how this works," Shikamaru murmurs, shaking his head. Shikamaru wasn't Kakashi. He wasn't going to do everything for her when she fell down. He would give her a hand, help her to her feet and they'd get through this together.

"Tell me what you think you should do." He says. She squeezes his hand tighter.

"I just want to give up. It's too much pressure," She says, hanging her head. " And what's the point of doing any of this training when my team doesn't even believe in me?" She's thinking about Tsunade's harsh comments and Kakashi shutting her out. Would that really change if she passed the evaluation at the end of the training?

"Are you really only doing this for them?" He asks. It's a leading question, she knows it.

"You want me to say no." She grumbles and he returns a smirk.

"I want you to be honest with yourself." He clarifies, head tilting to the side.

She lets out a huff and tries to search inside for the answer, but she can't focus. Every pathway just leads to more questions, about herself, about what her team thinks of her and about this big secret being kept from her.

"I don't know," She finally breathes. The pressure is closing in on her again, and it's hard to take in air. "I can't think straight. I'm just so overwhelmed."

His thumb strokes his ring on her finger. "Do you remember what I said when I gave you this ring?"

It felt like forever ago, but it was just earlier tonight. She remembers, "You said it helps you think."

"Yes, and I also said it helps me refocus on what's important." He adds, leaning closer. His expression is open, unembarrassed. "It easy to get caught up trying to predict everyone's choices, everyone's motives, and in trying to plan 20 moves ahead. But worrying about all of that can get overwhelming. Sometimes, you need to just come back to the present and focus on what you can control. Take things one move at a time."

Even now, just focusing on his steady voice is calming. She holds his gaze and feels herself start to settle again. One thing at a time. She could do that.

"Will you try it for me?" He asks, head cocking to the side. His hair spills over his shoulder as he does.

"Okay," she agrees. She turns toward him on the couch, crossing her legs in front of herself. She feels suddenly a little silly and isn't sure what to do.

"Close your eyes," he says, and she does.

The world goes dark. Its one less thing for her mind to process, one less distraction from her thoughts. Her brow furrows, mind filling with buzzing phrases. Liability. Rejected. Something is being hidden. Spoiled little girl. I thought you were better than this.

"Take a deep breath," he instructs, voice low and even. She focuses on the sound of his voice, letting it echo through her, pressing down the fragments of her memories. "Let everything else around you fall away."

She does as he says, inhaling deeply. The scent of pine and earth fills her, grounds her. She exhales fully, pushing out all of her worries, her doubts. Her shoulders relax slightly.

"Again," he instructs. She can feel the heat coming off him against her legs, and she inhales again, taking in his smell, the smell of Nara forest. She pulls on the calm of that place, the steady certainty of it. She doesn't think about anything else, anyone else.

"Better," he murmurs, seeing her relax fully. "Now focus on what's right in front you."

He means what's figuratively right in front of her, the next move, but all she can focus on is him. He's a physical anchor tethering her to the present. He's a distraction from all the chaos in her mind.

She opens her eyes, taking in all the familiar details in his face. His high cheek bones, the corners of his mouth, his quick mahogany eyes. He leans forward and his hair tumbles over his shoulder. She wants to reach out and brush it back, as he had done to her earlier in the night.

"What are you thinking about?" His voice is low, dark. Barely above a whisper. Her gaze slides to his and the heat in his eyes, the question behind them, has her breath coming shallow and fast.

"You," she answers mindlessly. His throat bobs, drawing her eyes away and they seem to take their time sliding back to his again.

She had already decided she didn't want anything to change in their relationship. That the uncertainty of her life was too much, and this one steady thing was the only thing holding her together. But she could already feel something shifting between them. Something pulling her in.

"I didn't mean that literally," he murmurs. His lips quirk up at the corners.

She can feel his breath on her cheeks and his eyes drift down to her lips, watching for her to answer.

Where had the space between them gone? Each fraction of a second she remained silent it grew smaller still.

"I know," she breathes out. His eyes darken.

Like this? Read more here:

Done With Love - [FF | AO3]

#Done with Love #WIP #Fanfiction #fanfic #fanfic recs #Shikasaku #shikamaru nara #shikamaru #sakura haruno #sakura

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