Author's note: I don't know what came over me, but I decided to write a depressing KakaSaku story. It's loosely based on the song "when the party's over" by Billie Eilish, so I would recommend check that song out before you read if you haven't heard it before!

Writing this nearly killed me, so I apologize in advance for the sadness, but I hope you like the story nonetheless! I think I accidentally broke my own heart.

Last note: if you LOVE Kakasaku like I do, then head on over to TheBlackBriarSparrow's profile and read the story she's working on: "The Art of Catching Fire". It's a beautiful read and she's working so hard on it! Leave her a review and let her know how well she's doing 😉

Disclaimer: I do not own Kakashi (crying), or any of the Naruto universe, and the fantastical song "when the party's over" belongs to the illustrious Billie Eilish.

"Just call me when the party's over," there was an unflattering, bitter edge to Kakashi's voice that was so strong Sakura got a bad taste in her own mouth.

She knew he wanted her to stay. He wanted her to sit on the couch and wallow with him for the rest of the night. He wanted her to stare blankly at the wall and say nothing while he stared blankly at the wall and said nothing. He wanted her to be sad with him; he wanted her to be lost with him. But Sakura had found her way some time ago.

Gripping the door so tightly her nails dug into the old, warped wood, Sakura shot him a less than pleasant look. "I invited you to come with me."

Kakashi was staring at the worn throw pillow in his lap, absently picking at the loose threads and fabric pills on its surface. "I know. I don't feel like going out tonight."

Sakura breathed deeply, attempting to keep her anger in check as she turned slowly to face him, abandoning the door now marked by her anger. "And I'm assuming you're asking me to call you because you won't be here when I get home?"

"You know I won't be, Sakura," Kakashi glanced at her then, "I've got work to do."

Sakura frowned at him deeply then, almost insulted that he would tell her such an obvious and outright lie to her face. "Bullshit. You've got so many assistants doing your paper work for you that your title of Hokage is almost in name only." She knew that last bit was hateful, but she couldn't keep the words from rolling off her tongue. Kakashi was a great Hokage, they both knew that was true, but he definitely shirked nearly all of his clerical duties off on assistants. She knew he didn't have any work to do that night, like she knew he didn't every other night he had used that as an excuse.

If he was offended by her words, he didn't show it. He only cast his empty gaze on her and stared. He looked like that so often…always indifferent, always staring off into space. His smiles were almost never genuine, not anymore. Not like they used to be.

"Kakashi…" Sakura began. "I think…I think it's time we end this. When you leave tonight, don't bother coming back." Sakura almost couldn't believe the words as they left her lips. She hadn't been planning to say them, but the words had come out seemingly on their own and she couldn't take them back. She didn't think she was sorry.

That sparked a reaction, although not a dramatic one. Sakura almost regretted her words as she watched a brief, but deep flicker of hurt flash across Kakashi's eyes. He licked his lips once, twice. "What?"

"Clearly, I'm not good for you, Kakashi," Sakura threw her hands into the air, beginning to lose her temper as she took a step towards him. "I've given you my everything, I have done everything I can to keep you from bleeding, literally and figuratively. I've torn my heart out, I've bent over backwards. And I still haven't figured out a way to stop you from leaving. After two years."

Kakashi stared at her blankly, but he had begun clenching and unclenching his fist, a habit Sakura knew meant that he was stressed. That little action was nearly enough to break her heart, to undo her, but she had a sudden resolve in her heart and she knew what she needed to do.

*two years prior*

Sakura laughed happily as three of the ninken licked her face simultaneously – she was only a little grossed out by all the drool. "Geez, Bull! Will you cut it out? Gahh!"

Opening her mouth to speak was clearly a terrible idea, as the moment her tongue was exposed Bull licked her from chin to forehead, giving Sakura a terrifying taste of a dog's mouth.

Kakashi whistled and the dogs flew away from Sakura at the command, eagerly running to Kakashi to sit at his feet expectantly. He responded by petting them all behind the ears one at a time, dispatching them home one by one as he did so. Once all the ninken were gone, he straightened up and brushed his hands together, knocking the loose dog hair from his gloves. "Ah, sorry about that," Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck good-naturedly, "They just really like you, Sakura-chan."

Sakura stood, using the clean towel in her medic's bag to wipe the remaining drool from her face. "I like them too," she chuckled, "Just not enough to French kiss any of them."

The Copy-Nin approached her then, looping an arm around her waist and lightly skimming his other hand up her bare arm. "And what about me?" he asked, his tone so disgustingly innocent Sakura almost puked on him. "How much do you like me?"

The pink-haired medic smirked up at him then. "I'd say enough for a friendly peck on the cheek."

Kakashi smiled at her then as he pulled his mask down, bending to capture her lips with his own, "You could never be cruel enough to limit me like that, Sakura."

Snorting at his arrogance, she still shifted onto her tiptoes to give him easier access to her mouth. Who would've thought that Hatake Kakashi would have such soft lips? She closed her eyes as the kiss deepened, and relished in the quiet contentment that she felt whenever she was with him.

Kakashi was very openly frowning now. "Sakura…I know things have been less than ideal for us lately, but there's no reason to…"

Sakura folded her arms, waiting for the man to finish. She could sense the panic rising in him, due to being so closely attuned to his chakra. She began to fidget as she contemplated what she was doing. This was Kakashi. She loved him. But she was so tired of feeling empty when she was with him.

"We're just going to hurt each other, Kakashi," Sakura sighed, walking until she was standing a few feet in front of him. "You've been listless for months, more so than I've ever seen you. Ever since that mission…when I almost died after getting hit with that poisoned senbon. I know you're scared to lose me after you've already lost so many, but you can't let fear and sadness rule you like this. It's tearing us both apart and we won't be able to cope with it much longer. We don't have to let ourselves get hurt like this. We can end it before it's too late."

"Sakura," Kakashi had averted his eyes to the floor, his shoulders slumped even more dramatically than usual. "I know I haven't been the ideal boyfriend lately, but you've always known how I am. You're not surprised, are you?"

Sakura let out a ridiculous, irritated huff. "You're joking, right?" she scoffed. "You're really trying to ask me if I'm surprised that you let me down? Of course I'm surprised. If I had been expecting this to happen, I never would've gotten involved with you in the first place! I never would've signed myself up to get hurt like this." She felt tears welling in her eyes and she brushed them away violently. "I'm never going to get over you Kakashi. This is going to ruin me."

"Then don't leave me," Kakashi raised his eyes up to her own then, pain flowing unchecked from his face. "Please, Sakura."

*one year prior*

"Oh my god, Forehead! You two are so sickeningly cute together, I hate it," Ino grabbed a handful of popcorn from Sakura's bucket. "It's like you two were meant to be all this time."

Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend's idealistic comments. "He's pretty great, I'll give you that."

Settling back into her seat, Sakura passed the popcorn bucket down to Sai, who was sitting on Ino's other side. Kakashi still wasn't back from the bathroom, and Sakura had begun to debate going to check on him. She couldn't help but be concerned for him, his moods had been…unpredictable lately.

When the movie started and Kakashi still hadn't come back, Sakura got up and silently tiptoed out of the theater to find him. Standing outside of the men's bathroom, she closed her eyes and tried to sense his chakra in the room. She gasped slightly and frowned as her eyes popped back open.

He wasn't in there.

Sending Ino a quick text explaining that she was worried and was going to find Kakashi, Sakura left the building and immediately jumped to the roof for a bird's eye view. She scanned the rooftops and crowds for that familiar shock of white hair, beginning to become disheartened when she didn't see him anywhere. Where could he have possibly have gone? And why?

Disappearing used to be a common behavior for Kakashi – a behavior Sakura thought she had finally broken him of. He'd been doing so well for months, she had been so impressed with him. He hadn't pulled anything like this in Sakura couldn't remember how long.

Frowning sadly, Sakura jumped from rooftop to rooftop, sincerely hoping that Kakashi wouldn't be in the first place she had thought to check. The sky was growing steadily darker as she headed toward the cenotaph, the temperature dropping rapidly as it often did at night in the fall-time. Switching from the rooves to the trees as she grew closer, Sakura nearly cried when she saw a white speck in stark contrast with the dark gray stone.

Landing softly beside her troubled boyfriend, Sakura said nothing, choosing to give him a few minutes to explain himself before she questioned him. When, predictably, he didn't volunteer the information himself, Sakura grimaced and asked, "What are you doing, Kakashi?"

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly, almost imperceptibly when she spoke, as though he hadn't noticed she was there until she spoke. He tugged down his mask and wet his lips, his eyes never leaving the cenotaph before him. "I'm doing what I always do."

Sakura struggled to keep her anger in check. "What you always do? What are you talking about, Kakashi? It's not the morning-time, and you just left me and the others at the movies without saying anything. What's going on?"

The Copy-Nin still hadn't turned to look at her, and he had a sad, far-off look in his eyes that begged Sakura to drop the subject. She reached out to touch him, dropping her arm only after her fingers had gently brushed his sleeve. It didn't feel right, and that startled her. Frightened her.

Sakura turned away from him then, not sure where she planned to go but knowing she wasn't welcomed in her current location. She jumped up into the trees, and felt Kakashi's eyes on her, finally. She didn't turn, because she didn't want him to see she was crying.

Sakura was standing with her arms folded over her chest, trying to keep herself from shaking. "Don't ask me to stay with you, Kakashi. That's not fair. You haven't really been with me in months, probably almost a year. The most interaction we have anymore is when you decided to come over here and read on my couch. That only happens like twice a week!"

The medic sighed then, sitting down on the armchair across from the man she truly believed to be the love of her lifetime. "I'm tired, Kakashi, and I know you're tired too. I have done everything I'm capable of doing to try to help you feel better, and it's clear to me now that nothing is working. I'll always be there for you…as a friend," she added on the last bit hastily, awkwardly. "But I can't be more than that for you anymore. I honestly haven't been in a long time – you haven't so much as kissed me in forty-three days."

"You've been keeping track of that?" Kakashi was rubbing his hand through his hair absently, looking both distraught and indifferent at the same time.

"Of course I've been keeping track of that, you moron!" Sakura stood back up then, her temper getting the better of her. "My boyfriend has stopped showing me any physical signs of affection, did you really think I wasn't going to notice that?"

Kakashi stood then too, and took a few purposeful steps towards her. Sakura nearly yelped when he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. She immediately stiffened against him, his strong arms pushing her into the lumps and pockets of his flak jacket. Slowly, influenced by nostalgia and love, she relaxed, winding her arms around his middle and resting her head on his shoulder.

But it didn't feel right. It felt stiff and forced and wrong.

Sakura pushed away from him forcefully, noting the look of pain in his eyes that seemed to never leave these days. She wasn't sure if this time it was caused by her actions, or if that look of hurt was just etched permanently into his gaze. He reached for her listlessly, and she dodged his arm easily. He didn't try again.

"Stop, Kakashi," her voice cracked with hurt and the beginnings of tears, "We can't fix this. I can't do this with you anymore, I can't keep acting like everything is fine. Do you want me to lie to you and tell you I like it like this?"

"No," Kakashi finally spoke. "You're probably right. We never should've gotten involved in the first place. I knew this would happen, sooner or later."

Even though he was only repeating her, Sakura couldn't help but feel the wind be knocked out of her upon hearing his empty, cold words. They never should've gotten involved in the first place.

"Yeah, well we did get involved, Kakashi," Sakura all but spat at him. "And you know what? We were goddamn happy for a while. Why can't you just let yourself be happy? Why can't you let us be happy?"

The white-haired Hokage let his shoulders slump, taking on his usual and familiar posture. "I don't know, Sakura," he wasn't looking at her anymore. "If I could fix it, I would, but I can't, and neither can you."

Sakura nearly punched him. Closing her eyes and taking a shaky breath to try to reign in her violent tendencies, she spoke through clenched teeth. "I can, you just won't let me."

As a medic, it was Sakura's job was to fix people. Having Kakashi tell her she simply couldn't fix him was more hurtful than he knew. He never would've said something like that to her before – he would have known how much it would upset her. Now…Sakura wasn't sure if he was being stupid or if he just didn't care. Keeping in mind that Kakashi was something of a genius, she couldn't help but fear that it was the latter.

*six months prior*

Sakura blinked slowly, painfully, as she felt the poison flooding her system. She immediately sent large amounts of chakra towards the point of entry, knowing she wasn't going to be conscious much longer. She vaguely heard the sounds of combat going on around her, the sound of Naruto screaming her name, the feeling of Sasuke's hand on her forehead. She quickly succumbed to the blackness around her, hoping that the chakra she had expended to eradicate the poison would be enough to sustain her until her teammates could get her home.

She woke up some time later, unable to discern whether it had been a day or a week that she had been sleeping. Unable to open her eyes due to the bright light, Sakura simply raised a hand to her aching head, keeping her eyes squinted tightly shut. Panicking only for a moment, Sakura found she wasn't able to raise her right arm. Cracking one eye open against the harsh light, Sakura could just make out a fuzzy head of white hair laying across her right side, pinning her arm down.

Swallowing thickly, Sakura all but choked, "Ka-kash-i?"

The white head shot up immediately at the sound of her voice, and Sakura quickly had to shut her eyes against the blinding light of the hospital room. Reaching out her arms for Kakashi, she felt him intertwine his fingers with hers as he shifted his weight on the side of her bed.

"You scared the shit out of me," she heard him whisper as she felt him lay down next to her. He cuddled up next to her in a way he hadn't in some time.

"S-sorry," Sakura's mouth felt like sandpaper.

"As your Hokage, I declare that you'll never be leaving the village again," Kakashi murmured into her hair. He sounded exhausted.

Sakura laughed, which caused her to wince, at his half-joke, and let herself fade slowly back into the welcoming darkness of sleep with Kakashi by her side.

Sakura was trembling now, tears rolling unchecked down her cheeks as she gazed unabashedly at the man she had truly believed she would be spending forever with. Every kiss, every smile, every day they had ever shared came rushing to the front of her memory and again she questioned her decision to break-up with him. What would she begin to do without him? "Let's just let this go, Kakashi. Let me let you go before it's too late and I can't."

He reached out then, and Sakura simply closed her eyes, choosing not to move away from what may be the last intimate touch she received from her soul mate. She felt his fingers brush her cheek lightly, his thumb catching her tears as they fell and wiping them away. She felt him take a step closer, and another, and another, until she could tell that he was standing only an inch or so in front of her.

Kakashi kissed her softly, for the first time in forty-three days, and it was all she could do to keep from sobbing like a child. It was salty-sweet as her tears mixed in with their lips, and Sakura prayed to all the gods she had heard of that it would never end.

But it did end. She was suddenly cold and crying and he wasn't standing in front of her anymore. She cracked open her puffy eyes to see him standing a few feet from her, his eyes fixed on the floor by her feet. He had put his mask back on.

"I can't believe this is happening. You're going to break my mother's heart," Sakura said with a morbid chuckle, her voice thick with tears. "She loves you, you know. She'll blame you for never getting grandkids."

"You'll find someone else, Sakura," Kakashi clenched his fist again, obviously uncomfortable with talking about a future boyfriend. "Someone better."

Sakura shook her head, closing her eyes to try to keep her emotions in check. "No. This was it for me, Kakashi. I met the love of my life, I don't need to search anymore."

For a moment, she truly thought he was going to cry. He stood there before her, eyes glassy, hands shaking, eyes wide…and he said nothing.

"I'm leaving," the medic turned away from him, unable to look at him any longer. "If you're still here when I get back, and you are willing to try to be the person you were when we fell in love, then I'll consider it. If you're gone when I get back, then I swear to everything, Kakashi, this relationship is over. We can't keep doing this limbo thing – nothing is better sometimes." Sakura shut her mouth tightly, she wasn't confident she could get any more words out without having a complete meltdown.

Walking to the door swiftly without turning around to look into the empty eyes of her lover, Sakura stepped out into the cool night and ran.

*one month prior*

Kakashi hadn't kissed her in a week. He hadn't spent the night with her in months. She'd barely seen him in forever. She kicked a stone into the pond violently, not bothering to recoil from the giant splash it made as it crashed into the water and sank.

"Angry, are we?" a cool voice interrupted her sulking.

Sakura turned to glare at the Uchiha, choosing to stick her tongue out at him with all the elegance she could muster. "What's it to you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders indifferently, but came to stand next to her nonetheless. "It's important for teammates to understand each other."

"Sure," the sarcasm in Sakura's tone caused the Uchiha to crack a smile – in turn causing Sakura to frown.

"It's Kakashi, isn't it?" he had phrased it as a question, but Sakura knew that Sasuke was confident in his words. Damn that boy and his ridiculous intuition.

"Maybe it is," Sakura squinted out at the water, knowing that she wasn't being cryptic at all. Sasuke had already figured it out, there was no point in trying to hide it from him.

Her feelings for Sasuke had disappeared completely when she had started dating Kakashi. He had rejoined their team, and she loved him, just not romantically the way she used to. He was still very handsome, and a better person than he had ever been before, but his magnificence had always paled in comparison to her Kakashi. Now, he stood beside her, and she felt closer to him than she had felt to Kakashi in months.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Sasuke was frowning out at the water, "You deserve to be happy."

"Thanks," Sakura muttered under her breath, not completely thrilled to be on the receiving end of the Uchiha's pity.

"Do you think I could make you happy?"

The question hit Sakura like a ton of bricks. She couldn't decide if she was surprised or angry. Maybe both? "What is that supposed to mean?"

The bastard shrugged again, glancing at her with his mismatched eyes. "It can mean whatever you'd like it to."

"Ugh, just get out of here, Sasuke," Sakura was nearly fuming now, but was too emotionally exhausted to really yell at the man. "I need to think in peace."

He was in front of her then, and Sakura almost punched him out of shock and frustration, when he suddenly reached out towards her. He pressed two of his fingers against her forehead, like he had before, watching her face intently. "Good luck, Sakura."

Sakura didn't go to the party. She went to Ichiraku Ramen with Sasuke and Naruto. She had trudged to each of their houses individually and yanked them out their respective doors. Naruto had been so excited by the prospect of ramen that he didn't notice her glassy eyes. Sasuke, on the other hand, had narrowed his eyes at her immediately, but was wise enough to keep his mouth shut.

They ate and talked and laughed and Sakura couldn't help but feel a little bit better. There was still a hole in her heart where Kakashi belonged, but Naruto and Sasuke always helped to make her feel like she was going to be okay. She had been acclimating to Kakashi's absence for so long…

She felt tears spring to her eyes as she watched Naruto talk animatedly about a joke Kurama had told him, and her vision blurred slightly.

Naruto noticed that and his face immediately fell. "What's-a-matter, Sakura-chan? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, Naruto, I'm just happy," Sakura smiled at him, not feeling guilty about her half-lie.

That was apparently enough for the blonde, and he resumed his story excitedly, arms flailing. She could feel Sasuke's intense eyes on her, though, and she marveled at the fact that she would've paid a large sum of money for this kind of attention from him some years ago.

Some time later, Naruto left to meet up with Hinata, leaving Sakura alone with the dark-haired menace they called their best friend. He was still looking at her, his face more tender than she thought she had ever seen it. She frowned at him.

"What?" her question came out more sharply than it should have, but Sasuke didn't react or seem bothered.

"Did he break-up with you?" Sasuke's voice was carefully even, not betraying any emotion.

Sakura grit her teeth at that. Of course he thought Kakashi had been the one to break up with her. Did Sasuke still think that she was just some lovesick little girl? He always seemed to know the perfect way to insult her.

"No," Sakura huffed bitterly. "I broke up with him and he begged me not to, so now I feel like crap."

Sasuke's eyebrows raised almost imperceptibly at that and he said nothing, averting his eyes momentarily to take a drink from his water glass.

"What?" Sakura nearly growled at him. "Did you think I'd be too weak to do it? Do you just think I'm –"

"You did right, Sakura," Sasuke interrupted her. "Stop assuming I think so little of you. I am just surprised Kakashi couldn't get it together when faced with the possibility of losing someone like you. I assumed if things ended, it would be because his self-doubt would overcome him, and he'd leave you out of guilt."

Sakura nearly choked on her drink at that. It almost sounded like a compliment. A vague one, but still. "Well, I gave him the chance to stay. If he's home when I get there, he has a chance."

"Is that a good idea?" Sasuke's cool voice slid over her, angering her and chilling her at the same time.

"It doesn't matter," Sakura frowned at him. "He won't be there."

"Hn," Sasuke sat back in his seat. "Want me to walk you to your street?"

Sakura accepted, and the pair began the short walk to Sakura's neighborhood. She lived very close to all of her boys, so Sasuke wouldn't have a far walk home. Turning to wish him a good night when they reached her street, Sakura found that Sasuke was already looking at her. "Goodnight, Sasuke. Thanks."

Sasuke reached out to her and she closed her eyes, as she had grown accustomed to the strange tapping of his fingers against her forehead. His touch lingered a little longer than necessary, and Sakura opened her eyes in question.

He was simply staring at her, a slight downward tilt to his thin lips. "Goodnight, Sakura-chan."

The suffix caught her off-guard, and as Sakura turned to finish her walk home, she couldn't help but shoot a glance back toward the Uchiha. He was already gone, unsurprisingly. She wondered if he had said it on purpose, or if it was merely a slip of the tongue.

As Sakura neared her home, she couldn't help but slow her steps. Her living room lamp was on and shining in the window, but she knew that that didn't mean anything. Kakashi wouldn't have bothered to turn it off when he left. Still, that light offered as a small beacon of hope that maybe, maybe he had stayed.

As quietly as she could, almost so as not to scare Kakashi away if he was inside, Sakura inserted her key into the lock and opened her front door.

That bubble was quickly popped. The hope was promptly shattered. The heart was swiftly broken.

She was on her own.

For a moment, that is. Sensing another, familiar chakra presence, Sakura jogged into her kitchen. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you get here before me?"

Sasuke didn't turn to look at her, instead he continued to go about filling the tea kettle, shrugging his shoulders lightly. "I'm fast. I figured you might want some company," there was only a little bit of hesitation in his voice.

"You…what?" Sakura could barely believe her senses. There was no way that Uchiha Sasuke was standing in her kitchen, making her tea, offering to keep her company since her boyfriend – well not boyfriend, had bailed. Her heart thrummed painfully again at the thought of Kakashi, and she had to struggle to keep her tears in check.

"You heard me," Sasuke said simply, placing a hand carefully on her back and guiding her back to the living room, back to her couch. "Just sit down, and I'll bring you some tea."

Sakura sank into the cushions, still completely bewildered and thrown off-guard by Sasuke and his actions. What the hell was going on with him? He was acting like he…cared. The thought alone was enough to make Sakura shudder, and almost enough to make her laugh. The thought of Sasuke caring about her emotional well-being was something she would have never bet on in a million years.

"Here," Sasuke returned to the room with two steaming mugs of tea, handing her one. He sat on the opposite end of the couch and tossed her remote at her. "Find something you like to watch on TV."

"Who said I wanted company?" Sakura raised an eyebrow at him, feeling the need to challenge him but subconsciously hoping her words wouldn't drive him away.

"I did," the endlessly cocky Uchiha said. "Now, turn on your TV."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, complying nonetheless. The night passed by easily, with her occasionally breaking down and her teammate occasionally patting her on the head. While she hadn't been expecting him to be there, nor had she wanted him to be there, Sakura couldn't help but be a little grateful for Sasuke's presence.

"Thank you, Sasuke," Sakura murmured sleepily from her corner of the couch, not daring to look at him.

Kakashi was gone, and she would never be whole again, she knew that was true. No one could ever begin to replace him in her life. The hole in her heart would never be filled, and she was certain that it would ache every day until she died. All the same, she was grateful that Sasuke had shown up, she wasn't sure if she could've handled the solitude.

After a brief pause, Sasuke filled the silence. "You're welcome, Sakura."

Sighing gently at his words, Sakura closed her weary eyes.

On the sidewalk outside Sakura's house, looking through the living room window, Kakashi stood with a wilted flower he had stolen from some poor old woman's garden. Crushing said flower in his palm, Kakashi weighed his options. He could either go inside and tell Sakura he had changed his mind, or turn and go, and let her be happy with Sasuke – the man she was probably destined to be with.

His heart constricted painfully when he saw her pink head turn to look at her Uchiha teammate, and he was reminded of all the nights he himself had spent with her on her couch. Unable to look anymore, Kakashi turned to go. He had been right before, he never should have come back. Now the vision of Sakura and Sasuke together would be there to haunt him in his dreams tonight. Out of every mistake he had made in his life, and there had been many, ruining things with Sakura had been the worst.

Starting his slow walk home with dejected steps, Kakashi acknowledged that he had done this to himself. Sakura had given him plenty of time to get his act together, and he had failed her. Like he always failed the ones he loved. He really did want her to be happy, even if he could never be happy without her. He just hoped he could find it within him to be happy for her when he saw her with someone else…when he saw her with Sasuke, because he knew he would.

He missed her dearly already.