Acquiescence

--

that night he caged her, bruised and broke her

he struggled closer, then he stole her

--

When he finds her, she is alone.

(Her eyes are glassy and shining and the stars are reflected in them like emerald mirrors--)

She doesn't bother to acknowledge his presence, merely curls into herself deeper and clutches at the fragments of peace she'd managed to find in this broken, broken world. He watches and waits for her to say something, anything--yell or scream or cry-- but she doesn't. There's only silence, and he hates it with every fiber of his being.

(She used to be loud and outspoken and beautifully daring, rejecting and calling him out even publically, but he'd broken her, broken apart everything she knew, and now she--)

"Sakura," his voice is a mere whisper on the wind, hardly capturing her attention. Her eyes, slowly, painfully, drag themselves over to meet his, and he almost-almost winces but smiles at her gently instead because he knows she'll hate it. "It's past curfew, my dear."

For a moment, there's a spark of something lost and angry. She almost replies. But there's only silence as she nods eversoslowly and stands against the renewed harshness of his gaze. He snaps, takes brisk strides over to her--grabs her arms and forces her to meet his eyes. His expression is furious, but she doesn't react in any way that suggests she might see.

(Because she's learned the hard way that screaming and pleading and glaring and hatred get you nowhere with this man--)

"Look at me," he growls, and his words are laced with a fury that he'd never imaged he'd feel, "see me. Show that you can still fight me…!"

(He's become very well acquainted in the silence of this torn village, but only this time does it bother him, only now does it destroy the calm façade--)

His lips find her out of raw frustration, and he kisses her until she's fisting his cloak in her hands, pushing, making quiet sounds of protest. He pulls away from her, searches her eyes for any signs of life; she stares back blankly, slow gasps escaping her. He can see tears shining, hot and sparkling, in her eyes.

He decides it's better than nothing, and kisses her again.

--

I have some weird fascination with writing Sakura.

Please pretend you're not allowed to submit one word reviews. xD