Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ His Eyes ❯ His Eyes ( One-Shot )

[ A - All Readers ]

Title: His Eyes
Author: Sandlewood
Rating: G
Summary: He was looking at her again. She hated it when he wore that expression. It did strange things to her insides, squeezing her heart almost painfully.
Word Count: apprx. 1, 032
Author's Note: Wow...my first attempt at a NaruSaku fic! Please be kind, 'k? Also, am currently without my usual Word programme...so I attempted using the Wordpad format. Hopefully it doesn't look all goofy. -.-;



He was looking at her again. She hated it when he wore that expression. It did strange things to her insides, squeezing her heart almost painfully. He wasn't meant to bear an expression like that. It made her feel queasy and filled her with guilt.

He looked at her with adoration shining in his eyes, unashamed by the depth of emotion he was revealing for all to see. And she hated it. She didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of that look. And hidden within the openly adoring look was pain...pain that she had caused. Whether it be intentional or not, she'd hurt him, time and time again. And yet, despite this, he continued to gaze at her with those eyes that cut her to the quick.

He was smiling at her. She didn't know how he could manage to smile as if nothing was wrong. To anyone else, he appeared happy, confident and full of boisterous energy...just like always. She, however, saw beyond the false smile to the hidden pain behind it. The truth was there, in his eyes, if anyone cared enough to look. She didn't know why she'd bothered to look.

His strength astounded her. It wasn't just physical strength either. There was so much more there than first met the eye. She could see it behind the usual bravado and bluster...a strength of character that left her mind reeling and her heart thumping almost painfully in her chest. When had he become so strong? Or, had he always carried this strength within himself and she'd been too blind, like everyone else, to see it? The thought brought suspicious moiture to her eyes and a lump to her throat.

Sitting beside him beneath an ancient tree with wide branches overhanging a small stream she tried to ignore the way he was looking at her to no avail. Finally, exasperated, she turned to him with a frown. "Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

He appeared surprised for a moment before that strange smile he often wore returned. "Like what?"

Frown deepening to a scowl, she leaned closer to him, peering intently into his eyes, but remained silent, holding her breath as she waited. She didn't have long to wait before she saw the expression she'd come to expect enter his eyes again...the soft, adoring look that hurt her to see. Lifting her hand, she pointed accusingly. "That way."

Understanding flashed across his features followed immediately by a soft smile, similar to the one he wore moments before, but different all the same. She couldn't put into words what was different about it, only that it seemed sadder, somehow, more brittle, than usual. He leaned closer to her and though she wanted to run, she held her ground. "Don't you want me to look at you?"

There was a strange quality to his voice that she'd never heard before. She didn't know how to interpret it, only that it made her feel uneasy, uncertain, and suddenly very afraid. "That isn't it." She whispered, watching the way the emotions swirled within the depths of his eyes. They'd always been too open, too honest, too revealing for his own good. "That isn't it at all."

He tilted his head to the side in a familiar and endearing gesture that was all at once filled with childlike curiosity and a hint of mockery. It was a mannerism he'd adopted only recently, more than likely as a reflexively protective mechanism. "Oh? Then what is it?"

Suddenly angry, she pulled back and folded her arms across her chest with a huff of annoyance. "Just answer the question."

He turned away and gazed across at the other bank, silent, for several long and tense moments before finally releasing a heavy sigh. "It's because..." He began in a low and quiet voice...a tone that didn't suit him at all, in her opinion. Slowly, he turned his gaze back to her, eyes darkened with the depth of emotion mirrored within. "You're Sakura-chan."

He stated it as if the cryptic words explained everything. In a way, she supposed they did. She shook her head and tilted her head back to gaze up at the sky through the branches of the tree. Several long moments passed before she finally heaved a heavy sigh of her own and returned her gaze to him. She wasn't surprised to find him looking at her with soft eyes again. He'd always worn his heart on his sleeve, much to her annoyance. "Sometimes you say the strangest things." She muttered with a hint of exasperation, a small smile hovering at the corners of her lips. "Then again, you always were a weirdo." She laughed softly at his expression of mingled indignation and humour. She held out her hand to him. "Come on, Naruto." His hand was, as always, warm as he grasped hers. "Let's go home."

She linked her arm through his and leaned her head against his shoulder. She'd never understand why after so many hardships and so much heartache he continued to gaze at her with love shining openly in his eyes, especially after all the years of indifference she'd shown him. At the same time, she would be eternally thankful for his generous nature and seemingly limitless ability to forgive. His patience was astounding. After all, he'd waited for her to finally come to her senses and admit that she cared for him just as deeply as he did for her. It still hurt, of course, to look into his clear eyes and see the love shining in their blue depths, knowing that she'd wasted so much time chasing an illusion before realizing the truth before her. At least she had the rest of their lives to make it up to him by loving him openly and supporting him as he'd done for her for as long as she could remember.