Never Tell Me The Odds

Lean on Me

Author's Note: I decided to post something to one of my WIPs for New Year's with the hope that it will set a precedent for more updates in the future. As luck would have it, Never Tell Me The Odds had the most complete next chapter and didn't require too much effort. I haven't really felt much like writing anything new or requiring in-depth thought since my grandmother died, but I do want to try to start 2019 on a good and hopeful note so when I actually get back in the writing mood, I'll have the inspiration and motivation to complete a bunch of old and new stories.

So, here you guys go. Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks for supporting me this past year, and I hope 2019 is a less shitty year than 2018 has been.

This is unedited for obvious reasons. I'll get to it when I get to it.

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Sasuke debates with himself for a while before telling his parents about Sakura's departure. He's not entirely sure if it's fear over their reactions, or the fact that telling them makes the whole situation more real.

In the end, he chooses to confide in his mother first, knowing that she will keep his revelations to herself and if she does tell his father, she will know what to leave out.

He waits until his father has left for work one morning and shuffles into the kitchen where Mother cleans away the breakfast dishes. It takes a few minutes of hovering and trying to decide what to say before she takes pity on him and asks him what's wrong.

The entire story bursts from him then, like a tide that can no longer be held back. Sasuke is disgusted with himself to realise that his eyes have begun to tear up halfway through the tale.

Mother listens to him with her usual patience and an uncharacteristic gravity but does not comment or interrupt. When Sasuke closes his tale with Itachi's advice, she sighs wistfully. He expects her to say something comforting or sympathetic, but to his surprise a frown appears on her face.

"I would have expected more from Sakura," she says, a note of disappointment in her voice. "Going off without even a goodbye? She was raised better than that—and I should know, since I had a hand in it! And I'm a little surprised Mebuki never said anything about it to me..." She sighs. "Then again, considering how badly our children have mucked up simple communication, maybe it's not surprising. She likely thought I knew already."

"Mother?"

"I won't rehash it all now—from what you've told me, your brother did a good job of it already." Seeing his face, her expression softens. "Oh, sweetheart, I am sorry you're hurting through all this, and that Sakura left without telling you. If it makes any difference, I doubt it was any easier for her."

"How do you figure that?" Sasuke demands, distanced enough from his initial shock to start feeling a note of anger toward Sakura. It's a new sensation, one he doesn't like. "Between sending a text and not sending a text, one requires more effort than the other."

"I don't mean easier like that, Sasuke. I meant emotionally. It's a big decision to separate yourself from someone you love, even if it's for the best." Her eyes flit to the photo of Itachi as a baby, which has in recent weeks gravitated back to the mantle. "There aren't many people who are self-aware enough to recognise such a thing—even fewer with the strength to act. Perhaps the only way she could go through with it was by cutting herself off from you."

"But she never said—!"

"She could have handled it better, I won't argue that. But you're the one who should have actually explained how you felt about her and discussed your hopes for the future instead of simply assuming it would come to be just from you willing it to be so." Mother shakes her head. "Mistakes were made, on both sides. But you are both intelligent, and I trust you will figure it out."