Empty

How long had she endured those one sided hugs?

Sasuke knew the answer was as long as they had been acquainted. How empty it must have been, her arms grasping his body, never to feel his own return the welcome touch. Always reaching, never sure if it she was going to be slapped away.

He knew what that emptiness felt like, because he was experiencing it now. He crushed her to his chest, but she remained limp in the circle of his arms, no acknowledgement, no return embrace. The blood was everywhere. It left her empty.