Drowned by Ice

By S.S.M.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Do you?

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Sakura rolled her eyes uncharacteristically, growing ever surer that she would not succeed in getting any sleep… at all. She groaned inwardly. What had taken her so long to get to this point? The bright moon overhead shined annoyingly through the thin fabric of the tent. She cursed the sleeping figure next to her. He had taken the good spot, shaded by the leaves of the tree overhead. She wiggled around under her worn blanket, struggling to find a comfortable position on the hard ground. She shifted her eyes towards him, staring at him out of the corner of her eye.

Stupid Naruto. Forgets to pack an extra tent and then steals one all for himself. She snorted at the loud snoring seeping in through the crack under the tent. Why had Tsunade sent them on this mission anyway? Ino and her team were already on it, and it wasn't a hard one. "Go to the Sound Village and retrieve these herbs… blah, blah, blah…" She mocked her mentor under her breath. Sakura stared accusingly at the list of special herbs needed that lay innocently on the ground. "It's all your fault!" She spat out the words, glaring daggers at the piece of parchment.

"Are you ever going to go to sleep?" Her eyes widened in shock. Had Sasuke been awake this whole time? Why the hell didn't he say anything? He received a disheveled grunt in reply. His lips curled in an amused smirk. The cherry blossom had resorted to hiding under her blanket. He glanced at her wall of the tent, noticing how bright it was. "Do you want my spot?" he asked, knowing what was wrong. The lump under the blanket squirmed, causing the sheet to fly in all directions. Finally, a head of muddled pink hair emerged from the depths of underneath.

"I don't want your pity Uchiha! I can handle this on my own! I'm not WEAK, ok?" He raised an eyebrow at the irritated kunoichi. Great. She was grumpy. Well, no sleep really did a number on some people. He sighed and with a simple gesture he offered her his spot again. She narrowed her eyes, staring enviously at his side of the tent. "Hi-YA!" In a spur of the moment decision, she swung her arm up and socked him in the jaw.

He rolled off to the side, bumping into the wall of the tent. Sasuke stared incredulously at the enraged cherry blossom. "What the hell-?"

"Save it Uchiha!" She stuck her hand in his face, pressing her palm against the tip of her nose. He blinked several times before contemplating his options. He was alone in a tent with a mentally-exhausted kunoichi who had just punched him in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night. So, he did the only thing he could think of. He licked her hand.

Sakura pulled her hand away in a swift motion, cradling it as if it was bleeding. She stared at it with a disgusted, almost sad expression. It was then she began shifting her head towards him, in a slow, eerie movement, a vicious look painted on her dainty features. Perhaps licking her hand hadn't been the best decision when she was in such a mood… although her skin had tasted – He stopped him self before he could go any further. What was wrong with him? Wasn't he the stoic, emotionless, human ice cube of Kohana? Why the hell had be licked her hand?

He was pulled away from his thoughts by a shrill squeal. "You're in for it now Uchiha!" Sasuke attempted to remain calm… but he had never seen the cherry blossom so-so… He was lost deep in thought, trying to think of the right word. Sakura smirked menacingly. The shinobi was distracted. She curled her blanket up into a ball and aimed it at his stomach. When thrown, he looked at her with a confused expression. Why had she thrown her- "AAAAH!" She pounced like a cat going for a pound of kitty crack. He found himself pinned to the ground, an insane cherry blossom sitting on his stomach. He grunted his usual 'Hn.', trying to find a way out of his current position.

However, Sakura displayed a triumphant smirk across her lips. She grabbed her blanket and tugged it around her shoulders. "Well, what are you going to do now?" the Uchiha retorted. His companion frowned disapprovingly.

"Don't you know?" He shook his head dramatically, bouncing around in an attempt to throw her off. She laughed gently, leaning down and planting a kiss gingerly on his forehead. His eyes widened in shock. She then pressed her cheek against him, causing him a grimacing look. She shifted her position so she was lying on top of him. "Now we can both sleep under the shade, see?" Her eyelids slid closed and twisted her leg around her, and wrapped her arms around her waist. She would nod off to sleep soon.

Sasuke grunted in annoyance. Damn. Now how was he supposed to get himself out of this? He raised an eyebrow when she tucked the tip of her head into the nape of his neck. He growled. This wasn't right. Why did this feel so… comfortable? Well, it wasn't like he was going to get the lug off him anytime soon. The ice cube cautiously placed his arms around her petite waist. It was a good thing she didn't weigh much; otherwise this would be a lot harder to deal with. He sighed slightly when he felt her breathe against his neck.

The cherry blossom giggled softly in her sleep. The Uchiha's lips curved upwards in a tiny smile. She was dreaming. Her quiet laughter was followed by a shocked gasp. In the back of his mind, Sasuke hoped she would say something, just so he might get a notion of what or who her dream was about. She wriggled around, squeezing him tightly as if embracing him, before pressing her lips to his neck in another kiss. Her nose wrinkled when she smiled. Sasuke took it all in, inwardly cursing himself. 'Damn it! If you didn't have that stupid soft spot for her...'

He couldn't roll around with the cherry blossom using him as a couch, so he resorted to shifting his position slightly, just so that his captured leg was resting hesitantly against her thigh. His movement caused her to grunt it annoyance. "Sasuke! Slow down! I can't keep up with you!" The shinobi's eyes reeled over to her, staring accusingly. What could she possibly be dreaming about? She settled down. "We'll never finish this if you don't stop…" He was almost scared to ask. "Ow! Not so hard… gently."

He stared intently at her face. Her lips curved pleasantly into a peach pink smile. Sasuke frowned at himself. Did she really dream about him like this? He felt slightly guilty. He didn't think he was capable of… love. Had he been causing her false hopes all these years? It was then he caught the cherry blossom sniggering. He narrowed his eyes, scheming up a quick plan in his mind. He yelped out in fake pain. "OW! I'm going to…. die!" He emphasized the last words, causing her eyes to shoot open in concern.

"Oh my god! Sasuke are you alright?" He smirked at his victory. "Ok, ok. I'll get off Uchiha. Don't have a cow." She rolled off, growling when she noticed how bright her side of the tent still was. "Damn it! Doesn't the friggin' moon ever take a break?" Sasuke sighed. He knew neither of them would ever get any sleep if this crap continued all night.

"Sakura." The Haruno grunted. It was his famous 'I'm only going to say this once so you better listen up' kind of Sakura. She wiggled around so she could face him. "Come, you sit here." He pointed to the spot in front of him. She did what he said obediently, climbing over him to the other side of the tent.

"But then how you will you-" She stopped talking when he took action. He shifted her so her back was facing his chest and pulled her close. She gasped when he wrapped his arms gently around her waist.

"There." And that was that for the Uchiha. Now they could both sleep with the moon getting in their way. It was a simple solution, but his actions sent pleasurable shivers down the cherry blossom's spine. Inner Sakura was raving.

'Oh yeah! Wait 'till Ino-pig hears about this! She'll never be able live it down… oh…'

But regular Sakura was just trying to enjoy the moment. She knew there were slim chances of this ever happening again.

'He's breathing on the back of my neck… oh god… that feels wonderful.'

Even though her problems with the moon were solved, Sakura still found it hard to sleep. She glanced down at the hand dangling against her stomach. Another false hope, she reckoned. She knew this meant nothing to him. In the morning he would say nothing and soon he would forget about it, but she knew she wouldn't… This one was going in her memory bank, in that special vault just for Sasuke Uchiha.

Her brow's furrowed. She had few happy memories with him, and when they occurred, they were like… little pieces of heaven that she held close to her heart. Was he asleep? She hoped. The cherry blossom reached down and stroked the tip of her finger across the back of his hand. It was so smooth. She wondered what the other side felt like. She gingerly flipped his hand over and pressed her palm against his.

Little did she know, the ice cube was watching her every move. He let her play with his hand. She was like a child playing with a beloved puppet. She stroked each of his fingers, stopping and drawing imaginary lines on his palm. He glanced at her neck. He wanted… to kiss it. He toyed with the idea. Maybe just this once... he could forget about dignity and his stupid Uchiha pride, and he could let his emotions get the better of him… for the fragile cherry blossom he held in his arms.

He reckoned she had calmed down enough so that she wouldn't mind. She wasn't grumpy anymore, just tired. Sakura had just been playing with him… she was allowed fun every once in a while, right? Impulsively, he leaned closer to her, so his nose was touching her neck. Sasuke felt her stiffen slightly, but she then relaxed, figuring he had just stirred in his sleep. He smiled, knowing she still held his hand. The ice cube was gradually melting, and all of a sudden he didn't mind as much. He leaned in a little more, just so his could press his lips to her neck, and then down a little farther, just so he could reach her shoulder…

Sakura's heart beat quickened. She felt his trail of kisses softly puncturing her skin, each and every time, her heart stung sharply. She began shaking her head. "No Sasuke… stop it." The Uchiha did as he was told, confused. Isn't this what she wanted? Why was she rejecting him? "If I let you do this… you would just deny it later, wouldn't you?" Her voice sounded like a small whimper from the back of her throat. She had let go of his hand. "Because… you don't love me Sasuke." He knew she was crying now. "Not like I love you."

He was speechless. Had he heard right…? He shook the thoughts away, but couldn't stop those three words from drilling into his brain. She had said – 'I. Love. You.' Sasuke watched as her shoulders began to tremble. He frowned when he heard her sniffle repeatedly. He squeezed her waist protectively, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Don't cry Sakura."

The cherry blossom wriggled out of his grip. She still wouldn't face him. "Why the hell not? It's not like you care, you damn Uchiha!" Her words were laced with pain.

'Shit. Shit, shit, SHIT!' That was all the ice cube could think. He never intended to hurt her… he just did. He didn't want her to cry. He hated watching her cry as much as he hated his damn brother! But it just… happened. Sasuke grunted. 'This is why love is so pointless. Someone always gets hurt.'

"You're annoying."

Sakura stopped crying.

He was screwed now.

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A/N: SO, what did you think so far? I don't think it's that great but… eh, what the hell. It's not gonna be horrendously long, but I don't know the exact length yet so.

Sasuke: Damn it! I always screw things up!

Sakura: Tell me about it…

Sasuke: Hey, that was uncalled for!

Sakura: You started it Uchiha! pounces

Sasuke: I'm going down!

0.o

Well… let's get back to business. They're both a little feisty in this fic. , not to mention the human ice cube is a little slushy… but yea. Well, plz review! I would appreciate it SO much! Thanks!

Who else?
S.S.M.