Ai Ai Gasa: Under Your Umbrella
a SaiSaku oneshot
(A/N: I recommend listening to "Ai Ai Gasa" by Tegomass while reading this.)
He was waiting when she left the hospital. She ducked, dashing the small distance to his bat umbrella.
"You came," Haruno Sakura said quietly as they began to walk down the street.
"Aa," Sai replied.
They continued on, the rain drumming against the umbrella. But the two teammates remained safe under their black shelter.
"It's really coming down," Sakura said quietly.
He nodded in agreement. They lapsed into a quiet silence again. It wasn't an uncomfortable one though. No… after all the times Sai had come by to pick her up on rainy days like this, now it was just… comfortable.
The pinkette recalled the first time he had held an umbrella for her. She had been watching Naruto train in the rain, trying to master the power up to his Rasengan. Her emotionless teammate had sneaked up on her, opening the ink creation over her head without asking. She'd started at the sudden lack of rain on her and glanced over to see him smile at her.
For some reason, that smile made her heart race a little. Of course, then the tactless idiot had to open his mouth. But…
Even as she remembered, her lips turned up in a soft smile. But… he had helped her admit the truth. He, the person who knew nothing about feelings, had helped her with hers, even making her blush like she hadn't since Sasuke left.
Then he'd laughed. Honestly laughed from his heart as he ducked through the forest in the rain. Her heart skipped a few beats even at the memory of that laugh. Not deriding like Sasuke's usually was. Soft, almost… affectionate.
Sakura was jolted out of her reverie when their elbows bumped. "Ah, gomen," she said, taking a step away. She hadn't even realize they'd gotten that close. It wasn't that it scared her to be that close to Sai. No, it made her nervous because it made her heart pound and her cheeks heat.
"It's fine," Sai assured her, his voice sounding almost… amused.
Walking like this, they were almost like a couple, she realized. She glanced up and giggled a little.
"Ne, ne! Sai!" the pinkette said gleefully. "Do you know what it means when two people share an umbrella?" She leaned forward slightly, a smile forming on her lips.
"Eh?" he blinked at her.
"So you don't?" she said, grinning. "When a boy and a girl share an umbrella, it's special," she explained, eyes closed as she assumed her classic I'm-teaching-you-something pose, one finger aloft.
"It's something couples do as a romantic gesture usually." She looked over at him and stopped dead in her tracks at what graced his face.
A blush. Sai was blushing furiously.
She stared, somehow fascinated by his embarrassment. He had stopped as well, and now they just stood there under his art as the rain poured down around them. They looked at each other, Sakura's hand unconsciously held in a loose fist at her lips, his free hand stuffed into his pocket.
They stayed there for several moments just looking at each other. At the same time, they both grew uncomfortable and looked down at the wet street, anywhere but at each other.
He cleared his throat after a minute. "We—you should be betting home."
"Oh, hai." She resumed her walking, but now the silence between them was no longer relaxed. Instead both were nervous, trying to calm pounding hearts.
The tension continued to build, increasing until they reached her house. They stopped at the top of the path that led to her door. Neither said anything or moved for a moment.
"Uh, Sai, about what I said earlier," Sakura said at last, breaking the silence first.
He turned his dark gaze on her to show her he was listening.
Her heart started to race as hard as it had when their arms had brushed, as hard as when they had first shared an umbrella. "Uh… I… that is… I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I mean, I know you don't like me like that."
His face revealed nothing, and she plunged on.
"I know you think I'm ugly and you're just being a good teammate by walking me home on rainy days—"
"I knew," he said quietly, making her break off abruptly.
"What?"
He looked into her green eyes as he explained. "I knew what it meant to share an umbrella. And… I'm not doing this because I'm a good teammate."
Her cheeks flushed again, and she cursed herself and her transparent feelings.
Sai slowly leaned down and kissed her gently. His drawing had disappeared and the rain fell, soaking both of them as they shared their first kiss. Neither noticed the rain around them, too absorbed in the other.
He withdrew after a few seconds, but stayed close enough that she could feel his breath ghost across her heated skin. "I did it because I like you, Sakura."
"I—I like you too, Sai… kun." She turned even redder as she finally gave him the suffix she had only used for one other person.
He smiled then, and her breath caught in her throat at the sudden, unexpected beauty of it.
His lips were on hers again, and she let her eyes slide closed. Her arms found their way up around his shoulders. She lost track of time as they just stood there in the rain outside her house, kissing. The cold, their thoroughly soaked clothes, everything else didn't matter except for the other person who had thoroughly stolen each other's heart on their rainy walks together.
All too soon though, he pulled away again. "I should let you go," he murmured into her wet pink hair. "You'll catch a cold if you stay out here."
Her lips curved up as she remembered the first time. The first thing he had said after covering her. The same words.
"Come pick me up tomorrow?" she asked quietly.
"Okay." He kissed her forehead gently and walked her to the door.
He kissed her again before he left. She shut the door after he disappeared from her sight. She leaned against it and smiled a little, touching her lips.
She couldn't help but hope it rained again tomorrow.
A/N: Omg! My first SaiSaku piece! As far as Sakura pairings go this one is probably about tied for second place with ItaSaku. I ran across this amv with that adorable scene between Sai and Sakura in episode 81. And boom! This oneshot popped into my head! And even better, no one else has this idea posted on fanfic for these two! And yes, over in Japan it's supposedly romantic to share an umbrella.