I'm back again for my third Thunderstorm story!
Seeing as I have nothing to say, I'll just let you read the story:D
(Don't forget to review. Thanks!)
Disclaimer:I do not own Naruto or the characters/settings portrayed in this story.
A Series of Fortunate Thunderstorms
Thunderstorm Three: Sasuke and Sakura
His name was Sasuke Uchiha. He was an avenger and a loner.
And he has no idea when that changed.
Maybe it was when he started facing the door when he slept instead of the wall.
Or maybe it was when he started getting up extra early to train.
It was both of those things, yet it was neither.
Because it was actually when he decided to return to Konoha.
The reason: Sakura Haruno.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey, Teme! Wake up!"Naruto yelled towards a distracted Sasuke.
Sasuke has been acting weird lately. Naruto thought with a confused look, observing his best friend.
"Hn, like you could land a hit on me anyway, Dobe."Sasuke replied with a reappearing smirk.
Trying to avoid talking about his unusual behavior, Sasuke threw a few shuriken towards Naruto's now grinning face and shot a few fireballs for good luck.
No such luck.
Substitution! Sasuke thought, frantically looking around for the knucklehead ninja.
"Over here, Sasuke!"Naruto shouted from atop a nearby tree.
Sasuke quickly turned around and was about to attack when he saw Sakura down at the training field.
Sakura…
Completely forgetting that he and Naruto were fighting, Sasuke casually walked over to Sakura.
"Hey Sasuke!"Sakura welcomed cheerily, her smile becoming larger at Sasuke's arrival.
"Hey Sakura."Sasuke mumbled back, trying to stay in character.
But for Sakura, Sasuke saying anything, much less her name, was totally out of character.
Sakura looked surprised for a second, before recovering and smiling widely at the dark-haired boy.
"I see you and Naruto are fighting again."Sakura casually remarked, trying to start up a conversation with her longtime crush.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, scanning Sakura's delicate and beautiful physique, before pulling back to her eyes and replying.
"Yeah, I was just showing the Dobe all the new things I've learned since I left."
Sasuke said, telling only a part of the truth.
The only new thing he was demonstrating for Naruto was his inability to pay attention when Sakura Haruno crossed his mind.
But that was neither here nor there.
A sad look crossed Sakura's face when Sasuke mentioned his departure, and Sasuke had a strong urge to replace it with the smile she had before.
"Hey Sakura, do you…um…maybe want to go to the store with me?"Sasuke stuttered out awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head and looking away in embarrassment.
Sakura just stared at him in obvious astonishment, failing to remember the last time she heard Sasuke say so many words. Especially to her.
This was definitely new.
"I mean, I'm almost out of tomatoes and I thought we might as well get the shopping done together."
Wow, real charming, Sasuke. He thought sarcastically.
Recovering yet again from an out of character Sasuke statement, Sakura's smile popped back into place and she put her hands together, jumping up and down.
"Really? You mean you want to spend time with me?"Sakura asked, her happiness spreading to Sasuke.
Fighting down a smile, Sasuke put his hands in his pockets.
Oh, why not. I'm a new man, so Sakura should be the first to witness it. Right?
"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"Sasuke replied, letting the smile emerge victorious as he turned to walk away.
Sakura internally giggled at the reply and rushed after him, linking her arm with his as they walked down the street.
"Ha! It's about time the Dobe made a move!"Naruto said to himself loudly, not minding that he was totally forgotten when Sakura showed up.
After all, it was his plan.
"Alright Hina. Let's go back to your place and you can teach me how to play this Twister game you keep talking about."
Hinata came out of nowhere and landed gracefully, a blush adorning her cheeks.
"S-sure thing, Naruto" She stuttered out cutely, following him towards the Hyuga Estate.
"I'm glad our plan worked, Naruto."Hinata said brightly, smiling up at Naruto's grinning face while she held his rough hand in hers.
"Me too, Hinata. Me too."Naruto replied, stopping so he could lean down and capture his girlfriend's soft lips.
Sasuke walked arm-in-arm down the mid-afternoon streets of Konohagakure with the beautiful Sakura, his mind racing at just the thought.
She's so cute and lively. Sasuke thought while looking down at the cheerful Haruno girl.
Do I really make her this happy?
I am so Happy! Sakura screamed inside her head. Sasuke and I are out on a kind of date and he looks like he actually wants to be here.
Inner Sakura:
Psh, of course he does! He asked you, didn't he?
"Hey Sasuke, where are we getting the tomatoes?"Sakura asked the dark-haired shinobi.
Sasuke looked down at the sunny pinkette and smiled, causing Sakura to blush.
"Well, I was thinking we could just go anywhere you wanted to go."Sasuke said with a slight shrug.
Sakura blushed and smiled gleefully at Sasuke's new attitude.
She loved the new Sasuke.
Sakura giggled, making Sasuke look down at her in amusement and wonder.
"What?"He said with a hint of a smile in his voice.
"Oh it's nothing."Sakura said, laughing behind her hands.
Sasuke just looked at her with a cocked eyebrow before a devilish grin appeared on his face.
"Nothing is it? Well, tell me, is this nothing?"Sasuke said mischievously, before reaching his hands over to tickle the unsuspecting pinkette.
"Wha-! Sasuke! Stop tickling me!"Sakura managed to get out before she lost her breath to the tickling.
"Not a chance! Not until you tell me what was so funny."Sasuke said with a wide grin, tickling the laughing girl even harder causing her to fall to the ground.
Avoiding the stares of the townspeople, Sasuke quickly seized his opportunity and pinned Sakura's hands above her head with one hand and tickled her with the other.
Little did he know is that he was straddling the girl in a very sensual way.
Point for Team Sasuke.
"A-alright! S-Sasuke, s-stop!"Sakura breathed out, causing the dark-haired man to stop his ministrations. "Are you going to tell me now?"Sasuke said, his grin taking up half his face.
"Ugh, fine! Do you really want to know?"Sakura said, trying to cover up her smile with a stern look.
Sasuke leaned forward over the pinkette and whispered softly, making sure to say every syllable in an intensifying way.
"Of course, Sa-Ku-Ra."
Sakura blushed a deep red at the seductive tone the Uchiha was using and looked down shyly.
"Well, I was actually just laughing at how cute and amazing you're being today."She stated softly, blushing an even deeper shade of red.
Sasuke looked a bit stunned and a hint of pink stained his cheeks.
"Oh. Thanks, Sakura. I think you're cute and amazing all the time."He said that last bit quietly but Sakura still heard him.
Sakura's eyes widened and she almost fainted Hinata-style.
"You really think so?"She asked, trying to confirm that she's not just going crazy.
"Of course. Now wake up!"Sasuke said, shaking her by the shoulders.
What the heck?! Sakura thought as she woke up in her bed at home.
"I guess it was just a dream."Sakura said to herself, sadness evident in her voice.
"Guess again."A smug voice said from right beside her.
W-was that…? Sakura thought, slowly turning her head to see who had spoken.
Sitting on her bed staring at her intently, was Sasuke.
"Hey there, Princess."Sasuke said with a grin.
Sakura blushed at seeing Sasuke in her bed and speaking in such a way.
She put a hand to her head to steady herself so that she wouldn't fall out of her bed.
"I must still be dreaming."She thought out loud, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.
"Actually, the dream you had was real. I put you under a genjutsu using the Sharingan and some of your memories from earlier today."Sasuke said, shrugging his shoulders and laying back down in the pinkette's bed.
Sakura looked up at him in surprise, knowing Sasuke wouldn't lie to her like that.
Looking around her room and back to her and Sasuke in bed she blushed a deep red and started stuttering.
"Y-you d-don't m-mean that we did…you know…?"Sakura squeaked out cutely making Sasuke's insides turn again.
After a few seconds of thought Sasuke shot up and out of her bed quicker than a lightning bolt.
"W-wha…?! No! I wouldn't take advantage of you like that, Sakura."Sasuke said, his voice cracking.
"Oh. Then why did you put me under a genjutsu?"Sakura said, feeling slightly disappointed that her and Sasuke didn't do the deed.
Sighing and clutching his chest, Sasuke got back under the covers with a slight blush.
"Well, you see, after we went shopping I walked you home and helped you put your groceries away. Then we went to my house to put away the tomatoes, but it started to thunder a bit."
Sakura looked up at Sasuke and knew immediately why she had passed out.
"But how did we end up back at my house?"She wondered aloud.
Sasuke cleared his throat to continue his story.
"When the thunder got really bad, you started to shiver and shake and I knew something was wrong."
Flashback-
"That was so much fun, Sasuke!"Sakura said happily, clutching the young man's arm.
"After we drop off your tomatoes what do you want to do?"Sakura said, eagerly waiting for a good answer.
"Well, actually I was thinking-"Sasuke started to say before being rudely cut off by an annoyingly loud boom of thunder.
"Oh great, it's going to rain.''Sasuke mumbled to himself."Hey Sakura, we should get inside before it-"
Cut off again, but this time by the trembling of the girl beside him, Sasuke immediately dropped his bag of precious tomatoes and grabbed Sakura by the shoulders.
"Sakura! Sakura! What's wrong?"Sasuke asked, lightly shaking the girl's delicate shoulders.
Sakura turned to look at Sasuke with clear fear in her eyes and whispered, "The thunder. I can hear it."
Sasuke looked puzzled for a few seconds before realization dawned in his eyes.
"You're afraid of thunder, aren't you?"He asked Sakura with a soft voice she couldn't place.
Looking into the eyes of the young man she loved, Sakura felt safe.
She nodded slightly, not trusting her shaky voice for confirmation.
Sighing, Sasuke took Sakura into his arms, surprising her for the thousandth time that day.
"Why did you never tell me?"Sasuke asked, fearing the answer.
He was one of the most admired shinobi in the village before his sudden departure, and for good reason.
He was the last of the Uchiha, or so they thought, and he was the dark and broody type.
Sure, he never understood why girls were so drawn to him.
All he did all day was train and keep to himself.
Maybe it was because he was unobtainable. People like what they can't have.
But he had given his heart to the pink haired girl since he first saw her.
Everyone was so clueless. He just had to act like a jerk and not talk to anyone and they were convinced that that was who he was.
He didn't leave the village just for power. He left to kill his brother, and because the curse mark drew him to Orochimaru.
But he took care of it. So that he could come back to the girl he loved.
Yeah, he said it. He loved her.
"Sasuke, are you sure you want to know?"Sakura said to him quietly.
The fear in her voice was apparent and he just wanted to get her somewhere safe where he could comfort her.
"I think I already know, but I want to hear you say it."Sasuke said, surprisingly smiling.
Sakura's eyes widened and she leaned in closer to the embrace of the Uchiha man.
"Alright. When you left, things went south. Naruto and I searched for you everywhere. We even got into a fight with Orochimaru and his men."Sakura paused to take a shaky breath.
"We couldn't find you anywhere so we went back home and tried not to think about our failure."Sakura looked at Sasuke and he gave a hesitant nod, motioning for her to continue.
"Naruto vowed on his life that he would find you and bring you back. But you came back on your own "She smiled at this fact before continuing.
"I wasn't always afraid of thunder, you know. It started after you left and I woke up on that bench.
I dreamt of you every night. All I wanted was for you to hold me."
Sakura trembled as a small rumble of thunder pierced their story time.
Sasuke held Sakura close to his chest, as per her wish and quickly ran towards her house, his tomatoes forgotten on the side of the street.
"You became afraid of thunder because of me, didn't you?"Sasuke said quietly, his shoulders shaking with self-loathing.
Sakura looked up at him in surprise, before nodding slightly against his chest.
Sasuke's expression darkened and his hold on her tightened.
Sakura looked up at Sasuke, her lip trembling as another bout of thunder echoed in her eardrums.
"Sasuke, look at me."She said with authority, despite being afraid of the noise in the sky.
Sasuke looked her in the eye slowly, and Sakura gasped at the sad look in his eyes.
Taking his head in her small hands, she caressed his cheek and gave him a smile.
When did he change so much? Sakura thought wonderingly.
He's been showing a lot of emotions today.
Sasuke finally returned Sakura's smile after a few minutes and was about to speak when a very loud boom of thunder invaded their moment and made Sakura's eyes widen before she fainted.
"Shit!"Sasuke cursed under his breath when he felt the beautiful pinkette go limp in his arms.
Gathering his chakra in the soles of his feet, Sasuke crouched down and launched himself like a rocket all the way to Sakura's house.
Landing with a thud, Sasuke grunted at the great distance he had just jumped.
Not even bothering to shake off the force of the impact, Sasuke walked towards the Haruno household and burst through the door.
Lucky for him, neither of Sakura's parents were home to catch him in such a precarious situation.
Alright, where is Sakura's room? Sasuke wondered, turning his head to search for it as he explored the girl's home.
Going up the stairs, he assumed hers was the room at the end of the hall.
"Alright Sakura, what now?"Sasuke whispered to her beautiful face as he set her down gently on her bed.
Straightening his body, Sasuke turned around and observed his crush's room.
"Hn, fitting for a girl like Sakura. "Sasuke said, smiling smugly at the hint of pink and the cuteness of her room.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I could lose my virgin lips in this room."Sasuke said with a weird smile."But we're going back to my place to really seal the deal."
Turning around slowly, Sasuke's eyes landed on the passed out pinkette, who seemed to be sleeping soundly.
She looks so cute like that. Sasuke thought, smiling at the adorable frown that she had on her face.
Stirring in her sleep, Sakura seemed to be having a nightmare and Sasuke was by her side in an instant.
Opening her eyes slightly, Sakura saw Sasuke in her half sleeping state and murmured something unintelligible.
Seizing his opportunity, Sasuke activated his Sharingan eye and caught Sakura in a genjutsu while her eyes were still open.
He spared no time in releasing both of their memories into the perfect dream.
Feeling as if his work was done, Sasuke got under the girl's covers and settled into the warmth of her bed.
In no time at all, Sasuke was off to dream land to join Sakura.
He unconsciously smiled at the sweet dream he was having of the pinkette.
And as quickly as sleep came he was woken by Sakura.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"And that's what happened."Sasuke explained to Sakura with much hand motioning.
She just nodded at him as they sat cross-legged on her bed.
"Well, that all makes sense. What doesn't make sense is why you would do any of this for me?"Sakura said with a stern look on her face that promised pain if she didn't get a straight answer.
Sasuke looked uncomfortable and rubbed the back of his head like it would produce a viable answer.
Sweating nervously, Sasuke refused to look the young woman in the eye and just resigned himself to the tortures of being in love.
Lying down on Sakura's bed, Sasuke sighed in defeat.
"Do you really want to know?"He said softly, closing his eyes.
Sakura's expression softened and she moved closer to the man she loved.
"I would really appreciate it, Sasuke."
Opening his eyes, Sasuke turned his head to look at the cute pinkette and smiled a genuine smile that would have had her flustered as a young kunoichi.
But instead of being flustered, Sakura fought down her blush and kept her focus on Sasuke.
"I have feelings for you."Sasuke said bluntly.
Really? Sakura deadpanned internally.
Sensing that Sakura was about to lose her cool, Sasuke continued.
"I came back because it was unbearable to live without you. I needed you more than I needed the power to kill Itachi."
Sakura's eyes widened to the size of saucers at the impossible words she heard the Uchiha man speak.
"So I forced the curse mark from my body and left that accursed place."Sasuke said with a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"Turns out, the curse mark controlled some of my mind and when I got rid of it I could think clearly."
Sakura let out a shuddery breath and tears rolled down her cheeks in relief.
Sasuke hadn't left. His mind was in disarray and he left to fulfill a basic instinct put there by the curse mark.
"Thank God."Sakura sobbed into Sasuke's shirt."I was sure that I had lost you forever and that you chose power over the village. Over me."
Sasuke grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and forced her to look him in the eyes.
His resolve almost crumpled when he saw her shining eyes glistening with tears.
Closing his eyes and opening them with a smile, Sasuke whispered reassuring words to his princess.
"I was never over you. Ever since our days at the academy you've caught my attention."
He paused to continue."I had no idea what to do with my feelings, though. You were pretty and had beautiful pink hair. It set you apart from the rest and I like that."
Sasuke wiped away Sakura's tears with his thumb as a smile grew on her face.
"I had just lost my entire family so I'm sorry that I couldn't have told you back then.
I just had no idea how to love you when I had just lost everyone I had ever loved."
Despite what he was talking about Sasuke was still smiling.
"I know I went about things the wrong way and that my parents wouldn't have approved of me defecting, but…I know that they would be proud of me now. And proud of the girl I fell in love with. Because I know I am."
Not giving Sakura any time to let his oddly sensitive words sink in, Sasuke leaned down and captured the lips of the pink-haired princess.
Sakura let out a gasp of astonishment at a moment she had been longing for and Sasuke took the opportunity to turn their passionate kiss into a full on tongue kiss.
Sasuke took both of Sakura's hands into his right and leaned over her, effectively trapping her between his legs and pinning her hands above them.
Sakura moaned into the kiss and Sasuke felt his stomach give a turn at the perfect sound coming from her mouth.
Letting out all the built up tension they had held in, Sakura wrapped her legs around Sasuke and he groaned as they became closer.
"Sasuke…"Sakura breathed out, her pink lips swollen from all the attention they had been getting.
Sasuke ignored her out of breath call and tilted her head with his free hand so he could place fluttering butterfly kisses on her neck.
She moaned at the sensation and Sasuke barely suppressed a groan at the feeling of her grinding her hips against his.
Coming up for much needed oxygen, Sasuke rested his forehead against Sakura's and breathed out her name in a husky manner.
Sakura whimpered as Sasuke went down and started tickling her abdomen with his kisses.
As quickly as he started, he stopped.
He glanced towards his pink-haired partner and saw the cute pout she was wearing.
Grabbing her around the waist in a tight hug, Sasuke nuzzled into her neck and laughed a deep, genuine laugh.
Sakura glanced up at Sasuke in confusion before she heard him say the three words.
Looking her in the eyes with a very wide smile, Sasuke said with a look of recognition.
"I Love You so much, Sakura."He said, snuggling into the neck of a cute and blushing Sakura.
Before she could respond, her bedroom door burst open and the couple looked up to see Sakura's parents, Kizashi and Mebuki.
Sasuke looked between Sakura and her parents a few times before looking down and seeing how close he was to their daughter.
Springing up and out of the bed in a flash, Sasuke began to stammer and stutter looking for the right words to explain what he was doing.
Sakura sat up slowly and looked at her parents with a worried look.
Fortunately for Sasuke, Sakura's parents didn't seem to be angry.
"Alright, I need to know why Sasuke Uchiha is here in your bedroom and why he is getting intimate with my daughter."Kizashi said to everyone in the room at once.
Seeing this as his chance to get in the good graces of Sakura's parents, Sasuke sidled up to Sakura and grabbed her hand.
Ignoring the look of surprise Sakura was giving him, he looked Kizashi in the eye and spoke firmly.
"I take full responsibility for the situation and if you don't mind I would like to explain the situation."Sasuke said boldly, squeezing Sakura's hand in support and refusing to back down from the intense gaze of Sakura's father.
He's acting differently than the Sasuke we used to hear about. Kizashi thought suspiciously. Sakura used to obsess over the boy before his defection and he's just now gotten into the good graces of the higher ups. I can't exactly trust him, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt considering he seems to have changed.
Glancing at his wife, Kizashi let out a sigh and looked between the two hand-holding ninja.
"Alright, I'll hear you out. But I'm going to be talking to Sasuke alone before I see you two together."Kizashi said firmly.
Before Sakura could open her mouth to protest, Mebuki spoke for the first time.
"Sakura, you'll be coming with me. We have to talk to you both separately before we can all discuss it as a group."
Swallowing her arguments, Sakura let go of Sasuke's hand and followed her mother out of the room, down the stairs, and into her parent's room.
Sasuke was left standing there under the scrutinizing gaze of Kizashi before he motioned for the Uchiha to follow him into his study.
Sasuke swallowed a nervous lump in his throat and couldn't find a logical reason he was so nervous.
This is not how I imagined I would be meeting the parents. He thought bitterly.
"Close the door."Kizashi commanded as he sat at his desk.
"Sit."He said, motioning for Sasuke to sit across from him.
Sasuke sat down slowly, not breaking eye contact with Kizashi for a second.
"Now tell me Sasuke, what exactly were you doing with my daughter."He didn't ask. He commanded.
Feeling the nervous sweats beginning, Sasuke muttered a useless mantra.
I'm a ninja. I'm a ninja. I'm a ninja. He repeated in his head. It did absolutely nothing to help him, though.
"Well sir, if you don't mind I would like to start at the beginning."Sasuke said without a trace of nervousness escaping into his voice.
Kizashi folded his hands underneath his chin and nodded at the young Uchiha to continue.
Taking a deep breath, Sasuke started his explanation.
"It all started this morning at the Team 7 training ground-"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mebuki shut the door of her and her husband's bedroom and immediately turned to Sakura excitedly.
"Well? When did you guys get together?"She said with a wide grin, jumping up and down with glee.
Sakura immediately colored at the abrupt interrogation and turned her eyes down.
"Well, it started this morning at the Team 7 training ground-"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After the two had taken their turns explaining the story to both parents, they convened in the living room to talk as a group.
Sakura's father spoke up first.
"Mebuki and I have spoken and we've come to a conclusion about you two."
The idea would have been confusing, but Sasuke had explained to Kizashi that he had every intention of courting Sakura.
"It seems that your relationship has started today, so at least you weren't keeping anything from us."Kizashi frowned before continuing.
"I have spoken with you, Sasuke, and I find you to have matured greatly and if I was someone other than Sakura's father, I would have paired you two up almost definitely."
Sakura's face lifted a bit at his words but returned to neutral when she sensed a 'but' coming.
"But…"Kizashi said, making Sasuke tense up slightly."I am her father, so I must be more discerning than if I was another family member."
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Sasuke…Sakura…I don't think I could stop you if I wanted. After all, I know what it is like to be in love. Hell, I still am."He turned to smile at his wife and Sasuke noticed that all traces of stress were gone.
"Sasuke, you have permission to court my daughter. But know this: I will have my eyes on you. If you hurt her, I will hurt you. Understand?"
Kizashi looked pointedly at Sasuke with his arms crossed.
Sasuke, forgetting that he was the stronger ninja if ever they were to fight, swallowed his nervousness and nodded.
"Good. I will still have to keep my eyes on you. It's my father duty after all."
Sasuke and Sakura loosened up after they saw the man grin widely.
"Alright! Now that that is all taken care of, will you be staying for dinner, Sasuke?"
Mebuki asked the young Uchiha.
Sasuke wasted no time in accepting. After all, he now had a family to share a meal with.
Feeling a hole inside him fill up at the thought of a father and mother.
And wife.
Kizashi and Mebuki left the room with knowing looks and Sasuke was left alone to smile lovingly at Sakura.
He turned towards the lovely pinkette and took her hands, capturing her attention as well.
She gave him a glowing smile and looked like she couldn't contain her excitement.
"Sasuke! They actually approve of us being together. Isn't it so perfect-?"
Sasuke cut her off at the end of her excited ramble with a passionate kiss.
She melted into his arms and closed her eyes in response, moving her arms up to wrap around his neck.
Sasuke pulled her in close to him by her waist and deepened the kiss.
Pulling apart after a minute of intense lip locking, they both gasped for breath.
Sasuke tilted Sakura's chin up so that he could look her in the eyes.
His resolve almost withered away right there when he saw her flushed face and half-lidded gaze, and he was seconds away from kissing her again.
But not just yet.
Leaning his forehead against Sakura's, Sasuke looked her in the eye with his obsidian orbs and whispered with as much passion and conviction as he could.
"Sakura Haruno, I Love You. And I'll never share this love with anyone else. Until we have kids, that is."He finished with a smirk.
Sakura gasped in surprise at his bold statement of having kids.
"Oh Sasuke, I…I Love You too."She said with a smile.
Only a little bit longer. You can wait to kiss her. Sasuke thought in vain.
"Oh fuck it…"He whispered under his breath before leaning in to capture Sakura's lips again.