The night of redemption and serendipity began in a ramen shop, no other than the famous Ichiraku Ramen. The pinkette sat next to the man with jet black hair as they ate their meals, engaged in a lively conversation about past occurrences that would stay with them for years to come.

Sakura had finished her noodles and was waiting for her boyfriend to finish his. As she did so, she lightly swung her legs back and forth under the counter. Sasuke Uchiha had finally completed his meal, and with money already on the counter, was ready to leave the small restaurant and go over to Sakura's, as they had previously planned.

As they got up from their stools, the little television on the back counter was broadcasting the nightly news, weather first of course. They paused to listen.

"Heavy showers are expected tonight..."

That was all Sasuke needed to hear. He swiftly grabbed Sakura by the wrist and walked out of the shop before Teuchi could wave goodbye from behind the counter.

Sakura made a confused grunt as she was taken by the wrist and dragged out of the restaurant. Before her head ducked under the signs covering the inside of the warmly lit ramen shop, she waved back politely to the man behind the counter. She then again turned around so she could easily escape her boyfriend's grasp and catch up to him. Sakura wondered why he had decided to leave so abruptly. They had already finished their meal, but what was the rush?

As the couple passed over the bridge above the stream running through town, Sakura stopped Sasuke.

"Sasuke, what was that?" She asked sternly.

"What was what?" He replied confused.

"You know what I'm talking about..." She took notice of Sasuke's oblivious look and sighed. "Why'd we leave Ichiraku Ramen so fast?"

Sasuke looked rather eager to go, tapping his foot and eyes darting to everywhere they could strain to look besides the pinkette in front of him. Mirroring him, Sakura tapped her foot and then crossed her arms, waiting for an answer.

"Well we have to avoid the rain of course, so let's go," he said eventually.

Sakura had always noticed how Sasuke, rather seeming like the kind of person who would enjoy the wet rain, avoided it ever since they were little. However, she had never worked enough nerve to ask him, or he had never answered her question. It was a little blurry now that she thought about it.

"It's just rain, nothing we haven't encountered before. It's not like it'll do any harm, it's just wat- " She was cut off by a few wet drops on her forehead. "-er..." she trailed off as Sasuke looked slightly frantic, having noticed the precipitation as well. She put her hand on his upper arm, but as soon as she did, she yet again was pulled away by the Uchiha. He strode swiftly over to the nearest place of cover, which just happened to be a park bench. It wasn't the most comfortable, that metal bench. But it was surrounded in glass, the ceiling black painted metal. Shrubs and other vegetation outlined the bench and the perimeter of the path it followed. They sat together and Sakura sighed, displeased with her makeshift answer.

Sasuke tapped his foot as he silently watched the rain all around him falling on the ground and landing on the glass creating droplets that pooled and fell.

He sighed. He had once found rain soothing. However, that all changed that night. He had allowed such a small and natural thing get to him.

It had been pouring the night his clan had been murdered by no other than a member of his own family. The calmness of the water from above churned his emotions and thoughts. The sound of the water hitting the ground made his throat and lungs squeeze, wanting to cry out for help, anybody, but no one had been there that night. The night of the mass murder had completely changed his views on the world and its natural cycles. His sunny days no longer had any particular happiness, lightning and thunder weren't scary, snow had glistened insignificantly. But rain, rain is what had always had a meaning. At night when it rained he'd lay awake, crying, drowning his pillowcase in streaming tears. He missed his family, his clan, everyday things he had once enjoyed, but were now painstakingly, unbearable memories of his life.

Why him, he had always yearned to know, why him?! His silent calls remained unanswered all his life, no one to turn to, no one to consult.

The rain began to come down much faster and heavier. The sounds reverberated off the glass louder and louder. Memories of the chilling sound filled his thoughts. The pain of the past had become to unbearable.

Unable to push any further, the Uchiha turned away from his girlfriend and started to cry. He shook and crumbled with a jagged breath. His tears ran down his face as his body jolted from the pure intensity of his emotions. His strength he had tried to press down for so many years had come back up and ran out of his eyes, from his chin to the ground. He had though he'd finally overcome his pain, his past. All of that was now out of the window, as his spirit broke little by little. He couldn't just piece his heartache back together, his family, back together. He had always known this deep down, but he'd never purposefully acknowledged it. The man was falling apart slowly, nearly almost gone forever, if he could just disappear, maybe his memories could to. He had managed to hold himself together until now, but he hadn't seen it as a good thing. He continued to cry, tears driven by the sheer power and inescapable deeds of his dear brother Itachi Uchiha.

All this time Sakura sat in utter shock. She had never seen Sasuke break like this, and it was unbearably painful to watch. She had seen him at his strongest, and at his seemingly worst, but that hadn't nearly compared to the level of the crying man in front of her at that very moment. He had always been strong and composed whenever he was near anyone. His state baffled the girl as she had never experienced someone in so much pain and suffering before.

After finally overcoming her shock, she hesitantly put her arm around Sasuke and held him next to her.

In so much pain, Sasuke did not even care that he was so vulnerable in front of Sakura. He leaned in closer to her and continued to cry uncontrollably as she patted his back, trying to comfort him in any way possible.

A considerable amount of time had passed before Sasuke's eyes had run out of the once untamable tears, as he had still felt the need to cry but was unable to do so. He sniffed and tried to calm himself down.

Sakura hushed him and tried her best to rock back and forth in effort to settle him to the best of her ability. She loosened her grip on Sasuke as he tried to sit up again. He eventually made it upright but leaned against Sakura for extra support.

His eyes were closed, shut by dried tears, and his breathe was shaky as he whispered "I'm sorry" into her ear.

She was rendered speechless yet again. She continued to move her hand around his back as she tried to produce a response that could measure to what he needed to hear.

"No, no, don't be. Just let it all out, it'll be okay." She has tried her best.

Sasuke immediately pushed himself away from her. "But it's not okay!" He screamed. "Nothing's okay, and it won't ever be! You just don't get it" He growled and got up to leave the protection of the bus stop. Sasuke walked into the pouring rain, but hissed and jumped back undercover as soon as the little drops hit his body.

He leaned his head against the glass and tried, really tried, to cry but nothing came out. In a silent internal struggle he banged his hand against the glass. He banged and banged once more until he had managed to create a crack in the glass. The sound of the shattered pieces scraping against each other made him cringe but did not stop him from running his hand over the shards of glass.

Sakura immediately got up from the cold seat and went to comfort him. She surrounded him in a surprise embrace from behind as Sasuke felt the cool glass on his forehead. His shaky and uneven breath started to steady, blanketed in his girlfriend's warmth. Sasuke murmured something Sakura couldn't hear before removing his hands off the broken glass and turned around to face her. Not making eye contact, Sasuke buried his head in the crook of her neck and hugged her tightly. She hushed him yet again and stood there, not wanting to move. Sakura then ran her fingers through his coarse black hair causing a shiver to run down his spine.

Sasuke was very appreciative of Sakura's company tonight. If she hadn't been there, he might've done something worse to the glass, his surroundings, and his mental state.

...But perhaps if he had been alone, he could've escaped the rain and gotten back to his place before he had gotten caught in the weather. Maybe his memories could've been manageable tonight. He could've shut the blinds on all the windows and turned up the volume on anything he could find to drown out the sound of the precipitation hitting the building and ground. He could've had a peaceful night, calm and serene. Or if he had stayed with Sakura tonight and she hadn't have been so stubborn, they could've reached her place in time. A peaceful night together sounded perfect.

Sakura loosened her grip on the man and Sasuke gazed at her emerald eyes. His red and damp eyes meet the never dulled sparkle of hers. Remorse immediately swelled inside him. Blaming Sakura for his lack of composure tonight had been immensely immature. She was his source of his happiness now that his family was gone. He sighed and gave Sakura a guilty look.

What was going on in Sasuke's head tonight? Sakura wondered. He had been standing still for a little while now, red eyes regaining their normal color. In silence, besides the splat of water hitting the ground and vegetation around them, they stood face to face. The two were standing there for a solid five minutes before Sasuke sighed and leaned back against the cold glass and rested his head in his hands.

Unsure of what else to do, Sakura reached up and moved his hands away from his face and brings them to his side and keeps hers on top of them. Their fingers intertwined as Sakura came closer and leaned against Sasuke. Neither moved for a while, not wanting to disturb the other. Her pink hair was sprawled out over his chest his eyes were closed, trying to soak in the situation.

Sakura sighed, knowing she'd have to get him to talk eventually. She pulled back from his body and his warmth and faced him. Before speaking, she grabbed his hand and held it in between both of hers.

"Sasuke, c-do you want to talk about anything? I think it be good to get it off your chest, whatever it is because it's obviously taking a tremendous toll on your wellb- "

She was cut off by a groan from Sasuke. He rubbed his face before opening his mouth.

"I...it's about the night that-that Itachi" He choked on his words, tears threatening to start up again.

Sakura immediately understood his pain tonight. He was thinking about the night his clan had been murdered by his brother, Itachi Uchiha. This must have been immensely painful, but she was still unclear on what had triggered these extensive emotions all of a sudden. He had mentioned getting out of the rain but was that the only thing?

"It's okay Sasuke, I know it's a...sensitive topic. But I do believe it could help to maybe tell someone so they could help you. And I happen to be all ears." She flashed him a comforting smile and waited for an answer.

Sasuke took a deep breath and prepared to share his past with Sakura, not that he was upset it was her, in fact that was completely opposite, but that the pure pain it brought upon him had already pushed past unbearable.

For at least the third time that night, Sasuke took Sakura by the hand and led her back to the bench to sit. Sakura sat facing toward him as he shifted uncomfortably on top of the cool metal.

He took another deep breath before starting his rant. "I-it was raining-pouring the night that Itachi had...done what he'd done. Before that night it had never bothered me, in fact I loved the rain. But it had changed after that night. I couldn't see what I had liked about the rain, just the murder of my entire clan." His voice started to raise, but Sakura her hand on his upper arm to signal him to try to calm down. "It was so hard, I just couldn't take it all in...and I still can't," he sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "I thought I had achieved enough closure to move past this."

Starting to comprehend what he was saying, Sakura tried to respond to the best of her ability. "Well you don't need to move past it, and no one could if they were in your situation. It's just impossible, but you can let it help you grow and prosper because you'll be able to deal with it...if that makes any sense."

It didn't sound as good as it did in her head.

"But I can't just deal with it!" He replied harshly. "It's plagued me for all my life, and if I haven't come to terms with it yet, how could I ever? My family is gone and now...well just look at me, I'm falling apart." Exasperated, Sasuke put his head down and stared at the ground, haunted by the pounding of the pouring rain.

How could Sakura respond to that? She paused before responding.

"It's still possible, Sasuke, it'll take time and that's perfectly normal. It'll get better I promise. We-" a perfect idea formulated in Sakura's mind. "Yes, that's it! We need to give you new memories in the rain, maybe that'll help you feel better!"

"I don't think that'll work, Sakura. We're at a bus stop because I can't even hear the rain without breaking. How do expect me to go in the rain?"

A little upset, but still determined, Sakura got up from the bench and stood in front of her date. "Come on, Sasuke. I know you'll be okay and it'll help you through all this," she assured him. She flashed him an encouraging smile.

Sasuke pushed back his roaring emotions as best as he could and hesitantly gave his hand to Sakura. She suppressed a giggle as she took him by the hand as he had previously done that night. She walked out into the pouring rain and turned around to Sasuke, not caring about her hair and clothes being soaked almost instantly. She didn't care about what she looked like right now, she just wanted Sasuke to feel better.

Hopefully this works, she thought.

Sasuke walked to the edge of the roof over the bus stop and tentatively stood there, not wanting to go any further. He stared at the ground.

Sakura huffed. What could she do to help him out? She didn't want to force him into doing anything he didn't want to do, after all it was a very serious problem he's dealing with.

"Are you sure you can do this, Sasuke? We don't have to if you feel uncomfortable-"

To her amazement, Sasuke took a large step out into the open. His hair was now clung to the sides of his face and his clothing hugged his body tightly. Sasuke inhaled slowly jaggedly exhaled. This was his first time voluntarily in the rain after that night. He couldn't even believe what he was doing, how had he found the courage to face one of his biggest fears?

Sakura was spinning around in the rain, and stopped as soon as she felt Sasuke's gaze rest upon her. She smiled brightly and waved a hand wanting Sasuke to come farther from the protection of the glass structure.

She looked stunning in the rain, he thought. She had always, stunning in looks and in the way she treated others. She was simply perfect. She had even managed to pick him up from his lowest point. No one else he knew could do that, and he was extremely thankful for the pinkette to have been part of his life. She was his strength right now, and now he knew she would be more years upon years to come.

He took another step towards her. She was now making her way back over to him after gazing at the flowers around the path. She had picked up a daffodil and put it behind her ear as she laced her arm in Sasuke's. She was so happy that her plan had worked, and even though she didn't think he was quite enjoying it yet, he was still out in the open. She'd take what she could get.

"You doing okay, Sasuke?" She asked. "You haven't said anything else yet."

It took him a while to snap out of this thoughts, but he eventually answered her question. "Y-yeah, I'm doing just fine," he tried to smile at her, still conflicted about how to feel. He was caught at a crossroad, either let the pain of the precipitation and its memories take over or allow himself to have a good time, but that might take a while to do. He looked over at Sakura next to him. She was staying there with him, not forcing him to move anywhere and willing to move at his pace. He wanted to overcome this and with Sakura by his side, he knew he could, but he still second-guessed himself. As much as he wanted to have a good time, those memories restricted him.

But hopefully that will change tonight, Sasuke thought.

"Want to keep moving?" Sakura asked him, jumbling his thoughts.

"Where to?"

"Well we don't have to far if you don't want to," Sakura said," But maybe the bridge just for now to help you feel more comfortable."

"Sounds good," Sasuke agreed. He felt better with Sakura and her ideas. Thanks to her, he had begun to embrace the rain, but still wasn't all the way to moving on.

They walked together over to the bridge they had crossed earlier. Both stopped halfway over the bridge and rested on the railing.

"You enjoying the rain yet, Sasuke?" His date questioned him.

"I'm not sure yet," Sasuke confessed.

"Ok, I think I know what will help," a mischievous smile spread across her lips right before she took Sasuke by the arm and led him over the bridge to a small, hidden pond at the end of the stream about five blocks down.

They finally arrived at a peaceful haven beside the stream running through Konoha. Sasuke had never seen this place before but wouldn't doubt Sakura had come her many times before. There was the main stream, this section came to a close like the bottom of a thermometer and wasn't overly crowded with stepping stones to the other side. Medium-sized trees outlined the perimeter along with pink and blue and many other colored flowers. Proving that Sakura had been here countless times before, a pink picnic blanket on the other side of the stream. She danced like a ballerina over the stepping stones. Halfway through, she waved at Sasuke to follow.

Sasuke was not as graceful. He managed to make it past the first three big, square rocks, but almost slipped on the fourth. Sakura covered her mouth, not wanting her giggle to escape. She hopped two stones over to Sasuke and took his hand to give him a little more confidence. He stepped closer to her, both on one stone. The sound of the rain pounding the leaves and plants around them, along with the rushing water, drowned out any other sounds, making the small haven almost silent.

They stood there, face to face. Slowly, Sakura backed to the edge of the stone, Sasuke's hand intertwined with hers. She took his other arm and put it on her hip. As soon as Sasuke realized what she was doing, he raised his arm to spin her around. She laughed and a blush was now present on her cheeks. They danced there for a while, in the bubble of safety around them. Sakura felt this night was extraordinary. They had only planned to back to her place and watch a few movies. She laid her head on his chest. She was glad that it had started to rain and that Sasuke, being Sasuke, was able to open up about his past. Now they had ended up in one of her favorite places in Konoha.

They swayed for a little longer. Then Sakura started to the other side of the stream with Sasuke right behind her. They stepped into the mushy grass and made their way up to Sakura's resting place. It was a good-sized pink blanket covered by layers of leaves about six feet above to hold the rain so it didn't dump and soak her even more. Speaking of which, she has just taken notice to the numbness of her body, but not that she cared of course. They sat close together, one to share body heat, and two because I mean, they are dating after all. Sasuke wrapped a hand around her waist as Sakura leaned her head on top of the raven haired man's shoulder.

Wow, was all Sasuke could think. The emotional rollercoaster they were on tonight just kept throwing new stuff at him. Loops, sharp turns, and exhilarating speed had been encountered tonight. He still couldn't forget about what had happened that night so long ago, but now he knew he had someone to help him through his pain and doubts. Furthermore, someone to help him shoulder the weight of the rain.

He peered over at the pinkette next to him and smiled. He immediately stood up causing a little shriek from Sakura after almost falling over. He offered out his hand and Sakura grabbed on and hoisted herself up. Sasuke led her over to the widest part of the enclosed water surrounded by vines of pink and blue flowers. They sat and not even caring how cold and wet they already were, put their feet in. Sakura swung her feet causing ripples in the freezing water. Sasuke then took her hand.

"Sakura," she looked at him," Thank you. Thank you for tonight and all you've done for me."

"It's no problem at all, Sasuke." She smiled sweetly. "So...you enjoying the rain?"

"I am," He never thought he would be able to say that again, but yet again, thanks to Sakura the words tumbled out of his mouth. She leaned against him and shivered against his wet garments. He put his arm around Sakura and held her close to him. He closed his eyes, gladly taking in the sound of the pouring rain. Sakura sneezed from the cold. "You want to go back?" Sasuke asked.

"No," she whispered. "I want to stay here with you."

Sasuke's heart fluttered. "You know I love you, right?"

"And I love you back."