A/N: This is my second one-shot story for Naruto, and SasuSaku! Please give it a chance, especially since this story is very special to me. It is loosely based on the fairy tale of Cinderella, so if you were wondering why certain references come up, that would be why.
This story is dedicated to a special someone who I care for very much, and has become one of the people I most admire and look up to. This is for you!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The cover image belongs to annapurnawang.
'Dare if you want to. Don't fear you'll fall. Take a chance, because it's better than to never chance at all.'
All her life, all Sakura had known was doubt. Fear. Insecurity.
Huddling in the cold, cold rain now, she had never felt it so acutely before as that moment, drenched and freezing.
The only light in her life was really the faint, almost unreasonable, hope that she still desperately clung to that one day, someone would come and sweep her off her feet.
She was a hopeless romantic, and a lover of fairy tales. But life had long ago taught her that fairy tales never came true.
In other words, she didn't believe in once upon a time and happily ever after.
And that was it. She didn't need, didn't want a prince charming. She wasn't a princess, after all. What she wanted was someone who could take her away from all of this.
Someday, maybe. Someday.
Until then, all she could do was cry and try not to drown in her own cold, cold tears.
'No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dreams you wish will come true.'
Peering nervously, apprehensively around the doorway, Sakura glanced down the corridor to check that there was no one who could see her.
There were eyes watching, and ears listening everywhere, and she couldn't trust anyone not to run and tell her stepmother what she was planning on doing.
It hurt, having no one that she could trust, but she did not regret keeping her plans secret. If it was only for a glimpse of pleasure, she would do it again without a second thought.
Having seen that there was no one there to see her, she crept out of her chamber, and quietly, carefully shut the door behind her. Wincing at the loud, echoing creak it made as it closed, she froze and glanced swiftly around again to make sure no one was watching her.
Holding her long skirts up so that she could walk easily, Sakura set off down the corridor, every so often glancing back to check no one had seen her.
The dress she was wearing was floor-length and white, corseted and revealing her bare, white shoulders for all to see. She had no other ball dress- this had been her dead mother's, back when she was still alive.
If not for her own desire for freedom, Sakura was determined to do this to relive her mother's happy memories in the castle one last time for her.
She knew that her mother would have been happy if she had seen her then.
Finally reaching the grand staircase that led into the ballroom, Sakura nimbly and discreetly slipped into the line of grand lords and ladies waiting to enter successfully, without anyone noticing her sudden presence. She sighed silently with relief, dropping her skirts to let them swish as she walked.
Sakura felt small and completely out of place in the sea of shining jewels, braids, and lace ruffles. She self-consciously touched her bare neck, and looked down at her now rather old-fashioned, plain gown. What was she thinking in coming here, into the crowd of high fashion and society?
Suddenly, she heard a polite cough from behind her. Spinning around, she half-expected to see her stepmother or one of her stepsisters standing behind her, arms crossed and eyes narrowed in suspicion.
But to her surprise- and relief- it was neither of those. Instead, a handsome, dark man was standing behind her, eyes fixed unreadably on her face.
She froze. Not good. What if he knew who she was? After all, not many people had fairy-pink hair like hers. What if he knew her stepmother? Or stepsisters, for that matter? He seemed to be around their age. What if he told them?
Finally, an eternity later, he spoke. "I've never seen you around before."
Sakura relaxed slightly at this- he didn't know who she was. Yet.
But if she didn't think of a way out of this soon, he would. There was no way he didn't know her step mother.
She managed to stammer out, "Y-yes, I'm new to this area. I'm…I'm visiting my relatives."
The dark-haired man didn't seem convinced, but he seemed to have the manners to not inquire further into the matter. "I suppose you know who I am," he said, with a defeated tone. Sakura frowned at this.
Was he being conceited? Arrogant? But he didn't look like he was. "I'm sorry, am I supposed to know who you are?"
A glint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he tilted his head slightly, examining her closely from head to toe.
As he remained silent, Sakura began to grow angry and irritated. "What? Are you some kind of celebrity or something? What makes you think everyone knows you?"
The man looked slightly surprised, but his lips quirked the tiniest fraction, as though he was trying to hold back a laugh. "You have no idea."
Sakura had a retort all prepared, ready to fire back, but the tone in which the young man said his last words struck her silent. The words had sounded bitter, almost…humourlessly amused, if that was possible. His eyes were cast down, looking at the floor, as his unruly dark hair fell into his eyes.
"…what do you mean?"
He glanced up at her, a spark of interest beginning to grow in his eyes. "You honestly have no idea?"
Sakura shook her head, completely bewildered. "I really don't know who you are."
He looked at her closely for a minute, as though he was almost trying to read her intentions, before finally huffing an elegant, polite, but somehow still genuine chuckle.
"Shall we begin again, then? I don't believe that we've been introduced yet." There was a hint of a smile hovering around his lips, although it wasn't quite there.
Elusive, like a fairy. That was what it was.
Sakura smiled softly at his words, and nodded in agreement.
"My name is Sakura."
A small smile tilted the corners of his mouth, and she could see his dark, inscrutable eyes glint with amusement and something she couldn't quite name.
"I am Sasuke."
And he smiled that beautiful, beautiful smile of his, which tilted the corners of his mouth, and lit up his dark, shadowy features.
'A dream is a wish your heart makes.''
It had been two hours already, and Sakura was pleased to realize that she had still not accidentally met her stepmother and sisters.
Maybe things were going right for her once in her life.
But she knew, somewhere in the very back of her mind, that things were not going to go smoothly for long. They never did. Her stepmother was the countess- she was hosting the ball. There was no way she wasn't going to walk by and not realize that her own stepdaughter was in the midst of the crowd.
Absently, Sakura smoothed down the front of her dress again, and next to her, Sasuke glanced over at her hands. He didn't say anything for a moment and frowned slightly, but then got up, adjusting his own tunic, and holding out a hand to her. "Care to dance?"
Sakura looked up at him with genuine surprise, and then shifted her gaze to his elegantly gloved hand.
Finally, finally, she slowly took Sasuke's proffered hand and stood up as well, careful not to tread on the hem of her gown. He led her to the middle of the ballroom, into the midst of the extravagantly dressed couples dancing.
New music was playing- it was a slow dance, a waltz. Sakura had always loved the waltz. It was so elegant, so light, so…fairy-like. Fit for a princess.
Sasuke, carefully placing one hand on Sakura's waist, and touching hands with the other, waited for her to put her hand on his shoulder. She did so shyly, and they began to slowly dance, all the while looking into each other's eyes.
Sakura was blissfully unaware of the stares they were beginning to attract, and the whispers that were beginning to circulate around the room. Sasuke was not completely unaware- his ears and eyes had immediately picked up on all of the attention they were attracting.
But he paid it no heed. True love has no bounds, they say. Perhaps it was true.
Finally- "Uchiha-san!" A man hurried towards Sasuke, and whispered something in his ear urgently, eyes flitting towards Sakura rapidly before he hurried away, back into the crowd.
Uchiha-san. Uchiha-san. Uchiha.
The image of a delicate fan wavered in Sakura's mind.
She gasped, and staring at Sasuke with wide, disbelieving eyes, she slowly lifted her hand, pointing at him with a shaking finger. "You- you're-"
Sasuke smiled wryly, before running a hand through his unruly, tousled dark hair again. "…I think that's our cue for a re-introduction. Both of us." The last sentence was said in a meaningful tone, causing the pink-haired girl to flush.
Now she knew what the man had been telling him.
He bowed formally to Sakura, who stared at him in a bewildered manner, not entirely sure what he was doing.
"I'm Uchiha Sasuke. Heir to the Uchiha clan."
A brilliant smile lit up the green-eyed girl's face, and she made a split second decision that she hoped that she would not regret making.
"…and I'm Haruno Sakura. Stepdaughter of the countess."
Love stories don't always work out the way they are wanted, but a true love story always finds the happy ending somehow.
'Do you love because I am beautiful, or am I beautiful because you love me?'
Sasuke's eyes widened fractionally, and his mouth opened slightly, as if to say something. Sakura was gazing at him apprehensively, not sure of what he was going to say. She cringed to think what she would feel like if he uttered words of contempt and rejection.
But before he could say a word, a disturbance appeared in the middle of the crowd, and the murmurs had gotten louder. Sakura and Sasuke turned just in time to see a finely dressed, aristocratic lady burst through the crowd, skirts swishing, bracelets jingling.
And she had a furious expression on her face.
Sakura blanched at the sight of her, and Sasuke noticed immediately. His arm involuntarily wrapped protectively around her waist, drawing her slightly behind him. She acquiesced willingly, looking absolutely terrified.
The woman had stormed over to them, followed by two younger, equally as extravagantly dressed, girls. "You ungrateful brat!"
Quiet gasps arose as the crowd reacted to her uncharacteristically harsh, vulgar words. But the woman was clearly beyond caring now. All her furious attention was focused on the trembling Sakura, half-hidden behind Sasuke.
"How dare you! Not only do you shamelessly scorn our kindness to you like the hussy you are, but you still dare to blatantly shame our family in this way by acting like a whore? You are a disgrace to our entire family!"
Sakura flinched at the harsh words being directed at her, and Sasuke felt her movement. Instinctively, he spoke up. "Excuse me, but I believe there is some sort of misunderstanding here-"
Immediately, the countess's demeanour changed- one moment, she was raging and furious, the next she was smiling sickeningly at Sasuke, ingratiatingly patting him on the cheek. "Sasuke-san, you've been misled. But don't worry, I'll handle the situation." She pointed scathingly at Sakura, and for an instant, the wild rage was back in her eyes.
Only for a moment. "That shameless girl is my late husband's daughter, and she is meant to be repaying all of the kindness and charity we have been showing her by working in the kitchens, not fooling around here and disgracing us!"
At the countess's contemptuous words, the crowd immediately began to whisper again. Sakura hid her face in her hands- she couldn't bear to see all those people staring at her accusingly. Sasuke tried to interrupt again. "Madam-"
But there was no stopping the countess now. "I am so sorry for all the trouble she has caused you. I assure you now; everything she told you is a lie." She glared at Sakura. "My daughters here-" at this, she gestured at the two girls standing behind her- they simpered at Sasuke, who twisted his mouth in disgust, "- are the real ladies here. I dare say that hussy told you she was the lady of the house, didn't she? Well, I tell you, both of my daughters are worth more than a hundred of her-"
But Sasuke had had enough. He whispered quickly to Sakura, "Let's get out of here," and suddenly, without letting her register his words properly, cut through the countess's rant, and said cuttingly, bitingly, "Madam, we must be going. I appreciate all of your kind words." Sarcasm was laden thickly on his words. "I bid you farewell."
His arm still around Sakura's waist, he quickly walked her towards the staircase, before pausing and turning back momentarily to the stunned countess, "Oh, and I suggest you find out what a lady really is. Your daughters are certainly not to be compared to Sakura."
And with that, he led Sakura out.
As soon as they were outside, he released her waist, and took her wrist instead. Before Sakura could protest, he placed a finger on her lips. "We'll talk outside the palace. We need to hurry." When Sakura silently nodded, he pulled her into a run, even as a shriek of fury came from the ballroom, and the heavy metal clank of guards coming after them echoed up the staircase.
As Sakura ran, she felt the smile grow on her face.
For the first time in her life, someone had cared enough to defend her. Like a fairy guardian. And it was a beautiful feeling.
'Every Cinderella has her midnight.'
Out in the street, in the dark, Sakura had never felt so free.
With Sasuke's firm, cool grasp around her wrist and her long skirts ripped and splattered with mud, she finally understood what it meant to love and be loved.
The shouts and clanking of armour from the chasing soldiers grew slightly louder, as they followed in the two's footsteps. "They went this way! Come on, move!"
Sakura let out a startled laugh as Sasuke pulled her suddenly around a corner, sending her stumbling through another puddle of rainwater.
Her skirt ripped again as she tripped on it, and the rainwater stained it even more than it already had been. The rain fell down in a silver shower around them, and scattered her already drenched hair with glistening drops. But she didn't mind- it was exhilarating.
Sasuke glanced sideways, an almost-smile on his normally inscrutable, unreadable face, and his wet, black hair fell tousled and wild into his dark, dark eyes.
Sakura's pale pink hair fluttered with the wild run, soaked and tangled in the wintry wind, and dripping water all over her tattered dress, everywhere. She was still beautiful in his eyes- but what was the most beautiful of all was her golden laugh and vibrant green eyes, glowing with the exertion and adrenaline of the moment.
As they stood bent over, gasping for air and simultaneously laughing, trying to regain their breaths, Sasuke, without thinking, reached out and hesitantly touched a strand of her hair, carefully brushing it back behind her ear.
Sakura froze, and Sasuke's hand stopped moving, brushing against her cheek. Neither of them moved for a moment, and his fingers slowly moved downwards to stroke her skin gently, with a fairy-light touch, and a trace of wonder appeared in his face.
It was almost magical, the connection they felt with each other.
Time seemed to stop- although it never really did- and both of them were in a world where there was just them- no one else but them.
It might have been lonely, but it would have been worth it.
"They're over here! We've found them!"
Without another word, Sasuke seized her hand, and pulled her along after him as he ran. Rain sheeted down in glistening curtains, veiling them in a bridal mist. The heavy metal clank of soldiers running after them echoed like a midnight bell in the silver rain, tick tock, tick tock.
She would run anywhere, if he was by her side.
Tick tock, went the clock, like the drip drip of the rain.
'One day, your prince will come.'
A few turns and a lot of puddles later, the two of them had finally made it to the gates. As she followed Sasuke, Sakura could make out the dark silhouettes of guards slowly patrolling the walls.
A pang of fear registered in the back of her mind, but she didn't feel it. Because she was with Sasuke, and nothing was going to happen to her while he was there.
Creeping carefully through the shadows, Sasuke turned to look back at her over his shoulder, a questioning, suddenly unsure look in his eyes.
"Sakura, are you sure about this?"
"I'm sure. I'm sure about this, Sasuke. And I'm sure about you."
His gaze softened, and turning, he leant closer. Sakura could feel his sweet and dark, hot breath blowing a few strands of fairy-pale-pink hair away from her face.
Sakura let her eyes trail wonderingly over his beautiful, beautiful face. Sasuke was all dark shadows and angles- they must make a strange pair, she mused, she with her fairy-green eyes and pale pink hair, with skin whiter than her long, ruined dress.
She realized how much she loved him- so, so much, and she didn't even know him.
She could feel his breath on her face now, and the final moment before he closed the remaining distance between them was painfully sweet, sweet like glass.
And then he leant in, finally, finally, and kissed her.
The rain was falling heavily now, in sheets of fine-layered silver, but all Sakura could think about was the burning, searing kiss. The way he kissed her was desperate, hungry, but strangely gentle at the same time.
Finally, far too soon, they broke apart, breathing heavily, and Sasuke rested his forehead against hers, his arms wrapped around her slender waist. Sakura had her arms around his neck, and for a moment, they just stood there, intertwined like a chain of fairy bells, tinkling in the wind.
It was then that she saw Sasuke as someone who she could trust all her deepest, darkest secrets to, who she could tell everything to and know that he wouldn't judge her for it.
Reluctantly, Sasuke moved back, releasing Sakura, and already, too soon, she was missing the warmth and security he had given her.
Just like a fairy tale prince, he had a horse. But it was no princely white horse, ready to sweep her off her feet- no, it was black, black like the raven of Sasuke's hair, like the wings of the night around them.
But she found that she didn't mind- Sasuke was with her, and nothing else mattered.
The clock struck twelve, and the long, tolling strikes reverberated heavily through the air. The magic was broken, but it had broken in time for a wonderful new magic to bloom, the magic of a first love.
Hesitantly holding out his hand to her, Sakura thought that Sasuke had never looked more like a fairy tale prince than in that moment.
"Come away with me?"
Her glass slipper had finally fit, and with it, she had at last understood what dream come true really meant.
Because she was a fairy-beautiful princess, and he was her gallant prince, come to save her and sweep her off her feet, carry her away at last.
A/N: And that's the end of Fairy Glass! If you haven't read my first oneshot for SasuSaku, Heartbreaker, then please go and give it a try! I look forward to seeing you all in a different story sometime soon, and I hope you enjoyed reading this story.
Please leave a review, it means a lot to me!