I don't own Naruto. (
Sasuke is just a little OOC.
----x----
It's too cold.
A young man of dark hair and shadowed eyes forced his way through the knee-deep snow, leaving a trail of blood as he went. Sharp winds rolled across the white landscape, whipping up fallen snow from the ground and whirling it around, smothering all visibility.
Tired, nearly out of chakra, bleeding, and slowly freezing to death, the boy knew he could go no further. Black eyes swirled to red; it was his only hope. He scanned the landscape for any color.
A cave…?
Not too far in the distance, he spotted what looked like a pile of rocks with an indentation on one side. The red faded to black once again, and he struggled to stay upright.
Just a little further…
He could no longer feel his feet or hands. He forced himself onward, finally collapsing in the thinning white at the front of the cavern.
----x----
It's warm… where am I?
Dark eyes opened to see a rocky ceiling, illuminated by a flickering light.
Doing his best to ignore his protesting body, the boy sat up. A previously unnoticed light green blanket slid down his chest as he shifted. His boots were off, strewn to the side along with Kusanagi, his arm guards, shirt, coat, and other belongings. He could feel bandages wrapped tightly around his chest, which had been slashed open by his own brother before he had ended up here. Similar bandages were placed along or wrapped around gashes on his legs, arms, and forehead.
But now, to his bafflement, his injuries were mostly healed.
Quickly regaining his composure, he turned his body around to scope his surroundings. A fire was dancing in the middle of the cavern, and a lump of pink cloth was on the adjacent side of the room.
I know this chakra.
"S…Sakura?" he managed to wheeze from his dry throat.
The pink pile began to shift violently.
"I was wondering when you'd wake up, Sasuke-kun." Sakura emerged from the pile abruptly. Her green eyes sparkled in the firelight, but her face was slightly impassive.
"How did… you find me here?" Sasuke croaked.
"I didn't find you. You found me. I had just settled in here for the evening when you passed out at my doorstep."
"Oh…"
"Yeah, it was me that healed you. And I don't mean to probe, but what exactly happened to you? Some of those wounds are among the worst I've seen."
Sasuke sighed. "I fought Itachi."
"I thought it was something like that." Sakura paused. Lowering her voice down to a near whisper, she then asked, "Did you… achieve your goal?"
He shifted his gaze into the fire.
"Yeah."
Sakura's face turned sympathetic. Slowly, she rose to her feet, carrying her blanket with her, and approached the worn boy.
"Are you happy?"
He said nothing. He stared into the dancing flame as if hypnotized.
Sakura sat beside him and gently began to brush his hair with a warm hand. She was slightly surprised that Sasuke didn't automatically jerk away at her show of affection. She was even more surprised when he suddenly embraced her lightly around the waist, his head resting on her shoulder.
She's not cold.
Is this really Sasuke?
Cautiously, Sakura wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders.
----x----
They stayed there for a long time, neither daring to move away. Sakura would occasionally run her fingers along his bare back in a comforting manner. Often, he would shiver in reply.
Something warm pushed against her neck.
Lips?
"Are you… coming back to Konoha?" she asked him quietly.
Sasuke did not answer, but instead lifted his head to face her. For the first time in her life, Sakura felt that he wasn't looking through her, but rather at her as he gazed into her emerald with half-lidded obsidian.
The fire crackled abruptly, startling Sakura, making her twist her head around in that direction. Sasuke lowered his head and let out a sigh.
"I'm not sure if I can," he responded belatedly.
Sakura was taken aback. "What do you mean?!"
He shook his head and pulled her closer to him.
Even if I told you, you'd never understand.
"Well… if you're not coming back willingly, then I guess I have no choice but to drag you back." Sakura pulled away from Sasuke and stood up with shaky legs.
"I won't let you get away this time! I won't let you just walk away from Konoha! From Naruto! From… me!" Sakura's voice shook, but her tone was firm.
He couldn't suppress the smirk that crawled onto his handsome, pale face as the kunoichi glowered down at him. In a flash, he was up and behind her, his hot breath powdering the back of her head.
Why can't you ever respect me?
Sakura laughed slightly at the irony of the situation.
"This is just like before… remember? And now you're going to thank me, knock me out, and leave me here… even after all I've done for you… the only thing you can ever give me is thanks…"
"Thank you for healing me, Sakura, and for everything else." She waited for the blow.
But to her surprise, it never came. A warm hand grasped her shoulder and turned her around.
Don't worry about tomorrow, Sakura.
He was looking into her eyes again, and before she could take another breath, she was pushed against the wall of the cave, his hot mouth on hers.
Because I'm here with you today, and right now, that's all that matters.
----x----
A/N: Haha wow. When I first started writing this, I wasn't too sure of where it was going. I was intrigued by the pretty winter weather we've been having here, and I felt like writing something sort of wintery and fluffy.
So, um, did I do okay?