Short oneshot requested by arigato-sasusaku - theme: A cliff and shock.
Completely unedited.
xxx
The wind billows unforgivingly when Sasuke sees her, the sun is strong and there is a bite of heat in the atmosphere.
The war is over and he has come home. All is forgiven but not forgotten, and the only person left to speak with is Sakura. Nevertheless, he is here by chance, like always. The universe always has liked to cross their paths.
When he stops to take a drink from his flask, obsidian fall upon the girl, standing on the edge of the cliff. They are miles away from the village, and all thoughts of the past rush from his mind in an instant. He forgets that they haven't spoken yet, despite it being months and months since his pardon. Sasuke is in shock, stunned into silence as his eyes survey the image before him.
Sakura is kneeling on the edge of a cliff, hair ruffling beauteously with the breeze and skin a-flush from the unforgiving day's sunshine. She leans forward, tilting precariously, and the shinobi isn't sure what has gotten into her. They have won, the war is over, why is she doing this now?
His heart races at a million miles an hour as torrents of bad thoughts flow in, welling up his chest and causing a pang to wrack through his heart. If his eyes are correct, Sakura is making a big mistake…
"No." He murmurs unknowingly, just above a whisper.
Forcing his limbs to move, because his mouth refuses to, the man flickers forward. He is behind her in an instant, just as Sakura is about to tip forward completely. He grabs her hips roughly and pulls back, forcing them both onto the ground in a heap of limbs and hair.
She doesn't struggle, and instead looks shocked to see him. She is atop of him, and he holds her wrist tight in one hand, her hip with the other.
"Sasuke-kun." Sakura gasps, her emerald wide with question. "What are you doing here?" She doesn't move away though, and merely waits for an answer.
Anger surges, and it replaces any feelings of shock. His brows furrow characteristically, and his mouth forms into a tight line. He forgets all decorum or that he is lying on the dirt, holding his childhood crush a little too tight.
"What the fuck are you doing here, Sakura?" He growls, knowing full well that he sounds harsh. Sasuke doesn't care one iota, not even when she flinches back, pulling her wrist from his tight grasp. She doesn't crawl backward though, and stays close to him.
There are no signs of tears, or stress on her soft face. She looks normal.
"For this." She explains softly, holding out a small piece of plant. "The rest is over the ledge." Sakura pauses, glancing to the cliff. "It's medicine."
…
…
Oh…
Sasuke realises much too late that Sakura wasn't praying, or even saying goodbye to the world…She was picking cliff roots.
"Sasuke-kun, did you think that I -?" Sakura begins with a strange kind of smile.
"It doesn't matter." He cuts her off quickly, glancing to the side. "Just…Let me do it." He commands mutteringly.
It takes a moment for him to glance at her again, and when he does she is smiling brightly. She passes him the hedgers and her collection bag. How he didn't notice it before is a wonder to Sasuke.
"What are you doing here, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asks, and the nin realises just how close they still are. They haven't moved from the ground, and their knees are touching.
"I was coming home from a mission." He explains gruffly, leaving out the part about sensing her chakra and diverting his journey quite substantially.
"You want to travel home together?" She asks easily, following his lead when he stands.
Sasuke doesn't reply, but he does glance over his shoulder to catch green eyes for a second. Her smile grows and the teen wonders what she found in his gaze.
Walking forward to the edge of the cliff, Sasuke finishes the job that he interrupted in a swift, silent fashion.
Turning, bag full of plant, he asks, "Is your mission finished?"
Sakura grins, it is an almost mischievous look that he hasn't seen in a very long time. "No." She shakes her head solemnly, and Sasuke ignores the way his heart picks up a beat.
He glares instead, waiting for her to continue. She doesn't though.
"Well?" Sasuke all but hisses, stalking forward to walk passed her.
Sakura laughs, taking the bag from his moving grasp.
"Lunch. It's lunch time." She explains, falling into step beside him easily.
Sasuke doesn't say yes or no, but they both know that he will go along with it. This is what he gets for assuming the worst.
Sakura might let him live this moment down, but Sasuke isn't sure if he can be so kind to himself.
He will see how he feels after a tomato laced meal.
Giving her a sideways look, Sasuke states, "Your treat."
Sakura grins happily, and if he isn't mistaken, walks just a little closer to him.
They both pretend not to notice.
xxx
a/n
I am updating all of my multi chapters once before National Novel Writing Month, for all fandoms. Then from Nov 1 to Nov 30 I will be writing my novel for the competition. From Dec I have leave and will be getting into everything again :) RL is too consuming sometimes.