Enjoy!
Just because snow was a silent thing, it didn't mean it could make people be silent.
"I'm so COLD!" Naruto moaned righting himself as he unwittingly stood on another frozen puddle, cracking it but managing to slip on it at once. Kakashi rolled his eyes.
"Stop whining." Sasuke muttered irritably.
Team 7 had just come back from a day of training, and it was a surprise for the genins when they saw it was snowing. Kakashi looked up, as if he had only just noticed the flaky powder that was falling from though sky, though of course being a jounin he had much better observational skills then his young charges, and he had commented on the temperature and hue of the sky a couple of time.
"How can YOU be cold, N-Naruto?" Sakura demanded her teeth chattering. "At l-least you're wearing a j-jacket!"
"You can borrow my jacket, Sakura-Chan." Naruto offered, but cold or not, Sakura wrinkled her nose,
"It stinks." she stated flatly. Usually, Sakura would have been a little more tactful then this, but she was tired, cold, and she had a valid point.
Naruto laughed sheepishly. Despite the cold weather, the jacket did indeed reek not only of the general un-washed clothes smell, but also of body odour, Raman, week-old milk, mud, damp, and a few other things, each with it's own unpleasant musk.
"Naruto, how long has it been since you washed that thing?" Kakashi inquired, tilting his head to one side in both amusement and slight exasperation.
"Um..."
Naruto wrinkled his forehead, sucking in his bottom lip in a comical way so it looks like his mouth is twisted to one side. Kakashi sighed.
"You can't remember, can you?"
"I can remember!" Naruto shouted indignantly, "I just forgot!"
Sakura sighed as Kakashi simply shook his head and ruffled the top of Naruto's head in an affectionate manner.
"Idiot." Sasuke muttered under his breath. His dark eyes flicked to the shivering female a little longer then necessary as Sakura rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an attempt to keep herself from freezing.
"Alright, everyone, go on ahead home." the jounin instructed, casting a weary eye over his three shivering pupils. He disappeared in a puff of smoke, probably off to his own apartment or to report to the Hokage. Sasuke made a 'humph' in the back of his throat and began to walk off, Sakura padding slowly behind him. Naruto was standing there, an impish grin on his face.
"Hey, Sasuke, Sakura-Chan!"
"What, Naruto?" the girl asked impatiently, swinging around just in time to see a snowball go whizzing past her head, hitting Sasuke squarely in the back. The Uchiha turned and glared at Naruto, who was aiming another snowball.
"Don't you even-" Sasuke started to say, but Naruto was too giddy to listen, and sent another snowball flying toward him. Sakura gasped and dodged swiftly, Sasuke simply moved his head. His eyes flashed before he stooped.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Naruto asked nervously, before several large snowballs thudded him squarely in the face, chest and legs. With a satisfied smirk, Sasuke turned and continued on his way, with Naruto spluttering with indignation and desperately trying to wipe the rapidly melting snow from his orange jump suit. Sakura carried on walking as well, wanting nothing more then a warm bath and possibly a mug of hot chocolate. But then suddenly, she heard a crunching noise and saw Naruto dashing toward Sasuke, holding a massive wad of snow, his arm right back, aiming.
"No, stop, Naruto!" Sakura shrieked, but it was too late.
This time, it was Sasuke who turned to see both Naruto and Sakura sprawled out on the floor; both covered from head to toe in the stuff.
"Ah...Sakura-Chan." Naruto stammered, as Sakura pushed herself up, shaking snow from her hair and face. She slowly stood up, her face partially hidden by her bangs. There was a rip in the front of her dress, and Sasuke saw a cut where her pale skin was exposed.
"Sakura-Chan, I didn't mean to..." Naruto mumbled, aghast. He reached out to put his hand on her shoulder. "I wasn't aiming for-"
"You...IDIOT!"
He should have seen it coming, really, thought Sasuke. Sakura had whipped around, her eyes blazing with anger, and her hand had reached out and slapped Naruto right across the face. Naruto staggered back, rubbing his cheek with astonishment. Sakura turned away from him and ran, brushing past Sasuke; her bare arm briefly touching is before she flashed past. Sasuke's arm tingled where her freezing skin had brushed him. He shot one last glare at the blonde before trudging away.
Later that evening, the wind picked up. What had been a gentle fall of snow before had now become huge clumps of the stuff, the size of lanterns falling. People had quickly retreated into their houses, staring with awe at the thick white blanket that seemed to be covering Konoha.
Well...almost everyone.
Sasuke was trudging back to his mansion, holding a bag of food in one arm. He had discovered upon returning to his house after Naruto's idiotic 'snowball fight' to find that he had cleared out almost all of the food in the pantry, and had set out to restock. He was just about to turn right when he suddenly looked up to see something padding up the path toward him.
Actually, it was someone.
Sakura was looking a little more suitably dressed now, wearing blue skin-tight trousers instead of her custom shorts, a thick coat over her dress (red, of course) a blue scarf and some mitten gloves, in mint green. Her ninja shoes were simply replaced with boots. She did not, however, look much more cheerful from when Naruto had accidentally tackled her into the snowdrift.
In fact, she looked downright forlorn.
Which is why, maybe, Sasuke felt...strangely sorry for her. After all, Naruto had unwittingly pinned her down on the freezing ground. He was sure he wouldn't be particularly likely to forget that. In fact, he'd be livid.
"Sakura."
She looked up; looking a little surprised to see him. She blushed.
"Hello, Sasuke-kun." she mumbled. Her bangs flopped as she bowed her head slightly, framing her heart-shaped face. For a moment, she looked incredibly vulnerable. A second odd emotion rose up in Sasuke. Now he felt like he should be... protecting her?
"What are you doing outside?" he asked instead, careful to keep his voice blank. "It's getting dark. You should go home."
"I-" started the kunoichi. But at that moment, the frigid winter wind blew hard, making Sakura's scarf flail wildly and the paper bag Sasuke held rustle loudly. Sighing, the Uchiha reached forward and grabbed Sakura's wrist. She uttered a sound of surprise before Sasuke pulled her toward the direction of his house, pushing open the door and heading inside, tugging the bewildered girl behind him.
As the door slammed shut, Sakura shook her head, snow falling onto the dusty floorboards before melting into tiny droplets.
"This way." Sasuke muttered gruffly, jerking his head to indicate she should follow him. Sakura hastily slipped off her boots before trotting after him, looking with interest at the inside of the house before she came into the living room. Sasuke gestured stiffly for her to sit down before disappearing into the kitchen. Sakura perched awkwardly on the edge of a small sofa, unsure of how she managed to find herself in this situation. She unzipped her coat- it was fairly warm inside- and hung it up on a small hook that was on the door.
Then she waited; picking nervously at a strand of thread that was coming loose from her pants.
"Here."
She jumped at the voice, and turned to see Sasuke holding out a mug toward her. She accepted, managing a small smile before taking a sip.
A delicious chocolate flavour danced on her tongue, and she licked her lips, smiling properly this time.
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." she said, sighing happily, "I didn't know you can make hot-chocolate!"
"Hm." responded the Uchiha, but a small smile flickered at the corners of his mouth. He glanced over while Sakura sipped, and noticed that her nose had turned pink. She caught him looking at rubbed at it self-consciously, the pink on her cheeks deepening to a red. Sasuke quickly flicked his eyes away from her face and struggling to stay indifferent, though his cheeks were getting a little pink too. Must be the heat- No. Fire. Yes. Must be the fire.
A rattling noise interrupted the awkward silence. They both directed their gazes toward the window, and saw to their surprise that the sky was now black, though they could dimly make out white shapes still falling behind the dusty glass.
Sasuke suddenly realised how late it was. And the snow was still heavy outside. He couldn't possibly send Sakura out now- Blundering through dark, cold streets at night weren't a wise idea, particularly if you happened to be a girl.
That meant...she had to stay here.
"Um, Sasuke-kun?"
He jumped at that, turning to see Sakura looking at him with concern.
"Are you...-"
"It's late." Sasuke managed, his voice sounding a little bit strained. "You'll have to stay here."
Sakura's eyes widened in shock, and her face turned an even deeper shade of red, if that was possible. Sasuke rose from his sitting position and sloped out of the room. Sakura resisted her sudden urge to see where he was going, and instead decided to put out the fire.
When Sasuke returned, carrying a pillow and a spare blanket, Sakura was beginning to wish she hadn't bothered- it was winter, after all, and just because it was a big house didn't mean it couldn't get cold.
Sakura watched as Sasuke set up a makeshift bed. She would have helped, but when she had gone to lift up the blanket, Sasuke had shaken his head at her and she desisted.
Now she was lying on a mat, snuggling as best she could under the thin, moth-eaten blanket. She knew that Sasuke didn't have to do any of this, and it made her feel comforted, somehow, that he'd bothered.
All the same, it was still cold.
And quiet...
And... A little bit lonely.
Sakura turned over, trying to make herself more comfortable, but it was useless. The blanket, while old, was too big, and no matter how she tried, she couldn't find a way to bundle herself up without suddenly moving to find a freezing cold patch of blanket.
She was so busy thinking about how to stay warm, that she didn't hear the soft, slow, creaking of footsteps. She didn't notice the door slowly slide open before closing again.
What she did notice, however, was that as she rolled to the side once again, she felt something warm beside her.
"Sasuke-kun?" she whispered, a shiver of excitement running up her body.
"Shh."
Sasuke's blunt reply didn't surprise her.
What did surprise her was when she felt two arms wrap around her and pull her close. Sakura slipped her own hands down and close them around Sasuke's. He made a soft, 'Hm' and she felt his warm breath on her neck. She closed her eyes and smiled.
Sasuke smiled too in the darkness as Sakura fell asleep in his arms.
As much as he hated to admit it...
Sakura was cute when she was cold.
Fin.