"Sasuke-kun? Are you going to get in?" asked Sakura, already waist deep into the water.
The day was impossibly hot. So much so that team seven decided to take the day off and relax by the river until things cooled off. Kakashi and Naruto were both late and for the first time, Sasuke was not irritated by it but glad. This was going to be awkward.
"I'm fine here." he lied as a prickle of sweat rolled down his neck.
Sakura removed a branch floating next to her and she threw it away. She leaped head first into the water and remained there for a few minutes. She emerged, gasping for air, and somewhat startling Sasuke, water dripping from her body and a large, green sea weed stuck to her shoulder.
She took it between her thumb and her index finger and with a disgusted expression threw it, without noticing, in Sasuke's direction. She turned her head to see what he was doing and she caught a glimpse of his horrified expression. It took all she had to not burst out laughing. Sasuke, it turns out, had a phobia.
His face was red, partly because of the embarrassment but mostly because of the heat. He refused to step into the water and make a fool of himself but sitting around in the sun was not doing him any good either and he had no excuse to leave. While he was distracted by his indecision, Sakura gathered up some water in her hands and quietly snuck up behind Sasuke. He noticed her at the last second but before he could say anything he felt cold water coming down on his head.
She crouched next to him, looking very pleased with herself and said simply:
"You looked like you were going to pass out."
He made an irriated sound but he was rather grateful, the cold water was nice.
"You know, if you really want to avoid people knowing, you could get in now for a bit before the other get here."
"What are you- oh, fuck."
It was an embarrassing fear. There was no logic behind it what so ever but the thought of those dumb plants touching his skin gave him goosebumps. He could not even remember a time when he didn't hate the damn things. Sakura wasn't laughing at him though, she only had a concerned look on her face. She twisted her hair with one hand and gathered up some of the water dripping out of it with the other then she placed it on his forehead.
They looked at each other for a little bit, her hand frozen in place. Her green eyes forever warm and understanding told him it was okay so he took her hand, got up and pulled her with him then said:
"Fine. Just... don't tell the others, okay?"
She nodded and let go of his hand. She started walking ahead of him and he was confused until she turned her head slightly and he saw her pink cheeks. He smiled to himself. It was nice to know he still had this effect on her, even now. Sasuke dipped his toes in the water and, slow step by slow step he advanced into sea weed territory. The relief was immense. He suddenly realized he was very happy cold water existed, but he was also paranoid. Each turn he made he felt like a ball of the slimy things was going to attach itself to him.
Sakura's eyes were on him. She sympathized, really, having her own share of illogical fears, but it was still funny. She bit her lip and swam around him though, not wanting to embarrass him. He looked somewhat uncomfortable, not used to others knowing about any of his more vulnerable traits. She suddently got an idea, and swam in front of him, placing herself between him and anything that could come towards them brought by the water current. She continued to follow him around like that until he asked:
"What are you doing, Sakura?"
She explained her ingenious plan and he shook his head, amused. Leave it to Sakura to take his dumbest fears seriously and try to protect him. She talked a lot and she sometimes didn't know when not to pry into his business but her kindness always made him forget about those small flaws and he found her extremely endearing.
They were both just floating around, not talking about anything, when all of a sudden Sakura screamed, her arms now tightly around Sasuke's neck and her legs holding on tightly to his torso. The whole thing was so unexpected he almost fell over from Sakura suddenly jumping him.
She pulled her head back, looking him straight in the eye and her face turned the darkest red he had ever seen.
"i-I'm sorry. I felt.. there was something moving and it touched my back."
She untangled herself from Sasuke and sunk her body and half of her head in the water. Shockingly enough for both of them, he started laughing. Hard. He couldn't even manage to stop himself for a good minute. Sakura was somewhere in between being annoyed and being amazed.
"What's so funny?" she asked, still mesmerized by the image of a laughing Sasuke.
"You could punch any living thing to death and it wouldn't take more than a second."
She couldn't help but let out a laugh of her own. It was true. Both of them had skills and the fighting experience to take almost anything out, yet here they were, afraid of sea weeds and harmless creatures.
"Fair enough." she sighed and then nodded her head towards where he was sitting earlier. "Let's get out for a bit, okay?"
They sat down next to each other. Sakura reached for the bag she brought with her and took out a bottle of water. She took a sip of it and then handed it to Sasuke. It was funny how after all these years they had learned to communicate quiety. She prefered not to, but when she did it wasn't hard for them to understand each other.
Sakura was staring off into the distance, distracted by whatever it was she saw, and Sasuke was distracted by the drops of water that were travelling down her body. He discreetly took in everything from her damp, pink and still short hair to her neck, her small shouders, arms and waist, her long legs and her tiny feet. It was still surprising to him how someone so small, so delicate looking was capable of being so strong. She could turn the place they were sitting in into a crater ten times the depth and width of the river if she wanted to. He had to admit, she was amazing.
She noticed him staring and blushed. Ever since he had come back their relationship has improved a lot. Things were rough at first, and for a long time it seemed like that is all their relationship was going to be, but then both of them started compromising and eventually they grew closer than ever. She was no longer pushing her feelings onto him, but she still wondered what his response would be if she did.
Both their thoughts were interrupted by Naruto's loud footsteps and laughter. Him and Kakashi finally decided to show up. Naruto greeted them in passing as he was running towards the water. For whatever reason he decided to make five shadow clones and they all jumped in at the same time. Needless to say the water reached everyone who was not in the river.
"What took you so long?" asked Sakura.
"Ah, this time it wasn't my fault. Naruto insisted we go eat ramen before we come here." answered Kakashi whose mask was still on despite the ridiculous temperaure.
He then proceeded to set down a towel next to the water and take out his precious books. He dipped his feet in the river and sat down, ignoring everyone else.
Sakura stood up and yanked Sasuke up as well. She dragged him towards the river, where the water was shallow and simply sat down. She patted the water next to her and Sasuke followed her example.
"What are we doing?" he asked.
"If we don't at least sit in the water Naruto will bug us to join him."
He nodded, appreciating Sakura thinking ahead. He didn't want to have to explain to Naruto he didn't like being in the water for too long because of a plant. This made his train of thought return to how amazing he found Sakura to be. Kind, patient, strong, understanding. All but one of these traits he never thought he'd appreciate, but she showed him how much they meant when she did everything she could to bring him back and keep him there.
Sakura was looking over at Naruto and his clones spashing each other and laughing. She felt Sasuke leaning backwards on his left hand which he placed behind her, so close that his arm was touching her back. Her cheeks reddened again and for a second she forgot how to breathe. This was unusual for Sasuke. She tried not too look into it but she couldn't. A million things were running through her head and Sasuke, noticing she was distracted by her thoughts and affected by his touch, thought it would be a good idea to have a little fun. As strange as that was for him, he enjoyed seeing Sakura's strong, emotional reactions.
He moved his hand very slowly, pointing his index finger, and he gently touched it to her back, trying to imitate a snake. Her reaction was immediate. She half jumped and then fell over into his lap, her head landing on his leg. He smirked and placed his hand on her arm to keep her from running away. When she realized what had actually happened she frowned, but her expression quickly turned into an amused one. She loved this new Sasuke who liked to tease her.
She didn't bother getting up, and Sasuke didn't bother moving his hand. They both watched Naruto play arund and enjoyed the cool water making small waves on their skin. This entire day had encouraged Sakura, making her think that maybe, just maybe, showing her feelings for Sasuke, and trying to start something with him, could turn into something good.