Okay, okay, I'm back people. I'm very very very sorry that I was gone for such a long time, and please don't hate me too much for it. Disclaimer: Obviously, Sasuke and Sakura do not belong to me. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto
Please enjoy this one-shot as my apology.
BMS
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"Fwoooooooooooooooooh-!"
A light coughing echoed over the lake as a small figure bent over, hands resting on his knees. He took deep breaths, as if oxygen was going to leave his vicinity any second. Smoke billowed out in wispy clouds out the sides of his mouth, dissipating in the moments where he exhaled. Hi eyes narrowed sadly, almost as if his inner turmoil was trying to show through. His father had shown him how to do this; why couldn't he?! He set himself on the dock, biting his lip, hands fiddling together in his lap. Hi father was right; he wasn't like Itachi-nii-san. He would never be as good. He glared at his slightly distorted reflection, fists tightening. Maybe he should just give up.
"…Sasuke-kun?"
The boy whipped around at the mention of his name. Jumping to his feet, he grabbed an extra kunai he had in his pocket, holding onto it. His grey eyes met sea-foam green ones and both widened. Thoroughly embarrassed, he quickly stuffed hi kunai into his pocket, and stared at the girl in front of him. She stared back shyly, hands clasped tightly around a basket she was holding. He blinked.
"…You're that one girl in my class. Haruno Sakura, was it?"
He stated. She blinked and nodded and him, still staring at him as though he were a priceless possession. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, getting more uncomfortable by the minute.
"…Do you need something?"
Well, no one could blame him for asking such a rude question. This part of the lake did indeed belong to the Uchihas; so technically she was trespassing. And it was about eleven or midnight; so what was she doing out so late?
"I-umm, I was… watching you train, and… I brought some medicine to help your burns…"
She said in a quiet shy voice, her gaze shifting to her basket, her shoulder shrugging haphazardly. He blinked. Burns? He lifted a hand to the corner of his mouth and withdrew it, hissing slightly in pain. Indeed, he did have burns. She looked up at him the moment she heard his hiss, and he blinked.
"Oh."
She blinked. Was that a yes, you can help heal these burns? She took it as such, and walked closer. He didn't move away.
"S-Sasuke-kun… please, have a seat."
He did such, sitting back down on the edge of the dock, his feet dangling over the water. She shuffled over there, setting her basket down in between them. Taking out a small bottle of cream and a dabber, she unscrewed the lid, and swiped a bit of the cream onto the dabber.
"S-Sasuke-kun…"
Before she could finish her sentence, he leaned closer to her. She froze; they were fairly close. Shaking off her fear, she lightly rubbed the cream onto his burn. He winced slightly, and almost got the cream into his eye. Without thinking, Sakura grabbed his chin lightly to steady him. His eyes widened and he paid no mind, but instead she dabbed more onto both of the wounds, her tongue sticking between her teeth.
"There, S-Sasuke-kun."
He just stared at her, and she blushed slightly, removing her hand from his face to find her band-aids. He nearly fell forward as she removed her hand, but stabled himself. He hadn't realized that he was practically letting her hold his head up. He blinked at thought.
"..Sasuke-kun?"
He looked back up at her and saw that she had two square band-aids in her hands. He blinked and leaned forward again so that she could hold his head up- er, put the band-aids on his burns. She did set her hand on his chin again, placing the band-aids on his burns. He lifted his head from her hand and felt the band-aids, smiling slightly.
"Thank you, Haruno Sakura."
She smiled slightly, and set her things back in her basket. Stealing a glance at Sasuke, she saw that the smile had gone from his face, and something like sadness was in his eyes. She blinked. Why is Sasuke-kun sad?
"Sasuke-kun?"
He looked up at her, masking his sadness.
"Yes?"
"Why do you look so sad, Sasuke-kun?"
The question, he admitted, caught him off guard. His eyes widened and he looked back at the lake.
"Wh-what? I-I'm not sad."
He fidgeted slightly, and Sakura knew he was lying. Getting onto her knees, she tentatively set a hand on his shoulder.
"Sasuke-kun, please tell me."
He bit his lip, his hands fidgeting again. What could it hurt, really, to just… tell her? She wouldn't tell anyone. She didn't really have any friends to tell. He mentally kicked himself. That's a mean thing to think. But true, she wouldn't tell anyone.
"I'm… not as good as my brother. And I don't think I ever will be."
He said all of this in a quiet, sad voice, and Sakura frowned slightly, before sitting next to him. She patted his shoulder.
"Sasuke-kun…"
He looked over at her, waiting to hear her say 'no, you never will.'
"That's a good thing."
His eye widened, and then narrowed angrily. He pushed her hand off of his shoulder and she looked over at his angry face, her own with a surprised expression.
"How is it a good thing that I'm not as good as Itachi-nii-san?!"
He nearly yelled at her. Her eyes widened slightly and she shook her hands wildly.
"Sasuke-kun, I didn't mean it that way-."
"Then how did you mean it, huh, pinky?!"
A fish jumped, breaking the silence between them. Sakura stared over at Sasuke, her eyes wide and full of hurt. He stared back, almost regretting calling her that. She took a deep breath, and instead moved her gaze to the water.
"I meant that you're a lot better than Uchiha Itachi-san, Sasuke-kun."
His eyes widened and he looked at her in disbelief. She continued to stare at the water, its reflection showing the blush resting on her cheeks. Sasuke fidgeted slightly, regretting what he said. He bit his lip, and took a silent breath.
"I'm sorry, Haruno Sakura. But, how am I better than Itachi-nii-san?"
She was silent for a few moments, contemplating what she was going to say. She finally decided that if he was going to get angry, then he was. She took another breath.
"You seem a lot more trustworthy and… caring than him, Sasuke-kun."
He stared at her again, and blinked. What did she mean? He shook his head. He figured he'd probably find out in due time.
"…Well, Sasuke-kun, I'll see you at school."
She stood up and his eyes followed her as she brushed the dirt off of her skirt. She turned to leave. Sasuke, without thinking, said her name.
"Sakura."
He grabbed her hand, and she looked down, surprised. He blushed oh so slightly, but gathered hi courage.
"Thank you."
She smiled slightly at him, and gave his hand a quick squeeze.
"Anytime, Sasuke-kun."
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Yes, yes, this is so bad T.T But I am not as good as I used to be, seeing as I haven't written stories in a few months. Hopefully this will give your stomach a little flutter, and then you can throw assorted heavy objects at me.
Have a wonderful day, and I hope to have more chapters of ILY up
-bows before ducking to avoid the assorted heavy objects-
BMS