A/N: Haven't written anything KakaSaku in quite some time so…here you go.

Lightly

Sakura's eyes alighted upon the empyrean. Snowflakes danced their way down onto the earth and arranged themselves haphazardly upon her cloak. The kunoichi took a deep breath in and watched as the air spread out before her. They were on their way home from a mission to Suna. Sakura had been surprised to realize that it snowed in the desert as well. For some reason she always equated the desert with heat. She rubbed her hands together and tried to gather some warmth as she glanced at her companion who seemed not at all bothered by the harsh December weather. Then again…he rarely ever seemed bothered by anything. Well, that wasn't quite true. This whole trip he had seemed somewhat distracted and she wasn't quite sure as to why. It was unlike the Copy Ninja to act thusly. She had tried to question him, but he only smiled at her happily and thoroughly distracted her with some inane comment.

No, upon reflection he had been behaving quite oddly around her for some time now. During training sessions, under normal circumstances, they trained together. Lately, she found herself training with either Sasuke or Naruto. He used to walk her home as well, but even that had stopped. She had found that she missed his presence. There was something about him being there that always made her feel so secure.

Sakura frowned at his back as he walked ahead of her. She watched him move and knew that he was not even bothering to minimize the sound he was making. The slight crunch of the snow beneath his feet seemed to echo as much as his silence did in her ears.

Had she offended him in some way? Was he giving her the cold shoulder? Sakura wracked her brain trying to figure out what she had done, but came up with nothing. Of course, staring at him was in no way going to solve the problem. Just as she made up her mind to ask him what was on his mind he spoke first.

"What's your favorite story, Sakura?"

"Hmm?" Sakura asked puzzled by the sudden topic.

"Your favorite story?" Kakashi repeated glancing at her over his shoulder. Sakura's brow furrowed as she thought on the question. It was something she had never really contemplated. She read because it was like a craving within her. Once she found a good story she'd devour it, reveal in the feeling of satisfaction she received once she reached the end, then move on to the next story. None really had stuck out in her mind as something to call a favorite.

"I don't know. Why?"

"I was just thinking of something I read not too long ago--"

"Kakashi, if you're going to regal me with excerpts from Icha Icha Paradise then just know that I'm not afraid to kill a teammate."

Kakashi just chuckled and let himself fall back so that he could walk at her side. Sakura let out a sigh as some of his warmth seeped into her. Unconsciously she moved a bit closer to her former teacher. She looked around wondering if they would seek shelter soon since the snow seemed to be falling a bit harder. Kakashi seemed to notice this as well because he said, "Let's hurry. There's a town not too far from here."

He dashed off before she could say a word, but she wasn't angry. In fact, she looked forward to getting the blood circulating in her veins. So she dashed off after him with her eyes narrowing into slits as the snow hit her face making her acuity decrease.

The snow blew heavier blanketing the world in a wonderland of white, and soon Kakashi became nothing but a blur. Sakura swore under her breath realizing that her sense of direction was now non existent. She had been relying on Kakashi to make her way through the snow storm but now they had been separated. How had she let such a thing occur? She stopped moving and looked around her trying to find something, anything to direct her to her teammate but she couldn't even make out his tracks. Sakura harrumphed. Now, of all times, he decides to move like a ninja.

"Kakashi!" She yelled, her voice being swept away by the wind. Sakura closed her eyes for a moment. Her lashes brushed against her cheeks that were coated momentarily with the soft crystals, as she tried to gather her thoughts. Panic was not something that she could afford at the moment. When she opened them it was only to find her teammate standing before her a concerned look on his face. She jumped startled because she hadn't sensed him approaching her.

"Are you alright?"

Sakura nodded her head. She had no idea how he found her. Her scent had to have been lost in the wind, her tracks hidden by the downpour. She didn't waste time thinking about it that second because it didn't matter because he had done it. He had lost her and found her before she even had the opportunity to let fear enter her heart, before she lost her equanimity. He held out his hand to her and Sakura looked at it for a moment. She reached out and grabbed hold of him and allowed him to lead them to safety. His fingers intertwined with hers and for some reason unbeknownst to Sakura her heart began to pound wildly.

They never made it to town. Instead they took shelter in a nearby cave. Sakura looked around frowning. "You know we can't stay here long. We'd only freeze to death." Kakashi nodded.

"I know but we can't move forward if we don't know where we're going."

Sakura frowned knowing that what he was saying was true. Still, there was something that had begun to weigh on her mind. "Kakashi…" She started hesitantly. "how did you find me?"

Kakashi motioned her closer to him with a wave of his hand and she answered his unspoken request. As soon as she was within his reach he immediately wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "We need to use our body heat--" The rest of his words were lost to her as she realized the position they were in. They were standing far away from the entrance to the cave and yet they were still standing. Her face was buried in his chest being sheltered from the cold wind , and Kakashi had bent down to bury his face in her neck. She shivered slightly as she felt his masked lips pressed against her collarbone, but said nothing.

She was uncomfortable. Not because of the position they were in, nor was it because it somehow felt strangely intimate. No, she was uncomfortable because being wrapped in her former teacher's arms felt so good. She didn't understand what she was feeling. No, that wasn't quite right. In actuality, she didn't want to understand what she was feeling, but understanding was inevitable. She had loved the wrong man once and it had nearly destroyed her. She could not, would not do it twice. So she would ignore this budding feeling in her chest. Attraction, love whatever it may be. She would bury it because certainly Hatake Kakashi was someone beyond her reach.

:::

:::

Some time had passed and the blizzard that had engulfed them had not lessoned. Kakashi had tried using a fire jutsu but with nothing to keep the fire going it was an impossible situation. So they struggled to use body heat in order to keep themselves warm. Sakura tried to use chakra to regulate her body temperature but with minimal success she was having difficulty focusing. It had taken her too long to come up with the idea. Furthermore, she tried to show Kakashi how to do the same thing but he had difficulty concentrating on her words and was unable to complete the process.

The shivering started to occur not too long afterwards which scared Sakura because she knew what that meant. She pressed her body more firmly against his and tried to get him to talk. She feared what would happen if he were to lose consciousness.

"What's your favorite book?" Sakura asked remembering that he had asked her the same question earlier.

He gave her a look that clearly asked if was she insane. "Icha Icha Violence." Sakura made a face.

"Something other than Jiariya's work. What was that story you were telling me about earlier?" Sakura asked. He was quiet for a while and Sakura looked outside hoping for some let up of the snow. Thankfully, Sakura noted with a sigh of relief that snow appeared to be slowing up a bit.

"There was this one story it was a play , really,…called Cyrano de Bergerac." His words were slow and measured as if he had to think carefully about what he was saying. "He wasn't a good looking fellow but he had a way with words. And he loved this woman but because he lacked the confidence to pursue her on his own he helped another guy win her." Sakura made an encouraging sound urging him to continue. "In the end she finds out that as Cyrano is dying in her arms that the other fellow used Cyrano's words in order to woo her."

Sakura frowned. "That's so sad."

"Not really." Kakashi paused and took a shuddering breath. "Because I can't think of a better way to die…than in your arms."

Sakura looked up into Kakashi's face noticing that the shivering had stopped. Her eyes glanced over him noticing the blue tinge to his skin.

She smacked his face lightly, then harder when she received no response. "Kakashi! Kakashi!" Sakura screamed trying to garner his attention.

:::

:::

"You're awake."

Kakashi blinked slowly as his eyes came into focus. "Sakura? What happened?" He made a attempt to sit up but one stern look from Sakura made him pause in his actions.

"You almost died on me out there." Sakura frowned at him disapproving. She grabbed a chair and pulled it to his bedside. She reached for his hand but he immediately pulled it away. Sakura said nothing about his action. Nor did she say anything about how his eye wouldn't quite meet hers.

Instead, she decided to talk knowing that he had no choice but to listen.

"You asked me before we caught in the storm what was my favorite novel. The honest truth is that I don't have one. But if forced to pick one it would be Gone with the Wind." He turned his head and faced her then. There was a question in his eye that she decided to go ahead and answer. "Because you never know when you're going to lose everything. While you have the chance it's best to fight for what you have and what you want." The silence thereafter was companionable and peaceful. Kakashi lay on his bed while Sakura watched the rise and fall of his chest. "Kakashi…you never told me how you found me."

"No," He said hesitatingly. " I didn't."

"Will you tell me now?" He looked at her then and something moved deeply within her at just his gaze. Just that one look made her want to wrap her arms around him and hold him close to her bosom and never let go. So much for not giving in to her emotions. Near death experiences had a way of changing things. "My tracks were covered by the snow. There's no way you could have caught my scent with how fiercely the wind was blowing. So…how?"

"Sakura, I don't need vision, a sense of smell, or even hearing to find you. I only need one thing."

Sakura, aware that she had started holding her breath released it and asked one last question. "What?"

"My heart. My heart will always lead to you."

Sakura felt tears spring to her eyes. No one had ever said anything remotely close to what Kakashi had just said to her. It was a love confession. Probably as close as he would ever come to admitting his feelings for her. Still, it was a pivotal moment. She could either accept or reject him. He was leaving the decision in her hands. So Sakura reached for his hand once more and this time he allowed her to wrap her slim fingers around his squeezing his hand tightly.

He looked into her emerald eyes that sparkled with unshed tears, raised her hand to his masked lips, and kissed it lightly.

A/N: This was originally intended for Vesperchan's contest but I decided not to enter this. Still, it's completed so why not post?