Dedication: The SasuSaku fandom, since the manga has been ruff on this couple and there has been no fluff between the two in a while (In my mind, at least). This is for all of you!

A/N: Okay, I am back. Here is my third work for SasuSaku fandom. I ended up wanting to have this up the first day of school, because this fic. takes place at the end of summer in Naruto. It's one of those, "I didn't acomplish my summer goal" things - since I had so many ideas over the summer... and yet... I didn't post one fic. -sad-

Special Thanks: Thank you to Scarlett (A.K.A: TheMysteriousAuthoress) for being the best beta ever!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Disappoint Me

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By Water and Earth Alchemist

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Emerald green eyes watched dully as the rain continued to fall down to earth. The air was cold and humid and she felt oddly soggy sitting on the grassy ground with nothing other than a tarp blocking the rain from crashing down on her. A cool - almost cold - wind whipped her hair pink back and forth across her face while her arms wrapped around her legs - which she pressed against her chest - in an attempt to shelter herself even more against the wind.

Sakura silently watched as the water splattered against the ground; either getting caught up by the steams of grass or absorbed by the dirt - which was quickly becoming mud. The grass and ground around her was dry, though hard from the cool air. The tarp above her pattered with the falling rain, which allowed the rain to either fall off by its edges or would collect near the center, causing the tarp to drop slightly.

Summer was ending for the sixteenth year in a row for her; leaving the bitter taste of unresolved goals. This summer was supposed to be one of the greatest every - she planned for it to be - but somehow she ended up coming up short.

Glancing over to her left, she caught sight of her major failure for the summer - Sasuke Uchiha. Her goal for the end of summer was to get him to be her boyfriend but, of course, she didn't even get as close as calling him her "best friend" just... merely her teammate.

She doubted they would ever be more than that either.

He stood, leaning against a tree, with his customary cool sense about him. His usual scowl claimed his face while his arms were cross irritably across his chest. He - just like her - was staring out at the rain. He must have sensed her looking at him, because he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, causing emerald to meet onyx for a split second before she looked away - almost shamefully; a light blush on her cheeks.

She heard him grunt lowly, cursing under his breath so quietly, that she wasn't able to hear it. It wouldn't be the first time - but it still made her heart twist in pain and the feeling of guilt that she could have done something differently made her feel sick.

Sighing heavily, Sakura bowed her head down - only for her forehead to hit her knees softly. She wrapped her arms around her legs much more tightly as well feeling another strong gust of wind set in.

"Oi - Kakashi-Sensei!" She heard Naruto's whining voice crawling up from the back of the tarp, "This is the worst camping trip ever!" She didn't snap at him like she normally would, realizing that doing so would do nothing. She was bored, felt tired and hurt and yelling wasn't going to help.

This camping trip was all Kakashi's idea for a, "end of the summer" treat, which backfired in the end. They hadn't reached wherever he was going to bring them because of the rain (which showed no signs of letting up). Now they were stuck under a tarp that would serve as their tent for the night and they absolutely nothing to do unless they wanted to run out into the rain and possibly catch a cold or something worse.

Kakashi - who was also sitting on the other side of the tent - didn't even speak to Naruto but just sighed disapprovingly. Sakura knew her sensei was reading the infamous Make out Paradise without even needing to look at him.

She lifted her head, so her chin was resting against her knees again, as she started to stare out at the rain wearily.

Boy was this one summer she was not going to remember at all.

"Hey... Hey, Sakura," She could hear Naruto crawling towards her with his words. He was probably coming over to talk to her since he couldn't really flirt with her anymore. After all, Naruto had gotten a girlfriend. The lucky lady being none other than Hinata Hyuuga.

It still amazed Sakura that he managed to even impress a girl - let alone end up wooing her into becoming his girlfriend. She felt so hopeless whenever she thought about it since she always thought in the back of her mind that she'd end up with someone before a girl even looked twice at Naruto. Was she ever wrong?

She ignored him; appearing much more interested in the rain, the trees, the wind, her thoughts - anything - just so he might get the hint to leave her alone. Of course, since Naruto is Naruto, he didn't realize any of her hints and actually ended up poking her on the arm.

Mentally sighing, she turned her head slightly so Naruto could see he got her attention. "Yes...?" She asked rather dully.

"You aren't looking very happy-" He started, now sitting behind her Indian style, while scratching his head and tilting it to the side while looking at her in the eye.

Sasuke interjected, making the two teens looks over at him as he suggesting sarcastically, "Well, we are stuck out in the rain." He wasn't looking at either of them, but at the rain. Out of anything, he looked angrier than his usual glare he had earlier.

"Shut up Sasuke Bastard - I wasn't talking to you!" Naruto snapped, holding his fist up threateningly though the Uchiha still didn't glance in their direction.

Sakura stuttered - not even a second after Naruto spoke - while waving her hands in front of her face and giving her full attention back to Naruto, "H-He's right though. This trip is pretty boring Sensei." She glanced over at Kakashi for a moment who either didn't hear her because she didn't speak that loud or, if he did hear her, chose to ignore her.

Though she knew those words were, somewhat, true, she knew they weren't the whole truth. I bet Naruto would love to hear the whole truth thought she thought sarcastically; after all, she knew how much he loved to hear her talk about Sasuke.

The blond looked back at her with a look that was somewhere between serious and worried. She knew in the back of her mind that he probably wasn't buying what she was saying, but that didn't stop her from trying to forget that thought.

"Are you sure?" He asked her.

She smiled, nodding, "Yep."

The day almost passed on by like that, and it was only when Naruto found a deck of cards in his bag (since he had dug through it out of boredom) that they began to have any fun. Of course, the fun didn't last long when it began to get dark and they realized that the deck was missing six cards.

Since the tarp was up high enough, they were able to have a small fire, which was literally a warm welcome when the temperature dropped near twenty degrees before they went to bed. It didn't help that the storm got worse every hour and a wind was picking up.

Since they had heard that there was a group of thieves in the area, they were all going to take watch for about three hours each. Naruto was on watch first, followed by Kakashi, then Sasuke, and ending with Sakura.

The whole night had gone by as smoothly as it could during a storm when, all of a sudden, there was a loud crack of thunder and a blinding flash of lightning. Sakura quickly shot up, noticing Naruto and Kakashi do so out of the corner of her eye as well. Sasuke was sitting by the fire, looking up, startled, though not scared like Sakura or Naruto. He was also the quickest one to calm down since he was the most awake at the time.

"THE HELL?" Naruto screamed, making Sakura jump again and glare at him. She had been focusing so heavily on their surroundings, trying to spot - if possible - an enemy in the distance that she forgot there was anyone around her for a second.

"Naruto!" She snapped angrily, though she wasn't as loud as him.

"Idiot - it's just thunder!" Sasuke added, sending his blond teammate a very ice glare. Just like Sakura, Naruto's yelling appeared to make Sasuke jump just like herself... though, probably not as high.

A minute passed with everyone just looking around at either their surroundings, which was only total darkness, or one another. It was only upon Kakashi's words that they all focused upon one thing.

"Okay then, since the action is over, back to bed," He muttered, sounding just as tired as both Naruto and Sakura were feeling, only appearing to add a hint of goofiness to his words.

All three ninja's who weren't on watch lied back down, their blankets tightly around them as they tried to fall back asleep. The thunder and lightning were still there, but toned down. Sakura quickly found herself unable to fall asleep and very much wide-awake while staring up at the tarp.

"You should get some sleep," She heard Sasuke utter, making her sit up again and quickly meet his eyes as he sat by the fire. He didn't stare at her coldly, like he had earlier, but much more dazed - probably from how tired he was.

"I'm not tired," She replied, sounding more awake than him. She glanced towards Naruto and Kakashi for a split second, only to see them both asleep. Emerald eyes quickly met onyx again as she realized she was left "alone" with the one and only Sasuke for the moment.

"HELL YES!" Inner Sakura screamed and she inwardly smirked as well. She never really had a chance to talk to Sasuke that much anymore outside of training, so here was her chance!

Sasuke looked away from her and back at the fire while muttering his catchphrase, "Hn..." under his breath. He looked oddly more distant as he watched the crackling fire while one of his hands griped the blanket he had wrapped around him slightly more tightly.

Thunder echoed around the small campsite again, but this time, no one stirred. It was only then that Sakura realized how long she had been staring at Sasuke, making her look away from him and back at their surroundings. It was pitch black outside the tent, she couldn't even tell the difference between the ground and the trees - so how were they supposed to see an enemy?

The wind picked up, making her shiver. Glancing back at the fire - which, she realized was giving her much more warmth than her blankets - she slowly stood. With her blanket still draped around her, she made her way towards the fire and sat down next to the raven-haired boy. He didn't acknowledge her presence, just continued to stare at the fire.

"So..." She began, not knowing what to say really. She hadn't been so close to him since he came back to Konoha last year. He had been very distant to her in particular along with being much colder and kept to himself more. She really couldn't blame him for becoming that way either after all he must have went through.

Glancing over at him, she saw that he was still concentrating heavily on the fire. Just like the day before, he must have sensed her staring at him because he turned to look at her as well. However, unlike before, she didn't look away shyly.

"Is anything wrong Sasuke?" She asked quietly as the fire crackled rather loudly and almost drowned out half of her sentence.

He looked towards the fire, but she could see his eyes peering through the smoke and towards the other side of the tent. He growled, "No."

"Well... you seem rather distant..." She replied, drawing out the words while keeping her eyes on him. He didn't react to her words at all; in fact, he appeared not to of hear her making the pink haired ninja feel awkward. The tension between the two was so thick you could cut it with a knife and she couldn't help but look away from him and back at the other two male ninjas who were still sleeping.

The seconds that pasted felt like minutes while minutes felt like hours. Sakura had no idea how long there had been silence between the two when Sasuke suddenly spoke, causing her to jump, "I've had a lot on my mind, that's all." The words were less icy normal and, even as he spoke, he still looked in deep thought.

So he had heard me...

"Is it anything that might interest me?" She asked, laughing lightly while her eyes found their way back to his. She smiled sweetly and curiously at him, but he didn't even send her a glance.

"Probably not," His words were now dull, empty, and hollow - and for some reason, it scared her. They sounded almost like he wanted her to pester him into telling her, but at the same time, she thought he was trying to scare her off.

Sakura's emerald eyes continued to stare at him, even with her nerves slowly swallowing her. She traced every feature on his face, hoping that might just give a hint to what was on his mind.

After a minute or so of silence, her nerves finally pulled her eyes away from him. He hadn't given her any hints and she wanted to pick the safe road so she decided not to pester him. She instead tried to get his mind off whatever he was thinking, good or bad.

She sighed loudly, looking up at where the sky was supposed to be but was instead replaced by the dark tarp. Leaning back on her hands, she spoke, "Everyone... Everyone's seemed to pair up over the summer. Even Ino - and I... I guess I feel alone... lonely... something along those lines."

She could see him turn to look at her out of the corner of her eye. Sure, her little speech she had started in order to get his mind off his thoughts was turning into something about herself, she felt the words slipping past her lips like they were meant to be said. She also felt slightly embarrassed - or maybe she felt pathetic, she wasn't sure anymore - as she continued.

"You know, my main goal for this summer was to get closer to you and, instead, it feels like we're drifting apart-"

"I'm not the same Sakura..." He cut her off, his voice deep, raspy, and - if possible - even more serious than usual. She, almost guiltily, glanced out of the corner of her eye towards him.

"... I-I know," She spoke truthfully a few moments later, "but I'm not the same either."

"No, you don't Sakura," He growled now, shooting her an icy glare that would normally make her flinch, but she didn't. "Did you ever think the reason why we aren't so close anymore is because of me not wanting to hurt you?"

She felt her heart skip a beat as her eyes widened. What he had just said was something that should have crossed her mind before but it never had. Moreover, even though it was probably one of the few times Sasuke had said something that meant he cared about her, she felt somehow...

Upset.

She looked back at the fire, wrapping the blanket around her much more tightly then before as a sudden chill went up her spine. She felt like half the woman she had been when she decided to sit down beside the fire and her mind seemed split in half. One half of her wanted to get away from him - to act as though this conversation was just a dream - while the other half wanted to convince the Uchiha otherwise - that he couldn't hurt her.

He made the decision for her.

"I remember back then - three years ago - when I left Konoha and you cried. For some reason, I couldn't forget that no matter how hard I tried. I hurt you and I'll only hurt you more the closer we get," Sasuke told her, not with his usual harsh tone but a different one - possibly warmer.

Sakura understood him immediately, but she couldn't help but think... "You don't want to disappoint me, do you?" She asked, thinking aloud.

"What?"

"Sasuke, even if you are half the man you once were I want to give you my strength. I fought so you could come back too - I'm not afraid of what you are hiding or how different you are. You can't disappoint me," She spoke without thinking it all out again, and the words felt right.

It suddenly felt very odd once she spoke. The silence was long, tense and cold. She could feel his eyes scanner her like she had done earlier to him, hoping that she might just have some answer written on her face that she didn't. Her eyes continued to outline the tarp above them as lightning made the sky glow for a moment and she could just tell the storm was ending by how dull the light was.

On the outside, she appeared calm since her face was blank, but on the inside she was jumpy and scared. She kept thinking the same question over and over; did she say the right thing or did she just make everything worse? Gathering up the nerve she could, she warped the blanket around her much more tightly again before standing - her eyes now directed at the fire. "I'm going back to bed..." She told him, finding it better laying down with him thinking she's sleeping then to rather be sitting beside him in a tense silence.

She took a few steps towards where her bed supposedly was, only for something to tightly grasp itself around her wrist before being pulled down to her knees and facing the exact opposite direction.

It took her a few moments to grasp that she wasn't being attacked and was instead looking into the onyx eyes of Sasuke Uchiha. They were cold, and with the crackling of the dulling fire beside them, they seemed to peer into the depths of her soul. She could see the fire dancing in them in a way that made her feel like she was staring into the actual fire, making her breathless.

"Why?" He spat lowly, "Why do you always say something that makes me stop and rethink everything?"

Sakura suddenly frozen as she realized just how close she was to him. Their forms were nearly touching - their faces no more than a few inches apart; his hand still tightly grasping her wrist. She felt the heat from his breath brush lightly against her lips, sending a shiver down her spine.

Slowly and shakily, she tried to open her mouth to reply, but the words never came. She felt herself lost in his eyes and frozen by his touch. Even before she could start formulating an answer in her head she found his lips against hers.

Her mind ran blank and her eyes started to grow wide in shock, but quickly dulled as she melted into the kiss. Her eyes closed wearily, finding herself drifting into a reality of which she had only dreamed.

Before she knew it, he pulled away from her and it was only then that she realized how out of breath she was - but she didn't gasp for air. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest and her lungs nearly exploded, and yet, she took just small, almost nonexistent, breaths. Slowly, her emerald eyes opened to be staring into onyx eyes of Sasuke and found herself letting the corners of her mouth turn upwards in a dreamy grin.

Sasuke Uchiha had just kissed her and this summer was anything but ordinary anymore.

Done! Okay, are you confused about Sasuke suddenly being back in Konoha when they're sixteen? In my mind, I think Sasuke will come back before they're sixteen for some odd reason. I bet a few of you are like, "Of course he will!" or something like that, but who really knows? There could be another timeskip in the future for all we know. I also don't know if he'll beat Itatchi by then, so I didn't go into that detail on that matter.

I think this is going to be my last Naruto oneshot for a while - but don't be sad, I'll return someday... or possible sooner. Right now I'm working on a drabble/oneshot for Fullmetal Alchemist and I'm also trying to start my first chapter story (Which'll be for Final Fantasy IX).

Hope you liked! XP

Please review!

Later. . . Water and Earth Alchemist