note: like every fresh-out-of-university, drowning-in-debt, soul-searching graduate, I want nothing more than to travel the world right now.


prompt: holding hands


They met in Suna.

Sasuke was in the middle of wandering in his careful fashion, walking fast enough that he didn't look like he was dawdling, while also reducing his glancing around to subtle turns of the head and discreet shifts of his eyes behind his aviators. Despite his aristocratic features and distinct look, Sasuke was actually quite skilled at blending in. This was good, of course, since tourists and foreigners, no matter where they were in the world, were often the victims of pickpocketing and other unfortunate crimes.

Granted, his backpack was enough of an indicator of his status of "wandering twenty-year-old going nowhere in life."

That was okay though. Of all places in the Wind Country, Suna, as the capital, was well-populated and quite the tourist hotspot. Looking around, Sasuke found that almost everyone looked like they were on vacation, so being a backpacker actually made him look like he fit in.

Deciding it was time to take a break, Sasuke got a table on the patio of a small café along the side of the strip. He ordered a snack and a beer and sat down, observing.

He'd check out the history museum tomorrow. And then he'd explore the desert a little. And he would definitely take one of those puppet-making classes. Suna was known for its artistry and his mother would probably love something from here.

Thinking about his mother made him cringe.

He left Konoha maybe three weeks ago – left his family, his friends, and all of his obligations, and if he were honest with himself, he'd admit that he kind of missed his mother and Itachi and even that moron Naruto.

"Am I lonely?" he mumbled to himself.

He looked around, observing a happy family walking by, the children loudly discussing what they did that day. At another table, there was a group of guys not much older than Sasuke, likely travelling through like him. There was a girl sitting on her own at the table beside him reading a book, and there was a couple sitting a few tables away. Sasuke made a face at their blatant happiness, with their intertwined hands on the table and locked gazes. They were smiling and clearly enjoying themselves.

Lonely?

Sasuke smirked.

"Pft, nah."

And then she happened.

"Hey!"

Sasuke looked to the table beside him and frowned at the waving hand extended toward him. "Uh… yeah?"

The girl with the book grinned at him. "How long have you been in Suna for?" she asked. Without any consideration for the basic laws of personal space, she moved into the chair across from him, still holding the book she'd been reading. "See, I just got here this morning, but I'm dying to check out the Artist Alley. I've always found Suna puppets to be super interesting. And they even offer puppet-making classes! I'm definitely going to take one. You should too!"

He nodded dumbly. "Okay." He figured awkward one word answers would be enough to deter her, but she remained resilient.

"Actually, there's one this evening," she pointed out. She held out her book and Sasuke realized it was a notebook. On the page she held open was a crumpled flyer about the classes she was raving about. She raised the page and waved it closer to his face. "Want to come with me?"

This time, Sasuke openly gaped at her.

Her – the girl with the bright green eyes and hair covered by an off white head scarf patterned with mustard-coloured stripes. And he was almost certain those wisps of hair peeking out from under the cloth were pink. Her shirt was simple enough – beige and button-up – but the jagged blue stones around her neck looked too much like a recently purchased souvenir.

"I don't even know you," Sasuke said bluntly. He wasn't trying to be rude, just honest.

But she just shrugged and smiled at him and held her hand out to him.

"I'm Sakura."

tbc