Notes: Eh, I'm not entirely happy with this one, but oh well. I've got too many prompts to do to be very picky.
It's going to rain, Sakura thought as she sniffed the warm summer night air. It smelled of damp grass and salty water and the air practically crackled with the pent up energy that was threatening to be released on the earth.
"Hey, guys, I'm going to head home now. It's about to storm and I don't want to be caught in the rain."
Naruto looked up from his spot on the ground, "Aw, c'mon, Sakura-chan! We can train in the rain! How fun would that be?"
Letting her lips quirk up into an uneasy grin, Sakura nervously swiped the sweaty strands of hair from her forehead. "Um, no thanks. I need to head home to get some stuff done anyway. But you guys can have fun out here."
"But Sakura-chan, we used to always train in the rain! It cools you down before you can even get hot and sweaty. Come on, your work can wait."
"No, no. Really, I need to get home." Sakura quickly stood up and yanked her shorts down before walking off of the field, waving her hand in a final goodbye.
When she was halfway off of the training grounds, she felt Sasuke walk up next to her, slowing his long strides to match her own.
"Are you alright?"
"Hmm," Sakura looked up, eyes glassy in the yellow, stormy light. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"You just seem a bit jumpy," Sasuke replied, his eyes examining her in that way that made her feel like he was heating her insides and shooting lead through her limbs. His dark eyes suddenly narrowed and his hand rose up towards her neck. "You've got a cut."
Flinching away from his hand, Sakura quickly ducked her head and healed the wound with a swipe of her finger. Sasuke watched her with disapproval in his eyes.
"Sakura, are you sure—," he began before the sky lit up with a violent bolt of lightning.
Sakura's eyes instantly got wide and her body grew tense before she realized how ridiculous she looked. Trying to laugh off the situation, Sakura began to take quick strides and made an effort to keep her shoulders free from tension. She couldn't lose it here, not in front of Sasuke.
She felt him grab onto her wrist and spin her around as another strike of lightning cracked through the heavens and the thunder shook the earth.
"You're," Sasuke began, looking down at their intertwined hands. "You're afraid of the lightning because of me, aren't you?"
"Sasuke-kun, it's not—"
"It's because of me, isn't it? Sakura, tell me." Sasuke's deep voice was raw with emotion, cracking with the energy inside him.
"Well," Sakura began, her eyes frantically scanning the area for an excuse, for an answer that wouldn't completely break the man in front of her. "Yeah, but I'm working on it. I'll get it under control eventually; it'll just take some time."
"No." Sasuke's eyes were dark and hard as he stared down at her. "I did this, so I have to fix it. I'm sorry, Sakura." He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry. I never meant—"
Pulling away from Sasuke's chest just enough so that she could slide her hand up to cup his jaw, Sakura let out a gentle smile. "No, it's alright, Sasuke-kun. Never blame yourself for this. You've taken the blame for far too much already."
She stepped away from his body, pulling him along in the direction of the village. "You know, the best way to get over a phobia is through exposure, so I'm going to need your help." Sakura gave Sasuke a gentle smile as another bolt of lightning broke through the clouds. She didn't even flinch.