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Prompt 26: Staying Warm

"It was poison."

The next morning, seated on the small dining table, Sakura listened intently as the red-haired female ninja—Karin, Suigetsu mumbled next to her—explained. Karin looked down, not meeting their eyes, as she continued in a small voice. "I've managed to neutralize some of it, but she ultimately needs an antidote. Also, there's the issue of her memory loss."

"I'll bring her to Tsunade," Sasuke spoke as he leaned against the opposite wall. "She'll know what to do."

Juugo raised his gaze from his cup and nodded, "I think it's the best option."

This was how Sakura found herself traveling with Uchiha Sasuke back to Konoha.

Given the choice, she would have wanted if Suigetsu or Juugo or even Karin accompanied them. But the three exchanged glances and politely declined for various reasons. Sakura had a sneaking suspicion that the man who stood behind her must have threatened them to say no. Thus, begrudgingly, she had to say a short goodbye to the people who saved her. It pained her to leave them but Juugo and Suigetsu promised to visit her and her child (after recovering from the shock of the news of her pregnancy) in Konoha once she is well.

She sighed and snuck a glance at the quiet man beside her. They have been walking for hours now and, other than the occasional 'Are you alright? Do you want to take a break?', he remained silent.

Still, she could feel that he always had his cool gaze on her.

"Are you alright? Do you want to rest?"

Sakura blinked, caught unaware as he stopped and turned to her. A frown formed on her lips as she recovered, "How far is Konoha? You know, we won't reach it if we keep stopping."

"We can travel faster if I carry you."

His intent stare slightly unnerved her and so she crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively, a blush on her cheeks. "No! I can walk!" Even if this person was her husband, she couldn't remember him anyway.

"Sakura."

There. That way of saying her name again. She averted her eyes. "I'm fine. Let's keep walking please."

He seemed unconvinced for a moment before finally conceding, "Alright."

They continued walking and Sakura knew he was purposely keeping to her relatively slow pace. Frowning, she tried to speed up.

"You shouldn't push yourself too hard," he said.

"I am not," she replied, focused on walking faster. "I should be able to do this. I'm supposed to be a Ninja, right?"

"Yes. But you're mostly a medic."

She stopped and whipped her head to look at him, the revelation suddenly throwing her off-topic. "Really? You mean I can..heal?"

There was something akin to pride in his eyes. "You're one of the best, if not the best."

"Really? Tell me more!" she urged excitedly, all thoughts of rushing forgotten.

The corner of his lips tugged into a smirk, "You were trained by the best medic ninja of her time, the Fifth Hokage."

And they fell into a comfortable conversation as they traveled.

It was almost dusk when Sasuke stopped and surveyed the clearing. "We will stop here for the night," he announced.

Sakura sighed tiredly and sat at an uprooted tree. "How long until we reach Konoha?"

"We will arrive by tomorrow afternoon," he answered as he gathered firewood. She watched curiously as he performed hand seals and blew fire from his mouth, setting the firewood into a bright flame.

"Can I also do that?" she wondered aloud.

He paused pensively before responding. "You should. But I haven't gotten the chance to teach you yet."

Tilting her head to the side, she asked curiously, "Oh? You're going to teach me?"

He retrieved a piece of bread, a canister of soup and a jug of water from his pack and handed them to her. She mumbled her thank you as she received the items. "I should. You are an Uchiha after all."

She took a bite from her bread. "Is it some kind of Uchiha secret technique."

"Not really a secret, but it's an Uchiha technique," he answered patiently as he took his own pack of food—bread and a plump tomato.

Sakura looked at the tomato with interest, her lips curved in a small smile. "You weren't really joking when you said you loved tomatoes."

"My mother used to have a tomato garden when I was young," he replied quietly.

"And up to now, you still steal tomatoes from her garden?" Sakura accused with a chuckle, not noticing the way Sasuke's eyes darkened.

"My mother's dead."

"Oh," she stopped laughing and awkwardly averted her eyes. "I'm sorry.."

He shook his head. "It's not your fault." And he was silent again.

Sakura finished her bread and soup quietly, berating herself for destroying the comfortable mood they had started to fall into. Guilt crept into her heart, and she somehow knew she had made a mistake in mentioning his family.

She fiddled with her hands, her eyes downcast, "Hey," she called softly. His clear black eyes settled on her green ones and she hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Erm..do we have a tomato garden...in our home?"

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. "No. Why do you ask?"

She offered him a small smile, almost hesitant. "Let's make one when we return."

She couldn't deny the warmth she felt when she saw his eyes light up.

She pulled the blanket up to her chin, her eyes surveying his form warily. He was seated against the tree nearest to her, an arm draped over one knee that was bent towards his chest. The flickering flames casted shadows on his face and she could see the tired lines and darkened circles underneath his eyes.

She sat up from the sleeping bag and frowned, "You'll catch a cold." She pulled the blanket away from her body, slightly grimacing at the lost of warmth, and offered it to him. "I already took your sleeping bag, you should at least have the blanket. I'm much nearer the fire anyway so it's quite warm."

He shook his head, "I don't need it.

Her frown deepened. Really, why did she marry this obnoxious, stubborn male? "No need to act chivalrous you know."

His brows furrowed. Was he starting to get annoyed? "Sakura. Rest now."

She huffed and crossed her arms against her chest. "I can't rest knowing you might—I don't know? Get sick from the cold perhaps!" He smirked in amusement and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, as she snapped, "What?"

"You've always been stubborn," he replied as he stood up and walked towards her. Sakura watched cautiously as he sat next to her and draped the large blanket over their lower bodies. "Happy?" he asked, still mildly amused.

She averted her eyes as her cheeks flushed, "I didn't mean we should share."

"This is a compromise," he explained, "So that both of us can still stay warm. Now, you can sleep."

She sighed as she lay down, her eyes staring at the night sky, "Hey."

"Sasuke," he suddenly spoke. "You may call me by my name."

"Sasuke," she corrected herself and his lips quirked in a half-smile. She stared at him thoughtfully. "You have black eyes."

His brows furrowed, not fully comprehending the meaning of her words. "I do," he responded slowly.

She closed her eyes briefly. "But the you from my memory had red eyes.." That man who tried to kill me had red eyes.

"You must be referring to the Sharingan," he answered as he ran a hand through his hair. "It's a bloodline limit of the Uchiha clan."

"Oh..." Those red eyes haunted her dreams, brought fear to her being. Still, she found herself asking, "Can I see it?"

He looked at her skeptically and sighed. "Sleep now, Sakura. You're tired."

"Can I see?" she pressed, stronger this time. Curiosity nagged her senses, overpowering the fear she still felt. "Please..?"

He regarded her carefully before nodding. For a moment, he closed his eyes and Sakura held her breath as he slowly opened them, his eyes now a deep red color, with three black tomoe swirling.

"They're...different from my memory.." she whispered breathlessly, her green eyes unwavering.

"Mangekyou Sharingan," he answered quietly as the tomoes continued to spin and the pattern transformed into a pinwheel design.

Sakura's lips parted in a silent gasp. It was those eyes. She should be afraid...right? But, unexpectedly, there was no fear she felt. Instead, she found herself drawn into them. Gently, she reached up and touched his cheek. "They're..." she tried to find the words as she stared, mesmerized. "They're... beautiful."

He blinked in surprise, and slowly smiled, "Thank you, Sakura."

It was the last thing she remembered before she fell into a dreamless sleep.

Last Scene was inspired by the brief but meaningful SasuSaku eye contact in chapter 685.

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