CHAPTER THIRTYFOUR

- … -

The two weeks of not seeing Sasuke had actually gone faster than I had imagined they would. Except the last week, that seemed to have dragged on forever and ever. But tomorrow, I would be on a plane to Yuki. So now I was fluttering all over my room, searching for the warmest clothes that I could find, which… really only included sets of leggings and sweaters, along with two pairs of legwarmers. Oh well. I could probably get some more when I was in Yuki.

Sasuke's POV;

Sasuke and his family had arrived in Yuki two days ago. He was currently staring out of the window, into the snow covered landscape.

Good grief, one week and a perfect tan, and barely two weeks later and he was as white as a ghost again. Not that Sasuke was high maintenance, or anything. Ahem.

The Uchiha felt something hard and book-like smack into the back of his head. He spun around and glared at his older brother, who was smirk-grinning. Or was it grin-smirking?

"What…" Sasuke hissed, "do you want?"

"You look troubled."

"Well, I'm not." The younger sibling told his brother honestly. Itachi nodded and then dropped into one of the sofas to watch the television.

"When does Kari get here?" He questioned in his aloof, I-don't-really-care-I-just-want-to-make-conversation tone. Sasuke shrugged.

"Soon, I think."

"You've been sitting at that window all day."

"I don't care." Sasuke muttered, turning away from the glass all the same. He stared at Itachi.

Itachi stared right back.

…This was weird.

And then he heard the crunching of the snow underneath chained tires and he spun back around to watch two people clamber out of the expensive, hired car. One of these people were Sasuke's busy father, who had taken the time to actually drive to the airport to meet the Tenatai teenager, and the other was Kari herself. She hugged herself tightly in her cream and white sweater and appeared to laugh at something that Fugaku said.

Fugaku Uchiha being funny? GET. OUT.

"Is that them?" Itachi asked in an uninterested drawl. Sasuke didn't answer, but rather dropped into a lazy, uninterested pose-type thing. He gave Itachi a 'don't you dare say one single word' kind of look before the brunette burst into the room, still coated in the flakes of snow from outside.

"I'M HERE!" She cried, flinging herself into Sasuke's side. Ow.

"Noted." The older Uchiha murmured, amused. Sasuke found that he was unable to hold back the grin that was threatening his sharp features as he was enveloped by her scent; the sweet, sugary kind.

"Hello," She murmured, her lips hitting his cheek softly. Sasuke gave her a tiny smile in acknowledgement. He didn't want to speak, because he knew that his father would be around the corner with a notepad any second—

"Okay, you two," Now. "You're going to have to get to bed within an hour if you're going to be ready for the shoot."

For the love of… something that Sasuke loved. Kari had only just got here, and already the man was scheduling them. He frowned slightly.

"We're leaving at six am for sunrise. Got it?"

"Yes, Mr Uchihaaaa." Kari grinned. When had she gotten so bold with him? Even Sasuke wasn't comfortable with the man. He gave his girlfriend a strange look and she shrugged her shoulder subtly, as if to say, "Hee."

"Yeah, got it." Fugaku nodded before turning and leaving. Sasuke also got to his feet, tugging up his black skinnies by the belt hooks so that they were just shy of his hips. He turned and pulled Kari to her feet, smirking softly. He felt kind of warm, seeing her. Itachi gave him a complete, WTF look, causing the younger brother to glare as he pulled his girlfriend out of the small living area of the rented holiday house and up the stairs.

His father had given him a lecture on not sharing his room with the Tenatai girl, but like Sasuke cared. He closed the door and sighed, unaware that he'd even been holding his breath. His dad always seemed to have that effect on him. Straightening his posture and not breathing.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Oh. Two weeks of not seeing me and you don't even say 'hello'? Psh, go away. I'm not talking to you." Kari pouted, folding her arms and turning away from the dark haired teen. Sasuke rolled his eyes, half grinning, and pulled her around by her shoulder, forcing her to face him.

His hand dropped from her shoulder, though, and connected with his other hand around her waist. He bent down, gave her a soft kiss on the lips and said, "Hey."

Haaa, that shut her and her complaints up. She smiled shyly at him, biting her lip.

"Hey." She replied. "Now I'll tell you what happened… if you tell me what on earth you are talking about?"

"Why are you so friendly with my dad all of a sudden?"

Kari cracked up laughing. She hid her face in his chest, "Heluuuurrrvsme." She told him, giggling. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Strange girl.

"No, um," She drew back, apparently having pulled herself together, "I don't know, I just started talking as we left the airport and he talked back."

"I bet you sucked up about the car," Sasuke muttered.

"Hmmm, that too, perhaps." Kari giggled, her hands running up and down his arms. "Aw, I missed you."

Sasuke just sort of smirked, a little embarrassed, and pressed his cheek against the top of the brunette's head, just holding her in a foreign embrace that somehow felt right after the short time that they had been apart.

He still smelt the same; like clean, and warm, and safe and danger and autumn and… Sasuke. I squeezed him tightly.

"Hahahaa…" I giggled, "You're secretly the best huggler in the world."

"Never, ever use that word in connection with me?" Sasuke asked. His voice was unusually and softly sweet. He moved his head off of mine and grinned slightly down at me; and I back up at him.

Hmmm, kiss me, you beautiful thing.

It seemed that Sasuke could read my mind, and leant down to brush his lips over mine again. But before he could pull away, I managed to land the palms of my hands on either side of his face, so that my middle fingers were on either side of his eyes, beneath his temples. Man, I'd missed this. Just having any kind of contact with Sasuke was nice, to me.

The two weeks without him had been bearable, yes, and that might have been because Sasuke and I had one of the nicest days together before he left that sort of left a calming promise to me, telling me that we could have more of those as soon as I met up with him again. And it could also have been down to the fact that we made some pretty ninja skillz love in my bedroom while my whole family sat oblivious downstairs.

I am not a whore. What?

One of Sasuke's hands slipped down to the back of my leggings, causing me to squeak involuntarily. Gropey bastard. I felt him smirk against my lips and pulled away from him, jamming the side of my head into his shirt.

"Such a perrrrv." I whined. Sasuke chuckled quietly, not letting me go and turning to throw me unceremoniously onto his bed. I sat up, slightly ruffled, and glared at him. "That's no way to treat a lady!" I chastised.

The Uchiha merely arched a dark eyebrow, "…You? Man up, Kari, you're a martial artist, aren't you?"

I huffed, "Well, yeah, but… I EXPECT LOVE AND CONSIDERATION FROM MY BOYF—uh. Hi there." I stopped my rant very suddenly as Sasuke somehow magically appeared right before my eyes with the tip of his nose almost touching my own.

"Hi." He smirked, his bangs tickling my cheeks as he leant in to press those amazing lips to my forehead in an almost fond way. I just sort of grinned at him. "What do you wanna do for our last hour of freedom?" He asked, lazily.

I thought, "You got any good movies?"

"Nothing you'd like, just Saw."

"Ewwww… let's watch it!"

"Ugh, you're weird."

"I laahhhf you."

"Hn."

Sasuke reached over to put the DVD disk into the player, and then flew backwards to let it start. I quietly and calmly, as if it were a natural function, positioned myself between his skinny jean clad legs so that I was comfortably leaning against his body. He slipped his arms under mine and laced his fingers together underneath my chest.

Hrm, cosy…

"Just tell me when the gross part's coming," I told him.

Barely a second after I said that, Sasuke spoke, "It's coming now."

Oh GOOD LORD, WHAT WAS THAT WOMAN DOING TO HER ARM?

"Euuuwhhh!" I cried, whirling around and curling into Sasuke's shirt. Yeah, I was a total wuss, but maybe, just maybe I was overdramatizing it so that I could… smell him some more?

"Oh my god, you are such a wimp…" Sasuke stated, as if receiving an epiphany. I made sure to pull back and glare at him before – ew, what was that fat dude doing? Oh, OH. Ick.

"Man, Sasuke, that is so disgusting," I told him in a high pitched voice. He sighed loudly and pulled me closer.

Psh, bet the ass was totally enjoying it.

Sasuke's POV;

This girl was absolutely nuts. She would probably die alone at the age of ninety four surrounded by her eighteen cats and six gerbils, and then meet Sasuke in heaven where they would rest in peace happily ever after.

Uh…

They hadn't even made it to the boring part of the movie, and she was already halfway crapping herself. Sasuke held her head against his chest, absently tugging softly of a single strand of her light brown hair.

He loved the feeling of her just simply being there, close to him. After only seeing her face for the past two weeks over a computer screen it was… nice to finally see it, and all of the strange expressions that came with it.

"The blood's gone," He murmured. And then he added, "Wimp."

"Shut up, you…" Kari growled, stabbing him in the centre of his chest with her fore and middle fingers.

…Ow…

Later that night, Sasuke's father came in to tell the pair to get to bed, but his words were halted in his throat as he opened the door to darkness two already fast asleep teenagers. Thankfully, they were fully clothed, but other than that they appeared to be glued together.

The brunette's straight hair fell and splayed on Fugaku's son's chest, and Sasuke himself appeared to be hugging the girl.

He'd never seen Sasuke show tenderness before. He'd never seen Sasuke show a lot of emotions before, even since he was a child, the boy had preferred to remain stoic before the older male. Except when in the presence of his mother, that was the only time Sasuke had ever seemed almost relaxed.

Fugaku slipped calmly out of the room. He closed his eyes, long dark lashes fluttering against his cheeks, and maybe – just maybe – he smiled a little bit.

He'd made a good choice, bringing Kari along.

Sasuke's POV;

Mrawrrr. Why was he being woken up? It was still dark!

"Sasuke, your dad said we had to be ready to go in ten minutes!" Ohshit.

"Hmrwha?" Sasuke sat up glaring as the light from the lamp to the side of his bed clicked on. "Gah…" He cracked his dark eyes open, just a little; just to see what was happening. Clothes, yes, clothes were being thrown at his face. A pair of fresh, black skinnies landed with a leg on his shoulder. A grey, three-quarter length shirt with electric blue sleeves hit him in the face.

These objects were followed by a towel, and the entirety of his dead weight being pulled up and jostled into the en-suite bathroom.

"Get in the shower." Kari cried.

"Ohmygawhd," Sasuke growled as the door slammed shut, and he half collapsed against the indigo coloured wall and dropping his things on the ground.

Let's do things rationally, shall we?

Stupid Sasuke being so warm and cute. I'd woken up about ten minutes before I woke him up, but I didn't want to nudge him, because he just looked so adorable and peaceful and it very well might have killed me to touch him.

But then I saw the time, and I freaked.

I now sat downstairs, at the breakfast table, opposite Itachi and a girl I didn't recognize.

"Leonheart," The girl greeted, extending a slim, white hand with long, acrylic nails glued on over the table. She smiled pleasantly enough, but her grey/blue eyes were dull, and her thin, pink lips seemed to hint that she was very unhappy on the inside. I pondered, Leonheart? Was that her first name or her last?

"Uhm, Kari," I grinned back brightly. She appeared to observe me for a moment as we shook hands.

"Charming…" She said again, her voice soft, but somewhat sneering.

Hm…

"Leon's also going to be taking part in the shoot," Itachi informed me from behind a glass of orange juice.

"Is that so?" I questioned, my voice failing to hide the blunt disappointment inside my head. If she was going to be modelling – I was going to look like some little ant person… "Will you be modelling?"

"Yes," Leon replied simply.

The girl was tall, even I could see that. And beautiful, with flawless, porcelain skin and skinny limbs, as well as that superstar kind of feathered, white blonde hair. Her facial structure was perfect, and the amount of make up that I could recognise on her face appeared to have been applied by a professional.

And between all of these beautiful ice palace fairytale people – Sasuke, Leon, Itachi (er, was he doing the shoot, or not?) would be me. Out of place and tiny.

"You're aware of the process, yes?" Leonheart asked me, Itachi watched her.

"Not really," I replied, "I've never done this before."

"I see." She then launched into the schedule for the day: hair, then clothes, and then makeup, and finally – photographs in the snow. And then she questioned where Sasuke was.

"I'm right here," Sasuke said, appearing in the doorway a moment later with fluffy, air dried hair.

"Ahh," The girl brightened. "Now I have my two favourite boys with me." Itachi half smirked as she pinched his cheek.

Sasuke managed to avoid her talons as he dropped into the wooden chair beside me, a piece of tofu hanging from the corner of his mouth as he texted speedily on his phone.

We ate mostly in silence, until Fugaku's assistant, a (bitchhhhh) woman who ordered us into what was almost a minibus until we reached out location.

I was stuck in a whirlwind of beautiful people, brand new clothes and very technical looking equipment before I was actually launched into the breathtaking scene and ordered into ridiculous poses with Sasuke.

The sun, as Fugaku had said, was just rising, and the sky was a pale pink. The snow glittered magically everywhere.

"Sasuke, hold her hip," The photographer shouted. Sasuke turned his head to spit out a curse in frustration, and dropped his hand onto my hip. I added pressure to his shoulder using my thumb.

It's okay. That guy's a dick.

"Hn," Sasuke smirked, and the photographer seemed to squeal.

"Yes, yes! That's perfect!" Sasuke and I turned our gaze toward the short, fat man. He was eyeing Sasuke. "Sasuke, smile!"

Sasuke's eyebrows crashed downwards. "…Why…?"

"Sasuke." Sasuke's father growled from behind a board, "Do what the man says."

Sasuke sighed, his eyes rolling. He pulled a fake smile and shrugged his shoulders at the photographer, who pouted.

"No, no, smile!"

I was thinking to myself, how on earth is he supposed to smile with you yelling at him, you douche?

"Sasuke," I murmured, "look here."

"What?" He grumbled, facing me. I gave him a brilliant, toothy smile, and then shrugged my shoulders up at him. "Fine," he mumbled. His usual grin curved upward to reveal his perfectly straight, perfectly white teeth. The infamous dimple appeared in his left cheek, and his eyes glittered.

"Perfect! Kari, you too!"

I giggled slightly at my achievement, my lips automatically splitting into my trademark smile.

Sasuke's POV;

…Dammit, this girl owed him. Sasuke shrugged off the over priced clothing and handed it to one of the assistants. He pulled his grey and blue shirt back on and slipped his skinnies back over his legs, scowling slightly. His feet slipped into his much more comfortable chucks, and he sighed, fiddling with his hair to force out some of the product that had been for the shoot. He then noticed his door open slightly and a certain blonde stick her head around the wood.

"…Leon?" He was surprised to see the girl. Usually, she was fawning over Itachi. Ew.

"Sasuke, I…" The blonde looked behind her before stepping into the small 'dressing room' of the building that Fugaku had brought the crew to. "I have to ask you something."

"Hn?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, shifting off of the single stool in the room and offering it to her. She bit her thin, pale lip before shaking her head and simply folding her arms, and simply leaning against the door. Sasuke felt sort of trapped when people did that. He blinked innocently up at the girl – feeling slightly disheartened as he realized that she was taller than him.

"I know you're not exactly great with these things, but I need your advice." She blurted, grey eyes seeming to light up slightly as her whitewhite cheeks coloured.

Sasuke nodded, "Go on…"

"Itachi and I. What do you think?"

Sasuke observed the girl. He hadn't known her for long, she'd just kind of appeared during the second week of staying with his grandparents. She had taken straight to the Uchiha brothers, as most females would. But, as she was closer to Itachi's age, the two split off and spent more time together. Hm.

The youngest Uchiha blinked from the girl's expensive looking boots and light blue jeans, "What do you want me to say? I don't exactly… know you." He finished, weakly.

"But you know Itachi, right?" Duh, I'm his brother… "I want you to say that we'd make a great couple," She chuckled, "but I know you're not the kind of person to say things like that."

"…I don't…" But then Sasuke got a hold of himself and his awkwardness and looked the girl up and down again. She was a model. She was magazine-beautiful. Amazing legs, curves in all the right places – she'd fit right in with his brother. He cleared his throat, "Itachi," he said, "and you,"

"Yes…?"

"You've been hanging out a lot recently, correct?"

"Yes."

"And do you think you have a lot in common with him?"

"I think… we have quite a lot in common."

"And do you think that he might like you?" Sasuke leant closer to her, tilting his head to give her his deep, questioning, puppy eyes. Heh.

"I think that he and I get on quite well. I mean," She fidgeted, uncharacteristically, "yesterday, I think we had a kind of… moment."

Cooooool. Sasuke thought, just wanting to leave before she got into one of those epic speeches that all girls seemed to enjoy ranting off. "Then… kiss him or something. Whatever." Sasuke told her, as if it were basic knowledge.

"You think—?"

"It'd work? Sure." Sasuke finished for her, "If you want more advice talk to Kari," The girl looked puzzled for a moment. And then the light bulb appeared.

"Oh. Your girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"She and I… didn't seem to get on."

"You've spoken to her once." Sasuke rolled his eyes, fanning her out of the way of the door and pulling it open, only for said brunette to tumble forward with an 'oof!' before she face dived into the Uchiha's stomach.

"OhhithereSasuke." She mumbled as he took a firm hold of her shoulders and held her at arms length.

"Psh, freak," He muttered before turning and giving Leonheart a short wave, "later…"

"Sure," The girl murmured, seemingly deep in thought.

Sasuke turned and continued to push his girlfriend out of the building, "What on earth were you doing, woman?"

"I… was about to knock…"

Sasuke's deep chuckle escaped into the crisp, early morning air, "Yeah, sure,"

"I was!"

Mmmmmfrrrrrg.

Thank you all so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I did it whilst being extremely distracted by my sister and her friends this week, so forgive any blank-type parts that don't make sense. I've scanned through it a couple of times and can only really spot grammatical errors – but SHANNON'S GRAMMAR IS SPECIAL, M'KAY?

Leonheart's name – fail. I don't know where she came from. She was essentially supposed to be a rival of sorts, but I couldn't think of anything I hadn't already done. SERIOUS case of writer's block. No joke. BUTOHMAIGAWD, ITACHI GUHT A LUUURV INTEREST. (;

Anyways, I hope you're all well! Thanks for all of the support in reviews and favourites; please review this chapter, too!

Later,
YourChemicalRomancex.