Hey everyone, this story has been on my mind for a little while and I finally got around actually writing and developing it properly, it's intended to be 3 or 4 chapters long so it'll be farily short .Takes place somewhere in the blank period between the end of Shippuden and Boruto.

This is also my first Naruto fic as well as the first thing I write after a 5 or so year hiatus on writing so bare with me as I try and get the hang of things again.

Chapter 1.

The Storm

Rain poured down from dark skies as an unrelentless wind started to pick up with the approach of a heavy storm, two sets of footsteps ran across the damp forest ground in the direction of a cave that rested on the side of a tall cliff somewhere in the border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire.

This day had been rough, first they had been attacked by a gang of rogue ninja that apparently had followed their trace all the way back from the Land of Wind, of course fate would have it so that in the middle of their battle it started to rain, and by the time they were done and made the remaining ninja flee it was pouring down in a way she hadn't seen in a long time. It was only logical though, the rainy season was starting in the Land of Fire and it just so happened that they got caught in the wake of the first big storm as it made its way further inland.

Upon entering the cave the couple's footsteps slowed down from the sprint they had fallen into to a light walk as they assessed the inside of the cave. The pinkette took a deep breath, finally glad to be safe from the downpour going on outside. Dropping her pack against a wall she kneeled down to open it and pull out a small towel she carried for convenience to at least be able to dry herself to some extent should something like this happen.

Directly across from her stood a tall man possessing obsidian hair, he shook his head to get rid of some of the excess water before using his hand to shake it some more. He took off his cloak before hanging it on a nearby branch in an attempt at helping it dry before also taking off his pack and dropping it on the floor of the stone cave. Looking around he found scattered branches and leaves that at one point in time had been blown inside the small cave and used them for fuel to make a small fire for themselves. weaving the signs he produced a small Katon just big enough to start the fire that enveloped the cave in a warm light.

"It's good to finally be out of the rain don't you think Sasuke-kun?"

"yeah"

"Do you think it'll last?"

The well timed roar of thunder made both of them look towards the entrance of the cave "ah, If I had to guess this will be lasting at least until morning...probably"

"Then we better settle here until then, I still have some food from our last stop at the Hidden Valleys village if you want"

Standing up he turned to look at the woman as she rummaged through her pack, water was still dripping from her damp clothes and forming a little puddle over where she was kneeling down "I'm fine, you should dry out first before you catch a cold"

Looking over her shoulder she looked at the puddle that was also forming where Sasuke was standing, water still dripping from his clothes and hair "Well I should say the same thing about you"

a small smile formed on the Uchiha's face then, one that he didn't show very often and that Sakura knew was reserved for her. she pulled out a dry set of clothes and got changed before placing her current set on a slab of rock by the fire, noticing just then the tears and burns that ended as a result from their earlier encounter, she would be needing a few new changes of clothes after several of the ones she had now were like this or just straight unusable after the battles and hardships the two of them had faced so far.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the splattering sound of Sasuke's wet shirt hitting the ground, quickly enough though her attention switched from the piece of clothing to the man standing next to it. This wasn't the first time she saw him like this, in the two months that they had been travelling together so far she had seen him on quite a few occasions but that didn't mean that her brain wouldn't immediately clock out at the sight of his pale skin and well toned muscles.

As the man bent down to pick up the dry shirt he had gotten out of his pack, Sakura noticed a couple cuts on his side that had probably been caused in their fight against the rogue ninja. The pinkette stood up and took a few steps closer to him before placing her hand on his bare shoulder.

Sasuke watched as Sakura finished putting away her things before removing his shirt, his mind was suddenly occupied by her slender image and her bright hair, he had been thinking a lot more about her recently paying more attention and occasionally catching his eyes drifting towards her without his permission. He took a deep breath to clear his mind before reaching down to grab a dry shirt to put on when a soft hand on his shoulder had him frozen.

He never had been one for physical contact or interactions, at least not since he was a child, even though these last two months he had been getting used to it more thanks to the fact that Sakura was more naturally inclined to it. He was slightly ashamed to admit that the touch had slightly startled him, a ninja of his caliber who could sense a chakra signature way before his eyes could see it. He blamed it on his mind being distracted on attempting to distract himself which, even in his own head, sounded ridiculous.

"Sasuke-kun?" she saw Sasuke slightly turned his head to the left to look at her in acknowledgement, staying silent to allow her to continue. Just then she got caught in a beautiful pool of lavender that was his Rinnegan, his hair had grown to where it now covered that eye completely which Sasuke had told her was for the better all things considered and this meant that even for her it was somewhat of a rare sight. She mentally shook herself from getting caught in his eye and forced the words out "Y-you have some injuries from the earlier fight, could you allow me to treat them before you get dressed again?"

Injured? he slightly twisted around and indeed saw two cuts on his side Oh, so that's where those kunai had gone…

He knew that with his body's natural healing abilities the cuts would more than likely be healed by morning and considered simply telling her to not waste her energy, taking another look at Sakura's expression, however, made him change his mind. The mix of slight worry and determination on her face being betrayed by the slight flash of pink that adorned her cheeks.

He sighed, well she was a medical ninja after all, it was only natural for her to want to heal him, he also had come to figure out during their travels that she wanted to feel useful to him, providing this type of help whenever needed while also reminding him of just how truly ferocious she could be in battle from time to time when they got caught up in troublesome situations.

He didn't need her to prove anything to him, she had proven herself years ago when he saw her fight during the last war and even after that with all the support she gave him even after he knew he didn't deserve it, even today there was a voice in the back of his mind that kept telling him that he didn't deserve her after everything he had done to hurt her both intentionally and unintentionally.

He must've gotten lost in thought again for longer than he expected because he found Sakura calling his name once more.

"Sorry...sure, go ahead" the kunoichi's face immediately lit up as she set herself to work, unknowingly bringing a barely perceptible smile to the man's face as he turned back and stared at the entrance of the cave while she worked. It was always like this, whenever Sakura set herself to work she became an entirely different person.

He had heard how much good work she had done and how she had climbed up the ladder while he was out on his journeys alone, when hearing all the things she had accomplished he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride deep down. Dragging himself back to reality he saw the pinkette as green chakra emanated from her hands when she placed them over his injuries.

Unknown to Sakura, Sasuke's mind was wandering once again as he looked at her. Sorry ,he mused to himself, that's really the only thing I can tell her...and not without reason.

He had apologized to her first back at the Final valley, an apology that despite only consisting of a couple words encased so much more. He had apologized to her again back at the village after he troubled her again at the hospital and once again on several occasions while he remained imprisoned and she was assigned for his medical checkups every few weeks. Now he was saying it again, to be honest he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to tell her anything but that one word.

After a few minutes Sakura was done, removing her hands from his side she was happy to see that both cuts had all but disappeared. "All done"

"Thank you, Sakura"

"No need to thank, I'm just trying to help" she then turned around with a smile and walked back to her pack to organize her things.

After finishing up changing and drying up as much as he could Sasuke sat down by the fire, closing his eyes and leaning his head back even though he had no intention of sleeping just yet.

Sakura approached the edge of the cave where she stood and saw the rain coming down, a bolt of lightning split the sky, soon accompanied by the powerful rumble of thunder. A chill ran down her spine with enough force to make her shiver but it had nothing to do with the cold gusts of wind that made their way into the cave, it was a chill caused more so by memories of the past rather than anything that was going on in the present.

Lightning...lightning had become something both beautiful and terrifying to her, it was a force of nature like no other, a burst of immense, instantaneous power that vanished as soon as it materialized from the heavens...however it had also been the source of nightmares for her years ago, more specifically it wasn't the lightning itself, but what the lightning had been molded into by its holder.

She unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself when another bolt of lightning crossed the sky, a flashback to that day on a half destroyed bridge crept up from the deepest part of her mind and saw Sasuke's emotionless face as he aimed a chidori straight at her heart through her back.

That particular flashback was something that haunted her often shortly after their encounter and the thunderstorms used to be a painful reminder of that day as well. It had been quite some time since she had last seen these memories and she truly wondered why they decided to spring back to life now.

Sasuke opened his eyes when he felt Sakura moving towards the entrance of the cave, he found himself unable to tear his eyes away as she stood there watching the rain. Lightning illuminated the cave and he noticed her shiver as she wrapped her arms around herself, he hesitated for a moment, thinking nothing of it, but when he saw that she remained there with her head down he decided to check on her.

Standing up he approached her slowly, there was no reaction even when he was practically next to her, he noticed how her eyes were closed through the pink strands of hair that fell forwards to cover her face. Being this close to her saw in a new light how truly beautiful she was and once again he had to mentally slap himself and get a hold of his thoughts, now wasn't the time for that.

He started to raise his hand to place it on her but stopped halfway, would it be fine for him to do it? he thought back and realized that he couldn't recall a time where he had been the one to initiate contact, it had always been her.

The kunoichi next to him shuddered again at the next flash of lightning and this time he didn't stop to think as his hand somehow ended on Sakura's back, his touch light and careful. To his own surprise no sooner had he placed his hand on her she rose her head to look at him, startled, eyes wide and unmoving. He knew that look, he had seen it more times that he cared to count...it was a look of utter and complete fear. He pulled his hand back immediately, regretting the moment he thought it would be a good idea.

Her fear lasted maybe a second before she blinked it away, by the time recognition flashed back into her features Sasuke had already taken a step back to have some more space between them. He turned his head the opposite way, he didn't need her to say anything for him to know what had been going through her mind, he was smart enough to put two and two together...she had been afraid of him.

Both stood there for a moment, only the rain and the sound of thunder breaking the silence until Sasuke turned around and walked back towards the fire. He had felt something new tugging at his heart the moment he had seen her expression and in all honesty he didn't know what to make of it just yet.

I'm sorry...Sakura

She didn't know if she wanted to run out into the rain and disappear or run back to Sasuke and apologize, she unconsciously reacted when he placed his hand on her to the visions in her head and now it was hard to tell what would come next. This was the first time that she could recall where he had been the one to go to her...and she blew it.

she looked back as he went back to sit by the fire, his head slightly down as he stared at the flames in front of him. Mentally she questioned why had she reacted like that, Sasuke was different now, he wouldn't even do as much as touch her, much less hurt her again...so then why? If anything, all she wanted was to try and get close to him again. It didn't matter how slow or bumpy the road ahead of them was, she was determined to help him overcome the demons she knew haunted his own mind.

Taking careful steps she approached the man where he sat, his attention still fully occupied by the flames. the pinkette had grown to be able to sometimes read his mood and emotions after two months of being practically all day every day with him...but this time she was at a loss.

Slowly she crouched down to be at eye level with him "Sasuke I'm-"

"Don't…don't apologize"

Sakura placed a hand on his leg, the motion making the Uchiha turn to her, a pool of obsidian meeting emerald "I know you're not like that anymore, you've more than shown and proven that ever since the end of the war. These are just stubborn memories from a dead past, I believe in you...and I trust you with my life"

He was at a loss of words, he knew that despite his ability to control his emotions that she had picked up on the surprise that made itself known through his eyes. She smiled at him before removing her hand from his leg and using it for support as she turned her back on him, sitting down and leaning her small form against his side.

She had said that she trusted him with her life, yet at the same time she knew the actions were worth more than simple words, and so she sat down next to him and leaned her back half against him and half against the cave wall. He stood completely still as she brought up her legs against her chest and wrapped them with her arms before closing her eyes and leaning her head against his shoulder, this was the most physical contact they had had since the start of their travels. He had carried her to safety a couple times after getting injured during fights but this was the first time where they were this close without actually having a reason for it, at least that's how he looked at it.

They remained like that for a little while, the feeling of the rhythmic breathing of the Kunoichi as she fell asleep by his side bought some peace that he didn't know he was missing, the weight of her body and her warmth proving more effective than the fire to keep the chilling occasional breeze away. He closed his own eyes with a deep breath, just how much was he going to owe this woman for everything she had done for him?

She had always given him support, even to the point where she was willing to kill him to free him from the darkness that had been consuming every ounce of his body, it had been only her and Naruto that refused to give up on him. She had been the only once back then as well...after his return to the village.