Jump with me

Rated: T

"So…is this your first time skiing?" Sasuke asks, swallowing hard. Closing his eyes trying not to look down. It was getting harder and harder not to by the second, the seat moving with the wind was making him just a little bit anxious. Also the fact that he may have been scared of heights.

"No, I do it all the time. I started when I was young. My dad was really into it." Comes the melodic voice of the person sitting next to him.

He glances to his right before closing his eyes quickly again. "Oh really? That's cool," Sasuke looks down below trying to see the ground but the snowy wind made it difficult to see past his skis. "this is actually my first time."

The girl sitting next to him turns to him then, "Oh really? This must suck for you huh."

"A little bit, yeah."

His eyes widen with surprise when he feels her grab his hand "It'll be okay." The genuine smile she gives him makes his insides feel warm, and a red tint to cover his cheeks that he blames on the cold but he's glad that his face is partially covered or else she would have seen it.

The wind picks up and rocks the seat they're in and Sasuke squeezes her hand tighter out of reflex and closes his eyes taking deep breaths. He hears the girl next to him laugh but it's not mocking "You're really scared huh?"

"Not at all." He says, who he's trying to convince more he doesn't know.

It's obvious she doesn't believe him "How about we talk to each other, ya know. Introduce ourselves. It seems like we're gonna be stuck here for a while. A little conversation wouldn't hurt." He only gives a stiff nod in response "Alright, my name is Sakura."

"Sasuke."

"Alright Sasuke, how old are you?"

"I'm uh..I'm nineteen. I'll be twenty in two months."

"Oh really? Ha, I just turned twenty over a month ago, guess I'm older than you." She teases, he gives a halfhearted smile that she can't see behind his ski mask.

"So you've been skiing since you were young?" he asks trying to keep the conversation going, he really needs the distraction.

"Yeah, I started out when I was five. My dad used to bring us here all the time, my mom never liked it all that much but she never complained because it gave my dad and me something to bond over."

The seat rocks back and forth again with the wind and Sasuke grips her hand unconsciously but she doesn't say anything about it and he's thankful of that. He's glad that he has someone with him to keep him grounded even if they were currently sitting who knows how high above the ground.

"My brother has skied before but this is my first time, I was supposed to be with him but he went ahead of us with our cousin Shishui. They're probably already on the ground wondering where I am." his face pulls into a grimace, he was never going to do this again.

"You're probably not gonna want to do this again huh."

"Not in this lifetime no." he says shaking his head.

"They should have us moving again in a couple minutes, this lift always gets stuck so don't worry about it."

This surprises Sasuke and makes him wonder how many times she's been stuck up here by herself or with some other stranger. No wonder she isn't panicking the way he is. Maybe he needs to relax a bit although it would be better if he could see the ground.

"How many times have you gotten stuck up here?"

"Oh just two other times, the first time I was just like you. Panicky, clutching onto my dad for dear life. I was thirteen at the time I think. He was laughing the whole time until he reassured me that it was all going to be okay." She doesn't say anything for a couple minutes "I'm surprised they still haven't fixed it yet, it's been years which is crazy since it's something you would think they would have fixed after the first time it happened." As an afterthought, she adds, "I mean how many people do you think panicked like you are right now."

He wants to say that he wasn't panicking but that would have been a bold face lie since he had already admitted it. It's then that they feel the chair jolt once then twice until finally they're moving up again.

"See I told you we'd be okay!"

For a second there Sasuke had thought they were going to fall to their death, his heart pounding in his chest. He's just glad they were finally moving again. They're still holding hands but neither of them let go. Sasuke honestly doesn't really want to, doesn't want to let go of the comfort that this complete stranger gives him. But he also knows that eventually, they have to.

They watch the landscape change below them, a mixture of trees and patches of snow, Sasuke avoids trying to look down for too long. Sakura seems to be enjoying it though. The cold wind hitting them turns her cheeks pink and its a great contrast against her pale skin.

"We should be reaching the drop off in a couple minutes so you better get ready." He hears Sakura say as she finally lets go of his hand to properly hold her ski poles. He's a bit disappointed at the loss of contact but he does the same, mentally preparing himself. He was at least glad that Itachi clued him in on what he was supposed to do when he jumped. Hopefully he would land right and not break a leg. How hard can it be he thinks to himself although he wasn't very confident in himself.

"Alright, Sasuke on the count of three we jump okay!"

"What?!" his eyes go wide not having thought that they would jump so soon, be had barely started his mental pep-talk.

"One."

"W-wait!" he says, heart thumping in his chest.

"Two." Sakura turns to him and gives him a wide smile her eyes filled with amusement.

"Oh god." he says as he closes his eyes taking a deep breath before letting it out and opening his eyes once more.

"Three! Jump!"

As terrified as he was he jumped with her.

A/N: As unrealistic as it sounds, I'd like to believe that's how it would happen.