A/N: "Winter" is one of my personal favorite songs, especially the version by BanYa. There is now a link in my profile to my site where you can download the song. Really, it's worth a listen!

Winter

The next afternoon, Sasuke spent hours finishing his new piece while Naruto peeped annoyingly over his shoulder, squirming and constantly asking when the music was going to be finished. Sasuke took several deep breaths and did his best to make sure that his hands were on the quill and paper and not jammed into his assistants' face in anger. Being a composer was extremely stressful, especially when your assistant was Uzumaki Naruto.

"Come on, Sasuke, hurry up!" Naruto whined, jumping on the balls of his feet. "I really need to pee-"

Sasuke set down his quill and grabbed his own face, his nails digging into his cheeks. "Look, it will be better for both of us if you just get out of here. I will be able to finish 'Herbst' and you won't be purple and red with bruises and cuts."

Naruto laughed nervously and backed away from Sasuke. He had received a beating from his master once when he had walked in on him while he was with a woman, and it wasn't an experience he wanted repeated.

"S-Sorry, sorry. Just don't hit me."

Naruto slowly backed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Sasuke waited until he heard loud footsteps go down the wooden stairs outside the room, groaned, and banged his head on the table in front of him three times, his head throbbing and his temper rising. What had happened to the good old days when he was younger, not caring about money or music and being able to play out on the streets with the other children with not a care in the world?

Sasuke smiled to himself. "You were inspired to become a composer, that's what happened."

When he was living in Switzerland with his very rich family, Sasuke was often taken to performances and concerts featuring some of the most famous artists and composers of the time. There was really only one performance that had him awe-struck: it was an orchestra playing a composition that was written by a man named Beethoven (the composition was 'Pastoral Symphony'). Sasuke's mouth hung open during the performance, and afterwards he excitedly announced to his mother and father that he was going to live his dream that had come into place just hours before: to become a great musician. So when he was of age, he packed his bags and moved to Germany with a very small amount of money and a determined heart.

"God, I was stupid," Sasuke whispered to the grains of wood underneath his forehead. "I'm not a great musician. Nothing of mine is comparable to Beethoven's music."

He jumped slightly from his chair as a loud knock on the door shook him out of his stupor. He raised his head, rubbed his forehead, and cleared his throat in a dignified manner.

"Come in."

The doorknob turned slowly and light, graceful footsteps resounded in the darkening room. Sasuke scratched his head and a smile played on his mouth as his long-awaited guest bowed and shut the door behind her.

"Miss Hyuuga, so glad you could show up."

Hinata whipped off her dark blue traveling cloak and straightened out her flowing pink dress. "It was quite a pain to get here, you know," she mumbled, walking towards him and sitting on the table he'd been working on. "Getting past Miss Haruno is no easy task, let me assure you."

Sasuke set his elbows on the table and looked up at the young woman in admiration. "Oh no, I don't doubt that sliding past that bitch is extremely difficult." He interlaced his fingers and shifted his gazed hungrily to the low cut neck of her dress. "So there were no problems finding my humble studio, I hope?"

Hinata raised her brow and followed his gaze. "No, not at all." She crossed her arms tightly over her chest and grinned. "Ask anyone where the womanizing composer is and they'll be able to tell you in a second."

Sasuke chuckled. "Of course, of course."

Hinata stared down at him, her arms as well as her legs crossed tightly. "Now that I made it here, may I ask how I'm supposed to…ah, inspire you?" She tilted her head downward and the piece of parchment on which 'Herbst' was written caught her eye. "It looks like you're doing just fine without me."

Sasuke felt himself flush but didn't skip a beat. "You need to help me write my…other compositions."

The woman tilted her head and smirked. "So this one is called 'Herbst'? What's the next one going to be, 'Winter'?"

The infamous charm switch set off in Sasuke. "If you want it to be called 'Winter', so shall it be."

The grin faltered on Hinata's face and she looked the other way. "Why are you being so friendly towards me when we barely know one another?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I guess it must be love at first sight."

Hinata scoffed and turned back to him with a disbelieving look on her face. "I think you mean lust at first sight, Mr.Uchiha."

Sasuke crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "No, Miss Hyuuga. It's love, I'm sure of it."

Hinata's pale face was now tinted with pink. "How can you know what love is when you've been with almost every woman in town?"

Sasuke didn't respond. So she had a point…but still…

He tore his eyes away from Hinata and looked out of the window at the night sky. "Sometimes," he said quietly. "You just know you're in love without any reasons."

Hinata followed his gaze and smiled. "You may be in love, Mr. Uchiha, but I feel almost nothing towards you…yet."

"Touché, my dear."

For the next month, Hinata and Sasuke visited regularly, talking about music, the weather, government, and how much of a cow Sakura was. There were always smiles on their faces during their meetings and their friendship was indeed developing nicely. Sasuke would once in a while play one of his compositions for her on the violin, and she would sing opera to him in return. Autumn was slowly melting into winter, and it was time for Sasuke to compose his next piece.

Before one of the meetings with Hinata, Naruto burst into Sasuke's studio, wearing a pompously triumphant look on his face. Sasuke had been cleaning off his cluttered table and was, as usual, disgruntled that his assistant had walked in on him with no warning.

"Naruto!" Sasuke snapped, throwing a piece of wadded up parchment across the room and hitting the other man smack dab in the face. "How many times must I tell you to knock? It's utterly-" He stopped in mid-sentence, spotting a rather hideous pink scarf wrapped around Naruto's neck. "And take off that ridiculous thing!"

Naruto rubbed his cheek and grabbed the scarf tightly. "No! Miss Haruno said I could have it since she didn't want it anymore! And besides, it's snowing!"

Sasuke blinked and glanced out the same window that he always looked out of. Sure enough, small white flakes were drifting down from the stone grey sky and covering the cobbled road below. Winter: the final step before the changes would occur, where the earth would be cleansed with pure snow and get ready for its' new garments of sweet-smelling flowers and green grass.

"So it is…" Sasuke muttered. "I hope Miss Hyuuga will be able to make it."

Naruto sighed, relieved that the subject had been changed from the beloved scarf he had received from the woman he adored. "Speaking of Hinata, I heard some interesting news about her when I ran into Miss Haruno."

Sasuke raised his brows, his interest peaking. So maybe Naruto was good for something. Hopefully he found out that Hinata was secretly in love with a certain composer…

"So what is it you found out, my dear assistant?"

Naruto stuck out his chest importantly. "Hinata is…a virgin."

Sasuke frowned and his fantasies of standing in front of a huge mansion with six or seven raven-haired, white-eyed children and a famous female opera singer disappeared. "Congratulations, Naruto," Sasuke said sarcastically. "You found an absolutely worthless piece of information that I will never need-" His voice trailed off and his mind absorbed what Naruto had said. "You said…she is a virgin?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes sir. She's as chaste as the Virgin Mary herself."

Sasuke scratched his chin and contemplated. Making love with the most beautiful, talented, and witty woman in the town would be almost invaluable for inspiration. Besides, he needed some fun after working diligently on 'Herbst'…

Sasuke felt excitement well up inside of him and he patted Naruto on the shoulder. "Let me rephrase that: Congratulations on finding the most useful information you have ever given to me." He walked past Naruto and out of the room. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must go prepare the bedroom."

Naruto shook his head. "Sasuke is very lucky to have as helpful as an assistant as I am, that's for sure."

Sasuke ran his way up the stairs to his bedroom, his pulse quickening and his hormones running. 'What a perfect way to get motivated,' he thought happily. 'I'll be writing 'Winter' in no time flat after tonight.'

He slammed the door to his bedroom open and sighed heavily. His sleeping space, besides his studio, was the messiest room in the whole house. The bed sheets were pulled onto the floor next to dirty undergarments, dust was gathering in every corner, and Sasuke was sure that there were some mice living under one of the nightstands.

He cracked his knuckles and stared at the mess with determination. "Now to get this pig-pen cleaned up in time for-"

"In time for me, I presume?"

Sasuke groaned and hung his head. "Miss Hyuuga, you're here already?"

Hinata shut the door behind her. "I'm never late for an appointment." She eyed the unmade bed with distaste. "So what your assistant told me at the door was true: we're meeting in your bedroom."

Sasuke turned to her. "Yes, yes we are."

Hinata smirked. "What's the occasion?"

Sasuke knew he couldn't tell her the real reason they were meeting up there, but lucky for him that he was an excellent excuse-maker. "I just thought…you'd like to meet somewhere more, ah, elegant!"

Hinata cocked her head. "Elegant, huh?"

"…Yes."

Hinata shrugged. "Alright then."

She sat down on the bed and twiddled with her thumbs, seeming unaware of the composer's true intentions. Sasuke stared at her nervously. Was this a good way to do it, pushing her down on the mattress and demanding hot, passionate love?

As soon as Sasuke made his way to the bed, Hinata jumped off the mattress and picked up one of the dirty undergarments from the floor and held it between her fingers. She wrinkled her nose and clicked her tongue.

"My, my! Mr. Uchiha, when was the last time you had this room cleaned?"

Sasuke hid his disappointment and scratched his head. "Probably more than three months ago."

Hinata shook her head. "Truly disgusting! Well!" She rolled up the sleeves of her light blue dress and rested her hands on her hips. "Let's make this place habitable for humans!"

Sasuke groaned and slid to the floor, annoyed that his master plan was beginning to fall apart. Hinata dumped all the dirty laundry into his arms and turned to the bed.

"You just take that outside and I'll make the bed, alright?"

For the next ten minutes, the pair tidied up the mess, one very happy to do so and the other anxious to move on to more important matters. Once the room was what Hinata called "acceptable", Sasuke sighed in relief and

plopped himself on the neatly folded covers of the bed.

"I guess that wasn't a total waste of time," he muttered, running his hands through his messy black hair.

Hinata giggled and sat down next to him. "Really, Mr. Uchiha-"

"Call me Sasuke, if you would."

Hinata seemed hesitant but complied with his request. "I mean, Sasuke, cleaning isn't all that terrible, is it?"

Sasuke propped himself on his elbows and looked up at her. "It is when you have something else on your mind."

"Hmmm…" Hinata turned her attention to the window, where the snow was falling harder than it had been just a few minutes ago. "Sasuke, would you mind it if I asked you a rather personal question?"

Sasuke grinned and inched his hand closer to Hinata. "It depends."

Hinata took a deep breath and smiled embarrassedly. "What is…it like?"

Sasuke squinted. "It?"

"You know…" Hinata gazed down at him, blushing. "Making love, what's it like?"

Sasuke was extremely pleased with her question and scooted a few inches toward her. "Well…it's rather exhilarating and exciting. You're nervous for the first few minutes, but then you feel comfortable with the other person seeing you nude and such. Of course," he winked at Hinata. "It wasn't really love with the women I've done it with: it was just meaningless sex."

Hinata looked at him with a rather sad expression on her face. "O-Oh…"

Without thinking, Sasuke sat up and held Hinata's hand tightly. "I suppose you want to try it?"

Hinata leaned away from him, shocked. "S-Sasuke?"

"Hinata…" Sasuke stared at her intensely and rested his free hand on her knee. "Please?"

Hinata's lower lip trembled and she quickly stood off the bed, breathing heavily. "Sasuke, I'm truly sorry." She looked back at him with tears in her milky eyes. "If Miss Haruno ever found out…she'd stop supporting me and send me back to Austria." She touched Sasuke's cheek lightly and pressed her lips to his forehead. "Singing is my passion, and I can't do anything that will keep me from singing."

Without another word, she hurried out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her. Sasuke blinked several times, sighed, and reached into the drawer of the bedside table. He pulled out a piece of parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink and set the items on the table. He looked out at the peacefully falling snow before dipping the tip of the quill into the ink and began to write his next piece:

'Winter'.

A/N: To answer Shelby's question, yes, I am taking German in school! Yays!

Winter: "Winter" in German (pronounce the 'w' like a 'v').