Sakura was smiling. She knew she looked foolish smiling at nothing but she couldn't help it. She had spent a fabulous lunch time with Sasuke and was relishing the break in her routine, and this was the girl Ino had mocked for wanting to know the details of everything, where they were going, what times, who would be there and so on before committing herself to going out somewhere. With Sasuke she had spent her time wandering aimlessly happy act impulsively and act without a plan and she had done it so easily without thought just content to be with him.
Her smile widened as she remembered certain details of the day, Sasuke came wearing a thick black coat which made a change from the time she had seen him walking around with short sleeves in winter. When she had commented on this he claimed it was easier to wear a coat as Naruto had been hanging around near his office which had made her laugh. His checks were flushed from the cold winds and the frosted pink colour made a sharp contrast to his pale skin.
She could recall the feel of his larger hand around hers as he had dragged her off to another location, considering the fact that he worked in an office Sakura had expected his hands to be softer than they were, suggesting that he did some manual work. It was a strange but not unpleasant sensation; feeling his calloused hand in hers as he led her down the street into the unknown.
She had managed to convince him to stop off at the park, it was quiet as none of the children were let out of school and she had gone on the swings, she had told him how much she had enjoyed swings when she was younger and he had told her that he usually avoided them all together. She had teased him about this and Sasuke had said that he had avoided other children because they had been annoying or obnoxious.
"How come you're such good friends with Naruto then?" She had asked, "Not that he's annoying." She added hastily "Just that well if you avoided people how did you meet?"
"Naruto is annoying. You can say it I don't mind." Sasuke said as he stood watching the clouds move slowly across the sky.
"You didn't answer my question then." Sakura commented and Sasuke continued frowning and he pushed Sakura on the swing every time she came back towards him, her pink hair flew backwards and forwards across her face as she moved and she looked over her shoulder top watch him.
"Naruto used to avoid people too when he was younger." Sasuke finally said quietly. Sakura could remember feeling shocked at this revelation.
"But he's so sociable." She said without thinking realising after she had spoken that it was probably a stupid thing to say Sasuke gave her a wry smile.
"Meaning I'm not?" He asked and Sakura flushed.
"Um..." He smiled slightly at her discomfort and continued pushing her on the swing, his warm hand leaving a tingling sensation on her back through her coat.
"Naruto used to be bullied a lot because he was an orphan." There was a scraping noise as Sakura stopped herself on the swing, dragging her feet on the floor, she turned round to stare at Sasuke.
"So? Why does that make him a target?" She said indignantly and Sasuke shrugged.
"Kid's latch on the anything that makes people different." He continued in the same soft voice, Sakura nodded reluctantly.
"I guess." She gave him a quick smile "I used to get bullied a lot, well people tried to but Ino always stuck up for me." Sasuke smiled back at her.
"So you and Naruto stuck together then?" Sakura asked, looking up at Sasuke, his hand was still resting on her back. He didn't seem aware he was still doing it but Sakura felt the need to fidget as she could feel him acutely but at the same time she didn't want to draw his attention to it so he moved. Sasuke nodded thoughtfully.
"We ended up at the same schools and even in the same office now. I can't get rid of him." He said and Sakura sighed at this.
"Sasuke you don't mean that." She chided and he ignored her.
"Are you going again?" She gave him a quizzical look and Sasuke motioned to the swing in response, Sakura leant over and patted to one next to her.
"Join me?" He gave her a strange look before walking round to sit the other swing, wrapping her arms around the chains that held it up.
"You know." Sakura continued, "When I was younger I used to think that being on a swing was like flying." Sasuke fixed his dark eyes on her, a questioning look on his face "if you lean back and look at the clouds with the wind around you it's easy to imagine what it would be like." Sakura blushed slightly feeling foolish again "To me anyway." She muttered.
Sasuke gave her a half smile and looked up at the sky, a flock of birds flew overhead, spiralling and turning in the sky, their wings giving them freedom to come and go as they pleased. Sakura began rocking backwards and forwards on her swung, keeping her feet on the ground.
"I always wanted to be able to fly when I was younger." She glanced at her silent companion. "What about you? What were your dreams when you were little?"
"I always wanted my father to recognise me for myself." Sasuke said quietly. "And not compare me to my brother." There was something in his tone of voice that made Sakura reluctant to question him further and they both fell silent. Sakura continued on the swing and the frame creaked slightly with each movement.
"Hey." Sakura started when Sasuke finally spoke, he gave her a devilish grin."I bet I can go higher than you on this." He said and Sakura looked him up and down as he sat on the swing she raised one of her eyebrows.
"Oh yeah?" She asked and Sasuke imitated her expression. "I bet you can't."
Sasuke didn't reply, instead he pushed himself backwards on the swing and then let himself fall forwards starting the motion of the swing, his dark hair was ruffled slightly in the breeze, Sakura hastily did the same.
"No fair, you started before me." She complained as she swung higher.
They had come to a draw in the end and left the park before any school children approached, laughing amongst themselves, hand in hand, and their cheeks were flushed from the wind and from trying to outdo each other on the swings.
Soon after Sasuke had to leave to get back to work. Sakura had watched his dark figure walk away from her, stopping briefly to cross the street, walking out of her life for the moment but leaving her with a promise to meet up next week.
The feeling of his hand in hers. The soft sound of his laughter as it combined with her own. They way his smile transformed his usually serious face and his dark eyes glittering with amusement at her actions.
Sakura couldn't stop smiling, she knew it was foolish but she really couldn't help it. She lay flopped on her bed, arms and legs spread out as if reaching for the edges and she smiled up at her bedroom ceiling. She couldn't wait for next week to come.