title: 7:31
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH ON LJ! 2012
rating: T-M
summary: o31: Sakura wants to see the fireworks with Sasuke. And little by little, their chemistry grows.
REVISED 6.30.14
.o31.
Festive
"Come on, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura giggled as she pulled her teammate's hand in her own. "Let's go watch the fireworks!"
Sasuke sighed, following after her. His sandals were hard to run in and the yukata he wore made him keep tripping over his feet. He didn't understand how girls like Sakura were able to run freely as if they were wearing jeans and sneakers.
"It's going to start soon," she said, crowding around with everyone else to see when the dark sky would explode in a kaleidoscope of colors. "I can't wait. Oh! Look over there!" she said, pointing to the opposite direction of where they were facing. "It's Naruto! Naruto!" she called out.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't bother them," he said, observing at how he was cuddling with Hinata. Sasuke knew that he didn't know a lot about love, he but he knew enough not to interrupt someone when they were in love.
"Ah, I see." She turned back to Sasuke. "So, Sasuke-kun. Isn't this exciting? Fun activities, good food, friends…"
"Hn."
"You're such a killjoy," she said, slapping him playfully.
"Hn."
Sakura rolled her eyes and continued to wait for the first spark that would explode in the air. She was standing on her tiptoes, trying to see past the crowd of taller people. Sasuke sighed, picked her up, and put her over his shoulder so that she was taller than everyone there. He held her legs to his chest so that she wouldn't fall, and she put her hands on his shoulders.
"Sasuke-kun!" she squealed. "What are you doing?"
"You can't see, so I'm helping you," he said. "Stop moving. You're going to kill us both."
"This is so embarrassing!" she said, blushing madly.
"You want to get off?" he asked, letting go of her legs.
"No!" She held on to him. "Thanks," she said softly.
"Hn."
She continued to wait for the fireworks when she leaned down and whispered, "Sasuke-kun, do you ever wish that you could be like a firework?"
"Exploding in the night for other peoples' enjoyment?"
"No, I mean," she began, laughing. "You appear in the sky and wow people, right? But you slowly disappear right after. Then you're replaced with a new firework. But if you're the kind of firework that really wows people, they're going to remember you even through the other fireworks. You know what I mean?"
"Hn."
"Funny," she said sarcastically. "But really."
"Yeah."
"I want to be like a firework," she said. "I want people to remember me for what I've done even after I'm long gone."
Sasuke was silent. "I think you will, Sakura," he said.
"Really?" she asked.
"Yeah."
She put her hands in his hair and massaged his scalp slightly, fiddling with his black locks.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
She took her hands off, embarrassed.
"Sorry," she mumbled.
"It's fine," he said. "It feels good. Put them back."
Surprised, Sakura did as she was told. She took Sasuke's hair in her hands and attempted to braid the short, layered locks.
"Are you…braiding my hair?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said.
"A little short for that, don't you think?"
Sakura laughed, fluffing out his chicken locks. "I don't know. I got something."
He tried to feel the braid but couldn't find it anywhere. Then, he heard people oohing and ahhing.
"Sasuke-kun! It's starting!" she said, her hands on his shoulders. "I'm so excited!"
A blast of light appeared into the sky, exploding into an array of gold and purple sparkles. Sakura smiled, looking over at Naruto and Hinata, who were kissing. The fireworks almost looked like them.
Soon, many more began to come. A collection of red, green, orange, and other miscellaneous colors shone in the air.
"Look, Sasuke-kun!" she said, pointing to the air. He looked up to see a display of pink and blue together, almost mingled into one. "It's so pretty!"
Then, Sakura screamed, feeling herself falling. She closed her eyes, waiting for the impact, but opened them slowly to find herself in Sasuke's arms.
"Sasuke-kun?" she asked.
"Be quiet," he said. They continued to look up. The pink and blue fireworks were still lasting the longest and caught everyone's eye as they took pictures.
"Doesn't it remind you of us?" she asked. "I have pink hair, and you have…bluish hair?"
"A little bit," he said. "But look. Everyone likes the pink one. Why is that?"
"Maybe because it's pretty?" she asked.
"I don't think so. I think it's because it's the most different." He looked down at Sakura, who was in his arms. "In a good way."
He put her down back on her feet and she put her hands on his chest.
"Sasuke-kun…" she said softly, not looking up at him. Then, quickly, he felt her lips against his cheek and then nothing. Sakura continued to look down at her feet, her blush still visible under the light of the night sky.
"So the pink firework likes the blue," he mentioned, tipping Sakura's chin up. "Do you think the blue one likes the pink, too?"
"I guess so," she said, still red. "I mean, why else are they together?"
"Maybe because opposites attract."
"Maybe."
He looked into her eyes and he saw that she closed hers, leaning in. He began to close his too before he heard a "TEME! SAKURA-CHAN!" from the opposite direction.
Both of them suddenly opened their eyes to see Naruto and Hinata waving at them. "HEY! Didn't see you there!"
"And you told me not to bother them," Sakura grumbled, taking Sasuke's hand and leading them to her friends. "Hey, Hinata!" she said, ignoring Naruto.
Sasuke tripped over his yukata and sandals as he tried to keep up with Sakura. The two girls talked eagerly as Naruto elbowed Sasuke playfully.
"Hey, teme, those last fireworks—the pink and blue ones, they reminded me of you and Sakura-chan!"
"Hn."
"Oh, come on. You have to admit they resembled you guys a little bit."
"Not in the least."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "I don't know. They seemed to have chemistry together. Just like you guys do. And don't think that I didn't see her braid your hair, because I did!"
Sasuke frowned.
Slight changes!