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CAUGHT IN THE RAIN
Rain thrums softly on the canopy of the forest. Sasuke and Sakura are somewhere in the vast expanse of southern Fire Country. Sasuke should have known asking Sakura to accompany him in his travels for redemption would lead to something ridiculous and annoying… But this is what Sasuke signed up for the second he stole Sakura’s first kiss.
“You’re gonna have to be faster than that, Sasuke-kun!” rings from Sakura’s voice to the rest of the forest.
Like he said, annoying.
Sasuke shakes his head, sending rivulets everywhere. He thought he’d finally caught Sakura, starting off a mischievous game of cat and mouse. Instead, Sakura is weaving in and out of his grasp. She knows he’s faster and stronger than her even now, but Sakura’s smarter than anyone has any right to be. And when she’s trying to not get caught…
Sasuke starts forward again, sending droplets flying from the branches above as Sakura also springs into motion before him. She’s laughing with every jump she lands, with every narrow escape from Sasuke’s clutches. The sound is one of those full-bodied guffaws, the type that beams delight from every gasp of breath. It’s not the polite giggles and cutesy smiles a younger Sakura practiced in the mirror. No, the noise that wraps around him now is much more free, full of breath and endless joy. Sakura laughs around him like she’s never been touched by tragedy.
The sound of her laughter is clear and unguarded, spurring Sasuke on as it fills the air against the drumming rain. It’s rare and infectious, pushing Sasuke to pick up his pace. His protective instincts are roaring wildly in his heart as he watches her nimble form tease him from the slippery foliage.
Sakura navigates forward with grace and agility, her feet barely touching the wet branches as she leaps from one to another. She looks so different like this, like Sakura belongs to the leaves and the flowers and the moss. She is part wild spirit of nature with flowing pink cascading down her head and brilliant gems sparkling green against the drizzling downpour. The other part? All his. The thought forces a smile through Sasuke’s nonchalant façade, making the edges of his face flush with overwhelming feelings.
“Sakura!” he calls out, his voice echoing with a playful mix of mock sternness and genuine concern. “Enough! We need to set up camp.”
Though he can’t physically see her, Sasuke’s Rinnegan catches Sakura dropping down to the forest floor. She tucks herself behind a thick tree trunk, her chest heaving with quick, excited breaths. He can picture in his mind’s eye as a sly smile pulls at the corners of Sakura’s lips, thinking she’s outsmarted him. Sasuke can imagine her heart pounding, having memorized how exhilaration pounds through her chest when he lays his palm there.
He maneuvers silently, circling to the other side of the tree Sakura has hidden against. In a swift, fluid movement, he closes the gap between them, pinning her gently against the trunk. Chest to chest against Sakura, Sasuke’s body shields her from the gentle descent of the rain, enveloping her with his tall frame.
“Sasuke-kun!”
“You thought you could escape?” Sasuke whispers, his voice a low, teasing murmur against her ear.
Pinned in the close quarters of their hideaway, Sakura lifts her gaze to meet Sasuke’s, their faces mere inches apart, heated breath mingling in the humid air. “Maybe I didn’t really want to,” she replies softly, pulling her hands away from Sasuke’s gentle hold to touch his face.
With the forest pouring around them, Sasuke leans in, finally giving in to the gentle gravity between his face and Sakura’s. Their lips meet in a gentle, lingering kiss, stoking the fire within his chest as Sasuke can’t get enough. The way Sasuke’s fingers course through Sakura’s drenched locks, not giving her a chance to catch her breath after he’s stolen it; inevitable. The sighs Sakura fails to stifle as Sasuke’s lips meet that sweet spot along her clavicle; inevitable. The pull from Sakura’s fist against his collar when her lips haven’t had enough of his; inevitable.
It’s like both rain landing softly on the leaves and a satellite crashing from orbit, Sasuke and Sakura cascading gravity until it spills over; inevitable. ‘Yeah,’ Sasuke thinks to himself, ‘inevitable.’
THE END.