An Uchiha At Heart || SasuSaku

18. An Uchiha at Heart

"Sas—" before Sakura could let out the second syllable, the Uchiha slid his good arm up to her shoulder and pulled in the kinoichi to close in the last distance between them. He caught her lips between his with more force than he'd intended, but he wasn't going to take it back now—he couldn't.

Sakura's brain froze. She couldn't think, she couldn't move, but soon enough the taste of the man embracing her got her weak in the knees, she had to wrap her arms around his neck and give in now. She kissed Sasuke back, feeling him stiffen up a little under her arms, but quickly resolving to keep going.

What was this? Sasuke thought somewhere deep in the back of his mind. This feeling...intimacy? Is this what that is? For so long, how could he have lived like he did, without something like this? Without a genuine, close connection to a single person, no strings attached; without feeling like he had to put up his guard and line up all his defenses to anyone who gets an inch closer to him than they were supposed to...instead, here he was engulfing another person so tightly they could melt into each other despite freezing temperatures.

Sakura's hand was in Sasuke's hair now, her other clutching the hood of his cloak as their rhythm got more intense. The Uchiha was a natural kisser; if Sakura didn't know better she would have thought he has years of experience under his belt. Sasuke was enthralled by it all, the heat, the hunger, the desire, Sakura. Sakura, whose name once sounded like a sin on his lips now tasted like one, and damn it all to hell if he was ever going to atone for a beautiful sin like her.

They finally tore their lips away, their lungs begging for air, their eyes breathing out the remnants of their concluded burst of desire. Sasuke was just starting to absorb what had just happened, and suddenly he wished his hair was even longer so as to cover up his embarrassed face. Not knowing what to do with himself, he hugged Sakura. He buried his face in her neck only to realize how cold it was. "You're freezing," he whispered, now remembering her cloak on the ground. He picked it up, and Sakura came around to pat down the cloak and make sure there are no pieces of ice sticking to it. "You should take mine," Sasuke offered, already trying to unfasten his cloak. Sakura assured him that it was fine, but he wouldn't have it.

"Sasuke-kun." Sakura reached out and held Sasuke's hand, knowing he's just as flustered as she is, if not more. She smiled at him gently and told him again that she was just fine. She wore the thick, brown cloth around her magenta jacket with the furry, white wool cowl. She started rubbing her hands together and blowing into them, then rubbing her arms up and down at an attempt to further warm herself.

Sasuke watched her fondly. He wasn't sure why he was smiling, but he wasn't going to think about it. He stepped behind Sakura and hugged her again. He pulled her in closer to him and gently stroked her shoulder to keep her whole body warm, leaving her to only worry about her hands.

They stood there in silence, just taking in the snow, the wind, the feel of one another, and the sound of each other's hearts.

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After making it back to their inn, Sakura and Sasuke gathered their things and embarked on their journey back to their home village. They passed through the Crimson Sky mountains again, the maple trees they'd visited, and the desert where they'd been held hostage—they wanted to make sure things were calm and as they should be.

Finally, standing in front of the gates of Konoha, Sakura raised her arms both out of excitement and to just stretch. "Ahhhh, it's so good to be home!"

It was nearing nightfall, the hour where the sun was bidding its final lavender goodbye over its horizon. Sasuke walked silently, looking straight ahead. Sakura behind him, took in every inch of her home village as if she hadn't seen it in eons. She had noticed Sasuke's silence upon returning to the village, and wondered what was going through his mind this time around. Did he still feel tense and uncomfortable? Did he still feel like an outcast in these streets?