remember this, forever.
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Uchiha Sasuke & Haruno Sakura
Prompt: 05. do you remember...
Word Count: 757
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Notes: Written for 30 memories. Prompt table is here.
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The wind blew softly around the couple sitting on the brown handmade swing, the afternoon sun soaking the two in its rays. That afternoon, everything was perfect. There was nothing else in the world but them- no fighting, no bloodshed, and no death.
Just them, the sun, and the bench.
Sasuke’s obsidian orbs were unreadable as he stared at the fragile girl napping in his lap. Soft pink tresses tickled his bare arms as his pink haired lover stirred slightly, a small groan escaping her colourless lips. Dull emerald orbs shot open, and she blinked a few times, still slightly disoriented by the shift from darkness to light. “...Sasuke-kun?”
“Sakura.” At his voice, pale emerald eyes brightened and a soft smile found its way to her face. One deathly pale hand shot up to grip his shirt in an attempt to haul herself up to a sitting position in vain. Larger, masculine hands reached over and grabbed her smaller ones, gripping them tightly. Hooking his other arm under her knees, he brought her up to a sitting position, and in one swift motion, she was curled in his lap, her head fitting snugly into the crook of his neck.
“Ano...Sasuke-kun?” she said softly, her finger tracing circles on Sasuke’s defined biceps.
“Hn?”
“I was just remembering...that time, the day you found me.” The finger stopped its motions as she paused to stare up at the man.
“What are you talking about, Sakura?” He sighed, rocking the swing ever so slightly.
“In the forest.”
“Hn.”
“I bet you don’t you don’t even remember, Sasuke-kun.” She teased, whacking his arm playfully with a small smile.
“We were six. You’d gotten lost in the forest when you had a fight with Ino.” He answered without missing a beat, his face betraying nothing as the words left his mouth. Sakura’s eyes widened at each of his words- she hadn’t expected him to remember. It was almost twenty years ago, for god’s sake. She didn’t think he even knew who she was back then, didn’t think he particularly cared about the peculiar little pinkette that had gotten herself lost.
“Lucky guess.” A small frown marred her colourless face. “Isn’t that a little vague, Sasuke-kun? Ino and I fight a lot...”
Sasuke’s eyebrow twitched slightly at her obvious provoking. “Hn. You forced me to eat ice cream with you after.”
A small delighted giggle escaped her mouth. “Yes, and?”
Sasuke knew what she was pressing at, and smirked. Two could play at this game. “And what, Sakura? Just took you home after, that’s all.”
He almost laughed at the obvious disappointment that clouded her face as he finished his sentence. Even after all these years, she was still so naive. “That’s..it?”
“No, idiot.” He replied, snatching a small object from his kunai pouch. He opened his palm in front of her face, and it took a few seconds for realization to settle. Once it did, a huge smile spread across her face, her eyes sparkling with mirth.
“Sasuke-kun!” At seeing the small stuffed toy she had treasured as a child, a wave of excitement settled over her. “You kept it all these years! You-”
Her eyes widened suddenly, and a frail hand flew to her chest as the burning in her throat started. The coughs took over her body, and he could only hold on tighter as the frail kunoichi in his arms shook with the force of the coughs.
And as soon as it had come, it was gone. But just the same, the damage was done.
She looked up at him tiredly, the excitement gone from her green eyes, replaced by the same dull orbs he was met with so often these days. She smiled up at him apologetically before her head drooped, and the fatigue took over.
Sasuke stared down at the woman in his arms. She was one of the strongest women he knew, and now, a mere coughing fit could completely tire her out.
Life worked its ways, and it really was unfair.
Unfair that finally, when they had at last found peace together, it had to come along. And it was eating away at her life, bit by bit, second by second. And soon, he knew, she would be gone. The thought alone was enough to make him tighten his hold on the girl, crushing her closer to his chest.
And he realized that it didn’t matter if he had five minutes, five hours, or five days.
Whatever the time left, he would spend it with her.