My Snippets: Part 1

Fireworks & A Kiss

(Shippuden Sasusaku go to a festival)

Remember this is written as if Sasuke had never left and I kind of see his relationship with Sakura taking off more quickly than it did in actual canon because of this but I tried to keep them all as in character as possible. I hope you enjoy it!

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Sasuke huffed in annoyance, though it wasn't for the first time that evening, as he crossed both of his arms over his muscular chest. The dark silk of his kimono felt cool against his bare skin but the Uchiha paid it no mind as he observed his two teammates bickering over where they should go to next; Naruto wanting to find the nearest ramen shop and Sakura wanting to go grab some sort of sweet treat before the annual festival's large fireworks show began. He rolled his dark eyes as Sakura smacked their idiot teammate on the back of the head.

"Naruto!" The pinkette groaned in irritation. "We just ate ramen yesterday with you and you had it for breakfast this morning. I'm not going to eat at Ichiraku's... again! Besides, we've already had dinner."

"But, Sakura-Chan...," the blonde male whinnied as he rubbed the back of his head where a small knot was already forming. Sasuke watched as Sakura crossed her arms and turned away from their teammate; a small smirk was playing on the corner of his thin lips.

"No! If you want some, then go get it by yourself." Sasuke wasn't one to voice his opinions often so he remained silent. However, he had to agree with Sakura on this one; he didn't want to go get any ramen again either. When Naruto tried to send him a pleading look; Sasuke simply stared at him with an unimpressed expression, leaving the blonde to sag in defeat. For the next few minutes, Naruto walked at a much slower pace than the other two as he followed behind them; silently wallowing in his own self-pity.

That is until...

Naruto's blue eyes lit up with happiness when he saw team eight walking slowly towards them and he quickly sped past both of his teammates, accidentally knocking Sakura into the brooding male in the process, as he raced towards the trio. Sakura blushed profusely, turning a deep shade of red, and quickly pulled away after giving the Uchiha a small apology. Sasuke merely grunted in response; not particularly angry that Sakura had been so close to him, but unwilling to voice this revelation aloud. They had grown a lot since their Genin days and the lone Uchiha felt closer to the members of team seven than he did with anyone else; Sakura in particular, though his feelings for her differed greatly from what he felt for both Naruto and Kakashi, whom he saw as more of a brother and father type of figure. No, he definitely didn't see Sakura as a sister... it was something much more... something much deeper than that.

He felt... drawn to her; in a way that the young man didn't with anyone else...

...found himself wanting to be around her; more often than not...

...found himself enjoying the females company; not minding when she would grasp onto his arm or one of his hands to drag him along behind her as she walked confidently throughout the village; a warm and friendly smile upon her strikingly beautiful face; greeting everyone they passed by with a soft hello or a kind wave.

Sasuke definitely wasn't unaffected by her any longer, not in the way that he used to pretend to be that is, and he was slowly growing more and more comfortable with showing it; at least... to her; though maybe not around everyone else just yet.

He felt strongly for her....

She was someone... precious to him.

The lone Uchiha felt the need to protect her, no matter what the cost might be, even though he knew that Sakura had grown up to be a strong and independent woman; one who was capable of taking even him (an Uchiha) down if he wasn't fully focused on her every move.