When It Snows, It Bonds

A SasuSaku oneshot

'"'

"Perimeter is clear. No signs of enemy camping. Over." Sakura announced into a radio.

"Good. Come on back in then. Over and out." A voice responded from the device.

"Roger. Over and out." Sakura replied, turning off the radio. She turned around to face a squad of people. "Let's head back in."

"Yes, ma'am." All responded, except one who just nodded his head.

Sakura looked up at the man who only nodded his head. She outranked him, but she wasn't surprised to get no response from him. She walked up to him, and they both turned to take a lead at the front of the squad. They all started to leave in the opposite direction they came from.

Sakura pulled the hood of her coat closer to her head, reveling in the fluffy rim that warmed her face. "It's really cold around here…isn't it Sasuke?"

"Hn," Sasuke, the man who had nodded at her earlier, responded. Sakura looked down at the ground, taking his response as a "yes."

She sighed, her breath turned to a foggy white mist in front of her. She glanced down towards her feet, but then realized she couldn't see them in the mid-calf high snow they trudged through. She shifted her gaze to the four people behind her. They were scouts from the base they were assigned to protect, aiding her and Sasuke on their mission to help keep back an enemy force that was trying to take them out.

Sakura scanned the area around her. All she could see was a land of rolling hills of whiteness; the only contrast being the dark snow-clouds that blanketed the sky to the point she couldn't even tell where the sun was.

She sighed again, watching her breath float to the side in the light wind.

"Lady Sakura," one of the scouts called.

Sakura turned to look at the scout who called her with a smile on her face. "Just Sakura please, there's no need for such formalities. What is it?"

"I've just received a weather report from the base. It would appear there is a blizzard on its way."

Sakura looked at the scout for a moment, and then turned her gaze to the clouds. Ever since they had arrived a week and a half ago the clouds had looked the same to her. Sometimes they'd drop a load of snow on them, but it was never blizzard material. There was hardly even a wind to give an indication that the weather was preparing to change.

Sakura returned her gaze to the scout. "Are you sure?"

"Uh…" the scout stammered, not expecting the reply from Sakura. "Well, it's a 75 percent chance that we will get a blizzard. When is unknown, but they would like for us to hurry back rather than get stuck in it."

Sakura looked at the scout as he spoke, and then turned her attention up to Sasuke, who looked down at her. They held eye contact for a few moments, and then Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "You're the leader." He stated.

Sakura thought for a moment, and then turned back to the squad. "Let's hurry then. Better safe than sorry."

'"'"'"'"

Half an hour later, it was apparent that a blizzard was in fact on its way. However, Sakura realized, they were still another half hour away from the base, and it didn't appear the blizzard was going to wait that long.

Sakura turned to look at the squad behind her, the ruff of her jacket flapping in the increasing wind. "Everyone stay close. Partner up. Try not to lose sight of any of us."

"Yes ma'am!" The four scouts answered, huddling up into groups of two.

Sakura turned her gaze up towards Sasuke, the obvious, and only, choice for a partner. She took a sideways step closer to him, doing as the scouts were doing with linking their arms together.

"Do you…think we'll make it in time?" Sakura asked, trying not to be heard by the scouts so as not to cause any sort of panic.

Sasuke was silent for a moment as he looked up into the wind at the clouds above them. He glanced down at Sakura. "I don't think so."

Sakura heart dropped slightly hearing his answer, but she didn't show it. She glanced back at the scouts behind them. "I don't think we'll be able to speed this up any more…we can't risk losing anyone. Lady Tsunade would probably have our heads."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "I know."

They all continued on their way, Sakura glancing up occasionally every time the weather appeared to be getting worse. When snow finally began to fall, Sakura's nerves bunched up. They were still a ways off from the base.

Suddenly, the blizzard was on them. Sakura pressed herself against Sasuke, unable to see very far in front of her.

"Sakura!"

Sakura turned around when she recognized the voice of one of the scouts. Sakura's heart stopped. She couldn't see them.

Sakura pulled Sasuke to a stop, hoping the scouts would keep walking and run into them.

"Over here!" Sakura yelled, but her voice was whipped away by the wind pounding against her. "Hey!"

Sasuke looked down at Sakura, seeing her mental struggle going on. He knew she was caught between going back to find the squad, and the danger of losing their way in the search.

Sasuke began to pull her in the direction they came from. "Come on. If we can hear them they can't be too far off."

Sakura looked up at Sasuke as he tugged on her. She was wary, but hearing the confidence in Sasuke's voice spurred her forward. She nodded her head. "Okay."

The two began to retrace their steps, squinting through the storm in hopes of spotting one of their squad members. The wind and snow howled and whipped around them, and then they heard a scout calling for them again.

"Sakura!" Sakura's brow furrowed disappointedly. They sounded farther away.

Sasuke changed direction. "We went the wrong way."

Sakura's head turned from side to side, fruitlessly searching out the scouts in the blizzard. Frustrated tears stung at her eyes, but she held them back. It would be very bad if they froze around her eyes.

"Hey! Over here!" Sakura called into the wind.

"Sakura! Over here!" Sakura's heart rose. They heard her.

She pulled Sasuke with her, running through the snow in the direction she heard the scout's call.

"We're coming!" Sakura yelled. "Stay where you a—"

Crack!

Sakura's yell turned into a surprised gasp as the ground gave way beneath her. She began to fall down into a chasm which opened under her. Sasuke as well, having been holding onto her, fell into the opening and with a startled scream from Sakura, the two descended into the dark cavern.

'"'"'"'"

When Sakura opened her eyes, the first thing she became aware of was how dark it was. There was a little bit of a light, a small sliver that came from the opening far above them. Looking around from her position on the ground she knew they were in a cavern of hollowed out ice, probably created during the summer when the temperatures were warmer, and then frozen over when the cold returned.

Sakura closed her eyes momentarily, and when she opened them she looked down at one of her hands which lay in front of her. She moved her fingers, and then clenched her hand into a fist. It seemed to be fine. She did the same with her other hand; it too checked out alright. She wiggled her toes inside her boots, they were fine. It appeared she was unharmed by the fall, and was just momentarily knocked unconscious.

Sakura tried to sit up, and then she realized the weight on her. She craned her neck behind her, and then she finally noticed Sasuke. He too had fallen unconscious, and, probably in an effort to make sure she made it through the fall, he had wrapped his arms around her, and had probably taken the worst of the impact.

Thinking of that, Sakura pried Sasuke's arms off of her and sat up, rolling him onto his back and doing a check-up. She worked carefully, checking for injuries while not removing his clothes to protect against the chilling cold of the cavern. It was apparent that he had in fact taken the worst of the fall onto his shoulder, which she healed up. Other than that the rest of his body was unharmed. Sakura breathed a thankful sigh of relief.

"But now," she thought, "I have to wake him up. It's dangerous to fall asleep, or worse get knocked unconscious, in such weather."

Sakura shook the Uchiha, calling his name and rubbing him to warm him up. Eventually, Sasuke stirred, and Sakura blew another sigh of relief as he sat up.

One of Sasuke's hands came up and rubbed the shoulder Sakura had healed. He looked over at her. "Did you heal me?"

Sakura nodded her head. "I did."

He looked away from her as he tested out the rest of his body as Sakura had.

Sakura continued to stare at Sasuke as a light smile reached her face. "And…thanks for saving me."

Sasuke looked back at Sakura. Behind his eyes he saw the memory of what had happened after the ground broke beneath them. Sakura probably didn't remember how he had wrapped himself around her to keep her safe. He distinctly remembered the pain he felt as he took the fall on his shoulder and from there was knocked out. Sakura had probably been knocked out from the impact as well, even if it had been cushioned by him.

Sasuke shifted his gaze to the ground. "Don't mention it."

Sakura's smile faded, and then she stood up, looking around. She stared at the opening they created far above their heads. She approached one of the ice walls and rubbed a hand against it. She frowned. There was no way they'd be able to scale their way up it. It was way too steep and slick. They'd probably get themselves killed.

Sakura turned back to Sasuke. "It doesn't look like we'll be getting out of here any time soon…at least not until the blizzard stops and they can come searching for us."

Sasuke stood up and came over to her, observing the ice walls as well. "Looks like it." He commented.

Sakura looked up past the opening to the world outside. She could hear the wind whistling over the entrance to the chasm, and she could see the snow blowing around. The blizzard still raged.

"I hope the snow doesn't cover the entrance." Sakura shivered. "Or else we'll never be found…."

Sasuke said nothing. He reached into his pack and pulled out a flashlight. He turned it on and started to look around the cavern. Sakura followed the beam of light with her eyes, also taking in the details of their location. They were in a hollowed out cave of ice, just as Sakura had thought before, and it was apparent that their way in was also their only way out.

"I think," Sakura declared, "that we're in an actual, snowed over rift, and this is an air pocket made by warmer weather."

Sasuke nodded his head. "I think you're right."

Sakura walked around the perimeter of the cave. "Well…I think this place is safe enough."

Sasuke made no reply. She continued to walk around.

Suddenly, Sakura heard a crack beneath her, and she jumped away in time as another opening formed under her feet.

Sakura stared at the new opening, surprised.

"Looks like you spoke too soon." Sasuke stated as he came to stand next to Sakura.

"I guess…." Sakura responded as she backed away from the hole. "We better be careful where we step from now on."

"Sakura," Sasuke suddenly called, making Sakura turn to look at him, "don't you have a radio?"

"Uh…oh! You're right!" Sakura exclaimed, searching her bag for a moment before she pulled out the radio she had been using earlier. She turned it on. "Sakura to home base. This is the Medical Jonin Sakura Haruno from the Leaf Village calling in for help. Over."

Static greeted them from the radio for several, breath-holding moments, and then, "Home base to Sakura. We've received your message. Over."

Sakura sighed, relieved. "Great. This is Sakura. We've run into some trouble. My partner and I were separated from our group on our scouting mission due to the blizzard. Has our group reached you? Over."

There was static for a moment. "Negative. There has been no scouting groups return since the blizzard started. What is your location? Over."

Sakura frowned sadly, knowing their group was still out there. "I don't know where our group is, and I don't know where we are either. My partner and I fell into a chasm while looking for our group, and we can't get out. If I had to estimate…we're about a mile southeast from the base. With any luck our squad has almost reached home. Over."

"Understood. We can't send out a search party right now. We'll send one out immediately following the end of the blizzard. You'll have to hold on till then. Over."

Sakura cast a hopeful look towards Sasuke. "Alright. Thank you. How long is the blizzard expected to last? Over."

Silence came for a moment. "We estimate another few hours. However, these storms have been known to last for days. Over."

Sakura's heart dropped slightly. "Alright…. We'll try our best to hold on till then. Over and out."

"Understood. Hang on. Over and out."

Sakura turned off the radio and placed it back into her bag. She walked over to one of the walls and sat down. "Looks like we've got a long while to wait, Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't say anything. He walked over to Sakura and sat down next to her. "All we can do is wait."

"Yeah…." Sakura huffed, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the wall. Then, her eyes opened again and she gasped. "Oh crap. One of the scouts had all of our food and most of our survival supplies. We have nothing!"

Sasuke sighed. "Then let's hope this storm doesn't last more than a few hours."

Sakura nodded. "Let's hope…."

'"'"'"'"

Three hours later, Sakura and Sasuke still found themselves in the cavern. Sakura set up a routine of standing up and moving around every fifteen minutes to fend off the cold and tiredness, but the process itself was tiring, and hunger also started to creep around her stomach.

Sakura sat down after one of her moving around intervals, and let out a yawn, which quickly made her shake herself.

"No, no." She thought. "I can't fall asleep. Falling asleep means shutting down many parts of my body, which would lead to death out here. I can't fall asleep. I need to move around some more."

Sakura stood up, and as she did Sasuke sighed exasperatedly.

"That's getting really annoying." He mumbled.

Sakura, driven to a short lead from the whole situation, rounded on the Uchiha. "I am trying to keep myself alive! You know you should be moving around too! Just because you're naturally a cold person doesn't mean your body won't start shutting down on you."

"I'm fine." Sasuke retorted.

"That's what you always say!" Sakura raged, unable to control her lost temper. "Your leg could be hanging on by a tendon after you got mauled by a bear and you just traveled three miles up a mountain to get to a station, and you'd still say you're fine!"

"Who said a bear would be able to do that to me? I think I'm stronger and smarter than a bear."

"And there you go thinking you're all high-and-mighty and you can get through anything! That's what really ticks me off about you!"

"Could you stop yelling?"

"No!" Sakura screamed. "I won't! You are so rude! You couldn't even give me a formal answer when I was addressing everyone in our scouting mission! I am a Jonin now! You're still a Chunin! You're supposed to show me some respect!"

"Sakura, just calm down. You're wasting what energy you have."

Sakura growled, her eyes flaring. "You still think I'm weaker than you? Don't you? Well I have some news for you! If it weren't for me, you'd have been dead years ago! But you never like to appreciate or acknowledge the gift of help from others, do you?"

Sasuke said nothing. Sakura's rage bubbled up inside her. She let out a frustrated cry, turned on her heel, and went to the other side of the cavern. She sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." She roared. "He's such a…argh…why do I even bother with him? He's always been like this! He's always treated me like this. He…. Why do I bother? Why do I even still think I'm in love with him? Such a rude little…. It's not like he'll ever…."

Hot tears welled up under Sakura's eyes. She wiped them away. Her eyes drooped halfway.

"Why do I care? Why do I still dream about it? Obviously he…. Oh, just forget about it. It's useless. We'll be found eventually…we'll get out of here…and then everything will be normal again. Just…forget about it…."

With Sasuke, he watched as Sakura stormed off and curled up on the opposite side of the cave from him. Internally he sighed. Sakura was just on a short fuse because of the stressful situation. And she was probably tired and hungry, making her temper worse.

Sasuke looked up. He could still hear the wind whistling, but he couldn't see the snow blowing around as the skies turned darker and darker as night fell. Even if the blizzard did end soon, they'd still be stuck there overnight till dawn came and the search parties could come searching for them.

Sasuke sighed, watching as his breath turned to a foggy white in front of him and floated up. At least they were protected from the weather. It was still cold, but at least it wasn't cold and windy.

Sasuke looked back over at Sakura, who still appeared to be raging internally. He decided it'd be best to just wait it out. She'd cool down eventually, and then maybe they could put their rational minds together and figure a way out of their predicament.

An hour and a half of pure silence passed. Sakura never even stood up at her fifteen minute intervals to move around and keep her circulation going. Sasuke stared at the kunoichi. Even if she was mad, he didn't think she'd just abandon her routine because he said something about it.

"No…she's way too stubborn for that to have gotten to her." Sasuke mused. "Something's wrong."

Sasuke stood up and crossed the distance between him and Sakura in a few stride.

"Sakura," he called, stopping a few feet away from her. Sakura made no response, and he couldn't see her facial expression behind the cover of her hood. Sasuke crouched down next to her, pushing the hood out of the way. "Sakura."

Then Sasuke realized why she hadn't done anything. She had fallen asleep.

Sasuke cursed, knowing that it was really bad to fall asleep in the cold. He shook the kunoichi, calling her name. "Sakura, Sakura wake up. You have to stay awake. Sakura…come on."

Sakura still didn't stir. Sasuke's heart began to beat faster, concern overtaking him. He removed one of his gloves, reached out, and touched Sakura's face. His eyes widened in alarm, she was very cold.

"Sakura," he called, growing closer to her. "Come on, Sakura, wake up."

Sasuke unzipped her thick winter coat, revealing her typical ninja wear underneath. He leaned in closer, putting his ear to her chest. Several, tense seconds past before Sasuke could pick out the distinct sound of Sakura's beating heart. He pulled away, relaxing slightly as he re-zipped her coat. He rubbed his hand against her face, still calling for her to wake up.

"Damn it." Sasuke thought. "This cannot be good. I need to wake her up…or at least…"

Sasuke stared at the kunoichi, thinking. Then, he drew closer to her.

"No other option."

'"'"'"'"

Sakura didn't quite know when she had fallen asleep, but when she did her body had already decided that it didn't want to wake up. Her mind struggled between the instinctual, logical side of her that wanted to live, and the other side of her that reveled in the feeling of warmth she got from falling asleep. Half of her mind just wanted to let go and sleep, but the other half fought against it, knowing that if she slept, she'd die.

However, the side that wanted to stay asleep was soon overpowering her. Her own will alone couldn't make her wake up, and she could do nothing as she slowly started to slip away.

Suddenly, something seemed to be happening. An unexplainable feeling of warmth came over her, and it started to give the side of her mind that wished to live power. It struggled with the side of her that wanted to give up and sleep, and it started to win. She pushed even harder, finding that she was in fact winning.

Slowly, Sakura began to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open halfway, and she let out a small groan as she numbly lifted her head up.

Only for it to hit something else, something that was much warmer than the ice walls around her.

Sakura's eyes fully opened, and she took in her surroundings.

"Glad to see you finally woke up."

Sakura heard Sasuke's voice just as she realized where he was. She looked down to see Sasuke's arms around her, and his legs came out from either side of her, bordering her own legs. Sasuke's head rested on top of her own. She felt as though she was wrapped up in a surprisingly warm blanket.

"Sasuke," Sakura whispered, more than a little surprised to see him in such a position.

Sasuke's head came down next to hers. When he spoke his warm breath touched her face, making Sakura blush. "Yeah?"

"Um…why did you…?"

Sasuke shifted slightly, snuggling Sakura closer to him. The blush on Sakura's cheeks deepened. "You were cold…and it was apparent that if I didn't…you probably would have died. I couldn't let that happen. Tsunade would probably be pissed at me if I did."

"Oh…" Sakura replied. "I see…"

"And," Sasuke continued, making Sakura look sideways at him, "I'd be pissed at myself if I let you die."

Sakura could only stare at Sasuke, not entirely knowing what his words meant.

"Well," Sasuke stated, "it's still nighttime, but I think the sun should be up at some point, then it shouldn't take long for them to find us if they look in the right place."

"Uh…yeah…I guess."

Silence fell between them for a bit.

"Um…Sasuke…." Sakura called. Sasuke looked down at her. "Well…now that I'm awake…I don't think you really need to—"

Sasuke's grip around her tightened, making Sakura stop speaking. "I don't want to."

Sakura blushed. "You don't…?"

Sasuke's face pressed closer to Sakura's. "Let's talk about this after we've been saved."

Sakura didn't say anything, letting silence fall as Sasuke cuddled her closer to him.

In Sasuke's mind, he replayed what he thought of as he held onto Sakura in hopes of warming her up so she'd wake up. When he'd first folded her up into his arms, his mind thought only of the consequence of what would happen if he didn't: she'd die.

From there, his mind was forced to process the reality of what would happen if she did die. For starters, the village would be devastated to lose her. She's a medical prodigy who's comparable to Lady Tsunade. She was friends with many people in the village. The loss of her would be a huge blow to the village.

"And," he had thought, "I would be devastated as well."

At that thought, Sasuke contemplated how it would affect him if Sakura died. He'd lose a teammate, he'd lose one of his best friends, he'd lose someone who he'd never been able to resist keeping safe. The thought of Sakura really dying felt unbelievable, and being in the situation where it could become a reality, these thoughts were thrust at him. He didn't know what he'd do if Sakura seriously died. He couldn't image a life where she wasn't there.

It was those thoughts, coupled with the relief that washed over him when Sakura woke up, that made him realize just how much he cared for the kunoichi. It was the reason why he pulled Sakura closer to him now. He didn't want to let her go.

"When this is all over with," Sasuke thought, "I'm going to do it…."

'"'"'"'"

It was a huge relief when early the next morning Sasuke and Sakura heard the voices of the search party members approaching the opening of their cavern. Sakura untangled herself from Sasuke and ran to stand underneath the opening, yelling for them to come get them out.

It took about half an hour of careful work, but finally Sasuke and Sakura were out of the chasm and back on snowy grounds. Sakura was glad to hear that shortly after her call to their base, her squad arrived. A couple members were even a part of the search party that found them.

Then, with lightened spirits, Sasuke and Sakura were taken back to the base, where they were given hot baths and food.

'"'"'"'"

Sakura sat in her room at the base, lying in bed looking up at the ceiling. Her mind constantly replayed the ordeal that she and Sasuke faced just hours before.

Sakura sighed, a light blush creeping up onto her cheeks as she thought of how Sasuke had held onto her and admitted how he didn't want to let go of her.

"Ugh…and I had yelled at him earlier, too…." Sakura thought sullenly, regretting her harsh actions. "I can't believe myself…. I was so mean…and he still…."

Suddenly, a knock reverberated through her room. Sakura sat up.

"Come in." She called.

The door opened, and in the doorway stood Sasuke. Sakura averted her gaze when he came in, feeling her face flush embarrassingly as she thought of everything that happened earlier.

Sasuke closed the door and stepped into the middle of the room. "Hey."

"Uh…hi." Sakura responded.

Sasuke came closer. "Did I come in at a bad time?"

Sakura shook her head, regaining control of the temperature in her face. "No, you're fine."

Sasuke walked forward, turned, and sat down on the bed next to Sakura.

"We had…quite an adventure earlier." Sasuke stated.

Sakura nodded her head. "Yeah."

"And…I don't know about you, but I think the whole thing made me think about a few things."

Sakura looked at Sasuke. "Like…what?"

"Like…" He answered. "Like how I feel about…things."

Sakura gulped. "What…kinds of things?"

Sasuke turned his gaze towards her. The two made eye contact, and held it.

"Like…how we stand with each other."

Sakura blushed, but she couldn't seem to break the eye contact the two shared.

Sasuke smirked, seeing how caught she was. "Remember when I said I'd clarify for you later what I meant when I said I didn't want to let you go?"

Sakura's blush deepened. Her head dropped, but her eyes couldn't pull away. "Yeah…."

"Are you still wondering what I meant?"

Sakura didn't quite know what to say, but she found herself nodding in agreement.

Sasuke's smirk deepened, and then he turned away. "Well…actually, I don't know if I'll tell you."

Sakura's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, and then she was overwhelmed with a sudden anger. "What? Were you just—you did that on purpose! I can't believe you! How can you be so mean?"

Sasuke chuckled, this only worked to fuel Sakura's anger.

"You're so…so…argh! Why did you do that? What's wrong with you? Did that blizzard freeze your brain or something? Or are you just—?"

Sakura didn't quite know for a moment what had just happened. It took a moment for her to process why Sasuke had drawn closer to her, and why she suddenly found her mouth covered by something. By the time her mind finished processing though, thoughts for the reason why were entirely out of her mind as she found herself kissing Sasuke back and pulling him in closer to her.

No more words needed to be spoken after that. Sakura understood quite clearly what Sasuke meant.

THE END

…Wow…just…wow. I wrote this whole story in one day. This was finished a long time ago (I'm talking still stuck on TTL long ago) and I've been holding on to it till now…. Sigh…I think the ending is…meh. I tried to come up with a good ending line, and I think it's okay…but maybe I could have done better. I dunno. (Actually, the whole story feels meh…but it's the best one I have compared to some of the other "written and waiting" oneshots I've written from pure, bored inspiration.) Anyway, later readers!

And for those of you who might be confused why this came as your e-mail alert rather than chapter 10 of AtR, it's because, well, chapter 10 only has a little over 800 words written on it…. (Embarrassing confession.) I thought fall break would be a great opportunity to work on it…but nothing came out. (A lot came out for chapter 12 though…that's good news.) So, here I was Friday going "no way in hell am I getting this chapter done" so I went to my oneshots (because I have some stockpiled) and chose this one to be my substitute for the Saturday update. Sorry if that disappoints you readers, I'll be trying my hardest to get chapter 10 to you all next week! Till then!