NARUTO: The Year Winter Followed Spring [Tobirama/Sakura] [Part Four]
A snippet of a WIP while I edit and finish writing it. Many, many thanks to 
sariasprincy and
mspixiepixie for their beta help!
Based on an idea I started working on years ago that I picked up again recently.
Pairing: Tobirama/Sakura
Setting: Modern Fae-ish AU
Rating: M
[Part One] [Part Two] [Part Three] [Part Four]
Sakura’s hands gradually healed. She began her reconstructive surgeries, which turned out to be far less extensive than originally anticipated. She pursued her physiotherapy. She provided Tsunade with a list of potential candidates to replace her while she recovered. And every weekend, Sakura returned to the cabin in the Forest.
She and Tobirama were on far fairer terms since her apology in the cabin. He accompanied her as she hiked the trails, sometimes leading her to a surprise grotto or waterfall she hadn’t come across before.
Sakura loved one waterfall so much she invited Ino to join her one day for a swim in the cool pool below it. The sun beat down that afternoon, the temperatures the hottest they’d been all summer.
“How did you find this place?” asked Ino.
“You know me, I like to explore. The wind nudged me this way,” said Sakura.
Tossing her t-shirt and shorts on a folding chair she’d brought, Ino stretched a minute before pulling out her sunscreen, towel and water bottle. Sakura set her pack down and set up her chair before doing the same. Her t-shirt landed on her chair, but a gentle wind picked it up, dropping it at her feet again. Frowning, Sakura once more placed it on the chair.
Once again, it landed on her feet.
Huh.
Turning her back to her chair, Sakura made a show of bending over when she took off her shorts and sneakers.
No wind.
Sakura grinned. Collecting her things together, she set them all on her seat. A quick reapplication of sunblock later and she and Ino hopped in the water, swimming carefully across the water, mindful of the waterfall's pull and whirlpool.
"How is Sai enjoying fatherhood?"
Ino smiled softly. "He read every parenting book twice and spends every day reading to Inojin and playing games with him. Though I had to remind him that Inojin probably can't understand him yet."
Sakura laughed. That definitely sounded like Sai.
"How about you?" asked Ino.
"What about me?"
"Have you replied to Kak--"
"No. Not yet."
The splash of the waterfall, the birds in the trees, the buzzing of the insects serenaded the swimming women. Ino watched Sakura as they treaded water. "You’re seeing, or into, someone else?"
Red eyes flashed in Sakura’s mind. "It’s a little complicated."
Ino floated on her back with a sigh. "I get it. You’re waiting to see if he really means it or if he's going to bail again. For the record… As unreliable as Kakashi is, I don't think he would ever joke around about proposing to you."
The wind in the tree canopy overhead went silent.
Sakura closed her eyes, her chin falling. "I don't think he would either. But I think he got scared that night of the storm and that's why he's back. We hadn't spoken in months prior to then."
"Was he giving you space?"
Sakura huff-sighed. "Who knows what goes on in his head."
Ino flipped gracefully like a mermaid in the water and swam back to Sakura. Her aquamarine eyes were gentle and concerned. "You do. That's probably why he kept you at arm's distance when things between you became serious. Genma said Kakashi didn't date other women the way he dated you. He actually put in effort. He remembered your birthday. He remembered your hospital shifts. He remembered to put gas in your car. And you were the one who never let him get away with the bullshit he played. You respected him and made him own up to himself and his responsibilities. No one else in history has ever managed that."
Ino sank in the water so she could catch Sakura’s evasive gaze.
"And you never once complained about him in be--"
The birds in the trees had gone silent, as if every creature in the forest around Sakura and Ino had come to a standstill and held its breath.
"I never complained about that, but I know I complained about plenty of other things," said Sakura.
"Are you considering it or avoiding it? Because you aren't the type to avoid something you're scared of. Your cliff dive is proof of that."
Ino’s points were fairly made.
"Avoiding," admitted Sakura.
"So why are you avoiding it?"
Sakura ground her teeth together. Why did everything have to be so quiet at that moment?
"There’s someone else. You aren't sure whether their feelings are as strong as yours, though. That's it, isn't it?"
"Ino," growled Sakura, but Ino wagged her finger at Sakura.
"Any man who isn't clear about his feelings isn't worth it, Sakura. Not when you know how much of a good thing you have waiting for you."
"If that were true, Kakashi would have been out of the picture before we started."
"You and Kakashi started with a physical relationship--which stuns me to this day, because I know how you are--but when you two were 'on', you were unstoppable, Sakura. And it sounds like he got the kick in the pants he needed to make an actual decision on his own. You aren't obligated and I totally get both sides of you wanting and rejecting him. I just want you to be happy. If you're holding out because of pride or uncertainty about Kakashi…I think you can rest easy. That man loves you." Ino shrugged, treading water. "If you're not sure or you have feelings for someone else, then just tell Kakashi. He gave you the ring weeks ago--"
A violent wind rustled the canopy and branches over them, and Sakura and Ino covered their heads as tiny sticks and leaves rained down.
"Weird. Whatever. Anyway, just tell me first so I know," said Ino.
"I will," said Sakura. In spite of the summer sun, she was cold.
She didn’t sense Tobirama nearby for the rest of the afternoon and that evening.
*****
The following weekend, Sakura returned to the waterfall alone. Tobirama was nearby, but he had been noticeably more distant that week. He left when she showered at the cabin. The stove was lit but there was no shaking of her tea canister. There was no welcome brush of warm air when she would greet or speak to him.
Sakura had a very strong suspicion why and it was difficult to have a conversation when you couldn't see or hear the other party.
“Tobirama?” called Sakura, undressing. There wasn’t another soul within miles.
Silence.
Her shoulders fell. She would enjoy her swim alone then.
With her clothing piled on her camp chair again, Sakura waded into the water in her bikini. The day was hot, hotter than even the previous weekend when she’d brought Ino, but the water remained cool and refreshing. The majority of her scars had healed and she didn’t have another surgery for them lined up for at least a few weeks. She had returned to working in her office, which kept her busy during the week, but her weekends she spent in the Forest.
“In another few weeks it’ll be the fall equinox,” said Sakura, listening intently for any hint of wind in the trees. “Do you think you’ll…you’ll make it back for that?”
Silence.
Deciding to grab the bull by the horns, Sakura raised her voice.
“I spoke to Kakashi this week.”
If it was possible, the forest became quieter.
Sakura waited, dragging out the tension. Treading water, she looked around the canopy. Not a single leaf dared tremble. She swam a bit closer to shore and stood on a submerged rock before beginning to play with her hair over her shoulder. Her heart beat in her chest at what she was about to do.
“We were ready to talk for a while,” said Sakura deliberately. “One, we talked about our past. He apologized to me.”
A leaf above her twitched. Maybe.
Sakura’s fingers played with the strings of her bikini top nervously. “We talked on and off for about three days,” she added, her voice rising toward the end of the sentence.
She swallowed.
“For a while, we thought it might work. But I had to be honest with him. Five,” her voice caught, “days a week, that wouldn’t last long with our schedules.”
Rubbing her shoulder with one hand, Sakura breathed deeply. Hidden beneath the water, her other hand unconsciously cupped her right breast, beginning to gently squeeze it to release some of the pressure building inside her.
“It was a tough conversation,” said Sakura shakily. She bit her lip a moment, closing her eyes as a frisson of anticipation moved through her body. “Things were kind of…hard.”
Above her, Sakura heard a faint rustle.
“We talked until almost sev-EN o’clock last night,” gasped Sakura, trembling. Her thumb began to trace and press against her stiffened nipple and she bit her lip, closing her eyes.
“Sorry, just a second,” murmured Sakura.
Tobirama had to know what she was doing now.
Slipping her fingers into the cup of her bikini, Sakura fondled herself beneath the surface of the water as her toy penetrated and stimulated her deep inside.
“Hah,” panted Sakura, her head falling forward. “This…I didn’t think I’d last this long. But I wanted you to know, Tobirama, that it’s not…it’s not Kakashi that I’m thinking of when I’m like this, when I do this.”
She undid the strings of her bikini top, letting it fall down. Her breasts hung free while she stepped closer to shore on shaky legs. Reaching a shallowly submerged ledge, Sakura sat back, her hands on her breasts, flicking and tugging her tight, engorged nipples.
“I told him no,” confessed Sakura, panting as she writhed on the ledge. “I returned his ring.”
She gasped as her body went taut and she tried to hold off her release. Just a bit longer...
“There’s someone I want, even if I can only touch and see him once every eight-ngh!-or nine-” Sakura’s voice broke, “months!”
Her head stretched back, her breasts exposed, Sakura writhed on the ledge, her legs twisted together as her hips twitched restlessly.
Cursing at how tightly she held herself back, Sakura whimpered, unable to hold back her moans.
“I want him to know that when I do this, I think of him. Every time, since the first time,” confessed Sakura. “Only him.”
The trees began a low rustling.
She was so close-
“He’s all I think about. All I want. Everything to me,” she panted.
Suddenly there was another pair of warm hands, lifting her chin, tilting her head back, stroking her throat-
Fierce red eyes burned into hers as the tether inside Sakura snapped.
“Tobirama-!”
“Ten,” he growled, and swallowed her cry with his lips.
The wind’s shockwave sent the birds squawking and flying from the trees from a kilometer away.
TBC
sariasprincy and
mspixiepixie for their beta help!
Based on an idea I started working on years ago that I picked up again recently.
Pairing: Tobirama/Sakura
Setting: Modern Fae-ish AU
Rating: M
[Part One] [Part Two] [Part Three] [Part Four]
Sakura’s hands gradually healed. She began her reconstructive surgeries, which turned out to be far less extensive than originally anticipated. She pursued her physiotherapy. She provided Tsunade with a list of potential candidates to replace her while she recovered. And every weekend, Sakura returned to the cabin in the Forest.
She and Tobirama were on far fairer terms since her apology in the cabin. He accompanied her as she hiked the trails, sometimes leading her to a surprise grotto or waterfall she hadn’t come across before.
Sakura loved one waterfall so much she invited Ino to join her one day for a swim in the cool pool below it. The sun beat down that afternoon, the temperatures the hottest they’d been all summer.
“How did you find this place?” asked Ino.
“You know me, I like to explore. The wind nudged me this way,” said Sakura.
Tossing her t-shirt and shorts on a folding chair she’d brought, Ino stretched a minute before pulling out her sunscreen, towel and water bottle. Sakura set her pack down and set up her chair before doing the same. Her t-shirt landed on her chair, but a gentle wind picked it up, dropping it at her feet again. Frowning, Sakura once more placed it on the chair.
Once again, it landed on her feet.
Huh.
Turning her back to her chair, Sakura made a show of bending over when she took off her shorts and sneakers.
No wind.
Sakura grinned. Collecting her things together, she set them all on her seat. A quick reapplication of sunblock later and she and Ino hopped in the water, swimming carefully across the water, mindful of the waterfall's pull and whirlpool.
"How is Sai enjoying fatherhood?"
Ino smiled softly. "He read every parenting book twice and spends every day reading to Inojin and playing games with him. Though I had to remind him that Inojin probably can't understand him yet."
Sakura laughed. That definitely sounded like Sai.
"How about you?" asked Ino.
"What about me?"
"Have you replied to Kak--"
"No. Not yet."
The splash of the waterfall, the birds in the trees, the buzzing of the insects serenaded the swimming women. Ino watched Sakura as they treaded water. "You’re seeing, or into, someone else?"
Red eyes flashed in Sakura’s mind. "It’s a little complicated."
Ino floated on her back with a sigh. "I get it. You’re waiting to see if he really means it or if he's going to bail again. For the record… As unreliable as Kakashi is, I don't think he would ever joke around about proposing to you."
The wind in the tree canopy overhead went silent.
Sakura closed her eyes, her chin falling. "I don't think he would either. But I think he got scared that night of the storm and that's why he's back. We hadn't spoken in months prior to then."
"Was he giving you space?"
Sakura huff-sighed. "Who knows what goes on in his head."
Ino flipped gracefully like a mermaid in the water and swam back to Sakura. Her aquamarine eyes were gentle and concerned. "You do. That's probably why he kept you at arm's distance when things between you became serious. Genma said Kakashi didn't date other women the way he dated you. He actually put in effort. He remembered your birthday. He remembered your hospital shifts. He remembered to put gas in your car. And you were the one who never let him get away with the bullshit he played. You respected him and made him own up to himself and his responsibilities. No one else in history has ever managed that."
Ino sank in the water so she could catch Sakura’s evasive gaze.
"And you never once complained about him in be--"
The birds in the trees had gone silent, as if every creature in the forest around Sakura and Ino had come to a standstill and held its breath.
"I never complained about that, but I know I complained about plenty of other things," said Sakura.
"Are you considering it or avoiding it? Because you aren't the type to avoid something you're scared of. Your cliff dive is proof of that."
Ino’s points were fairly made.
"Avoiding," admitted Sakura.
"So why are you avoiding it?"
Sakura ground her teeth together. Why did everything have to be so quiet at that moment?
"There’s someone else. You aren't sure whether their feelings are as strong as yours, though. That's it, isn't it?"
"Ino," growled Sakura, but Ino wagged her finger at Sakura.
"Any man who isn't clear about his feelings isn't worth it, Sakura. Not when you know how much of a good thing you have waiting for you."
"If that were true, Kakashi would have been out of the picture before we started."
"You and Kakashi started with a physical relationship--which stuns me to this day, because I know how you are--but when you two were 'on', you were unstoppable, Sakura. And it sounds like he got the kick in the pants he needed to make an actual decision on his own. You aren't obligated and I totally get both sides of you wanting and rejecting him. I just want you to be happy. If you're holding out because of pride or uncertainty about Kakashi…I think you can rest easy. That man loves you." Ino shrugged, treading water. "If you're not sure or you have feelings for someone else, then just tell Kakashi. He gave you the ring weeks ago--"
A violent wind rustled the canopy and branches over them, and Sakura and Ino covered their heads as tiny sticks and leaves rained down.
"Weird. Whatever. Anyway, just tell me first so I know," said Ino.
"I will," said Sakura. In spite of the summer sun, she was cold.
She didn’t sense Tobirama nearby for the rest of the afternoon and that evening.
*****
The following weekend, Sakura returned to the waterfall alone. Tobirama was nearby, but he had been noticeably more distant that week. He left when she showered at the cabin. The stove was lit but there was no shaking of her tea canister. There was no welcome brush of warm air when she would greet or speak to him.
Sakura had a very strong suspicion why and it was difficult to have a conversation when you couldn't see or hear the other party.
“Tobirama?” called Sakura, undressing. There wasn’t another soul within miles.
Silence.
Her shoulders fell. She would enjoy her swim alone then.
With her clothing piled on her camp chair again, Sakura waded into the water in her bikini. The day was hot, hotter than even the previous weekend when she’d brought Ino, but the water remained cool and refreshing. The majority of her scars had healed and she didn’t have another surgery for them lined up for at least a few weeks. She had returned to working in her office, which kept her busy during the week, but her weekends she spent in the Forest.
“In another few weeks it’ll be the fall equinox,” said Sakura, listening intently for any hint of wind in the trees. “Do you think you’ll…you’ll make it back for that?”
Silence.
Deciding to grab the bull by the horns, Sakura raised her voice.
“I spoke to Kakashi this week.”
If it was possible, the forest became quieter.
Sakura waited, dragging out the tension. Treading water, she looked around the canopy. Not a single leaf dared tremble. She swam a bit closer to shore and stood on a submerged rock before beginning to play with her hair over her shoulder. Her heart beat in her chest at what she was about to do.
“We were ready to talk for a while,” said Sakura deliberately. “One, we talked about our past. He apologized to me.”
A leaf above her twitched. Maybe.
Sakura’s fingers played with the strings of her bikini top nervously. “We talked on and off for about three days,” she added, her voice rising toward the end of the sentence.
She swallowed.
“For a while, we thought it might work. But I had to be honest with him. Five,” her voice caught, “days a week, that wouldn’t last long with our schedules.”
Rubbing her shoulder with one hand, Sakura breathed deeply. Hidden beneath the water, her other hand unconsciously cupped her right breast, beginning to gently squeeze it to release some of the pressure building inside her.
“It was a tough conversation,” said Sakura shakily. She bit her lip a moment, closing her eyes as a frisson of anticipation moved through her body. “Things were kind of…hard.”
Above her, Sakura heard a faint rustle.
“We talked until almost sev-EN o’clock last night,” gasped Sakura, trembling. Her thumb began to trace and press against her stiffened nipple and she bit her lip, closing her eyes.
“Sorry, just a second,” murmured Sakura.
Tobirama had to know what she was doing now.
Slipping her fingers into the cup of her bikini, Sakura fondled herself beneath the surface of the water as her toy penetrated and stimulated her deep inside.
“Hah,” panted Sakura, her head falling forward. “This…I didn’t think I’d last this long. But I wanted you to know, Tobirama, that it’s not…it’s not Kakashi that I’m thinking of when I’m like this, when I do this.”
She undid the strings of her bikini top, letting it fall down. Her breasts hung free while she stepped closer to shore on shaky legs. Reaching a shallowly submerged ledge, Sakura sat back, her hands on her breasts, flicking and tugging her tight, engorged nipples.
“I told him no,” confessed Sakura, panting as she writhed on the ledge. “I returned his ring.”
She gasped as her body went taut and she tried to hold off her release. Just a bit longer...
“There’s someone I want, even if I can only touch and see him once every eight-ngh!-or nine-” Sakura’s voice broke, “months!”
Her head stretched back, her breasts exposed, Sakura writhed on the ledge, her legs twisted together as her hips twitched restlessly.
Cursing at how tightly she held herself back, Sakura whimpered, unable to hold back her moans.
“I want him to know that when I do this, I think of him. Every time, since the first time,” confessed Sakura. “Only him.”
The trees began a low rustling.
She was so close-
“He’s all I think about. All I want. Everything to me,” she panted.
Suddenly there was another pair of warm hands, lifting her chin, tilting her head back, stroking her throat-
Fierce red eyes burned into hers as the tether inside Sakura snapped.
“Tobirama-!”
“Ten,” he growled, and swallowed her cry with his lips.
The wind’s shockwave sent the birds squawking and flying from the trees from a kilometer away.
TBC