Colder Spots

on the art of breaking

The first time they are together is slow and painstakingly sweet, just like the rest of them and everything that is in between, everything that makes them unique, makes them them.

They are in his quarters (she's taken to sleeping over more often than not. They like to think they are being stealthy about it, but if they are completely honest they have to admit that the whole Senju compound is aware of their particular sleeping arrangement. But nobody seems to mind, so they don't either. She is good for him, after all.), and Sakura is sitting cross-legged across from him on the cool floor boards, her brows furrowed in concentration.

He's teaching her how to meditate properly and expand her senses, but the cat keeps interrupting, much to his exasperated amusement. Hungry for attention, the white furball keeps climbing all over them, until Tobirama's patience gives out and he shoos him out into the garden before sliding the screen shut.

When he turns back, Sakura is watching him, a happy smile on her face. Tobirama sighs.

Do you want to try one more time? he asks and she shrugs.

Not particularly, no. He quirks an eyebrow at the admission, but pulls her to her feet regardless when she holds up one hand for him to take. She looks at him thoughtfully for a moment.

I wonder, she muses quietly. If we had ever met like this back where I am from - do you think we would have ended up like this?

Tobirama shrugs lightly. Who knows, he says, and Sakura smiles at the words.

Who cares, she whispers as she steps into his embrace. When I have you here and now.

He folds his larger frame around her with practised ease, and for a while all they do is hold each other. He know's she'll leave eventually, and so does she, and so they cherish every shared moment this turbulent world they live in decides to grant them.

Then she places little kisses along his jawline and smiles against his skin when Tobirama closes his eyes, humming, before he dips his head to pull her into a slow, unhurried kiss. Sighing softly against his lips, Sakura lets her hands slip from his shoulders, down his front and into the lose folds of his yukata. He flinches a bit when the cool tips of her fingers brush lightly over his stomach, and she huffs in quiet amusement. A little more daring, she traces the ridges and dips of his body, eyes closed and brows scrunched up in a look of intense concentration, almost as if she's trying to commit him to memory. Taking a small step forward, she presses a soft kiss to his neck, then another one, slowly moving down to his shoulder, pushing back fabric as she goes.

As if by their own accord his hands move down her slender frame and tug on the knot of her obi. The ill-fitting yukata (it is one of his) slides off her shoulders easily enough, pooling around her elbows, and it leaves his fingers to wander over her skin in smooth, whispered caresses. Shivering, Sakura moves closer, untying his robes and pushing them off him. The fabric falls to the floor with a dry rustle, hers follows suit, and then they are left bare with nothing left to the imagination.

Tobirama doesn't miss the way Sakura's breath catches in her throat, and when she lifts a hand to run gentle fingers over the many scars marring his skin, he lets her. He traces hers in return, trying to memorise everything (they don't have forever, after all), every dip and every curve, each tiny ridge left behind by wounds that have healed long ago.

And he thinks that despite the fact that neither of them is perfect, they are perfect for each other.

Together, they sink down onto the blankets with a patient ease that comes almost naturally to them, and later, when Sakura clutches at his shoulders and her breathy gasps fill the silence around them and he kisses her neck and rolls his hips slowly against hers, he somehow, for the first time in his life, feels complete.

Because with her by his side, Tobirama can brave anything. Because Sakura gives him strength and makes him good and makes him whole.

And in that painfully sweet moment when they slowly let themselves tumble over the edge together, wrapped in each other's arms, his heart shatters into a million pieces and he knows she can feel it.

Because she won't stay forever, after all.

A/N: That's it. We're done. A glorious, inconspicuous and utterly low-key chapter to finish off a series of equally low-key and innocent drabbles. In a way, I feel sorry for them. But then again, I love bitter-sweet stuff, and my own stories are actually no exception. I feel like they have a really special relationship going on. The one where you know what your partner is thinking without even looking at them, just because you know each other so well. Sakura's now arrived over two years ago, I'd say that is plenty of time to get to know each other and form a solid base for a solid relationship.

Sorry I kept you waiting!

word count: 766