He wanted to travel with her, so when Sakura followed him from Konoha, Sasuke was relieved. Asking required so much emotion, and he wasn't fully prepared to undo the metaphorical seal over his heart just yet.

Sakura was a ray of sunshine on the dreariest days, and he especially appreciated her as they headed into the Land of Snow. Sasuke heard rumors of a strange rabbit shaped bas relief in the mountains, and he was determined to analyze it with his eyes. Each day, they trekked through wintry trails where snow hung from trees in thick valances. Towns, even hamlets, were few and far between in this country, so precision and preparedness were required.

"Sakura," he started, lifting his legs higher and higher to trudge through the snow drifts. They were nearly up to their knees. "This weather will delay us reaching the village until well after nightfall."

She steeled her expression and nodded once. Sasuke noticed the way she pulled her heavy shinobi cloak closer around her head to keep the snow out.

"Sakura," he said, stopping.

She paused and looked at him. There it was. Now that she had to face him, he could observe the way her lips trembled, even as she bit down on the pink flesh. The muscles around his eyes softened, and something akin to a smile rippled across his face. She was persevering on his behalf, never wanting to hold him back on his quest even if it meant her own discomfort.

Annoying.

"We should find shelter. The temperature is dropping."

"I'm fine, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said. "I can use my chakra control to protect my nerves. I think I can extend some to you if-"

"No. Preserve your energy." He paused to spin around, his powerful sharingan activated. "There's a building east of us. Come."

They located the old home easily thanks to its chimney. The log building snuggled into a crest of trees beside a clearing. The howling wind battered against one side, slapping a layer of snow against the wall. The fact that it stuck, and the lack of smoke or light, made them both relieved and weary.

Sakura knocked anyway. "Hello?" she called. "We're Konoha shinobi. Is anyone here? If you need help, I'm a medic."

Sasuke turned slightly, hiding his smirk from her. He'd gone so long distancing himself from his relationship with The Leaf. Whenever Sakura identified him as such, it made his heart flutter. "Nobody's home. There aren't any chakra signatures."

She wiggled the doorknob and the entrance squealed open. "It doesn't hurt to check."

The cabin was dark yet cozy. Sasuke could easily navigate. "If anyone lived here, they haven't been back for some time." He ran a finger over the dusty table.

Sakura pulled a small flashlight from her pouch. The circle of light slowly spun around the single room. Besides the dusty table were two chairs. Two cabinet doors clung awkwardly to their hinges, revealing emptiness. A few pots and pans hung from pegs by a modest fireplace. "You think it was abandoned during the war?"

"Or after. With the uptick in bandits and disillusioned shinobi, it's safer in villages or cities. There's nothing of value here. Not even fuel for a fire. I'm going to check the shed I saw."

Sakura examined the floor as Sasuke slipped out. Though dusty, she didn't notice any droppings. "Not even enough food or warmth for mice." Though it was great to be out of the biting wind, the cabin was frigid. She stooped before the fireplace and shined her light into the hearth, opening the damper. It refused to budge at first and needed a chakra-enhanced tug to pry open.

Sasuke reappeared with some planks of wood. "It's not much. How's that look?"

"Kind of dirty. I think there's a bird nest clogging it."

Sasuke leaned in to get a better look. "You're right. A few of them."

"You don't happen to have a chimney brush in your summoning tattoos, do you?" she chuckled, nodding toward his wrists.

"No, but I bet a small rasenshuriken could do the trick." He flashed her a proud smirk.

"That's too dangerous!" she clucked, earning a rare surprised expression from Sasuke. "That's a powerful technique! Without precise chakra control, you'll smash the whole house beyond use!"

His grin returned. "That's where you come in."

She blinked and a dusty patch of rose blossomed over her cheeks. "M-me?"

"Aa."

Her heart beat. Not only working beside Sasuke, but coordinating a move with him? It would be a dream come true, even if it were outside the battlefield. "But… but that's not even your chakra nature!"

He chuckled. "I've fought Naruto enough to get the gist. Come here. Put your hand under mine."

Sakura shuffled beside him. She could feel the warmth radiating out of his arm as she slid her left hand beneath his right. Their breaths, visible in the flashlight, mingled into one. Sakura became lost in the beauty of it.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked, breaking the trance.

Her face grew hot, a refreshing sensation in the cold. "Ahuh. I'll start by pooling some of my chakra into your hand so you can get a sense for it."

He'd felt it before, especially while recovering in the hospital following the loss of his left arm. She'd spent hours sending wave after wave of her cooling chakra into his mangled flesh. She'd stitched his skin, moulded his nerves back together, and poured relief into the stump until he could almost drift off to sleep believing he was beneath a sakura tree in spring.

He'd missed those times, but his wounded pride took him away from her again and again. He had much to atone for, and he wanted to feel he deserved her love. Now that she was beside him, alone with him, he knew that time was swiftly approaching. The fact that he consented to her presence spoke volumes, and Sakura seemed aware at the implications. Truthfully, it made him blush if he contemplated it for too long. A thick tension had been building between them, like a spring wound tight, but Sasuke didn't know how to address it without sounding perverted like the dobe, or clueless like a child.

Now with Sakura's soft palm pressed against his rough knuckles, her green chakra seeping into his fingers, he felt that spring coil taughtly. He exhaled a puff of air and worked to maintain his chakra.

The trained medic sensed his anxiety. "Are you okay?"

"Aa. Ready?"

She nodded, and he sent a rush of windy chakra down his arm and out his palm. It spiraled into a small ball. Sakura pumped more of her chakra into him, desperate to grapple with the dense sphere of energy. When Sasuke's work threatened to expand or skitter away, she held it. Glancing at her partner, she noticed him wincing as he struggled to maintain the chakra nature and not let his usual electric current run through him.

"Okay," he panted, "almost ready." The ball spun faster as blades sprouted. It elevated in his palm, maintaining its diminutive size thanks to Sakura's control. "I want to widen it. Just enough to sweep the chimney."

Sakura relinquished some of her hold. Sasuke's power quickly ballooned the rasenshuriken to three times its original size. "Perfect." He glanced at her to signal his readiness. She made eye contact and nodded. Her green irishes burned with fortitude and pride at their teamwork. Sasuke pushed it to the back of his mind for now and returned to the task at hand. Together, the sent the whirling technique spiraling up, forcing the blockage through the flue.

The pair slumped, panting, back onto the floor. Sakura looked over at Sasuke, indulging in a moment of admiration. He was flash and power. The man could create a purple giant of chakra and explosions large enough to erode whole waterfalls. It was adorable seeing him strain to hold his force in check. It reminded her of their early days together, training to walk up tree trunks.

Sasuke turned toward the green eyes he knew were watching him. Despite the cold, a sheen of sweat made Sakura's face glow. He knew she was powerful enough to crush mountains and punch a goddess, and he knew, more than many, just how exact her chakra control was when it came to medical procedures, but to see her use it in conjunction with his own abilities, to create something together… He recalled when she worked with Obito to save him from Kaguya's sand dimension. She was amazing, and he wanted more of her.

He had to look away. What they'd done together was intimate, and he didn't know what to say. The wooden floor creaked as Sakura shifted away. Though at a loss for words, he lamented the space between them.

"I'll unpack the kettle and prepare some tea and soup if you get a fire going."

Sasuke hummed in agreement. He arranged the wood he'd found and got it started with a low-level katon. "I'll get more wood from the shed."

When he returned, he found that she'd already set up their camp tripod, kettle, and cooking pot. When he traveled alone, Sasuke lived simply. He used what was around him, but Sakura required a certain level of civilization. Why he never thought to travel with a summoning scroll of camping equipment before was beyond him, but he was glad for her foresight.

He watched as she emptied a packet of dehydrated vegetables and seasonings into melted snow she gathered. The fire crackled, and the smoke moved through the chimney without any obstruction. He wanted to tell her how strong and capable she'd become, how he admired her, but the words caught in his throat. What would any of that mean after all the space he'd put between them over the years? He worried it would sound dismissive, as if it took something as mundane as clearing ratty bird nests to notice her many attractive qualities.

"Sasuke-kun," she said, breaking through his brooding, "What we did together…"

A thick silence spread between them. They'd done something. Together. Alone and for no other reason than to comfort the other.

Finally, Sakura sighed. "I liked it. I mean… I was happy to do something like that with you. Tsunade-shishou once told me that synchronizing chakra is really difficult, and that many jonin even struggle to do it."

Sasuke smirked at her. At first, she worried he was going to gloat about how he wasn't just any shinobi, but he startled her when he said, "I'm not surprised you can do it."

She turned her face to try and hide her blush. She didn't want to annoy Sasuke with her girlish reactions, so she missed his pleased smile.

"We do make a good team," he admitted. She turned back to him, her lips and eyes equally round. He scratched behind his neck with his one hand and had to look away.

Sakura giggled softly. "Hey, Sasuke-kun, I wonder what else we can do together!" He turned back to her, his eyebrows up so high his long bangs concealed them. "I mean," she squeaked, "with our chakra! With training! Ugh!" She buried her face in her hands.

Sasuke's deep hum sounded like a contented cat's purr. "Aa. I've thought about it."

"Really?" Sakura's face jerked back to his, but he'd already turned from her to ladle some soup into his wooden bowl.

"Itadakimasu," he murmured, and that was the end of the discussion for the time being.

They ate together in companionable silence. All the while, a blizzard howled outside the cabin. Between the window shutters, their soup, and the humble fire, they remained comfortable. The sun had gone down hours ago, though it was hard to tell through the thick clouds and sheets of falling snow. Their pile of fuel dwindled so they let the flames die down to embers. They set their sleeping matts a safe distance from the hearth.

For a long time, they stared up at the dusty ceiling, barely visible to Sakura in the dim light. Sasuke could make out every cobweb, every soulless exoskeleton floating in the once lifeless home.

"Do you think someone lived here alone?" Sakura whispered through the darkness.

"Hm. Maybe. It is small."

"It must have been lonely out here."

A sudden blast of icy air howled, shaking the cabin. Sakura sat up with alarm. Even Sasuke activated his sharingan just in case. A tendril forced its way down the flue, briefly sparking the flames to life, then snuffing them out.

They found themselves in complete darkness. Sasuke turned to Sakura and saw her clutch the blanket to her chest with alarm.

Sasuke sat up. "I'll see what else I can dismantle in the shed."

Sakura's flashlight sliced through the gloom. She made her way to a shuttered window and peeked out. A wall of snow obscured the world beyond. "It's a whiteout. For all you know, whatever's left of the shed is buried."

He frowned. "The warmth will soon dissipate." The stern look he gave her failed to belie his concern for his once soft, vulnerable teammate.

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten my healing skills! Warming a victim is one of my many talents. It's especially important in cases of hypothermia or shock. Now come here!" Her no-nonsense medic tone didn't allow for any complaints.

Sasuke knelt in front of her, unsure what she was about to do. She sat on her sleeping mat again. The reality of the situation and what she was about to suggest hurtled into her, cracking the stony exterior she so often donned in the hospital. Her cheeks burned, rivaling the flames that had existed only moments before.

"This is awkward, Sasuke-kun," she squeaked, "but I need you to lie down beside me. We'll share warmth the natural way, and I'll amplify my own body heat."

Sasuke clenched his jaw. "Is this how you comfort shock victims?"

She chortled and shook her head. "Of course not! But since we're in such a cold environment, and we're trying to get some rest… it only makes sense…" Her green eyes fluttered sideways.

"Fine. How are we doing this?"

She blinked at him. "Just…lie down? Here, let's share both blankets for more warmth. Now, I guess, you be the big spoon."

"The what?"

Sasuke wasn't prepared for Sakura to lie down and scoot her back against his chest. The moment she did, an unnatural heat throttled into him. His body stiffened and he sucked in his breath.

This was going to be a long night.

Author's Note:

Hello readers! It's been awhile! I appreciate all the likes, follows, and comments I continue to get for "Touch." Some days, it's easy to feel inadequate as a writer. I've been busy working on my original manuscript and sending it out to agents and publishers. Your positive feedback has kept me going!

Some good news for those interested in my writing career: I just submitted my full manuscript to a publisher who was intrigued with the first three chapters. It's not a guarantee, but it's nice to know someone wants to look at more. I also had a short story published in an ezine dedicated to polytheism and animism. So that's really cool. Even better, I got paid for it! I can now say I'm a paid author!

I know many of you hope for a sequel to "Touch." I haven't given up on doing that, but this is not it. The idea for this fanfic has been rolling around in my head for some time. It will be short (no more than 3-4 chapters), but I hope you enjoy it. We have a lot of snow here, so I decided it was time to make this idea come to life.

Thanks for the continued support! Expect an update soon. (When I'm not frantically trying to meet my NaNoWriMo goals…)