Inspired by a Korean movie called: Windstruck. Great movie by the way, definitely recommend it. Also inspired by Jonko's 'SasuSaku 39 Topics' R&R is appreciated.

This is going to be another One- Shot but my first AU one. Dedicated to Cuito. Thank you, for being behind me every step of the way.

Pinky Swear

She was heiress to the throne. She was the princess of her kingdom. She was seven when he made his first pinky promise to her.

He was one of the noblemen. He was born to protect her. He was eight when he made his first pinky promise to her.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun…"

He averted his eyes away from the grass for a moment to spare her a glance before turning back to pasture. A look of disgust adorned his face before he spoke in a cold, detached tone. Well for an eight year old that is but in any case, he never felt like an eight year old. He always felt too old. "What is it?"

"I-I was wondering…" She stopped, as if deliberating on what she was going to say a bit more. Her confidence was suddenly withdrawn to zero, but then again she wasn't so sure if she had any to begin with. His tone alone made her want to wet herself. No, she will not back away from the one time she can thank whom had saved her from those daunting creatures she called 'bullies'. She will not back away from him, yet she found herself recoiling and taking a couple of steps back.

"Can you hurry up?" He was an impatient one but she would change that. Yes she would, she would give her all to change him. She summoned her courage and stepped up.

"S-sorry." The small child stuttered. "I-I was just wondering if you'd like"

Okay, it didn't necessarily come out the way she had anticipated but he didn't even give her enough time to take the next breath when he answered. "I don't have time."

"But"

"Did you not hear me, forehead girl?" Sasuke didn't even know if her forehead was all that large. Not that he cared if it was or wasn't. He just remembered passing by and hearing the taunting of the other children. It was really none of his business to begin with, but her crying was too loud to ignore and be left alone.

He remembered telling the others to move aside, although he hadn't the authorities to do so. He wanted laugh when they complied with his demand, scooting quickly away from the hurt girl they teased.

He remembered asking if she was okay and staring at her slightly wounded body. It was so small and petite, he was scared to touch her or help her up as if she could break just by the weigh of his finger on her. The scene was laughable though, he snorted at her mediocre wounds. They were minor compared to the ones he's received, and here she was crying and bawling,

She never answered back to him being there but instead turned to meet her savior. And there he was, standing over her, dark eyes gleaming down on her fetal form. A feeling of fear coursed through her body and she trembled. She was scared but the tears wouldn't come. They never came at the right time. There when they weren't suppose to be, but gone when they were.

He watched as she tucked her head into her knees to avoid him. There was no use in being there with her. He was no good at comforting so he left without another word, his hands crammed into the small space his pockets provided. It was odd, for most of the girls hung on him like wet clothing that would cling to your body. She, however, avoided him.

He remembered glancing back and telling the other pathetic kids to get lost. It was the least he could do but why he had done so, he still didn't know. He remembered watching as her bullies scrambled away under his warning gaze. He threw a last glance at the weak girl before fully taking his leave.

The supercilious boy was brought back to reality when he heard whimpering.

"M-my f-forehead?" She sniveled and silently moved her hand to touch the upper portion of her face. Wasn't he the one who saved her from her humiliation? But now he's causing that exact feeling…

Sasuke frowned and slowly turned around, "What else did you…?" He stopped when he saw her face. It was pained, filled with despondency. His heart dropped and stomach twisted into tangled knots to know that he had triggered such raw emotions taking over her system. And the fact that she was crying didn't help much.

Then, it struck him like your finger being stapled when asleep. The girl was crying.

Crying.

Her tears were endless and they were drowning him in guilt. Undeniable guilt. It was his first time ever making someone cry. And he didn't like the feeling of the aftermath. At all. What hurt him more was seeing the one girl he had protected himself cry because of him.

Tiny hands covered her face as she sobbed. Strands of her long, pink hair matted along the side of her face because of the salty substance, and he sat there, unable to help stop the flow of her tears. Each drop tearing at him on the inside but did nothing to falter his persona on the outside. Each sound effect she made with her tears wrenching at his gut but did nothing to his demeanor.

He needed to do something, to get away from the mess. But his body thought otherwise. No matter how much he tried to stop it, no matter how hard he tried to back away and run, he didn't. Instead he found himself pulling her hands away from her delicate face and wiping away her tears. Suddenly, he felt older than he should have and instantly pulled back his hands. He was eight years old DAMN IT! EIGHT YEARS OLD! Eight year old boys aren't supposed to be doing these types of actions!

Of course living in a house with a father who wanted perfection, a brother who defines perfection and a mother who was…(well a father who wanted perfection and a brother who was perfect down to eh very dot was good enough), what eight year old boy wouldn't try to be perfect himself? And even as he dug up so many answers to the possibility of him being perfect (of course, perfection had nothing to do with his mature performances), he still couldn't find the right one to explain why his actions were of an adult and not an eight year old. So he turned to the next best thing to say to her.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled.

Okay, wrong. The junk up there was completely a lame excuse for him to say sorry to her. But at least he swallowed his proud and found some heart in him to apologize, right?

Sakura hiccupped in response and kept her eyes down, sniffling every once in awhile, her chest heaving up and down from exhaustion. Crying took up too much of her energy, but she couldn't will herself to stop the tasteless liquid that flooded her cheeks and moistened the small corset of her dress.

"You don't have a big forehead." Sasuke continued as softly as he could muster. His hands were shoved into his pockets and sweating profusely inside the hot compartment of his shorts.

She removed her gaze from the grass over to him, surprised. "Y-you m-mean it?" She sniffed and swallowed the hiccup that was about ready to emerge from her mouth. Her heart contracted some irregular beating she had never felt before. It was pumping 160 miles and hour she would say if she'd known what it meant.

"Yeah…" His icy tone before mellowed into a supple one.

"Pinky swear?" The young heiress balled her first up then stretched out the pinky, motioning him to do the same.

Sasuke stood baffled at her doings, then repeated her actions, stretching out his pinky and hooking it on hers somewhat embarrassed at the puerile promise he made. And as he stood there, smirking at their new found friendship it still never occurred to him that this was what eight year old boys do.

"Pinky swear."

They make promises and break them. But he was sure he was going to change that.

She was seventeen when he made his second pinky promise to her.

"You'll come back, won't you?"

"What if I don't?" He teased her, mirth clearing evident in his intonation. He smirked.

"Sasuke-kun!" The princess pouted. She wanted nothing more but to rip out his precious juke box right now. "This is serious! Wipe that look off your face! It's a war out there. I don't know what will happen to you…" The last sentence was softened, afraid that she would choke and cry.

He chuckled before slightly nodding his head. "Of course I will your highness."

"Sasuke!" Sakura growled at him for the formal dressing of her court name but felt the sudden urge to throw herself at him in attempt to embrace him. She wanted to cry again. He wasn't taking her seriously, he never did. She loved him, too much for her own good. And she didn't even realize it.

He could see she was holding in her tears and decided to end the game. He stepped closer to her and smiled the one that was saved for her eyes only. It was time he bid her farewell. "I'll come back to you, Sakura."

The young woman tried to smile and reassure him that she was fine and was going to be fine but he knew her better than that. She wasn't hard to read but sometimes, she wasn't easy either. He just knew her well enough when she meant something and when she didn't. Sakura stuck out her pinky. "Pinky swear?" If she couldn't hug him then the pinky promise would have to suffice for now.

"Sakura, stop doing that. You're seventeen." He refuses to take part in this childish promise of hers. It was ridiculous. He was no longer the eight year old boy that would comfort her when she cried. He was concise and blunt. Too blunt sometimes but it really didn't matter to him. The odd thing was, somehow, through all those harsh comments thrown at her and critiques she's taken in from him, she still manages to stick by his side.

"Sasuke! Damn it!"

He sighed and finally joined their pinkies together in a promise.

"Fine. Pinky Swear." A blush never ceased to cross his face.

Seven years passed and she still longed for his presence. He never returned to her after that one day. She regretted never hugging him, never kissing him, never telling him that she loved him. Her father advised her to search for a husband but she denied his request. She didn't want to give up hope, but it seemed as if hope was giving up on her.

Three years passed and she finally gave into her father's persistency. Word spread like a wild fire in the forest that the princess was looking for a spouse and immediately there was a line waiting to take her hand in marriage. She gagged at the sight. Half of the men the lined up probably didn't even know how she looked like or how she acted. Just the thought of being able to have the honor of MAYBE taking the hand of an heiress was why they were all here.

There were rules to be understood before entering the kingdom: The bachelor must come ready with a ring that fits her highness's pinky. If the ring fits, she would be obliged to marry him. If it does not, he will be forced to leave the castle and not to be returned. Okay…maybe just one rule. But she will be sure to strictly force that rule. The last thing she needed was perverts and stalkers lurking around her kingdom. But she knew the first thing she needed. Uchiha Sasuke.

Rings after rings came and went, yet none had fit her slender finger. Secretly she was happy for that. She was thrilled that no one would be able to take the place of her one true love. The prospect of having a husband and not feeling one ounce of love for him was wrong and dishonest to her.

Sakura wanted to resign from the 'quest to search for a husband'. It was foolish, she knew from the very beginning that there was no hope he would return. The odds were slim to nothing; it just didn't work for her. It never did. Not just give up whole on this search for a husband, but fully on her ambition to see her love again. Her motivation was gone, substituted with a small feel of apathy. But…

"Your highness, a traveler wishes to take your hand. We are about ready to"

"Bring him in."

"But your maj"

"Did you not hear me? This kingdom will not be prejudice to those who are itinerants. This kingdom is being run by me; therefore you must obey my orders. Bring him in." Her strict commands led the guard to immediately recoil from his argument. Everyone deserves a chance, everyone…even me. Maybe she was destined to be with a traveler and not a civilian of the village or maybe she wasn't even destined to be with anyone at all. She wouldn't mind being alone. Lonesome was the same everywhere if he wasn't there.

"Right away, your majesty."

The man walked in, his head bowed and cape hanging off his shoulder. Sakura could see his pale skin complexion from underneath the cloak where his collar bone was exposed. The malodorous material traveled the room but Sakura did not flinch. She was not inconsiderate nor was she rude. Leisurely and taking her time, she walked down the steps of her throne and glanced at the man before sticking out her pinky.

She watched from the corner of her eyes as the guards gripped the handles of their swords, ready to draw it out any time. Rolling her eyes, she turned back to the man before her, waiting for the ring she knew was going to slip off her finger or wouldn't even fit it.

Slowly and steadily, the man responded by raising his cloaked arm and sticking out his pinky.

Sakura stood there flabbergasted by his actions. The world seemed to stop, leaving the two of them together and alone. She could not bring herself to draw her pinky away. Before she had time to react, their pinkies were locked together tightly and for some reason her heart tore.

It was him.

"…Sasuke-kun?" She managed to choke out.

His hood slid off his head and he smiled at his beauty. "I made a promise, didn't I?"

Sakura's breath was caught in her throat and she didn't respond –couldn't respond-, but that didn't stop her from crying as she flung herself onto him. Years of waiting and torture were finally over. She found him, or rather he found her. Or they found each other. It didn't matter as she held onto him not ready to let him go. Not yet. She wanted to embrace him forever, to be held in his strong, protective arms for eternity.

The sentinels withdrew from their defensive position and vacated the room leaving the two alone.

"Sasuke…" She sobbed into his chest, finally removing her arms and now pounding her fist against his chest. "I hate you for leaving me for so long."

"I'm sorry." He paused and caught her tiny hand in his. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't leave me again…" She hiccupped.

"I won't." He brought it up to his lips and gently kissed it.

She pulled her hand away from his grasp and stuck out her pinky. "You pinky swear?"

Sasuke swiftly kissed her forehead, and then moved in to capture her lips with his. He relished her sweet taste before pulling away and doing the same with her, this time with no objections or ambiguity.

"Pinky swear."

A/N: I know…it COULD be better. But I don't want to tell you the story how I worked on it on my brother's computer and sent it to myself over AIM but I never received the file but by that time I didn't get to save the work. So I had to rewrite it in a record of time in which I didn't even remember half of the things I wrote. XD

Sorry Jonko for the horribly long wait yet such a poorly written one-shot. Please forgive me!

Finally, please review! It'd make me so happy! I'd also like to thank Itonami and cocoa-latte.