Here goes my attempt at a Sasuke and Sakura pairing. Sorry for any OOC-ness, if any. Hehehe.

Pairing: Sasusaku

Summary: AU. A fated meeting on a train started it. She was sick and was going blind, and he had no idea what was happening to her.

Words: 5192

Disclaimer: I have no ownership of Naruto.

The uncomfortable seat beneath him was something he was familiar with, so was the smell of something undistinguishable. The dizziness that sometimes came with riding on a train was definitely something familiar to him, but the young girl that had been sitting across him; staring intently at him for the last few days was entirely strange and quite annoying to him. Of course he was used to the staring; a lot of people had done so, but the way she seemed to stare at him as if she saw right through him was somewhat nerve-wracking for him. The young girl with pink hair that sat across him wore the uniform for his school, and he wondered how on earth he could have missed someone with pink hair? He brushed that thought off and focused on his main priority, to get this girl to stop staring.

He ran a hand through his dark hair, before sighing exasperated. He stood up shakily, walked to the other side of the train and stood in front of the girl.

"Hey, will you quit staring, it's quite rude," He said, none to nicely. The girl would only keep staring as her reply.

"Hey, I'm talking to you," The young boy said again, this time with a slight tap to the girl's shoulder.

"Oh, you were talking to me?" The girl turned her gaze towards him.

"Why else would I be standing in front of you? Are you blind or something?" He had meant it as a joke, but the way her face seemed so serious, he suddenly felt as if a weight was chained around his heart.

"I just don't have good eye-sight, okay? So, are you going to apologise?"

He sighed and plopped down beside her. "I'm sorry, alright?"

"That's much better. Um, who are you anyway?" At her question, he was shocked. Who didn't know him? If he was surprised that she wasn't flirting with him or attempting to, he was much more surprised.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, by the way!" She said with such a cheerful smile, it made the corner of his lips twitch upwards a little.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke replied. For a moment she looked shocked, but got over it before he could question her.

"So, the Ice Prince of school is actually taking his time to talk to a commoner, wow, I'm much honored!" She laughed at her joke, while he was not amused.

After ending her laughing spree, she apologised to him. He accepted and decided to ask her a few questions.

"You and I go to the same school?" He received a nod. "We're even in the same year, just different classes," Sakura said brightly.

"Hey, Uchiha-san—"

"Sasuke, call me Sasuke,"

"Sasuke, if you come from a wealthy family, why on earth do you use a train?"

"Environmental purposes, using the train reduces pollution,"

The way Sakura's face seemed to lighten up; he knew that they had a common interest. They could be good friends, he was quite sure.

~X~

The next day he saw her, she was in her usual place on the train.

Instead of sitting where he always sat, he sat himself beside his school mate, no—classmate. In actuality, he actually shared a class or two with Sakura and he didn't take notice until that day.

"Hey, Sakura," He said quietly.

"Hey," She replied with a bright smile. He looked down to see that Sakura was holding onto a book.

"Are you reading that?" Sasuke pointed to the book in Sakura's pale hands.

"Hmm, this?" She lifted the book. "Nah, I'm not reading it."

"Why not?"

"I don't find reading comfortable anymore now that my eyesight is deteriorating ever so slowly…"

"Hn,"

Then, an idea struck his pretty little head. "Sakura, how about I read to you?"

She paused for a second before asking timidly, "You'd do that for me?"

"Isn't that what friends are for?" He seemed to have regretted saying that, as an awkward silence fell between them. Well, awkward to him anyway.

Suddenly, a weight was pulled around his shoulder and it took him a while to realize that Sakura had just thrown herself against him and was hugging him.

"I'd love it if you'd read to me…" She mumbled.

A trace of a smile appeared on his face. He frowned when she let go of him, for secretly, he hoped she wouldn't let go. He wanted that moment when she embraced him to last just a little longer.

~X~

Everyday, he would find her seated in that usual spot on the train. And everyday, he would keep his word and diligently read to her, her book. The story was about a young boy, whose sister fell sick. In order to cure her, he set off on an adventure all around the world to find a cure for his dying sister. Sasuke had tried to read ahead, as he had borrowed the book from Sakura, to get a grasp of the story.

He would read in his spare time, so he could re-tell the story to Sakura. He read after he finished his home work, he even read after he finished his class work. It was around one such time he was questioned by his best friend of his sudden reading habit.

"Say, Sasuke, since when do you read?" Naruto asked.

"Since I was a kid…" Sasuke replied.

"No, I mean, novels like that. You don't read that kind of thing…" Naruto pointed to the worn book in Sasuke's hand.

"Hn, a favor to a friend," He replied curtly.

"Seriously?! Since when were you so nice?" Naruto asked skeptically. "And who's this friend of yours?"

"That's none of your concern,"

"I'm your best friend, of course it concerns me. Well anyway, is this friend a girl?"

Naruto's only reply was the slight, hardly noticeable pink tinge on the stubborn Uchiha's cheeks. Naruto grinned.

"So, who is she?"

…

"So, you're not going to tell me are you?"

…

"I guess I'll have to find out myself then!" Sasuke just rolled his eyes at his best friend's immature antics. He could not wait to see Sakura in the train that afternoon, so he could narrate a particular page he was fond of in the book.

~X~

After a week of continuously reading to Sakura, he started noticing the little things about her, for example the reactions when he retold the story of the young boy. He saw how she twiddled with her hair when she was nervous, how she bit her lip in anticipation, the widening of her eyes when something horrible happened to the character, the way she sighed in relief when he escaped an obstacle, how her eyes softened when he read something sweet and the way they became watery when something tragic happened.

He did not just notice these things, he also found himself searching for her in all his classes and during lunch. It was a weird feeling for him, as he was never one for feelings. Every time Sasuke saw her in the crowd, he noticed she was always surrounded by a group of friends. He'd approach her, but, she looked so happy among her friends, that he felt if he joined them, he'd be intruding in their little haven.

There were countless of times, where he would gain enough courage to talk to her, but every time he tried, she just got swept away in the crowd.

~X~

Sasuke and Sakura were in the train once more, and Sakura was seated and Sasuke stood in front of her. On that particular day, the train seemed more crowded than usual. Sasuke would have continued reading the story to Sakura, if only the train were a little less noisy. Even Sakura agreed that he should just continue reading the next day. There was a comfortable silence between them as Sakura stared outside the window and Sasuke stared at her.

Suddenly, the train came to a halt to let some passengers out, as a fresh stream of passengers got on board. Sasuke noticed that an elderly woman had got on board and had a lost look on her face. He wanted to offer her a seat, but he could not. But surprising yet, a familiar pink haired girl was taking the woman by her hand and leading the elderly woman to what was previously Sakura's seat. Sasuke had not even realized Sakura got out of her seat. The elderly woman then thanked Sakura for her kindness, and Sakura just smiled and said that it was no problem.

All the while, Sasuke watched Sakura with awe, as she came over to stand beside him as the train began to move. At that moment, Sakura lost her footing and fell against Sasuke who secured her with one arm around her waist, while his other hand held the hand rail provided. Sakura clung on to him for dear life, and he just looked down and let a small smile grace his face.

That was the exact moment that he, Uchiha Sasuke, realized that he was deeply in love with Haruno Sakura.

~X~

"…..And thus, reader, we come to the end of our story, as Shiro has finally found the cure to his sister's rare disease. He put the cure safely in his bag and after years of searching, he was going to go home to give his sister the cure.

"He travelled, night and day, without rest, knowing his sister would need the cure as soon as possible. Shiro had to calm himself when he spotted the main gates of his home village. Today would be the day his sister would be cured.

"As we all know, throughout the story, Fate and Luck were fickle mistresses, so it would be of no surprise when Shiro arrived home to see just how many years had passed. In that moment, panic over rid his feelings of joy. As it turned out, Shiro's beloved sister's disease had gotten so bad, that not even the cure could help her anymore. The doctor had predicted that she would live for a maximum of 3 days. Shiro, as heartbroken as he was, had to smile for his sister and he decided to dedicate the next 3 days to his sis—"

"Wait! Sasuke! I don't think I have the heart to listen to the ending, it seems so sad!" Sakura cried, as stray tears leaked out of her eyes. She clung on to Sasuke's shirt, and dug her face into it.

"But Sakura, the ending isn't that sad. Just listen, alright?" Sasuke said, patting her head a little. Sakura nodded, but kept her head where it was on Sasuke's chest.

"… As I was saying, he decided to dedicate the next 3 days to his sister, because too late did he realize that he wasted all the time he could have spent with his sister, searching for a cure that would not be needed as it was too late. Time passed by so fast to Shiro and he could not believe it was the last day. That night, he carried his sister all the way to a field where the stars shined the brightest. He laid his sister down as they both gazed at the beautiful stars. 'Brother,' Miki said softly. 'If I were to die, I think I would like to become a star,' she continued. Shiro gazed at his beloved sister as she closed her eyes with a serene smile and her breathing became no more. That night, Shiro cried silently to himself, and when he finally composed himself, he stared amazed at the star filled sky. For there, he was plenty sure, that there was one extra star in the sky, shining so very brightly, as if it were shining for him. The End,"

Sakura just snuggled a little closer to Sasuke, and he just held her tighter, reveling in the warmth, "I'll protect you, Sakura. From anything, I promise". He felt Sakura smile into his shirt, and they stayed like that until he had to let go when she reached her stop.

~X~

"Ne, ne, Sasuke, seriously, who is she?"

"Hn,"

"Come on, dude, seriously, spill!"

"Hn"

"Argh! You're so irritating, teme!"

"Aa," Smirk.

~X~

Before long, Sakura stopped appearing in the train. She stopped appearing at school, in class, she just stopped appearing anywhere! Sasuke would never have guessed in all his life that he would ever feel worried. Yes, worried because she just disappeared without a trace, not leaving a single note, nothing. He paced worriedly around his bedroom, as he thought of the 3 days that Sakura had been gone. Naruto, who was sitting contently on Sasuke's bed, watched him as he paced about the room.

"Geez, teme, what has gotten into you? You don't usually worry over anything, so why are you now?" Naruto said quietly. It was just like Naruto to see through his friend's façade, although he acted like he didn't understand at times.

"Hn" Sasuke replied stoically, as he came to a halt in front of Naruto.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"….."

"I'll take that as a no. Seriously, if this is about the girl, and she already has a boyfri—"

That was it. Sasuke could not take it any longer. "No, Naruto, don't you get it?! Sakura's been gone from school for 3 days! She's never where she usually is, and she didn't even tell me where she was going!" Sasuke huffed, as realization slowly dawned on him that he had given away his mystery girl's name to Naruto.

Naruto was silent for a while, before he asked softly, "The 'Sakura' you mentioned just now, were you referring to Haruno Sakura?"

"What if I was?"

"Sasuke, I don't know how to tell you this…" Naruto trailed off.

"What is it?" Sasuke snapped impatiently.

"I mean, I can tell with just one look, you totally like her. I shouldn't be telling you this, but since you're like a brother to me, you deserve to know, but what I'm about to tell you, you have to keep calm and have a clear head, all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. What is it anyway?"

"Sasuke, you're probably the only one who doesn't know about this, but, Sasuke, Sakura, she has a rare disease—"

"WHAT?!"

"Wait a sec, teme, I haven't finished yet. This disease, it slowly takes away Sakura's eye sight, and she can eventually turn blind because of it, without the right treatment. She probably can't even see properly now, it's been a while since she's been diagnosed with the disease…"

"And how come I don't know of this?!" Sasuke asked angrily.

"Because Sakura requested we don't tell you so you wouldn't get worried. She's at Konoha Hospital right now…." Naruto stopped talking as he saw Sasuke dash out of the room before he let Naruto finish his sentence. Naruto smiled a sad smile as he watched Sasuke run down the pavement, running as fast as he could to the hospital.

"I told you to keep a clear head, teme…."

~X~

Sasuke ran as fast as he could to get to the hospital. He had to bite back the tears that were stinging his eyes. He would not cry! Uchihas do not cry!

On his run to the hospital, memories of Sakura and him flashed through his mind. How they first met, the story times they had together, their silent trips with their comfortable silences, the times she hugged him, it all came rushing back to him. He ran faster when he saw the Hospital building in the distance.

He banged the doors to the hospital open and quickly asked for the room for a patient named 'Haruno Sakura'. After getting directions he needed, he ran to the room Sakura was located. He came to a halt when he stopped in front of a room with the number '227' on it. He composed himself, and made himself look presentable, before knocking on the door.

There was a soft 'come in' and he let himself enter. He walked slowly in, afraid of what he would see, but there, sitting on the bed calmly staring out of her window, was the pink haired beauty herself.

"Sakura…." Sasuke murmured softly. Even though he had said it in such a small voice, Sakura still caught on to it.

"Sasuke?" She asked, as she turned her gaze towards him. "What are you do—"

Sakura never finished her sentence as Sasuke wrapped his arms tightly around her in a warm embrace.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked softly into her hair. She just wrapped her arms around him comfortingly.

"I didn't want you to worry," was her simple answer.

"How could I not worry?" He asked a little angrier, but he managed to calm down when she gave him a little squeeze.

"Sasuke, I just didn't have the heart to tell you…"

His eyes softened as he gazed at her with the same awe he had looked at her with when he first realized he loved her. He could tell she was scared, but she was brave. He held her a little longer before he separated himself from her to look at her.

He was about to ask her a question, when they both heard voices in the hallway. The voices came closer to the room, and the door knob spun ever so slowly. In the doorway now, currently stood a doctor and a woman resembling Sakura, who Sasuke had presumed was Sakura's mother. The doctor and Mrs. Haruno looked a bit shocked to see a visitor with Sakura, but composed themselves quickly. At a quick glance, Sasuke could tell that Mrs. Haruno had just finished crying, with her red eyes and puffy red nose.

Sakura was the one to break the silence. "Mum, is that you?" Sakura asked with a sweet smile.

"Yes, honey, it's me," Mrs. Haruno said with a forced smile.

Sakura grinned slightly, "Mum! This guy here is Sasuke! Sasuke, meet my mum!"

Mrs. Haruno gave Sasuke a brief smile which Sasuke returned, before the both of them returned their attention to Sakura. The doctor beside Mrs. Haruno stepped closer to Sakura.

"Sakura, it's me here, Dr. Akane. I'm here to tell you that, you have to undergo a surgery to prevent you from going blind, but because you were admitted into the hospital late, there is only a 20 percent chance of success. So I'm here to ask you if you'd undergo the surgery."

Sakura just carried on grinning sweetly and calmly said, "I don't think I should undergo the surgery."

It was then Sasuke decided to intervene. "What do you mean Sakura?" He asked.

"I'm sure the surgery would be costly, and mother is working hard enough already. If mum were to pay for the surgery, mum would be too exhausted. I wouldn't want my mum in that state because of me," Sakura replied kindly. At her statement, the other three occupants of the room looked at her in amazement, for even in a moment like this, she was still thinking of others.

"If it's about the money, that is easily solved," Sasuke said after a moment of shocked silence. Sakura cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Sakura, just take the surgery, and I'll take care of everything else. I did tell you I would protect you," He continued. Dr. Akane and Mrs. Haruno had slipped outside during Sasuke's little speech.

He sat down by Sakura's side on her bed, as he held Sakura's hands in his.

"Sasuke, I couldn't…."

"No Sakura, I want you to have the best. You're precious to me, and I want you to be happy," Because I love you, the unspoken words hung in the air.

"Sasuke…." Sakura said, as her hands caressed Sasuke's face, as Sasuke leaned into her touch. "Thank you."

~X~

Sasuke sat outside the operating room together with Mrs. Haruno. Both were nervous for the outcome of this surgery.

"Sasuke, right?" Mrs. Haruno's voice broke the silence in the room.

"Yes?"

"How can I ever repay you for this?"

"You don't have to,"

"I insist. I'll pay you back someday for this!" Mrs. Haruno said, as she bowed to her waist.

"No, ma'am, I couldn't take away your money like that. I'll think of something else," Sasuke said softly.

Sakura's mother rose up slowly, tears in her eyes, as she looked at the nice and kind boy who stood in front of her. Her daughter's saviour.

~X~

"Ma'am, sir, the surgery is complete, but..." The nurse trailed of slightly.

At the 'but' both Mrs. Haruno and Sasuke, who had fallen asleep while waiting for the results, stood up so quickly in such panic they both nearly fell.

"But, what?" Mrs. Haruno cried in panic.

"It seems as though, Ms. Sakura, was admitted a little too late. She has regained her eyesight, but that will be for at the most a few days, before her eyesight will deteriorate again," The nurse said sadly. At the news, Mrs. Haruno slumped back into her seat and sobbed softly. Sasuke felt his heart sink and started shaking slightly, and then he noted how frail and old Mrs. Haruno looked in that moment.

"Ma'am, sir, Ms. Sakura is in her room currently. Would you like to see her?" the nurse said softly. They both nodded solemnly and followed the nurse to Sakura's room.

Sasuke stood nervously outside the door, as Mrs. Haruno entered first. He would let the mother and daughter have their moment first. He waited silently outside until Mrs. Haruno stepped into the hallway, a sad but relieved smile on her face.

"She wants to see you," Mrs. Haruno said softly and stepped aside to allow Sasuke access to the room. He bowed slightly and entered quietly. Upon entry, he was met upon the sight of Sakura with a breath-taking smile etched on her face.

"Sasuke…." Sasuke just stood there dumb founded, and slowly made his way to Sakura's bed. He sat down and stared lovingly at her as she took his face in her hands again.

"You look much better than I imagined," Sakura said with a grin. Sasuke snapped out of it, and glared slightly at her. After a while, they both broke out laughing, well, in Sasuke's case he was chuckling.

"Sakura, don't joke about that, please…" He pleaded.

"Sasuke?"

He held her hands tightly in his hand and gave them a squeeze, "You know, I was really worried for you."

She smiled, and then frowned slightly. "Sasuke, how can I ever repay you for the surgery? I know it costs a lot, and I mean a lot. Even if it didn't give the results you wanted, I want to repay you."

"Sakura, are you kidding me? I'm an Uchiha, or have you forgotten?" Sasuke joked lightly, although he felt a sharp pain in his heart at the mention of the side effect of the surgery.

"Really, Sasuke, how can I repay you?"

"I'll think of something. But there is one thing…."

"Which is?" Sakura asked eagerly to repay her debt to the Uchiha.

"Let's see, first, you could be my girlfriend…."

"Sasuke!" She cried out and hit his shoulder slightly.

"What? I'm being serious here. So, what do you say?"

"Oh, alright," She replied and rolled her eyes. She grinned in his direction, and he looked sadly at her. She frowned then and took his face in her hands once again.

"Sasuke, I want to spend as much time with you as possible and sight see before I go blind," She said seriously. He placed his hands over her hands, and smiled slightly.

"Anything for you, Sakura," My Love, he replied to her request,

~X~

A few years had gone by, and Sasuke was sitting by his beloved Sakura, watching the sunset, well, Sasuke was, as Sakura let her face be bathed by the heat of the sun. They were both content, and ever since Sakura's surgery, Sasuke had claimed that he was going to be Sakura's personal storyteller. It just happened that Sasuke was about to start another story.

"Once upon a time, there lived an arrogant boy who always rode the train back home. He always thought the world revolved around him and all the things that he did. He never once stopped to consider anyone else's problems, beside his own. Well, that was until he met the most estranged girl in his whole life during his train rides. Being the arrogant person he was, he managed to get it into his head that the girl was staring at him because of his looks. So one day, when he was particularly fed up, he decided to confront this strange girl that would stare unnervingly at him.

"Only to find out, that this girl had a problem of her own. Much larger than the problems that the arrogant boy had ever faced. The girl was losing her eye sight, and fast. Feeling slightly guilty, the arrogant boy decided to learn a little humility and offered the girl to read to her, day by day. At first, he had felt it in himself to feel obliged to do it because of his bad treatment towards the girl, but as time went on, time had begun to change his opinions. Soon, he began looking forward to his train trips with the girl. He started looking for her in between his classes in school but he was always too afraid to approach her there; she was surrounded by many of her loving friends and he felt that if he went up to her, he may intrude in her bubble of happiness. So he stayed away and decided that he would just cherish his train rides with the girl.

"Then, one day she just disappeared in front of his eyes. For 3 consecutive days, he had not seen her and finally confronted someone, who had finally told him the fate of the girl. She was in the hospital. With his heart racing, he took off running towards the said building with one thing on his mind. The safety of this girl; the girl he realized he had fallen in love with. When he found her, she had been given a choice to under-go surgery, but even under those conditions, she was always thinking of others before herself, thinking of her beloved mother. But this boy just would not let her do that and pushed her to go for the surgery. The surgery was a failure, yet it gave the girl a chance to see the world, albeit for only a few days.

"She told the boy one day, she wanted him to be the last thing she saw and the last thing she saw was he. The girl and her mother kept insisting and persisting that they repay him for helping the girl to begin with. But his time with this girl, taught him that money was not everything. There was more to life than just that. So for years, he kept thinking of a way to ask the family of his loved one, what to give him in return. One day, he finally had an idea. He discussed it with the girl's mother and she had given him her approval. The boy, he had just asked for the girl's hand in marriage and when he proposed to her…"

Sasuke took a deep breath, hoping to calm his nerves before carrying on with the story. A quick look at Sakura and he saw the beginnings of tears forming at the corner of her eyes. He wiped a stray tear that fell down her cheek with his thumb lovingly.

"And then what happened? Did the girl accept him?"

"I don't know how the story ends, Sakura. That's up to you," He said softly, slipping a simple silver band with a pretty diamond shining in the fading light of the sun, onto her left ring finger. The significance of this act was not lost to Sakura. Sakura shut her eyes tightly, not letting any tears slip through and taking a deep breath so her voice would not break as she spoke.

"And the girl, she slowly reached out for the boy, her dearly beloved," Sakura reached both her hands to cup Sasuke's face in her hands and his heart was racing a mile a minute. He dared not move. "She leaned her forehead against his, and if she could see, she would look straight into his beautiful onyx orbs." And lean her forehead against his, she did. "And most importantly, her heart filled with so much happiness and love, she whispered the long awaited answer; 'yes'."

With that final word, Sakura swooped down to plant a loving kiss on Sasuke's lips, which he was much too happy to reciprocate. His eyes closed and his hands found themselves wrapped around the rose-haired woman's frame, pulling her as close as he could possibly bring her to him while her fingers found themselves tangled in his mess of dark hair, loving every single minute she spent in his embrace. Sasuke was in heaven, the girl he loved was officially his and no one else's. He'd make true on his promise to protect her. After finally breaking for much needed air, the two were resting their foreheads against each other, their noses touching and lips inches away from each other's, both enjoying the last rays of sunlight for the day. Even without the ability to see, Sakura was sure Sasuke was staring at her with such intensity that made her turn different shades of red.

"…And they both lived happily ever after for the rest of their lives and forever more."

The End

So, tell me what you think in the reviews? It'd mean a lot to me. This story has been in my laptop for so long and I just managed to finish it. But I think I suck at making endings... Hahaha, oh well, what's done is done.

R&R

XX,

Pantherlily86.