#ssm19d22

Gods, she could still feel Sasuke’s mouth on her right now. Soft and warm and so good, working away in that little place between her legs. Holding the plushness of her ass in his strong greedy hand, steadying her position above his head. He’d always loved to have her like this, to have her rock against his mouth as she anchored her fingers into his hair. To work her with his tongue until she was nothing but trembles, until she couldn’t even string the syllables of his name together anymore. Until she was too needy and too wound up, driven closer and closer and closer to the edge—

Whimpering at the unfairness of having woken up at the poorest timing, Sakura shifted her thighs together in the hopes to relieve her blissfully strained ache, hand clenching in the sweaty sheets when she found that it simply wasn’t enough. Damnit, she’d been so close to reaching her end—why couldn’t she have woken up just a few moments later? Just enough to have allowed her to come, to have allowed her surrender to all the coiled, taut, god awful pleasure that she could still feel too clearly running through her veins? Instead, she was now left feeling like this, and…

A soft, quiet sigh exhaled behind her, followed by the sound of a body shifting slowly against the bedsheets. Tense, sweaty, Sakura swallowed, leaning back just enough to catch sight of her husband sleeping soundly on his back; hand stretched out over his abdomen, head tilted her way with peace-smoothened features, his almost-too-long black locks wild and unkempt.

He looked tired still, expectedly. Just earlier that day, Sasuke had sent her a letter telling her that he would only return later some time in the very early hours of the night, and so it was best she did not wait up for him. It hadn’t even been five hours since she’d gone to bed.

For all Sakura knew, Sasuke could have gotten home a mere fifteen minutes ago.

I really should let him sleep… Sakura thought, biting her lip as she turned back onto her side. Her hand moved to clutch the loose black shirt of his that she had donned in an effort to miss him a little bit less, helpless to stop herself from sliding her fingers to touch the skin underneath in the way her dear husband so often did anytime he felt hungry for her.

The sound that spilled from her lips was so fervent that she all but held her breath for a moment, ears fastened for the smooth breathing at her side, straining to hear any potential sign indicating that Sasuke was rousing.

Fortunately, the rhythm never changed, and her husband kept slumbering on.

Sakura exhaled in relief, thankful that she did not disturb his much needed rest. Yet still very much in need of some kind of reprieve to her persistent burning ache, she began slipping down mischievous fingers along the band of her night shorts, teasing the edges of her panties underneath.

Just because Sasuke was sleeping did not mean she couldn’t give herself some degree of satisfaction, she mused, finally diving past all the obstacles to touch herself where she so desperately needed to. She barely held in her gasp as her fingers brushed her needy clit, biting down hard on her index finger.

Pleasure rolled over her so quickly as she began to stroke herself exactly the way she liked it, so much that she too easily lost herself to fantasies: Sasuke making love to her in the shower, as he had just before he’d left on his three-month mission; Sasuke bending her over their bedroom dresser just minutes before she had to leave for a long hospital shift; Sasuke fucking her on the living room carpet, frustrated by an argument they’d been having just moments before it all.

Sasuke sucking and licking her clit as she rode his mouth, groaning her name like he’s never been so turned on in his life.

She hadn’t even realized how noisy she was being until Sasuke’s rough hand grabbed her hip, his lips brushing against her ear as he squeezed so firmly his nails dug into her skin a little. Stuttering in her strokes, Sakura blinked hazily and made a sort of sound of surprise—but it faded into a half-choked moan as his hand dipped in the wet crest between her thighs to join her own hand in her ministrations.

Stars exploded behind her vision as he didn’t waste time and began rubbing her, calloused fingers moving with expertise, pressing down with exactly the kind of pressure he knew drove her wild. Sensitive and greedy, Sakura just about arched away from his touch, whimpering helpless sounds as he quickly clutched at her thigh to keep her in place.

“Sakura,” he husked against her ear, and it was simply too much, too good. Gods did she miss him. This. Three months was always way too long.

“Sasuke-k…”

But his hand slid between her legs again, stroking as he did before, and his name trailed out into a sharp, incoherent moan. One of her hands snatched out to clutch at his wrist. His scruffy jaw brushed against the skin behind her ear, tickling her, sending shivers down her spine as he mouthed a kiss there. He began moving downwards with a path of hotter kisses, moving his fingers with even more urgency just to have her crying out more.

She did exactly that, digging sharp nails into his skin before promptly reaching behind her to grab for his hair. She tugged with enough force to make him hiss, sending goosebumps running all over her flesh.

“Fuck, Sakura…” he whispered, and he sounded so gruff that she whimpered again and tugged harder on his thick smooth locks. He groaned, and she rocked against his hand, distinctly becoming more aware of the hardness that was beginning to prod firmly at the small of her back.

“Sasuke-kun…” she breathed, relishing in the way he gently bit her neck. The stubble that had grown in his time away was almost itchy, but thankfully at this point merely tickled more than anything else.

He needs to shave… she thought dazedly.

Any further thought to the matter came to a sudden halt when Sasuke took his hand away, moving to grab her waist before swiftly rolling her around to face him. His fingers captured her chin, those of which too clearly carried her scent. Sakura blushed terribly in response, but she didn’t have time to dwell over it much more as Sasuke dipped down to kiss her deeply. Brushing a sweaty lock of hair behind her ear, he hooked her thigh over his own. His hardness was so obvious as it pressed into her stomach now, but Sasuke did nothing to remedy it as he simply put his hand back to her wet, needy warmth.

Her fingers twisted instinctively into his shirt, a cry slipping from her mouth. But Sasuke kept touching her, kissing her, relentless in his plan even as his cock unmistakably twitched against her. Sakura trembled, quivered, clinging to him helplessly as she rocked against his touch, so close to the edge. She couldn’t even reply to his murmurs of her name as he kissed her jaw, her ear, seeking some relief of his own as he rocked his hips against hers, too.

It was at that moment that she was there, so close to the edge and needing just a little more that she lost herself to instincts. Mindless, delaying her own release without meaning to, one of her hands jerked into his pajama pants to grab his incredibly hard cock, desperate to touch him. Sasuke’s hand stopped moving, brought to an abrupt halt by the feel of his fingers on his hot, fierce erection.

His mouth broke away from hers, half a moan slipping from his throat as he looked down between them. Thrusting slowly in her grip, his eyes slipped shut as he shot out to grip her thigh tightly, groaning. His sharingan had bled red and come to life because of her touch, Sakura realized as he opened his eyes and met her gaze again. There was a hunger there now, more powerful and dominant than it had ever been all night.

Her husband had finally begun to run out of patience.

Biting her lip, Sakura squeezed him and barely managed two thrusts of her hand before the last of his control snapped. Sasuke growled something wild, promptly pushing her on her back as he quickly rid himself of his pants. He pumped himself and climbed up on top of her with hungry eyes, pulling down her night shorts and plain panties while she instinctively steadied him with her hands. Guiding one leg around his waist, he slid his hand along the span of her thigh and kissed her deeply… before putting his rock-hard erection at her core and sliding inside her in one swift thrust, grunting with evident relief.

If he was tired at all tonight, none of it showed as he pounded deliciously into her, moving her ass in time with his thrusts; kissing her with all the passion that he possessed, whispering groans and loving murmurs of her name against her mouth. Sakura gasped, wrapping both legs impulsively around him and holding on tight. All too quickly, her mind left her, leaving her only able to respond to his kisses, his thrusts, matching him as best she could as she moaned his name and whimpered helplessly against the pleasure.

It wasn’t long before she finally came, before the sweet, sweet release she’d been chasing all night finally found her. Crying out, she dug her nails into his shoulders and seized a hand into his hair, holding him close and shuddering terribly.

Thankfully, Sasuke slowed his pace to allow her to draw it out, always mindful of her sensitiveness after all these years. Murmuring loving words and sloppily grinding out the last of her release, Sakura threaded gentle fingers into his damp locks, kissing him adoringly.

But she was only just beginning to catch her thoughts before her husband started moving again; at first slowly, and then more quickly, before eventually resuming his earlier pace in his frenzied need for his own release. Wrenching her lips away from his, Sakura moaned and gasped and keened encouraging cries, trashing and shaking as she clung to him desperately. She was almost too sensitive to handle his pace, too overwhelmed by the heat and his pure need for release, but it was all too good, too damn hot and passionate—

Her breath was frantic and her mind complete putty by the time he finally stiffened up and tensely ground within her a few minutes later, spilling his hot release into her with a moan of her name. Shaking, spent, she almost thought he would collapse against her… until he pulled back to look at her, dazed with both bliss and the most earnest affection.

“Were you…” he started, but trailed out. She knew what he meant by the look on his face, though.

She traced her finger on his stubbly jaw, tender.

“Close?” she asked, and he nodded slightly, as though hesitant or shy. She smiled warmly. “A little,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck to draw him nearer. “But it’s okay.”

Tired, but satisfied, Sasuke nodded again, pressing his face in the crook of her neck. He sighed slowly, sliding his arm around her waist.

He really must not have slept much, she mused, sifting soft fingers into his dark, dampened hair. Gods, she loved him.

Sighing as well, Sakura held him close and shut her eyes, wholly content. “Sasuke-kun… welcome home, anata,” she murmured. Because she hadn’t been able to when he had come home earlier.

Sasuke smiled against her neck, so sleepily. Nuzzling closer, he pressed a kiss to her skin and held her tighter, still buried inside. Connected.

She mentally chastised herself and settled back against the body that was holding her. Now that she was more awake she recalled how she got herself into her current situation.

The shirt she was wearing belonged to her neighbor. It was the shirt he was wearing earlier that morning when she ran into him at the laundry center.

She remembered being tired afterward and too comfortable lying back with her head pressed to his pillows. She could have gotten up and grabbed something from her basket but didn’t want to move. Sasuke had pulled his shorts back on and grabbed the shirt he had discarded from the side of his bed and pulled it over her head and helped her into it.

I should leave now...right?

Sakura’s lips twisted to one side and she contemplated her next move. She didn’t want to leave but she wasn’t sure if she would be overstaying her welcome if she stuck around and waited for him to wake up.

This is what happens when I do shit I’ve never done before.

Sakura turned her face into the pillow under her head and groaned. It was a little late to think of the consequences especially when she had enjoyed herself so much the night before.

Heat traveled up her face as she recalled the feeling of his hair brushing against her inner thighs and the way he took her little bundle of nerves between his lips. After they had snuck into his room there was a repeat performance in which he made sure she was nice and slick.

Having no experience in hookup culture, Sakura wasn’t sure if she should stay until Sasuke woke up or disappear before he did. Waiting seemed like the best decision, the one that would benefit her the most. But she wondered if she would seem too forward if she kept lying in his bed.

I’m sure he wouldn’t mind another...round.

Sakura buried her face in her hands. She was making herself too at home in her neighbor’s bed. Gingerly, she pried Sasuke’s arm off of her and scooted to the edge of the bed. Luckily the apartment was carpeted and she wasn’t shocked by the potential cold before she could slip her feet into her slippers. Sakura shuffled over to her basket of laundry and slipped on a pair of skivvies and pajama boxer shorts. Feeling a bit chilly in the air conditioned apartment, Sakura snagged the hoodie on Sasuke’s desk chair and slipped into it as well.

Closing the door behind her, Sakura made her way over to the bathroom. The apartment had almost the same set up that hers had except it had an extra bedroom. She splashed water on her face and used the toilet. After she washed her hands she was unable to find a hand towel so she shook them to dry. The bathroom was clean but there was not much in it. The hallway bathroom in her own apartment was just for her because Tenten and Karin had an ensuite in the master bedroom and she had all of her toiletries and a shelf full of her makeup. Her bathroom was an extension of her own room so it felt weird sitting in a bathroom that luckily at least had toilet paper and hand soap to use.

“So you were the one making all that noise,” Sakura whispered to Shiro, who was waiting right outside the bathroom when she exited. “Lemme guess, you’re hungry?”

Shiro yipped and followed at her heels as she led him to the kitchen where she assumed she would find something for him to eat and something to drink for herself. Shiro clung to her, rubbing his head against her arm as she tried to tip kibble into his bowl. A bigger dog came up behind her and whined at the empty red bowl next to Shiro’s and she filled it up as well.

Playing it safe, Sakura ignored the bottles of juice and grabbed the pitcher of filtered water from the fridge. Sasuke obviously had roommates and she didn’t want to mess with anything that could have belonged to a specific person. Pouring herself a glass, she leaned back against the kitchen counter and enjoyed the chill of the water as it slid down her throat.

It was still pretty early in the morning for Karin or Tenten, so Sakura was sure she neither would be looking for her and even if they were they would assume she went out for a jog.

I doubt they would have any energy to be up anyway. Sakura shivered recalling the excitement Karin had about a bag from her favorite sex shop. No doubt the two of them had broken in whatever toy Karin had brought home and spent the whole night enjoying it to the fullest.

Not that Sakura was one to judge considering how she had spent her night. Her cheeks burned as she thought about how Sasuke had gripped the back of her head when she sucked her cheeks in around the head of his cock and teased the slit with the tip of her tongue.

Wonder how he’d feel about that kind of wake up call? Sakura giggled inwardly, her insecurity upon waking up dissipating with the reminder of how he felt below her, bucking his hips as he chased his orgasm. The grip he had on her hips had left a bruise but she kind of liked the tinge of pain from when she poked at it.

Setting her glass down in the sink, Sakura took a deep breath and matched her way across the apartment back to Sasuke’s room. She was only a few feet away when the door to the bedroom next to Sasuke’s opened up.

“Oh, shit!” A gangly boy with messy brown hair exclaimed upon seeing her. “You’re still here.”

Warmth flooded her cheeks again. Of course someone had heard them going at it! Sakura shifted on the balls of her feet, feeling severely under dressed as the boy continued to gawk at her.

“Can you not stare at me like that? It’s creepy.”

“What? Ah, sorry!” The boy looked down at the floor and scratched the back of his head. “I just didn’t expect you to still be here when I woke up.”

The heat left her body at his words. She had been so caught up in her own daydreams that she let herself believe that what she wanted was also what Sasuke did. Clearly from his friend’s reaction to her presence, she had overstayed her welcome.

He probably thought I would see myself out if he kept sleeping.

“I was just on my way out.”

Quickly, Sakura gathered her basket from Sasuke’s room, sparing him a single glance. He was still asleep, lying on his stomach. He hadn’t woken up when she moved or now that his roommate was talking to her outside.

I expected too much, huh?

“I can pass on a message if you—“

“Don’t bother,” Sakura cut off his roommate and left the apartment, rushing up the stairs to her own like she should have earlier that morning.

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Groping around with his right hand, Sasuke blindly felt around for the missing warmth of a body next to him. A moment later, something small and furry had made its way into his outstretched arm and licked the side of his face. Lifting his head, he blinked the sleep out of his eyes and realized that Shiro had cuddled up with him.

Did I have an elaborate wet dream?

Sasuke sat up and pulled a knee to his chest. He was sure that he had brought Sakura home the night before. Scanning the room, he looked for anything out of place.

Where’s my hoodie?

His hand-me-down police academy hoodie that Shisui had given him was gone and from under his desk he could see a scrap of fabric with a familiar polka dot print.

So that’s where I threw those...maybe she went to the bathroom or something…?

Rubbing his eye with the heel of his palm, Sasuke shuffled out of his room. He went to knock on the bathroom door but the light was off inside. He twisted the doorknob and opened it a crack. No one was inside.

Shuffling down the hall, Shiro at his heels, Sasuke didn’t find her in the living room either. He did find Kiba lounging on the couch and eating a bowl of cereal. A bowl of Sasuke’s cereal.

“Dude, what the fuck.”

“I ran out. You’re also out. I’ll buy you another box.”

Sasuke ran a hand through his messy hair and crossed his arms in front of his chest. She wasn’t in the apartment. Did Sakura just...leave? She didn’t seem the type to hit it and quit it but perhaps he was wrong.

“By the way,” Kiba mumbled through a bite of cereal before swallowing, “that chick left already. I asked if she wanted me to tell you anything but she just said not to bother.”

Sasuke walked over to the couch and sank into the couch cushions. He pulled his knees up toward his chest and wrapped his arms around them before falling sideways against Kiba.

“She used me.”

“And she stole your clothes.”

The door to the bedroom facing the living room opened up and Shino shuffled out in his slippers and his long hair falling around is shoulders.

“She would have stayed but some idiot doesn’t know how to talk to girls.”

“Are you really trying to kick me when I’m down?” Sasuke glared at him. This was exactly why he didn’t like hanging out with them, Shino especially.

“Not you. The other idiot.”

Sasuke looked up at Kiba and seethed. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t say anything!” Kiba pulled his bowl away from Sasuke so that he couldn’t knock it away. “I just told her that-that...ohhh.”

“Oh, what?”

“My bad.”

Sasuke launched himself on top of Kiba, punching him wherever he could reach. Shino intervened, hooking his arms under Sasuke’s armpits and yanking him off of Kiba.

“And you didn’t stop him?” Sasuke twisted his body in an attempt to get out of Shino’s hold.

“At first I thought I was dreaming the exchange but then I remembered that you had woken me up with how loud you were being.”

“We weren’t loud.”

“Your headboard knocked right against the wall. I thought someone had broken into the apartment.” Shino shivered and shook his head. “She’s not a screamer but when it’s three in the morning and everything is quiet, you can hear her moaning really clearly. Next time play some music or something.”

“It was so early in the morning too, you ass.” Kiba grabbed one of the throw pillows and swung it at his face. Sasuke grabbed the couch cushion from underneath him and threw it at Kiba, immediately sitting on top of it and sandwiching Kiba between it and the couch.

“Sasuke, get off!”

“Fuck you.”

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There wasn’t much he knew about her. He probably should have thought about that before tonguing her down the way he did. Or before he let her wear his favorite band shirt. It was a concert exclusive and now he wasn’t going to see it ever again.

He had expected to wake up and find her curled up in his bed, soft thighs poking out from under the oversized shirt. He expected to make her some of his favorite tea or steal some of Shino’s coffee if that was more her thing and then taste that as he snuck some kisses and secured a date before his roommates could scare her off with embarrassing stories.

Even though they lived in the same building, he had a hard time running into her again. He figured he could see her on a Monday or Wednesday morning but she never came. He tried his luck again on Tuesday and Thursday nights and still no sign of Sakura.

Sasuke tried on days he normally didn’t go to the gym in the hopes that she had switched up her workout schedule. He wasn’t a morning person, but he forced himself to wake up earlier than usual and take Shiro out for walks sooner in the day than even the dog liked.

These early mornings are going to kill me, Sasuke groaned inwardly. He was walking back up the hill to his apartment, Shiro in his arms because the lazy ass had plopped his body onto the ground and refused to move.

“No more! I can’t do it!”

Sasuke turned his head in the direction of the whining and heavy panting. At the bottom of the hill was the redhead from the free yoga class and her girlfriend with the twin buns hairstyle.

“Come on, Karin.” The brunette jogged in place and tugged on the redhead’s arms trying to urge her forward. “Just up this hill and we’re done.”

“How do you and Sakura do this everyday?” Karin whined. She wrapped her arms around her girlfriend’s waist and pressed her face into her hip to keep from completely doubling over. She looked ready to complain some more when she caught Sasuke’s eye. “You!”

Karin snapped straight up, complaints about no more energy and muscle pains forgotten, and stormed up the hill in his direction. She was just about to grab at him when her girlfriend wrapped her arms around her torso and lifted the tiny redhead off of the ground.

“Lemme go, Tenten!” Karin flailed in her arms, kicking her legs out in Sasuke’s direction.

“Sorry about her,” the brunette━Tenten━apologized, embracing Karin tighter. “She has a short fuse. You know what they say about short people━━”

“The closer to the ground, the closer to hell?”

“Fuck you, pretty boy!” Karin made herself heavy and slipped out of Tenten’s grip. “I’m going to punch you in the throat.”

Sasuke stuck his arm out and palmed Karin’s head, keeping her a safe distance from his body and Shiro as she flailed her arms around.

“I’m guessing this is about Sakura?” Sasuke directed his question at Tenten who was obviously the more levelheaded of the two.

“Yep!” Tenten wrapped her arms around Karin’s torso and lifted her up off of the ground again. “She should have known better than to hook up with a neighbor.”

“What’s wrong with hooking up with a neighbor?” Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the two of them, waiting for the response. He had his own ideas but wanted to hear it from the friends that Sakura was comfortable enough to live with.

“Well,” Tenten raised her hands as if she were weighing imaginary objects, debating with herself before finishing with, “it’s really…awkward.”

“And fucking dangerous,” Karin spat. “You could have been a serial killer.”

“But mostly awkward in this case.” Tenten patted Karin on the head in a silent plea for her to keep quiet. “Rejection and getting dumped sucks and it’s even worse when there’s a chance of running into the person that doesn’t want you everyday.”

“I see.” Sasuke looked back and forth between the kind faced brunette and the feral redhead. It would be easier to tell them the truth, explain what had actually happened. But he didn’t want Sakura to hear the explanation from her friends. “I’ve been looking for her. I need to━”

“Piss off!” Karin snatched her girlfriend’s hand and stormed pass Sasuke. She turned back around to make a rude hand gesture and stormed ahead, Tenten protesting the whole way back to their apartment.

Shiro yipped at him and panted happily, begging for attention.

“You were absolutely no help at all.”

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She hadn’t meant to use it but it was cold and she had snatched the hoodie without thinking about it’s color or the embroidery on it. Sakura didn’t notice until she took it off to stow it away in the coat room of the yoga studio.

She had been tempted to leave it hanging on the doorknob of Sasuke’s apartment door. It would be easy to sneakily leave it there on her way down to her car. But the sweater was worn out in a very comfortable way and she liked how large it was.

She only wore it in the privacy of her apartment. Karin called the clothes she absconded with her “spoils of war” and had mentioned how it was the least that was owed to her.

She had told her that while both she and Tenten were wearing baggy shirts from a couple of her ex boyfriends while cuddling on the couch.

“And exhale,” Izumi, the instructor, called softly from her place in the front of the class.

Sakura had found the studio that had given the free class for her apartment community but had preferred to take her classes with Izumi who hadn’t been an instructor at the demo class. Izumi was a lot more fun to talk to and eventually the two of them started hanging out outside of class.

“I really want an avocado smoothie.” Izumi bounced in place excitedly as she waited for Sakura to gather her things.

The older woman had been extra bubbly lately due to finding out she was pregnant. She was going to have to switch the class she instructed soon and Sakura wanted to take as many classes as possible before the swap.

“Is that a craving or part of that diet?” Sakura teased. Izumi groaned dramatically and pulled out a journal from her canvas bag.

“I don’t know who’s worse,” she complained. “Itachi with his food monitoring or Shisui with his hovering. The baby is lentil sized right now but he’s constantly putting his hands on me whether to stroke my belly or to rub my back.”

“You’re complaining about back massages?”

“Sometimes it gets to be too much. I just wish━”

“Hm?” Sakura questioned as she pulled the hoodie on. Izumi had just stopped mid sentence.

“Where did you,” Izumi swallowed and pointed at the sweater, “get that?”

“Oh, this?” Sakura rolled her eyes as she adjusted the strap of her yoga mat on her shoulder. “It was stupid. I let some guy take me home and I ended up leaving with clothes I borrowed because I was being stupid thinking he wanted me to stay.”

“He took you home?” Izumi continued questioning.

“Yeah…” Sakura shifted on the balls of her feet, uncomfortable with the way Izumi was looking at her. “I thought about returning it, but it felt weird. I didn’t wanna run into him, you know?”

“Such a small world,” Izumi muttered before linking arms with Sakura. “Smoothies are on me today.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Izumi patted her on the arm. “Just leave it all to me.”

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“Sasuke Uchiha!”

Sasuke sat up, pausing the game he had been playing with his brother-in-law. It was Saturday and after his shift at the vet he always visited for dinner. It was part of his weekend routine. What wasn’t part of that routine was for his sister-in-law to come bursting in through the front door of her condo shouting his name.

“What did you do?” Shisui asked, brows pulled down in confusion.

“Nothing,” Sasuke responded before a throw pillow was smacked against the back of his head. “What the hell, Izumi?”

“Why are you taking girls to your apartment, huh?” Izumi smacked him again. “Mama Mikoto didn’t let you move out so you could be acting like a little player!”

“Are you serious?” Shisui guffawed. “Sasuke got laid? Looks like Fugaku’s plan didn’t really work out. Wait, why do you know about it?”

“A girl in one of my classes was wearing that ratty old hoodie you gave him,”Izumi sniffed, tired from hitting Sasuke repeatedly with the pillow. She collapsed on the couch on the other side of Shisui.

“Wait,” Sasuke turned warily to look at Izumi, “You know Sakura?”

“Well at least you know her name,” Izumi snapped at him.

“Alright, hon,” Shisui rubbed her shoulders and tried to calm her down, “please spill all of the tea.”

“She doesn’t even have all of the facts,” Sasuke scoffed. Shaking his head he removed himself from the living room and headed to the kitchen where his older brother was preparing dinner. “Your spouses are irritating.”

“Did you use protection?” Itachi asked without looking up from chopping board.

“Of course I did.”

“That’s all I ask.”

Sasuke leaned against the sink and watched his brother make his knife cuts all even.

“Would you believe me if I said that this was all Kiba’s fault?”

“Don’t blame others, Sasuke.” Itachi dumped the onion he had been chopping into a pan on the stove and the oil cracked and sizzled. He stirred it up and then added minced garlic. “So...do you want to fix whatever happened with Izumi’s friend?”

“I’ve been trying but I haven’t been able to speak to her because I never see her around anymore,” he admitted. Sasuke had been waking up earlier than he ever did and still Sakura evaded him.

It was starting to feel as if Sakura didn’t mind Kiba’s slip up, that she had planned to leave anyway. Her friends did say that it hookups with neighbors were awkward, which could have probably meant that she had planned on never seeing him again.

The girl with the twin buns had mentioned something about rejection. Sasuke clucked his tongue and grabbed one of the julienned carrot slices. He chewed on it and thought over what the girl had said about rejection and getting dumped. And then about what Kiba said about asking if Sakura had a message and how she said not to bother with one.

Ah.

It all finally clicked into place and Sasuke no longer felt like eating. He dumped the rest of the slice into the sink and ruffled his already messy hair.

“I’m not really feeling it tonight, Itachi. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Are you sure?” Itachi turned away from the stove, concern laced in his tone. “You can wait and I’ll pack some stuff up for you and the guys. I know Hana would appreciate it if Kiba got some real food.”

“Nah. I’m sure he went out on a date tonight anyway.” Sasuke grabbed his backpack and went to the front hall to grab his shoes.

“Oh? I didn’t realize Kiba could get a date,” Itachi called from the kitchen.

“Yeah, well,” Sasuke grunted as he struggled with the heel of his Chuck Taylor’s, “one of us had to be able to.”

“You’re leaving already?” Izumi shrieked from her spot in the living room. “I’m not done talking to you!”

“Well, I’m done talking to you,” he retorted back before slamming the door.

“Rude!”

“Hon, he can’t hear you,” Shisui reminded her in a soft voice, attempting to calm her down. They had all been attempting to get pregnant for over a year and he didn’t need her stressing out. “Let’s just let Sasuke be Sasuke.”

“God, that’s what I’m actually worried about.” Izumi rolled her eyes and bowed her head forward. “Can you actually get that spot there? I got a knot.”

“Of course.”

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.

Sakura immediately slammed a pillow over her head when the alarm went off, an instinct from her dorm days. Assholes were always setting of the alarm whenever they broke the microwave rule and decided that making popcorn at three in the morning was a brilliant idea. Usually it was nothing and they had made all of them march outside in whatever state of dress━or undress━they happened to be in.

She waited for whoever it was that was cooking, probably Karin, to deactivate the fire alarm in their apartment. After the alarm kept ringing and ringing, Sakura remembered that Tenten and Karin had gone to their friend Lee’s wedding in Suna.

“Oh, fuck!”

Scrambling out of bed, Sakura slipped on her fuzzy slippers. The door to her apartment had already slammed shut behind her when she realized she had forgotten her keys and the door had been set to automatically lock when it was closed.

She cursed loudly and was scolded by a mother dragging her sleepy kids down the stairs for her language.

“You should hurry out!” The woman’s husband shouted over the wailing of the fire alarm.

Sakura followed the family down the stairs and out into the garden apartment’s parking lot. There were a bunch of families huddling together, conversing with each other to try and figure out if it was an actual fire. She crossed the parking lot to where her car was parked and leaned against it. She hugged herself, feeling self conscious about having only an oversized t-shirt on. The Sasuke T-shirt.

Scanning the crowd of people, she didn’t spot him anywhere outside even though she did see the tall topknot kid and the gangly boy that Sasuke roomed with. Crouching down, Sakura used her car for support so that she wouldn’t fall onto the pavement. She didn’t want Sasuke’s friends to see her out there in nothing but the shirt she had worn for her walk of shame back to her apartment.

.It would have been nice to sit in her own car like what some of the residents were doing but she just had to forget her stupid keys. She was going to have to wait for the fire alarm to be deactivated and for someone from the fire department to tell them all it was safe to return to their homes.

If she had been smart enough to grab her keys━and her phone! She couldn’t believe she forgot her phone!━she could have been taking a small nap in her car. Sakura had barely any sleep the last few days. She had altered her schedule to keep from running into Sasuke and she had yet to get used to it. The alarm ringing had cut into the few hours she had expected to get that night.

I can’t even call maintenance about my door.

Sakura buried her face in her hands, muffling a scream of frustration.

.

.

.

Sasuke was glad the night the fire alarm went off at his apartment building that he had a shift at the animal clinic. He preferred working reception during the overnight shift because unless there was an emergency, the only humans he had to deal with were the vets and boarding staff.

Kiba had texted him about how they all had to wait outside until it was deemed safe to go back inside. Because of the time of the night that the alarm went off none of the office staff or maintenance members were around to let them know what was going on. A firetruck had even been dispatched to their garden apartment which meant the residents of the neighboring apartments were also woken up. Kiba had been lucky enough that the cat hair girl, Tamaki, had called to check on him so he and Shino just went to crash at her place.

Sighing, Sasuke adjusted the strap of his messenger bag on his shoulder and locked his car. The only problem of the permit parking only lots was that he could never find a spot in front of his own building when he came home late. Usually he would head to the gym after a shift but all he wanted was a shower and to get in bed. He was still recovering from all of those early mornings waking up to try and run into Sakura.

Making his way to his apartment, Sasuke did a double take unsure about something small that he saw sitting between a set of parked cars. Two weeks of searching and it wasn’t until he wasn’t looking for her that Sakura finally appeared back in his life.

“Sakura.”

Said girl lifted her head from where it was resting on her knees and blinked slowly up at him.

Jesus Christ, was she sleeping out here?

“Sakura,” he called out to her again, waving his hand to get her to focus more on him.

“Jesus Christ, not you.” Sakura buried her head back in her arms and knees.

If he were being honest, that hurt a bit. If he were being honest.

The raccoons can get her for all I care.

But he didn’t move from where he stood. Sasuke continued to watch her as she tried to make herself as compact as possible.

I’m going to regret this.

.

.

.

The next thing she knew, Sakura was flung into the air and then scooped up and tossed over a shoulder. It all happened so quickly that her mind went blank for a moment. She didn’t know what to say━didn’t know what had just happened.

He was carrying her like a sack of potatoes. A sack of potatoes!

“Sasuke, what the hell?”

“I’m taking you to my apartment. I’m assuming you locked yourself out when you evacuated.”

“Put me down, Sasuke!”

“Nope. You were making a stupid decision.”

“Well, it was my decision to make!” Sakura squirmed against his grip, attempting to free herself even if she ended up falling on her ass.

“Your decision was going to get you mauled by raccoons.”

Sakura stopped squirming and thought for a moment. The management had posted flyers about raccoons foraging in the community bins. And some of those raccoons could get almost as big as she was.

“Can I at least be allowed to save my dignity and walk by myself?”

Gently, Sasuke lowered her to her feet. He adjusted his shirt on her so that she was properly covered. And grabbing her hand so she couldn’t run, he led her up the stairs to his apartment.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

“I thought that the first time,” Sasuke muttered as he pulled her in front of him and unlocked his apartment door. He caged her in his arms as he did so to hinder any escape attempts while he was preoccupied.

With a hand on the small of her back, Sasuke pushed her forward into the apartment.

“Here,” Sasuke unlocked and handed her his phone, “call maintenance and see if they’re still here or if you’re going to have to wait until the office opens at nine.”

Without even waiting for her to do it he headed into his room and retrieved a towel and a shower caddy. That explained why the bathroom had been so sparse when it came to toiletries.

“I’m going to shower.” Sasuke dumped a duvet on the couch. “You can use that. The aircon is really strong.”

The bathroom door had shut and the water started running before Sakura used his phone to call maintenance. The number was on a magnet on his fridge just like in her own apartment.

She called and called again and no one picked up. She really wished that their voicemail box came with an away message for their hours. Giving up on calling for help, Sakura locked Sasuke’s phone up like a good girl who didn’t invade the privacy of others and curled up on the couch with the duvet.

She sighed to herself and snuggled into the blanket. It smelled like the fabric softener that Sasuke used in the laundry room. 

It would be very easy to sneak away now that Sasuke was in the shower. Very easy to forget about his neighborly behavior. But the more she tried to think of sneaking into his room for a pair of sweatpants and to think of somewhere else to hide, all she could think about was Sasuke standing in his scrubs from the animal hospital under the soft glow from the lamp post outside.

So soft. So worried.

Sakura sank deeper into her blanket burrito and groaned. She was worse off than she thought.

.

.

.

Sasuke stood outside his bedroom door and peered through his wet bangs at his guest sitting on the couch. Sakura was bundled up in his duvet, looking even smaller if that was possible. Shaking his head he entered his room and pulled out boxer briefs and a pair of sweatpants to wear.

He shimmied into them quickly and headed into the living room to check on Sakura.

“Were you able to reach maintenance?”

“Nope.” Sakura stretched her arms up and out of the cocoon she had created with his blanket. “As nice as this place is, they had to be flawed somewhere.”

Sasuke sat down next to her, keeping as safe of a distance as possible so he wasn’t crowding her.

“Where are your roommates?” Sakura asked after a moment.

“They went over to Kiba’s new girlfriend’s apartment. That girl in that building on the side closer to the main street named Tamaki?”

“Oh, the one with all of the cats.”

“Exactly. How did you know that?”

“She lost one of them and we found it trying to break into our apartment after it snuck into our building.”

“Ah.”

They were back to silence. They had never truly spoken and it was the reason why the silence now was so awkward. The longest conversation they had was with their bodies.

“Do you,” Sasuke mulled over his words, “want something to drink?”

He wanted to slap his own forehead or pinch the bridge of his nose. It was something on his mind but not the thing he wanted to bring up. He had wanted to ask if she wanted to discuss what had happened between them two weeks prior.

“No. I’m okay.” Sakura snuggled into the blanket again. “You should stop with the nicey-nice act. It’s getting weird. You don’t have to worry about me overstaying my visit. I’ll leave as soon as the leasing office opens.”

“Nicey-nice?” Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her in confusion. “It’s just an offer of a drink. And I don’t act. I do what I want because I want to.”

“Oh, I know that,” Sakura huffed. “You do what you want and don’t care about what other people want.”

“What are you even getting at? You don’t even know me,” Sasuke snapped, frustrated. “You’re the one that does what she wants. You’re the one that left.”

“You wanted me to leave!” Sakura turned to face him, cheeks flushed a vivid red. She opened her mouth but then closed it, cocking her head to the side as she observed the way Sasuke watched her.

His cheeks were dusted a pale pink and his lips were set in a tight line.

“You’re the one that left.”

“You didn’t want me to leave...did you?”

“Did I tell you to leave?” Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath before exhaling it slowly. “I let you stay sleeping in my bed and let you wear my shirt when you had a perfectly good basket of clean clothes not even five feet away.”

“You wouldn’t even wake up. I thought that was ‘cause you didn’t care what I did.”

Sasuke averted his gaze and glared in the direction of the media entertainment set across from them.

“I’m not a morning person,” he admitted. “I take afternoon classes. I work third shift jobs and I was—“

He clamped up but now that he was talking Sakura didn’t want him to stop. The more words tumbled out of his mouth the more he pouted and the cuter he got. Reaching out to him, Sakura took his larger hand in her own small hand and rubbed her thumb over his.

“And you were what?” She asked him softly, leaning into him as she did so. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously but adjusted his body so that he carried her weight comfortably against him.

“Really, really comfortable. I don’t think anything could have woken me up, not even that god awful shrieking of that tiny friend of yours.”

“She’s not that tiny, we’re the same height.” Sasuke looked at her pointedly, an eyebrow raised. “Oh, shut up!”

Sakura giggled and nudged him with her shoulder. She flipped through different emotions quickly but Sasuke was grateful that she no longer seemed upset with him.

“I’m sure I could have woken you up.” Sakura shrugged and gave him a coy smile. “I actually had planned on it, until you know.”

“Oh? And how did you plan on doing that? I was out cold.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I would.” Sasuke shrugged and returned the coy grin. “But I think you’re just bluffing at this point.”

Sakura scoffed. He was trying to goad her into making a move.

“Guess we’ll never kno━”

He was cut off by Sakura knocking him down onto the couch and straddling him. His eyes widened in surprise but he still gripped her hips in both of his hands. She brought the duvet up and covered herself and Sasuke as she covered his mouth with her own. She nipped and sucked, pulling his lower lip into her own mouth before slipping her tongue into his mouth and sighing contently.

She ghosted kisses on his jawline and dragged them down, keeping the blanket over her head so that Sasuke couldn’t see her as she pressed a kiss to the hollow of his throat and down his sternum, trailing them lower and lower.

Sakura could feel him trying to pull the blanket off but she held on tightly as she kissed right above his belly button, feeling the coarse hair that trailed from his navel again her chin. Needing the use of her hands, she let him tug the duvet away as she cupped him through his sweatpants.

“Are you sure you want━?” He sucked in a breath as she squeezed him through the cloth.

Sakura waggled her eyebrows as she slipped her hand into the band of his sweatpants. She gripped him in her hand and pumped her fist. With her other hand she tugged on the waistband of his pants. He lifted his hips to assist her in removing his pants. She only got them around his knees before she dragged her tongue up his hardening shaft. Flattening her tongue on the head, she played with the head of his cock before engulfing it with her mouth.

Sakura scooted up and lied down so that she could wrap her breasts━just large enough━around his shaft. She squeezed them together to hold him in place as she bobbed her head up and down as far as she could go.

She hummed in delight when Sasuke’s fingers sank into her hair.

Yeah, this would have been a good wake up call.

.

.

.

Sasuke groaned at the sensation of being completely wrapped in warmth. Sakura’s mouth was hot and wet and tight when she sucked in her cheeks. Any longer and she was probably going to make him come before he could even get a chance to touch her properly.

That just wasn’t happening━it couldn’t happen.

“Come here,” Sasuke ordered, gently nudging her head off of his cock.

“But I like where I am.” She gave him a sure lick and then another.

“Sakura. Just get up here.”

“No thank you.”

“Sakura just sit on my face.”

.

.

.

Sakura knew she was making a stupid face, mouth hanging open and eyebrows drawn down.

Did he really just…?

Sasuke sat up and pulled the borrowed━stolen━shirt over her head and worked on pulling off her cotton boy shorts. Sakura stood up and shimmied out of them, giving Sasuke a chance to fully remove his pants and boxer briefs. Once they were both free of all of the clothing they had on, Sakura went back to straddling him, still unsure of what he wanted her to do.

“Come on.” He tugged her up, guiding her with his hands to turn around so that her back was to him. “You gotta move further back than that. Come on.”

Legs  trembling, Sakura scooted back to align herself so that her thighs cradled Sasuke’s head. The height difference was a minor setback but with help from her hands it was likely to work out in their favor.

“Um,” Sakura looked over her shoulder, “do I start—“

She let out a squeak when Sasuke gave a sure lick against her core. The glare she tossed his way earned her another stroke of his tongue.

Okay doing this now I guess...

Sakura swirled her tongue along the head of his cock and with her hand she pumped at a slow pace, easing herself into steadier and faster strokes as she bobbed her head lower on his shaft. Flattening her tongue she dragged it up from the base to the head, making sure to dip the tip of her tongue along Sasuke’s slit.

A set of vibrations against her nether lips made her aware of his groaning against her folds.

She hummed back as she bobbed her head up and down again, matching with the tempo of her pumping fist, tightening on the downstroke.

Sasuke gripped her hips and held her against his mouth as he tugged her clit between his lips and sucked, rolling his tongue against the nub.

It was a peculiar sensation, not being able to see him moving but being able to feel everything as he twitched in her mouth and caused pleasant vibrations when he moaned.

Sakura grinded down, hoping he got the hint.

She cried out when he smacked her smartly on her bottom before pressing open mouth kisses to her labia. Sakura was about to turn in place again and shove her ass into his face when Sasuke took her clit back into his mouth and sucked hard at the same time he inserted two fingers, He hadn’t even considered easing her in with a single digit first.

Sakura gasped, clutching on the fabric of the couch cushion. She was going to end up coming all over his face at the pace Sasuke was going considering he was aware of how sensitive she was.

God, she wanted to come.

“Sa-Sasuke, I━” Sakura was cut off when a high pitched cry got caught in the back of her throat when Sasuke finally got her to that release she was itching for. Sasuke continued to lap at her folds, letting her ride out her orgasm.

Sakura could feel Sasuke sitting back up underneath her. He lifted her gingerly so that she didn’t fall off of the couch in the process. She could really appreciate all of the time he spent working out when he manipulated her body so easily so that she didn’t have to move around so much herself when she was feeling boneless after her high.

“Ah, fuck.” Sasuke pushed his bangs out of his face and huffed. “I gotta go get a condom. Gimme a sec.”

“It’s fine, “ Sakura breathed out. She tugged on his arms so that he wouldn’t pull away. “I’m on the pill so if you want to you can just, you know.”

Sasuke sat up on his knees and spread Sakura’s legs open on top of them. He took himself in hand and brushed the tip at her entrance.

“You sure?” He asked, rubbing himself around the opening and upward so that he flicked at her delightful little bundle of nerves.

“Just━please, Sasuke,” Sakura whined.

He didn’t want her begging tonight━morning, as the birds chirping outside under Sakura’s cries were warning him of the rising sun━so he did what she wanted and pushed himself inside of her. Sasuke went slow slow slow, thrusting at a steady pace, trying to build up to his own release slowly so he could have Sakura crying out so sweetly again.

Sasuke adjusted his body so he was cradle between her thighs and having to brace himself on one forearm as the hand on the other arm fondled a breast, kneading it and circling his thumb over her nipple. He covered her mouth with his own, not having had nearly enough of her kisses before she went down on him.

Sasuke build up to a faster pace of thrusts, Sakura’s moans rolling into his mouth and harmonizing with his groans. He knew she was getting close again by the clenching of her inner muscles around him and the way she clung to him, nails biting down on his shoulder blades and thighs squeezing tight around his hips.

“Harder, deeper,” she demanded and Sasuke willingly complied. He slowed his thrusts into a deep roll, snapping his hips hard against hers.

Sasuke snaked his hand down away from her breast and wrapped his hand around her thigh, pulling it tighter to him. The slow build up he wanted was flooding and soon he would be crashing into that blissful release. Sakura clenched tighter around him and he could no longer keep from spilling into her. Sasuke kept her tight up against him as he grinded into her deeply.

Suddenly he felt exhausted, reminding him that his plans for that morning was to take a shower and go to sleep because he had been running on barely four hours of sleep. He buried his head in the crook of Sakura’s neck and sighed.

“We should probably move to my room.”

“We should,” Sakura agreed. “But I’m too fucking tired.”

Sighing once more, Sasuke sat up and grabbed his clothes and Sakura’s. He slipped back into his underwear and sweatpants and helped Sakura back into his shirt. Grabbing the duvet, he wrapped it around Sakura so she looked like a burrito and then lifted her up over his shoulder again.

“Are you serious?”

“Maybe if I make it difficult for your to escape, you’ll actually stay this time.”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Sakura squealed as Sasuke dropped her onto his bed.

“Good.” He crouched down so that he was looking at her eye to eye. “Because as fun as this all is, I think it would be nice to know your last name. And your major. And what bands you like. But for now, sleep. We can talk in the morning.”

“It is morning,” Sakura reminded him. He gave her an unimpressed look that had her biting her lip to hold back the smile threatening to break out. “Fine. I’ll stay. I planned to.”

“Good,” he repeated before climbing into bed with her.

.

.

.

Kiba hung up his keys on the key hook right by the door. He and Shino had gone to the diner a few blocks away before heading back to their apartment and picked up something for Sasuke and themselves to eat.

Knowing the guy, Kiba was sure that Sasuke wouldn’t crawl out of his room until two in the afternoon.

“Something seems different,” Shino commented, slipping out of his street shoes when he entered the apartment.

“You know what,” Kiba frowned and looked around the living room, “you’re right. Something feels off. Almost...tainted.”

“I’m going to put the food away,” Shino announced. “And get the dogs something to eat too. Glad Tamaki was cool with us bringing them over last night.”

“Yeah, she’s the best.” Kiba dropped his body onto the couch. It was Sasuke’s couch technically, but it was so comfortable that he practically lived on it.

Huh? What’s that?

Kiba leaned over and grabbed something light blue that was peeking out from under the couch. Holding it up, it became apparent that what he was holding in his hands was a pair of girl’s underwear.

Kiba dropped it and shot up from the couch.

–

They were studying once again at their favorite library table by the window. It has a view of the school courtyard right outside. There are no tall buildings nor trees in that angle, offering them an unobstructed view of the landscape. Sasuke likes feeling the turning of the day. The colors of the sky are never the same, and the light always falls on Sakura differently each time, casting a distinct glow about her.

He admits to himself that he stares at her at times, but never deliberately. It starts out with him looking up at his notes to ask her a question. Then he sees her completely absorbed in her book, so focused, her eyes moving along with the words, sometimes followed by her index finger. Strands of pink hair softly fall from her shoulders, framing her face, usually she tucks them to her ear, when she doesn't, Sasuke feels the urge to do it for her. Then his gaze moves from her face to her hands.

At the moment, her fingers are tucked between the pages of yet another medical text. Her other hand though, he notes, is just resting on the table, her arm pressing at the edges of a book. Sasuke is suddenly made aware of the emptiness of his own hand. Subconsciously, he wonders what it would be like to take hers, to trace his fingers across her palm, and curling them between her own.

The question in his mind is lost.

"Sasuke-kun?"

He blinks, mentally shaking his head. "Yes?"

She smiles beautifully at him. "Want to call it a day?" She closes her book. "I'm beat." And as if to prove her point, she folds her arms and sinks onto the table, her chin resting on them.

He lowers his head too, nestling his jaw onto the folded wrist tucked at the crook of his neck.

"Lightweight," he teases.

"Mou!" she protests. "I know for a fact that I'm the most hardworking student in all of the school." She grins, confident in her declaration.

Sasuke lets out an amused breath. Before he can stop himself, his free hand moves across the table and two fingers poke her forehead. "Let's go home." He feels his lips curl.

Sakura raises her head from the table and puts a hand on her forehead. She closes her eyes and chuckles to herself.

Seeing this, something aches in Sasuke's chest. He stands up abruptly then, quickly gathering his things. There's something clawing at the back of his mind.

He checks his phone, and steals a glance at her. She's placing her books and notes inside her bag. Her brows are knitted, lips pouted slightly.

He knows that look. He has seen it enough times when there's something she doesn't understand. She would pore over her books and notes, working something out in her head.

She looks up at him and the look vanishes briefly, replaced with a small smile. He returns it and they fall into step together, walking silently out of the library. From the periphery of his vision, she adopts that expression again. She's looking for answers, he knows.

But to what?

–

Sakura opens her eyes, still half-asleep, and once again finds a man with dark hair nestled onto her side.

Without thinking, she tightens her hold on him.

I know you...

She closes her eyes again, wanting to sleep enveloped by his comfort, but she feels him shift. His weight now fully on top of her. He's heavy but she doesn't mind. She starts trailing her hand up and down his back.

A few moments pass and she feels something soft press onto her lips briefly. She opens her eyes wanting to look at him, but his face is nestled onto the right side of her own. The bridge of his nose touching hers. She feels his breath on her lips. His mouth at the corner of her own.

She moves her hand to his neck, running it through his hair, and one black eye peeks at her. Then his face shifts ever so slightly to kiss her fully, moving to capture the bottom of her lips. Instinctively, she opens her mouth to meet his tongue. The weight on top of her lightens slightly. His kiss trails from her mouth to her neck, and his hand slips underneath her shirt, touching her bare flesh, his palm grating on her skin. Her breath hitches.

The alarm blares and her eyes snap open.

She turns red at the memory. No, dream.

Sakura remembers having the same dream a long time ago. She brushed it off then, blaming her teenage hormones. She doesn’t think of it again until now, three years later. This time, she doesn't forget, since the dream often finds its way to her in the following months.

She dreams the same scenario repeatedly: she wakes up to find herself entangled with the same dark-haired man. Sometimes she's the one resting on top him, at other times they're leaning against a tree or sprawled onto the forest floor. But always it is the same dream, only in different variations of deep, wet kisses, of hands roaming, of skin touching skin...

She shakes her head, flustered. She has never had intimate relations with anyone, nor even thought of it. She doesn't even read romance novels. So where does her mind draw the sensation? It feels too real for it to be imagined, and it seems to be fixated on this dark, mysterious man. Despite her dreams being always set in the early morning, with the full force of sunlight illuminating everything, she has never seen his whole face–only one obsidian eye.

She puts a hand to her chest to calm her heart.

–

Haruno Mebuki regards her daughter carefully. She's dressed pretty simply: white fitted shirt, dark jeans, sneakers. Sakura was busy putting things in her backpack.

"Off to the library again?" It is a Saturday morning.

She nods. "I'm studying with Sasuke-kun today."

Mebuki's lips thins. "You've been spending a lot of time with that boy lately." She points out, fully expecting her daughter to get flustered by her implication.

But she only smiles, completely comfortable with her statement, not even pausing in the slightest.

Mebuki pushes, "It's a Saturday today. Don't you both have better things to do?" Her daughter laughs and replies in a playful tone, "Kaa-san aren't you happy I'm working so hard? Most parents would be lucky to have me as a daughter."

Mebuki chuckles at this. "Your father and I are proud of you, you know that."

"I'll make you even prouder when I become the first doctor in the family."

Her husband enters the kitchen, "Your mother and I are both doctors."

"Tou-san, you know I meant medical doctor!"

Kizashi howls in laughter and ruffles their daughter's pink hair. "Here's the book you were looking for." He hands her an introductory medical text, and Mebuki sees an opportunity to continue their previous topic.

"You know they're going to make you study this again in university, right?"

"Can't hurt to get an early start."

Mebuki gives her husband a meaningful look, and he catches it. He's wearing an impish expression now. "Library again, huh? Studying with that Uchiha boy today?"

"Uh-huh," she nods. Mebuki notes again that her daughter doesn't seem to be bothered by their silent accusations.

"Will you be back by dinner?"

"I always am."

Except that one time she had an impromptu dinner with the Uchihas, Mebuki thinks. They seem to be very taken with her, on an unbelievably unnatural level. She doesn't know how to feel about it. But she is quite sure that there must be a reason why she feels so wary of them. Call it mother's instinct. Hell, she wouldn't be able to raise the best daughter in the world if she didn't have that.

"Will they be driving you home, again?" Kizashi was asking in that teasing tone now.

Sakura crosses her arms playfully, raising a brow, "Too lazy to pick-up your own daughter, tou-san?"

Kizashi cackles. "Text me when you're done alright?"

Sakura hugs her father goodbye and walks towards her.

Mebuki hatches a plan. "Next weekend would you like to volunteer?" she asks. "It's in a new area so they need more experienced help in setting things up."

Her daughter perks up. "Where?"

Bingo.

"Still waiting for details. But I'll let them know you're signing up."

"Yes, please!" Sakura kisses her mother on the cheek. "I'll see you both tonight, okay?"

They watch their daughter exit the door. A few moments pass before Kizashi speaks, "This is what... their third library Saturdate?"

Mebuki scoffs. "It's not a date, dear." Her husband pulls up the chair beside her. "They're awfully close though."

"Maybe they're secretly dating." He guffaws at the thought. "But our Sakura isn't like that."

"She hasn't said anything at all?”

"Yesterday when I drove her to school I asked her if there's anyone she likes."

"And?"

"She said she's 'too busy studying and working on her dreams to have time for dates'."

"Liking someone does not mean dating."

"Ha. That's what I told her."

"What did she say?"

"She just laughed and said she can't afford the distraction."

"Hm." Mebuki believes her daughter completely. But there's just something she can't quite put her finger to.

"You think this Uchiha kid likes her?" Kizashi asks.

"Maybe. I've looked into his family, you know. His older brother was on a research team with Dr. Sarutobi before." She takes a sip from her cup and continues, "Nothing out of the ordinary. They're quite successful, the Uchihas."

"See?" Now Kizashi takes a sip from her cup of tea. "I told you you were just overthinking this. Sakura's smart enough to know who to associate with."

"Aren't you the least bit wary that she's spending way too much time with a boy?" She feels her blood rising now. Honestly, her husband can be so dense.

Kizashi just flashes her a smile which irritates her more. "Nothing wrong with too much studying."

"Bah! For all I know." She slams the cup on the table causing the centerpiece tremble.

She looks at her husband who doesn't seem fazed in the slightest. "I've seen the kid," he reveals.

She almost chokes on her tea. "When?! Kizashi, why have you not told me this!"

"I picked Sakura up from the library one night. Sasuke, his mom, and brother were there by the waiting area. They refused to leave Sakura alone, so they waited until I arrived."

"That's thoughtful of them." Maybe they're not so bad after– "Wait so this boy and Sakura also study together on weeknights?!"

He nods. "Seems so."

"Look, this can't be just friendly, you know?" Mebuki adds, "Sakura has never even had a close friend growing up and suddenly this kid she hasn't known very long..." she trails off and sighs.

He pours more tea into her cup. "I admit it does seem a little suspicious." He pushes the cup towards her and places a hand on her shoulder.

After a moment Mebuki continues, "Look. I'm happy that Sakura has a close friend her age that she likes hanging-out with, and she seems much happier recently. I was worried for her before because she just studies all the time or volunteers. And all her friends are always, what, five to ten years older than her?"

"She's quite mature for her age. Always has been." Kizashi laughs again. "It's so like her that the first close friend she has is because she likes studying with him."

"It better be just that."

"I trust our daughter. If there's something to tell, she will." He squeezes her shoulder reassuringly.

"That's what I'm worried about," Mebuki sighs again. "Maybe she doesn't know."

–

Sakura walks to the school library in slow, even steps, taking in the early morning summer air.

Her parents' interest in her relationship with Sasuke unsettles her a bit. Recently, she noticed, they have been trying to pry. It's like they wanted her to admit to something.

Truth be told, she's not quite sure what to make of her friendship with Sasuke. For the past couple of months, they settled into this comfortable routine of studying together. Not that it was deliberate. They just fell into it.

They always see each other in the school library, and ever since he showed her around school that first day they met, she gained a sense of deep respect for him. Normally, she wouldn't even bother saying hi to acquaintances. She's highly introverted that way. But for Sasuke, she thought it was only proper that she would give him some sort of acknowledgement every single time she saw him, and she always saw him in the library.

The study area wasn't very large, so their eyes always found each other. At first it was just a curt exchange of nods, a small wave of hands, then it grew into smiles. Well, a smile on her part. Sasuke would only nod still, but she swears she sees a glint of affection in his eyes.

Then one day, during exams week, she went to the library only to discover all the tables were taken. But Sasuke was there, and there was a free seat in front of him. Sakura didn't want to go to a café to study. She loved the library. The old book smell. The silence. The soft rumbling of airconditioning. And of course, unlimited access to books and research materials in every discipline. She decided then to walk over to him to ask if she can share his table. He made a motion with his hand telling her to go ahead.

She sat down in front of him, sprawling her notes and references on the table. She was a messy learner and liked having all her papers in front of her. But since she wasn't alone this time, she made an effort to be neater, to not take up any of his surface space, careful not to bother him with her presence. An hour later, another table freed up. Sakura tapped her pen to his book to get his attention. He looked up at her. She then jerked her head to the free space to her right, at the end of the room, by the window. The largest square table was there, it was her favorite spot to study at.

She started gathering her things, whispering to not disturb the peace. "I'll transfer there. Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

To her surprise, he also started arranging his notes. She looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

He whispered back, "Too cold here." He motioned towards the airconditioning unit behind him. "I'll come with you."

She smiled at the memory. That was the first time that not only were they in the same room, but they were also using the same table, seated diagonally across each other.

The week after that, she was surprised to find Sasuke in the library on a weekend. No other student were there. Just one of the librarians. She pulled up the chair beside him.

"Sakura?" he had sounded surprised.

She responded, "Can't concentrate at home too?"

She saw a ghost of a smile on his face. "Yeah..."

"Me too." She laughed a bit which earned them a shhh! from the librarian. Not that they were disturbing anyone. They had the whole place just to themselves.

She didn't think it would be a regular thing–them studying together. But the next time they were both at the library, Sasuke went to her table, said her name in greeting, sat down, and started reviewing. It happened two more times. Then at the fifth time she saw him, he was in the library before her. She didn't think of it, and just went to his table.

Soon after, she discovered that she found his presence so calming that it helped her focus. She remembered better, too. Studying then became an unspoken routine between them. Sakura always headed to the library after class. Sasuke would arrive later after his student council duties and make his way towards her. At other times, when Sakura was in a teacher's consultation, Sasuke would arrive first, and Sakura would find him eventually, then they would study in silence. At seven, either him or her would notice the time and they would walk together to the waiting shed and part ways until the next day.

They've been doing this for about three months. That's half the time she has known him–her now official study partner. Her heart warms at the thought.

After fifteen minutes of walking, Sakura arrives at the courtyard of their school and makes her way to the library. She sees Sasuke already seated at their favorite table–the one with the view. He spots her through the window so she waves and from afar, Sakura thinks she just saw Sasuke smile.

Except for that one dinner with his family, Sakura muses, they never saw each other outside of the classroom and the library. But that's where they already spend most of their time, which meant she saw a lot of him.

She pushes the entrance door to the library and Sasuke watches her as she approaches. She returns his gaze with a smile.

She considers him her closest friend which was strange since they haven't really talked much about personal things or deep-seated feelings. That's what close friends do, right?

"Sakura." He greets her in a low, quiet voice.  

She realizes that she hopes that would change.

–

Note: Okay so this is going a lot slower than I thought it would and I doubt I can wrap everything up by next chapter. We'll see!

To all those who liked, reblogged, commented. Thank you!

Special shout-out to @winnie09730499 and @birkastan2018 whose comments made me ridiculously happy. I hope this story shapes up to be something you will really enjoy! :)

Her senses are slowly coming back to her, as the images of the previous night start to pop in her head, and it’s as if she can feel his hand all over her body once more. The pressure of his fingertips on her hips, his hot breath against the shell of her ear, the muscles of his back hardening under her hands with every, pleasant thrust. It’s even embarrassing to remember everything so vividly, and she feels her cheeks warming up a bit. Not a single one of her puerile fantasies could have prepared her for the reality of what is like to be married and in love to Uchiha Sasuke, as she is constantly learning new meanings for that every day.

It’s a wild adventure, for sure. Walking around the world, meeting new places, helping people, sleeping under the stars… It’s all very charming and exotic, and for newlyweds, well, it’s more than enough for them to be happy.

As sleep starts to fade from her body, her hands invade the other side of the bed, as in an automatic reflex to reach for her husband. Not surprisingly, though, her fingers grasp at nothing but the soft material of the sheets beneath her, and she already knows it’s not as early as she had originally thought.

Of course, he’s already up, she thinks, a sly smile decorating her lips. Not even after a whole day of tiring work can that man lie in for a little longer. He has always been an early riser— even during their younger days—, and even if she hated to wake up alone, at first, Sakura has now learned to enjoy the perks of not being the first to welcome a new day. He’s the one in charge of opening the windows, receiving the eventual letters from Konoha, and of course, preparing them something nice to eat…That’s certainly the best part of the day for her, and it’s all thanks to her husband’s hidden, domestic skills.

Oh, yes. If anything, Sasuke makes an excellent coffee in the morning. It’s strong, bitter and has a touch of cinnamon that feels like a warm and soft good-morning-kiss all over her body. Over the years, as a medic with a hectic schedule, Sakura has grown to depend on her daily doses of caffeine, to the point where she barely minds the taste anymore. Back in Konoha, she used to prepare enough just for herself every morning, leaving behind a single, dirty mug she would have to clean later. She would also get herself a couple of cups at the hospital cafeteria during her breaks, but now that they’re married and traveling together, well, he’s the one who brews it for both of them. 

Now they prepare enough for 2 people and leave behind two, dirty cups instead of one. It wasn’t so hard to get used to that, and the fact that his coffee is simply delicious only adds up to the countless reasons why she loves him.

It doesn’t take much before that delightful aroma invades her nostrils, and she can already feel her caffeine addiction demanding for her daily dose. Lazily, then, she finally opens her eyes, their green color contrasting with the pink of her messy hair and the wooden furniture of the cottage they’ve been sleeping in since their arrival at the Hidden Grass. The music from the forest outside brings peace to her heart, and the sun light that enters through the windows kisses the mahogany floor, slowly warming up the cold, autumn day.

It’s gonna be a beautiful day, she knows.

And with one, last smile, the pinkette finally decides to leave the comfort of that bed. 

She sits up, then, slowly moving her neck and feeling her short hair brushing the soft skin of her face. Her lips part to release a trapped yawn, and as she stretches her muscles, she can feel her bare body waking up all its senses. Sakura is fully up now, her feet walking around the room as she’s looking for some clothes to cover herself.

Both their ninja attires are still laying forgotten on the floor, and luckily, the first thing she finds is her underwear. Quickly, she finds a black sports bra near the bed’s foot, and after she gives up on trying to find her shirt— because who knows where the hell he tossed it last night—, Sakura opens her backpack to grab one of his old, black T-shirts he used to wear when they were genin. She puts it on, the hem falling just above her mid-thigh, and after running her fingers through her hair, her eyes catch her own reflection at the mirror that rests near the door. 

She really looks like a child dressed like that, she thinks, a smile on her lips. Whenever she wears his old clothes, Sakura can’t help but be enveloped by an innocent and youthful feeling. They’ve come a long way since he last wore that shirt, and it’s inevitable for the memories of their adventures to pop up in her head. Good things, bad things, just things…A lot has happened in the past couple of years, and if anything, the seal that decorates her large forehead is enough to show her how much she’s grown.

She is a powerful ninja now. She’s confident about herself, she’s seen many new places, and she’s married the love of her life. 

Sakura’s certainly blossomed into a beautiful woman. A small woman who wears her husband's old and comfortable clothes, sure, but a woman who’s living her dreams, nonetheless.

Her feet are now dragging her out of the room and towards the common area. For it’s a small cabin, it doesn’t take long before her eyes find him, and she feels her cheeks warming up in pure bliss. As expected, Sasuke is brewing some coffee for them, focused as he handles the boiling water. His mismatched eyes are serene and free from any hatred— like they have been for a while now—, and she can’t help but enjoy that view.

Uchiha Sasuke, one of the most powerful ninjas in the entire world, is using all of his skills just to make some coffee. He’s wearing his dark sweatpants and plain, white t-shirt; and his jet-black hair is softly falling forward to brush his cheeks. His sharp, angular chin makes his face look more mature, and she can’t help but remember how it feels to trace it with the tips of her fingers. He’s strong, handsome, and during their most intimate moments, he shows her he can be very, very—

“How long are you planning on just standing there and staring at me, Sakura?"

“Eh!?” His voice brings her back to reality, and she feels a bit embarrassed to have been caught like that, almost eating him alive with her eyes. Years ago, she would’ve probably fainted due to extreme embarrassment, but now, after spending so many moments together, she has learned how to let loose more around him and turn her silly embarrassment into something more.

"It’s starting to get creepy.”

“Creepy!? Shannarou…” She says, pretending to be offended as she walks towards him. “Can’t I just look at you for no reason? That’s what married people do, right? Unless you’re feeling intimidated, of course. If that’s the case, I can certainly stop.”

“Hn, as if.” He starts, a smirk lifting the corner of his lips. He’s adding a touch of cinnamon to the coffee, and the smells gets even better as it spreads around the room. “Stare as much as you want, then."

“I certainly will.” 

“Tch.” He scoffs, only now sparing her a glance. “Of all the shirts you could have packed, you steal one of mine.”

“It’s not my fault if your old shirts are very comfortable and warm.” She starts, her face ridden of any expression. “Besides, if not for me, you would’ve thrown them away. I doubt it will fit you anymore.”

“Probably not...But just imagine the amount of sweat and dirt I was never able to wash from this.”

“Ugh, you’re disgusting, Sasuke-kun. Next time, then, I’ll ask Naruto for one of his old clothes.” She smiles teasingly when she says that, and he shakes his head in disbelief at her silly answer. Even if they both know this is just a joke, Sakura can’t help but to provoke her husband’s silly and jealous side.

Silently, then, the pinkette notices that he’s almost finished, and immediately, she picks up two mugs from the counter and places them next to him. Their eyes meet briefly as he looks left, nodding as to acknowledge and thank her for her small help, and carefully, he pours some of the hot beverage for them. They set it aside so it can cool off a bit, and she can’t help but feel a bit cheerful as she sees the steam dancing over the rim of the ceramic mug. 

“You know…” Sakura starts again, plopping herself over the counter so their eyes are almost on the same level. Her legs dangle from the edge, and she notices when he takes a step closer when he adjusts his body to face her. “I just love the smell of your coffee. It’s always so strong.”

“Well, it has to be, or else it won’t wake you up.”

She smiles at his comment, carefully placing her hand on the warm mug to see if it’s already safe to drink. "You have a very good point there, Sasuke-kun.”

“Won't you even try to deny it this time?” He lifts an eyebrow at her, as he holds his own mug in his hand and starts to blow on it. 

“Nope.” She giggles, finally picking up her own coffee and taking a sip. The liquid travels down her throat, warming up her insides and sending her jolts of happiness as it touches her taste buds. Chills run down her spine in pure pleasure, and she has to hold back the urge to let out a not-so-innocent moan. “Since I’m not really working under the hospital schedule right now, I don’t have to wake up that early anymore.”

“Tch, you say that as if you even sleep back home.” He smirks, taking a sip of his own coffee and she doesn’t miss the sensation of his left leg softly brushing hers.

“You woke up quite the funny guy today, huh, Sasuke-kun. Must have been a good night, right?” She teases, a knowing smirk hidden behind the mug that covers part of her face.

“Aa. You can say so…”

“Right…” She nods, taking another sip of her coffee. It always makes her happy to see him in a good mood, and personally, she feels proud of herself for that. "Well, as I was saying before you interrupted me, I don't have to wake up that early anymore, so I can wait for my dear husband to make me some of his delicious coffee.”

“I think I’m spoiling you too much.”

“Yeah…” She closes her eyes for a moment just before opening her left one to look at him. "Especially when you ask me to sleep in the woods with all those mosquitos and without hot water for weeks.”

“Hn.” He smirks. "Some people call it romantic.”

“Well, some people are insane.”

A soft smile is now gracing her lips as she takes yet another sip from her mug. In between all that peaceful teasing, a comfortable silence envelops them as they’re left to enjoy the moment. They’re all alone in a cottage in the middle of the woods, they’re young and they’re both just worried about how to properly appreciate a nice cup of coffee. Living in the woods has its perks, as they’ve learned, and even if Ino would probably call them old for doing that, well, Sakura couldn’t care less.

They have all the time in the world. They can drink their coffee alone, talk about nothing, read a book next to each other, take a walk in the middle of the night, make love under the moonlight…The options just seem endless when she stops to think about them. 

They’re living a life away from everything and everyone that connects them to their chaotic routines back in Konoha; and even if she misses her family and friends a lot, Sakura is still not ready to go home. She’s still not ready to leave their own, private infinity.

After a while, the coffee in her mug runs out and she lets out a deep and excited sigh. She places the mug on the counter next to her right leg, and her pretty, green eyes are once more set on him. There’s a silly smile on her lips, and she doesn’t know if it’s because of the warm coffee or because of the happiness taking over her insides, but she can feel her cheeks getting warmer. “You know, Sasuke-kun.” She starts, licking her lower lip. “I’m still waiting for you to wish me a good morning.”

“Wasn’t the coffee enough already?” He says, placing his mug on the counter away from her.

“Almost.” She giggles, taking his hand in hers and softly pulling him a bit closer.

“Hn, you really are becoming a spoiled and annoying woman, Sakura.”

“Well…You’re the one to blame for that.”

“I probably am.”

“So…” She says, almost humming, carefully playing with his fingers.

“Tch.” 

He scoffs, eventually giving in as his eyes meet her emerald ones. Sakura realizes he’s about to do what she wanted him to, and charmingly, she closes her eyes and starts to lean in. Her lips are slowly perked as she waits for his to meet her half-way, and it’s as if she can already feel their warmth pressed against her delicate skin.

She’s waiting for him to kiss her good-morning. She’s waiting for her husband to give in to one of the most common gestures between lovers in the world, and she truly believes that, this time, she’s gonna make it.

Sasuke is going to kiss her good-morning. He has to.

But when she doesn’t feel his lips against hers after at least 30 seconds, the pinkette knows there’s something off.

“Oi!” She starts, eyes still closed as she holds a certain hope. “Aren't you going to— Ouch!”

And so, in the middle of her ranting, she suddenly feels the pressure of his fingers against the center of her forehead. He did it with enough strength to slightly push her backwards, and she knows there’s a red mark decorating her skin on the spot he flickered his finger.

Of course, getting a kiss from her husband wouldn’t be so easy. He is Uchiha Sasuke, after all.

“You jerk!” She says, watching as he smirks at her, his hand now resting on his hip. “Would it have killed it you to be romantic for once?”

“And spoil you even more? Not gonna happen.”

“Tch.” She scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest. There’s a pout taking over her lips, and if anything, Sakura does look like a spoiled, little girl right now. “It was only a kiss…”

“Hn. Stop being a child, will you?” He turns around, then, as he starts walking towards the hallway. "I’m taking a shower now. You can go as soon as you’re done with the dishes.”

“You're the worst, Uchiha Sasuke.” She says, knowing very well she doesn’t mean that at all. Her insides start to feel warm all over again for she clearly doesn't miss the invitation behind his words.

Her husband really is something, she thinks, trapping her lower lip between her teeth. Emerald eyes are still on him as he’s walking away, and eventually, they can’t help but travel down until they stop at his firm and round—

“And quit staring at me.” His words make her smirk, and somehow, they also make her happy to know her husband knows her that well. He can be an ass sometimes and his intentional lack of timing for a couple of things might drive her a little mad, but, well…His coffee is just too good to lose.

“Tch. Leave me alone, will you?” She smiles brightly, her eyes beaming in pure happiness.

“Good Morning to you, too, Sakura.”

fin.

--------

Waking up in a home with any loved ones, let alone waking up next to someone just like this, wasn't something Sasuke had been accustomed to ever since the slaughter of his entire clan. Yet, Sakura's presence beside him was an impactful reminder that he's not alone anymore unlike pretty much majority of his life. Just the fact that his former teammate and childhood lover is present in his life even after everything he had gone through brought a drastic change to his lifestyle as the "lone Uchiha survivor", for finally, there's someone that he could go home to, someone eagerly supporting him on his decisions, someone lovingly correcting him when he makes the wrong ones, someone comforting him in his physical and emotional pains, and someone with whom he could rebuild the Uchiha clan out of love with.

Staring at her, it dawned on him how all his loneliness for how many years due to the absence of a family had gone down the drain; and that truly, in her presence, there is fullness of joy that he has never experienced before.

Sasuke took the liberty of gently stroking his wife's pink locks, careful not to wake her up knowing that she had a tiresome shift in the hospital the night before. He rolled his eyes at the memory of hearing young girls bully Sakura about how weird her hair color was back when they were kids. Sure, having hair that rivals the color and beauty of Cherry Blossoms was peculiar, but to him, it was peculiar in a good way, just like how everything was suddenly extraordinary ever since Sakura came into his solitary life when they were genins in Team 7.

Furthermore, when he finally returned her feelings for him and eventually asked her to marry him, he learned to appreciate how all things were made new in this new life he's surrendered to. It's so much unlike what was usual in his life, yet it was as special as his wife's pink hair. For once, there was affirmation that he's always desired from his father, tenderness comparable with that of his mother, and relentless love he had never experienced since the death of his brother – all, and so much more, encompassed in just a single person. Even though he was robbed of the bliss of having a family for so many years, Sakura was the proof that one could start anew, and that a once pitch-black life could still be filled with all the colors of the spectrum.

Stirring in her sleep, Sakura tightened her embrace to her husband. Sasuke couldn't help but be amused. Even in his wife's sleep, the warmth of her touch was inevitable. Hers were the only close physical contacts he tolerated and eventually got used to since they were still genins. With his common reticence to people when they try to be close to him, it was kind of an unspoken rule that if you aren't Sakura, you have to back off.

Sasuke subsequently pulled his wife closer while a mental image of that time he had an unprecedented rampage due to his curse seal appeared in his mind. It was Sakura's sudden embrace to his uncontrollably enraged self that made his almost too frozen heart due to hatred and desire for revenge melt in place, slowly causing the curse mark to diminish in the process. With that bittersweet memory, he realized how her every touch affects him like a consuming fire that devours every negative thing inside him. And it was through it that he knew, although it was too impossible to believe back then, that he still had a tinge of hope for salvation because someone was willing to take his pain away from him even though she could be hurt in the process.

He had mixed emotions when he felt how his and Sakura's breathing seemed in sync while they were lying beside each other, one fully awake, and one still savoring her time in the dreamland. Feeling the rise and fall of his wife's chest reminded him of the fact that if Itachi didn't spare him when he had no other choice but to cause the bloodbath of their clan, he wouldn't even be breathing right now. There were times that he wished Itachi just finished him off as well so he didn't have to go through a depressing childhood that led to his agonizing journey for revenge – a journey that only filled him with bitterness, regrets, guilt, and shame in the end. It was kind of tempting for Sasuke to settle on the thought that he was better off dead just like the rest of his clan; still, somewhere at the back of his mind, he believed that there's a purpose why he was spared to continue living. It was a struggle to figure out what it was at first, but he eventually learned that this reason for living includes seeing his own family breathing and making sure that they are living a life away from any kind of danger.

His gaze then focused intently on Sakura as he continued to observe the subtle movement of her respiration. For a moment, the displeasing memory of him almost bringing her to the point of her last breathe through a technique their sensei taught him just so he could protect his comrades resurfaced in his mind. He sighed at the thought. It was one of those many things he had regretted in the past. And now, seeing how the fact that he's still alive despite the many opportunities he could've been dead has led him to Sakura, who eventually became his wife and the new matriarch of the Uchiha clan, caused him to fully understand how one's life should not be taken for granted. He knew that despite any circumstance in life, there's a purpose why we're still breathing and we should live for that.

"You've been staring."

Sasuke was too caught up in his trail of thoughts that the woman he was pondering about was already looking up at him without him realizing. "Hn. Good morning." He smirked, allowing his mismatched eyes to meet with her viridian ones.

"Good morning, Anata." Sakura tilted her head towards him and met his gaze again after a short yawn escaped her lips, voice still a bit hoarse from her deep sleep. "What are you thinking about?"

He fixed his soft gaze on her eyes before answering, "You."

Even until now, Sasuke couldn't fathom what exactly Sakura saw in him that made her fall in love with him ever since they were young. Those beautiful emerald eyes were the same ones that adored his handsome face, yet also saw through his awful flaws. He used to think that just like every other girl who used to throw themselves at him, Sakura would just see and appreciate his good side, but it amazes him how despite the fact that his dark side was pretty much exposed to her, she was there for him to care for him nevertheless. Before he left the Leaf for the first time, he found it hard to believe that what she had for him was more than just a mere crush. It was only after the war that he got to realize the truth in this – she genuinely loves him, even at the cost of her own life.

How could such eyes see him with love at his most unlovable state? How could such eyes see him with compassion when all that he carried and passed on throughout his younger years was hatred? How could such eyes see him with hope to still arrive to the best version of himself even after seeing his worst? Maybe he'll never know.

"Me? Why?" Sakura snuggled closer to him and smiled.

It's been years since she said "yes" and "I do" to him but her smile still has the tendency to make Sasuke's heart run a hundred miles. He was quite self-conscious with how she could possibly hear his heartbeat now considering how her head was on his chest. Nonetheless, he remembered how she smiled at him through the tears after that time he apologized for everything he had done to her while she was healing him after the war. It was through that sincere smile that he felt the forgiveness he knew he didn't deserve. It still blows his mind how someone he had hurt so much could smile at him like that, and how someone he had pushed away again and again could give him a welcoming and accepting smile every time he sees her. Forgiveness was something he didn't expect to receive after all the wrong deeds he has committed, yet, Sakura was the symbol of that undeserved favor he gained. Because of her, he knew he is loved, accepted, and forgiven. And he'll always be grateful for her.

He shook his head at all the assorted thoughts lingering in his mind on such an early morning. There's no doubt that the past couple of minutes had made him appreciate Sakura all the more. Realizing how there's so many inexplicable things about his wife that he couldn't completely describe into words, he beamed back at her and cupped her cheek.

"I'm just in awe of you, that's all." And then he inclined his head towards her for a kiss, only to be blocked by Sakura's palm on his face.

She had a horrified look on her face before she said, "I haven't brushed my teeth yet!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance. All the wonderful things aforementioned could describe his wife, but sometimes, she's still annoying. It's not like they haven't kissed the moment they woke up before. "Like I care."

"Okay! I'm just teasing you." Sakura giggled at her husband and soon allowed him to capture her lips.

While their lips were moving in sync, Sasuke pondered, If I didn't accept her love for me, and I didn't acknowledge my feelings for her, I guess I'd still be alone, empty, and stuck in the past while living without a purpose. Would that, however, be the kind of future I'd want myself to have? He chuckled inwardly. Definitely not.

He pulled away and stared at his wife once more as his two fingers planted a soft poke on her forehead. As much as he wanted to be home more than usual, he knew he could only treasure times like this whenever he's home and keep them etched in his memory while he's not around. Surely, he wouldn't trade waking up on mornings beside Sakura for anything in the world.

————

© October 2018 AriannJS

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