#ssm20d1

Somehow, Obito was able to convince Mikoto Uchiha that it was best for Sasuke to remain at his house for the quarantine. Somehow it had worked and of course Sasuke had no choice but to listen to his mother. And somehow the two of them ended up stuck living together alone because Sasori had packed his and Obito’s bags and took off.

Whoever the fuck the man that went by the moniker “Third” was, Sakura had to assume he was loaded. The morning of the second day of quarantine all she had was a note left by her cousin about where he and his husband went off to and three days later there was a post to his Instagram about how he and Obito were living it up by the pool at their boyfriend’s mansion.

It was no wonder Sasori had ditched her. She wasn’t that surprised he had. Sakura felt more betrayed by Obito.

Warm breath fanned against her temple and the arm slung around her waist pulled her in closer. Sakura adjusted herself so Sasuke’s cock nestled between her thighs instead of digging into her behind and Sasuke released a content sigh, curling around her more.

God.

This wasn’t like her. She didn’t have casual sex. Sakura had been suffering from a three year dry spell ever since she had ended her last relationship. Sakura wasn’t the kind to go out and find someone just for the sake of hooking up. She could almost hear Ino and Karin chanting in her head, “One of us. One of us. One of us.”

“Anything we need to do today?” Sasuke mumbled into her hair. Sakura tensed up. She hadn’t noticed that he had been awake.

“We already went shopping yesterday for groceries and the essentials.”

She and Sasuke tried to stock up on everything they needed the day before. They had almost ended up going home with nothing when a middle aged man without a mask on got too close and Sasuke opened up a disinfectant spray they were going to buy and sprayed him in the face.

They had also stopped at the liquor store because nothing said essential like alcohol.

Which is exactly how they ended up in their current predicament.

Sakura wasn’t sure how to take Sasuke’s behavior. He didn’t seem to mind that they had woken up naked and spooning and was even nuzzling her hair. She wasn’t opposed to the bit of affection but she would have preferred it happened when she wasn’t feeling nauseous and had a headache.

“I think I’m gonna be sick,” Sakura mumbled, disentangling herself from Sasuke’s hold and rushing to the hallway bathroom.

She was dry heaving and spitting up bile for all of a few seconds when she felt Sasuke’s presence next to her on the floor. He stroked her hair, pulling it back away from her face until her heaving stopped.

“Thanks for putting pants back on.”

“Yeah. Here.” Sasuke handed her a black shirt that must have been the one he had been wearing the night before. Sakura pulled it over her head and tugged it so it covered her until midway down her thighs.

Sakura was grateful that Sasuke had the mind not to turn the light on in the bathroom; the open bathroom door casted a strip of light from the hallway.

“So…” She opened the conversation, not entirely sure what it was that she was trying to say. She blanked out, not having an actual thought beyond her ass being cold from the tile floor and so she shifted so she was sitting on the fluffy bathroom mat.

“Do we, uh, need to get anything?”

Sakura scrunched up her nose in confusion. She was too hungover for conversation. Sasuke looked at her pointedly, raising a brow and it finally dawned on Sakura what he was getting at.

“Oh, no. No. I’m on the pill.” Sakura averted her gaze, chewing on her lower lip in discomfort. “And I’m clean.”

“Same.”

The both of them sat on the bathroom floor in silence for an awkward amount of time before Sasuke cleared his throat and said he needed to make a call.

Well, this is shit, Sakura groaned inwardly, pulling her knees to her chest and running her hands down her face.

.

.

Sakura kept herself busy with preparing orders for her online store. She was fortunate enough to be self-employed but there was going to be a delay with her orders because the mailman kept missing her scheduled pickups.

“Do you think Sasori would kill me for this?” Sasuke asked her, putting down his drill.

Sakura looked up from her sewing machine and up at the racks Sasuke had made for her bolts of fabric. He wasn’t able to go to any of his jobs and ended up using his free time on small projects in the house. Sasuke had helped her organize everything by creating a proper work studio in the spare room that was originally Obito’s exercise room. Sasuke had moved all of the equipment into the garage.

“Oh, definitely.” Sakura went back to stitching the pair of tulle panties with an embroidered butterfly motif. “But you put a nifty set of cubbies in his mud room.”

Sasuke moved around her to measure for a set of shelves she had wanted.

“You’re making panties?” He raised a brow at Sakura’s current project.

“Yeah they’re a parallel set to that dress.” She pointed at a mannequin with a tulle sundress with the same butterfly motif. “My shop’s name is Naughty & Nice. That’s the nice and this,” she lifted the finished pair of panties, “is the naughty.”

“Those are too cute to be naughty,” Sasuke scoffed.

“Well I also have those.” Sakura pointed to a different mannequin dressed in a custom leather harness.

“Huh.”

“Yup.”

That was how the past two weeks had gone. Sakura would work and Sasuke would exercise or keep busy making improvements to Sasori’s house. Sometimes Sakura would find him playing video games, speaking to his friends over his headset.

Sasuke had to break his lease with his landlord. It was the loudest Sakura had heard him as he argued with the man about granting him an extension to pay his rent the following month. It hadn’t sounded good and the man couldn’t be reasoned with.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, his parents thought it would be better if he continued to stay at his cousin’s house. Due to the kind of jobs his parents had—police captain and nurse—they thought it would be safer for Sasuke to stick to the house where the only other occupant didn’t leave unless she absolutely needed to.

Sasuke had placed a majority of his belongings in storage and brought over his cat and anything he thought he would need and the guest bedroom became his.

At some point Sakura became curious about his finances. He had no job that she knew of that he could do from home, but he still had money for all of the takeout that he had been ordering until Sakura had put an end to it and told him that she would cook enough for the both of them as long as he helped provide the groceries. She was used to cooking for three anyway and Sasuke ate enough to make up for Sasori and Obito.

They were the only two occupants of the house and had to work around each other. It forced them to communicate beyond the uncomfortable small talk they were accustomed to.

Sakura found it easier to carry discussions without the presence of their family members, especially that of Mikoto Uchiha who always gave her soft yet sly smiles whenever she stood or sat closely to Sasuke. It was a calculative expression she was used to seeing on her older cousin whenever he wanted something and knew he was going to get it.

As much as she wouldn’t have minded to get to know Sasuke better, Sakura was sure that whatever his mother wanted to happen wasn’t what Sasuke wanted. They had worked well together and cohabitated amicably, but the closest they got to anything beyond that was a drunken tryst that she wasn’t even sure was going to be repeated sober.

.

.

He fucked up. He had fucked up.

It started with simple boredom. Sasuke had been stuck living with his cousin’s husband’s pretty cousin because Sasori couldn’t be bothered staying in his own house during a quarantine and had blackmailed Sasuke into playing babysitter.

They had been watching a marathon of slasher films and decided on turning it into a drinking game. Sakura curled up on the small extension of the L shaped couch with her pack of White Claws and Sasuke laid out on the other end with a pack of Ithacas. Somehow that had ended up with Sasuke joining Sakura on the extension and his fingers curled inside of her panties, stroking her as she clutched onto his arm and released high pitched cries of joy.

He’s not sure how they got to a bed, but he wouldn’t doubt it if he had just thrown her tiny body over his shoulder and carried her to the guest room that had become his temporary room.

That wasn’t how Sasuke had planned on dealing with Sakura and his ridiculous crush on her that wouldn’t go away.

It hadn’t taken much convincing for him to come fix the kitchen sink in the middle of the night. Besides Sasori blackmailing him because of his OnlyFans account, Obito had sweetened the deal by mentioning that if he stayed over he would be fed a free breakfast. Obito was a mediocre cook but free was free and he would be able to spend some time in Sakura’s company without his mother hovering with her knowing smiles.

He hadn’t expected to wake up to the smell of something cooking and walking into the kitchen to find Sakura wearing nothing but a baggy cream colored button down cable knit cardigan that hit mid thigh and a pair of black thigh high socks.

Sakura hadn’t expected him either. She had thought she was home alone because of a note from Sasori explaining that he and Obito had taken off to their boyfriend’s place. Sakura had called Sasori immediately for answers, but he didn’t pick up his phone.

At least, that’s what her flushed face and drawn down brows made it seem like. He hadn’t been paying attention to the phone calls she was trying to make but to the curve of her pert breasts that peeked from the v-cut of her cardigan. Sakura hadn’t been wearing a bra and he just wanted to drag his tongue up her sternum.

He was distracted from those dangerous thoughts when he received a phone call from his mother about the quarantine orders and how Obito had already told her that Sasuke was staying at his house. Sasuke didn’t have much room for an argument, especially considering his landlord Kakuzu wouldn’t give him an extension for his rent and Sasuke had had enough and broke his lease.

He cursed Kiba for moving out to live with the blondie he had been dating for the past few months and had only made it official a month ago. Kiba had been mostly staying over there and using Sasuke’s and his place for storage so it had made sense for him to officially move in but that had left Sasuke with paying the full rent on his own because he refused to move.

That decision was biting him in the ass now that he couldn’t bartend or go do some jobs as a contractor. He was heavily relying on his not safe for work accounts where he posted nudes for pay.

And speaking of not being safe for work…

It was three days after the drunken bedroom incident and Sakura needed help taking photographs for her online shop.

When Sakura had told him what she did for work he had been impressed that she had owned her own business and at how talented she was. When she told him that usually Sasori modeled her prototypes and she took the photos for her site, he was slightly disturbed. Looking at Sakura wearing her dresses and her lingerie, he couldn’t imagine Sasori wearing the same things and it looking as well as it did on her.

There may be some bias though. He was actually attracted to Sakura and he and Sasori were more enemies than they were friends and unfortunately related because Sasori was married to Obito.

“Move your arm back like this,” Sasuke instructed Sakura as she posed in a tulle panty and bra set that left nothing to the imagination. The butterfly patterns tastefully covered her nipples but didn’t do much to completely hide the small, pink thatch of hair between her thighs.

He was supposed to be focusing on showing off the lingerie to advantage, but his eyes kept drifting to the small bruises scattered on Sakura’s inner thighs and the red blooms of kiss marks that made her body look well loved.

“I can edit those out,” Sakura remarked shyly when she noticed where his gaze was directed. “I do it for Sasori for my site. He prefers keeping them though for his personal collection of photos.”

“I didn’t need to know that about Sasori.”

Sakura laughed at his discomfort and took her camera back from him. “Thanks again for the help.”

“Any time,” Sasuke muttered, watching her walk through the living room and down the hall to her bedroom.

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.

Sasuke had the terrible━wonderful━habit of going without a shirt and exposing his tattoos when he was stuck inside all day.

It had been barely five days since their drunken mistake and the hickeys all over her body and bruises on her inner thighs and hips from the rough pounding she must have taken had yet to completely heal. Which also meant that the scratch marks on Sasuke’s shoulder blades, the hickeys all over his neck, and the bite mark on his left shoulder were still visible as well.

They hadn’t discussed what had happened. They spent the first day in an awkward state of avoidance and kept to their respective areas in the house. The second day had them going back to normal and just silently agreeing not to mention it.

But the curiosity was there now. It was there when they shared meals. It was there when he walked in from the garage after working out. It was there when he lazily strummed his guitar aimlessly. It was there when she finished her yoga routine and he was waiting to use the living room to watch or play Call of Duty.

It was there when they sat around reading in the living room and drinking tea. It was there when he made sure she took proper breaks instead of keeping herself hunched over her sewing and embroidery machines. It was there when she randomly heard his drill or hammer or the dragging of planks of wood and other materials into the house when he found something to fix or improve.

The curiosity became a yearning when she found him laid out on the couch, watching some aquarium building show. Sasuke just looked so cozy and she just wanted to curl up with him. Or straddle him.

Straddling him was definitely a favorable option.

Sasuke was immediately on alert, body stiffening under Sakura as she settled herself over him, straddling his hips. His hands slid across the sides of her bare thighs and over her small cotton shorts, until he gripped her hips through her thick oversized pullover.

He watched her warily as she pressed her hands on his stomach. His abdominal muscles twitched under her fingers as she slid her hands up his stomach.

“I was thinking…” Sakura’s cheeks heated up as Sasuke’s hands slid under her sweater and he took hold of her waist, his thumbs massaging circles on her skin. “Do you want to try it sober?”

Sasuke sat up faster than Sakura had expected him to move. In lieu of an answer to her question, he gripped the back of her neck, fisting her hair still damp from her shower, and pulled her closer to slant his mouth over hers.

There had been heated stares and what Sakura had hoped were looks of longing. Here was proof that she had been right.

Sakura sighed contently as Sasuke palmed her breasts, squeezing and fondling her with his large hands. Pulling back for air, Sasuke laid his forehead on hers, looking her directly in the eye as he continued to massage her flesh and tug at her nipples and roll them under his thumbs.

“You sure about this?”

“Absolutely.” Sakura cradled the back of his neck with both of her hands and pulled his mouth back to hers. Using her hold as an anchor, she fell back slowly, guiding Sasuke to follow her and nestle in the cradle of her thighs.

Sasuke pulled back, giving Sakura room to remove her sweater. It had barely been tossed aside when he returned to her, pressing kisses to her stomach and trailing his mouth up to her breasts, sucking on the underside of them before rolling her nipples with his tongue.

While Sasuke laved at her nipples and sucked on the flesh of her pert breasts, he worked on sliding her shorts off. When he didn’t find anything under them except for skin he looked up at her, head cocked quizzically.

“I planned to be out of them so why bother putting on undergarments?”

“Next time,” Sasuke pressed a kiss to her knee and then the other, “let me take them off.”

“Next time,” Sakura’s breath hitched as he gave her clit a flick of his tongue, “huh?”

The look Sasuke gave her was all heat as he sucked one of her nether lips into his mouth before working her with his tongue. Sakura sank her fingers into his thick, black hair and wondered if he had done this for her the other night. If he had it was a shame she couldn’t recall it or had a heads up to just how wonderful Sasuke’s tongue was. Her fingers tightened their hold on his hair, keeping him in place as her thighs trembled around his head. She cried out, high and sharp, when Sasuke pressed deeper into her, his tongue working harder as he alternated between strokes and suckling on her hardened little nub as if it was his reason for existing.

Sakura’s ankles locked behind Sasuke’s shoulders as her hips grinded against his mouth to chase the wave of her orgasm. With a keening cry she collapsed back onto the couch, her chest heaving from exertion. As she tried to control her breathing, Sasuke made his way back up her body, pressing kisses and nips to every bit of skin he could. Humming with satisfaction, she cupped his face in her hands and pulled him back up so she could kiss him hard, tasting herself as she rolled her tongue against his.

“Take off your pants,” Sakura panted, sliding her hands down to the waistband of Sasuke’s sweatpants.

Sasuke shook his head and licked up her sternum with one sure lick, pressing his tongue hard between her breasts. “Turn around.”

His voice was a low rumble, vibrating against her breastbone, and causing a shiver to run down her spine. He used a hand to guide her to turning around until she was stomach down on the couch. With her back exposed to him, Sasuke pressed open mouth kisses down her spine. She flinched when he reached the center of her back, the spot surprisingly sensitive. He palmed her ass with both hands, massaging the cheeks before biting down on a fleshy area.

“Hey!” Sakura squealed at the sensation. He chuckled against her, sliding a hand between her thighs to where she was softest.

“I think you liked that.” He stroked her with his fingers, spreading her folds and dipping his middle and ring fingers inside of her. “I know you liked that.”

“Hmm, maybe I did.” Sakura pressed her cheek to the couch cushion and lifted her rump higher in the air and rocked her hips from side to side teasingly.

Sasuke sat up on his knees and grabbed her by the hips, pulling her closer to him. He pressed his hips against her and rocked back and forth, his clothed, hardened length digging against her core. Sakura moaned softly against the couch cushion as Sasuke grinded against her in alternating rhythms.

“Just put it in already,” Sakura pleaded.

“Fuck,” Sasuke hissed as she rocked back against him. “Do you want me to go get a condom? I think Obito has some in the master bedroom.”

“Don’t bother,” Sakura panted. “Don’t make me wait.”

“Alright.”

Sasuke stood up and pulled his sweatpants and boxers off. He helped her turn back around and settled himself between her legs. Bracing himself on one forearm, Sasuke licked his fingers and rubbed the tip of his cock before taking himself in hand and gave himself four quick pumps before guiding himself inside of her wet heat.

Sakura moaned at the fullness as he stretched her pleasantly. She cupped his face in her hands once again and kissed him wherever she could reach with her mouth—his chin, the corner of his mouth, his upper lip. She hadn’t realized how empty and aching she was feeling until this moment.

“You good?” Sasuke asked, keeping still but adjusting her legs around his hips for her comfort.

Sakura nodded, wrapping her arms under his armpits and clutched his shoulders. She tilted her hips up and rolled them until he began to thrust.

She didn’t know if this was how they did it the other night, but she was enjoying it. Sakura expected him to grope at her breasts and her ass as he pounded into her, but Sasuke kept to a steady pace and with his forearms caging her head, he wrapped her hair around his fingers and kissed her languidly. It was so warm and affectionate she almost forgot that it started as her just wanting a fuck on the couch to figure out if it was as good as she had thought it would be and to make up for being robbed of the experience by her inebriation.

“Harder,” Sakura demanded and without missing a beat Sasuke gave her exactly what she asked for.

He sat up on his knees and lifted her legs straight up so that her ankles crossed behind his head and he thrust harder, holding onto her knees to keep her in place. One of his legs slipped onto the ground so that he could brace himself with his foot and make sure they didn’t fall off the couch.

“You feel so good,” he praised her, kissing her left inner ankle.

“Yeah?” Sakura smiled mischievously up at him and squeezed the muscles of her core, causing Sasuke to falter in his movements. She giggled at his expense but choked on air when he readjusted his footing and thrust particularly hard into her.

Sasuke pushed her knees up into her chest and held her there as he set a punishing pace, hitting her repeatedly in a spot she liked. Her staccato cries of joy filled the room, drowning out the sound of the television.

She fell apart again and Sasuke slowed down his thrusting in favor of feeling her flutter around him and kissing her lazily. They lay like that, him still inside of her, and they exchanged kisses.

“Your turn,” Sakura murmured against his mouth as he stroked her side, brushing her ribs with his knuckles.

“Flip over,” Sasuke ordered, voice low and causing her stomach to clench in anticipation. Settling behind her, Sasuke chased his finish, his chest pressed to her back and panting in her ear.

They both collapsed on the couch and Sasuke turned on his side so that he could pull Sakura against him. They lay in a boneless sort of manner and sated, intertwining their legs and their bodies slick with sweat.

After a moment of silence, Sakura spoke up.

“Well that was definitely better sober.”

Sasuke snorted, his silent laughter rumbling in his chest and vibrating against Sakura’s back.

.

.

He was supposed to be getting some water. Somehow a trip for water turned into him making out with Sakura. She was seated on the kitchen island and he stood between her legs, one hand pressed to the small of her back and the other cradling her face.

“I’m supposed to be making dinner,” she whined but made no move to pull away. She gasped when Sasuke slid his hand between her thighs.

“We can order pizza.”

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.

She couldn’t remember what her question was. Not with the way Sasuke moved underneath her, breaking her rhythm and holding her hips down to meet his every thrust. He had her crying out and collapsing onto him, weak to his relentless pounding.

Sakura panted, struggling to catch her breath after they both came, as Sasuke rubbed her back soothingly.

“Yeah, I’ll change the bulb in the hallway closet.”

That was the question? Sakura frowned against Sasuke’s clavicle. Well, alright then.

.

.

“Shut up!”

Sakura hid her face in her hands, trapping the heat radiating off of it with her palms.

“Tell us everything,” Ino insisted. Karin nodded vigorously in agreement from her window on Sakura’s monitor.

The three of them were using Zoom to video chat and it was supposed to be wine and movie night, but it had instead turned into a gossip session now that Sakura admitted to them that her three year dry spell had ended during the quarantine.

“We keep fucking,” Sakura whined, pulling her knees up to her chest and falling sideways on her bed. “He’s like the fucking energizer bunny: just keeps going and going.”

Karin snorted, earning herself a glare from Sakura. “How is that a bad thing?”

“It’s not.” Sakura chewed on her lower lip. “We hang out and do other stuff too.”

“Like what?” Ino asked, blowing on her nails. She had taken out her nail polish and had given herself a pedicure as she waited for Karin to pick their movie and their change in plans hadn’t stopped her from continuing.

“We watch movies and take care of Obito’s garden and his plants. I’m teaching him how to cook.” Sakura sighed and groaned softly under her breath, “We take naps together and just...cuddle.”

Besides sex being added to the list of their activities, the only change to their cohabitation was that sometimes they curled up in Sasuke’s bed just to sleep together or hold each other as they lay in the comfort of the blankets. It sometimes led to sex, but that wasn’t the goal. They simply liked being together and exchanging kisses between the sheets and listening to music.

It was sometimes more enjoyable than when he was making her come like a train. Sometimes. Alright, always. Coming was nice but she had a drawer of toys for that. She couldn’t cuddle and joke with her vibrator.

“Now that you’re boning him,” Karin smirked at her, “do you think you can introduce me to his older brother?”

The three of them burst into laughter, Sakura burying her face into her pillow to drown out the sound.

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.

When Sasuke had remodeled Sasori’s master bathroom, he had found a bath to install that would fit his cousin’s tall frame perfectly inside. It was for that reason he knew he and Sakura could both fit comfortably, considering he and Obito were the same height.

“This is nice,” Sakura sighed, settling between his legs and resting her back against his chest. “I thought Sasori had locked his bedroom before leaving to Third’s.”

Sasori had in fact locked his bedroom, but Sasuke had picked the lock so that he could use the master bedroom for the setting of his photos for his OnlyFans. Sasuke had money to make and he needed privacy and also didn’t want to get into Sakura’s way while she worked and took care of the house.

Things had been good so far between the two of them. They hadn’t discussed what they were doing, but Sasuke was enjoying being trapped in the house with Sakura. Her affection for him even traveled outside the walls of Sasori’s house. She would hold his hands as they walked down aisles when they went shopping for things they couldn’t order or when they went for walks around the neighborhood.

Now they were taking a bath together. Sasuke had used the large bathtub for some photos, carefully placing bubbles to cover his penis, but then making them dissipate with a flap of his hand to take uncensored shots for his Patreon tiers that involved full nudity.

It was as the water cooled and the bubbles became flat that he thought about Sakura and if she would want to relax with him.

When he suggested a bath to Sakura, her eyes lit up and she found all of the candles in the house, played some soft music, and prepared the bath with scented oils and bubbles.

“This has got to be a fire hazard.” Sasuke gestured around the room at all of the candles. Their flames reflected against the tiles of the bathroom, creating a nice ambience.

“Shhhh.” Sakura kissed the inside of his wrist, and snuggled into him more. “Don’t be a killjoy.”

Sasuke leaned back and closed his eyes. This would probably be a little better if I were high, he sighed inwardly. He should have rolled a joint before they got into the bath.

“Would this be considered a date?” Sakura asked, breaking the comfortable silence between them.

“Some people would consider it a date. I would rather be clothed during most of a date.”

“I don’t mind,” Sakura chirped. “You’re exactly how I would want you to end up anyway.”

Heat that had nothing to do with the bath traveled up the back of Sasuke’s neck and settled in his ears.

“If the world wasn’t so fucked up right now, where would you wanna go?”

“Hmm…” Sakura hummed one thought, her knees swaying from side to side. “For a walk in Old Town to get some ice cream. Maybe check out the hibachi spot and then watch the boats on the river.”

“I don’t even like ice cream and that sounds good. Just to be outside.”

Two months had passed since the quarantine had begun and Sasuke was beginning to feel restless. He didn’t usually care about going out, only really went out for work, but now that he was forced to stay inside all day, every day, he just wanted to go out and do something.

After the quarantine was over, he and Sakura were going to need to take a road trip just to feel normal again.

“My friend Karin got tested and her results were negative so she’s going to come over and give me a haircut.” Sakura tugged at the ends of her long hair. “I procrastinated getting one and then everything was shut down.”

Sasuke huffed air out of his mouth and blew at his bangs. They had grown long enough to fall to his chin. “You think she’d mind giving me a haircut too?”

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.

Sakura couldn’t stop giggling. She rubbed the back of Sasuke’s head, right at the nape where Karin had shaved his hair so it was a close crop. She had buzzed him into an undercut before Sakura and Sasuke could say anything about it.

“I just needed a trim.” Sasuke scowled. Karin had done a really good job and the hairstyle looked great on him, but Sasuke had only wanted to take care of his unruly bangs. “If I put my glasses on, I’ll look like a wannabe Skrillex.”

Sakura snorted, curling up in his lap. “His undercut is on the side like Karin’s. Yours is on the back.”

“Whatever. Don’t you dare give her my brother’s phone number.” Sasuke ran his fingers through Sakura’s new bob cut and kissed her forehead. “Anything you wanna do before bedtime?”

For the past few weeks they had tried to make sure they were preoccupied so that they wouldn’t get bored. Sakura was still attempting to teach him to cook but she has better results teaching him yoga.

“We could have a Lord of the Rings marathon?” Sakura wrinkled her nose in thought. “I can work on some crochet crop tops while we watch.”

They had settled into a comfortable, domestic routine. Sakura was enjoying living with Sasuke and didn’t care about Sasori and Obito having ditched her. She was kind of glad they did. She was especially glad for it the week before when Sasuke made her ginger and honey tea and always had a hot water bottle ready for her when the cramps got really bad. Sasori had the weird idea to feed her liver whenever she was on her period. He never cooked it, always handing it to her raw.

It was nice living with Sasuke. Sakura wasn’t looking forward to when Sasori and Obito returned and ruined the tranquility they had.

She prayed things wouldn’t change when they were around other people. That they wouldn’t go back to how they used to be when they sat awkwardly next to each other at holidays.

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.

Usually a morning person, Sakura was always first to wake up out of the both of them.

She woke to the feeling of him pressed against her back, erection settling against her ass and warm breath puffing against her nape. His arm wrapped around her body and held to her chest as her fingers were laced with his.

“Sasuke.” Sakura attempted to separate their limbs. “Sasuke. We fell asleep on the couch again.”

Sasori’s couch was ridiculously comfortable and with the wide extension sticking out to make its L shape, Sakura found herself falling asleep on it often. During the quarantine she always lay there when watching TV or movies which was pretty typical from pre-quarantine life, but now instead of selfishly taking up the best spot, she was sharing it with Sasuke who was surprisingly cuddly.

“Sasuke,” Sakura whined. The more she tried to pull away, the more he clung to her. She disentangled their legs and he bit down softly on the back of her neck. “I have morning breath and, dude, I definitely need a shower…”

“Like I care.”

Sasuke was talented at distracting her. One moment she wanted to get ready for the day and in the next all she wanted was to roll around in bed all day. Sakura made no protest when Sasuke helped her remove one of the shirts she kept stealing from him and pulled off her sweatpants and tugged her panties off. Thanks to Sasuke, she was spending an incredible amount of time naked on Sasori’s couch.

“I was supposed to,” Sakura’s breath hitched when Sasuke bit the inside of her left thigh, “be making breakfast.”

“This is preferable,” he murmured against her folds, burying his face between her legs.

During the weeks of their cohabitation, Sakura had discovered that Sasuke liked going down on her more than he enjoyed when she returned the favor. He apparently liked to take advantage of the fact that she could have more than one orgasm in a single round of sex and even though getting blown was nice, he didn’t like the recovery time or how sensitive he became afterward.

Sasuke was in the middle of getting her to the first orgasm he wanted to give her when the front door opened. Not that Sasuke or Sakura had noticed.

“Oh my God,” Sakura sighed breathily, sinking her fingers into Sasuke’s hair.

“Oh my God!” Obito cried out, snapping Sakura out of her pleasure induced daze.

“My couch!” Sasori hissed, eyes narrowed in distaste.

Sakura sat up, almost kicking Sasuke in the face, and saw both her cousin and his husband and a giant man almost half a foot taller than Obito on the other side of the couch.

“Oh my God,” Sakura moaned softly in horror, grabbing the throw she kept on the couch and wrapping it around her body. Sasuke straightened himself and took a seat next to her, bare as the day he was born, cock hard and hair mussed, with a shiny smear on his chin from the activity that had just been interrupted.

“Holy shit, Shisui was right.” Obito stared in awe at Sasuke’s crotch, only snapping his attention away when Sasori slapped his arm and shot him a look of disgust. “What? I thought he was exaggerating how big it was. Oh, fuck. I owe him one-fifty now.”

Sasori rolled his eyes and made his way to the kitchen, calling out behind him, “Please tell me you mean a dollar and change.”

Obito rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “No. Hundred fifty.”

“Hello.” The giant man waved at Sasuke and Sakura, flashing them what in a normal situation would have been a charming smile if it weren’t for the severe lack of clothing and what he had walked in on. “I’m Third, It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He held out his hand. He put it down as soon as he realized they weren’t going to shake his hand. “We came over because Obito has been raving about your cinnamon chip scones and Sasori said that you could teach me to make them for him.”

“You could have called first,” Sasuke drawled, bending over at the waist to reach for his sweatpants and boxer briefs.

“You could have not been fucking on my couch!” Sasori’s voice carried in from the kitchen, followed by the slamming of cupboard doors.

Sakura rolled her eyes and stood up, careful to keep the throw wrapped around her body. Leave it to her to be caught by her cousin, his husband, and their boyfriend getting eaten out in the early morning in the middle of the living room.

“Come back in one hour and I’ll teach you how to bake anything you want,” She told Third, craning her neck to be able to look him directly in the eye. “But you gotta take them with you.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

Much faster than she expected someone of such great bulk to move, Third was escorting Sasori and Obito━who had already found her homemade yogurt and was eating it━out of the house.

“Are you really going to be teaching their boyfriend to bake?” Sasuke asked, yanking his pants up and following her as she walked to her bedroom. Sakura snorted and shook her head.

“I can teach him over FaceTime. We’re changing the fucking locks.”

.

.

xxxx

It didn’t take long for him to get used to the softness of her voice.

–––

By the end of their second week together, Sasuke had already memorized her— and consequently, his— schedule. They would meet every day after her breakfast, and right after that, the maids would take her to first of many lessons of the day. At first, he believed he would eventually end up seeing the princess’ mysterious face while she was lectured, but soon, he learned that his eyes would be denied of such privilege, for he would always stay outside of whatever room she was in. Even if he had tried to enter a couple of times, saying he was only following orders, there was this old, crinkled lady that would always stop him in his tracks, telling him that his eyes were not worthy of seeing the princess during the practice of her feminine arts, whatever that could possibly mean.

He tried to argue a couple of times, but in the end, his will didn’t prevail against that woman’s strictness. Eventually, the Uchiha settled for sitting outside the door with his guard up, blocking the passage of anyone who tried to interrupt the princess or cause her any harm. His so observant eyes were denied the secret image of the Daimyou’s daughter, however, due to the thin paper that sealed the walls, his ears captured every word that left her lips.

It was not like he had planned on listening to their conversation or anything like that, but that was the only thing left for him to make sure the princess was, indeed, safe. After a while, he realized that he was able to tell a lot about her simply based on the tone of her voice whenever she answered a question. The changes were barely perceptible, but for a skilful warrior such as himself, her real emotions were hidden within every word she pronounced. He knew when she was sad or when she was angry, but he couldn’t really tell when she was happy or excited. Such feelings were harder to detect, he realized, mostly because they seemed to be rare in her life.

The princess wasn’t happy. He had never seen her face, but he could bet his own sword that tears were more common on her face than a sincere smile. He had never heard her laughing, let alone giggling, and if he were to be honest, the only time he had actually heard her voice holding some positiveness was when she ended up correcting her instructor after the older woman had mistaken the kanjis. On that day, not even he could suppress the smirk that grew on his lips, for that woman certainly deserved to be countered after the many times she yelled at both of them for stupid things.

For a reason he couldn’t quite understand, though, the Uchiha was tired of listening to her mean words towards the princess. No matter how hard she seemed to try to follow the lessons, it was never enough. 

That’s not how a princess must behave. You’ll never find yourself a husband if you keep up with such childish act. Your father would be ashamed of you.

Harsh words left those old, chapped lips every day, and if anything, the princess would always answer politely with a Forgive me, sensei or I’ll try harder next time. She didn’t deserve such things, but Sasuke figured he was not the one to judge. As a warrior, he had no idea of how she should actually behave or what abilities she was supposed to master. Her world was incredibly strange to him, who saw and heard things from a completely different point of view.

He couldn’t care less about things such as etiquette or the proper way of serving tea. Even if those were traits that probably impressed the royalty and the rich people, common men such as himself knew better than to believe women should be evaluated by the way they held a fan. Were the princess able to wield an axe or even heal the wounded, then he would certainly be impressed. 

However, he knew he would never have any say in what the Daimyou’s daughter should do or know in order to be worthy of her title. He was nothing but a mere warrior whose more valuable possession was his sword.

His opinion didn’t belong to her world.

Still, he couldn’t help but take the side of the stranger he was destined to protect.

“We should stop here, ohime-sama. The lesson is over.” Her instructor said, no sign of empathy detected in her words.

“Hai.”

The sadness in her voice was the last thing he noticed before standing up and straightening his clothes. Her next lesson was about to begin, and unconsciously, he just hoped for her day to end already.

xxxx

The first time she actually called him by the name caught him off guard.

––

After the many complaints received by the Daimyou regarding his daughter’s lack of compromise during the lessons in the past few months, the concerned father allowed the princess to take some time to decide on what should be done about that. Her father, for what Sasuke could tell, has always been a decent man, whose number one priority was her well-being. Of course, he also understood the implications of her position and the importance behind every skill taught to her by the old women of the palace; and he knew how that would affect her future in a couple of years. More than anyone, perhaps, that poor man knew how important those lessons were, especially because those women would be able to teach her certain things that, as a man, he could never truly understand.

Sakura needed those women in her life, even if she couldn’t really see the reason why, for she needed that kind of guidance in order to blossom into the perfect princess they all want her to be.

She needed to be more feminine. Even a stoic warrior such as himself could understand that. So, imagine his surprise when, on a summer morning, the servants brought her small, bamboo prison to watch the morning practice of the royal guard.

“The princess is watching you, little brother.” Itachi started, a smirk on his face as they spared together. “You better not lose in front of her.”

“Tch. You say that as if knowing that would make any difference.”

“Oh, come on…” He dodged an attack, his long, tied hair dancing in the air. "You have to be at least excited with your job. You are protecting the princess of the Fire Country. All the others are jealous of you.”

“If you all care so much about the princess, maybe you should spend more time training in order to take my position.”

“Oh, so are you saying it wouldn’t matter if someone else took your position away from you?"

At his older brother’s words, his glance quickly shifted to the princess. Just like before, he couldn’t see her face, but he knew her eyes were on him, and for a reason he could not quite name, knowing those hidden orbs of hers were watching his moves ignited a certain confidence inside him. It was not like it gave him more strength or a new reason to beat his brother, but it certainly made him want to show more of his own world to the imprisoned princess.

Call it possessiveness or even an exaggerated sense of care, but deep inside, Sasuke didn’t want someone else doing his job. It wasn’t because he had grown fond of the princess or anything like that, but the delicacy of their situation had created an unspoken bond between the two of them. In the same way she understood his position, he also understood hers, and in silence, both of them created an intimacy neither of them ever believed to be possible. He was there for her when everyone else judged her, and she was there for him when the world seemed to be comparing him to his older brother.

It was hard to explain for it made no sense, but it was real, nonetheless. 

So real that it made him unconsciously want to show her how strong he actually was. And even if he wasn’t truly aware of such will, that was exactly what he did.

In a matter of seconds, his attacks grew more precise and aggressive, catching his older brother by surprise. The impact created by their wooden swords created an echo that spread throughout the training grounds, making everyone stop to look at the them. Even with all those amazed eyes on them, Sasuke could only care about hers at that moment. His heart was beating faster, his muscles were perfectly responding to his commands, and for the first time, it became easy to detect Itachi’s own openings during his counter attacks.

He was going to beat his brother. He was going to win and show everyone he was the only one fit for his position by her side.

One, final and precise blow was the last thing that took him to defeat his brother. He didn’t really know how or when it happened, but soon, Itachi’s eyes were looking at him from the ground. There was a surprised look on his face, and dust stuck to his cheeks due to sweat. His wooden sword laid far from his grip, and when a smile crossed his brother’s face, Sasuke realized he had, indeed, won.

“You sure didn’t let the princes down, little brother.”

“Tch, stop with this nonsense. I didn’t know the sword had hit your head.”

A small wave of happiness took over the younger Uchiha. As he panted, a smirk crossed his lips before he used his free hand to brush away the strands of hair from his face. For the first time in what felt like years, he was the winner of their sparing session, and that felt oddly right considering the unexpected guest that had her royal eyes on him. The princess was there, still hidden behind her curtains, but her presence alone was strong enough to shift the entire atmosphere around them. Sparing in front of her made things more exciting, and even if he would never admit his selfish feelings out loud, having her there made him want to win like never before. She gave him a new sense of duty— a new sense of power— that was, at the same time, fierce and pure.

So, this is how it feels to fight for someone, he thought. So, this is how it feels to fight for the princess.

From that moment on, Sasuke understood the real meaning behind their silent bond. He would fight for her and she would watch over him. He would protect her and she would offer him a reason to win.

All of his victories now belonged to her in the same way her eyes and her attention now belonged to him.

With a new fulfilling sensation taking over his proud heart, Sasuke spared her a respectful glance before turning his attention back to his brother. He helped Itachi get back on his feet, ignoring whatever he was saying regarding his connection with the princess, as he took a deep, relaxing breath. There was a soft breeze brushing his face, and even if he was expecting more sneering words from his older sibling, Sasuke was surprised at the supportive squeeze of Itachi’s hand on his shoulder. 

“You did really well, Sasuke. You’ve grown a lot.” He smiled, dropping his hand to his side and resting it on his hip. “Maybe I should take our training more seriously from now on.”

“Hn, maybe you should or else I’ll steal your spot, captain.”

The way that last word rolled out of his younger brother’s tongue made Itachi turn his attention back to the others around them. The warriors seemed to be dividing their attention between the siblings and the princess, clearly forgetting about their own sparing partners. For the moment, the training session seemed to have reached its end, as the warriors were only waiting for their captain’s words to make it official. And at last, that was exactly what he did.

“That’s it for today. Good job, everyone.” Itachi said, clapping his hands and looking around at his men. “Take a break now and start your own patrolling shifts. A-squad, you’ll take the front gate tonight and the others will surround the palace.”

“Hai" The dirty men said in unison, politely saluting their captain.

“Oh, and Sasuke…” He started, his voice now slower in somewhat of a mockery tone. “I believe the princess is waiting for you.”

All the men with swords, including his brother, started to walk away, heading out to their own dorms. In theory, Sasuke was supposed to follow them, but since the princess herself was mere feet away, the younger Uchiha decided to let her know he was only going to retrieve his sword before starting his real job.

Quickly, he crossed the training grounds and soon found himself bowing down in front of the princess’ sudare. Once again, he could feel her eyes on him, feeling proud of the first victory he had dedicated to her. Unlike her handmaidens that looked at him with shallow interest, he could feel that the princess herself was ecstatic to be there.

At least, that was what his heart was telling him.

“Good morning, Ohime-sama. I shall retrieve my sword before I can escort you to your next appointment.”

“The princess will be waiting for you.” One of the handmaidens spoke, catching him by surprise for he could swear the princess was about to answer him herself. He closed his eyes, then, and started to collect himself in order to walk away. Sasuke turned around, and when he was about to take his first step away from her, his ears captured the ordinary and comfortable sound of her voice.

“You were incredible today, Sasuke-san.”

The sound of his name rolling out of her tongue caught him by surprise, making him stop in his tracks. He knew he should just turn around and bow respectfully, but somewhere in the middle of his bewildered thoughts, the Uchiha forgot his manners. Once again, he turned to face her curtains, and apart from the surprised expression he wore, Sasuke couldn’t control his own mouth.

“Sasuke…san?” His lips were parted and there was a tender look on his eyes. He was confused, for sure, since he had no idea that she had memorized his name, but somehow, he also felt honoured.

“I-I… Forgive me for my manners.” She started rambling, clearly caught off guard by his words. “I took the liberty of calling you by your first name since both you and your brother are Uchiha and… Please, forgive me.”

Through the bamboo curtains, he could only see as she messily shook her hands as she spoke, and the clumsy way her words came out brought a soft smile to his lips. For the first time since he started working with the princess, Sasuke could tell she was feeling comfortable around him. She seemed to be happy and excited, and it was not like being called by his first name would be enough of a reason to demand a royal apology from her. If anything, being called like that by her felt quite nice.

“You don’t need my forgiveness, ohime-sama.”

“O-Of course I do. I—“

“Just Sasuke is fine.” He said, softly, making her stop in her tracks at the same time. He offered her a comforting expression, and waited for her to settle for their decision regarding his name. 

“Hai. As you wish, Sasuke.”

A sudden, easeful sensation took over him, making his heart skip a beat at the sound of her soft voice. He bowed down his head once more, and with that light feeling surrounding them, the Uchiha finally made his way back towards his companions.

xxxxxxx

The first time he sees the colour of her hair, he understood the reason behind her name

––

It was still early in the morning when his ears captured a ruckus that suddenly shook the great walls of the palace and scared the birds that were still comfortably asleep in their nests.

He had just finished his daily rounds and was on his way to meeting the princess when the pristine silence was broken by an exasperated and loud voice coming from the chamber where the princess was supposed to be meeting her tutors. By the time he reached the sealed doors, he could hear a certain commotion going on inside, and even if he was quick to identify that it was only that old woman’s cranky voice lecturing her again, the Uchiha couldn’t help but notice there was something odd going on in there. 

“What did you do, ohime-sama!? This is not unacceptable! A disgrace! How could you!?”

His eyes widened in surprise at such harsh words, and he wondered what on earth could have happened. Though he sensed no imminent threat in her voice, he couldn’t help but feel his overprotective instincts taking over his body. His hands clenched, he bit his lower lip, his eyes held a glare and even if he had no idea of what the princess might have done, it only felt natural for him to take her side. 

He wasn’t going to let that woman speak to her like that, no. No matter what might have driven such words towards the young girl, people shouldn’t be treated like that. 

He took a deep breath, then, and quickly, he opened the door, his skilful eyes surveying the place. The princess was behind her curtains, scrolls were spread across the floor and the filthy woman stood right above them, an irritated demeanour taking over her features. She was mad— really mad— as her glaring eyes were still set on the princess. 

“What is happening here?” He asked, the tone in his voice as stoic as ever. “Is the princess in trouble?”

Her head turned so she could face him, and the Uchiha couldn’t help but feel goose bumps running down his spine. “The princess is fine.” She stated, lifting her chin as if trying to recompose herself. “Or, perhaps, she has lost her mind completely."

“And what makes you think like that?”

“See for yourself! Or, even better, ask her since she seems to be having a string of arguments lately!” She said, and at that moment, Sasuke could tell she had lost it. Never before had he seen that woman losing her balance, but apparently, the princess had driven her to the limit. Still, he couldn’t find it in himself to neither judge nor blame her just yet.

“Whatever might have happened, there’s no excuse for the way you’ve spoken to the princess.”

“You're but a simple warrior, raised to fight. Who do you think you are to speak to me about manners?”

“I am a subordinate of the royal family, just like you. I am making sure no one speaks ill of the ohime-same, therefore, be sure I’ll inform the king about your words.”

“You little—” Her face grew madder at his words, and if she didn’t hate him before, she certainly did now. “Don't waste your precious time. I will go inform the king myself and I will tell him to find his precious daughter a new tutor. I hope the next one can make a real woman out of this child before she embarrasses the whole country. Before she—”

“I will not tolerate another word against the princess.” His voice came out strong and without hesitance, cutting the older woman before she had the chance to conclude her speech. His eyes were intensely glaring at her as he held eye contact, but she didn’t seem intimidated by his imposing presence.

“You should know your place. Just a lowlife who’ll never—“

“That’s enough!” Her voice— usually so soft and polite— sounded mature and powerful as it echoed across the big chamber. Two hearts were caught by surprise and eyes widened as all the attentions were now set on the girl behind the curtains. “Not another word about my protector. Leave, at once.”

A deafening silence took over the room after her words, and his heart skipped a beat. The princess made herself heard, and for the first time, she had decided not to stay silent and simply accept such harsh words. Sakura was not going to just listen as she said those words about him, and even if he was more than capable of defending himself against a woman, it felt good to see her fighting for both of them.

She was standing her ground, like a princess should. She should be proud of herself.

A scoff left the older woman's lips before she looked away from the Uchiha, finally deciding to leave the room. Her heels clicked across the floor as she made her way out, and even if he didn’t turn to see her leaving, the door loudly shutting behind them indicated she was gone. They were both left alone in a large chamber, and even if it was normally considered to be an inappropriate situation for a princess, neither of them could deny that the atmosphere felt lighter than ever before.

There was no telling what kind of consequences her actions would have, and chances were her father would scold her for driving that woman away, but the warrior figured that was not the right time to worry about that. His brother has always told him to be proud of his choices, and even if he couldn’t see her face, something told him she was aware of that.

The raven-haired warrior, then, took a deep breath and took a few steps until he was standing closer to her, just next to the scattered scrolls. He still didn’t know what had started that whole thing, but he figured it was none of his business and decided that gathering those things would, at least, help them move forward with their day.

He kneeled down on the ground, his hands carefully took the scrolls. For what he could see, they were all about medicine and medicinal herbs, and he thought that, maybe, that was one of the reasons why that old lady was so mad. Based on all the times he had heard her scolding during their classes, the Uchiha could imagine she didn’t like seeing the princess reading about such things. Women don’t need to know about those things, she probably said, and it was as if he could hear her voice saying such things while taking them away from the young girl. She should be allowed to read whatever she wanted to without being scolded, and if anything, he believed everyone should know a thing or two about herbs and medicine.

Life is really unpredictable, he knew, and he believed she knew it, too.

There was nothing wrong about learning new things and—

His eyes widened once he reached out for the last scroll and saw all that hair on the floor. The colour tinging that long, pink ponytail resembled the Daimyou, but it was prettier and more filled with life—probably due to years of brushing and soaking it in bath oils. It reminded him of the cherry blossoms that flourish on the spring, and perhaps, that was the reason behind her name. Apparently, it had been cut by a clean blade, and now, well, he thought he really understood what went on between those two.

A princess with short hair and peculiar interests. Such an unusual girl, he thought, a soft expression taking over his face.

“Sasuke-san…” She started, making him shift his attention. His eyes were now on her silhouette, and even if it was hard to see, he couldn’t help but imagine those pastel-pink strands now falling just above her shoulders. “Thank you for those words. I’m sorry you had to witness that.”

“Hn, it was not your fault, Ohime-sama.” He finally took all the scrolls, standing up so he could assume his position next to her sudare. “I should be thanking you, as well, for defending me.”

“Oh, save your modesty. We both know she wouldn’t stand a chance against your sword.”

“Your majesty is probably right.” His lips lifted upwards at her words. Judging by the tone of her voice, her heart didn’t seem troubled anymore, and such thing also brought him some unexpected peace. He placed the scrolls in front of her, so she could retrieve her belongings. “Also, if I may intrude, I think short hair is more practical for a princess.”

A warming silence spread around the room, as she slowly took the scrolls with her tiny, delicate hands. Since she was clearly not having any more classes any moment soon, he figured she could resume her reading while they continued sharing that comfortable moment. “Thank you, Sasuke-san.”

xxxxx

The first time he heard her laugh made him realize she was no longer that princess he had met 5 months before.

–––

After spending so much time following her routine, it was inevitable for the Uchiha to feel bothered by certain obligations forced on her by of her position. At first, he had decided that nothing could be worse than the hours spent on marital lessons, but now, he realized that enduring actual marriage proposals were a lot worse than that. 

Whenever the Daimyou received an offer from one of his allied landlords to marry their children, the promised finance ended up traveling all the way to the palace so the princess could somehow interview the candidate. They would spend hours listening to the first-born-sons of whatever land they came from, as they would talk unstoppably about how much of a great candidate they were. They would brag about their lineage, their conquers; and more importantly, they would brag about how much money and gold they could offer her if she accepted the proposal.

Not once had the Uchiha heard any of them actually asking things about the princess. They didn’t seem to care about her interest or her qualities, focusing only on trying to buy her with their fathers’ fortune. It disgusted him to listen to all futility, especially when it came from a person who had the power and position to make her happy. Those men had the chance and the status to actually offer her some company worthy of a princess, and they could show her a life different from the one she has at the palace. 

They could give her a reason to smile and be free— or as free as a princess could be. 

But they were no good. None of them could actually understand the woman she is, and because of that, Sasuke knew she would probably grow even sadder were she to marry any of them.

Those men were all useless.

And he saw no good reason to believe the newest candidate that had arrived from the Wind country would be any different.

His hair was dark brown, his eyes were blue and he had spent the last hour or so bragging about his ability to hunt desert frogs. The Uchiha believed he had explained anything interesting about the animals at the beginning of their conversation, but in the end, he had just resumed to talking about himself. 

What a waste of time, Sasuke thought. Just another noble and egocentric man. The Uchiha would love to see his reaction when he eventually realized the princess was probably more interested on the frog than in him. 

Perhaps they should’ve just sent her the rare creature instead.

“Oh, but enough talking about me!” He said, though neither Sasuke nor the princess believed he was, indeed, tired of talking about himself. “I’ve also brought you a gift, Ohime-sama!” The man stated, looking at his servant that was holding a small chest. The other man approached them, offering the said chest so his master could take it.

The Uchiha’s dark eyes followed the chest, his instincts now telling him to keep his guard up in case that gift could offer the princess any harm. He took a step forward, then, making sure that his presence served as a warning to their visitants.

“Worry not, my dearest guard. I mean no harm to your princess, believe me. My gift is but a mere plant that grows in my country.” The man said, opening the chest to revel, indeed, a small, green plant. Her leaves were incredibly thin and pointy, her veins drawing a peculiar pattern the Uchiha just happened to know quite well. During his missions, many times has he seen those leaves, and many times has he seen some fools touching them and suffering the consequences.

That plant was an urtiga. And though it seemed harmless, there was no way he was going to let the princess anywhere near that thing.

“This is a very rare medicinal plant from my country, Ohime-sama. I’ve brought it to you as a proof of my feelings. This plant is said to cure the wounded and it does wonders to the skin! I myself can’t spend a day without them in my bath!”

That fool had absolutely no idea of what he was talking about. He was obviously lying as if to try to impress her, and at that moment, he just feared the princess was actually believing that nonsense. The urtiga wasn’t an uncommon plant outdoors, but for someone who’s spent her entire life surrounded by walls, maybe it was quite easy to believe such lie. 

Maybe she would actually be fooled by that man and be charmed by the idea of a plant with such miraculous properties. Maybe she would even accept—

"What a delightful plant you’ve brought me, Ōji-sama.” She started, and for the first time, her voice actually seemed thrilled about something. “I've heard stories about this plant a couple of times by my tutors, but I had never really seen them with my own eyes. I thank you for that.”

“There is no need to thank me, Ohime-sama. This is just one of the many wonders of my land that I would love to show you, were you to accept my proposal.”

“How extremely kind of you. I’m certain your land has many wonders like this, but for now, let’s focus on this plant. What’s the name of it?”

“The name?” He repeated, caught off guard by her sudden interest. At that moment, the Uchiha couldn’t quite understand her intentions anymore, and he could feel his curiosity growing on him.

“Oh, yes. Such a wonderful plant must have a name, I presume.”

“Yes! A name! It’s called… Uhm… Divine Branch, right?!” He looked at his servant, and the other man barely managed to nod in agreement. "Yes, this is the name. Divine Branch”

“… Such a wonderful name for such a wonderful plant.” She said, her voice soft as silk. There was a mix of bewilderment and joy, and if he didn’t know any better, Sasuke would have believed that voice to be mirroring her feelings. After spending months by her side, he unconsciously knew how read her emotions through her voice, and at that moment, he knew she wasn’t been honest with that foolish prince.

Those emotions were untrue, he was sure. She was faking them elegantly, and he almost fell for her lie. Almost.

The princess knew about the plant. She knew he was lying, but instead of exposing him, she had decided to mock that man who believed her to be yet another naive girl. 

That poor man, he thought, suppressing a smirk that tried to make its way to his lips. He really had no idea of what that girl was capable of.

“Yes, it is, indeed! And now I’m giving it to—“

“Oh, but please, before you give it to me, would you mind showing me how to use it?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don't be so modest, Ōji-sama! It’s just us, here. Please, show me how to apply it on the skin.”

“D-Do you… Do you want me to rub it on my skin?”

“Yes, of course. You’ve ignited my curiosity now. I want to see the effects of such miraculous plant with my own eyes. Unless there’s a problem with that, of course.”

“Ōji-sama, I don’t think—“ His servant started, but the prince didn’t listen, determinedly reaching out for the plant with his bare hand. Then, he lifted his sleeve, rubbing the plant up and down his arm. His servant’s face showed a mix of horror and concern, and the prince, being fully aware of what he had just done, did his best to maintain a straight face.

“T-This is how the plant must be used, Ohime-sama.” He started, then, his arm growing redder. “Just rub it and wait for its miraculous effects.”

“O-Oh… I see.” She started, and Sasuke could swear she had just suppressed a laughter. “And this redness is normal, I presume?”

“Well, indeed.” He said, his voice crackling as he began scratching the red area. “Y-You may also feel a bit itchy, but it’s also normal.”

“How wonderful, indeed.” She started. “Thank you for showing me such wonderful plant. I shall try it myself one day.” 

“Y-You really should, O-Ohime-sama.”

The young prince tried to be short with words as he scratched his arm more vigorously. His expression seemed very troubled and his now red arm seemed to be growing as red as a tomato. The Uchiha has never seen that plant causing anything other than an immense discomfort, so they figured there was no real danger to the foolish prince. 

He was certainly going to learn his lesson. In the worst possible way.

“You seem troubled, Ōji-sama.” She asked, knowing very well what was happening to him. “Is there anything wrong?"

“Ohime-sama, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I need to be going now.” He said, quickly standing up, trembling as he held himself not to scratch himself like a stray dog with fleas.  "I’m afraid we’re going to settle our matters in another occasion."

“Certainly. I wish you a safe trip back home, then. And thank you for showing me how to use the… Divine Branch.”

“I-It was my pleasure. Excuse me.”

After clumsily bowing down his head, the man rushed out of the room, his servant running after him so they could try to help him somehow. The large doors were closed once they were out, and as soon as they were out of their sights, the Uchiha allowed himself to relax. There was a sly smile on his face, now, and were he not by her side, he would be laughing out loud at that moment. 

He couldn’t lose his composure in front of her, no. However, as the princess, she couldn’t seem to care about that at that moment.

The silence of the room was ruined by a wave of laughter that escaped her lips. It was silly and pure laughter— much similar to a child— and it was undeniable that she was having a great time. The was probably the best reaction he had ever seen from her, and at that moment, he just wished to hear her laughing more often. She had been a great actress during the whole thing, and right now, she just couldn’t hold back the satisfaction of a well-done job.

“I can’t believe he actually rubbed the urtiga all over his arm!” She said, still laughing to her heart’s content. “Divine Branch!? What did he take me for? That fool!”

“Your majesty!” Her handmaiden said, surprised to actually see such reaction coming from her.

“Oh, please, every person in the room knew what that plant was.”

“Still, this is no way for a princess to behave. I shall inform your father immediately.”

The maid spoke, firmly, quickly leaving the room so she could go inform the Daimyou of what had happened. That woman was supposed to have stayed by the princess’ side, and yet, she was just another one who didn’t really care about the young girl.

How sad, the Uchiha thought. Such a woman with no sense of loyalty to her princess. He just hoped the princess wouldn’t let those words discourage her laughter.

“Tch.” The princess sighed, taking a deep breath and recomposing herself. Silence took over the room for a couple of seconds, until she decided to speak once more. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone rubbing an urtiga so vigorously against their skin. He’s going to keep scratching for at least two days, don’t you think, Sasuke-san?”

“At least three, your Majesty.”

“Yeah… I believe he won’t forget me anytime soon.”

“Certainly not, your Majesty.”

“And my father will also be quite mad, too.” She said, but her voice was still filled with joy.

“I'm afraid he will.”

“Did you think it was too much? Be honest with me.”

“If I may, Ohime-sama… I don’t think you should worry about of anything that has happened in this room. You were simply curious about the Divine Branch. We all were, so I believe your majesty was great today.”

Another silence took over the room, and though he couldn’t see, he knew she was smiling. She shouldn’t blame herself for making a fool of that man, especially when he was the one trying to impress her with that lie.

She really was great that day.

She had played the prince’s own game and won in all the best ways possible. He didn’t even know what hit him, but the princess—oh— she knew exactly what she was doing. Her father would be furious once he heard about what she had done in order to get rid of yet another suitor, but it had certainly been a pretty fantastic trick.

Fantastic enough to make her laugh.

xxxxx

The first time he saw her tears, he knew he could never let her go.

––

And though the rumours had stopped and peace seemed to have prevailed, the castle was soon attacked. 

It happened at night, when most people were asleep and no one was expecting an attack. Over 300 men carrying swords and spears invaded through the gates, killing everyone that stood between them and the Daimyou. Royal guards were down, maids were slaughtered, and in the middle of that bloody mess, the rebels set the palace on fire. Screams composed a symphony of despair, and at that moment, both of the Uchiha brothers knew what they had to do.

They had to save the royal family. While the rest of the guards took care of the masses, they had to take the king and his daughter out before it was too late. They were asleep in their rooms when they heard the commotion, and they had barely any time to say goodbye before heading out and mixing themselves amongst those warriors. Itachi went after the Daimyou and Sasuke went after the princess, and even if they had been together for a long time, eventually, the two brothers were separated.

Each of them had their own orders to follow. Each of them was bound to their own person. And though they didn’t want to part, the Uchiha brothers knew what they had to do.

In order to reach the princess’ chambers, Sasuke had to fight his way through a lot of men that were trying to kill him. He swung his sword, landing precise hits and dirtying himself with the blood of his enemies. Eventually, he got cut on the arm by a spear that came from behind, but thankfully, it was really just a scratch. He kicked that man backwards before stabbing his stomach, trying his best not to take too long to reach her.

He had to be fast. At that moment, when the moon seemed to be tinged by the blood of innocent people, he could just hope for her to be alive. She still had her whole life ahead of hers, and the gods would be unfair if they allowed her to die before even living. There were still scrolls she had to read, stories she had to tell and places she had to meet.

No, the princess could not die that night. He wasn’t going to allow that.

His tired feet had finally arrived at the corridor that lead to her room, and much to his apprehensive heart, there was an assassin trying to force his way inside. Though the door seemed to be holding up for now, Sasuke knew it would be just a matter of time before that man could get to the princess. His bloodshot eyes were seeking to spill her blood with his blade, and he knew there would be no stopping that man without taking away his life.  

A man who’s driven by hatred will stop for nothing, his brother would say, and at that moment, Sasuke really understood the meaning behind those words.

“Open the door, princess! It useless to run away! Come outside and take responsibility for all the things your father has done to us!”

“Stand back from this door!” The Uchiha screamed, right before storming towards the bandit. It didn't take long before they engaged in a sword fight, and though he was not as fast as his brother, it was undeniable that his opponent knew what he was doing.

Their blades clashed multiple times, and even if the enemy was trying to distract him by badmouthing the royal family, Sasuke gave him no ears. Both the Daimyou and the princess were good people, and whatever it was that those bandits were trying to obtain, murdering a father and his daughter was not going to get them anywhere. 

They weren’t going to get what they wanted. He was not going to let them.

In a swift move, then, the Uchiha purposefully offered his enemy an opening, and when that dirty man decided to take advantage of that and pierce his left arm, Sasuke took the opportunity and stabbed him in the heart. His left arm was bleeding now and it certainly hurt, but at that moment, as his enemy fell onto the ground, he knew there was no time to worry about himself.

He had to save the princess. He had to get her out of there.

“Ohim-sama, open the door! I need to get you somewhere safe!” He said, banging against the door, his teeth gritted in pain.

“Sasuke-san!?” Her voice sounded exasperated, and at that moment, he was glad to know she recognized his voice.

“It's me. Hurry, you’re not safe here!”

In a blink of an eye, the door was opened, and even if he had expected things not to be as calm and serene as they usually are, he couldn’t help. but be taken aback by the sight of her.

The princess was right there, standing in front of him, and for the first time, there were no curtains hiding her features. His dark eyes widened at the scene, and though he had many times wondered how she looked like, not even in his sweetest dreams would he have pictured such a beautiful woman.

At last, he saw her face.

Her skin was pale and delicate like porcelain, her short hair covered her ears, and her eyes— her emerald-green eyes that have observed him so many times— though clouded by tears, were probably the prettiest things he had ever seen in his life. They shone brighter than her father’s and it was as if they were incapable of holding any secret behind them. They clashed against his dark orbs, looking relieved and scared at the same time. 

They were begging him for help. And he would gladly risk his life for those eyes.

“Sasuke-san! Y-You’re bleeding!” She said, immediately reaching out to inspect his arm. Her touch was warm and soft, and even if his arm was sensitive, her touch didn’t hurt him.

“Don't worry about me, Ohime-sama. We need to get you out of here.”

“What about my father? What about your brother and the others?”

“My brother went after the Daimyou. You are my priority now.”

“But if you come with me, they will go after you, too! Sasuke-san, get out of here!”

“What are you talking about, Ohime-sam—“

“Stop calling me that!” She screamed, leaving him speechless. “If my father’s lucky, his title as the Daimyou will be the only thing he’ll lose! I’m not a princess anymore and you are no longer a royal guard! You’re free!”

As she spoke those words, his eyes could see the way her hands were trembling. The young girl was scared— of course she was— and yet, she was doing her best to protect him. She knew he would have better chances if he didn’t have to protect her, and if that meant he could live or just focus on helping his brother, then she wouldn’t mind staying behind. Sakura was looking after him, like a princess looks after her people. If not for that rebellion, perhaps, she would’ve become a terrific leader.

“Sakura.” He said, firmly, his eyes looking directly into hers. She was certainly caught by surprise by the way her name had rolled out of his tongue, and her green eyes widened at that. “I'm not leaving you behind.”

“B-But why? I’ve told you that I’m not—“

“It doesn’t matter. Even if you’re no longer a princess, I want to save you. So, please, come with me, Sakura.”

His eyes were still on her as he spoke those words, and he reached out with his right hand so she could take it. At that moment, the world she knew was turning into ashes and the people she knew were losing their lives. The former princess was about to begin a new life and he was the only one who would be by her side. They have gone a long way together already, and as she took his hand, they both realized that they still had a long way to go.

Together. The former princess and her former guard.

As they escaped through the narrow corridors of the burning palace, they were leaving behind everything they knew. A new life was about to begin and they didn’t know if her father and his brother would be able to join them one day.

From that moment on, they only had each other.

She clutched her hands tight towards her chest as she felt her heart quicken its beats. She had never seen the young Uchiha so close before, and he hadn’t even glanced back at her that much.

But then he did, and her air caught up. He stared a few seconds, she seemed to start to heat up and he wondered if she would be alright after removing his small hand from her face.

She simply blinked, he simply raised one of his eyebrows.

“Sorry” he said shortly, quickly avoiding her curious eyes and directing his own towards the floor, he had heard something falling when they clashed.

Sakura was slowly brought back to present when she heard him speak. Her eyes following the boy as he picked up what had fallen from her arms.

“Is this your book?” he heard him ask, and she gasped as she took the item from his hand.

“Yes, thank you Sasuke-kun” she spoke at last, although letting him know she knew his name before even introducing himself, which made him realize he didn’t know hers.

“Um, what was your name?” smart, Sasuke, he thought. That would made her think he had known of her instead of being the only one who does not know his classmates’ names.

“Sakura, Sakura Haruno” she had calmed down her heartbeats but the blush was now threatening to reveal how embarrassed she was of speaking with him. She was feeling self-conscious since a while now, but the boy in front of her had suddenly had something attracting his attention as a new presence neared them.

“I see, so, Sakura, please come with me” Sakura’s eyes widened once more as she felt herself being mangled around by the boy.

Soon after she noticed too, footsteps and giggles echoing in the narrow passageway both Sasuke and her exited through the other side. She supposed Sasuke-kun surely disliked attention but she also couldn’t help but feel a little giddy inside seeing as she was the one stuck with him by choice.

Because, he could have just left her there, couldn’t he?

Glancing at the boy leading their way, she noticed his focused gaze as he continued to hold her small wrist.

She averted her eyes to avoid dwelling into it and becoming red faced. In the process, noticing the small path she used to follow towards the small lake. A small corner in which she used to read peacefully. Without really intending to do so, she stopped and made Sasuke be pulled back.

“Wha—”

“Here, they never come here” she said as she took the role now and lead him towards the grown path of grass, greenery reaching to the height of their small chests, shadowed by really bushy and green trees surrounding the area.

Sasuke was skeptical, since what he really wished was a way to return back home, but he figured he still had time before his curfew and those girls would surely find something else to entertain themselves in short time.

He let himself be guided by Sakura, somehow curious about this secret passage and the way this girl seemed to know her way around the area. She blended so naturally between the greenery and bright natural colors, her hair glowing and flowing with the natural light and air of the summer day.

He was still the one holding onto her, she simply led the way seemingly unaffected by his touch and he suddenly felt self-conscious. Why was he holding on to a girl?

He couldn’t dwell much into that detail because the second right after he heard her telling him they had arrived.

Looking up he saw the small cave a few steps afar from them, beneath a really old tree leaning towards the luminous lake. He let go of her and she run towards her hideaway. Book in hand, she left a trace of her small feet on the soft dirt ground. Completely out of sight of everything up hill, she smiled back at him when she had taken a seat under the small gap the cave allowed for a tiny person like her, and maybe also him.

Compared to his first impression, she was now glowing; surrounded by this soothing and natural atmosphere, she was even flipping the pages of her book now at ease. He blinked a few times, taking in the surroundings because one can’t simply be too cautious. But, after noticing they were really down hill and at a blind sight from up, he approached once more.  

Sakura seemed to be expectant of his thoughts about her secret spot, so she was staring at him with an excited smile. He decided to ignore her bright eyes and instead distract himself from the uncalled heat that had started to burn in his ears by looking at the book she was flipping through.

“What is your book about?”

“It’s a story book. My dad brought it from one of his trips to Iron” she took the bait and instead continued to excitedly tell him all about the book that held so much history about the Iron country. She also told him about how his father liked to collect different storybooks for her, all from different places and she enjoyed adventure stories the most. How the hero saved the citizens, how he battled many enemies, his special techniques, and some jutsus were even thought through the book. That particular point picked the boy’s interest.

“That is really cool, have you learned it?”

“Oh” Sasuke watched how Sakura’s radiant light gradually faded “well I don’t have anyone to practice it with, my friends don’t seem that interested in books and the likes”.

“Why not?” this time Sasuke burrowed his brow, he could never understand girls. So far, Sakura seemed much different from the rest. Sure, she was petite and seemed just as fragile; but she was also curious and brilliant. And he kind of liked it, she was easy to be with, interesting even.  

“Well, they like making themselves look prettier and cooler”.

“What is so cool about fixing hair and giggling all the time? I think you are cooler” before he could help himself, he spoke his mind. He was a little absent recalling the times his brother came home from a mission and told him about his adventures. He enjoyed that, and he was glad he had found someone that enjoyed and admired the same things like him.

The wind blew letting the trees make a fresh lullaby as it caressed their blushing faces, having realized the secret thoughts that had been shared without noticing.

In the peaceful hideaway of summer memories, both of them had found a partner who would have their backs.