#ssmd2

Rated T (for suggestive content and language)

Summary: Only in another life would Sakura ever hate Sasuke, and even then it’s debatable. Though in a different sky, the stars always follow the same pattern (RTN AU, First Chapter of Story that I’ve been working on) 

 Annoying

"You aren't mad at me, are you Sakura?" 

Ah. There they were. 

Uchiha Sasuke's infamous Puppy-Dog Eyes. 

Haruno Sakura held back a sneer as she turned her attention back to the romance novel she was currently indulging, not in the mood for any of her overly hormonal team mate's antics.  The sweet, childlike innocence in those round, onyx orbs of his was as sincere as a tray of fucking cheese. Sasuke knew better than anyone that she was mad at him. 

She was always mad at him. 

"Sa-ku-ra..." he cooed, trying again for her attention, speaking her name at a low and chilling octave, knowing she hated when he did that.

The Fourth Hokage's daughter only snorted at the sound of her name rolling seductively off his lips, before pivoting her entire body away from him, crossing her legs with a steely grace.  

Sasuke rolled his eyes, unable to repress the smirk that had been playing at the corner of his mouth. "Well, I must have really hit close to the mark this time, you're even pulling out your age-old Ice Queen persona." 

Sakura simply glared at the written text in front of her, refusing to get in yet another spat with the arrogant boy. However, the young Uchiha had not quite given up yet, he knew one particular trick that would get to the cold young woman.

"You know, no one has mastered the silent treatment quite like you, Sakura-chan."

"Don't call me that." Sakura hissed quickly, shooting him one of her nastiest looks. She never let him call her that.

Sasuke's smirk deepened. "Seems there is still some room for improvement though." 

"Look, there is a pair of breasts right over there, Sasuke!" she exclaimed with feigned excitement, pointing to a fairly pretty brunette who was making her way down the street. "Why don't you go bother them for a while?"  

Sasuke eyed the passing young woman thoughtfully, mildly interested, before shaking his head and turning his attention back to the spunky rosette. "Shouldn't do that, you might get jealous, then you'd be even madder at me." 

Sakura stood then, abruptly, closing her book with a resounding snap, as she put distance between herself and the young Uchiha. 

"Come on, Sakura!" he called after her, growing annoyed as the kunochi went to find another place to wait for the rest of their squad. She was secretly pleased that his voice had an agitated edge to it instead of the usual carefree ring that usually resounded from his mouth. "Are you going to be like this the whole mission?" 

Silently, with her unparalleled grace, the kunochi leapt up several branches of a nearby oaktree, before settling back down with her book.  It was all of nine seconds before Sasuke was perched behind her, peering over her shoulder. 

"...how's your latest 'Kiss Handsome Boy' book?" he asked coyly. 

"The hero is not handsome, he's deformed," Sakura replied with a roll of her eyes.  "What's compelling about him is how deeply he loves and how loyal he is... Something you wouldn't know anything about." 

"Deformed as in one side of his otherwise attractive face," Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Oh, is there a scar over one of his eyes? Or is he missing a limb?" 

Sakura looked skyward in agitation. 

"Heh." Sasuke smirked. "He's just missing a limb isn't he?" 

"Would you just leave me alone, please?" Sakura asked him with a sigh, shifting down the branch. 

"Oh, come on, aren't you going to tell me more about your hero?" the Uchiha asked smugly. "I bet he's all brooding and tortured with a tragic past, and I'm sure only you can save him." 

Sakura growled in agitation before closing the book once more and placing it in her back pouch before turning her jade orbs on the Uchiha playboy.

"Okay, Sasuke, you win," she said, crossing her arms. "You have my attention, now what the hell do you want?" 

"Hey," Sasuke put his hands up in surrender. "I'm just trying to find out why you're mad at me, Sakura-chan, it's not good for a team to go on a mission with unresolved issues." 

"I'm not mad at you, Sasuke." she said evenly. "I just genuinely can't stand you." 

"Aw." Sasuke chided, swinging his legs over the branch to let them swing. "We both know that's not true, we used to be friends once, you even used to call me Sasuke-kun, remember?" 

"I was just a stupid kid back then," she replied. "Now, would you leave me alone, it's bad enough I have to spend a whole week with you." 

The infamous playboy placed a hand over his heart. "Ah, you wound me, Sakura-chan... Don't you care at all about the importance of teamwork?" 

"Oh, are you going to lecture me about teamwork?" she asked him. "You, the one who abandoned the team to flirt with that busty nimrod last time?" 

"You're so high and mighty, you know that?" He scoffed. "Sorry that I like to enjoy myself once in a while and talk to people, unlike Menma who can barely form coherent words around women, and you, because you're too busy trying to keep up you're frigid bitch facade." 

"Wow, Sasuke." Sakura gave him a mocking grin. "And you wonder why I don't like you." 

"That's your problem, you don't like anyone," Sasuke explained matter-o-factly. "That's why you're so lonely all the time." 

She felt her breathing hitch and her whole body stiffen at the word. 

What did he just say?

Lonely...

"How would you know?" she asked lowly. "You don't know a damn thing about being alone."

"Sakura..." he began, realizing he had gone a little overboard.  She was just so harsh sometimes, he couldn't help it. "I didn't mean it like that, I just..." 

"You're so damn annoying! Acting like you actually know me!" she exclaimed, so angry she didn't know what to do with herself. "Why don't you just keep your mouth shut about things you don't understand!?"  She stood up and leapt down from the tree, unwilling to wait around with him a moment more. 

Luckily, Menma appeared, walking up the cobbled path, giving her a shy smile. "M-morning, Sakura-chan."

"Hello, Menma." she replied with a sigh of relief. "It's so good to see you." 

"It really is," Sasuke replied, jumping down from his perch. "I'll have a witness in case Sakura-chan tries to do me in." 

Menma sighed to himself. It seemed this would be another mission of tension between his two teammates.  "Hey, Sasuke... M-my mom made cookies for the journey if you guys want some," he told them, holding out a brown paper bag where his mother had drawn a lopsided smiley face.  It was an immature tactic to make peace, but it was effective more times than not. 

"Ah!" Sasuke exclaimed, helping himself. "Let me at 'em! Kushina-san's cookies are always the best!" 

"Sakura-chan?" Menma encouraged her to take one, trying not to blush. 

"No thanks, Menma." Sakura replied, putting up a hand.  "I'm on a cleanse, but they smell delicious." 

"A cleanse?" Menma asked. 

"Probably for the best." Sasuke nodded. "They’re too sweet to share with someone so bitter. Not to mention you've been growing a little thicker around the middle." 

Menma cringed in fear. Did Sasuke just call her fat? Did he dare? So much for his peace cookies. Maybe he should try dumplings next time.

A sort of dark shadow fell over Sakura's eyes as she shot a deadly glare up at her raven-haired teammate. 

Sasuke smirked in response. "Sorry, koishii, that doesn't work on me." 

Sakura had a talent for scaring off her many admirers with that dark look alone, however, that frightening attitude of hers had an opposite effect on Sasuke.

 He wasn't afraid, only amused. 

"Heh," she replied, startling him a bit and switching gears as an easy smile spread across her face, mirroring his own. That may not work on him, but she knew something that would. "On second thought, I would love a cookie."

She strode past him then, with a little extra swing of her hips, purposefully knocking her shoulder with his own as she did so, and took a large round cookie from the offered bag."Thanks, Menma-kun, you're so sweet!"

Surprising both her male teammates, the kunoichi leaned up and brushed her lips against Menma's cheek as a token of her appreciation, making the blonde turn seven different shades of red and Sasuke's smirk diminish a little. 

"Da...uh... N-no problem, Sakura-chan." the poor boy stuttered, his hands clenching around the cookie bag, lost somewhere between pure joy and mortification.  His mom was right.  Sweets were the way to a girl's heart! 

Sakura turned and smirked triumphantly at Sasuke, glad to see his own had melted into a displeased frown, as she took a slow enticing bite of the cookie.  "Mmm... you're right, Sasuke, these really are the best." 

"Hn." he hummed. "Careful you don't choke, Sakura."

"Good morning, students!" Kakashi greeted, interrupting the spat. 

"Ah, right on time as always, Sensei." Sasuke waved before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Where are we off to today?" 

...

"Tell me." 

"No, go away." 

"C'mon, just tell me what's bothering you." 

"No! Stop that! Get the hell away from me!" 

"Sakuraaaaa."

"Sasuke." 

"Look, I'll stop bugging you for the rest of the journey if you just tell me." 

"No!" 

"Please, Sakura," Kakashi begged from where he was leading the three teenagers. "For all our sakes, take him up on that offer." 

Menma nodded in agreement.  It was hard to focus on reading the map with those two bickering behind him. 

"I'm not giving in to his whining." the rosette replied angrily.  "...I'm going on ahead to scout." 

With that, she leapt away into the trees and disappeared from sight.  Sasuke moved to jump after her. 

"Sasuke, give her some space,"  Kakashi commanded.  

"Heh, she's not getting away that easily." was the ninja's careless and insubordinate reply.  

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, Sasuke knew Sakura. He had known her his whole life and she really wasn't the icy, badass bitch she made herself out to be.  She had been putting up with his normal bullshit for years with the usual scoff or roll of the eyes, whatever he had done most recently must have really upset her.  

And, truth be told, he wasn't all too happy with her either. 

"I can't really be sorry for something if I didn't even know what I did, you know?" he told her once he caught up with the angry kunoichi.  "Come on, I genuinely want to know what's wrong." 

"You, genuine?" she scoffed. 

"Okay, I don't deserve that," he told her. "We're not thirteen anymore, your lousy attitude is not going to send me into the corner feeling bad about what I did. I'm human, I make mistakes.  Not all of us can be perfect like you..." 

"You see, that's exactly what gets on my nerves." she turned on him then, her finger pointed right into his face. "You think everything is about you." 

"Well, isn't this about me?" he asked. "Isn't that why you haven't spoken to me for days, this morning, and that stunt with Menma you did to try and get me jealous." 

"Ha! Don't flatter yourself." 

"Well, you were." he laughed. "Unfortunately, I'm not the jealous type like you." 

That earned him a glare. "Whatever makes you feel better, Sasuke." 

"Look," he sighed. "Is this really going to be the whole mission? Can we just..." 

"Ino is not one of those girls!" she exclaimed. 

"What?" Sasuke asked, dumbfounded. 

"Ino," she remarked. "You know, my best friend? She's not like those girls you hang out with, the ones who enjoy flirting with you as much as you enjoy flirting with them.  She's shy, even more so than Menma, anytime a guy gives her any attention she takes it to heart. She took you flirting with her seriously." 

"Who are we even talking about?" he asked, confused. 

"INO!" Sakura exclaimed.  "She's been in every class with both of us since the Academy. Blonde haired, blue-green eyes, wears five layers of clothing." 

"Ohhhhh." Sasuke realized. "The stuttering girl... she's your friend still, huh?" 

"Kami." Sakura hissed, turning and jumping to another branch.  

"Look, Sakura, wait," Sasuke called after her. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean anything by it, it was Shikamaru's idea, it was all just a joke." 

"Just a joke?" Sakura asked him. "Hurting a girl's feelings and making her feel foolish for believing you were actually genuine is not a joke... do you know how hard it was for me to tell her what you're really like, that you didn't actually like her, you were just messing with her?" 

"Look, it was stupid," he sighed, jumping and landing beside her once more. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, you tell her that next time you see her," she quipped. "Maybe she'll forgive you." 

"Fine, mama bear, I will."  he sighed, placing a heavy hand on her shoulder. "As usual, you're blowing this way out of proportion." 

She shoved his hand away and crossed her arms. "I told you what was bothering me, wasn't that the deal? Now stop bugging me for the rest of the trip." 

With that she jumped away again, not slowing down, leaving Sasuke to stare after her. 

Kami, that girl. She drove him absolutely crazy. 

... 

They set up camp and Team 7 had fallen into a not so easy silence.  Sasuke had been true to his word and let Sakura alone, but the tension from before was still sizzling in the air as they went about their tasks. It was all standard teenage shit for Kakashi, but Menma was always uncomfortable with any sort of discourse, especially between his only two friends, and found himself actually missing their bickering. This competitive silence was somehow worse. 

Once they all settled around the fire, Menma had calculated that no one had spoken for an hour and twenty-three minutes. While he was a quiet fellow, himself, this was just ridiculous. He turned to Kakashi with a pleading look. 

Do something, Sensei! 

But the silver-haired jonin was looking over their map, planning for the next morning, quite content with the silence, no matter how awkward it was. Menma turned to his right to see Sakura at the farthest end of the fire, her nose in her book, legs crossed and body pivoted away from them all.  To his left sat Sasuke, sharpening his kunai, a full pout on his face as he watched Sakura's back. Menma had never seen him so grumpy. Though bothering Sakura was his lifeblood, being cut off for even an hour seemed to have negative effects. 

Menma, knowing it was up to him to break the ice, squeezed his cookie bag in dread. He hated bringing attention to himself, but if it was for the good of his team, he would do it.  He glanced around before choosing the member of his squad he currently liked best to try to engage with.  While it was a wide known fact that Sasuke was his best friend, Sakura-chan was very pretty. 

Plus she had kissed him that morning, he still felt it burning beneath his skin.  

"How is your book, Sakura-chan?" he chirped, feeling blood rush to his cheeks. The sound of his soft, raspy voice was like a piano crashing from the sky on top of them all. He felt Sasuke's glare burning a hole in the back of his head and realized that he may have betrayed a rule of comradery between them that he had been unaware of. Apparently, if the Uchiha wasn't talking to Sakura, he wasn't allowed to talk to her either.

Forgive me, brother!

Sakura lowered her book and gave him a rare sweet smile over her shoulder. "It's a work of genius." she sighed dreamily. "The hero just proposed to his dying lover." 

"Oh, that's um... nice," Menma replied, though he wasn't sure if it was. He wasn't one for reading, and certainly couldn't manage a thick romance novel without dying from secondhand embarrassment, but Sakura never went on a mission without one. It was the funny riddle of her being for her teacher and teammates, that someone as cold and crass as the village Ice Queen read sappy paperbacks. 

Sasuke scoffed from behind, but Menma didn't even dare to face him. "There's one more cookie, if you want it, Sakura-chan." he offered, holding out the crumpled bag once more. If he was going to have to speak, he might as well try and get another kiss for his efforts. Sakura beamed and not only accepted his offer, but set aside her book before rising and coming to sit beside him. "Thanks, Menma." she beamed, making him turn a full shade of scarlet. "You are so thoughtful." 

That set the Uchiha off, he tossed his kunai aside and rose to his full height. "Why does she get the last cookie?" 

"I-I uh..."

"You don't have to explain yourself to him, Menma." Sakura told him firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder, making his soul leave his body a little. "Despite what he thinks, he's not the boss of you." 

"Oh, wow," Sasuke started to laugh, thoroughly pissed off now, but refusing to acknowledge her before she acknowledged him. "Real nice, Uzumaki, leaving me high and dry for a pretty face." 

"Sorry..." the blond began, feeling awful. 

"Don't apologize to him!" Sakura exclaimed. “Like he’s one to talk.” 

“Look, here’s a little free advice, Menma.” Sasuke went on regardless. “Cute as she is, she’s just going to chew you up and spit you out, there are a lot of way nicer girls around.” 

Menma felt Sakura’s hand squeeze his shoulder unintentionally and knew that comment had more than stung the kunoichi. He felt something foreign in his chest flare up all of sudden. 

“Sakura-chan is nice!” he told him, taking a tone with his friend he never had before. “She’s always nice to me!” 

“Only cause it serves a purpose.” Sasuke rolled his eyes, unsure how the kid could be so clueless. 

“Kami, you really are the most arrogant, hypocritical, egotistical, delusional fuck boy to ever grace the planet!” Sakura all but screamed at such an accusation. It was all she could do to not send a fist into his nose. 

“Ah, there she is!” Sasuke grinned triumphantly.  

Kakashi sighed, looking toward the heavens. It had been such a glorious hour and a half.  Perhaps he had summoned some sort of karma for foolishly hoping to finish his work before they both started back up again. 

“You’re such a horrid friend to him, do you know that?” she stood up and strode right up to the boy that loomed over her about a good seven inches. “You’re always telling him what to do and making him feel like he’s second best to you.”

“Yeah, well it’s better than you not even letting him speak up for himself.” he pointed out. “Stop trying to be everyone’s mother.” 

“Excuse me?” she asked, placing her hands on her hips. 

“Look, if you’re so concerned about Menma and his feelings, then why don’t stop using him as fuel to get to me?” 

“Oh, get over yourself, Sasuke!” 

“That’s enough!” Kakashi intervened. He considered himself an even-tempered man, but he could only take so much of the ongoing saga of Sasuke and Sakura. Honestly, he’d come to wish they’d get it over with and just fuck or do each other in. The older they got the more their bickering and sexual tension was getting out of hand. “Both of you, go blow off some steam, Sakura go North, Sasuke go South, I don’t want to see either of you back here until you can both be amiable comrades to one another and stop pulling Menma into the middle of your immature spats.” 

“But, Sensei…” 

“Now, Sakura!” He commanded, pointing his finger, making her huff as she grabbed her bag and leaped off. 

“Whatever.” Sasuke shrugged, turning and taking her leave as well, leaving the silver hair ninja with his remaining student. He ruffled his blond hair tiredly. “What are we going to do with them, huh, Menma?” 

“Don’t know, Sensei.” he shrugged. “They really hate each other, don’t they?” 

Kakashi’s mouth formed a line. “If only it were that simple.” 

…

Sakura knew it was stupid to think that Sasuke would, for once, listen to Kakashi and actually put some distance between them, but she would have liked at least a second to herself. 

“You’re really something else, you know that?” he asked coming up behind her. 

“Didn’t you hear Sensei? You’re supposed to go South.” she shot back heatedly, storming off faster, knowing it was pointless. If there was one thing she’d admit that Sasuke had on her it was speed. He was soon walking alongside her. 

“Who cares what he says?” he huffed. “I’m not done with you yet.” 

“Yeah, well I’m done with you.” she retorted. 

“No, you don’t get to call me out on leading your friend on, when you’re doing the same thing to Menma, and then call me a hypocrite,” he told her. “That’s not how it works.” 

She stopped abruptly and turned to face him. “I’m not leading him on.” 

His face went deadpan at that, before taking on a persona that she assumed was herself. 

“Oh, Menma-kun, I’d love a cookie!” he gushed as high as his deep voice would let him go. “You’re so sweet! You’re so thoughtful! I’m not just using you to get under Sasuke’s skin at all!”

She turned and kept walking at that, enraged that he would make such an accusation, and even more so because he was not completely wrong either. 

“Ever thought about how that will make Menma feel?” he asked. “You know how he feels about you.” 

“What are you talking about?” she stopped and turned around. 

“He’s in love with you!” Sasuke exclaimed as if she were an idiot. 

Sakura felt something snap like a twig somewhere inside her. “No, he’s not.” 

“Yes, he is.” Sasuke nodded reassuringly. 

“No, he’s not.” 

“Yes he is!” he nearly yelled in exasperation “Most men are! Have you seen yourself?” 

“...Kami” she whispered slowly, wishing the earth would just swallow her up right then and there. She hadn’t realized that Menma had a crush on her, let alone loved her. How could someone who spent so much time with her be in love with her? That was insane. 

She thought of all the times she had sent him attention just to spur Sasuke and never felt so low. While it was not often and never harmless, it was flirty and could have easily made him feel that she was interested in something more than friendship. She was no better than the Uchiha, 

“Yeah, it’s true, so stop playing with his feelings.” 

As guilty as she felt, she couldn’t bring herself to admit defeat to him, not three times in one day. She’d make things right with Menma, but Sasuke didn’t have to know that. “Maybe I’m not playing.” she shrugged coyly, turning and continuing on her way. 

“...what?” Sasuke muttered in confusion. 

“Maybe I’m in love with him too,” she suggested with raised palms. “I mean…” 

Sasuke was suddenly in front of her, making her almost walk head first into his broad chest. “You’re not in love with Menma,” he stated as if it were the most basic fact of life, like the rising and the setting of the sun. 

“Why not?” she asked with a raised brow, genuinely asking herself as much as she was asking him. Why hadn’t she ever thought of Menma as something more? “He’s handsome, considerate, sensitive and always good to me, why wouldn’t I be in love with him?” 

“Because you’re in love with me,” Sasuke told her just as simply. “That’s why.” 

She stared up at him, lips parting wordlessly at such a claim. Where there was a snap before now felt like she had been struck by a bolt of lightning. To her surprise, as well as his, she began to laugh. She laughed so hard she bent over, hugging herself around her middle. Sasuke remained stoic, emitting only a small smile when anyone else would have been more than wounded. 

“I’m not in love with you, Sasuke.” she told him when she straightened up and caught her breath. Where had the clueless bastard got that idea? He was just watching her with a knowing, adoring look in his eye, his hands tucked snuggly in his pockets. She tilted her head up so that she was looking directly into his eyes. “I hate you.” 

Honestly, what planet had he been living on? 

Suddenly he took her face gently into his hands and made her still, all mirth and smugness abandoning her. She stared up at him in shock, eyes wide and sparkling in the darkness as he kept her there, not two inches from his face. Blood rushed to her face so fast that it felt as if she were burning alive from the inside. Why was everything so quiet all of a sudden?

“What was that, Sakura?” he asked with an easy smile, seeing everything he needed to see, rolling her name around the way he knew drove her crazy. “I didn’t quite hear you.” 

“I-I said,” she breathed out shakily, wondering what the hell was wrong with her voice. It sounded so soft and unsure. Like it was someone else’s entirely. 

He had caught her off guard with this play. Nothing in her body was working like it was supposed to. Damn it! Why did he have to be so fucking beautiful? And tall? And sexy? 

It wasn’t fair. 

But, it didn’t prove anything, she assured herself. He was Sasuke. Everyone was attracted to him one way or another. That’s the only effect he had. Attraction wasn’t love. She wasn’t in love with him. In fact, this only made her more angry at him. If she could feel her hands she would have sent a fist straight into his perfect jawline. 

She swallowed thickly. “I said, I hate…”

Kami, was he going to kiss her?

She stiffened as she felt his thumb brush along her cheekbones as he loomed over her all the closer, his hot breath spilling over her face. 

“What?” he hummed softly. “Go on, say it.”

She stared at his lips, contemplative for a moment of what it would be like to kiss someone, but quickly remembered just who she was dealing with and snapped her gaze back to his dark eyes, so close now she could count his lashes. 

“I hate you.” she whispered, her eyes darkening, it was hard to breathe at this angle he held her. But, she did it. She got it out. 

She won. 

He smiled then, looking so pleased that for a moment she wondered if she had said the wrong thing. The opposite thing. 

He leaned forward ever so slightly, hands slipping down to her neck, and she nearly jumped out of her skin, but his lips took an alternate route gently and brushed over the hollow of her cheek, the same place she had bestowed a kiss to Menma for his sweets. 

He pulled back and she watched him, flushed and frustrated by his brash action and by the burning in her face centering around the focal point where he had touched her.

SasuSaku Month 2018!

Day 02:

Prompt: Blood, Sweat and Tears and Something More, Sasusaku Month 2017, Day 2 and Day 5

Summary: The moment when Sasuke realises just how beautiful Sakura really is. (Set during the Chunnin Exams after the attack by the Sound genin Team.)

It was only after the entire crowd cleared from the gathering did Sasuke let himself scan Sakura up and down.

She was currently busy telling Naruto to shut up as he relentlessly pestered her on to fill him in on the things that had occurred while the hyperactive ninja had been knocked out.

Naruto was particularly incessant on knowing about Sakura’s sudden change in hair style and it irritated Sasuke to no end. She was clearly injured and yet all the idiot could think about was her hair.

The other teams had left a while back, they’d cleared off fairly quickly with the Hyuuga’s team being the first to leave and after a sharp look from Sasuke’s side the other rookie team had followed suit even though the blonde girl had been reluctant to walk away.

They were scared of him and rightly so because even Sasuke didn’t quite understand what had happened. Being ignorant was something Sasuke wasn’t used to and he’d never admit it out loud but his behaviour had scared him too.

Naruto was blissfully unaware of his predicament and Sakura….

Sakura had been scared too. He’d seen the fear in her eyes when she’d just barely managed to stop him. His sharingan had etched every detail of her expression at that time into his mind.

It had been the shock, the shock of seeing Sakura- Sakura terrified of him that had brought him back from the edge of slipping away entirely.

“Sakura where are you hurt?” Sasuke asked quietly interrupting his teammates conversation. He’d noticed how Sakura had sunk to the ground the minute the Yamanaka girl had left as if she’d been holding herself up just for show.

“Oh I’m fine Sasuke-kun!” She said brightly turning her attention from Naruto with a wide smile,“Don’t worry.”

Sasuke’s eyebrow arched up at her lie. Even though she looked marginally better than when he’d woken up that wasn’t saying much. Her hands were strategically clasped behind her back and one of her eyes had more or less swollen shut due to a large bloody cut above it. She was pale and bloody and if he looked closely he could see that Sakura was still shaking.

“Naruto go get water.” Sasuke ordered picking himself up. Sasuke wasn’t particularly steady on his feet yet and the mark on his shoulder ached sending faint pulses up his neck.

“Sasuke-kun you shouldn’t stand-”

“Sakura shut up.” His voice cut her off abruptly. He didn’t have the time or the energy to deal with Sakura’s uneeded concern for him. Right now she was the priority.

“Teme what do you think you’re doing?” Naruto got up yelling at the Uchiha,“Don’t be so rude to Sakura-chan!”

“Naruto water now.”

Something in Sasuke’s tone must have gotten through to the blonde boy because he abruptly got up with a pout on his face and marched into the forest.

Sasuke silently stalked towards their supplies. From the corner of his eye he could see Sakura struggling to get up. Her arms were now on full display, sporting multiple bloody cuts as if she’d been stabbed by a kunai.

Sasuke flinched despite himself.

He’d figured as much when he’d noticed there was blood all over his shirt which couldn’t have possibly been his considering the stellar job Sakura had done wrapping up all the wounds he’d sustained while fighting against Orochimaru.

The blood must have gotten on his shirt when she’d wrapped her arms around him.

He quickly turned around focusing on getting their medical supplies out as he felt his cheeks heat up at the memory.

His expression darkened quickly enough as he remembered his total loss of control. He was an Uchiha not some toy of a man who had his own ulterior motives. Even if the power offered to him was unbelievably tempting it meant nothing to Sasuke- nothing if he had to see that look of absolute horror in Sakura’s eyes when she’d realised just how close he’d been to truly becoming a monster.

Sakura had always smelt like her namesake, like cherry blossoms and looked at him like she was the single bright star in an otherwise moonless night.

He’d never really cared for either of those attributes until the moment she’d wrapped her arms around him, her expression terrified and desperate.

Stop, she’d begged him, Please just stop.

She had been bloody and had been shaking as she clung onto him. Her arms had anchored him back to himself but for one terrifying moment Sasuke had considered batting her away.

He’d returned to himself the very next second and he’d pushed the dark writhing power inside him as far away from himself as he possibly could.

For at that moment he’d had the choice between the power he’d always wanted, no needed for his revenge and Sakura.

He’d made the decision without even thinking because up until then he’d never truly realised just how much he’d relied on Sakura and her never changing belief in him.

“Sasuke-kun are you alright?” Sakura had managed to make her way next to him, the same forced smile plastered on her face.

Sasuke supressed the urge to snap at her. She was the one who was bloody, bruised and barely standing and yet she was concerned about him.

Why was she so goddamn annoying all the time?

Why was she trying to hide the fact that she was afraid of him?

“Sit.” He ordered.Thankfully she agreed, even if it was probably because she barely had any energy left to stand.

Sasuke followed suit and bent forward to asses the cut above her eye. He had to clean it before it got infectious.

“It’s okay Sasuke-kun.” She reached to take the cloth out of his hand but Sasuke brushed her away.

“Sakura stop being annoying.”

Her hand dropped down and he sighed.

Sasuke sometimes wished he was gentler with her but life hadn’t given him enough chances to be gentle and he’d long forgotten how.

He poured water on the clean cloth so that he could start with wiping her face. He carefully ran the cold cloth down the shallow scrapes on her cheeks to the small bloody cut at the corner of her mouth. She sat there absolutely still as he moved in a little closer to gently clean the cut above her swollen eye.

He brushed her hair out of her eyes as he continued to work. He paused after he was done his eyes flitting towards her dull choppy hair and the blood that stained it.

This was all his fault. If he’d just-

“Sasuke-kun?” Her voice brought him back and realising how he was vacantly staring at her and he pulled back immediately jostling Sakura’s leg in the process which made her cry out loudly in pain.

For some reason Sasuke felt like he’d been stabbed.

“What’s wrong?” He asked his voice tinged with the slightest trace of panic.

“My leg hurts a little.” She conceeded,“ It’s noth-”

“Where?” Sasuke demanded, his voice leaving no room for her to protest.

She stretched her leg out wincing slightly as he inspected it. Her right leg was a bloody mess that she’d purposefully covered with her long dress and the cut a few inches above her knee was worryingly deep.

She’d managed to keep quiet about it the entire time and then had the audacity to worriedly hover around him asking if he was alright.

He barely managed to restrain himself from shouting at her for being careless and just so-so goddamn stupid.

What the hell was she thinking picking a fight with ninjas clearly out of her league? She should have run away screw him and the idiot.

No she shouldn’t have run away instead she should have happily handed Sasuke over to them, after all he’d been what they had wanted. Instead she’d foolishly chosen to protect him all alone against three ninjas who were obviously far stronger than she was.

When had Sakura become so goddamn insufferable?

He forced himself to calm down, the mark on his neck was pulsating dangerously. Getting mad at Sakura would do him little good especially since he very knew it would be pointless.

After all if there was one thing that Kakashi had taught all three of them it was that loyalty to their team came first.

He forced himself to focus on the wound on her leg considering his options. He’d have to use the last of their water and cleaning it would be a painful process so it would be best to keep her distracted while he got to it.

His eyes snapped up to meet hers,“Tell me what happened when I was unconscious.”

The hesitation was clear in Sakura’s eyes and it was justified considering that even Sasuke couldn’t give her the guarantee that if she actually recounted the tale of how those bastards had hurt her that he wouldn’t go on a rampage and actually finish the job.

None the less she started recounting the events that had occurred as he began working.

“Orochimaru disappeared after he bit you. Those marks appeared near your neck and you collapsed.”

He vaguely recalled he’d held her hand as if his life had depended on it until he’d finally lost consciousness. The last thing he remembered was seeing Sakura’s worried face hovering above his and thinking that there were worse ways to die.

“I brought you and Naruto here as quickly as I could.” Sakura continued,“I set up a few traps and-”

She broke off wincing and Sasuke quickly moved his hand cursing himself for not being more careful.

“I’m sorry.” He said quietly,“Go on.”

“Naruto wasn’t hurt, I think he was just put into some sort of deep sleep. Your fever was pretty bad and your breathing was shallow. I-I thought-”

Her voice wavered but she did her best to hide it as she continued,“The sound genin attacked at dawn. Thankfully Lee-san appeared and…..”

His grip on the cloth tightened as she recounted in detail how brave Rock Lee had been while defending her even if he had been defeated in the end. When he heard her say that seeing Lee stand up for her had inspired her to fight the mark on his neck flared dangerously and he had to focus all his energy on it so that he didn’t lose control.

“….. but I got caught in the end and the only way I could escape was to cut my hair. That’s why it looks like such a mess.You probably don’t like it- Ino told me you like girls with long hair but it was the only thing I could think of. I’m sure if you’d been there you’d have easily defeated them Sasuke-kun. I’m sorry that in the end I was still pretty much useless and I wasn’t-”

“Sakura.” He cut her rambling off. He finished tying the cleanest cloth he could find around her leg before looking up at her. She stared back at him absolutely still.

“You did well Sakura.”

Her eyes widened.

“I did?” Her voice was small but the desperation in it was clear. She needed this, needed to be told that she hadn’t been useless, that she hadn’t just been a burden to them.

Sasuke let the smallest of smiles on his face, “Aa.”

For a moment they stayed like that, staring at each other, unbreakable onyx against glassy jade.

And before he could stop it Sakura had already leapt forward wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder.

“I was so scared!” She sobbed,“I thought you were going to die. That I wouldn’t be able to do anything. I was so scared that I’d lose you to that monster. I was so so scared Sasuke-kun!”

She wailed hiccuping and clutching onto Sasuke as tightly as she could and all he could do was stare down at her pale pink hair with his back against the wall.

It was only then, at that moment did Sasuke realise that she wasn’t afraid of him. She was afraid of losing him.

Despite everything, despite the monster he’d become she was still just scaredfor him, not of him.

For the first time in a very long time did Sasuke uncharacteristically find himself wanting to return her affections.

To convince her that he was worth the unwavering belief she had in him.

He raised his hands to hold her closer, to tell her it was alright and that she’d saved him, perhaps for the hundredth time in a way that nobody else could, but the image of those very hands mercilessly breaking the sound genin’ s arms flashed through Sasuke’s head and he quickly dropped them to his sides.

Sakura may not have been scared of him but he was plenty scared of himself. He couldn’t afford to lose control especially not when there was a chance he’d hurt Sakura.

He could barely stand seeing Sakura bleeding and the thought of having her blood on his hands was absolutely revolting as it was unthinkable.

He would never hurt Sakura. He would never let her get hurt, not if he could help it.

He was well aware that he cared for Sakura in a way he thought he’d never be able to after the massacre.

Because somehow stubborn, annoying Sakura had inevitably become a part of him that made him something more than just an avenger.

If he ever hurt her, if he ever raised his hand to injure her, it’s the day he would know without a shred of doubt that there was absolutely nothing left for him except his revenge and his hatred.

When Sakura finally pulled back from him she gave him a wide smile, her eyes still glassy.

“Thank you Sasuke-kun.” She whispered softly.

Her usually shiny long pink hair hung limply in a choppy mess lined with sweat and dirt. Her clothes were bloody and one of her eyes was bruised and almost completely swollen shut. Tear tracks ran down her cheeks which was littered with various scratches.

Sakura was a mess. A mess of blood, sweat and tears.