Quick Note: This idea popped into my head during a state similar to Sakura's, and I thought I'd put it in fanfic-form. Get ready for NejiSaku goodness!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Wish I did... don't.
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Craving
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crav·ing - n.
-A consuming desire; a yearning.
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Sakura growled in frustration as she flopped down on her bed, blowing a strand of pastel-pink hair out of her face.The dull throb in her lower back caused her to groan. Damn it, she thought, clutching her stomach, you'd think that as a medic nin I'd have something for this... at least I got off training, though. When Tsunade had seen her apprentice wince at a particularly violent burst of cramps, she'd imediately sent the girl home with an order for Sakura to stay home and make a nice cup of tea. The tea had soothed the green-eyed girl for a while, but now she was back in pain, and really didn't feel like making more tea.
To make matters worse, she had a craving. She usually didn't mind these needy feelings; she'd just go and eat ice cream or buy chocolate or consume whatever the craving was for. But this time, she was unable to satisfy it. It was gnawing at her. Why?
She didn't know what it was.
How the hell can I not know what I'm craving? Sakura made a low, frustrated noise in the back of her throat and turned horizontally so that her head was hanging upside-down from the edge of the bed. She nearly screamed her annoyance when a burst of pain hit her abdomen, but was spared from this vocal disaster by the doorbell ringing.
Her mood worsened immediately. Damn it, don't people know you don't mess with a girl on her period? Ohhh, some blood's going to be shed today... Gaara's got nothin' on me... As she stormed down the stairs, her thoughts changed. Well, maybe it's Ino... if I can remember, she's at the same time as me... or maybe Hinata! I could do with a shopping spree... She opened the door.
"Neji-kun?"
Her tone was puzzled. Why was the Hyuuga prodigy at her door? She'd definitely gotten to know him better from her time at the hospital (she'd never seen so many wounds in her life), but she she was still at a loss as to his appearance at her doorstep. "Can I help you?"
He looked at her with an eyebrow raised, and Sakura was suddenly very aware of her attire: a spaghetti-strap tank top and short shorts that went past the line of decent apparel and into summer sleepwear. She blushed, but he merely smirked, pearly eyes roving over her body in a most un-Neji-like way. He looked at her pointedly and sighed. "Sakura, it's three. You told me to meet you in the clearing for a spar."
Sakura gasped, feeling slightly ashamed. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Neji-kun, I completely forgot!"
He eyed her curiously. "It's not a problem, don't worry. I was just wondering if you were okay. That's really why I came."
"If I'm okay?" Sakura furrowed her brow in confusion. Neji couldn't possibly... no. Just no. He couldn't.
"Godaime-sama said you were sick. 'Indisposed', actually. She said that you wouldn't be able to come train, and suggested that I go and see you."
Sakura's blush deepened as she mentally cursed her teacher. This was probably a plot of some sort. Tsuande was either out to embarrass her or scar her for life... either one, she wasn't happy.
"She was right," Neji said abruptly. "Ano, Sakura, you're flushed." He walked up to her and put a hand to her forehead. "And very warm."
"Oh, no, it's... ah..." Kami-sama, his hand on her forehead was already making her nervous. How to explain to Neji that she was on her period? "I'm fine. I just have... er... my stomach hurts." It was a lame excuse, but pretty close to truthful. Neji didn't buy it.
"Do you have cramps, Sakura?"
She stuttered incomprehensibly and turned cherry red, noticing that his hand had gone to her shoulder and that he was smirking. Damn him for being brilliant... "Er... um... well..." Her voice went small. "Hai."
He folded his arms, smirking wider. "Have you eaten anything?" he asked in the trademark Hyuuga'tell-me-the-truth-or-I'll-force-it-out-of-you-because-I'm-just-that-cool' way.
She gulped, realizing where this was going. "Just some tea... but I'm not hungry!" she added hastily, as her shinobi friend showed every sign of arguing.
He rolled his eyes. "Right. Haruno, get dressed. We're going out together."
"Wh-what?"
"Not like that, baka." The white-eyed seventeen-year-old pushed her inside and followed, shutting the door.
"Really, Neji-kun, I'm fine." She winced at an oncoming cramp.
"What kind of medic nin are you?" he asked, scoffing with amusement as she bristled immediately. "You haven't had anything but tea, and that's not even food. Just because you have cramps doesn't mean you should starve yourself."
"I thought I was the one working at the hospital," she snapped.
"Don't go all PMS on me," he said, nearly laughing at her expression. "Get dressed."
Sakura looked at him, about to retort, when her craving doubled. Maybe I'll find out what I want while we're out, she thought hopefully. "Fine," she said aloud. "Come in and wait. I'll just be a minute. And I'll blame you if I keel over in the middle of the road."
Neji silently congratulated himself on a job well done and walked into Sakura's living room, settling himself on a comfy blue couch. Despite the rumors, Sakura's house was not, thank the gods, all pink and yellow and baby blue. She had good taste, and her small home was decorated tastefully and nicely. He heard her thumping up the stairs and chuckled to himself, remembering her embarrassment. And she stuttered like Hinata when I touched her. The thought gave him a strange sense of power, and he smirked again.
After a while, Sakura's voice could be heard as she walked downstairs. "I'm ready!" Neji turned, and...
Damn.
After normally only seeing his sixteen-year-old friend in her kunoichi outfit and the skimpy stuff she'd worn before, this was a change. Sakura was wearing a tight, Chinese-collared white shirt that bared her stomach to just below the belly buttonand had no sleeves, and dark greenboy shorts that reached to right above her knees. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, and she'd added a black belt and black-and-light-pink tennis shoes to complete the ensemble. Needless to say... well... she looked gorgeous. Even Neji could admit that. Hell, even I have hormones, the mused to himself, looking her over. "Nice outfit, Sakura," he said.
"Domo arigato, Neji-kun," she answered with a small smile, wincing slightly. He smirked, and she smacked him on the shoulder. "Don't make fun of a woman in pain and need."
"Need of what? Aspirin?"
She smacked him again, ignoring his smug smile. "No! Goddamn it, Neji, I have a craving!"
As they left the house, he raised an eyebrow. "Don't pregnant women have cravings?" He looked at her seriously as they walked down the streets of Konoha, strolling casually despite her frequent eye-twitches that signified a burst of pain. "Sakura, is there something you're not telling me?"
She flushed bright red and smacked him a third time. "I'M NOT PREGNANT, TEME!"
Everyone looked at them, and Neji fought the strong desire to laugh.
Sakura groaned and hid her face in his shoulder as they walked, clutching his arm. "See how you torture me?" she moaned, looking at him angrily.
He smirked, but it soon faded as his eyes scanned the crowd. A couple boys were watching them, eyeing Sakura with what seemed like hunger and absolute lust. Neji narrowed his traslucent eyes and smirked at them, stroking her hair (and causing her to gasp into his arm, trying to rise, but he kept her head steady). The boys glared at him, but left her alone, muttering to themselves.
Neji let her head go and glared at the surrounding males, ignoring her protests, then looked around at the various shops. "What do you want?"
"I'm not hungry, Neji-kun. I told you." She released his arm, and he felt a rising... disappointment? Resentment?
What's with me? he wondered, mentally shaking himself out of it. "I don't give a shit. You have to eat something, or you really will keel over. Ramen?"
"Ew, no. I had lunch with Naruto yesterday."
"Dumplings?"
"Nah."
"Sushi? Sashimi?"
"Nope and nope. Dinner last night."
"Rice balls?"
"I had that with the sashimi."
He growled, looking around. He spotted a fruit vendor. "Fruit?"
"Uh-uh."
"Vegetables?"
"Kami-sama, no!"
His patience wearing thin, he looked around. Nothing but the ice cream shop. "Ice cream."
"Hmmm..."
He grabbed her by the arm, making her stutter again (he laughed silently) and forcefully dragged his pink-haired companion to the ice cream shop. "We are having ice cream. That wasn't a question." He sat her down on a stool by the counter and sat next to her, turning away from her indignant expression to face the shop's owner. "Vanilla," he said plainly.
"Cone or cup? How many scoops? If you want a cone, what kind? And do you want toppings?" the old man asked cheerfully, not noticing Neji's eye twitch.
Why are there so many damn questions? I just want ice cream! "Um... cup. One scoop. No toppings."
"And for the lovely lady?" the man asked, nodding and smiling at her indulgently.
Sakura thought, her nose scruching up and her hand on her chin. Neji smiled slightly. She looked cute.
Did I just think she looked cute?
"Umm... I'll take a sugar cone of strawberry," she decided. She licked the ice cream experimentally when it was brought. It was delicious, but it wasn't what she really wanted...
Neji ate for a while, then looked at her. "Is this what you were craving?" he asked. She looked at him, realizing for a moment how handsome her friend really was. His hair was glossy and chestnut-colored, and his creamy eyes were absolutely... to die for. Under his baggy shirt, toned muscles were evident, and the way he looked at her, so intently, made her practically melt. She gazed back, taking him by surprise. "Sakura?"
She smiled slightly. "You have ice cream on your face," she lied, memorizing his face.
He frowned. "Where?" Why the hell does she look so dazed? It looks cute... damn, there I go again... why is she so close? She had leaned in, and so had he... he could feel her breath tickling his mouth, and he yearned to find out what her soft pink lips tasted like... what they felt like agains his... a rising passion engulfed him, and it took all his will power not to just...
"Right here." She leaned in more, and their lips met. It was a butterfly's touch, soft and magical and yearning and loving all at once, and too quick, so that it left him wanting more. When they broke apart,Sakura was looking at him,clearjade meeting pearly white. And then, suddenly, both their faces were consumed by a passion, and they simultaneously leaned in, kissing again. But this was a different kiss. It was full of heat and flame and passionate feeling. Neji ran his tongue on her lower lip, begging for entrance, and she allowed it.
His tongue searched her mouth as she put her forgotten ice cream in his empty cup, wrapping her arms around his neck as his encircled her waist. He tasted like vanilla with a hint of the spicy forbidden; she tasted like sweet strawberry with a fiery cinnamon background. Their tongues battled in a dancelike form, meeting and twisting and exploring. Finally, a need for breath caused Sakura to break away, panting and staring at him, her arms still around his neck, although now loosely.
She smiled. "So that was what I was craving..." she whispered in his ear, biting his earlobe playfully.
He grinned as well, licking his lips, then hers. "I'm glad I could help."
They kissed again.