In the end, he did come back.
Not for her, but with another girl. And she would have to pretend she was okay with it, pretend she was happy for him when she clearly wasn't. They weren't her top priority, but they were definitely her second.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked her three weeks later while they were training. "You haven't been yourself lately. Since Sasuke got back. Is it about Teme? Is it about the bitch he brought back with him? Karin?"
Sakura shook her head, silvery pink flying everywhere. "No, it's not about them. They have a lead on my brother. He's traveling back here." She stopped for a minute and looked up at the sky, panting a little. "Tsunade is debating whether she should send ANBU after him or just take me off my leash."
Naruto laughed. "Take you off the leash and sell tickets to the fight of a lifetime. You two bring a whole new meaning to sibling rivalry. Even Sasuke and Itachi weren't as good a match to watch."
"What about me and Itachi?" Sasuke asked, appearing out of nowhere with Karin. "Why are you guys here early? Training starts at eight."
"I have rounds at nine," Sakura replied shortly. "And then I'm in a meeting with Tsunade until who knows how long…I may not have the chance to train for a long time."
"Like you ever actually do anything, anyways," Karin told her with a snort. "You're always in meetings and singing at that club your uncle owns."
Sakura grit her teeth. She was supposed to be nice to Karin, as ordered by Tsunade, but apparently Karin was not ordered to show her the same common courtesy. She always made Jiraiya's nightclub sound dirty and perverse when it was the only…half-way wholesome thing he owned. He even got rid of private rooms so people would have to leave if they wanted sex.
"You know, by insulting my uncle you're also insulting the hokage, who is graciously letting you live here without doing jail-time or proving that you're now loyal to Konoha. I wouldn't say stupid things like that about her husband again," Sakura warned her.
"Sasuke-kun, she's being mean to me again," Karin whined, hugging is arm and making a show of owning Sasuke's affection. "Make the evil bitch stop!"
Sasuke glared at Sakura and she rolled her eyes. Tsunade would have killed Karin if she had heard Karin talking about her new husband like that. Tsunade was very overprotective of her loveable perverse husband and Sakura's mother's brother.
Without another word, Naruto motioned for Sakura to get back to training and she turned to go. "We need to whip you like you're definitely going to battle. This'll be good."
She rolled her eyes and waited for Naruto to make the first move, studying his stance, his posture, the way he breathed and how deep his breaths were. She would never lose at a battle because after Jiraiya admitted she was family, he took her to the mountains for a year and trained her. In that short amount of time, they had gone over more technique and skill than he and Naruto had in their two years in the mountain.
She was ready for everything. Because nothing could be overlooked when she finally had the chance to fight with the missing-nin that came back to kill her parents when she was twelve…after he had left the family for ten years.
Suddenly, Naruto rushed her and she ducked kicking up in the air to get rid of the henge and punched the gound to get the underground Naruto. The ground pulsed and a crater opened up, revealing Naruto in a barrier.
He smiled and waved. "You missed!" Suddenly he heard something like wood cracking and saw the tree she uprooted in the blast crashing down on him. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined as he jumped out of the way and threw a shuriken her way.
The henge disappeared and he kicked backwards, effectively getting rid of another henge attacking from behind. There was another one coming from the air and Naruto threw a kunai, then looked around for the next henge.
Sakura smirked as she bit back the pain of the kunai breaking skin and drawing blood in her arm. It was just the move she protected after the chuunin exam. She couldn't believe Naruto of all people fell for it, but she used it to her advantage to knock the wind out of him and start close-range combat.
While Sakura was the stronger and more precise opponent, Naruto was quicker and more decisive about which move he wanted to use. For every hit she got, Naruto got one until she flipped back for a second and took her time analyzing the situation. After that, every move was made instinctually and for every three hits Sakura had, Naruto would have one on her.
By the end of half an hour, Sakura had him pinned to a tree with her hand around his neck and a kunai aimed straight at his head. Sasuke and Karin looked on, shocked. They didn't think Sakura could ever beat anyone--even Naruto.
Sasuke looked at Karin out of the corner of his eye. She had fought Naruto before. She hadn't gotten close to beating Naruto. He was with Karin because she was the better fighter…wasn't she?
"You win, you win," Naruto told her, being released. "That's good, Sakura! You'll definitely beat Deidara if you fight like that!"
She nodded stoically and bowed. "Thank you, Naruto. I hope I beat him." She laughed darkly. "I hope I kill him, have him begging not to be slaughtered. Just like he made my parents beg."
"You're parents are dead?" Karin asked, shocked but snarky. "What happened? Did they see your face and die of fright?"
"Karin, shut up," Sasuke told her, feeling embarrassed for her actions for the first time. He looked at Sakura and she had no emotion. Maybe just a hint of trying to hold herself back, though Sasuke couldn't blame her for finding it hard to keep control. "Sakura, what happened?"
"My parents had a son before me. According to Jiraiya, when I was two he ran away and told my parents he'd kill them if they ever crossed paths again." She shook her head. "No one could find him--he was about seven. And everyone forgot he even existed, just went about their own lives.
"He went to the Academy, so I went to the Academy. Both my parents are civilians," she went on, her voice getting sadder but her face staying stoic. "A few weeks after you left, he came back to kill them. He saw me…" she trailed off and just shook her head.
Naruto looked at the time and panicked. "Sakura, don't you have to go meet Hinata before your rounds? You should hurry."
She nodded and disappeared in a cloud of petals and Naruto sighed, leaning up against a tree. "Sak's changed so much since her parents died," he told Sasuke, looking up at the clouds through the leaves of the tree. "Sakura's family was really close--remember how sick she'd make us because her family was so sweet and loving and whole?"
Sasuke nodded. He remembered telling her that it was annoying enough times.
Karin just huffed and sat down on the grass, waiting for her boyfriend to notice her again. He would always have these little phases, where he would completely ignore her for one of his old friends, or more specifically, news about Sakura and Naruto.
"She lost that. All in a moment. To a brother she didn't even know she had. And I had been busy on a mission trying to get you back--I didn't even know. I came home and told her we'd work together to get you back after I came back from training in the mountains with Jiraiya," Naruto went on, looking Sasuke in the eye.
"Wow. That's so depressing," Karin said, sarcastic. She picked a few blades of grass and ignored the death-glares the two men gave her. "I don't think I even had parents. The first thing I remember is Orochimaru teaching me how to fight. Maybe he's my dad. Sasuke-kun, I'm so mad at you--you killed my dad!" she whined, rolling her eyes.
"When I was up in the mountains, Tsunade had her training to be a med-nin for ANBU missions. She forgot to teach Sakura how to extract poisons, but cleared Sakura for the ANBU mission Asume died on. She couldn't take out the poison, so he died right in her arms."
Sasuke pursed his lips and leaning on the tree next to Naruto and looking up at the sky, thinking. He realized why Shikamaru loved watching clouds so much--they were easy distractions that let you think and Naruto was probably thinking the same thing. "How could this happen to Sakura?"
"Her brother was the one that killed Asuma," Naruto told him, making Sasuke's blood freeze. "They were fighting the Akatsuki. Her brother's known for explosives, but he had poison on him and he just…"
They were silent for a moment and Karin hummed the tune to her favorite pop song, ruining the somber mood.
"Karin!" Sasuke yelled. "Shut up and go away! Can't you just stay quiet for five minutes?"
"But Sasuke, I'm your girlfriend," she told him, her eyes watering. "Don't you want me to be around? Lighten the mood?"
"Not right now," he told her, aggravated. "Go back to the house and I'll talk to you later, okay?" She smiled and rushed back to the house they were sharing until she could find her own. "I really hate that girl," Sasuke mumbled.
"Then why do you date her?" Naruto asked, rolling his eyes. "You like Sakura, and I can guarantee she likes you."
Ssuke gave him a warning glance and Naruto shrugged. "But you understand how she's changed? She's just so different. When me and Jiraiya got back, that's when I found out her parents were dead, she blamed herself for Asuma's death, she was living on her own, her brother threatened to kill her if she ever tried to fight the Akatsuki again--"
"What?" Sasuke asked, shocked.
Naruto nodded solemnly. "You know Deidara, right? That's her brother. He told her it's his life's mission to make her miserable and alone before she died in agony. And that it had to be that way."
Sasuke didn't speak and Naruto went on talking about what had gone wrong in the seven years he was gone. He thought back to his days on Team Seven with them and how he hated Sakura for the sole fact she had a family and he didn't. Otherwise, he thought she was cute and sweet and very dedicated and very bright.
What was he supposed to think of her now? She was still very dedicated and very bright, but now she was jaded and beautiful instead of sweet and cute. Did he even have a right to think about her as a teammate? As a friend?
Then something struck him. What if Naruto was right and he was in love with Sakura? Was that even possible?
It could explain why he felt bad whenever he was with Karin in front of her and why he was always so concerned about her well-being and focused on how amazing she looked when she fought. How he always dreamed of her forgetting to wear the shorts during practice, so he could see every time she flipped and spread her legs to kick.
"Sasuke, calm down," Naruto warned him, taking Sasuke out of his latest fantasy about the pinkette. "I'm not gay."
It took Sasuke a moment to realize he had a boner, and he blushed as he got up and ran away, back home to take a cold shower.
He got to the edge of the clearing when Genma appeared, telling Sasuke he was being summoned to see the hokage about an upcoming mission. Genma glared at Sasuke the entire time they walked to the tower, which only made Sasuke realize the mission must have to do with Sakura. Genma seemed really interested in Sakura now that she was nineteen and fully developed.
Though, even when she was a child, Genma seemed interested in her, protective almost.
"Lady Tsunade," Sasuke greeted with a bow. "Hey, can you get rid of a pest-problem I have?" he asked.
Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I do not get rid of mice," Tsunade told him, annoyed. "Talk to Genma about it."
"Well, it's a little bigger than a mouse, if you know what I mean," Sasuke told him, emphasizing that he meant Karin.
Tsunade caught on and grinned victoriously. "That kind of pest. No problem. I can be rid of it in a day or two. Just give me something to go with."
"She insulted your husband's club," he told her.
The grin was wiped off and suddenly even Sasuke was scared of her murderous glare. "Fucking cunt-bitch is dead," she told him. "Now, Genma, why don't you bring Sakura in? Her rounds should just about be over."
"Can I--?" he started.
"What have your father and I been teaching you? Do not hurt your cousin. I don't care if it's fun to drag her through Konoha on your shoulder, she's not a play-toy," Tsunade warned, shocking Sasuke as Genma sighed and made a deflated poof to get Sakura. "She's really just down the hall," she muttered. "Troublesome."
"Genma's your stepson? He and Sakura are related?" he asked, shocked.
Tsunade nodded. "And he's a handful. He's known since he was a child. The Harunos just never really liked interacting with the ero-sannin." She shrugged and suddenly Sakura walked inside. "Oh, good. You're here. I have good news about the mission."
"It's not needed because Deidara decided to kill himself? Or was there an accident and he blew himself up?" she asked, excited. "My top priority killed himself and I can work on my second?"
"No," she replied, shaking her head incredulously. She knew what Sakura's second priority was. All her priorities from one to fifteen. "He needs to be killed still. Deidara's too good with explosives. So I'm sending you and Sasuke."
"He needs to…go have babies. It's his top priority. That's why Karin's here," she told Tsunade, thinking of a random excuse. "He can't come. Besides, he just got back. For all you know, you could be sending me on a mission with a crazy psycho bent on killing me."
Genma rolled his eyes. "Well, it's either Sasuke or Deidara. I don't think who kills you really matters."
Sakura stuck her tongue out and took the scroll from Tsunade. "So, I'll see you next time I'm in town, Tsunade?" she asked.
"End of the week, Sak. He's hiding right outside the border. A day there, a day back," she told her, rolling her eyes.
"Can I stay and go shopping?" she asked, pouting.
"Sure," Tsunade told her, shrugging.
"What's taking so long?" Sasuke asked as Sakura came out of yet another store with seven bags. "Where do you even get all this money?"
"Trust fund," she told him, moving onto a new store. "My dad was a weapons-producer and my mom was an heiress of the erotica business."
Sasuke stopped and stared at her. "What?"
"My grandfather started erotica in Konoha. When he died, his assets were split between my mom and Jiraiya. He got to continue the business and my mom would continue to get money as long as she didn't work specifically in the industry. She could write and she could man the shop, but nothing…erotic."
Then she darted into the store and Sasuke had to wait out another hour as she shopped.
They had caught and killed Deidara two days ago and now all they were doing was shopping because "Tsunade approved it until Sunday," while today was Tuesday.
Sasuke would've killed Genma when he brought the news, but he had also told Sasuke while Sakura was in a shop that Karin had been taken into custody for espionage and attempted murder of the hokage.
"She tried to kill Tsunade?" he asked.
"Not until Tsunade told Karin she'd be tried for it. Then she flipped out and tried to kill Tsunade," Genma replied, smiling. "She's one fucking evil genius. Karin's sentenced to execution in two days." Then he looked around. "So, the coast is clear. You better not hurt my cousin."
He looked at Genma funny. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You wanting to get rid of Karin? You didn't really want to break up with her, but you wanted her out of the way so you could have a party in my cousin's pants, right?" Sasuke blushed and Genma put his hands up defensively. "Hey, hey. Whatever your plans were, it's cool with me. Just don't hurt the baby. Ever. My top priority is keeping Sak safe."
"What's with everyone and priorities?" Sasuke asked, annoyed.
"Dude. We all have priorities. We just need to let people know what they are." Genma looked around to see if the coast was clear, if Sakura would catch them. "What's your top priority?"
"Sakura and Uchiha babies," he replied without thinking. Then he froze, shocked.
"I thought so. So did Tsunade," Genma replied, disappearing.
"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, yawning. "I'm getting really tired. Can we go back to the hotel now?"
He nodded and watched as she put all bags inside one another and managed to transform her one hundred-plus bags into twelve heavy bags. He took them from her and carried them back to the hotel, despite her protests.
Tsunade had booked the hotel, only one room for the two of them and only one king-sized bed. He and Sakura had been uncomfortable the first night, but after Genma's talk the day before it seemed unbearable to Sasuke.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sakura asked, snapping him out of his reverie. "You look really uncomfortable right now."
"It's just a little hot," Sasuke told her, trying to make an excuse.
"You're right. It is kind of hot," she replied, fanning herself with her hand. "Do you mind if I go change into something cooler?"
He shrugged and she went into the bathroom. He sighed and felt the heat getting to him, too. It really was a hot day in Amegakure--something he wasn't used to. He took off his shirt to try cooling down.
There was a gasp and he turned to see Sakura standing there gaping, wearing nothing but a pair of short-shorts and a midriff-bearing, navy blue halter. "You're jacked," she told him in awe. "Dude, you're hotter than when we were kids."
"You liked me more when we were kids," he told her, pouting in a pseudo-serious fashion. "Maybe I should go back to being a wimp."
She whacked his arm and got on her knees, sitting on the bed next to him. "You were never wimpy. Just…less defined," she teased. "Even back back then I thought you were pretty hot." She leaned in close and whispered in his ear, "I used to dream of that wimpy little kid tackling me." He froze for a moment and she laughed as she fell backwards. "I'd have a totally different reaction from then to now," she told him.
"What would you have done then?" he asked.
She shrugged. "Kissed you and asked you to go out with me."
"And now?"
She didn't answer him. She really didn't need to. Sasuke could tell from her blush what her answer would be. "I don't really--" she started.
Suddenly he tackled her, sending them both over the edge and crashing down onto the floor. He moved and straddled her, smirking. "What about now? How would you react now?" he dared, leaning closer in until their lips almost touched.
"Kiss you and ask you to fuck me," she told him, moving forward to do just that.
The kiss was like nothing Sasuke had ever felt with Karin. He groaned and pushed further towards her, sliding his lip along her lips to beg for entrance. When she complied, he rushed to sweep the cavern with his tongue and Sakura groaned.
All too soon they had to come up for air and Sakura was panting. "Sasuke, fuck me," she ordered, putting her hands on his neck and ass. "Please. I don't care if you're with Karin or not. Please…"
He chuckled and kissed her again, this time with more hunger than the first. "Who would ever think you could get this horny?" he mocked when they finally came apart again. "You, the girl built on faith and monogamy." He rocked his hips into her and she groaned when she felt his erection. "Who would think you'd be begging for me to fuck you, regardless of whether or not I was with another woman?"
"Sasuke," she groaned, moving her head to kiss his neck, but he stopped her. "If you don't want me, tell me. I'll go find another hotel that isn't completely booked and get my own room. When we go back, we can act like this whole thing never happened."
Sasuke grinned and kissed her again, this time trailing open-mouthed kisses up and down her neck after he let go to breath. He reached around to untie the halter and moved upwards towards her ear, savoring her moans. "We can never go back. Not after this. And you know, my point was…you're damn lucky I got rid of Karin."
She gasped and he kissed her again, this time their tongues fighting for dominance. They started to undress each other slowly. First was Sakura halter top and royal blue lacey bra, which let Sasuke breathe in and attack her breasts, groaning.
"You taste so fucking good," he told her, lathing one with attention and making her moan before switching. Once he was sure he had given them both enough attention, he started to move down her chest. "I wonder what your cunt tastes like."
Sakura moaned, tearing at his shirt. He took it off and tried talking dirty to her again. She stopped him, panting. "Dude, the dirty talk? Not working. It's really making me not into this," she told him, pulling his shirt off and licking his nipples, making him moan. "Just feel, okay? I don't need to hear it--I feel it."
Sasuke almost came right then. He froze for a second then went to rip her shorts off, leaving her in a matching thong. He drooled and fingered it, making Sakura moan and spread her legs further apart. "And what happens if…" he started, taking it off and trailing kisses down her thighs after the thong. She moaned and he tore them off once they reached her knees, not being able to take it.
"Oh, kami-sama," she moaned. He flicked his tongue out to her clit and she gasped, bucking onto him.
He groaned and started to rub his erection into her leg to get friction. She moaned and stopped him, forcing him up as she kneeled in front of him. She looked up at him through lidded eyes and smiled seductively. She started to unbuckle his pants and he nearly choked.
"K-kami-sama, Sak," he stuttered between moans as she kissed his happy trail. She started to pull down his pants and kissing the legs they revealed. "Sakura, not there. Higher," he told her, bucking his hips.
"I know," she told him with a purring giggle. "I'll get there soon."
Suddenly he felt his bowers yanked down and Sakura's mouth around his cock. He moaned and fell back, hitting the bed. Sakura pushed him further onto it and started to massage his balls as she deep-throated him.
He came to the brink and pushed her off. But before she could be offended, he blew all over her, coating her chest with ribbons of cum. He panted and hit the bed. "I wasn't supposed to blow like that. I was supposed to last--I was supposed to wait until you were nice and worked over before--"
Sakura pushed him back onto the bed and crawled on top of him, kissing her way up his chest and neck. "Don't worry , cowboy. Next time," she told him, reaching his mouth.
He groaned and felt a stirring on his cock again. Sasuke rolled them over and trailed his hand down her stomach to her core. She slapped his hand away and he stopped for a moment to give her a look. "Fingers don't go up there," she told him.
"You're impossible," he told her, rolling his eyes and moving down, his tongue laving a trail to her navel.
She moaned and bucked her hips, not noticing the fingers he shoved deep inside her. She moaned and bucked wildly, grabbing his hair.
"Oh kami-sama," she moaned, thrashing her head back and forth. "Why does that feel good? They shouldn't feel…uhn!"
He smirked against her stomach and moved until his tongue was aligned with her core. He took his fingers out and thrust his tongue inside her. She screamed in pleasure as she came right then, coating his face in cum.
He smirked and licked it off his fingers and lips, looking down and seeing himself erect again. "Ready?"
She nodded and he lined himself up. Sakura stopped him for a second and Sasuke worried she changed her mind. Instead she kissed him chastely and rested her head next to his ear for a moment to whisper, "I love you."
"I love you, too," he told her. He rubbed her hair a little and she hugged him, bracing herself for the pain. He nipped her neck and she jumped, looking right at him. "I want to see your face when we make love for the first time."
She rolled her eyes but nodded. She could explain why she hated the term "make love" to him later.
"Ready?" he asked, his cock sitting at her entrance. She nodded and he started to push in, smothering her in kisses as she hissed in pain, whispering sweet nothings to comfort her. "I love, Sakura. I promise, I'll never leave you. I love you so much."
Soon she bucked her hips into him and pleaded, "faster." He gladly complied and soon they were in perfect synch, thrusting and pushing, trying to reach that high.
Sakura reached it first, bright lights blinding her from noticing when Sasuke came a few thrusts later from the feeling of her clenching around him. They rocked together a few more times and finally stopped to breathe, Sasuke still deep inside Sakura.
He pet her hair and held her softly, treating her like a fragile doll. He rolled them over and Sakura put her head down on the pillow, resting it on his shoulder and panting softly into his neck.
She giggled and Sasuke leaned up and turned to the side a little to look at her. "What?"
"I think we forgot protection," she told him sheepishly. Suddenly she bolted up, breaking their connection up to Sasuke's extreme dismay and cursed. "We forgot protection. There might be a baby Uchiha on the way."
He smiled and hugged her, bringing her tumbling down on him. "I like the sound of that," he told her quietly. "A baby Uchiha. A life you and I created. Our baby."
Sakura looked at Sasuke and kissed her chastely, smiling. "I love you, Sakura. And I'd love anything we made together."
She smiled and kissed him. Then she felt him rise under her again. "Round two?"
There was no reply. Sasuke just smirked and turned them over.
Tsunade rubbed her head in a vain attempt to rid herself of a headache. "I told you two you had clearance to go shopping!" she told Sasuke and Sakura.
"We did shop," Sakura told her, blushing. "We shopped for clothes, shoes, lingerie--"
"Isn't that against the rules to your trust fund?" Genma asked, leisurely sitting on the windowsill behind the hokage's desk, half-listening and half-watching the babes that walked around outside. "Dude, she should not have boobs that big. Even I have my limits. There's a point where they just look gross."
Tsunade rolled her eyes and took a swig of sake.
"The rule is I can't wear them or buy them with the intention to attract sex, work for sex, or make love with someone," she told him, rolling her eyes. "I read it through--twice. Just to make sure I didn't have to send you or Uncle to do it for me those two years we lived together without Tsunade."
Sasuke breathed in, happy that she had made the clarification after their second round. She could go on buying slutty lingerie for him, knowing it didn't attract sex and they wouldn't be making love. Because he was attracted to her and sex was just a byproduct of their natural attraction and they would being having sex, a synonym for making love.
"Anyways, we got clothes, shoes, underclothes," she emphasized for Genma, "and we bought some jewelry. Oh, and a marriage certificate."
"I know that, Mrs. Uchiha," Tsunade told her, rolling her eyes. "What I want to know is where you two get off getting married without any of us there?"
"We didn't," Sasuke told her, finally fed up. Sakura nudged him. "What? We're gonna get in trouble if we don't tell her it's fake!"
Tsunade stopped rubbing her headache out. "What?"
Sakura shrugged. "Ten bucks at the bridal store I went to when I bought my dress. The saleswoman said it'd look official so you could see your name tied with your husband's before you actually tied them. Make sure they looked good together."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Tsnade muttered, taking the sake bottle and downing it. "So, are those really your wedding rings?"
"No. Sasuke won't let me see them until the wedding…next month," she replied, looking at Sasuke expectantly.
"I told you, we could get married in Amegakure and you could see the rings, or we could get married in a month with all your family and all our friends there, but you wouldn't get to see the rings until then," he told dismissively, covertly moving his hand to her ass and giving it a squeeze.
She squealed and jumped, glaring. He could not be feeling kinky in front of her family.
"Why don't you show them the engagement ring?" he asked, nonchalant as he started to smirk.
Genma whistled and approved. "He paid a shitload for that. He's worth it. Congrats, dude."
Tsunde sighed, approving as well. "It was not my intention for the two of you to wind up together on the mission, but all is--"
"What are you talking about, Tsunade? You're the one that told me to book a hotel room with a single bed so you could have cute little Uchihas to spoil," Genma practically yelled, making Tsunade blush. "Top priority, followed by getting me to settle down with one girl. You're kind of the babies grandmother now, since you kind of took over Sak's mom's spot when she died, huh?"
"Genma, how does teaching a gennin team sound?" she threatened as the couple looked at each other shocked.
A/N: Don't give me credit for the lemon--good or bad. My friend Yuma (Yes, like the city in California. She is, however, Japanese) wrote it because I told her I wouldn't write a SasuSaku until she'd write a lemon for me.
She rushed. I don't write lemons. She doesn't like it very much.