DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN IT.
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The blue glow of the television played across Sakura's features. Sasuke, from his perch on the sole armchair in the room, observed her silently before turning back to the horror movie playing on the screen.
Sakura suddenly shrieked as a gory crowd of undead surrounded the movie's heroine. Sasuke's blood ran cold at Sakura's shrill cry, and he jumped.
Naruto laughed at Sakura, who had spilled her drink all over her shirt and was cursing like a sailor.
"It's not funny Naruto!", she hissed.
"Actually," came a voice from the floor, "I found it quite funny."
Sakura cried out for a second time, having forgotten her sensei was lying on the floor, hidden by the coffee table.
Kakashi sat up and peeked out from behind his book to grin cheekily at the fuming girl on the couch.
Naruto continued to laugh and poked Sakura in the side.
"Aw Sakura-chan, your not scared are you?"
"No, I am not scared, Naruto! Everbody knows that the dead don't come back to life."
Naruto poked her again and she spilled more of her drink down her front.
"Stop it Naruto!", she yelled.
Kakashi poofed next to her on the couch and she fell off, screaming. Her glass fell on the ground and the soda fizzed sadly on the white rug.
"Boo," Kakashi said belatedly, his eye creasing.
"I think somebody's scared!", crowed Naruto happily.
The movie buzzed in the background, forgotten by the playful trio. Sasuke's eyes flickered back to the screen.
A ghoul was tearing into the neck of the aforementioned heroine. The movie would end soon. Everyone but the dog was dead anyway.
Sasuke stood up from his chair and exited the room swiftly, slamming the front door behind him noisily. His curse seal hummed on his shoulder.
He could hear the voices of his teammates in the room he had just left.
"...c'mon, Sakura...just kidding around...Teme's just cranky," said Naruto.
There was more murmuring. He recognized Sakura angry hiss.
"I told you this was a bad idea... should have stuck with "10 Things I Hate About You"..."
"...I'll go...," he heard Kakashi murmur.
There was a moment of furious whispers which he couldn't make out, and then he heard footsteps.
The door swung open behind him. To Sasuke's surprise, it was Sakura who stepped out to join him on the porch.
"Hey Sasuke", she said.
Sasuke grunted.
Sakura leaned on the railing next to him.
"You want to talk about it?", she asked after a moment.
Sasuke shot her a dark look.
She sighed softly and then reached out and placed a tenative hand on his shoulder. He shrugged it off angrily and moved to leave the porch, presumbably to go home.
"Sasuke! Sasuke wait!," called Sakura.
She grabbed his arm and he whirled around angrily.
"Leave me alone", he hissed, his eyes flashing. For a moment, he saw true fear flitting across the beautiful face of the twenty-three year old kunoichi in front of him. His heart clenched softly at her expression.
He stared at her for a moment before thumping down the stairs of the porch.
"Sasuke!", she called. He continued to walk. "Sasuke, wait!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes and stopped. He turned around to face the girl standing on the porch in front of Naruto's new house.
Backlit by the porch light, the fine shape of Sakura's body stood out in sharp relief to the rest of the dark neighborhood. His eyes briefly traced her contours.
"What is it?"
Her eyes desperately sought his.
"Walk me home?", she asked in a small voice.
Sasuke stood silent for a long time. Sakura's index finger pushed her plump bottom lip between her front teeth and she was biting the flesh nervously.
Sasuke looked away.
"Hn."
He heard Sakura slip into the house to grab her stuff. He heard her talking with Kakashi and Naruto inside. A moment later, she re-emerged, purse slung over her shoulder. She descended the stairs and fell into step beside him.
They walked in silence for a few blocks.
"Was it the movie?", she asked. This blunt questioning was a new development in their relationship. Sasuke was grateful she no longer walked on eggshells around him, though he preferred that they kept this candid interaction private.
It wouldn't due for anyone to know how close he was to her. Or that he allowed her to talk to him like that.
"No," he said quietly.
Out of hearing or seeing range of the house, she slipped an arm through his. He flinched, but allowed the contact.
"Was it me?"
He flinched for a second time.
"No."
"Was it Naruto?"
"No."
They were silent until they reached the front door of Sakura's apartment.
"Sasuke, why don't you come in?", she asked, and turned around to face him.
Her eyes stared up into his.
"Hn," he said. Her keys jangled in the lock, and for a moment, he flashed back to a similar scene in the movie, where the heroine was attempting to open her door before her zombified husband could get to her.
Something Sakura had said at Naruto's house drifted back through his mind.
"No, I am not scared... Everbody knows that the dead don't come back to life."
Sasuke found himself inside Sakura's small apartment, waiting for her to bring tea to him as he sat on her couch.
She sat down next to him and set the steaming mugs on the glass coffee table in front of the couch.
Sasuke's placed a hand on her cheek and guided her face to look towards him. His hand slid down to her jaw. He tilted her face upwards. His mind felt clear.
He brushed her lips with his in a light kiss.
Her cool hand came up to cradle the back of his head, her thumb brushing the sensitive skin beneath his ear.
He shivered in spite of himself.
'How brave,' he mused silently, 'To not fear the dead.'