Anger Management

"You're such a fucking idiot, Matsuri!" Sasuke yelled for the first time today, finally losing his grips with his anger. Aki Matsuri, his teammate for about 3 years now, seethed in frustration and turned on him, ready to retaliate.

Aki came from a faraway village 4 years ago. A few months in her stay in the Leaf Village, she became a Chunnin and made friends. A year later, she became the new member of Squad Seven. Everyone clicked with her, even the Sasuke obsessed Sakura. However, she could never make nice with Sasuke Uchiha. It seemed like from the moment they met, he didn't like her. He always talked down to her. He didn't know if it was because of her short black hair or her vibrant light blue eyes that always swam when she glared at him, but he simply couldn't stand her.

Naruto and Sakura both groaned as this occurred almost every day. Neither Sasuke nor Aki could stand to be in each other's presence for too long. Every mission or training session ended in an argument and a fight. Kakashi rolled his eyes in annoyance and nodded to the other two teammates.

"Training is over. Let's leave them to blow off the steam. As usual."

Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke, book in hand and eyes glued to the pages. Naruto gave a tentative wave to the two who were too close to each other's faces to notice that they were being left alone. Sakura sighed, glanced at them, and followed behind Naruto once he began to run back to the village.

Sasuke and Aki had been at it like this for years. For some reason, Sasuke had a serious stick up his butt about her, more so than usual. Aki hated his superiority complex he had with her when in truth, they were probably equals. Everyone and their mother knew of the Sasuke-Aki rivalry, and when the arguments began, everyone knew to clear out.

However, no one knew how the arguments ended.

Everyone assumed that they'd fight it out, glare at each other, then go their separate ways until the next day when it began again.

No one knew the extent of their 'fights'. No one knew but Sasuke and Aki.

Sasuke gave a hard push to Aki who stumbled back, still glaring hard at the idiot in front of her.

"You can never do anything right! You're such a fuck up!" he yelled while stepping towards her menacingly, placing his famous Uchiha glare on his face.

"And you're the expert? If I remember correctly, on the last mission, you caused the problems and almost made us fail!" she retorted, stepping forward as well with her fists clenched tightly.

Sasuke growled and charged. He swung at her head, something Aki easily avoided, and when she was low enough, he kneed her in the face. The smirk of victory was quickly wiped off as he saw it was a substitution jutsu. Aki came up behind him and kicked him in the back. He flew forward, cursing loudly in his head for falling for such a trick at this point, and caught himself, flipping forward and landing on his feet.

"So much for the Uchiha superiority. You fell for such an easy trick," Aki bragged. Sasuke smirked and pulled his arm behind him, revealing strings. Aki gasped but couldn't prepare fast enough for the impact as the string wrapped around her ankles and yanked her down. She smacked her head and saw stars appear before the image of Sasuke quickly descending on her registered. She rolled to the right, narrowly missing Sasuke's foot attack. She pulled out a kunai and threw it at her opponent, who jumped back a small distance. She released herself from the bindings and stood. Sasuke's smirk only grew as he crouched and made the 'come here' gesture with his finger. Aki charged at full speed.

Punches, kicks, jutsu, and weapons were thrown around for about a full hour before Sasuke finally, and roughly, pinned Aki to a tree. His hand gripped tightly around her throat and the other rested on her waist. Both were out of breath and glaring.

"I fucking HATE you, Uchiha," Aki spit angrily, trying to get out of his grip.

"The feeling's mutual, Matsuri."

Aki gripped the arm on her waist and dug her nails deep, breaking the skin. Sasuke let out a pained gasp before pulling her forward by her neck and slamming her back into the tree, bringing their bodies impossibly close together. He leaned forward and bit her neck hard.

Aki moaned in both pain and pleasure before gripping his hair and pulling him harshly back. She returned the favor to his own fair skin on his neck. Sasuke hated the way he liked how her lips felt on his neck or how his body instantly responded when she let out any sound – in pain or pleasure – near him.

In a matter of minutes, the familiarity of the routine surfaced, and Sasuke and Aki became a tangle of limbs against the tree. Aki's pants were thrown to the side somewhere while Sasuke's were in a pool around his ankles. Aki's legs were wrapped around Sasuke's narrow waist while he dove deep inside her with powerful thrusts. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, one hand fisted painfully tight in his hair. Sasuke's hands were braced against the tree. Sweat appeared on both bodies as they began to move in a rougher pattern, groans barely hidden at this point.

He kissed her with ferocious passion, bruising her lips and forcing entrance into the wet cavern with his tongue. Aki bit his tongue, refusing to be dominated by someone she hated. He let out an angry growl, and with his left hand, gripped her thigh and changed the angle of his thrust. He pushed in rougher than before and Aki released high moans of pain as the bark of the tree dug in her back with every one of Sasuke's thrusts.

Aki's release came quickly, followed by Sasuke's. He pounded her a few more times before finally releasing inside of her. He pulled out of Aki and, letting her go without so much as a second thought, she fell to the ground. Both were even more out of breath as they glared at each other. No words were said as they dressed and went their separate ways.

Aki made it home and once she closed the door, she punched the closest wall. Her fist went through without much resistance. She had been punching and fixing that same spot for months now. She pulled her now scratched hand out and fell to her knees. She placed her head against the wall and sighed in defeat.

She needed a shower. Sasuke's scent and bodily fluids were sticking to her.

But that wasn't her only problem.

For months now, she had been wanting to stop this. Whatever this relationship was with Sasuke.

This routine started almost a full year ago. One of their usual fights got really heated. The team had already left them behind. One minute, she and Sasuke were passing punches, and the next minute, they were on the ground, in a clump of dirt, sweat, and sex. She pulled the first move, crashing her lips to his, and it was almost as if his body automatically and greedily responded. Almost as if she beat him to something he wanted.

That day, she had lost her virginity.

Not that the bastard had cared. He didn't even pause in realization and truthfully, she was glad he didn't. It would've ruined the moment of . . . whatever it was. It's not like she cried anyway. It hurt like hell, but the tension being released was ten times more important.

After that, most, if not all, of their arguments led to fights which led to angry sex.

But lately, Aki wanted out.

After 8 months of it, of doing things with Sasuke his fan girls could only DREAM about, Aki couldn't handle it. It's been four plus months of her trying, and failing, to end it. And her reason why she wanted out wasn't even remotely what most would think it would be.

She wanted a true relationship.

She wanted to have a relationship with someone she truly liked and who genuinely liked her back.

And she knew that she could never have something like that if her "thing" with Sasuke continued.

Aki ran away from her village because of the horror she faced in her family. Neither her mother nor father loved her. No one did. To them, she was weak and unimportant. So she fled, wanting to find a place where she belonged. And she did when she stumbled across the Leaf Village. She heard so many stories about the village and wanted to be a part of such a close knit, strong place. She was content and even happy. But then Sasuke happened.

She didn't know what is was about Sasuke. She hated him and she would give anything to stop this relationship.

But when he touched her, even in anger . . .

Without thinking about it, she punched forward again, placing a new, even deeper hole in the wall.

"Fuck . . ." she moaned pathetically.

She really needed to shower.

Training the next day was the usual. It went well until Naruto pointed out something that made Sasuke's blood boil.

They were in the middle of sparing with Kakashi. Kakashi did a move that had Sasuke flat on his back in a matter of seconds. A giggle escaped Aki's lips and Sasuke glared in her direction after he picked himself up. He stretched his arms behind him, they were more stiff than usual. His shirt moved away from his neck in the direction of the movement.

"Hey, Sasuke? Is that a . . . hickey?" Naurto asked suddenly.

All eyes were on him, even Kakashi's. Sasuke's hand shot up towards his neck and his finger pressed against the sore, dark red bruise.

His glare deepened as he noticed Aki trying, and slightly failing, to hide a smirk.

That bitch.

"It seems someone got lucky yesterday after training," Kakashi said amusedly, his eyes glinting with a smile and something else. "I wonder if it was after your fight with Aki. Or . . . during?"

Sakura gasped in shock and Naruto let out a loud, short laugh. Sasuke felt his lips turn upward as Aki blanched visibly and glared venomously at Kakashi.

"As if I'd ever willingly mark that bastard! I'd rather punch him in the face!" she said steamily. Sasuke turned, letting his hand drop to his waist.

"Are you jealous, Aki? I could easily understand why. Every girl wants this," Sasuke said, gesturing to himself with his other hand.

Aki snorted. "Oh please. I'll let Sakura and the other fan girls have you. You're not packing enough for me, small dick."

Naruto continued to laugh rapturously as Sasuke bristled in anger. "What was that?"

"You heard me," Aki replied with a smirk. "You obviously use that strength and glare to cover up for the fact that you don't have enough to work with downstairs."

Sasuke took a step towards her before Kakashi stepped in and held him back. "Okay, you two. Training isn't over. I'm not ending it early for you two again."

Aki and Sasuke glared at each other one last time before focusing on the task at hand. They'd finish it later.

Which they did.

After the other three left, Sasuke pushed Aki to the ground, straddled her waist, and held her wrists above her head, successfully pinning her down. She squirmed under him, trying to release his grip.

"I thought we had a mutual agreement about the marks, Matsuri," he growled in her ear.

"Fuck off, Uchiha. It wasn't on purpose," she retorted. But her tone implied otherwise, which didn't go unnoticed by the guy on top of her. He squeezed her wrists tighter, and bit down on the spot right behind her ear lobe. Her gasp made Sasuke smirk.

"I guess I deserve retribution," he mumbled lowly before attacking that same spot, making Aki squirm under him. His bites were not at all gentle and she was pretty sure he was drawing blood.

But it felt way too good.

Aki's knee lifted and caught Sasuke right in the groin, successfully stopping him. His groan of pain was music to her ears. She rolled him over so that she was on top of him. He glared icily, but couldn't move too much considering his balls were still on fire. Aki leaned forward and allowed her tongue to slide over her fresh mark she made yesterday.

Sasuke's low groan made her pause.

She didn't want this.

She wanted to stop.

She pulled back, sitting upward on Sasuke, and her hesitation gave Sasuke the advantage. He grabbed her shirt front, placed his leg firmly between hers, and launched her completely behind him. Aki's back hit the ground hard and a gasp of pain erupted from her throat. After the cloud of dust started to clear, she could see Sasuke standing and stalking towards her. She raised herself off of the ground and caught his kick, which was aimed to her face. She swept under his leg that balanced him and knocked him to the ground. She climbed back on him, reverting back to the position they were in before.

"Pathetic," she taunted. Sasuke sat up, making their position more compromised with her now sitting face forward in his lap and faces only centimeters apart. He wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pinning her body to his. He crashed his lips to hers, with which she responded to instantly.

His lips moved from her mouth to the spot he was marking earlier. A shiver erupted through her, and her hips bucked forward on Sasuke's lap. Another groan came from him and again, she paused.

If she didn't stop now, she never would.

She placed both her hands on Sasuke's chest and pushed against him. He didn't budge, but only tightened his grip.

"W-wait, Uchiha . . ." she moaned but he ignored her, yanking her head back painfully and biting at her collarbone. The pain and pleasure coming from the spot clouded her mind. Her hands moved from his chest to that soft hair she hated.

She forgot all about her bottled pleas to stop.

She ended up riding the Uchiha where they sat, both becoming the sticky, breathless mess that she wanted to avoid.

A couple of weeks had passed. Aki seemed to be more on edge than usual and Sasuke took advantage of it. Their arguments were more feral and even more physical. Aki tried to stop it, but it ended just like that day. He ignored the weak pleas. She forgot about them seconds later.

Her walls were full of holes she'd have to fix later.

Today seemed no different. They had just came back from a mission and were leaving the Hokage's office. Naruto was happy because now he'd be able to eat real ramen today. Kakashi was engulfed in his book as usual and Sakura was trying her hardest to pull Sasuke on a date.

"We can go to the Barbeque pork place. It's having really cheap deals today!"

Sasuke continued to ignore her, making half-hearted grunts with the usual stoic face and hands shoved in his pockets, and she continued to rant. It was grating Aki's last nerve. Sakura began to whine annoyingly and finally, Aki snapped.

"Sakura, shut up! And Uchiha! Either say no or admit you're gay already!" she exploded.

Sasuke glared and stopped walking, causing the rest of the team, minus Kakashi who kept walking, to stop. Sakura gaped openly before glaring at Aki and defending her love interest. "Sasuke isn't gay!"

"Could've fooled me. He doesn't accept dates from any girl and you idiots continue to pester him! It's fucking annoying!" Aki said angrily. She just wanted to stop the headache coming on.

"Shut up, Aki. And it's no concern to any of you!" Sasuke spoke angrily.

"Just admit it, you faggot!" Aki yelled, glaring at Sasuke who was beginning to tremble in anger. He stepped forward getting into Aki's face. He grabbed her shirt front.

"Maybe he's distracted by something," Naruto quipped in, trying to calm both parties down before they resorted to violence again. "Maybe he's busy doing something else."

"Or someone," Sasuke muttered lowly, and fortunately only Aki caught it. At that moment, Aki realized that their relationship was affecting not only her, but him as well. As much as she didn't give a flying fuck about him, it gave her resolve to back away. She wanted to end this, for the both of them. Maybe if she backed off, he would find someone else to mess with. She pushed Sasuke off and took a few steps back, which caused Sasuke's eyebrow to raise a little.

"Fuck it. I don't care," she said before turning away and walking towards her home. Her blood boiled. She wanted to fight him. But she knew that if she did, they'd never stop.

Naruto let out a relieved sigh. Sakura stared between Aki and Sasuke, a worried expression on her face. Sasuke seemed beyond pissed.

Aki took a detour at a bookstore. Maybe she could calm down if she found something to read. As she scrolled through the sections of books – God, she walked past Kakshi's pervy books – she noticed Sasuke and the other two stopping at the shelves located outside the bookstore in front of the windows. She ducked and hid herself as best as she could between the shelves, hoping they didn't catch glimpse of her. If she could just avoid him, she could make it through today without any physical contact with Sasuke.

After a few minutes, she looked back out the window and saw that they were gone. After a sigh of relief, she let out a laugh. She felt stupid for actually hiding from her teammates.

But, as a precaution, she snuck out of the back of the store into the empty, secluded alley behind it.

She began walking when suddenly she was pulled back forcibly and slammed into the wall. She opened her eyes to the see the angry black eyes of Sasuke.

"Do you really think you can call me names and simply walk away from me?" he seethed. Aki glared and tried to walk away. Sasuke grabbed her back, pinning her arms to her sides.

"Get off, Uchiha!" she yelled.

"Make me, loser," he said calmly.

"You're pathetic," Aki said lowly and angrily. "Just go away, faggot."

"How can I be a faggot," he began while his smirk formed and grew with each word, "when I'm obviously fucking you?"

Aki's resolve was forgotten again as she reached out to wrap both hands around his throat in anger. She didn't need a reminder of what they did.

Especially not from him.

Her hands squeezed and Sasuke placed his hands around Aki's thighs and lifted her up. He wrapped her legs around his waist and slammed her back into the wall. Her hands loosened as the pain shot through her back and she gasped. Sasuke took the opportunity and kissed her roughly, shoving his tongue in and out of her open mouth. She moaned and tried to fight him off. He gripped her hands and pinned them above her head.

She broke the kiss and he went at her neck, like usual, and began biting at his favorite spot.

"Uchiha, stop . . ."

It was ignored.

"Fuck . . . please . . ." she tried again but even she knew it sounded as if she was begging for it.

She was sick of this.

"Uchiha!" but it came out as a strained moan. Sasuke looked at her for a second before going for her lips roughly again. She tried pushing again. It only made him move closer, if possible. A whimper of frustration passed through her lips and was swallowed by Sasuke's mouth.

She was at a breaking point.

She didn't want this anymore.

Without realizing, she began to cry. The tears streaked down her face and broke at her lips. Sasuke, in the middle of kissing her, tasted the salty liquid and froze. He broke the kiss and looked into Aki's now tear streaked face. His eyes grew, and suddenly he let her go.

Aki caught herself this time and stood up, wiping at her face.

God.

She was the pathetic one.

An awkward silence passed before Sasuke mumbled, "You don't cry."

It was a statement of fact. She didn't cry. Even when she lost her innocence to him – yes, he knew he did it, but was too far in that moment to care – she didn't shed a tear. For as long as he knew her, she had never been close to crying.

And now that she was, and that it was his fault, he didn't know what to do. He hated her (so he told himself), but tears were something he never thought he'd get out of her.

Ever.

Aki looked at him and couldn't even glare. Instead, she looked like a hurt kitten. Her blue eyes sparkled with tears and her sniffles were soft. The mark he had been abusing was bright red and starting to get bigger. Her lips were swollen and pouty and Sasuke could not help but think of it as . . . cute. But that was far in the back of his mind. He was more shocked and confused than anything.

"I . . . We have to stop this," she finally muttered.

Sasuke didn't reply for a while.

He didn't know whether to be angry or happy or . . .

He was confused.

"Why?" he asked without realizing.

Aki looked at him. She internally debated on whether she should admit her reason. After she remembered that she was basically crying in front of him, showing weakness, she decided it couldn't get any worse.

"I want something real," she said, clenching her fists and looking away.

"Real?" he questioned again, the confusion showing up even more on his face.

"I want a relationship, Uchiha. I want . . . love. Something. Anything. I want what I've never had. But what we're doing . . . it will keep us from it. Because we don't care for each other. Or even like each other. Maybe if we stop . . . you'll finally give Sakura a chance or I'll find someone who likes me. But we can't . . ." she trailed off, blushing and embarrassed by what she had already admitted.

The tears began again and in an effort to hide them, she turned away from him.

"I don't want to do this anymore, Uchiha. I'm done."

And she walked away from him, finally.

A month had passed and it was taking a toll on not only Aki and Sasuke, but the rest of the team and anyone unlucky enough to be near them. Because of the awkwardness of their situation, Sasuke and Aki didn't speak to each other at all. It was almost as if they avoided each other. The usual time that was filled with their arguments was now silent. When things went wrong, if any, neither acknowledged it, even if it was the fault of the other. They didn't even look at each other if they could avoid it.

No one knew how they handled their frustration now because it obviously wasn't with each other anymore.

It was relaxing at first.

But now it was weird.

Kakashi tied up the guy and threw him over his shoulder. Team Seven was on a mission to catch a foreign ninja who had been sighted sneaking around the outskirts of the village gates. The mission was easy – the ninja was good at hiding and running but nothing else really – but tiring. The four Chunnin were breathless. Kakashi looked them over.

"Good job, although you almost made us lose him, Aki," he said simply.

He was referring to when Aki got distracted and fell for a paper bomb trap, which caused her to crash into Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura, throwing them off track.

Aki looked away and mumbled a quiet "sorry". Kakashi looked expectantly at Sasuke, who simply looked in the opposite direction and continued to slow down his breathing. After a squirm from the caught ninja, Kakashi sighed.

"I'll go on ahead. You four rest up a bit then head back. Meet you in the Hokage's office," he said before taking off.

There was a silence before Sakura spoke up.

"So, Aki, are you okay? You caught the blow of the bomb the most," Sakura took a step to her to examine her wounds. If she was hurt, she could heal her right fast.

"I'm fine," she said with a small smile to ward Sakura off, but the medic nin continued to examine her.

"I bet you have something to complain about, Sasuke. She hit you pretty hard," Naruto said with a goofy smile and laugh. Sasuke ignored the comment.

The silence became awkward seconds after because both Sakura and Naruto expected something to be said.

But nothing was.

Suddenly Naruto screamed in frustration, startling the other three.

"You two are being ridiculous! What happened between you two? At first, the lack of fighting was cool, but now it's just weird and annoying!"

Shocking himself along with the rest, Sasuke let out a low laugh. He placed a hand halfway through his hair and closed his eyes. "Shut up, idiot."

"ARGHH! NOW YOU'RE LAUGHING! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?" Naruto screamed, which only increased Sasuke's laugher. The deep, low rumble was beautiful and strange at the same time.

Sasuke's laugh finally died down. Aki stared at him strangely, but after realizing she was staring, she looked away.

"Don't look away from me, Matsuri," Sasuke said suddenly. She looked at him again and glared. A smart retort was on her tongue but instead of letting the taste of escape her mouth, she bit it back.

"No smart remark?" he taunted. She glared at him even more. What was he doing? Didn't they mutually, even though silently, agree to leave each other alone?

"Sasuke, maybe you should stop . . ." Sakura said tentatively. The look on Aki's face had her worried. Yes, she agreed with Naruto that the silence between them was weird, but she didn't want them to revert back to an even worse version of the past events.

"You're always a fuck up, Matsuri. That will never change. Nothing about you will."

"Back off, bastard," Aki said lowly.

"I won't. I have so much to say to you, things I've been holding back this past month. You're a loser. A pathetic loser with no common sense."

Aki's fists clenched tightly. If he kept this up . . .

"You're weak! You're the reason everything goes wrong!" Sasuke said, his anger rising.

"Stop, Uchiha!" Aki yelled and her eyes didn't show the anger her voice portrayed. It was pleading. Sasuke noticed this and his jaw clenched. He couldn't stop. Not now. He wasn't going to back down without a fight from her.

"Are you scared to fight me, Matsuri? Finally admitting defeat?"

Aki's pleading eyes changed to anger and she knew at that moment, he broke her defenses.

"Sakura, I think they're back to normal," Naruto mumbled, watching the scene unfold in front of him.

"It's your fault!" she mumbled back.

"Naruto, Sakura. I think you should leave. I don't think you want to get caught in this crossfire."

Naruto and Sakura almost jumped out of their skin when they realized Kakashi was the one who spoke up behind them.

"Sensei?" Sakura questioned.

"Something told me this would happen when I disappeared. Let's just let them blow off the steam that has built up," he said simply, a knowing glint appearing in his eye.

Both Sakura and Naruto glanced at the stare-off between Sasuke and Aki before slowly nodding and listening to their sensei. They went ahead and Kakashi cast another glance at the two others before shaking his head and leaving.

Don't be idiots this time.

Aki felt her hands shake as she stared at Sasuke. He didn't smirk and his glare suddenly faded. He gave her a blank look now. Aki felt her apprehension and confusion grow with the situation. What was he thinking?

Sasuke knew where he was going with this. He knew it, but he didn't think she'd actually go for it. Now, they were at a standstill. If he didn't do anything now, he'd lose his chance. He'd been thinking this past month, and now it was time to put it into action.

"Matsuri, I want what you want," Sasuke spoke after a moment's silence.

"And what's that, Uchiha?" Aki sneered.

Sasuke couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face. "I want love, a real relationship."

She felt her anger rise even more now. His statement didn't match his face. That stupid smirk made her blood boil. And it was almost as if his eyes were laughing at her. How dare he? How dare he make a joke out of how she really felt?

"Are . . . are you fucking mocking me?" Aki yelled before charging at him. Sasuke allowed her to grasp his throat and slam him against a nearby tree. The impact against the tree was harder than he expected and he felt the air leave his lungs. Not to mention that she was cutting off any chance of him regaining any of that lost air.

"Are you really going to stand here and mock my feelings, you asshole?" Aki said angrily, her blue eyes flashing.

Sasuke let out a small cough. "Aki," Sasuke spoke against the grip of her hand on his throat.

Aki tensed and let go of him like he shocked her. She stepped at least two feet away from him.

Never had he used her first name.

Even when they first met. It was always Matsuri. Never Aki.

Sasuke let out a few coughs and gasps, rubbing his neck and wincing. Damn, she grabbed him hard. He was impressed and pissed about that. But the matter before him was more serious than his pride. Well, the matter at hand would affect his pride even worse than that.

He regained the feeling in his neck and lungs and stood tall against the tree.

"I want what you want, Aki," he stated again.

"Stop it. Don't use my name. Stop talking to me," she mumbled.

"I'm only going to say this once, so listen to me," he all but demanded with a roll of his eyes. She glared at him but decided to hear him out.

"I want something real. Like you."

"Oh really?" Aki couldn't help but say sarcastically.

"Yes," he said without hesitation. "And . . ." he took a pause. "I want it with you."

Aki's eyes widened. The scoff of disbelief was released on its own. "What?"

"You heard me. I know what it feels like to want and be wanted. And truthfully, for a while, I've liked you."

Aki couldn't believe it. Sasuke, the Sasuke Uchiha, was admitting to liking her?

"Is this some sick joke?" Aki asked. "I'm not finding it funny."

"It's not supposed to be funny, idiot. I'm telling you I like you and want a true fucking relationship with you."

"Look," Aki started, not really knowing where she was going with this, "I'm . . . flattered (understatement, her inner self said) but after all we've done, we couldn't possibly expect something real from that. And how do you know I'm not already into someone else?"

"You're not," he stated with confidence. Aki frowned.

"You don't know that."

"For the past year, I couldn't dream of looking at another girl. I hate . . . hated you, but you're all I could think about when it came to that kind of stuff. It infuriated me and I usually don't give two shits about that kind of thing anyway. But I wanted to force you out and couldn't. I know you're in the same boat. Have you even let anyone in since we started?"

Aki clenched her fists, angered because he was right.

Ever since, she unwillingly – willingly – gave herself to him, she couldn't look at anyone else. There have been offers. Kiba, Lee (he ACTUALLY gave up on Sakura), and even freaking Neji tried to take her out. But because of him, of a relationship she barely understood, she refused, claiming it was because she wasn't interested in relationships.

It was actually because she was interested in only one relationship: the thing she had with Sasuke.

"I'm right and you know it." He sighed. This is definitely something he wasn't used to doing. "I can give you what you want and you can give me what I want. I want to be with only you, Aki. I'm actually asking for a chance with you. So . . . please?"

There was a pause. Suddenly, Aki couldn't suppress the giggle that came out of her. Sasuke's glare afterwards only made it funnier.

"What's funny?" Sasuke asked, obviously getting angry.

Aki's smile was full and involuntary. It took Sasuke's breath away. He had never seen her full smile before.

"You sound like your fans. You sound like such a . . . girl!"

Sasuke's gasp was one of complete shock and his glare appeared tenfold. People would squirm and wet themselves under the intensity of his glare at that moment. That was a harsh blow to his already broken pride. He had already admitted to liking and wanting to be with her. And Uchiha's don't chase anybody. And now . . .

He sounded like a girl?

He wasn't going to let her know that she practically destroyed his vulnerable pride just then. Instead, he stalked forward, feigning a strong confidence he didn't even feel. Startled by the intensity of his actions, Aki began retreating away, her smile falling. Sasuke's confidence started to peak as he enjoyed being able to intimidate her. Her back hit a tree a few moments later and Sasuke trapped her between him and it.

It was something about their relationship and fucking trees. Always a tree.

He placed his hands on either side of her face. They stared at each other, both refusing to look away as they were basically engulfed in each other's vision. Aki made a quick, yet totally noticeable, glance at Sasuke's lips. He smirked a little. He brought one hand down to caress her cheek softly and leaned in slowly, capturing her lips.

Her breath was taken away this time.

Never had their kisses been so soft, sweet, and gentle. There was always the clashing of teeth, lip biting, and forcible tongue battles. But never had they been so . . .

Loving.

Aki's eyes fluttered closed as Sasuke's and her own lips began moving in a slow, sensual pace. The kiss made her heart skip beats and she found herself reaching upward and placing her hands in his hair, gently this time.

Sasuke found himself placing his hands on her hips now, pulling her forward to him. His tongue slid gently across her lips, asking for entrance. She obliged.

A small moan was heard from Aki. Sasuke explored her mouth slowly this time, savoring her taste, just in case it was the last time he would ever get to.

Because truthfully, if he was rejected, he wouldn't be able to face her.

Uchihas don't get rejected.

But there's a first for everything.

Aki's knees began to buckle. The kiss was too amazing, too much. They weren't even doing much touching or anything. It was just a kiss. But it was the best one she had ever had, and it made her body feel things she had never felt for anyone.

A small whimper came from Aki as Sasuke broke the kiss. She didn't want it to end. She had wanted more. He couldn't hide the smirk. She had boosted his pride back to where it usually was. She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her like she was the only thing that mattered.

"A week, Aki," he said, her name rolling off his tongue like honey. "I'll give you a week."

With one last soft peck to her lips, he was gone.

Aki fell to her knees.

Fuck.