Care

-x-

Sasuke's eyes shot open, the haze of sleep making his vision blur for a few moments. For a few seconds, he did nothing but blink, slowly sitting up in his bed and hand moving to rest close to the weapon concealed on his bedside table. The room was silent and it was only for the strength of his eyes that the boy could still through the darkness surrounding him. With a somewhat confused glance to the alarm clock beside him, noting that it was still only the odd hours of the morning, Sasuke frowned as he wondered what could have woken him.

It was true that he was a light sleeper but usually there was something to rouse him - whether it be a cat knocking over something heavy in a nearby alleyway or the old creaking of the wooden beams of his ceiling.

But now, as he frowned and glanced around -somewhat suspiciously- Sasuke noted nothing out of place. No noise, no intruders, no indication of what had awoken him.

With a irritated grunt, the Uchiha went to slump back down on the mattress and try to regain any sort moments rest that had been lost.

However, a dull, sluggish knocking suddenly echoed through his home and he sat upright once more.

His brows furrowed in confused and he resisted the urge to check the clock again. It sounded as if someone was knocking at his door but the thought seemed implausible at such an early hour. Though once again, two more, slightly quieter knocks came and Sasuke rose to his feet, padding quietly towards his door.

Dark brows were drawn sharply together, irritation ready to be released at whomever was daring to bother him at such a ridiculous time in the morning. He swore if it was the dobe then he would-

Though, as he swung open the door, with a little more force than necessary, bewilderment was quick to suppress any previous irritation.

"Sakura," The boy stated, gazing at the team mate standing in his door way - looking considerably worse for wear.

The girl seemed to be regaining her breath as her hair hung lank over her face, posture slumped and tired. The sight made him frown and once again, the confusion he felt upon waking hit him full force.

But before he could ask what the hell she was doing, she rose her head with an apologetic, undeniably weary frown on her lips. Upon her doing so, Sasuke was quick to notice the cut that marred the skin of her cheek - the blood already smeared and crusted around it.

"Gomen Sasuke-kun to turn up like this," She sounded almost breathless, he noticed and he frowned a little deeper, "But I just got back from Suna and my apartment is so far away…"

The girl trailed off and it was then that his gaze lingered over her form once more, only then noticing the way she was clutching at her side.

"You're hurt," He said, drawing his eyes back upwards and meeting her gaze.

"We ran into some trouble," She admitted with a small sort of smile, straightening herself up gingerly, "So…I was wondering if it would be okay, if I stayed here tonight, just tonight! I dont want to be rude and I know its late-"

Sasuke scoffed before opening the door a little wider, ignoring the way she glanced at him so full of surprise.

Did she really think he would leave her in the street, in the middle of the night and injured?

The thought made him frown and the irritation that once faded bubbled up again, making him scowl and turn away as she hesitantly made her way inside. It had been a little more than a year since he had returned to Leaf and in turn become a part of Team 7 once more.

"Sit." He bit out, stiffly tilting his chin towards the living room and making his way towards the kitchen - not caring about her stammered protests in the slightest.

He watched from the corner of his eye as she gingerly lowered herself onto his sofa, a small hiss of pain travelling through the silence of the house. Though, despite her condition, the girl still seemed uneasy; her posture was as straight as she could manage and the hand that wasnt pressed to her side was fumbling with the hem of her skirt.

She was uncomfortable in his home despite how she had chosen to knock on his door in the middle of the night, Sasuke realised with a hefty dose of disdain.

Or perhaps Sakura was uncomfortable around him?

True it was that most of the damage done by his absence had been delicately repaired - whether intentional or not on his behalf - it was clear that there were some deeper issues between them that still remained. With Naruto, it was more difficult to notice, being how he is. With Sakura, however, it was in every moment when she was unable to meet his eyes and in the panicked, nervous apologies she would spew every time her touch lingered for too long after healing.

Or in the way she was sitting so rigidly in his living room.

Letting out an annoyed, short sigh, the boy gathered what little medical supplies he held in his kitchen cupboards and made his way back to her.

She seemed to jolt when he sat beside her, her gaze wandering to the small box of supplies to the boy in an eventual realisation of sorts.

"Use this," He somewhat demanded, thrusting a cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol towards her. Sakura blanched slightly, blinking at the object.

"Ano... its okay," She smiled slightly, the expression looking more tired than it did encouraging in his eyes, "I can heal it in the morning."

Sasuke scowled at her, dark eyes narrowing sharply. How many times had she berated him and Naruto for not tending their wounds straight away?

Hypocrite.

"Do it." The boy bit out, his patience wearing thin.

First she turns up at an ungodly hour expecting to stay and now she was actually denying his help? After all these years, she was still goddamn annoying.

Sakura must have heard the barely concealed bite to usually emotionless tone as she retreated into herself slightly, nodding faintly. However, as she raised her hand, the dim light of the room allowed the boy to see the carnage that the girl had so proficiently hid from him before.

Retracting the cloth away from her reach, Sasuke's eyes stayed glued to her outstretched hands. Her knuckles were black and blue and various cuts and scrapes littered the usually pale (soft) skin of her fingers.

We ran into some trouble

How much trouble had she ran into exactly? He knew that Sakura's tendency to destroy the ground they walked on had some consequences, but he had never seen her hands look quite so …battered after any of their sparring sessions. His mind questioned why she was on a mission like that without the rest of Team 7 in the first place - the last he had heard of one of the girl's medic nin missions was simply to deliver some herbs. Surely this couldnt be the same one?

Realising his thoughts were wandering far too much for his liking, Sasuke fixed the girl with an accusatory glare before glancing downwards at her waist again.

"Move."

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, you dont need to-" However, a sharp hiss of pain left her lips as the cloth made contact with the wound. Much to Sasuke's relief, whatever had caused such an injury had torn a considerable hole in her clothing, meaning that there was no need to remove any articles.

Not as if it would matter if that was the case, he was no ecchi pervert like Naruto or Kakashi. He would never stoop so low as to leer or take advantage of such a situation - especially not with such a vulnerable, injured team mate.

Nonetheless, a situation where clothes were kept on was... preferable for the time being.

"Keep still." He berated, eyes flickering irritably to her face for a few seconds as she writhed away from his touch.

"Gomen," She mumbled, eyes clenched shut tightly. Apparently, exhaustion considerably lowers pain threshold.

As he dabbed the last few areas of the cut, he felt her hand land just above his knee, fingers curling into the material of his pyjamas. The unexpected contact made him tense slightly and retract the cloth. However, it seemed that it was unintentional as Sakura slowly opened her eyes and the boy watched the realisation of what she had done spread across her expression.

"G-gom-"

"Shut up," He snapped, growing tired of her constant apologies. Before she could snatch her hand away from him, Sasuke grabbed her wrist, ignoring the small gasp from the girl. Silently, he continued to clean the smaller wounds on her hand, keeping his gaze firmly on his task - unsure of what her expression may be if he was to look at the kunoichi.

If he had looked, Sasuke would have seen her wide eyed and blushing - the colour of her cheeks barely hidden by the dim light.

The moments passed in silence as he carried on, ensuring that everything was cleaned and no longer bleeding. He was certainly no medic but Sasuke never allowed any task to be finished second rate.

Watching him, Sakura's eyes never left his face, not really sure of whether he was purposely avoiding her gaze. Though, with a resigned smile, she decided that she was being silly. It was just Sasuke. He would never think any thing more of this - despite how intimate it could be perceived.

Regardless, Sakura allowed her hand to hang limp in his, quietly loving how carefully he was treating her wounds - even though she knew that cuts like those would heal so easily on their own. He didnt need to know that though. She certainly wasnt going to ruin this moment by telling him, either.

When he was finished, he released her wrist and finally rose his eyes to her face - surprised to find her already looking at him. There was such a softness to her expression, an expression he hadnt seen in a while, it caused him feel strangely uneasy and eventually glance away.

"Arigatou, Sasuke-kun." She murmured and the boy could practically hear the smile in her voice. A few moments of silence fell between them, though the Uchiha was unsure as to why.

Finally giving her a sideways glance and an affirming, 'Hn', Sasuke rose to his feet.

"Move, Sakura." Looking down at her, the boy frowned as if annoyed that she was still sitting there.

Confused by this, the girl blinked and delicate pink brows drew together on her forehead, creasing the diamond that laid there, "Why?

Jaw clenching and bitterly questioning her role as the smartest of their academy class, Sasuke crossed his arms, "Because I need to sleep."

For a moment, Sakura seemed even more confused by this - nose actually scrunching and head cocking to the side almost childishly. However, the pin eventually dropped and her viridian eyes widened.

"Iie, Sasuke-kun, I can sleep here. Its not problem!" She protested, running her hand over the seat as if to strengthen her claim.

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Sasuke reeled in his waning temper. What time even was it now? Did she not want to sleep tonight? She may as well have walked back to her own home if that was the case.

"No," He said, scowling down at her, "You cant. Now move, Sakura."

A few moments passed where she was simply frowning up at him but Sasuke refused to back down - when had he ever before? Eventually, she rose to her feet, albeit with considerable effort on her part and moved towards the doorway.

Sinking back down on the sofa, not bothering to find any extra pillows or covers, Sasuke closed his eyes for a few moments, not appreciating the way his eyes felt heavy nor the thought of the ache he was bound to feel in his bones come morning.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Suppressing a sigh, he answered with a tired, "What?" with perhaps a little more bite than necessary. Sakura either ignored it or her own fatigue prevented her from picking up on his blunt tone as she continued, voice as soft and melodic as ever.

"You didnt have to tend my wounds, y'know. I…really appreciate it."

He couldnt see her, the boy already laying down and facing the back of the chair but he could easily imagine her standing in the doorway, staring at him, no doubt.

It was true though, there was no need to do such a thing, the girl would have been quite capable to fix the wounds in the morning - even if they had become infected or worsened by her avoidance of the task, Sakura was certainly skilled enough to deal with such a situation.

But it would have been wrong to leave her in such a state. Not only would it be a disrespectful way to treat a fellow team mate, Sasuke found he didnt like the idea of Sakura being bleeding and bruised while in his halls and rooms of the house hadnt seen blood in a very long time and the Uchiha didnt intend to break that run with Sakura of all people.

It didnt bode well.

Though, instead of voicing what his mind was filling in for him, Sasuke found himself saying, "I didnt want you to bleed on everything."

It sounded ridiculous, even he could hear it. Nevertheless, a light giggle filled the air and eased some of the tension from the boy's body.

"…Goodnight, Sasuke-kun."

He didnt reply or react when he heard her sluggish footsteps move down the hall but Sasuke couldnt suppress the smirk when the girl called back a few moments later and said, "I'll try not ruin the furniture!"

-x-

Review if you like~ Theyre very much appreciated ^^