"Sakura...thank you…"
The voice was one that she recognized instantly - how could she not? Those words were scratched into her memory - into her very being. Aquamarine orbs growing round, only a small gasp managed to escape her parted lips before a hand snaked around her waist. A chill ran down her spine. No, she thought, you're gone...I-I've moved on…
"Sakura, please," he continued, the arm around her torso tightening, pulling her back against his firm chest. He was cold to the touch; she could feel the chill even through her clothing. He's so cold…
"I've had no fire to keep me warm, Sakura," he whispered into her ear, as though reading her mind. His breath tickled the fine hairs along her left ear. "No light to guide me."
"You left," she said, the muscles in her arms tensing as she clenched her bare hands into loose fists. Another arm came from the opposite side as the other, encircling her shoulders and drawing her even closer as he laid his forehead against the back of her head, nestling his face in wisps of soft, moonlight-streaked pink hues.
"I was confused," came his reply a few moments later. "I had no clue about what it is that I truly value." There was another short silence, and she felt a shudder pulse through her being - his smile. "...Shorter hair suits you much better, Sakura-chan."
Her heart jumped, her eyes widening to the breaking point. S-Sasuke…
"What is it?" he murmured against her hair, his thumb trailing back and forth across her exposed navel. Glancing down at herself, she blinked. When had her top become unzipped? That's right, she thought, I was getting ready for bed.
She heard a soft sigh from behind her, and then felt a steamy breath on the nape of her neck. She shivered, revelling in the delight of her genin fantasies. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Sasuke...have you...seen Naruto?"
"Naruto?" The raven-haired young man scoffed, his digit hesitating across the taut flesh of Sakura's stomach for a second before resuming. She sighed a breath of relief. "Why would I have?"
"He's...looking for you."
"Why?" Sakura grew quiet, her gaze dropping to her bare toes, each set pointed in toward the other. "Sakura?" he coaxed, a hand softly gripping her naked shoulder.
"...Because...because I was heartbroken." Gathering her courage, she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and turned to face the Prodigal Nin. She gasped in awe, seeing - not the black-clad shinobi that had left that moon-forsaken night - a true shinobi. Her eyes sat level with the hollow of his throat. Biting her lower lip as an achor, she tilted her head back until her eyes met twin rubies. Another chill spiraled down her spine. For a moment she lost her nerve, but, remembering the pain of her best friend tossing aside his own interests for her well-being, she forced herself to continue. "Naruto left to train so he could bring you back."
"Why would he want me back in Konoha?" He couldn't hide the sour quality to his voice.
"He didn't. I did." She held his stare - unwavering. He was the one to look away, drawing his arms away from her to lay straight at his sides. She felt her eyes stinging, knowing that she held back a cascade, but refused to show her weakness to him. She had grown stronger, into a kunoichi that he could consider his equal. "I was desperate, oh so desperate." Those words sounded all-too familiar to her own ears as she turned her head, dropping her eyes to the ground. Her vision was starting to blur. "I begged you to stay with me, Sasuke… Why?"
"Sakura, please." He lifted one hand, the fabric of his white sleeve sliding down his forearm, to his elbow. Cupping her chin between his thumb and first two fingers, he slowly dragged her face upward until their eyes met again. She thought his stare almost too much to bare. "I'm back now. I'm with you now. Can't that be enough...for now?"
She wanted it to be. She wanted that to be enough for the rest of her life - for the rest of their lives. It was foolish to think that, and she knew it, but still it floated around inside of her mind.
But...for the moment...why couldn't it be? "Sakura," he whispered, and finally she could take no more. Her shoulders trembled as the first tears fell from the corners of her eyes.
"I hate you," she choked out through her sobs. Her fingernails dug into the calloused palms of her hands. It felt like her heart was shattering all over again. A moment passed, and then she was against his chest again. She quickly aimed to bury her face in the crook of his neck, her hands moving to clutch at the open folds of his hakama top. His arms coiled around her, one hand falling to the small of her back, and the other cupping the back of her head. "No...no, I don't," she admitted in a partial shudder, her knees buckling. Taking it all in stride, Sasuke moved with her, slowly lowering himself and her to the floor: he on one knee with Sakura curled into him, her legs bent beneath her.
"You have every right to," he whispered to her heart, though it barely registered above the sounds of her own sobs.
"But I don't! I can't! Sasuke I - I still love you so much!" A fresh wave of tears fell. Sasuke tilted his head in toward her, trailing his nose across her brow.
"Sakura…" Gathering herself enough to look up at him, she tilted her head, and was greeted by the sensation of his mouth closing down upon hers. She gasped, her heartbeat quickening. Oh God, she thought, her eyes wide in shock as he drew her in to him, her spine bowing under his touch. It seemed that she had only had time to take a single breath, and suddenly her back was cool. The floor, she realized. He had laid her down. A second later she felt his presence hovering above her. Her heart leapt into her throat. He was beaming down at her, his red eyes glowing in the light of the moon streaming through her open window. The wind stirred around them, delivering the fresh scents of Spring. A blossom of her namesake drifted into her bedroom, and Sasuke, shifting his body's weight to one arm, reached out to catch it with his free hand. Holding the pale pink blossom between his index and middle fingers, he stroked it down the length of her neck, following the curve of her shoulder, and down the span of her arm. She shivered, goose bumps rising on her flesh.. He smiled. Then, his mouth was upon hers again.
Her slender fingers snaked up the back of his head, burrowing themselves in the layers of thick ebony hair to keep him to her - his rosebud mouth to her own. Even if, when morning came, this would all end...this man had been her deepest desire, and for tonight she would be his.
One of his arms rested to the side of her head, supporting his body's mass as he covered her, not wanting to lay his length along hers just yet. His other hand sat upon her hip, the tips of his fingers beneath the hem of her red top. "Sasuke," she breathed, closing her eyes as he left a trail of kisses along her jawline. Wrapping her arms around his neck, he lowered himself to her, their bodies touching at long last. His free hand slid up her side and around the back of her neck. She shuddered, and Sakura felt him smirk against the tender flesh of her jugular.
"Sakura," he whispered, his voice husky. Her skin prickled where his breath skimmed it. He shifted, separating her legs and slowly settling himself between. His manhood nestled snugly against the thin cotton of her underwear. Where did my pants go?
"Sakura...tonight...you will belong to me." There was a pause. She dared not utter a word. "Sakura-chan…"
That wasn't his voice. Her heart cathing in her throat, her eyes immediately shot open, and her mouth fell agape. A well-muscled torso was still pressed to her, and raven colored locks still draped over a dark stare...but it was not who it had been - who she had always wanted it to be…
xXx
With a start Sakura's eyes snapped open, and she was quick to sit upright. Her breathing was heavy, ragged - her face flushed as beads of sweat trickled down the back of her neck and along her spine. Glancing around her bedroom she noted that the window was closed, and everything was as it had been when she had laid down to bed for the night. She drew in a deep breath and exhaled softly. So it was just a dream, after all, she thought with a forlorn expression. Her heart ached a bit.
As though the memory of her dream's end just dawned on her, she squirmed beneath the sheets of her futon, drawing her knees in toward her chest with both arms.
But...why was it Rock Lee?