Sasuke Uchiha was not the type to hurry. He didn't mind the long journey to find the doctor for Orochimaru, nor the silence as he traveled alone.
He liked silence.
True enough, for the first six or seven years after the massacre he heard only the screams of his kin in the silence. Itachi's genjutsu was very thorough, showing him every slash, subjecting him to every cry of pain and horror.
Sasuke shook his head slightly. Getting lost in his thoughts could be dangerous in this jungle, though it would take more than a few snakes to harm the Uchiha. He just didn't want to get lost, though that wouldn't be a big deal, either.
Sufficiently placated, he lost himself to his thoughts once more, these less gruesome than before.
Hours later, he caught a hint of smoke in the air. Altering his course slightly, he angled towards it. When a tremor shook the earth under his feet, he increased his speed. He caught a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye before a body slammed into his. Without breaking stride, he swept the mass into his arms and came to a graceful stop. Finally looking down at his attacker, his eyes widened minutely.
"Sakura."
Green eyes darted up to look at him, widening in surprise. She blanched as her body tensed, ready for an impending attack.
Resisting the urge to sigh, Sasuke gently set her away from himself. As she reached for a kunai, he snapped, "Don't bother. I'm not here for you or Naruto." Looking around, he finally realized that the blonde was nowhere to be seen. Brow furrowed, he glanced back at his former teammate. "Where is the dobe, anyway?"
Sakura gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth. "I almost forgot!" She turned her back on him and moved to jump into the trees. In a flash, he was in front of her. "Where's Naruto, Sakura? Is this some sort of trap?"
Sakura scowled. "I didn't think I would ever say this, but I don't have time for you right now, Sasuke." With that, she gently pushed him out of her way and jumped into the trees, speeding towards her home and their reinforcements.
Sasuke looked after the kunoichi for a long moment, surprise coloring his expression. When had Sakura ever pushed him away? For that matter, when had she ever used just his name? Always, it was Sasuke-kun.
Turning back the way she had come from, Sasuke took off. Mentioning Naruto's name had broken Sakura out of her daze. Konoha was in the opposite direction, the way Sakura was going, so it stood to reason that Naruto would be this way.
Reaching a clearing just as what appeared to be ruins began to take off into the sky, Sasuke quickly manifested his wings and followed. Making his way through the maze of hallways, he used his superior skills to avoid any confrontations. Finally, he found the doctor.
And Naruto. Of course. The idiot was always in the thick of things.
But, oddly, it felt almost natural to be teaming up with him to win out over a common enemy. Not like their Genin days, when they were too busy fighting each other. No, this was a more adult meeting than they'd ever had in the past. None of Naruto's overexcited shouting about bringing him home, nor Sakura's pleading face as she added her voice to Naruto's.
Sasuke shook off the thoughts. Why did he keep getting so distracted? Surely he wasn't becoming sentimental towards his former teammates...
And yet, Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at Naruto's parting shot. I'll definitely bring you back to Konoha.
The stoic boy felt no fear for the dobe's life as he flew away. Naruto was too hardy and stubborn to die.
For weeks after, Sasuke was drawn back to those encounters. With Sakura, he had never known the kunoichi to pass him over for anything. With Naruto, he had relished the camaraderie with his former teammate.
Sighing, Sasuke rolled over on his bed and closed his eyes. He was not going to let himself get caught up in this foolishness. He had a mission - one that far outweighed his own rather childish desires.
Training, as always, proved a useful outlet for his frustration at himself. Letting such trivial thoughts waver his determination to kill his brother - che! As if. Nothing would stop him from getting his revenge.
Only...
Sakura's lack of fawning still rankled. Perhaps she was finally growing up? Realizing her potential as a kunoichi instead of just another girl playing at ninja.
One could only hope.
Sasuke took great pains to hide his distraction from Kabuto and Orochimaru. Both would exploit any and all weaknesses they might come across. But the day was quickly coming that Sasuke would no longer need either of them. The day that he would break out on his own to complete his task – the one that had been burning inside since the day his family was murdered.
Eyes flashing red at the memory, Sasuke growled, then frowned at his lack of control. Really, it was the same every time he interacted with his former teammates. They brought out the worst in him, made him feel more than just the hatred inside his soul. They were distractions.
And yet...
He found himself wondering at the oddest times – was Sakura truly moving past her infatuation with him? Was Naruto honestly still harboring the unwanted brotherly affection he'd somehow come to feel for his Uchiha teammate?
Whenever he was sent on errands – which absolutely rankled, being treated like a gopher – he kept an ear out for Konoha shinobi, always wondering if he would run into them.
It was almost as though fate were laughing at him.
On a trip to a tiny country on – literally – the other side of the continent from Konoha, Sasuke felt the nudge of a familiar chakra. Barely restraining himself from rolling his eyes at the sheer predictability of it all, he came to a rest on a tree bordering the small township and let his sharp eyes drift over the inhabitants.
It took nearly fifteen minutes, but Sasuke was a patient man. The door to the local apothecary opened, a cheerful voice calling out her thanks. Sasuke's eyes honed in on that bright pink hair, glancing around to ensure that she was alone.
When Sakura opened the door to her room late that night, she instantly knew she wasn't alone. Worse, she knew who had broken in.
Fingers slipping readily around the tantō at her back, Sakura eased into a fighting stance. While she knew she had no real chance at beating Sasuke should he truly wish to fight, she refused to go down without at least trying.
A scoff came from the corner. Moonlight, shining softly through the window, glinted off the kunai Sasuke held in his hand. To her astonishment, Sasuke twirled the blade expertly and tucked it into the folds of his clothes. "I'm not here to fight."
Sakura's grip on the handle of her blade never wavered. "Then why are you here?"
Amusement flitted across his face so quickly that Sakura was sure she imagined it.
"I can't greet an old teammate?" he asked.
"Your greetings are usually fairly violent, Sasuke." Sakura's words were confident, but she inwardly cursed her traitorous heart for quickening at the sight of him.
Sasuke inclined his head in agreement with her words as he crossed his arms and leaned easily against the window frame. Her continued disuse of the usual -kun honorific attached to his name was...unsettling. If Sasuke were honest with himself, he had always kept the solidity of Sakura's feelings for him in the back of his mind. That, and Naruto's absolute confidence in bringing him home.
It was almost like a reflection of himself – if they kept those characteristics, then how much could he have changed? To know that now, after all these years, Sakura was changing in a way that – to Sasuke – was utterly drastic...
In another way, it kind of pissed him off. All the years spent chasing him like a puppy, professing her love and always staring at him with a lovesick look on her face – for what?
As he took in the sight of her now – taller, with shorter hair and a more determined look on her face than he'd ever seen before, the medic outfit that seemed to suit her – Sasuke felt his eyes narrow.
Sakura tensed as she took in the slight change in his expression. Before she could move, Sasuke was on her. "So fast! I didn't even see him move..."
Sasuke gripped her wrist – the one still holding the tantō – in one hand. His other arm was pressed against her chest, holding her to the door with his forearm. A burning question had entered his mind, one that refused to let go. Leaning forward, his lips nearly brushed her ear as he asked quietly, "Tell me, Sakura, do you still love me?"
Jade eyes widened, breath catching in her throat. "W-what?"
"You heard me. Don't be annoying, Sakura."
In a sudden show of the monstrous strength she was known for, Sakura growled and propelled herself forward with a boost of chakra to her hindfoot. Sasuke easily darted away, standing by the window and staring at her dispassionately.
"You can't just show up here and ask something like that! And don't call me annoying, dammit!" she said angrily. "Besides, what does it even matter to you? You left us!"
"Hn. I see your temper is still as volatile."
"Don't you dare talk like you know me. Don't you dare act like you're still the Sasuke I knew."
"I'm still me," Sasuke said, a tiny hint of confusion coloring his tone.
"The Sasuke I knew would never abandon his village – his friends – for something as fleeting and fickle as power. The Sasuke I knew wouldn't have nearly killed his best friend! You're kidding yourself if you think you haven't changed."
Guilt washed over him at the raw hurt in her words, but was unrepentantly pushed back. "I needed more than Konoha could give me. In order to fulfill my goal-"
"Shut up about killing Itachi already! There's more to life than revenge, Sasuke! And besides, you had to know that we would have helped you defeat him once we were all strong enough."
Sasuke shook his head. "You don't understand," he said flatly.
"No, you wouldn't let me understand. I tried so hard to be whatever you needed, Sasuke. But it was never enough for you. I think...I think I may hate you for that," Sakura finished, her tone bitter.
Her words sent a chill down Sasuke's spine. Before he could speak, Sakura sighed.
"Sasuke, can we just...move on? I'm not here for you, didn't even know you were in the area, so please just go."
Curiosity piqued in spite of himself, Sasuke grunted, "What are you here for?" When she glared at him, he glared right back until she relented.
"Whatever. It's not like it's a secret mission or anything. The hospital was low on a few herbs that only grow in this area. Since I know what they look like and can guarantee the best quality, Tsunade-shishou asked me to come."
"Hn."
"You're so...so...irritating!" Sakura cried out, hands in the air in her exasperation. "I'm serious, Sasuke. Please just leave. I have a long trip back home tomorrow and I'd like to get some sleep." Apparently determined to ignore him, Sakura stepped further into the room and began unloading her things.
Boots, backpack, weapons and medic pouches, and her tantō were the first to go. With a dismissive glance toward the unwanted intruder, Sakura rolled her eyes and tugged off her gloves.
"I'm about to get a shower. Don't be here when I get back."
Sasuke watched as she stripped as she went, bits of clothing landing haphazardly on the way to the bathroom. Clad in only the black undershorts and bindings that were the very basis of her outfit, she closed the door between them.
Their eyes clashed at the last moment, one gaze almost hungry and one dismissive.
But it was a curious reversal from their Genin days.
Sasuke scowled at the closed door, wondering when Sakura had grown out of her feelings for him.
And when he had developed...something...for her.
As he stepped onto the windowsill, readying to leave, something halted him. The slightest sound, but immediately he knew what it was. He'd heard it enough growing up.
Sakura was crying.
Where before, that sound would have him running for the hills, now it made him want to stay.
He told himself that he simply wanted to know why. That it was just curiosity.
The heavy feeling in his chest told another story. With a beleaguered sigh, he closed the window and turned back toward the bathroom. Knowing it would be nothing but trouble, unable to stop himself either way, he toed off his sandals and laid his sword down on the bed.
Without bothering to knock, he opened the door to the bathroom, causing Sakura to gasp and turn toward the sound. The shower curtain was closed, preserving her modesty – what little modesty a kunoichi with three male teammates still had.
"What are you doing?" she asked sharply, thankful that her voice didn't waver.
"Why are you crying?"
"I'm not!" she denied.
The shower curtain twitched back a few inches, showing Sasuke's disbelieving stare and Sakura's wide eyes, red nose, and tear tracks down her face. One of Sasuke's eyebrows rose as if to say I told you so.
Anger lit Sakura's eyes. Her hands went to her hips as she snarled, "So I was crying. What does it matter to you?"
The question went completely over Sasuke's head, as he was currently trying rather hard not to stare at his former teammate's curvy body. When he'd left the village, they'd both been just thirteen – too young for either of them to feel sexual desire. She'd been coltish then, knobby knees and rail thin.
Now, though, she was full-figured and well-proportioned.
And Sasuke had never felt this kind of desire before.
It took a few moments of waiting for an answer before Sakura realized what was causing his distraction. Temper flaring, she flung a backhand toward him, never expecting the lightly-chakra-boosted blow to connect.
Connect it did, sending the Uchiha stumbling back a few steps as his surprised gaze flew to meet Sakura's angry visage. One arm blocked her breasts from view while the other hurriedly pulled the curtain closed. A moment later, the shower turned off. A hand reached out from behind the curtain to grasp a clean towel and yank it inside the shower.
Angry mutterings could be heard as the kunoichi presumably dried off. Finally, the curtain was yanked back and Sakura stepped out, clad in only the towel. Her livid glare had Sasuke lifting his chin in response, but his gaze didn't waver from her face.
Smirking, Sakura shoved her way past him to find her clean clothes. Before she could go far, Sasuke gripped her wrist and tugged her against him, spinning to pin her back to the wall.
"You didn't answer me. Why were you crying?"
"Sasuke, don't mess with me right now. I'm very angry, and that's generally not a good thing for whoever made me mad. In this case, that's you."
Her struggles were in vain, even adding chakra to her muscles. "He's so strong, too..."
"I'm not scared of you," he sneered.
"You should be," Sakura said darkly. She jerked suddenly, sending the towel to the floor. In his momentary distraction, she used a burst of chakra to her feet to propel her up and over Sasuke. Landing on her feet behind him, she shoved her elbow backward, driving into his back and forcing him into the wall.
A grunt told her that her blow had landed, but she didn't stop. Quickly making the seals for an offensive medical jutsu, one to knock an opponent out, she slammed her hand onto Sasuke's head, cursing when he disappeared.
Never one to let an opportunity slip by her, Sakura hurried into the main room to dress and throw her things together. Heart beating quickly, she pushed aside every thought except to escape, and quickly. Flaring her senses to search for Sasuke, she was disappointed to realize that he was masking his chakra well enough to avoid her detection. Gathering everything in her arms, she made the seals for the transportation jutsu.
Just as she gathered her chakra to activate the technique, a hand reached out to interrupt the seal.
"Why won't you leave me alone?!" she screamed at him.
Unable to answer, unwilling to even if he'd had an answer, Sasuke remained silent.
"You're such a bastard! Let me go, dammit!" Sakura struggled against Sasuke's hold, to no avail. She kicked out at him, too enraged to think clearly and plan an attack.
Sasuke simply sidestepped her kicks before pushing her – once more – into the wall. He stared down at her – eyes blazing, chest heaving with exertion and emotion, determination etched onto her face – and felt himself move. Even as he knew it was a terrible idea, he did nothing to stop himself from leaning down and capturing her lips with his.
Sakura froze.
For so long, she had dreamed of just this. His kiss, his arms around her, hearing him say her name...
But no. This wasn't a fairytale like when she'd been younger. This Sasuke was nothing like the one of her dreams. This Sasuke was a killer, a missing-nin of Konoha, and had treated her like absolute shit their entire lives.
Instead of allowing herself to melt into his kiss as she so desperately wished, Sakura forced herself to remain stiff and unyielding.
When he finally realized that she wasn't going to give in, Sasuke pulled away and stared down at her. Confusion evident in his tone, he whispered, "You really do hate me, then?"
Biting her instinctual reply back, Sakura took a moment to actually think about the question. Did she hate him? Could she hate this man?
She finally sighed and shook her head. "I can't hate you, Sasuke. You're one of my precious people, even now."
"But...you don't love me." It wasn't a question.
"Honestly, I'm not sure I ever really did. I think it was a crush mixed with a very unhealthy dose of hero worship and obsession."
Sasuke released her and backed his way to the other wall, sliding down to sit on his butt. Knees bent, forearms resting easily on them, he tilted his head back to stare at the ceiling and try to right his world, which had just been sent scarily askew.
Sakura followed his lead and slid down the wall, staring worriedly at his still form.
"S-Sasuke?"
"For the last three years, I've always felt that if you still claimed to love me, if Naruto still vowed to bring me back, I wasn't too far gone. I couldn't have changed that much."
Tears pricked at Sakura's eyes at the defeated tone of Sasuke's voice.
"Have I really become such a monster?"
The question was nearly silent, directed toward himself and not to Sakura. But the pinkette heard anyways.
Before she could stop herself, she said softly, "Come back, Sasuke. Please."
A dismissive scoff sounded from the male. "I still have things to do out there, things I can't achieve in Konoha."
Seconds later, a slap sounded in the room. Sasuke blinked up at Sakura, standing over him with her hand still raised from the slap. Eyes narrowed, Sasuke grabbed her wrist roughly and tugged her down to him, nose to nose. "If you don't stop hitting me, I'm going to take it as an invitation for a real fight."
Not to be deterred, Sakura sneered at him. "You're such an idiot. You really think that Naruto and I are too weak now to help you with whatever goals you've set? We haven't wasted the time that you've been gone. We've grown, too. Only we haven't lost ourselves to the power we now hold. Bonds and ties to others don't make you weaker, Sasuke-kun, they make you stronger because you have something to fight for."
The mockery in her voice lit something in Sasuke, a rage that he hadn't felt in a long time. "They're weaknesses, used to trap and bring low people too weak to stand alone."
Sakura laughed at him. "You don't believe that, Sasuke. If you did, you would have tried a little harder to kill Naruto. Admit it – you liked fighting on the same side as him, liked how it felt to have someone's back as they had yours."
"You don't know anything," Sasuke denied.
"I know you, and I know Naruto. Something happened in that floating deathtrap, something that simultaneously stoked and banked his drive to bring you home. When I asked him about it, he said to give you time. Tell me that's not the words of someone who saw inside you."
With a snarl, Sasuke pushed Sakura from his lap. She immediately turned her hand in his grasp, gripping his wrist and yanking him with her. He landed on top of her in a slightly compromising position. Sakura didn't comment on their sprawl, simply stared up at him with a soft smile on her face.
"I believe in you, Sasuke. I believe that you want to come home, but you're scared." He scoffed, but she continued. "You're scared to let yourself care, because he's taken away everyone you cared about already. But what you don't realize is that you already care. Those feelings from when we were Genin didn't just go away. They're still there, waiting to be acknowledged."
Later, Sasuke could never say what drove him to do it, especially after her lack of response before, but it felt...almost inevitable. Red eyes blazing, a denial already forming behind his lips, those lips suddenly clashed with Sakura's once more.
It wasn't a gentle kiss, by any means. It was almost punishing in its intensity. But, unlike the first time, Sakura responded immediately. Her hand tightened around Sasuke's wrist while her free hand came up to twine in his hair.
Surely it wouldn't be too bad to lose himself in this, for just a few minutes. Or so Sasuke told himself. With a muffled groan that he would deny came from him, the Uchiha brought his arm up to brace on, changing the angle of the kiss and having the accidental advantage of drawing his body up Sakura's.
Her physique had changed since the last time he'd held her in any way, something that was very noticeable by the way his chest dragged across her breasts. Her hips cradled his in the new position, his control fracturing and hormones going haywire.
When she moaned under him, fingers gripping his hair almost painfully, heat shot straight through him and ended in his groin. Feeling himself grow hard, it was the most natural thing in the world to roll his hips, pressing his suddenly-aching length against her.
"O-oh, Sasuke," Sakura moaned, breaking away from the kiss to gasp for air.
Sasuke trailed his lips down her neck, leaving a mark at the crux of her shoulder. Somehow, the wrist that had been caught in her hand had drifted down until their fingers were intertwined, clasping tightly as the desire that had come out of nowhere seemed to overwhelm them both.
Still, he knew it couldn't go any further. They were too young and too immersed in their respective lives to worry about sex and the possibility of an unplanned pregnancy. With a resigned sigh, he pulled away.
Sakura stared up at him, panting and a glazed look in her eyes. A self-satisfied smirk tugged at his lips as he quickly swooped in for another dizzying kiss. Her instant response did something to his control, enough that he was up and across the room a moment later, breathing harshly and nearly praying for restraint.
The sight of her sprawled on the floor, one hand still raised from its former home in his hair, didn't help matters. Wiping a hand down his face, Sasuke took a calming breath and walked over to help the kunoichi to her feet. Standing once more, they both felt the flickering desire begin to abate.
Suddenly, Sakura began giggling. When he raised a brow in question, she shook her head and lifted her hands to his head. When her fingers began carding through his hair to set it right, he understood her amusement. Her own tangled tresses weren't much better, but it only made her look sexy and ravished, as opposed to unkempt.
Sighing as his libido awakened once more, he quickly decided that this kunoichi was dangerous to be around. And, for some reason, he wanted more. More of her laughter, more of the gentle teasing as she rearranged his hair just so. More of the warmth that filled his chest at the sight of his mark on her skin, darkened by the tiny broken capillaries.
When she reached up a glowing hand to heal the area, his hand stayed hers. "Leave it," he said gruffly.
A knowing glint in her eye, Sakura let the healing chakra dissipate. "And when it heals by itself?"
An oof escaped her as Sasuke crowded her quickly into the wall. "I guess I'll have to leave another one," he said, his lips brushing the mark already there before deepening it to a darker red.
Butterflies swarmed in her belly at his words. "Sasuke?" she asked softly.
His forehead rested on her shoulder as his hands gripped lightly at her waist. "I can't come home yet, Sakura. Not just because of Itachi. There are other things that I can't do as a shinobi from Konoha."
The words home and yet echoed in her head, nearly bringing tears to her eyes.
"Then do them, and then come home. I'll be waiting for you, Sasuke-kun."
"I won't ask you to do that. I don't deserve that."
"Silly boy. I'll always wait for you." Sakura pulled him down for one last kiss before pushing him away. "Now go, so I can write my report."
Amusement lit Sasuke's eyes as he did as she bid, slipping his sandals back on and his sword into its place at his waist. Standing in the window to leave, he couldn't help but feel like a character from a fairytale, bidding his lady love goodbye until the next time they met.
As he took in her tousled hair and kiss-bruised lips, Sasuke knew he was more like the rogue who stole away the lead's lady love. And Sakura was no damsel in distress. But that was okay.
They could make their own fairytale.