Relative Proximity
SasuSaku. Post-Citizen Erased.
"You're joking." Sakura's often-bubbly tone was flat.
Naruto jumped up and down in place, hardly able to contain his excitement. "No! I'm serious! We get todrive bikes for our next assignment!Dual-wheelers! Kakashi just told Sasuke. Who told me. And now I'm telling you!"
The med-specialist stared at her teammate, mouth slightly agape. Sakura liked to think of herself as a fairly adventerous girl. Really. But duel bikes? Did Tsunade want to kill her apprentice? Dual bikes were notoriously hard to operate. The sheer horsepower of one was massive, and for a petite girl like her it was neigh on impossible to corner or control.
"Hey! Where are ya goin'? Aren't you gonna come and practice?" Naruto stared after the retreating form of his teammate.
Calling over her shoulder, Sakura replied. "Nope. I'm going to try and talk Tsunade-sensei out of it. If I ask now she should be able to get another team to do it."
The blond's face faltered and he sped to catch up with the disgruntled girl. Jogging a little ways infront of her, he turned and dropped to his knees on the sidewalk. He clasped his hands infront of himself and took a deep breath. "PLEASE pleasepleasepleaseplease DON'T DO THAT!"
Sakura rolled her eyes at Naruto's antics. She made to walk around him when he latched onto her waist and continued begging.
"Saku-chan! Haven't I always been good to you? PLEASE! I wanna drive one SO bad! SO BAD! SAKURAAAAA!"
Staring down at the blonde mop pressed against her belly, Sakura sighed dramatically. "If it's that big of a deal--"
"THANKS Sakura!," Naruto hopped up from the ground, "I'm gonna go find Loser and get practicing." With an overly acted-out wink, he leaned close to Sakura and said, "Chicks love it when guys drive dual-wheelers!"
Sakura watched Naruto with something akin to embarassed disbelief. Finally she replied, "Right. Uh huh."
A huge grin threatened to overtake his face as he brushed of his zip-up hoody and stood up straight. "Lovely ladies here I come!" That said, he flashed a thumbs-up and sauntered off toward the vehicle hanger.
Sakura pressed a hand to her forehead, wondering how she came to be such good friends with that boy. Shaking her head and deciding that there wasn't a real explination, she started back toward her house. If she was going to risk her life, she may as well be dressed appropriately.
"Wow Sakura...Just wow." Naruto covered his mouth with his hand to hide his snickers.
Even with her movements slowed by the many layers of clothing she was wearing, Sakura managed to clip her laughing teammate across the head.
Unable to resist one more quip, Naruto asked, "So how many total layers do you think you're wearing?" He danced out of reach this time and managed to avoid her angered swipe.
Pouting, Sakura crossed her arms. Or tried to. She could've died when she heard the voice that came next.
"What...are you wearing?"
As she slowly turned to face Sasuke, she felt her stomach drop to her toes. Sasuke Uchihawas wearing leather pants. Sakura felt faint. The black material clung to every muscle of his legs, making his already tall, lean frame look downright mouthwatering. Now she understood how Tenten felt about that jacket they'd picked for Neji. Not that Sasuke's upper body was anything to scoff at, he filled out his fitted charcoal tee just as nicely as he did his pants. Maybe. Yeah, mostly.
Sakura decided it would probably be better to talk first, oogle later. "I'm wearing safety gear."
Starring at her,Sasuke didn't comment further. Instead, he loped over to one of the waiting bikes. The one he chose, from Sakura's limited knowledge, was a speed model. It was designed for extreme acceleration and had two, side-by-side wheels at the front and a single one at the back. The sleek lines of the body fairly screamed speed, the aerodynamic shape caught the light to reveal a reddish tint mixed into the black paint.
Naruto gave a final round of laughter at Sakura's expense and bounded over to his bike. His model was more of a performance or trick bike, with the opposite wheel scheme of Sasuke's. The cherry red bike had a single, lighter tire at the fore and a pair at the back for stability. As he hopped into the groove where the seat was located, he called, "Gonna get on your bike or what, Sakura?" Revving his machine to life, he leaned back, striking a pose that made the hole in the knee of his jeans gap wide.
Standing indecisively for a moment, the pinkette frowned and began to strip layer after layer from her body. Two minutes and four layers later, a considerably slimmer Sakura stood in a long, teal camisole and dark wash skinny jeans. Bouncing a little in place, she finally gathered her courage and stepped up to her bike.
The dual-wheels at the front and back of the frame made her bike an all-terrain vehicle. Independent suspension was cleverly engineered to allow each wheel to rise and fall but retain the look of a motorcycle. A pristine white paint job coated the frame and when she touched her hand to the ignition plate the electronics glowed green. It was a gorgeous bike, but Sakura was still terrified. She'd seen dual-wheel accident patients come into the hospital on more than one occasion. None of the cases had been pretty.
Sasuke watched as his pink-haired teammate sat nervously on her bike. "Sakura." She jumped guiltily at the sound of her name. "Ride with me."
Slanting Naruto a stony gaze when he began to protest, he added, "It'll help to learn by experience, I'll bring you back and let you try on your own when you feel more comfortable."
He let a small smirk grace his lips when a delighted look fell over her dainty features. Powering down her bike, she swung her leg back over and trotted over to where he was waiting. When she reached his side, she stood for a moment, unsure how he wanted her to climb on. Sasuke watched the sweet frown-line deepen between her brows for another second before he scooted back and made room for her to sit in front of him on the seat.
Sakura fought the blush that threatened to rise as she watched the play of his stomach muscles when he leaned back. This assignment was beginning to shape up. As she tossed her leg over to straddle the seat, Sasuke reached around her to start the bike. She studied the process carefully, watching as he deftly flicked his way through the diagnostics of the machine and adjusted things to his liking.
When he was finished with the settings, he reached for the throttle and gave it a little rev. Sakura felt her heartbeat quicken as more horsepower than she cared to measure roared to life beneath her. Adjusting a pair of dark goggles over his eyes, Sasuke leaned forward, pressing Sakura down along with him.
Just before he released the breaks, he tilted his head and muttered into her ear. "Get ready."
Across from the pair, Naruto let loose a whoop and screeched out of the garage. As soon as he got up to speed, he yanked on the handlebars and pulled the front wheel of his bike completely off the ground. Smoke trailed after his spinning tires as he disappeared out onto the road.
Settling into an almost doubled-over position, Sasuke rested his chin on her shoulder as he let of the break. Sakura let out an involuntary squeel as the bike lept forward at an impossible speed. The almost silent purr of the engine contrasted sharply with the zero to seventy-someodd acceleration. It was like nothing she had ever experienced.
As they pulled out onto the training track, they almost immediately gained on Naruto. When he noticed them coming up on his side, he turned and shook a fist at the pair. "Showoffs!"
Sakura laughed at the picture Naruto made, his spiky blond mane blowing everywhere. Before she could shout back a response, Sasuke pressed the throttle and they jetted forward again.
A turn was fast approaching and as they reached it Sasuke explained the technique of cornering a dual-bike. "Lean into it." Feeling her tense up as the bike lilted sideways, he told her, "It won't turn over. There's an internal balance system, and the model you're going to be riding is built for stability." To reassure her, he tightened his arms around her and tipped the bike into an extremely deep angle. As they pulled up he said, "See? No wipe out."
Grinning and beginning to genuinely enjoy the experience, Sakura relaxed back into her teammate's chest. As the track whipped by, Sakura turned slightly so her voice would carry back to him on the wind. "So how did you learn to drive one of these so well?"
Sakura knew she'd said something wrong when she felt the wall of his chest become rigid against her. She didn't have the chance to try and take what she'd said back, though as he responded.
"My brother." She felt her blood freeze. She could count on one hand the times he'd ever breached this subject. Sakura was surprised when he continued, "He was the best at everything. Always. Dual-bikes were his little rebellion. Sometimes...he'd take me with him."
Once she was sure he was finished, she wiggled her fingers reassuringly under his grip and told him, "I think I'm ready to try for myself."
She could feel him nod against his shoulder but wasn't prepared for the 180 degree turn he executed. Sakura could feel the momentum pulling at them only to reverse itself and send them flying in the opposite direction. She couldn't help but giggle with excitement.
As they reached the hangar, Sasuke let up on the accelerator until they rolled to a clean stop next to the white bike.
A firm grip around her waist kept her from immediately rising, she was puzzled until he asked her, "Are you sure you're alright with this? If you're not, you can always ride with me."
Placing her arms over his at her stomach, Sakura turned slightly to flash him a grin. "I'm fine now. I was just a little nervous." She bit her lip at the feeling of his chest rumbling against her back as he 'hn'd.
When he released his hold, Sakura slipped off of the dark bike and onto the light one. She felt herself jump when her hand was overshadowed by a larger, square one as she tried to check the settings.
Speaking almost directly into her ear, he mumbled, "I'll do it."
Glad for the help, Sakura watched his fingers flit across the touch panel, tuning and tweaking the diagnostics. Once he was finished, he tapped the 'Confirm' option and stepped back. He watched as his teammate curled her petite frame onto the seat and started the engine.
Before she could take off, he advanced on her. Leaning down, he pressed the wind-blown pink fringe back from her forehead. He smirked at the wondering look in her bottle green gaze. Swooping in, he brushed a kiss onto her forehead. At her gasp, he felt emboldened and trailed down to press another to the bridge of her button nose. He barely had to raise his voice above a whisper at their proximity. "You'll be fine."
As he started to retreat, Sakura stopped him with a hand fisted into his shirt. She'd been waiting to get some time alone with him since her stay in the hospital and it had been next to impossible. Tugging a little on the fabric bunched in her fist, she dragged him back down to her level. As he came into range, she covered his mouth with hers. A low rumble sounded from his chest as he reached back to kill the motor on the bike. Dragging her up from her crouched position, he rearranged them so that he was half-sitting on the seat with Sakura propped in his lap.
A soft nip at her lower lip inspired a squeak from her and Sasuke chuckled as he took the opportunity to delve into her mouth. Another sound, much lower than a squeak tumbled from the pinkette's mouth at the invasion.
Beginning to get a grip on the situation, Sakura slowly unfisted her hands from their place at his chest. One trailed up to sift through his dark hair as the other slipped down to brace her partial weight on his thigh. With her new found leverage, she found the courage to respond to his domineering tongue. It was a short battle and despite her defeat, Sakura couldn't help but smile against her longtime-crush's lips. If all of her losses were going to feel like this, she wasn't sure she wanted to win.
