Sasuke
He followed her as they walked into the room. Her usually graceful movements were stiff and agitated. She had even yelled at the clerk who had assigned them to their room. He smirked to himself, glad that she was or seemed to be affected by his presence. He was tired of being ignored by a woman who once could not leave him alone for more than three seconds.
She turned to him.
"Your room is on the left, mine is on the right. There is a connecting door between the rooms. Give me fifteen minutes to get freshened up. I will brief you on the mission then."
She started to head into her room but stopped and turned back to him.
"Knock"
With that she slipped into her room and disappeared from his view. He walked into his room and sat on the bed to take off his clothes before heading for the bathroom.
Sakura
She walked into her room flinging her pack onto the bed and heading to the bathroom. Stripping as she went. She was still a little bit angry.
I can't believe that I yelled at that poor clerk. Stupid Sasuke, can't even show some remorse.
You expected remorse from Sasuke? Inner Sakura asked.
No not really but he didn't have to seem so ...
Pleased?
You thought so too. I thought it was my imagination. Why is he pleased that I am angry?
Well you have been ignoring him for a while... he might just be excited that you are finally responding to him.
She sighed as she looked around the small room, while she put up her hair. There was a tub in the middle of the room surronded by a clear shower curtain and a shower head. She stepped in, making sure that the curtain completely surrounded her. She had no intention of cleaning up a wet floor. She turned the water on full blast, loving the way it felt against her skin.
One would think that he'd be glad that I was ignoring him.
Maybe he likes you.
She almost fell out of the tub in surprise.
Of all the dumb, idiotic, stupid things that you have ever said, that has to be the dumbest.
Why?
What do you mean why?
Why is it stupid to think that Sasuke likes you? You're intelligent, pretty and have a great body.
You're crazy.
Why is that so hard to believe?
Come on ... this is Sasuke we are talking about ... don't you remember ... we are annoying to him.
People change... you did.
True people change but not Sasuke ... he doesn't change, he'll always be an avenger.
Sasuke
Sasuke had never been an indecisive person. It was against his nature. When there was a decision to make he would decide what to do and do it. That was the way he worked. Siiting on a bed in a small inn trying to make a decision was the kind of thing weak or simple minded people did. Sasuke had never considered himself weak or simple in any way, so the fact that he was having such a hard time deciding on a course of action for such a simple problem was annoying him more than the problem itself.
He glanced at the pile of towels sitting next to him on the bed then to the door that connected to the bathroom, listening to a sound that was obviously shower water.
I should never have taken them from the attendant.
The memory of the attendant who had brought the towels tickled his brain. The poor guy had almost been shaking with fear. Apparently he had snuck up on her before and had suffered broken bones for his trouble. She had healed them after she had found out that he wasn't an enemy but it had taken quite a bit of time to convince her. His fear had made Sasuke want to laugh.
He had known Sakura was violent in nature but he had never before seen her extend it to anyone other than Naruto. And the idea that she was fast enough to break bones and strong enough heal them was still new to him. He couldn't get the picture of the girl he had left behind on the bridge out of his head. He was unable to reconcile the girl who had cried her pleadings for him to stay or the one who had collapsed limply in his arms to the woman he kept hearing about.
He glanced back at the towels, mentally rebuking himself for being such a fool.
Just do it already.
He pushed himself of the bed and grabbed the towels roughly, heading for the bathroom.
I can probably slip in and out without her noticing.
He smiled to himself as he thought about it.
Even if she has gotten stronger she probably won't be able to detect my presence over the noise of the shower. I can slip in put the towels somewhere and slip out her being any wiser.
He smirked to himself as he slipped as quietly as he could into the room, only to be greeted by a blast of steam. Taking a few tentative steps, he strained his eyes to see. After a few moments the steam began to clear and he glanced at the shower to make sure that she hadn't sensed his presence. What he saw rooted him to his spot in the middle of the bathroom floor. His eyes took in the blurred silhouette of her body behind the shower curtain. Eyes traveled slowly over the bend of her arms as her hands washed her hair, the way the action pulled her breasts up, the way the combination of water and steam played with her skin hiding the things he had never thought he would want to see.
He suddenly felt lightheaded. Whether it was from the steam or the fact that all the blood in his body had rushed to his groin he wasn't sure. Suddenly the steam cleared completely and the image in the shower disappeared.
What the hell …?
Without warning there was the unfortunately familiar feel of a kunai pressed to his neck, a fierce pressure holding his wrists behind his back and a very familiar, very angry voice coming from right behind him.
"You better have a damned good reason, Sasuke."
And just like that his erection died almost as quickly as it had come to life.