SEVEN
"Excuse me?"
Sakura put her hand on her hips, clearly annoyed by the standing Uchiha in front of her. Normally, he didn't come to visit her if he didn't want to screwed her. This time, the black haired Kage was really surprised her.
"I think I misheard you." She said sarcastically. There's no way, no way in hell, that stoic-annoying-bastard Uchiha Sasuke just asked her for… a date. "If this is one of your prank, I'm not interested."
Sasuke stare blankly, showed as if that he was not interested in this as much as her, but he threw the surprising question anyway.
"I'll pick you for dinner at 8."
Correcting; he never questioned, he always ordered.
Sakura put the paper in her hands hastily to her desk. She just finished a crushed-leg man surgery when he came from nowhere inside her office. When it came to Uchiha Sasuke, this gesture wasn't sweet at all. It was creepy. Before even greet her or anything, he came up with this offer. Well he didn't say it was a date, but honestly, what you called a man ordered a girl to a dinner?
Yeah, maybe it called stupid instead of date.
"I have late night shift today." She looked to the black orbs across the room tried to find the indication of him joking around. Being an emotionless as always, she couldn't tell wheter he was serious or joking. Oh, when was the last time she saw him smile anyway?
"I'm not joking, Sakura." Oh, now he could read mind as well? What, now I'm not safe even in my own mind? "your face tell everything."
Her lips parted, the words died in her mouth. Was I that easy to be read by him? Sakura shook her head and made decision.
"I'm not going anywhere with you." She sit on her desk, giving the Uchiha a challenging glare.
Playing hard to get, eh, Sakura-chan?
Shut up you stupid inner.
Not everyday Sasuke would taking you to a dinner.
And not everday I have a chance to stood against that arrogant bastard.
Say the one with heart beating as hard as crazy-in-love twelve years old. You know your body never betray you?
Sakura shook her head, tried to erase stupid conversation inside her head. Focus, Sakura. But how can a woman focus when her long-lost crush asking for a date, for the very first time ever? Ever!
Sasuke give her stern look, then turned around and leave. Sakura's eyes widened. "You're leaving? just like that?"
"I'll bring your coat." He stop, but didn't turn around yet.
"Eh?"
"Tonight will be cold." He opened the door and gone. That bastard… he didn't even give her a chance to stood against his stupid offer! Sakura let a frustrated growl.
And how the hell did he know she forgot to bring her coat today?
Baby blue eyes stared at the window. Snow started to fall, by the end of tonight the street would be full of snow everywhere. The blonde florist sighed, she had a lot work to do, including shoved away the snow in front of her shop and gave extra treatment to some plants that did not quite compatible with cold atmosphere. Since Ino Yamanaka turn twenty, her parents had given her freedom to run her own flower shop and take care of herself alone. Late years, she had used much help from Sai whenever she needed extra hands in her shop.
Looks like this time all she had was her two hands. Only hers.
Ino shook her head quickly. Don't be a spoiled brat, Ino! You had friends out there. Well, yeah, technically, they were all busy right now… but not like you only have him anyway. This was the time to prove the world you could stand on your own, even it means to stand alone.
It was getting dark and the snow gonna be heavy in any minutes. Since she forgot her coat today, she'd better go back to Hinata's house as soon as possible to take all her clothes. Sure, Naruto wouldn't bothered with her spending nights there, but it just didn't feel right. She didn't want to be a burden and pitied by her friends. She was a strong kunoichi.
One break up would not crushed her.
…or that's so she thought.
Ino made sure once again the heater was on so the flower wouldn't be frozen by cold. She took her key and began to leave. As soon as the door was closed, a familiar chakra stood behind her. She didn't have to turn around to find out.
"I brought your coat." Ino's lips twitched into annoying grunt. Sai handed her the blue coat, smiling as always. She locked the door harshly, the sooner I get over this, the better it is. She didn't want to take any of his offer. That would only prove that she couldn't take care of herself better than he did.
"Where would you sleep tonight?" said man followed the blonde kunoichi.
"Anywhere."
"I already took your clothes from Hyuuga-san." Ino stop her track and turned around to yelled at the black haired man.
"Why wouldn't you stop bugging me?!" her cheek was red, and her nose rumpy. Ino wasn't good with cold. Not to mention she didn't wear any coat to protect her porcelain skin. Sai could see her white skin scarred with purple and bluish color from the cold bite. She was going to get frozen bite anytime soon.
So he made a move first. Abandoning her shock expression, he put the coat around her body, so at least she wouldn't feel that much cold. Then, unsurely, Sai reached his hand and bring her closer to him. Slowly, his arms engulfed her in warm embrace.
Ino didn't push him away.
Her once frozen arm resting on his chest, melted all the ice there. He was so warm. She never paid much attention to that. But that also because he never hugged her in the raining snow like this. Or that's just because she missed his touch…
She needed time. Ino closed her eyes, put her head to his broad chest. She needed time to figure things out between her and this man. Today he was a sweet guy she always wanted. But tomorrow he would be back to the same 5 years old personality. He was unpredictable. He was a passive man. A man with few words. He was quite a like with that Uchiha. The different was, he wanted to learn how to live like a normal human.
"We better get inside." He finally said. "your lips turned white."
"This is a lipstick, idiot…" she didn't want him to know that she has gotten frozen bite. He wouldn't understand and last time he saw her sick, just because of stupid cold, he brought Sakura to their house and Sakura didn't stop laughing at her the entire week.
"Really?" Sai took her chin, eyeing the lips and suddenly, captured her lips. She didn't have time to push him. Or to kiss him back either. As soon as it began, it ended.
"It didn't taste like a lipstick." He said doumbfully.
"Should you taste it just to tell it a lipstick or not?" she was trapped between annoyed and tickled. Sai put a thinking face.
"Because you don't have a white lipstick." He said, innocently. Ino's blushing at his words. That 5 years old personality man just prove that he pay quite attention to the little things she had.
Was she really should to ask for more?
Sakura cursed herself from falling so easy for him. Here she was, on her room, waiting for the damn clock to move faster. Ten minutes to go. And he wasn't here yet. Did he played with her emotion? Why the hell she got so excited about a date with Uchiha in the first place anyway?
They were married. But they were far from those little things couple did.
Wait… they wasn't a couple at all.
She let a sarcastic laughed at her silly mind. Of course, what else would she expect from him? a proper dance and candle light dinner under starry night? She almost brust to laugh at Sasuke bowed politely and asking her hand to dance. That's just too much fantasy. It wouldn't happen anyway. It wasn't a funny laugh, it was a pathetic laugh in her mind. A girl can hope, but there wasn't much left to hope for Sakura since she met Sasuke.
Sakura looked at the clocked once again. She really had a late night shift today. So obviously, she only have an hour or two to get dinner. If that bastard didn't come up quickly, she would beat him into a meat tomorrow. That, if he didn't spare her with stupid clone and chidori again.
Everytime Sakura get a night shift, she would sleep on the hospital. She didn't want to get back home late just to sleep in the same bed as him and wake up early to get work. He wasn't that precious to waste her time. These days had been hectic. Sakura wouldn't deny that she has worked off limits, that she almost drained all her chakra and frozen her brain from this disasterous week.
Because of the weather, some nurses and doctors couldn't come so she had more works than usual. Sasuke didn't help anything at all, he would just sit there, waiting her to make breakfast and busying himself on the office all day working Kami-knows-what. Not to mention those bugging Elders often came up in sudden, eyeing her works. Last time, they forced to watch her doing surgery in the OR room. Sakura had to hold back her anger towards them. This was a serious surgery, non-doctors or nurses could just come up and watch… furthermore gave distraction comments when she was trying to save a life!
Of course, Sasuke didn't know that. Why whould she told him anyway? He wouldn't bothered if she ended up beating all those elders. He didn't like them, he didn't like her, so yeah, why would he bothered?
Her office door cracked, send Sakura a butterly all around her stomach.
"Uchiha-sama?" Chiko, the head nurse, opened the door. Sakura let a sigh between sad and happy it wasn't the certain male she was waiting for.
"Doctor Haruno is fine." She had been correcting how people calling her in hospital. Indeed, they acknowledged her as the Kage's wife. But since he was a jackass as always, she put aside his last name from her.
She didn't proud to use it anyway. At this very moment, she certainly wasn't part of his family, and it just didn't feel right to use his last name when they wasn't even friends to begin with.
"Ano… Doctor Haruno."
"What is it? Another emergency?" Sakura looked at her pager, it didn't show anything. Chiko shook her head.
"I just want to thank you." She smile at her.
"Thank you… for what?" Sakura raise an eyebrow.
"For letting us have a night off today." Sakura's expression was hard to describe. "I'm going now, thank you once again doctor Haruno. See you tomorrow." And by that Chiko closed the door, left her in questions.
"Wait, Chiko…" Sakura opened her door and there stood the source of her anxiety. Sakura resist the urge to gulped at how he amaze her. Sasuke was changing his attire to a casual one. She always thought him of a good-looking man even in his usual clothes, but she never imagine him to be this handsome in formal suit.
Sakura quickly gathered herself in front of him.
"Excuse me, I need to chase my head nurse." Sasuke didn't move an inch to let her walk away. "what's your problem, Uchiha?!"
"She is free tonight."
"I don't know who the hell said that tonight is free to her, but someone should take care goods while I'm going to whatever you called that!"
"You are free tonight."
"I have night shift and this wasn't just another excuses to refuse your offer." She pushed him away. Sakura ran to the front hall, and strangely, she found noone in her way. Looked like this hospital was empty. She hold a frustrated growl, even the recepsionist were empty! Dammit, who was going to take care of the patients here? where the hell were the people?!
Sakura took the phone on the receptionist, tried to call all the doctors she knew supposed to be here, with her in night shift.
"Hello?"
"Dr. Fumiko, where are you?"
"Home…"
"What? Aren't you supposed to be here tonight?"
"Eh? But I just come there an hour ago… and was told that tonight all the doctors and nurses get a free night off."
"What?! Who the hell is saying that crap?!" Suddenly, a strong arm encircled her waist. She didn't have time to adjust the situation. The man behind her put his head on the crook of her neck. His breath ghosting her.
Sakura barely could hear the last word from Doctor Fumiko before she lost on his touch;
"It's Kage-sama…"
The phone fell off her hand the time he put his lips on her neck. Sakura couldn't feel her hands nor her legs. As if her body was transformed into jelly in his arms. If he didn't hold her this tight, surely she would fall straight to the floor.
"The hospital has been taken care of." Sasuke whispered to her right ear. His words that always sound so cold… now sounds so seductive. It made her body shivered with needs.
Sakura tried her best to keep her mind intact. "Let go, Sasuke." She said sternly. It took seconds for him to finally let go of her. She wouldn't tell a lie that she loss his warm and wanting him for more now. With heart almost burst and panting, she distance herself from the man.
With a man like Uchiha Sasuke, sin looks like a delicious dessert.
"Don't play with me, Uchiha." She said, straightened her coat. Sakura took the fallen phone, gave him a better look of her cleavage and put the damn phone back, glaring at him as if she didn't just do anything far from innocent.
"You said you're gonna take me out, instead you're sending all the doctor and nurses home while I need them the most." Sakura took another breath. "You'd better called all of them back here again."
"You have a night off as well." He said as a matter of fact. Sakura blinked at his calm demeanor.
"I'm married to my job, Sasuke." Sakura saw those black orbs slightly change; there was something…soft?
"You do not married your job." Sasuke took a step closer, closed the distance between them. He stop his face an inch from hers. "You married me."
Somehow, his words sunk into her.
It wasn't the usual cold and ordering tone he always did. It was… a stated fact about something. About something softer…
"Remember our deal?" Sakura didn't dare to look into his eyes. Of course she did. The deal that she would give in to him if he come to Konoha.
Eventhough she grew up into a young independent woman, there's still a piece of her that still believe in fairy tale. That someday, she would find someone she loved and marry hi, then live a happily ever after. Knowing that she would sacrifice her life for those she loved and loved her back, not sacrifice her life to love someone she know wasn't capable of love.
"I'm sorry…" Sakura step back. Sasuke's jaws tightened. "I can't do that."
In the next second, her body was pinned into the nearest wall. His hand grip both her wrist above her head, jerking her body. Sakura throw away her head, closed her eyes tightly. This was what she choose, she had to bear with the risks.
That nobody denied Sasuke Uchiha.
"Open your eyes." Sakura shook her head. Sasuke's grip on her wrist surely gonna make a bruises in the morning. He was rough. Sasuke watched her intensely. He might can not give her a proper date, but he was giving her a break from seeing her so tense about everything on the hospital.
"A deal is a deal, Sakura." Sakura could heal Sasuke's uneven breath, as if he was desperately holding himself back from just attacking her. She knew very well he could sense her chakra almost dried. He could do anything to her right now.
"D-do what you want. But don't force me to open my eyes." She barely speak. Sasuke raise an eyebrow at her odd request. Her face flushed pink, but she didn't struggle.
"Why?" he demanded, coldly.
His hand traced her neck, up to cupped her cheek and he leant in, gave her an open mouth kiss. This was the very first time their kiss was not forceful. She gave in to his touch, to his kiss. Their tongue met each other, increased the heat between them. He basicly pushed her with his tall, muscular body. He could feel her breast protuded from her white coat.
"Just… don't."
There was a pregnant silence between them. The girl bite her lower lips, her body slightly shake from the force of his grip. Sakura waited for the worst, if tonight Sasuke choose the hard way…
This was Sasuke. She keep reminding herself. Give him a chance. Trust him a little. He… wouldn't hurt me…
"Fine." He finally said. She could feel her shirt button was opened quickly by him. All her thought was drove away the time he cupped her breast. His hand slowly loose the grip on her hand. Instictvely, she sneaked her hand on his neck, pulled him closer.
"Not… here…" she whispered. Sasuke took the cue and gathered her on his arms, taking her somewhere. All she knew it was a room, cause she heard him slammed the door hard. As soon as she get back on her feet, he threw her against the cold wall again. He was untamed, wild, like ferocious animal. His kisses were demanding, his touch were hot all over her skin.
She wanted him. But he didn't want her the same way.
The time her mind registered that fact, Sasuke's hot tongue had touch her womanly area, made her moan. Sakura quickly bite her lips to prevent the shameful sounds. Sasuke trace kiss along her inner tight, distract her from his long digits inside her. It hurts.
"Sasuke…" he didn't answered, he was rough inside her. Sakura had tried her best to hold herself together. It just sex. But why her body deny him? Why she felt this wasn't right? Why her heart ache at the fact that he did all of this but he could never love her?
Why… it hurt so much?
He bite her neck, made her moan in pain as the blood trickle down the spot he just bite. He nibble at the red spot, almost as if he was sorry, licking her blood dried and kiss it lightly. The kiss that soon followed by another hickey down her throat.
This wasn't right.
"S-Sasuke…" Her eyes felt hot. She could feel Sasuke raise her legs, and something slick touching her opening. "c-could you please wait-"
Her words died in a harsh breath taking moment the time he plunge himself inside her. Sakura was loss at words. It didn't feel the same as she always imagine. It… feels like something was missing.
What hurt most was he didn't stop. He hurt her.
Sasuke barely realized it was her first time. Blood had dripped down her tight, but he couldn't stop right now. He needed her. He couldn't let go of her at this very moment.
"Open your eyes." She didn't realize his face was inch from her, lips kissing her neck. "I don't take no for tonight."
"Y-you promise-"
"Sakura." He move out, then slammed himself forcefully at her, make her shrieked. "open your eyes."
Panting, she shook her head. Sasuke's fist clenched, and he drove himself further into her, make her face twisted with pain. Since she said yes to this, to this very moment, he knew something was off.
He tried his best to abandoned those odd. He has his own goal, and her denial couldn't stand on his way. But even after he was inside her, he knew her body wasn't responding to him. She still refuse him in anyway possible, even if her mouth say yes.
He needed to erase this ache inside him.
"Saku-" Sakura quickly crashed her lips to him, kissing him forcefully. His body responded to her eager one, thrusting into her with all force, make her petite body shook with his power.
"Open your eyes." He said it, softer this time. But still, she choose to do nothing. "Look at me." His voice raise, his tone demanding. He just need her to look at him.
"I can't…" she hugged him, whispered in pain. Sasuke could feel her muscle tightened around his member, made him shudder. She was tight. So-fuckin-tight. He take a sharp breath, and thrusting all the way to her. Her nails digging into his back, her teeth raked his shoulders. He took her off his body and kiss her fully on the mouth when he came.
Their breath mingle with each other the time he distance himself from her. Her face flushed pink. Her lips bruised from all the kissing he was give. But most of that, she still closed her eyes.
Something snapped inside him.
"Why wont you look at me?" there was a harsh and hurt tone in his voice. He feel unwanted. He feel denied.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. Along with tears on those emerald orbs. Her eyes meeting him in a desperate look. Those eyes. Those big, shinny, emerald eyes that once give all the love for him…
"I don't want to look at you…" Sakura bite her shaking lips. "because I don't want memory of this replacing the good ones I have about you…"
She just realized, it wasn't only him who can never love her the way she want; it also her who can no longer love him the way she did before.
Now, he has to fight for the love she once so freely to give.
Kami, it hurts.
Sakura wince in pain at her lower body. It had been minutes since her words and they just still in still position. She tried her best to look at the floor instead facing the Uchiha in front of her. Sakura crossed her legs, trying to ease the pain down there. Her eyes closed, once again. She didn't dare to put anything inside her mind and memory except those black eyes that staring through her skull the time she opened her eyes and confess to him.
Sakura let herself relax, if he decide to kill her right now, she wouldn't bothered to fighting him. She has enough of this fucking life. She closed her eyes and don't want to open it again. Sasuke turned around, took blanket from one bed and circled himself. He back at her, gathered her in his strong arms. Sakura accidentaly looked at his face, and his face was undeniably hard to read. Sasuke lied her on the bed and took other blanket to cover her naked flesh.
His gazened hardened when their eyes met, but none said something. Unsurely, he reached to her face. Warm fingers slowly swep the tears that began to form.
"I…" he began. "didn't mean to hurt you." He took his fingers from her face. He just couldn't stop himself from taking her. He had took her first forcefully. He… Sasuke closed his eyes, his anger to himself burned.
"I know." Sakura wake from her position, took the blanket around her naked form. "I… have to fix myself before morning. Could you leave me now?"
Both of them knew it was a lie. She just didn't want to be with him now. He averted his gaze, turned around to leave. But before he gone, he said the thing she didn't expect Uchiha could ever said;
"Gomenasai."
