A/N – The next two or three chapters will exist in the same time frame, either following Sakura or following Ino. All of them will have some lemon, but I'll add a header before those sections in case anyone would rather skip them.
Sasuke's intense demeanor was powerful enough to help him easily find a path through the crowded dancefloor, and though he didn't openly express it, he was hyper-aware about the pink haired woman who was clinging to his arm. His path through the club and outside to his waiting car deliberately kept Sakura away from any men that looked as though they might try something towards her. Though it wasn't anything too grandeur, Sasuke's car matched his personality to a tee. Completely black in both paint and rims, the sleek car also donned darkened windows, and a low-noise motor made it both intimidating and extremely stealthy, something that he appreciated when he was traveling at night the past few months.
For Sakura, the car was a familiar step into Sasuke's life that she hadn't seen in what felt like years. She had countless sweet, quiet memories in that car when they began flirting and considering the idea of dating, and the comforting atmosphere in it helped sober her up a bit. Lights flashed through the windows as he raced through the streets, every once in a while highlighting their hands that had at some point intertwined. Only the sound of wind and tires on the street filled the cabin for a while until Sakura felt like she knew what she wanted to say.
"She's also glad that you're home too, you know? She's just... protective over me."
He didn't need Sakura to mention a name to know exactly who she was talking about. Ino's explosion and accusations to him weren't the first he'd heard since he left. The ranting blonde had left a number of long angry texts on his phone over the months he'd been gone, and though they often accused him of being the source of Sakura's grief, it served as a consistent source of comfort for him that someone was there taking care of the woman he cared about while he was away. Sasuke would never say it, of course, but a part of him was grateful that the rambunctious blonde had no filter on her.
Sakura took his silence as an agreement, or at least an understanding, and continued to speak softly. "You said you came home first? Do you mean my place?"
"Yeah. It was a mess, what's that about?"
"Oh that's right; I forgot we left it a disaster. Ino came over before we went out to give me one of her makeovers," the not-so-distant memory of their time chatting about nonsense brought a serene smile to her face as Sakura ran her free hand over the hem of dress Ino had personally picked out.
"She knows you well," was all he said, though the subtle squeeze he gave her hand was enough for her to understand what those words truly meant.
She did a good job. You look good.
"She does."
Keys jingled against the door as Sakura pushed it open, stepping aside to let Sasuke follow her inside. He was right, the makeover session from earlier left the apartment in a whirl-wind state. It almost looked as though someone had tried to ransack the place, but left all of the expensive makeup and clothing behind, scattered across her living room. As Sasuke surveyed the state of the living room, Sakura silently gathered everything strewn across the couch and coffee table and moved them out of the way.
"It's clean, you can sit down now," she spoke quietly. In the silence of the apartment, even her soft words seemed to resonate. Or perhaps that was simply the nervousness at finally having the man she longed for finally back in her home.
"You're not sitting down?" Sasuke asked as he settled into the couch, noting a rather unnerving amount of glitter that had somehow settled over the coffee table where Ino's makeup was before.
"I was getting us a drink. Just something to welcome you back home," Sakura's voice grew distant as she moved into the kitchen. "Is whiskey still your favorite?" she asked, pulling down a bottle she'd kept saved on the top shelf just for this occasion.
"Yeah, it is," he replied, his tone of voice almost emotionless.
It took no time at all for Sakura to prepare two generous glasses of fine whiskey on ice, and soon she was settling into the couch as well, her body turned slightly so she could face him as they spoke. She passed him his drink and signaled for a small "cheers", which he met as their glasses softly clinked between them. They both wasted no time in sipping down a good portion of their respective drinks, Sakura's motive mostly to settle her nerves, though Sasuke may have only done it out of consideration. After all, his drinking motives were always a mystery to her.
Wasting no time to jump right to the subject, Sakura asked "So, you said you wanted to talk to me?" as she absentmindedly swirled the ice cubes in her glass. The breath in her throat almost caught when his gaze turned directly to her, his eyes as piercing as ever. Every time he was in this mood, she felt as though he could see through whatever strong wall she put up like he was able to see whatever she chose to hide.
"You said you understood when I told you I needed to leave for a while. But Ino has been sending me messages saying that you're hurting. I want you to tell me what's going on."
"Dammit, Ino," Sakura cursed in thought. She unceremoniously downed the rest of her drink, letting the strong liquor burn all the way down in hopes that it would encourage her to speak freely. Her hands rested onto her lap, holding the cold and empty glass on her bare skin as she ran the pad of her thumb across the condensation. A moment or two passed before she finally found the words she wanted.
"I did understand, Sasuke. But you leaving still hurt. And honestly, it hurt a lot more than I thought it would. I wanted to go with you and help you heal, but I couldn't, so I sat here alone in this house imagining what you could possibly be doing while I was here waiting on you." Her gaze returned to his face and she met those eyes she loved so much with a vulnerability she knew he hadn't seen in years. "I was fine at first, I focused on my work and my relationship with Ino. Everything was amazing, I was strong and determined and nothing could stop me. But a month went by without a word from you and I started to worry... and then two months, and then three and the next thing I know I'm stuck at home waiting to see if you'll ever come back to me," she ranted, her voice thick with emotion. A bubble of sadness rose within her and she closed her eyes tightly, as if squeezing them shut enough would fight back the tears that were threatening to spill.
And there she sat, sight closed off to the world around her when she heard a heavy gulp and the clinking of an empty glass placed on the coffee table. Sakura felt small movements on the couch, like the sound of fabric passing fabric, and realized he was closing the distance between them. A rough, calloused hand wrapped around her cheek with a fragility that nearly shattered her will to be strong, breaking down the restraint she had until tears began to gently fall.
"Sasuke, I'm sorry-"
Her words were stolen as firmly as her lips, as Sasuke had leaned down to stop her apology before it began. There was a hesitation to his kiss as if he wanted to see how she reacted before pursuing any further. Sakura, however, wasted no time in deepening the kiss as she threw her arms around his neck and brought him closer. Of all the times she dreamt about finally getting to taste his lips again, none of them compared to the real thing.
Sasuke's hands slid down to her small waist, the feeling of his fingertips through the soft fabric of her dress making her squirm in delight. His gentle strength was put to good use as he sat back into the couch and pulled her along with him until she sat straddling his lap. The hem of her mini dress held too much tension, and without a moment's hesitation Sakura pulled the dress up higher to make the position more comfortable. As her brain caught up to her actions, Sakura put one hand onto his chest and pulled her lips away.
"Wait, this isn't like you. Since when are you this forward?"
"According to Ino, I have to stop being a selfish piece of shit," he said quietly through slightly sped up breaths. He looked up at her, his thumbs moving to press in the sensitive spot inside her hips bones as he spoke once more, "I've made you cry from pain enough already... let me give you another reason."
Satisfied with his answer and eager for more, Sakura nodded only once before her lips were back on his. The taste of him was intoxicating, dramatically more-so than the whiskey that she could notice still lingering around as her tongue explored the inside of his mouth. One of her hands reached around and tangled its fingers into the soft, raven hair adorning the back of his head, and the other began to run its fingertips down the front of his chest, stopping only one she reached the hem of his dark grey jeans.
The idea that something she had pleasured herself to the thought of was almost directly below her touch was enough to give Sakura a level of arousal she hadn't felt since the first time they slept together. A familiar pulse settled between her legs as she imagined just what it would feel like to feel him again. But when she moved to undo the buttons to his jeans, Sasuke grabbed the hand and pulled it aside, forcing her to stop with a small frown on her face.
"I owe you five months of this. Don't rush it."
Lemon Start
Sasuke moved the hand of hers he held to his shoulder, which prompted her to tightly wrap her arms around his neck as he stood from the couch, grabbing her legs and placing them around his hips. He made his way to the bedroom, all the while nipping and biting the sensitive spot right on Sakura's neck, slightly below and behind her ear. The sensation made her release an airy moan and tighten her legs around him out of instinct. This tease and toying continued all the way until she felt the bed beneath her.
He sat her down in such a way that her legs were hanging over the edge of the mattress, and he kept her sitting upright as his hands expertly unzipped the back of her tight dress. Sakura's hands started to undo the buttons on his shirt until again he pulled them aside, moving them down until he was pressing both of her hands firmly into the mattress. Taking that as a sign to let him be in charge, Sakura simply let him do whatever he willed. With a soft touch Sasuke pulled the long sleeves of her dress down her arms, and with Sakura's help, brought the rest of the dress down until it sat discarded somewhere else on the bedroom floor. Sakura watched his eyes roam over her matching black strapless bra and lacy black underwear and swore that for a second she saw a look of arousal in his gaze.
"I'll have to thank Ino later for convincing me to wear my nice underwear," she thought to herself as her confidence grew a little.
His appreciation of her lacy attire only lasted for a second until he kissed her deeply, pushing her back down into the mattress as he stole her lips yet again. Sakura was so enveloped in the way his lips molded against hers that she barely registered his hands slowly pulling her underwear down to her knees until they slid down her calves to the floor. When he pulled away and began leaving featherlight kisses down her chest, taking a short second to unhook her bra and fling it carelessly across the room, she couldn't fight the goosebumps and pleasure-filled shivers that danced across her skin.
And there she was, fully on display for the man she absolutely craved, who she desperately hoped craved her in return. He knelt down until his face was between her knees, peppering lovebites up the inside of her thigh until he reached the sweet spot in-between. With each painful and pleasure-filled bite, Sakura's head tilted farther and farther back into the mattress until she could see the headboard up above. And when, instead of letting the tension build, Sasuke let himself have a taste of her, Sakura's hands gripped the blankets below.
"Sasuke-" she moaned until he cut her off, licking up her entirety until the tip of his tongue flicked the most sensitive spot between her legs. Each time she tried to speak he made a point to move his tongue exactly where she would lose her mind as if he was determined to make her focus on what his tongue did between her legs instead of whatever meaningless words she would moan out in pleasure. Soon his hand joined in, two fingers sliding deep inside her with ease as her hips bucked from the combined sensations. Sasuke never relented, giving her nary a second to clear the ecstasy induced state of mind that she was currently living in.
For a second she dared look down only to see his piercing eyes looking lustfully up at her, his eyes only fluttering partially closed when he was working her clit with expertise. Not long after, the familiar surge of electricity raced up her body and her legs tightened, Sasuke noting the change in movement as a sign that she was almost over the edge. He kept the same motions, the same speed, the same everything until she cried out, her legs tightening around his head until she returned back to earth. His fingers slid out of her with a wetness that couldn't be described, and when she finally opened her eyes to look at him, he gave her a show of licking his fingers clean.
