Standard disclaimer applies.
Author's notes:
Since I'm stuck at home with a cold, I figured I'd do something productive and edit stuff so I could upload it. This is the second of three fics dealing with older Sasuke and Sakura in bed (or near a bed, like in Emotions, haha)... and no, I'm not weird... scenes like these just pop out of... somewhere. I tried to keep them as IC as possible but managed a bit of a fluffly ending; you'll have to read to find out! Review, please! Thanks for reading.


Next Morning
09/10.01.2006

It is the first time he watches her sleep in the morning. He usually never stays long enough to do so, for he's always gone before dawn. But today is different. Today he awakes for the first time by the short-framed woman's side in her bed. Today the young man awakes from a long, unexpected night of deep slumber that comes pleasingly short of nightmares; it has become one of the few nights without his ghosts chasing him in his sleep. Today he thinks things could change.

At night she is like a butterfly. She's seems fragile as if about to break but she is always incredibly graceful in her every move, regal in her own way. She's always beautiful at night. But now, he decides as the soft rays of the sun hit her face gently, she looks even more lovely and ethereal than she has ever looked before in his eyes. Her pink skin glows under the pale light filtering into the room, smooth against his touch. When she wakes up, what shade of green will her eyes turn against the morning light?

His fingers run softly over her arm, the contact with her warm flesh and the heartbeat pulsing on her veins mysteriously making him grow alive. Without a warning she begins to stir and he holds his breath, but she stays asleep after that and he is able to breath once again. Instead of waking, her body reaches for his warmth and snuggles just a little bit closer to him as she wraps herself in the comforters.

He grins to himself and goes on with his observation. Then, the uncharacteristic smiling gesture disappears almost immediately only to be replaced by some other emotion he can't quite name. He frowns as his hands reach to her out of instinct, because now there's something wrong among this picture perfect. Butterflies aren't supposed to shed tears.

"Why are you crying?" His fingertips travel her cheek, crossing paths with something liquid and salty. Her eyes are still closed but her flushed cheeks are stained with small trails of fresh tears.

"Sasuke, you bastard." She opens her eyes at last, glassy green orbs boring through him once his meet them. It's a strange hue of jade he hadn't expected to see but marvels at all the same. She strangles a small sob, which comes out more like a tiny hiccup. She rubs her face but tears keep on coming. "Bastard."

"What?" He raises an amused eyebrow to match his question. Is she mad at him now?

Sakura smiles in between tears and uses her hands to wipe them away. "Nothing, nothing." She looks up at him, her lips still curved into a small smile and her eyes glistening. Her hands wander up to his perfect, pale face and to his ebony hair and his eyes fall shut as he relishes the warm feeling of her touch. "You know, Sasuke-kun, I'm really happy that you stayed."

"You knew that would happen eventually, didn't you?" he asks, unexpectedly talkative. His eyes open to stare back at her, expecting a response to meet his question, but she simply grins and keeps quiet instead of replying to him. They both know her answer anyway.

The dark-haired young man decides on playing with her locks of pink hair himself, weaving his fingers through them and letting them slip from his hold. He takes longer at staring one of the locks, as if contemplating something, before turning to her and confessing in a soft, even voice, "Sakura, I think I am… glad, as well."

She looks at him, puzzled, as he stares back at her with the same blank expression he always wears. And as she weighs down his statement, a wide smile blossoms on Sakura's face. She closes her eyes and nestles up against him. In return, Sasuke circles her waist and brings her closer, laying his head atop of hers and breathing deeply.

Sakura doesn't move away, simply sighing contentedly. "I'm relieved to hear that."