For the first time since Sasuke had returned to the village, Sakura walked home by herself from work. She didn't waste time waiting on Sasuke before she set out for their house alone. Sasuke wasn't the type to be late, so if he wasn't there, then he wasn't coming. Sakura didn't worry about it too much; Sasuke had been acting odd lately. Ever since she had tried to seduce him, things had been awkward around the house.

Sasuke hadn't returned home the night that Sakura had questioned him about sex. She didn't know where he went, but when she woke up for work the next morning, he still hadn't come to bed. He met her after work that evening to walk her home, but he was even more quiet than usual (if that was even possible). She didn't mention it to him though, because he was in a pleasant mood; she didn't think his lack of chatter was because he was mad at her.

Little did Sakura know that for the past week, as soon as she fell asleep, Sasuke left the house again to visit Naruto and Hinata for little "advice sessions". Truth be told, he was more interested in what Hinata had to say than he was in Naruto's crazy ideas.

[[[Flashback Sequence]]]

"It's not that hard, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed one night. "All you need is some whipped cream, a bottle of wine, some handcuffs‒" And then he was silenced with a sharp jab to the stomach by an irritated Uchiha.

Hinata, however, was genuinely trying to help Sasuke understand his current predicament. "Sasuke-kun, I think Sakura is worried that you don't think she's attractive enough to, um, sleep with." she said to him quietly.

That puzzled Sasuke. "What do you mean?"

"She thinks she isn't hot enough for you, duh." Naruto elaborated for Hinata. "She thinks she's some consolation prize while you wait for a better girl to come along."

Sasuke scoffed, shaking his head. "That doesn't make any sense. I've told her how I feel."

"Yes, Sasuke-kun, but as much as women like to hear kind words, they also want a man to reassure them through his actions." Hinata told him wisely.

"I thought moving in together made it pretty clear how I felt." Sasuke grumbled. "And besides, since when are girls so eager to have sex? I thought a man was considered a pig if he tried to sleep with a girl too soon." he said defensively.

Hinata politely hid a quiet giggle behind her hand. "You're right, Sasuke-kun. But unfortunately, some women want to have it both ways. A girl doesn't want you to pressure her to sleep with you, because that's rude. But if you don't show any interest in sleeping with her, she thinks there's something wrong, and then she wants what she can't have."

"That's stupid."

"So just bang her already and you'll fix the problem!" Naruto said, nodding emphatically.

Sasuke ignored him and stood up. "I think that's enough for one night."

"Naruto-kun, could you go to the kitchen and start a pot of tea for me, please?" Hinata asked kindly. "I'll walk Sasuke-kun to the door."

Naruto frowned. "Sasuke can walk himself‒"

"Please, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, her lavender eyes looking up at Naruto from under thick lashes. "As soon as I'm done with my tea, we can go to bed." she said quietly with a wink, blushing delicately.

Naruto rushed into the kitchen to start making the tea, and Sasuke walked towards the door. He had his hand on the door knob and was preparing to say goodbye when Hinata cleared her throat softly. He turned around, raising an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Hinata put her two index fingers together, just like she did as a young girl when she was nervous. "I wanted to say something without Naruto around to interrupt." she said timidly.

Sasuke nodded. "Go on."

Hinata took a deep breath and met Sasuke's eyes. "Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but as the heir to my clan, I think I understand what you might be going through with your decision to, um…" she was unable to finish her sentence, but Sasuke understood what she was trying to say.

"And?" Sasuke asked patiently.

"I just know that you're under a lot of pressure. But if you explain that to Sakura, I'm sure she'll understand." Hinata smiled shyly. "She really loves you, you know."

A small smile flickered across Sasuke's face. "I know." he agreed quietly. "Thanks for all the advice, Hinata." He opened the door and stepped out onto the front porch. "I'm going to try something." he smirked, walking away into the night.

[[[End Flashback Sequence]]]

Sakura entered the house and placed her things on the hall table, locking the door behind her. (Naruto had come and replaced the door just a few days ago after Sasuke had tracked him down and demanded he fix it sooner rather than later.)

"Sasuke?" she called as she made her way towards the bedroom. She was in desperate need of a shower; she felt gross. She was surprised to see Sasuke already in bed when she entered their room. "Are you okay?" she asked, thinking maybe he didn't feel well.

"I'm fine." he said with a small smirk.

Sakura scrutinized him from across the room. He had already removed his shirt and was lying comfortably under the sheets with his hands behind his head in a relaxed position. His arm muscles look so sexy right now, she noted. He didn't look sick or tired; in fact, he looked very much awake.

"Well, I'm going to take a shower." she said, walking towards the bathroom.

"Wait," Sasuke said. "Come here." He patted her usual spot in the bed, inviting her to join him.

"But I feel dirty…" Sakura whined, but she walked towards the bed anyway. "And if I let myself lay down, I might not want to get back up." she laughed.

"I like it when you're dirty."

Sakura paused, giving Sasuke a curious look. Was that a play on words? Is he trying to flirt? she asked herself. Is that even possible? She was about to pull the covers back when Sasuke laid his hand on top of them, effectively stopping her.

"Take off your clothes first." It was a command, not a suggestion. "You know, since you're dirty." he explained.

"If you say so." Sakura said, slowly removing her shirt and dropping her shorts to the floor. He's up to something, I just know it. Once she was in her underwear, Sasuke lifted his hand and let Sakura slide under the sheets next to him. "So what did you need me to come over here for‒"

Sasuke cut her off with a swift kiss. "We're not talking right now."

Sakura was slightly confused, but she allowed Sasuke to pull her in for another kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and he ran his fingers through her hair. She let out a soft moan as Sasuke proceeded to kiss her from her neck down to her chest. He stopped at the edge of her bra, and he looked up at her with mischief in his eyes. He slowly reached behind her and undid the clasp, making her gasp with surprise. "Sasuke!"

"Trust me." he whispered reassuringly, pulling the bra away from her body and tossing it onto the floor.

Sakura instinctively reached down to pull the sheet up over herself, but Sasuke gently stopped her and held her gaze, silently letting her know that he wasn't going to ogle her breasts. Sakura took a deep breath and nodded, feeling a little more excited and a little less anxious with every passing moment. What exactly is he planning to do? she thought.

Sasuke pulled her closer to him so that they were chest to chest, and she loved the way his skin felt against her bare chest. They resumed kissing for several minutes, both of them beginning to breathe more heavily in the process. Each of them was running their hands up and down the other's body, hungry for more. As Sakura's hands made their way down Sasuke's back, digging her nails into his flesh, something stopped her.

Or rather, a lack of something.

She froze momentarily as she realized that Sasuke was completely naked under the sheets. There was no waistband to stop her wandering hands, and she was suddenly aware of how close she was to touching Uchiha Sasuke's butt. She felt Sasuke's lips smirking against hers, and she realized that that was his plan all along.

He thinks he's so slick, she thought to herself with amusement. He has no idea what he's gotten himself into. She pulled away from him, flashing a sultry smile as she reached under the sheets and removed her own underwear, throwing them aside.

Sasuke's eyes widened briefly and his heart pounded in his chest as he realized they were both completely naked. He wasted no time in throwing Sakura down on the bed so he could place himself on top and kiss every inch of her exposed skin.

Sakura shivered with goosebumps and tried to hide her face behind her hands in embarrassment, but Sasuke pulled them away and paused his kissing of her body to kiss her on the forehead instead.

"You're beautiful." he told her with a smile.

Sakura giggled, kissing him on the lips. "I still feel dirty, though. You don't want to kiss me all over like that when I'm dirty…"

"We can fix that." Sasuke said quickly, scooping her up in his arms before she could protest.

Sakura wrapped her arms around his neck hurriedly. "What are you doing?" she asked, feeling more exposed than ever as the sheet fell away from both of them. I wasn't expecting him to be so enthusiastic – what have I gotten myself into? she thought, feeling the irony of the situation.

Sasuke carried her into their bathroom and set her down on the countertop between the two sinks. He kissed her quickly but passionately on the lips before he confidently grabbed two towels from underneath the sink and turned on both shower heads, slowly filling the bathroom with steam from the hot water.

Sakura's heart was pounding in her chest. She bit her lip and admired Sasuke's body as he walked back to her with a seductive smirk on his face. He held out his hand, and she took it as she hopped down from the counter and followed him into the shower.

After Sasuke pulled the glass door shut behind them, he pushed Sakura into the flowing water and began kissing her heatedly. They quickly discovered that making out in the shower was not as sexy as the movies always portrayed it; water ran into their eyes and mouths, and their wet hair stuck to their faces.

Sakura giggled as she wiped her bangs out of her face for the third time. "This is tricky."

Sasuke nodded, also brushing his hair aside and biting his lip as he gently but firmly pushed her against the wall. Sakura yelped when her back touched the cold tile, and Sasuke rolled his eyes and kissed her anyway.

"Sasuke," Sakura said raggedly, coming up for air. "Wait."

Sasuke froze, thinking he crossed some sort of boundary or broken some unknown rule in his eagerness.

"What are we doing?" Sakura asked with an airy laugh.

Sasuke frowned.

Sakura kept her expression lighthearted. "I mean, I just thought‒"

Sasuke silenced her with his lips. "You thought what?" he asked when he pulled away.

"I guess I just thought that you didn't–"

"You thought I didn't want to do this?" Sasuke pulled Sakura's naked body into his arms and kissed her. "You thought wrong." he said huskily between kisses. "I want to do a lot of things." he told her emphatically. Then, in a quiet voice: "I'm just not ready to do them yet."

Sakura pulled away so she could see Sasuke's face better. "What do you mean?"

Sasuke grumbled to himself in minor embarrassment. Despite spending the past few months with Sakura, he still wasn't fond of sharing his most private thoughts in a great detail. "Look, I'm not all that great at intimacy. It's not that I don't like it – I'm just not good at it. And I've got a lot of, uh, other things on my mind." he muttered shortly.

Sakura could barely hear his voice over the sound of the running water, but she understood every word. Her brow furrowed in concern. "Sasuke, is something wrong?"

Sasuke exhaled sharply in growing frustration. "No." He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "Look, just go ahead and clean yourself up. I'll be waiting in bed for you." he said bluntly, letting go of her and stepping out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and left the bathroom, leaving a stunned and slightly disappointed Sakura alone in the shower.

Why is this so fucking difficult? Sasuke wondered as he lay in bed, waiting for Sakura to finish her shower. How hard is it to say, 'Look, Sakura, I love you and I would love to sleep with you, but I'm too emotionally scarred to do that right now. Oh, and by the way, I can't sleep with you unless you're prepared to assume the role of Uchiha matriarch, so I hope that's cool with you.' He groaned, tugging at his dark hair in frustration.

Everyone had always assumed that the dark, mysterious Uchiha who oozed sex appeal would wind up a womanizer and try to bed every woman he came into contact with. No one had ever stopped to consider the possibility that Sasuke was raised in a traditional household with a strict father who taught him from a young age to respect women as homemakers and child bearers; not as sexual objects. And of course, in later years, Sasuke would come to respect women as extremely capable shinobi, as well.

He just didn't think it would be right to sleep with Sakura until he was sure that she knew exactly what it entailed. The problem was that Sasuke didn't exactly know how to explain any of this to her himself. He didn't want to risk ruining the only relationship he'd ever had.

His anxious thoughts were interrupted when Sakura emerged from the bathroom, wrapped in a towel with water dripping from her hair. But God, she's so attractive, he thought, an ache developing in his groin.

Sakura noticed the way Sasuke was staring at her, and she blushed as she dropped her towel to the floor and got into bed next to him. She pulled the sheets up and lay on her side with her head propped up in her hand. "Everything okay now?" she asked kindly.

Sasuke nodded, meeting her gaze. "Hn."

Sakura smiled with relief. "Good, because you really confused me back there in the shower…" she said, trying to sound casual. But deep down, she was dying to know what was going through Sasuke's head. "I mean, at first I thought we were going to…you know…" She didn't want to say it out loud.

Sasuke stared at the ceiling and shook his head. "No," he said tonelessly.

Sakura steeled herself. "But you do want to, right?" she asked anxiously.

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at her insecurity. "Yes. Stop freaking out."

Sakura breathed an audible sigh of relief and laughed nervously.

Sasuke rolled closer to Sakura and gently ran his thumb over her lower lip. "You know," He looked into her eyes and bit his own lip. "We're both still naked."

Sakura's pulse quickened and she nodded, eyes wide with anticipation.

"There are a lot of other things we could do." Sasuke said, raising an eyebrow suggestively as he threw back the sheets.

Sakura felt goosebumps appear all over her body; she shivered with excitement. "What kind of things did you have in mind?"

Sasuke gave her a mischievous look and pulled her on top of him. "Let me show you."

Later that night, Sasuke lay with his arm around Sakura, whose head was lying on his chest; they both basked in the afterglow of their sexual escapade. Sasuke had a rather smug look on his face, while Sakura was smiling to herself with her eyes closed.

"Sasuke," she began lazily.

"Hn?"

"Where did you learn how to do that?" Sakura asked breathlessly.

Sasuke smirked to himself and wrapped his arm more tightly around the pink-haired woman. "Ask me no questions; I'll tell you no lies."

Sakura's eyes suddenly found the small book that lay on Sasuke's nightstand. That's odd, she thought. I didn't know Sasuke liked to read. She squinted in an effort to read the title on the binding, and when she finally deciphered the small letters, she couldn't help but giggle aloud.

"Am I allowed to make an educated guess?" she asked cheekily, sitting up and grabbing the book from the table before Sasuke could protest.

Sasuke's face went white with embarrassment as Sakura rifled through the dog-eared pages of Kakashi's Icha Icha Paradise book. "Um, I can explain."

A/N: College classes have started again, so my updates will be very slow. My priority is school before writing (unfortunately). As for this chapter, while I realize that some of you may think Sasuke and Sakura are moving too quickly, I do hope that most of you enjoyed reading it! I've had a few negative reviews over the past couple of weeks, and while they are slightly discouraging, I think that the majority of my readers like my writing style and plot points so far. As always, please review and tell me how I did! I'm always open to suggestions and constructive criticism.