Author's Note: Thanks a lot for pointing out my carelessness, pinyacolada! And thanks for the positive reviews. It means a lot to me, really! And to all followers and readers of this fanfic, I must apologize if I take a long time to update. Lessons have resumed and I just get busier and busier. I promise I will write whenever I'm free. Your continuous support and patience is highly appreciated. Thanks again!

Chapter 10: Falling Deep

Sakura's POV

One question lingered in my mind that night.

Could I consider it as a date?

As I walked alongside Sasuke through the Suna Kingdom, I kept on thinking of the most unimportant things. Well, if it were any other times, it would seem rather unimportant. But at that moment, it meant a whole lot to me.

It was because I had never been on a date before.

My loud thumping heart and messed up thoughts distracted me from walking right. I wasn't really looking straight and didn't realize I was going to bump into a stranger. I would have embarrassed myself if it wasn't for Sasuke who pulled me away just in time.

Sasuke's grip on my arm was strong and gentle at the same time. I found myself staring into his eyes but I just couldn't look away. My heart raced even more frantically when I saw Sasuke reaching out his hand towards my head.

"You don't look so good. Are you tired?"

The heat radiating from my face was starting to get out of control as Sasuke brushed my hair. I could see the concern behind his eyes and I wasn't sure if it was normal for me to feel touched by something as simple as that.

"I'm okay." My voice came out soft and I hoped Sasuke saw that as a result of exhaustion and not because I was totally mesmerized by him.

Sasuke gave me a questioning look, showing that he sensed I wasn't telling the entire truth. I quickly looked away and started walking to avoid having him realizing what was going on in my mind.

My heart continued fluttering throughout the whole walk and I would constantly steal glances of the man beside me. I noticed the tinniest things he did as we passed by people and shops under the night sky. I would unconsciously smile whenever I saw him make interesting expressions as he looked at things he deemed unusual.

That night, I was beginning to understand what it was like to be in love.

Sasuke's POV

"Am I creeping her out?"

Sakura had been acting weird ever since I told her I was taking her out for dinner. She was unusually fidgety and had been very absent minded. Not only did she almost bump into a stranger, she almost hit herself towards the restaurant's door.

From how I saw it, Sakura didn't seem to like me that way.

While she was busy earlier in the afternoon, I had all the time in the world to sort out my feelings for my pink haired companion. Even though I just met her, it felt like I had known her for a long time. It sounded ridiculous but it just felt like that.

Then I remembered one of the many times I argued with my parents about all those matchmaking sessions I dreaded a lot. My mother mentioned that it was possible to fall in love despite knowing each other for a short period of time.

Back then, I concluded that those words were one of the stupidest things I had ever heard. And now, it was a completely different story.

I had fallen in love with Sakura and I knew I could no longer lie to myself.

But to be honest, I had zero experience and had no idea what to do. And I was too prideful to seek help from the others. I didn't even want to imagine what it would be like if I were to ask for advice from the likes of Naruto, Shikamaru or Itachi.

Yes, I would rather depend on myself than getting humiliated by those people.

"I'm completely clueless though. I'm not heading towards the wrong direction, am I?"

I hated how incapable I was when it came to dealing with things involving relationships. The first half of the dinner was filled with nothing but silence between Sakura and I. It wasn't the awkward kind of silence though. Perhaps it was because the two of us were too busy with our own thoughts.

A part of me said that I should talk to someone soon even though I was dead against the idea. Judging from the progress I was making, I really didn't have much of a choice.

I groaned against my will when I could imagine Itachi looking smug while calling me an 'inexperienced idiot'.

"What's wrong?"

I mentally cursed at myself for allowing Sakura to hear signs of my frustrations. There was a worried look on her face and I could see that she thought she was the reason behind my annoyance.

"It's nothing. I suddenly thought of one of the countless times Itachi annoyed me to no end."

I took a sip of water as I hoped my sorry excuse sounded believable at least. It wasn't completely a lie to begin with. I was relieved when I heard Sakura giggling and I must say I like the way she sounded.

"The two of you are a pair of loving brothers, aren't you?" Sakura's teasing tone snapped a nerve or two inside me and I responded faster than I knew I could.

"No." My glare ended up making Sakura laughed louder but instead of getting annoyed all over again, I found myself enjoying the moment.

"I have fallen deeper than I thought, haven't I?"

Sakura's POV

"Don't cry, little boy. You're going to be just fine."

After Sasuke and I were done with dinner, we decided to walk around the Suna Kingdom. We somehow ended up in a quieter part of the town where we encountered a crying child who seemed to be around four years old.

He got separated from his parents and was trying to find them. However, he accidentally tripped and fell onto the ground. His knee was hurt and he cried when his injury started to bleed.

Sasuke stood behind me as I tended to the little boy's wound. Bringing along medical supplies wherever I went had already become a habit of mine.

I was at a loss as to what to do when the little boy continued crying even after I treated his wound. All I could think of was rubbing his back as a way of comforting him.

Then without any warning, Sasuke carried the little boy and brought him up into the air. He gently threw him upwards and gracefully catching him back into his arms.

"Everything's alright now. So stop crying, okay?"

Sasuke's spoke in such a soft voice as if he was handling something fragile. He threw the little boy a few more times and I simply stared in amazement.

I would never have imagined Sasuke would be good with kids.

The little boy stopped crying soon enough and even smiled a little. Sasuke returned the smile and wiped away the tears of the boy in his arms. The sight was indeed heartwarming and I broke into a smile as well.

After the little boy calmed down, he told us that his name was Takumi. And even though we had only just met, the adorable boy in front of us had grown attached to Sasuke. Seeing Sasuke around a kid was most probably one of the cutest things I had ever witnessed.

Sasuke carried Takumi on his back as we head back to the busier parts of the town. As we walked, I would playfully hold onto Takumi's hand and ruffled his light brown hair.

I blushed deeply when I heard a passerby saying that the three of us looked like a very happy family. I took a quick glance at Sasuke and spotted a light pink shade coloring his cheeks, which only served to make me even more flushed.

The two of us were saved from our slightly awkward situation when a pair of voices called out Takumi's name from afar.

Sasuke and I turned around and saw a pair of man and woman in their early 30s running towards our direction. Takumi became very excited when he saw his parents and waved at them as he greeted them.

Sasuke carried Takumi and landed him on the ground, letting him run into his parents' embrace. I could see how relieved his parents were when I saw his mother's teary eyes. From where I was, I couldn't hear what Takumi and his parents were talking about but I knew we were mentioned when I saw Takumi pointing to our direction.

Takumi's parents headed over to us and thanked us and apologized for the trouble caused.

"It's really alright. We're glad we were of help." I smiled to the nice looking couple as Sasuke nodded in agreement. After conversing for a short while, the pair of husband and wife said they needed to go.

Before they were completely out of sight, Takumi's father thanked us once again while his mother said something that made my face heat up all over again.

"The two of you are such a kind-hearted couple. I'm sure you'll always be happy together!"

I swore my cheeks were on fire in an instant. I couldn't even bring myself to look at Sasuke's direction.

Sasuke and I stood still for a while, neither of us moving an inch. I could feel my heart going crazy and it just wouldn't calm down no matter how much I wanted it to.

I was beyond glad when Sasuke started walking after an awfully long silence and spoke in a rather low voice.

"Let's go back now. It's getting late."

After the silence was broken, things went back to normal soon enough. The earlier nerve wrecking tension was gone and I could finally breathe again.

As we walked back to the castle, my curiosity got the better of me so I ended up asking Sasuke a question that had been in my mind for quite some time.

"Why are you so good with kids? That's honestly much unexpected."

Sasuke took his time in answering me and I could see that he was sort of hesitant. I stared at him in anticipation, becoming more curious by the second.

"I just did what Itachi did whenever I was upset before."

I followed my instinct and squealed when I heard the reason why Sasuke could cheer a crying boy so easily. I suddenly became an admirer of Sasuke's brotherly relationship with Itachi. It did sound weird but the two of them were just too cute.

And yes, I was very sure both of them would hate it if they knew I found them cute. But seriously, I couldn't deny how adorable those two were.

Sasuke was glaring at me as we got closer to the castle. The more pissed off he was, the louder I ended up laughing. I kept on imagining a crying young Sasuke and a loving Itachi who was trying to cheer his younger brother up.

Somehow, that thought was enough to make me smile.

It was already quite late when we reached the castle and Sasuke walked me back to my room, which was just a few doors away from his own. Truth be told, I felt sad when I knew it was time to part ways with Sasuke.

It was ridiculous for me to feel that way because I would be meeting him again in a few more hours. But I couldn't stop the loneliness that was surfacing when the time to say goodbye got even closer.

"Goodnight." I spoke softly while smiling, trying to hide the silly sadness inside of me.

I was about to turn around to get into my room when Sasuke did something I didn't even dared to dream of.

He reached down and gave me a gentle kiss on my forehead. His soft lips lingered for what felt like an eternity, making my heart go crazy for the hundredth time in that single night. When his lips left my burning skin, it felt cold and empty at the same time.

I didn't want him to go.

But it was obvious that Sasuke was shocked at his own action and I could see that in his dark eyes. We stared into each other as if searching for answers to what we were feeling.

Sasuke was the first to look away and muttered something to me before walking away.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

And I must say I loved the way he sounded when he called my name.

Naruto's POV

"Sakura didn't punch him on the face!"

Shikamaru had to cover Ino's mouth with his hand when she was louder than she should be. The three of us were on our way back to our rooms when we saw something absolutely shocking.

Sasuke kissed Sakura on the forehead.

And I must say I was as surprised as Ino about the fact that Sakura didn't beat Sasuke into a pulp or at least punch him on the eye.

That could only mean one thing.

"They like each other, don't they?" I wasn't sure if I was making a statement or asking a question since I was still pretty surprised with the current situation.

"That seems to be the case." Shikamaru responded after letting go of Ino. Sasuke and Sakura had both entered into their respective rooms and I could see that they were still trying to digest everything that was happening around them.

"I have an immensely strong urge to interrogate Sakura right now but I know what she needs is some alone time." Ino sighed in disappointment when she realized she shouldn't head over to Sakura. Shikamaru seemed to be relief to see that Ino was capable of being considerate.

As for me, I wanted nothing more than to tease Sasuke.

"Do you think I'll still be alive by the end of the night if I were to go and embarrass Sasuke?" I didn't even know why I bothered asking when I knew the answer much too well already.

"I'll definitely be surprise if you will still be breathing after you do that."

Shikamaru's answer was what I needed to convince myself not to go over to Sasuke if I still wanted to see the sun.

The three of us went back to our rooms to rest for an early day tomorrow. As I drifted off to sleep, my mind was full of images of my two best friends.

I couldn't wait to see the development of their unique and most likely explosive love story.

Author's Note: Like mentioned previously, I won't be able to update very often. Your support and patience will be highly appreciated! And please review because it makes this writer super duper happy! Keep up with the follows and favorites too, dear readers. Thank you for reading and see you in the next chapter!