Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


Author's Note:

Err meh gerr! IT''S BEEN SOOO FREAKIN' LONG. I checked the last update date and was like: -_-

Well then, ride the emotional roller coaster, enjoy the much-needed fluff, and all that jazz.

Happy reading!

And, yes: I am still alive :D


Her sobs had died down long ago, but neither of them moved. His thumb smoothed rhythmically down the back of her neck as he struggled with the internal war that was escalating inside of him. After several minutes of silence Sakura pulled back and wiped her tear-stained cheeks with the back of her hands. She felt him pull her closer to him so that she was now sitting on the edge of the bathroom counter.

"Let me," he urged in a hoarse whisper, as she picked up a cloth to start cleaning the dried blood from her neck. She gave in silently and tilted her head back a bit, feeling the ghost of his hand and the light pressure of the cloth against her bruised skin.

He did so meticulously, careful not to let her feel even the slightest of pain. As he continued down to her chest and torso, Sasuke realized that she would need to remove her chest bindings if he was to properly clean her wound, but he made no attempt to tell her to do so. He felt so out of place... he felt that there was now some barrier between them... something that had driven them apart, and he was scouring his mind to figure out what it could be.

As if realizing this, Sakura reached around herself, undoing the bindings around her and peeling them off her skin slowly. She pressed her lips together to choke down her cry of pain as she pulled the cloth away from her breasts, and all Sasuke could do was watch her struggle in agony.

He could not bear to look at her bare chest. On a normal day, without the unknown wedge that was now driven between them, he would have taken pleasure in such an action by her, but now it hurt to look. He somehow felt he was responsible for her current condition.

If only he knew how accurate he was.


He cleaned the whole expanse of her wound, and she healed herself almost completely. It would have been hard to imagine that an injury of such magnitude was present no too long ago considering how perfectly healed her skin seemed. All was done, but Sakura did not move and neither did he. Her eyes tentatively glanced at him and she was a bit surprised to find him staring right back at her... why was she surprised? She didn't know, but there was one thing she was sure about: she still loved him... heck, when did she stop? She wanted him to love her back with the same intense passion that she held for him. She just had not known what to say... what to do...

For him, the silence was worse than seeing her cry. For a man more of action than words, he never had such a dire need for conversation. His eyes met with their reflection in the mirror: he was at a loss for what to say that would break the undeniable rift between them and allow for some understanding; his gaze traveled down the expanse of her bare back, following every bony indent of her spine.

"Sakura, I need to—"

"Love me, Sasuke."

Puzzled, Sasuke met her bloodshot eyes. They seemed glazed over with a look of... desperation? Hope? There was something there... but he could not quite figure out what. His mouth opened to say something, but not a sound came out.

"Love me," she repeated, her voice muffled as she pressed her face into his chest.

She wanted to ignore the feelings inside of her and just have him... love her. That was what she wanted. She wanted to forget about Madara, the world, her mental conflict... she wanted the bounds of her conscience to be just him and just her. She wanted to drown in him before she would have to go back to a reality she would not be able to escape from anytime soon. So, she slid her arm around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Sakura..."

"Kiss me," she breathed.

Though it was her asking him, Sakura was the first to move forward, sliding forward to further decrease the space between them. Her arms tightened around his neck, pulling his head down to allow their lips to meet. His mouth moved sweetly against hers when he finally began to respond to her kiss; her body quivered slightly as his arms came up to cradle her weakened body. Feeling his passion resurface, Sasuke pulled her closer and raised a supporting hand to her jaw to keep her head still as he tilted his face to kiss her fully. Her hand smoothed up the back of his neck and disappeared into his unruly hair as their kisses became more fervent.

It was only him and only her...

The world feud they were helplessly thrust into the middle of was hard to have the mind stray far from, but in their moment of increasing emotional intensity it seemed like the easiest thing they could do. She heard the whispers of apologies drift to her ears as their mouths parted for air...

Her body began to tremble as their kisses deepened. Her mouth opened instinctively and she felt the tip of his tongue tentatively slip into her mouth and touch her own... as if asking permission. Sakura stilled for a second, but when she did not protest or stop him, she felt him situate himself against her more intimately before engaging them both in a heady kiss...

Sakura felt his moment of hesitation place a conviction in her heart that this was the true Sasuke, her true Sasuke... but the delicacy and volatility of their secret relationship was hard to ignore... he had "betrayed" her once already, so what would stop him from doing so again? She had always felt Sasuke had a higher loyalty, a higher, divine purpose—good or evil— that stopped her from achieving a closeness she most desired with him. This only made her recent shock a persistent nag, a harsh tug backward. But, Sakura forced herself to remove such reservations from her conflicted mind: whether this was the Sasuke that had ruthlessly tortured and mocked her, or the genuine Sasuke she had escaped with, Sakura did not know. All she wanted was a moment of love with him, a moment that would temporarily repair the scars on her heart and restore her to a bare minimum of endurance. Then she would face the consequences... whatever they would present themselves to be.

It seemed like a futile resolve, but right now, she couldn't care less.


She faintly whispered to him that she needed to take a shower, and in their clouded state of mind, they both made their way to the designated curtained space, a mess of passion, confusion, and tangled limbs.

Every touch of his fingers against her skin and every kiss he laid on its porcelain expanse was as soft as rose petals yet it shot like electricity through her, fogging her mind and making her body hum while engulfed in his sweet presence. Their bare bodies were soaked and the tips of their fingers were beginning to prune, but they were lost in each other, coiled tightly together in want and need... and desperation for something that would prove they were now closer together than ever, physically and mentally.

His mouth was... everywhere... on her lips, forehead, neck, shoulders... the feeling was making her sense of reality go haywire. All she was aware of was how her body would automatically respond to him, arching in a desperate curve to allow him to continue without inhibition. His hands were constantly moving: caressing the angle of her shoulders, the swell of her breasts, the curve of her lower back, the indent of her hips—there was just no end—to Sakura it felt like he was possessing her.

His name was a sweet song from her lips that he was kissing into play. Sasuke did not understand her sudden change... her sudden passion. He wanted her too—he felt it had been ages since he had last been this close to her, but he felt out of place—inappropriate—improper. He felt her hand slide up his chest, and her pelvis begin to press intimately against his. His eyes flicked up to hers and he could clearly see the yearning in her emerald irises... but there was still something kept guarded behind the desire she was putting forth—

she arched against him and her mouth parted...

his hand shot forward, causing a low thud as it pressed against the tiled wall next to her head...

a gasp escaped her lips when she felt his hand grip the back of her thigh...

his fingers flexed against the soft flesh in his grasp—

"Sasuke..." she yearned; her hips rocked deliciously against his.

Lost in the dream-clouded eyes that were staring back at him, Sasuke responded with a flex of his pelvis, unconsciously angling her leg upward and partially wrapping it around his waist. The tip of his length prodded her sex slowly, and the soft mewl that escaped her lips further encouraged him to follow through with their intimate endeavor... but he found himself hesitating. On any other day, in any other circumstance he would have directed their intimacy with much more vigor and involvement, but there was something stopping him. Sasuke carried equal, if not more, desire for the woman so provocatively arched and coiled around him, so what was the impediment?

Her nails raked down the skin of his taut back in impatience. In one swift movement, after following in suit and letting go of his reservations just like she had moments ago, Sasuke sheathed himself in the scorching heat of her sex, emitting a low groan at the feeling of being clamped around so tightly against the skin of her neck. The borders of his awareness narrowed down to the shock of mind-numbbing pleasure he felt as he pulled back out and slide himself back in. His carnal urgency drove him to push them both far beyond the point of a sweet no return.


To him she had never before looked so calm and serene. She looked purely angelic as she slept peacefully in the warm confines of his arms. They were clothed: him in the black pants she had found earlier, and her in the shirt she had found along with it. They lay in silence: Sasuke gazed unblinking at the curvatures of her face as she rested quietly, almost forming a second protective blanket around her petite figure. Sasuke could not help but comb his fingers through the pink satin of her hair that splayed the pillow her head lay on.

The soft movement of his fingers against her scalp roused the pinkette from her slumber. She blinked a few times, her eyes adjusting to the dim lighting of the room before making eye contact with the man that held her in a loving embrace. She felt too warm, but Sakura did not move.

It was there. He could feel it again when he noticed the guarded look in her eyes. That wedge... that rift... as of now, confrontation would be inevitable. "Talk to me, Sakura," he urged gently. His fingertips trailed up and down her cheek in an effort to relax her and encourage her to confide in him.

How could she say it exactly?

"I should have never let this happen to you," he murmured, tightening his hold on her. He should have been there to protect her. He felt inadequate, weak.

"There wasn't anything you could have done," she whispered, though her words did nothing to console him... or her for matter.

"I guess Madara had known for a while, he replied. "He was just waiting for the right time to..." Sasuke trailed, his eyes slicing into hers with a renewed fire. "Did you get a good look at the person?" he asked.

He was obviously referring to the one responsible for torturing her and putting her through the emotional turmoil she had to endure. She could see the different edge in his eyes. His jaw was clenched in masked anger. Sakura swallowed, feeling her words bunch up in her throat, choking down whatever maneuver she had planned to take to answer his question. Instead, a single word came out of her trembling lips, "you."

The vengeful fire in his eyes dissipated and he jerked back as if he had been burned. Sasuke's eyes were wide in fierce confusion as he saw an ensemble of emotion play on her face. "Sakura... what are you..?" He backed away from her, not sure of what to think of her words.

Sakura clutched the black fabric of the shirt she was wearing as if it would alleviate the escalating tension. She automatically got off the bed, backing into the corner opposite him "I'm sorry, Sasuke! I—" Sakura shook her head frantically, pressing the sides of her head with her hands. "It was you! They made you—it was your face, your voice, your hands..." Sakura trailed with a pained sob as she wrung her fingers, and rubbed her arms harshly as if she was again reliving the torture she had been put through and the unimaginable pain.

Sasuke took another step back, still not understanding what she was saying. Was she...? "Are you regretting me and..." his voice was hoarse and strained; he couldn't finish the sentence.

Sakura stared at him wide-eyed, taken aback by his misunderstanding. "NO! I never have, Sasuke! How can you say that?" Sakura took a tentative step forward. "It looked so real," she recounted, wrapping her arms around herself. "They used you to torture me... it was—I saw..." Sakura retraced her steps backward; her back hit the wall.

Sasuke remained silent as realization dawned on him. He finally understood what was making her feel...

The rift between them was deep.

He took a hesitant step forward in her direction. His mind was racing:

You betrayed her once—

his steps were slow, almost calculated...

You know what she saw—

he didn't want to frighten her...

How can you prove you won't betray her again?

He didn't want to lose the bit of trust she had in him, if there even was any left.

How will you prove to her it wasn't you?

She was within arm's reach. Sasuke wanted so badly to console her, to hold her...

He reached out to her, fearing she would resent him. "Sakura... I—"

To his surprise, Sakura slipped her fingers into his hand. "I'm sorry, Sasuke," she choked, heart-broken.

Why the hell was she apologizing?

Sasuke immediately pulled her into a tight embrace. Her renewed tears pooled and trickled down his bare skin. His eyes stung with raw emotion he had trained years to keep guarded. He understood the volatility of their situation... the fragile nature of their relationship... how would he prove—

"I still love you, Sasuke," she whispered. "I still love you." Her arms were tightly coiled around his neck.

Sasuke was happy and relieved to hear her say those words, but it hurt. It was like she was... forgiving him, choosing to look over what happened—he could tell what she saw had left an impression that would not be easy to clear. "I'm sorry," he whispered; he felt his words were inadequate, not covering the extent he wanted them to, but he didn't know what more he could say. "I love you Sakura, believe me," he rasped, his breath hot and urgent against the skin of her neck. Sasuke wanted so badly to scream at the top of his lungs that it was not him—what she had seen was unreal, fake... but he resisted the urge. He felt it was futile. She had seen what she seen: he could not undo that.

This was only something time would heal.


Sakura could not remember what had caused her to fall asleep again. She hadn't been tired. But when she awoke, she found Sasuke to be nowhere in sight. Her heart flip-flopped with a myriad of emotions, but she pushed them aside. She knew he hadn't left her. Sakura proceeded to wash the stained uniform and set it out to dry to pass time, all the while wondering where her life would go from here on out.

By the time she had wrung out her wet clothes and set them on the steel rung in the bathroom, she head the door to the motel room creak open. She emerged from bathroom, instinctively knowing it was Sasuke. "I got you some clothes to wear and something to eat," she heard him say; she watched his henge slip away. He walked toward her with a bag in his hand; his eyes never left her face as she murmured a thank you, taking it from him. He was desperately searching for something that would give away what she was thinking, feeling, but her emotions were masked. He could always read her like an open book, only now he felt that book shut close on him, as she walked away to change attire.


"Your ring..." her fingers ghosted over his.

"It won't come off now," he said quietly, glancing at the way the sliver shone and blended into the skin of his finger. He interlocked their hands, and the two of them glanced down at where they were joined.

They hadn't really talked much, though they both felt somewhat at ease now that everything had been put straightforward and was now clear.

"Do you know when Madara found out?" asked Sakura, attempting to change the subject that had been indirectly implied.

"No... I don't know what must have given it away."

"So what now?"

Sasuke glanced at her briefly, then got up from his spot next to her. "We've stayed here long enough," began Sasuke, feeling the battle-strategy tone he assumed waver as his mind briefly reviewed the past events, "we have to get back to the Konoha underground base; I'm sure they've found out we've escaped by now. I know all there is to know about Madara; we need to lead a full-scale attack soon."

And kill the motherfucker, he thought to himself.


The landscape around them was a continuous blur as they leapt from branch to branch, slipping down to solid ground to occasionally rest and navigate. Sasuke watched the pinkette silently as they moved. As if feeling she was being watched, Sakura glanced to her left, meeting his onyx gaze. Something in the way that he was looking at her made her stop. "What?"

"Nothing," he replied, coming to a halt next to her. Wordlessly, he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her into an embrace she was not expecting.

Understanding the reason behind his actions, Sakura returned the hug. "Sasuke, I—"

Her words were cut off when he pressed his lips to hers in a deep and involving kiss. Sasuke attempted to pour all his feelings into the way he was kissing her, not allowing their mouths to part even when the pinkette tried to draw herself back for air. His sudden urgency slowed when he heard a small laugh escape her lips; he opened his eyes to meet hers.

"At this rate," began Sakura, breathing in the air she needed, "we'll never make it to Konoha."


"What do you mean you're not going to send out another search team?!"

"Relax, Naruto! Keep your voice down." Tsunade leaned forward, placing her palms wide on her desk in an authoritative manner. Kakashi stood silently in the corner of her office.

"Sakura has been missing for FOUR DAYS, Baa-chan, and you're not doing anything!"

"We don't need to—"

"OF COURSE WE DO!"

"because she's here."

"HOW CAN YOU—wait, Sakura's HERE?!"

Tsunade let out an annoyed breath as she walked out with the two men to welcome the return of her apprentice. "Call back the search team," she ordered to the small group of ninja she noticed as they made their way outside.

Sakura couldn't help but smile as she recognized the silhouettes of her comrades. Her raven-haired companion landed on the ground the same time she did, and they both walked forward together. "Shisou, I'm so—"

"Sakura-chan! What happened to you?!" Naruto pulled the girl into a tight embrace. Sakura laughed, noticing Kakashi's gaze and his nod of welcome; she smiled and waved back. "I can't believe—" Naruto stopped, his arms falling to his sides.

Sakura turned around noticing that Sasuke had stayed behind her. He was a few yards away.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Naruto surged forward, mixed emotions surfacing in his heart.

"Naruto, no! He's—" before Sakura could finish her sentence, she saw Tsunade materialize between Naruto and Sasuke, stopping the blonde's advancement.

"He's with us, Naruto," she informed sternly.

Naruto was not the only one looking at the Hokage in confusion.

"Shisou? How did you..?" Sakura looked at her mentor in surprise.

"Haven't you realized by now, Sakura, that you can NEVER hide anything from me?" remarked Tsunade rhetorically as she walked past them both with Sasuke trailing behind.

Sakura smiled slightly, not yet over her surprise as she watched them walk away. Sakura saw Sasuke turn around, holding out his hand to her, beckoning her to follow. She slipped her hand in his, giving it a slight squeeze.

"They're TOGETHER?!" Naruto exclaimed.

Tsunade barked his name, chiding him for being so loud—again. Sakura sighed.

This would take a while.


Author's Note:

So there you have it! I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I hope to update soon.

Just a question: do you guys think Sasuke is slightly OOC? I hope he doesn't come across that way, but do let me know your opinion.

A review only takes a minute, but the pleasure of reading it lasts all day :)

-cocablossom