"You are jesting…."

"Hey!" complained Sakura, stretching her bare legs over his in order to get comfortable on the couch they shared. "Don't look so doubtful. I'm telling the truth."

"I'm not doubtful. I'm just bewildered by your complete lack of restrain." answered the brunet, shaking his head.

Sakura huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. "I had half a dozen injured patients waiting to be healed and he was causing a ruckus because his pillow wasn't soft enough and the hospital food not to his liking. There was no room for restrain."

Diarmuid snorted in amusement. "And assaulting the man helped in what way?"

The pink-haired woman rolled her eyes. "You are making it sound worse than it really was. I merely knocked him out. He was being annoying, anyway."

"I feel sorry for those under your care." he said, smirking teasingly at her.

"Unless you want to start feeling sorry for yourself, I suggest you shut up." she shot back, jabbing a finger in the middle of his chest. Her green eyes widened when he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, her chin almost resting on his chest.

"Is that a threat or a promise?" he asked huskily, acting bolder than he had ever acted towards a woman. It was hard not to though. Not with how she looked right then and there, with those shorts exposing her legs to his eyes and her pink locks only slightly disheveled and her eyes glowing. Her cheeks were slightly red and her lips were parted, breathing in slowly. He was painfully aware of the rise and fall of her chest against his.

He had always felt strangely at easy around the pink-haired woman, even during the first stages of their relationship. It had surprised him at first. He figured he would have been a lot more suspicious of people after what had happened during the Holy Grail War. It kind of made him believe even more strongly that their stars had met before, in a previous lifetime. It didn't take long for him to see why he couldn't help but trust her, feel drawn to her.

She wasn't as obviously heroic as Saber was nor did she consider herself as self-righteous as the King of Knights. She was vibrant is her own soothing way, the calming embrace of the waves on a windless day. She was the figure that stood in the back, watching over everyone else, the one everyone relied on without getting half the recognition she deserved. And she was content with that. She was happy with being everyone's shoulder-to-cry-on. Sometimes it made him wonder what could have shaped her like that.

He looked down at her leaning on his chest, his smoldering golden eyes clashing with curious emerald. He raised her hand still in his grasp to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles without breaking eye contact, eliciting a barely audible gasp of surprise from her. The situation was intense and scorching and breathtaking.

'How did I go so long without this?' he thought, roaming his gaze over her flashed cheeks and slightly uneven breathing. It was captivating, igniting a fire in his chest that traveled through his veins, leaving him craving more than he had ever thought he'd feel for a woman.

Where her fingers touched his bare skin, a fire burned him. He could almost feel his corneas dilating as desire he had never dared feel for a woman slowly but surely flooded his body. How could one woman waken such feelings inside him? How could she dominate him like that without even trying?

"Diarmuid….." she said, his name coming out as a breathless whisper, barely audible but it rang in profoundly in his ears like the song of a forest nymph.

"Sakura…." he whispered back, his voice sounding hoarse and heavy with emotion and unrecognizable even to his own ears. His fingers brushed her waist and started playing with the hem of her shirt, wishing but not daring to touch her shin just yet. From the looks of it, it wouldn't be long before he couldn't take it anymore.

Her cheeks were turning red rapidly and she could feel her body's temperature rising but it was becoming increasingly difficult not to give in to her desires and kiss him, consequences be damned. She briefly glanced at his lips before her eyes were drawn to his once more, emerald green clashing with smoldering golden.

The air around them was heavy with electricity and pent up desire. With their bodies flushed against each other and their yearning almost taking the form of a red cloud around them, it was only a matter of who was going to take the first step, that great leap that'd change their relationship for the rest of their lives.

Diarmuid caught a lock of her hair between his thumb and forefinger, bringing it to his lips and kissing it softly before letting it fall at the side of her face. His fingertips traced the outline of her chin, tracing up to her lips before cupping her cheek. He gently pulled her face towards his, his lips just a breath away from hers.

Sakura was almost sure that he could hear her heart thundering in her chest, could feel the temperature of her skin rising, could sense how his actions made her insides melt and grow hot. A wave of emotions hit her, excitement and anticipation and desire soaring above all else. She could feel his fingers tugging her forward and she finally gave in to her instincts, her eyelids dropping slowly as the distance between them grew shorter and shorter.

Diarmuid could feel her warm breath on his lips and the anticipation at the pit of the stomach grew as he imagined how it would feel to actually kiss her, to feel her soft lips on his. One more second and his fantasy would come true, one more second and they'd both take a bite from the forbidden fruit.

"Sakura-chan!"

They both froze and their eyes widened at the sound of the loud voice right outside their door.

Sakura jumped back, untangling herself from the man's warm body with her cheeks shining scarlet. 'What the hell did just happen?' She thought, feeling a bit dizzy from her almost-kiss with Diarmuid. She couldn't imagine how it'd feel to actually kiss him.

"Oi, Sakura-chan! Open up!"

Naruto's voice broke her out of her thoughts and she shook her head in hopes of pushing the previous events to the back of her mind, at least momentarily. Yeah, good luck with that. When the knocking on her door grew louder, Sakura sighed and got off the couch, not wanting to disturb her neighbors and desperately needing a distraction herself. If there was one thing Naruto was good at, it was distracting her.

She padded over to the door and opened it carefully, sending a questioning glance at the blonde man standing at her doorstep. He seemed barely able to contain his excitement.

"What took you so long, Sakura-chan?" questioned the blonde the moment she appeared behind the door.

The young medic sighed, noticing the spark in his eyes. "What do you want, Naruto?"

"That's not what I asked." shot back the blond, crossing his arms across his chest stubbornly as he tried to glance inside the house over the rosette's shoulder.

"Diarmuid is inside if you are looking for him." said Sakura, knowing perfectly well what was probably running through her teammate's mind. Really, she wasn't in the mood to deal with one of his childish fits.

The loud jinchuriki huffed in distaste. "As if I'd be looking for him!"

Sakura rolled her green eyes at his behavior. Naruto would always be Naruto. "You are going off the track here, Uzumaki. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

As if remembering the real reason for appearing at her doorstep so unexpectedly, Naruto's cerulean eyes lit up and his lips stretched into a wide grin. "Sasuke's back."

'Oh, shit…..'

TBC

First of all, I ask you to forgive me for not updating for so long. I kind of had my plate full these past few weeks. I wasn't in the right state of mind to spend time on this, though I do regret not updating sooner. I hope the chapter made up for it, even though it's not as long as others. The next chapter will be updated sooner, I promise.

Your reviews make me happy, so please READ AND REVIEW!

Until next time!

Lots of love!