Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto!

After Sai had packed his belongings they all stepped out into the yard. Sakura stopped them at the bridge putting her fingers to her lips and gave out an ear-spitting whistle.

"Sakura!" Sasuke growled at her, but was interrupted when the sound of thundering hooves met their ears as Sheton came ripping around the corner in all of his glory. His sleek black, tan, and white coat shining in the early noon light, mismatched blue and caramel eyes locked on his rose-haired partner as he circled around the three Shinobi. Sakura smiled gently at him when he came to a stop beside her and cooed sweet words to him as she buried her face in his thick forelock.

Sasuke watched the interaction in interest. Sakura always did have a soft spot for animals, but as he watched the huge beast lower his head in affection, and with half-lidded eyes lean against the small woman, being so gentle as if knowing she was injured, he wondered how this... bond had formed. What had happened to make this proud beast adore his teammate so...

Sakura pulled away from Sheton and set her eyes on Sai.

"Alright Sai, up you go."

"Pardon?" Mentioned man spluttered... And did his voice just crack?

"Oh don't be silly, might as well get used to him now while I'm still with you. We'll part ways half way there, and he's the only one besides me who can cross through the barrier. Or would you prefer me to summon Tympani instead? I'm sure he'd love to see you again." Sakura explained as if discussing the weather.

"You keep that thing away from me!"

Sakura burst out laughing and tried to wave Sai over to her. He shook his head stubbornly.

"Oh come on Sai! You've ridden on your ink summons before. What's the difference?" Sakura laughed.

"My ink animals are under my control."

"And he's under mine."

"He's got a mind of his own, and he's unpredictable."

"Most animals are..."

"When I first met you, he made an attempt on my life!"

"He sensed my foul mood, thanks to your idiocy, and thought you were a threat. Now shut up and lets go!" Sakura snapped, but she looked like she was holding back laughter, so she wasn't really upset.

"You're injured, you should ride." Sai attempted. Sakura placed her hands on her hips and gave him a dull look, so he sighed in compliance and came to stand beside her. Sakura placed a light hand on Sheton's shoulder and he moved down so he was kneeling on his front knees. Sai stiffly swung his leg over his massive girth and clutched onto his mane as he stood up to his full height.

"See? It's not as bad as all that." Sakura laughed lightly patting Sai's knee. Her soft laugh caught Sasuke's attention, so he directed his eyes away from the large animal, and onto her smiling face.

"Shall we?" The woman spoke, looking over to her other companion, only to find him staring at her. Her smile shifted into something gentler, as she brushed his elbow lightly with her fingertips when she passed him by.

She walked along side Sheton and Sai, while Sasuke kept pace a few feet behind them.

"What will you do today after I depart?" Sai asked Sakura looking down on her with curiosity.

"I want to go east to explore a little bit. It should be pretty fun." She replied with a smile.

"I see." Sai spoke casting a worried glance over his shoulder at the missing nin walking behind them.

He was anxious to get back to Konoha, but he wasn't comfortable with leaving his only female teammate alone with the criminal. He knew Sakura was strong, and could handle herself pretty well... But considering the history between herself and Sasuke was something to take into account. Sai knew she loved the bastard with all her heart, and Sasuke had started to show some kind of interest in her too. Whether he was genuine or not, he did not know. This man was labeled an S-ranked criminal for a very good reason, he was powerful, as well as smart, and Sai couldn't tell if he was using Sakura's feeling for him as an advantage or not.

They spent the next few hours in light conversation until they reached the spot where Sai would go on his own.

Sakura stood in front of Sheton and stroked his nose lovingly, before she leaned over and whispered a soft but stern, "be nice..." in his ear. The animal closed his eyes and breathed softly in compliment as she went to stand beside Sai.

"Safe travels my friend." Sakura smiled up to him, stretching up on her tippy-toes to embrace him

"Yes, you too Sakura." Sai replied as he placed his arms around her. "Be careful Sakura, please..." He whispered in her hair so only she would hear. He did not pull away until he felt her nod in return.

Sai also didn't miss the way the other shinobi narrowed his eyes at him. Since he knew his whispered words were much too quiet to be heard by him, he guessed it was because he had prolonged physical contact with the rose-haired kunoichi.

Sai straitened and looked down on Sasuke, trying to convey a message with his eyes.

'If you harm her, I will kill you...'

Sai's expression melted into his default fake smile, rising a hand in farewell as Sheton turned on his haunches and trotted away.

Sakura watched them disappear into the thickness of the woods before she turned to face Sasuke, who was already watching her. She hummed softly at him in content and turned to walk in the opposite direction that they came, listening as Sasuke's footfalls sounded behind her.

They walked in a comfortable silence for the next hour, content with listening to the bird calls and herds of deer moving around in the flora. They eventually came to a break in the trees where a meadow opened up. Sakura, feeling more tired then usual sat down against a grassy hill, right next to a batch of windflowers and closed her eyes against the sun.

Sasuke watched her in interest until she opened one of her bright green eyes to look at him in question.

"What are we doing here Sakura?" He asked her, sounding bored.

"Resting, and it's a nice place to sit and think for a while." She answered him serenely. He scoffed at her, before sitting down gracefully next to her. She quirked an eyebrow at him as she started plucking lantana flowers from the earth, and wringing their stems together to make a sweet smelling garland.

Sasuke watched her out of the corner of his eye and scoffed again. She gazed back up at him in question.

"You aren't even wearing shinobi garb, have you finally given up being a shinobi." Her scoffed at her harshly.

"I'm not," Sakura agreed hiding the faint hurt in her eyes at his blunt words, "simply because there is no need for it here." She sighed before finishing. "I was just sparring with Sai, as a shinobi, so what do you think?"

"No need to carry weapons? What would happen if you were attacked?"

"I wont be, this place is untraceable, nobody, enemy or not, can find me here. Besides, I can inflict a great amount of dammage without weapons..." Her voice was soft, as were her eyes.

"So... you don't consider me a threat?" He asked, sneering at her. His voice a contrary to his actions as he lifted his hand up to brush a few strands of hair away from her cheek bone. Her eyes, held uncertainty, and as soon as his fingertips came into contact with the skin of her cheeks, she shrunk away from him, shivering slightly, causing his sneer to fade away.

"As you are now, no." She replied, turning her attention back to her wreath of flowers, brushing over the colorful blossoms gently.

"Annoying." Sasuke grunted as he turned away from her, and closed his eyes.

Sakura harrumphed, and in agitation, plopped the floral wreath on Sasuke's head. Sasuke's eyes flew open in confusion, then melted into indignation as her glared at the woman beside him.

He was just about to growl profanities as her, but stopped as he watched her face melt from angry to amused. She put her hand up to her mouth to try and conceal the laughter that spilled from her lips. Sasuke scowled, yanking the chain of flowers from his crown and throwing them back at her, which only made her laughter grow.

He scoffed moodily and turned his head away from her, closing his eyes in annoyance. He sensed her kneel back down in front of him. His eyes remained closed, until he felt a light touch on his chin, followed my something sweet and soft at the corner of his mouth. His eyes flew open just it time to see Sakura leaning away from him, with a cheeky smile, and her sea-green eyes sparkling in the sun.

"You can be so cute sometimes Sasuke." Sakura laughed at his baffled expression.

'Did she just...'

Before she could pull away completely, he leaned towards her, snatching her chin in his firm grasp, bringing his head down to rest his forehead against hers, glaring into her eyes.

"I am not cute..."

After those growled words left his mouth, he dipped his head down, slanting his lips over hers in a gentle caress, surprising her with his softness. When she responded, sighing gently into his mouth, he grew a little bolder, sucking on her bottom lip sensually before taking it in between his teeth in a harsher nibble. When she gasped, he slowly released her lip with a soft 'pop' and nudged her nose with his own, staring into her wide green orbs.

For a while they were silent, curiously observing each other, noses still brushing, and breaths mingled.

Suddenly, realization dawned on Sakura and her gaze softened, replacing her dazed expression with one of melancholy.

"Oh Sasuke..." She whispered, placing her hands on his cheeks and nudging him down.

Sasuke realized what she wanted him to do, and let her. Under normal circumstances, he would have never let himself be put in such a vulnerable position, but upon looking at her broken expression, all he could do was watch as she gently eased him down on the grass and pressed her lips to his lovingly, and he responded just as softly.

Sakura pulled away slowly, tracing his cheek bones with a featherlight touch. She made a low humming sound before lowering her head again and placing open mouthed kisses down his jawline, sucking on his pulse point when she reached his neck.

'I love you, Sasuke...'

Sasuke took a sharp intake of breath, groaning deeply before tilting his head to give her more access and running his hands up to her hips, where he gripped her.

From her hips, he brushed his hands higher, over her waist and ribcage, until he brushed the underside of her breast, where her stab-wound was. Sakura froze, and pulled away slowly to look him in the eye.

"You should finish healing that." He spoke, looking at her with an expression she didn't recognize.

She wordlessly pulled away and brushed her injury with chakra laced fingers, erasing the dull ache into nothing. Sasuke sat back up and watched her with his usual blank expression. When Sakura was finished she placed her hands in her lap, fiddling with her dress and peeked up at Sasuke, a blush tinting her cheeks. Sasuke moved in on her slowly, smirking as he saw her freeze.

"My turn." He stated as he hovered over her, pushing her down with his body and crashing his lips onto hers roughly. Sakura reacted shyly, but just as eagerly. He smirked into the kiss before licking the seam of her lips almost demandingly.

When she parted for him, he slipped his tongue in against her's, stroking her deeply until she was breathless. He pulled away slowly, dragging his teeth down her lip while she watched him through hazy eyes.

As he ran his hands over her bare arms, he could feel her skin prickle at the contact, which made him smirk. Before she could even blink, he had changed positions, hovering in front of her, using his knees to part her creamy thighs before leaning in to place his lips on her pulse-point, resting there to gauge her reaction.

What he felt surprised him... It was her pulse fluttering against her neck. Sasuke turned his head enough to catch her expression. Her eyes were wide, her body trembling under his, and her pulse, still thrumming wildly under his lips. Her reaction reminded him of a wild animal that had just been caged.

"You're scared..." He spoke softly against her neck. When she didn't reply, he sighed, about to pull away.

Contrary to most people's belief, Sasuke was brought up as a gentleman. The last thing he wanted to do was to push Sakura into anything she wasn't ready for. But as he pushed himself back, she caught his face if her hands.

Sasuke gave her a questioning look before allowing her to gently ease him down until his face was resting in the soft feminine cradle of her hips. He made an uncomfortable sound from deep in his chest as the burning heat in his loins reached an unbearable level. She made a soft humming sound in response, gently combing through his hair with her skilled fingers.

They don't know how long they stayed that way, the rose-haired kunoichi gently running her finger's through his silky ebony locks, and the obsidian-eyed S-class criminal, resting his head in the cradle of her hips. He hadn't felt this content in a long, long time... Sasuke realized.

'It almost seems like a lifetime ago.'

Sakura moved her fingers through his hair again, then gently raked her fingernails down his neck and continued down his spine.

He squirmed under her touch as he was painfully reminded of the uncomfortable problem in his lower abdomen.

"Fuck... Sakura." He hissed, lifting his head to glare at her. He's never really had this problem to this extent before. Nothing a cold shower hadn't fixed...

Sakura stared back at him in question to his sudden moodiness. "What's the matter?" She asked, stroking his hair again.

"This..." He growled at her, snatching her hand away from his hair and guiding it down to his problem, a strained sound leaving his throat when she touched his arousal.

A small gasp left her lips as he pressed her hand more firmly against him, so she could feel his hotness.

"I... I did that?" She asked looking away from her hand, and into his pained face.

"No, the grass did!" He snapped sarcastically.

Instead of removing her hand, like he initially thought she would do, she stroked down the length of him, causing him to hiss, and shut his eyes tightly.

"Sakura..." He warned her, though his body arched into her touch. She gave him an understanding look and removed her hand, leaning towards him to press her lips to his in a sweet kiss before she got up.

"We both could use a shower." She spoke softly as he got up to stand beside her.

"Aa." Was his only reply.

AN-

Yay a long chapter! And I put pervy stuff in it as well! I must say, I am pretty proud of this chapter.

I'm sorry if some scenes are awkward, I've never written limes/lemons before.

As always feel free to point out typos I made, and leave reviews! It motivates me to write more, and update more often!

I'm currently revising my first story "Between Two Worlds." and I plan on re-posting it in the near future. I was reading the original over and cringed a little bit at my grammar, hahaha.

Between Two Worlds is my first ever fanfiction, If you read it and wonder how I came up with the idea, I'll tell you a little something about my self. I was raised by a bunch of old sailors in various different places/barns... So Hope that explains some things.