Author's Note: Remember its a double update and please enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 21:

My Lady's House

"It is good in my lady's house
And the shape that her body makes
Love is a fragile word
In the air on the wrinkly lane..."

~"My Lady's House" by Iron and Wine~

Spring Break ended and Sakura went back to school without saying anything to Sasuke. It felt strange to break her daily rountine and not say good morning to the young Uchiha like she usually did. Instead, she walked out to car every day with a blank look and drove to school in silence. Lunch was almost unbearable and Ino was as cold as ever. Sakura only stayed at the table for Tenten's and Hinata's company, keeping Ino's betrayal as her own business rather than burden it on her other two friend's shoulders. Ino stayed just to annoy Sakura with her presence; that and because Hinata and Tenten were her friends are well.

When Friday came around, Sakura was overjoyed. Finally she would have some peace and quiet for herself instead of having to worry about school work. She lounged around her empty home in a pair of sweats and a cami, shuffling her feet on the hardwood floor. A phone was pressed to her ear as she made her way into the kitchen.

"I'm fine mom," she assured her mother on the other side of the phone. "You can stay another week with dad if you want. I really don't mind."

"But I don't like leaving you at home by yourself for very long sweetheart," Mrs. Haruno said. "Are you sure you don't want me to come home."

Sakura placed a bag of popcorn into the microwave and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge while she waited for the popcorn to pop. She unscrewed the top of the bottle and guzzled some of it down.

"Stay another week with dad," the rosette insisted. "Really, I'll be okay on my own. Consider it practice for when I go away for college or whatever."

The silence on the receiving end suggested that her mother still wasn't too keen on leaving her only child alone for much longer. The microwave beeped and Sakura took out the popcorn so that she could put it into a bowl. Tapping her foot, she tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

Sighing, her mother answered, "Alright, I'll see you next week then. Love you sweetie."

"Love you too, bye mom," Sakura said as she hung up the phone.

She then went into the living room and plopped herself onto the couch to watch a movie. Thunder roared outside and Sakura groaned. Though she loved the sound of rain at night, she wasn't practically welcomed on the idea of watching a movie during a storm. It sort of took away from the movie experience by adding unneccesary sounds. Lighting cracked and shone through the curtains when her movie started to play.

Suddenly, an even louder crack sounded and the home's entire electricity went out. Sakura cursed and went back into the kitchen to grab a flashlight that was kept in the pantry. Her mother liked to keep emergency items in hallway closets and the pantry just to be safe against any situation. Luckily, the flashlight worked and Sakura made her way up stairs. The phones probably didn't work so she would have to grab her cell phone just in case she would ever need it. Going into her room, she grabbed the device and headed back down.

Midstep, Sakura halted all movement and listened. She thought that she just heard someone walking on the hardwood floors downstairs. The floor creaked, making it sound like the footsteps were coming closer and closer. Not really wanting to find out what was coming her way, the rosette raced back upstairs and shut her door. Her heart was racing and she gripped onto the flashlight like it was a holy relic. She couldn't hear the footsteps any longer, but didn't want to take her chances by exiting the room.

However, what if there was someone in her house? She had no way to defend herself. The flashlight she held in her hand was tiny and made of cheap plastic. It wouldn't hurt anyone if used as a weapon. She needed to call someone. Opening up her phone, she called the first number she could think of though it was not the authorities that she had dialed.

"Hello?" Sasuke greeted her on the phone.

Sakura sighed in relief. Sasuke's cellphone was still working.

"Sasuke, it's me," she quickly told him. "I need your help."

"Calm down Sakura, what's wrong?"

Gulping, Sakura sat on her bed and made herself as small as possible.

"I think that there is someone in my house," Sakura cried into the phone. "I'm really scared."

"Stay in your room and wait for me to get there," he said. "I'll be there soon."

"There's an emergency key underneath a flower pot by the door for you to use," she replied. "And please hurry."

They hung up and Sakura started to breath really fast. She rocked herself on her bed and waited for Sasuke to come safe her in some sense of the word. Then she started to hear noises and she froze. Was Sasuke in her house or was the intruder still downstairs? Whoever was there, they were now coming up the stairs. Sakura whimpered and grabbed a pillow for comfort though there was no reason to have it since it did little to help her.

Her door knob started to turn and Sakura held her breath. Heart thumping in her chest, the rosette anxiously waited for the person on the other side of her door to come in. Her hands shook and sweat developed on her forehead. Sakura was one hundred percent terrified for her life. The door to her room jerked open and the breath she was holding came out in the form of a scream. She closed her eyes, refusing to see who had entered her room. Her arms rose up to protect her face and she continued to scream for her life. Hands gripped her arms, trying to force them down and she fought hard to be free.

"Sakura it's me," a masculine voice stated. "It's Sasuke."

Sakura opened her eyes to see Sasuke standing in front of her with a worried glance. She felt jittery all over after finally knowing that her house was safe. Crying in relief, she fell into Sasuke's arms and clung to his body as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"It's okay, I'm here now. Nothing's going to hurt you," he calmly said. "Ssh, it's okay."

"I thought that you were the intruder," Sakura sort of laughed.

Sasuke smirked and pushed her off so that she could see his face. He took her hand and massaged the knuckles.

"There isn't anyone in your house Sakura. I checked before I came upstairs. It was only your imagination."

The rosette sighed in relief and hugged Sasuke once again.

"Thank you for coming Sasuke," she said. "I didn't know who else to call."

The young man rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Well there is the police, 911, and perhaps the national guard though I sure that they wouldn't be so quick to answer your call. Anyway, they are all people whose job it is to protect people from home invaders."

When Sakura bit her lower lip in embarrassment, Sasuke's outlook became more serious.

"I am glad you called me though," he said. "There isn't anything that I wouldn't do to make sure that you're safe."

"Really?"

Sasuke nodded and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving them a tight squeeze.

"Really," he replied. Then he looked around her room and at how dark it all was. "You probably shouldn't stay here tonight. Not by yourself."

Sakura agreed with him. It was too dark for her taste and it was a bit unsettling to be in a dark house by herself. The idea of having someone familiar in the house sounded nice. However, did Sasuke mean that he stay at her home or mean to take Sakura over to his? It was very unclear.

"Are you saything that you want to stay over here?" Sakura asked him.

"Actually, I was going to take you over to my place, but if you want to stay here then I will too," Sasuke said.

It seemed reasonable enough. Staying at her house would remove the awkwardness of waking up in his home and seeing his family in the morning. She voted that they stay in her house and Sasuke agreed as he went into the hallway to call his family to tell him what he was doing. As he did this, Sakura figured that Sasuke was going to need some sort of bedding to sleep on while he stayed. The guest bedroom was out of the question since her mother liked to use the room for storage rather than guests. And her parents' room was off limits due to the fact that she didn't like the thought of Sasuke sleeping in the same bed her parents would use.

Going into her closet, she pulled out a sleeping bag that she kept for when her friends would spend the night. She unrolled it on the floor and tossed one of her pillows on top. Sitting atop her own bed, she waited for Sasuke to return.

She had completely forgotten before, but she was still a little angry at her boyfriend at the way he spoke to her after returning from the beach. The thought of his disapproving face made her feel unnerved by the fact that he was staying in her room. Even though she felt this way, her anger was slowly melting and the scary thought of him wanting to break up with her seemed to float away. Would he barge into her room and comfort her the way he had done before if he wanted to break up with her? Sakura didn't really think so and it made her slightly smile. She would apologize to him again when he came back and tell him that she was wrong to tell Ino his secret.

Sasuke walked back into the room and pointed at the sleeping bag with a raised brow.

"Is that for me?" he asked.

"You don't want the guest room trust me," Sakura warned. Then her voice got a little softer and she began to play with her fingers. "I'm sorry Sasuke."

Sasuke sat on the sleeping bag and got a confused look on his face. "For what? Calling me late at night? You don't have to apologize for that."

Sakura shook her head. "No, I'm sorry for what happened last week. I had no right in telling Ino about your home and it was childish of me to point the fan girls in your direction when we got home. I'm really sorry about that."

At first, Sasuke didn't say anything. He had something worked up in his own mind that he was trying to firgure out how to say.

"No, I'm sorry for how I acted about it. It was an accident and you really didn't know that Ino would tell," he proclaimed. "I acted like an ass the entire time you were trying to apologize. Though I shouldn't have been too surprised by the girls on my lawn. It was bound to happen eventually."

"So we're all good? Not mad anymore?" Sakura questioned though she knew the answer.

"It's probably safe to say that we can put it behind us now," Sasuke said.

Sakura nodded and slid herself off her bed right next to Sasuke. She took his hands and pulled him close for a kiss. Parting, she said, "Of course we can."

She yawned and went to get back onto her bed when Sasuke grabbed her hand, pulling her back towards him. He held on to her from behind and rocked her as he tucked his head beside her neck. Sakura lifted an arm to run her fingers in his hair, pressing him closer to her body. His hands drew circles on her cami and she chuckled on how much it tickled.

"I missed your scent," he whispered into her ear.

"Hm," was all that she could say. She like the feeling of his breath in her ear.

"I missed hearing your voice," he went on.

Sakura couldn't say anything in response and only smiled as he spoke.

"But the thing I missed most of all was being able to hold you in my arms and now that your real," he purred in her ear.

The rosette's cheeks grew hot and she tilted his head towards her. Giving him a long, breathless kiss, Sakura nuzzled her body against him. Sasuke held onto her tighter.

"Stay down here with me tonight," he suggested. "Keep me warm."

If her cheeks weren't red before, they were tomato red now.

"Well since you missed me so much, I think that I will," she said playfully. She yawned and escaped his grasp so that she could lie down.

Sakura thought that Sasuke would immediately follow in suit, but instead, stayed upright and stared down at her. She gazed right back up at him, twisted her body so that she could better see him. He tilted his head to the side like was studying her, eyes trailing every part of her body. Furrowing her brow yet smiling, Sakura asked, "What? Something wrong?"

He must of been in a trane since he shook his head and stated, "No, nothing's wrong" like he had something on his mind. Slowly, Sasuke removed his shirt and exposed his muscular stomach to the pink-haired girl below. Then he unbuckled his pants and neatly tossed them to the side after kicking off his shoes leaving his boxers as the only article of clothing on his body. Sakura cursed at him silently, damning him for his athletic figure and handsome looks. She hadn't expected him to stripped down that much though in a way she didn't mind it that much. Sasuke carefully lowered himself next to Sakura and cradled her in his arms. His chin rested on her shoulder and his arms wrapped around her middle. Sakura reached down and took one of his hands in her own before letting herself fall asleep.

As his girlfriend slept, Sasuke stayed awake a little bit longer. He liked the feeling of just holding Sakura since her form fit just right against his own. She was snored lightly in her sleep and Sasuke rubbed his thumb over her hand that held his in a relaxing motion.

He couldn't believe that she had called him of all people to come over and help her. The police would have been his first choice of assistance if he thought someone was in his house. However, he was glad that she called him. It meant that she felt like he was more important to call in an emergency situation then the police. The notion had made him feel needed and dare he say it but a little heroic as well. Sakura wanted him to be there with her, to tell her that everything was safe and going to be okay. He always felt like it was his duty to protect her and what a better way to show her that he cared by coming over when she asked for him to be.

Sakura inhaled a deep breath and moved around in her sleep. Sasuke released his grasp from her so that she could better move and had expected her to distance herself from him. He was quite wrong and the rosette turned around and unconsiously snaked her arms under his, pulling her body towards his. Her head rested under his chin and she rubbed her cheek against his chest as she tried to make herself comfortable. Smirking, Sasuke rested his arms on her shoulders and let his eyes close for a peaceful sleep.

Author's Note: Aww, they made up and became all fluffy. So I have decided to no longer update on Sundays. Instead, the updates are going to be more random and hopeful more abundant. I'm going away to college soon and I would like Neighbors to end before then. It's a goal I'm going to try to keep, but if I fail then it just means that I'll have to fit in updates with my school work. But that won't happen for awhile and therefore I will update like crazy if I can. That might mean double updates like this one, updates back to back, or ones that are updated with few days inbetween. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed your double update and please review. :)