A/N: How's everyone doing with COVID-19? It's been frightening to see society start to collapse in what first felt like a drawn-out, anxious affair and now feels like it happened overnight. I work in a crisis center, so uh, work has been busier and far more stressful. I know countless people who lost their jobs, and we've had a few deaths in our community, one of them someone who was younger than forty with no known health problems, so needless to say I'm at least grateful to be healthy and have a job. Hope you are all doing okay in your corner of the world.
Apparently, I've coped with fantasizing over healthy threesomes and softcore p-rn. Please be advised this is a Mature/Explicit rating of a Sakura/Sasuke/Naruto relationship with sexual encounters and recommended reading age of 18+. Takes place when characters are twenty-four/twenty-five years old. It's a two-shot. It's only canon up until Chapter 699, then diverges when no one gets married and has babies. I've read a few fics on Ao3 that captured the dark, grim post-war life with lots of drinking and angst very well, and those set the tone for how I envisioned the vibe in this story.
I hope this helps you escape life for a bit, as it helped me.
- H
San'ningumi (Together, the Three of Them)
三人組
Threesome: a group of three people engaged in the same activity; an occasion on which three people engage in a sexual activity together.
Part One
Spilt sake, dried sweat and the faint scent of blood from freshly bandaged wounds hit her like a heavy curtain as she walked into the bar. It was pungent enough for Sakura to pinch her nose, but she'd frequented the establishment enough times to know in another moment or two, she'd be used to the odor.
She spotted Shikamaru at the opposite side of the room, alone in a quieter corner, and moved toward him.
"Oolong-hai?" The bartender asked her knowingly when she passed by.
"Yes," she offered a half-hearted smile. "Thank you, Koji."
It was a bar only shinobi visited and Koji knew each of their favorite drinks, and even had become adept at knowing their preferences depending upon their mood. After a difficult shift from the hospital, it was oolong-hai for Sakura; but after a difficult mission, it was an entire bottle of atsukan.
Sakura slid into the seat across from Shikamaru. "You mind?"
He shook his head, fingers polishing the rim of a glass of shōchū.
"What's up?" She asked.
"Waiting for Naruto, actually," Shikamaru replied with a sigh. "He's running late, though."
It'd become a bad habit of his lately. "Everything alright?"
He nodded. "We had a difference of opinion on how to respond to a… diplomatic crisis. I told him to go home and we could discuss it later over a drink."
Koji approached with her drink and Sakura nodded in appreciation. Then she turned back to her comrade. "And now that you've had time to think about it?"
"I know that I'm right," Shikamaru said evenly. "But I don't think Naruto is wrong, either."
She smiled. Even without knowing the circumstances of the 'diplomatic crisis', she knew the opposing perspectives between the Kaka-sama's advisers often caused mayhem in the Hokage's office. The two of them always worked it out though. After all, the best interest of Konoha united them.
Seeing her tiredness and immediate sips of the alcoholic beverage, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Eh," Sakura shrugged.
But his watchful eyes were patient, so Sakura sighed, and answered him. "Most days at the clinic are hard. Sometimes, the days are impossible. Today, today was…"
Her mind returned to the distressed child who'd been administered sedatives before she could hurt herself. Sakura grimaced. "Today was impossible."
Shikamaru empathized. He lifted his glass to her, so she raised her own to meet his with a soft 'clink.' When they transitioned to companionable silence, she didn't mind. The benefit of spending time with Shikamaru was that there was no need to make small talk or play polite; she could just be herself.
It was impossible to miss when Naruto entered the bar. There were cheers of greetings and hard slaps on the back as he made his rounds. It didn't matter if he had a meeting or that he was late, he'd still make time to speak with everyone in the bar. Shikamaru wasn't surprised, nor bothered.
"Hey, Sakura-chan." Naruto arrived at the table, holding a gifted drink another kunoichi had paid for, and placed an affectionate hand over her shoulder. "Has Shikamaru finished complaining to you about me? Then I won't have to hear it as much."
Sakura crossed an arm over herself to place her hand atop Naruto's own. "Actually, he hasn't complained a bit."
Naruto tossed an amused smile to Shikamaru, who muttered something about how troublesome his fellow adviser could be.
"May I stay, or is it private?" Sakura asked.
Naruto massaged her shoulders, an old and familiar habit, finding the knots from her day and working them out. "If it was private we wouldn't be here. You can stay and meditate for us, how about that?"
"Ah," Shikamaru agreed. He pulled out the cigarette from behind his ear. "That puts me at a disadvantage."
"How so?" Sakura protested. "I'm a fair person."
Shikamaru just nodded at Naruto's affectionate touch to her shoulder. Sakura had hardly noticed it. She squeezed Naruto's hand as she lifted him off her. Laughing, Naruto took the seat beside her, his thighs brushing against hers in the booth.
"I promise to be objective," Sakura said with facetious seriousness.
"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru lit his cigarette. Then he turned to his colleague. "Look, Naruto, I understand your point about the Mizukuge, but I think we need to…"
Sakura didn't need to meditate, as it turned out. The two of them were far too used to disagreement and compromise. She half-listened to their heated dialogue, more content with their familiarity and her beverage than she was interested in paying attention to international affairs. She soon finished her first drink, and before she could turn to ask Koji for a second, he found her and delivered another one.
.
.
"Fuck."
Sasuke clutched at his unmarked chest and looked down as if it offended him. With a victorious smile, Sakura deactivated her chakra scalpels and placed both hands on her hips, admiring her handiwork.
"My lungs?" He asked, but as if to answer his own question, his breathing became short and rapid.
"Fuck," he spat again. Before he fell, Sasuke knelt to the dirtied ground as he held his chest. There was no visible wound, no pouring blood, but he felt the internal injury and knew it was lethal. When Sakura made no move to approach him, he threw her a vicious glare.
"Oh," she said loftily, as if in surprise. "Do you need me to heal that?"
If looks could kill, Sakura mused. While Sasuke began to drown from the blood filling his lungs, Sakura dropped to her knees before him. With ease and expertise, she activated her warm, green healing chakra and went to work beneath his chest. He watched her delicate hands, noting how this touch was far different than the sharp, blue chakra scalpels that just severed his lungs. When she finished, Sasuke took a long, deep breath, as if coming up from air after being submerged in the ocean.
"You're getting better at hand-to-hand combat." He wasn't happy as he said it.
"Thank you. If this weren't a training spar, I would have aimed for your heart and you'd have been dead immediately."
"Hn." Always a pleasant thought.
Sakura grabbed their towels and water from the edge of the training grounds. She took turns tossing one of each to him. With his only hand, he caught them with ease.
After they both dried off and caught their breath, Sakura turned to him. "Want to grab a bite?"
Sasuke didn't need to think about it. "If we eat out."
It was no secret the meals she cooked were less than adequate.
Sakura frowned. "I didn't invite you over for a home-cooked meal, Sasuke-kun."
She said his name and the supposed honorific with disdain. But then she lightened up, an effortless smile. "So yeah?"
"Aa."
"Good. " Before she said her next words, he could already hear her mischievous tone. "Because if you remember, it's my turn to choose where we eat, and your turn to pay for it."
He shook his head. "No, I paid last time."
"That was with Naruto and Kakashi. The last time it was just the two of us, I paid."
"I'm not sure your logic is sound."
"My logic is plenty sound," she huffed. "Don't be stingy, Uchiha. I know what's in your bank account."
He sighed. "Come on. I'm starved."
They went to dinner, discussing combat moves, possible team formations, and current politics. Sometimes, Sakura forgot these nights were the ones she had fought, prayed, and lost sleep in hoping to have as the norm one day.
.
.
It was fitting that it rained so hard. When they had funerals in the broad sunlight with a warm and a gentle breeze, their tears, mourning and dark clothes felt out of place. Storm clouds made more sense, Sakura thought absently, as she looked to Naruto, uncertain the origin of the wetness streaming down his cheeks. She reached for his hand and held it, telling herself it was meant to comfort him. When Genma howled in pain, screaming at his dead sister's covered body as it was lowered into the grave, she knew the truth. It comforted her more.
When the ceremony finished, Kakashi and Iruka went with Genma, and Sasuke and Naruto left with her. The original Team Seven sat in silence and sadness in Sakura's apartment, sharing sake and horror stories. Sasuke went to leave first, offering a rare touch to the small of Sakura's back when he said farewell, and receiving what was less rare, a tight embrace from Naruto. Afterwards, Naruto and Sakura lay on opposing sides of the sofa, legs overlapping each other, and continued to drink, as if surprised that the sadness worsened instead of lightened.
"It isn't fair." Sakura was humbled to the core by this truth. "It isn't fucking fair."
"I know." Naruto was quiet. "Trust me, I know."
Drunker than usual, half-asleep on the sofa, Sakura turned herself into him. "Hold me, Naruto."
That night she slept sheltered in Naruto's arms, as if it were as normal as the drinking or the crying after the loss of a friend and fallen comrade.
.
.
At least Sasuke waited until after the man left before he offered Sakura a piece of his mind about him.
"How dare you," Sakura seethed. "It is absolutely none of your business."
"Isn't it?" Sasuke was unaffected by her anger.
She pressed an index finger to his chest, but it held enough force to slam him back into the wall and bruise his sternum. Used to her fury and strength, he swallowed the pain and refused to show that it hurt.
"No," Sakura hollered. "No, why would it? Because you're my teammate? Because I used to have a crush on you?"
This time Sasuke tempted his fate when he turned smug. "I don't remember it being only a crush."
Sakura's eyes were slit orbs of hard emerald stone. She took a step toward him and wrapped her slim fingers around his neck. "This is your hyoid bone and larynx. If you want I can crush these."
He tilted his neck upward and felt her grasp tighten. It didn't matter how petite her hands were, she was capable of doing exactly as she said without breaking a sweat in the effort.
"What do you want?" He murmured softly, but still she felt the muscles work alongside his choked throat. "An apology?"
"Yes." She tightened her grip more and he was confident there'd be bruises afterward.
For a moment he stared at her. Then, finally, he relinquished. "I'm sorry."
Sakura considered his words before she let go, content at his submission, and took a few steps back from him. When she turned, Sasuke touched the soreness of his throat.
"I'm sorry," he said again, and she whipped around to hear him finish, "that your pitiful taste in spineless civilian men is an insult to me simply through association."
Sakura's mouth fell open. "An insult to you?"
"Aa." Sasuke released his touch on his throat. "Fuck whoever you want. Date whoever you want. Marry whoever you want. But make sure they're not a damned fool I'll have to spend the rest of my life pretending to tolerate."
She blinked. She blinked again. "Get the hell out of my sight before I do more than crush your throat."
Feeling as though he won, knowing his point was made, Sasuke left without further comment. After he left, Sakura punched a hole through the wall where he'd stood.
.
.
"Why haven't you asked Hinata-chan out for a date?"
"Eh, I don't know." Naruto scratched behind his ear. "I've thought about it, but it doesn't feel like the right time."
"Why?" Sakura swished the ice around in her drink. "You still have feelings for Ino?"
"No, no." Naruto was being honest. He took a long sip of his beer. "It just feels like it won't be a first date with Hinata-chan. It feels like it would be… it would be… more serious, I guess."
"Because she loves you?"
Naruto reddened. "Yeah, I suppose so."
"Does that bother you? Knowing she loves you?"
"Kind of," Naruto admitted. "Guess I'm not really used to it. It doesn't really feel like I deserve her."
Despite herself, Sakura remembered a conversation between herself and Sasuke from years prior. When he had returned to Konoha, finished probation, and then finally came home after his travels. There had been one last time she confessed her love, and Sasuke almost accepted it, almost returned it. But he couldn't. Sticking a nail into the coffin, he'd decided he couldn't. At least he'd told her as much. She buried the memories and finished her drink.
"You do deserve it, Naruto," she promised him. "If you're not ready to settle down, you're not ready to settle down. But even if Hinata-chan really does love you, she can't wait for you for forever."
"I know." He frowned as he tossed his beer between his hands. "I mean, if you can move on from Sasuke, sure as hell it's possible Hinata-chan could move on from me…"
Sakura remained as cool and composed as a statue version of herself. "It's possible for anyone who's tired of being unloved."
"I do care for her, though," Naruto sputtered. "Kami, I really care for her. But what if I don't love her?"
Now, Sakura offered a weak smile. "But what if you do?"
Naruto sat and thought about that for a long while.
.
.
She was ruthless on the training grounds. Sasuke had to spend more time on the defensive than he ordinarily preferred. When at last he found an opening, her one small misstep from exhaustion or a muscle cramp, he flash stepped behind her. His chidori chirped so loud it made Sakura's ears bleed and the lightning zapped electrical currents over her skin, but she didn't forfeit. Instead, she thrust an elbow behind her and into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Though he withdrew most of his lightning-style jutsu in time, his chidori fluttered from his grasp and burned through her side.
Sakura stumbled to the ground. Sucking in to try and catch his breath, Sasuke watched in horror at the gaping wound that stretched at least ten inches across and tore flesh straight out from her side. It was bloodied, scorched meat he'd seen in dead bodies, not in Sakura. Weak on her knees, she pressed healing chakra to her side, thin lips pressed tight from pain. Finally, Sasuke felt air enter his lungs and he coughed painfully before taking in another breath, his eyes never leaving the gaping wound on her torso. Within a few moments, Sakura repaired most of the wound, enough to finally sit and take a short break. Her shirt was in burned, blood-soaked tatters and she ripped the rest of it off. Sitting there in just her black sports bra, Sasuke studied the constellation of white, mismatched scars on her abdomen and chest.
"You're still mad at me." Sasuke didn't pose it like a question.
"No." Stubborn as always, but never a good liar.
"Mad that I was rude?" He asked seriously. "Or mad that I was right?"
Sakura begrudgingly stood up and approached him. Knowing her intention, he stood and took his own shirt off. Already there was a giant, ugly purple bruise over his stomach.
"Both." Sakura didn't meet his gaze as she pressed her fingertips to inspect the bruise. Then, "This is internal bleeding."
When she made no move to heal him even as her touch lingered, he narrowed his eyes."Going to make me ask?"
"Yes." She looked up to him.
"I could go to the hospital instead."
Her lips curved into half a smile. "What if you didn't make it in time, Sasuke-kun?"
These days she only called him Sasuke-kun to be sarcastic. He never let it show how much he hated the change of affection. As if to make her point, she trailed the tips of her fingers from the nasty bruise up to the center of his chest, as if a clot had traveled to stop his heart. She left her hand pressed flat against him.
"You might resent me," he said quietly, "but not enough to kill me."
She felt his heartbeat under her hand. "I don't resent you."
This time, he knew she was not lying. Before he could think more on it, she activated her healing chakra and went to work on the damage her elbow had done. The rest of her words were rueful. "It's me who I resent."
.
.
It wasn't the first time too much liquor and too much familiarity led to blurred lines between them, but it was the first time he kissed her. At first, Sakura was stunned. She pulled back from Naruto and touched her lips, uncertain.
"Ah, sorry, Sakura-chan," he murmured, but he didn't mean it. "Drunk and foolish, you know me."
Sakura's hand remained at her lips. "You know we are only friends."
"I know," he said, this time honest. "You're my best friend. I'd never let anything change that."
"Sasuke is your best friend." Despite herself, a hint of spite revealed itself.
"You both are," he promised.
Sakura couldn't take her fingers from her lips. They had been warm and wet from his own, and now already, they felt cold.
"Can you really kiss me and think of me only as your best friend?" She let go of her lips, honest with herself that it was in hopes they'd be warmed again.
"Oh yeah." Naruto smiled as gregarious as only he could. "Can't you?"
Sakura relaxed upon realizing the truth of it. "Yes, I think so, too."
"So, I can kiss you?" He grinned like the drunken fool he was, all flushed cheeks and fox whiskers.
"Yes."
"Can I fuck you?"
Sakura thought about it. Tired of the disappointment in other men, she told herself it was the alcohol that convinced her. "Yes."
Naruto pulled her toward him. He was gentle and sweet, warm and overwhelming, honest and hard. He felt like Naruto, he felt safe.
.
.
It was her birthday party at their favorite shinobi bar, so while he ordinarily declined all invitations to social gatherings, this time he was obligated to come. When Sasuke arrived, he was late and the party was already half over. Most of their friends and comrades were already drunk and dancing, and Sakura was no exception. He took a seat at the bar, ordered hot sake, and turned around to watch her. The little black dress fit all her curves and sweat shined over her porcelain skin as she laughed and moved to the music.
"Hey, bastard." Naruto clapped a hand over his friend's shoulder and followed his gaze. "Beautiful, isn't she?"
"Hn." He didn't agree; he didn't disagree.
"Quarter-century old. Can you believe it?"
Sasuke shook his head. "You still act like such a child sometimes I forget she isn't one."
Naruto laughed and decided not to complain at the insult. "Did you get her a gift?"
Sasuke lifted a brow. "I'm here, aren't I?"
"Yeah," Naruto mused. "Guess that is good enough."
As if sensing someone's words were about her, Sakura turned to them, locked eyes with both of them from across the room, and tempered her laughter into a genuine, pleased smile.
Sasuke, again obligated, nodded. Sakura, receiving her gift, nodded back to him. Naruto watched the exchange and sobered some.
"Do you regret it?" Naruto asked, surprisingly serious.
"Regret what?" Except, for some reason, Sasuke had a feeling he knew exactly what Naruto meant.
"That you couldn't love her back?"
Sasuke took a long sip. No one knew him better than Naruto, but still the dobe didn't know the truth.
"No." Sasuke was honest, and Naruto knew it.
What Naruto didn't realize was that Sasuke was honest because he couldn't regret not loving her back when he did love her. His regrets were different than what Naruto asked, though most of them still revolved around Sakura.
For some reason, Naruto seemed relieved. Sasuke didn't think of it for long, but later on, when he watched Sakura accept a dance from the dobe, when he saw the confident manner in which Naruto held her hips, when Sakura blushed a shade darker than the alcohol could be to blame, the Uchiha understood. Something had happened between the two of them, and though it didn't seem romantic, it had certainly been physical.
Sasuke finished the rest of his drink with one long pull, and then slid it back to the bartender to ask for another.
.
.
Sakura was studious and meticulous as she reviewed the ancient texts. Then, frustrated, she slapped the papers down on her desk and sighed.
"I don't understand any of this."
"That's because you need the sharingan to read it."
She glared at him. "You're just mentioning that now?"
He wasn't fazed. "It's why I'm still here."
At this, her shoulders relaxed. "You're offering to help?"
"Aa."
Her glare turned into a grateful smile. For the next few hours, he translated and she scribbled notes, asked questions, and talked to herself more than to him.
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."
It was rare to hear his name without it being laced in bitterness. She reached to him, the back of her fingers brushing over his brow.
"Do they hurt?"
For some reason, he decided to be honest. "Aa."
"May I?"
For some reason, he decided to let her. Sasuke nodded.
Sakura took a step closer. She wrapped her hands carefully around his head, her thumbs hovering over his sharingan and rinnegan, and activated her healing chakra. While she massaged the base of his neck and scalp, she relaxed his chakra-saturated eyes and healed their strain.
"There," she murmured. She released her healing chakra but her fingers lingered at the base of his neck.
"You slept with Naruto." It wasn't a question.
Surprised, Sakura blinked. It was silent for a moment. "He told you?"
"No," Sasuke said, watching her carefully. "But you just did."
Sakura withdrew her hands. After another quiet moment, she came to her own conclusion. "Guess your eyes don't miss much."
He just looked at her.
"Well, so what?" She went back to the notes they had been working on and started to organize them. "It doesn't matter. It was just a lot of alcohol and a late night."
Then, when he said nothing else, she looked up at him. "At least I fucked someone you aren't insulted to be associated with, or uh, what is it you said? Oh yeah. Have to pretend to tolerate."
"I wouldn't be so sure."
Sakura laughed humorlessly but offered nothing else. She stacked the notes into a neat pile and then eventually faced him, waiting to see if he'd insult or harass her further.
There was a glimmer of mischief in his one obsidian orb. "Was he good?"
Sakura hummed. "Why don't you find out for yourself, Sasuke-kun?"
She pulled the notes into her arms and left the room. "Thank you for staying to help. I'll see you later."
.
.
"Hold still," Sasuke snapped.
Naruto did the opposite. Writhing because of the pain or frustration, Sasuke wasn't sure, but the dobe tried to grip his own shoulder to peer at the wound in his back. An arrow pierced through the scapula's muscle, and while Naruto had hastily attempted to pull it out, he only succeeded in breaking the arrow's shaft.
"Better not be fucking poisoned," Naruto swore painfully.
It was the conclusion of an ordinary S-rank mission, as far as ordinary could go for an S-rank. Kakashi had sent only the two of them due to the urgency and secrecy of the request, which hadn't been a problem countless times before. Now, though, it seemed Sakura's aid would have been preferential.
"Sit down." Losing his patience, Sasuke shoved Naruto onto a fallen tree trunk.
With an exaggerated sigh of defeat, Naruto sat down on the log, placing both elbows on his knees as he rested his face into his palms.
Sasuke stepped over the tree trunk, one leg on either side of it, and took a seat beside Naruto. He studied what could be seen of the arrow that pierced Naruto's shoulder blade, but hindered by the cloth that blocked his view, Sasuke ripped the surrounding fabric off. Naruto's half-hearted protest came with a brief growl, but then he accepted his shirt's fate and tore the rest of it off himself.
"You didn't grip the shaft right." Sasuke, always willing to criticize his teammates' mistakes.
"That's what he said." Naruto snickered the same as he had when they were prepubescent boys and Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes.
"That what you told Sakura?"
It sobered Naruto in an instant, his shoulders tightening under Sasuke's exploring touch of the wound. "I'm surprised she told you."
"She didn't."
"You figured it out?"
Sasuke didn't answer.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," Naruto said, shoulders relaxing again. "I wanted to, it felt like I should, but I didn't think she would want me to."
"She said it didn't mean anything." Sasuke wondered if he was being cruel, but it was the best way he knew to gauge Naruto's real thoughts on the matter.
The dobe didn't flinch. "It didn't."
When Sasuke lifted an unconvinced brow, Naruto turned to him. "It was just a kiss, just a fuck, between just friends."
"Hn." Sasuke almost laughed. "Just a kiss."
"Yeah," Naruto glowered. "No different than if I kissed you."
"Really," he asked dryly. There wasn't much Sasuke enjoyed more than pushing Naruto's buttons. "Prove it."
Naruto's cerulean orbs narrowed. "You're not serious."
"It wouldn't be the first time you kissed me."
"Smartass."
Sasuke didn't give him any warning; he found the proper angle, the right spot in the shaft, and pulled the arrow backward. It ripped out of Naruto's flesh.
"Fuck," Naruto hollered, reaching for the wound again with a snarling gasp.
It gave Sasuke an odd sort of satisfaction. While Naruto composed himself, muttering a plethora of colorful swear words in the process, Sasuke pressed the tattered remnants of the shirt to the open wound.
"Glad you're not the medic-nin on our team," Naruto muttered. "Sakura-chan's got a much better touch."
"You'd know."
Naruto abruptly turned toward him. With his less injured arm, he pulled Sasuke closer with a furious yank. "Shut up, bastard."
To make sure that he did, Naruto seized his lips. Unencumbered by the lack of response, Naruto secured Sasuke's bottom lip with a confident tug, his tongue careful and teasing, and then released him.
The look of honest surprise on Sasuke's flustered face was worth it. Naruto grinned and reached for the first aid items in his pouch.
"Told you." Naruto pulled out gauze and field glue, then handed the items to Sasuke in expectation he'd bandage the wound. "Just a kiss. Just friends."
Sasuke took the items, deliberated on whether or not to mention there had also been just a fuck, and decided against it.
.
.
It was an exceptionally hot and humid afternoon with no relief of cloud coverage in sight. Attempting to find shade, they trained in the thickets of woods instead of the cleared grounds. Sakura ran the back of her hand over her forehead to wipe the sweat off. Her eyes were closed tight, her fists clenched even tighter, as she tried to focus on conjuring the expansive genjutsu.
"You're doing it wrong." Sasuke's unimpressed remark came from behind her.
"How can you even tell?" She was spiteful, and focused harder.
"I can tell."
Sensing his utter confidence about it, Sakura forfeited her pride. "What, pray tell, am I doing wrong?"
"You're trying too hard."
"Well of course I am," Sakura sputtered. "How else can I ensure it's perfect?"
Sasuke almost snorted. Typical Sakura; always striving for perfection, even if she'd already surpassed it.
"You have to loosen up," he explained. "You can't keep trying, keep focusing. You have to let go."
It was only their second attempt at his training her on performing advanced genjutsu and she was feeling more defeated than she'd wanted to admit. Sucking on her bottom lip as she thought, Sakura tried again, considering his instructions as she did it.
At the sight of her taut stance and closed fists, Sasuke shook his head. "I said loosen up, not tighten up."
Sakura scowled, more out of annoyance with herself than with him. "This is impossible. Everything I'm good at is because I can concentrate chakra so well, because I try really fucking hard. I can't just… just let go."
She said it with great disdain. Stubborn though, she half-turned toward Sasuke. "What other jutsus do I know that require 'letting go'?"
"None."
At the narrowing of her eyes, he shrugged and clarified. "It's only with genjutsu. Why do you think most shinobi never excel in it?"
"I will excel in this." Forceful and brash, as always.
"Not with that attitude." Besides pissing off Naruto, angering Sakura came as a close second in his list of favorite pastimes.
She swallowed her snarl, too determined to succeed to let him discourage her. She turned back toward the forest of trees before them. "Give me some better advice, Sasuke. You're supposed to be training me."
Sasuke thought about it for a moment. With no other jutsu experience to draw upon, nor much life experience to utilize as an example, there was only one analogy that came to mind. "Think about when you orgasm."
Sakura almost stumbled, and she hadn't even been moving on her feet. "Excuse me?"
He couldn't see her face, but he was certain from her tone she was blushing scarlet red. "You heard me. It's the same thing, letting go, loosening up."
Sasuke shouldn't have been surprised when he saw her fists curl again. After another quiet moment, she sighed with even more defeat. "You're going to need to think of something else."
This actually made him pause. Then, finally, "You're serious."
She offered nothing more, but since the conversation had already brought them here, he saw no reason not to continue it. "You can't relate?"
"No, Sasuke-kun." There it was again, the -kun scathing and hateful. "No, I can't."
"So," he mused, thinking of Naruto's hands on her hips at her birthday party a few weeks back. "The dobe couldn't get you off."
She refused to play the 'who's dick is bigger?' game with him and just shook her head. "We were both drunk and exhausted."
Finally annoyed enough, she turned back to him. "Are you going to teach me, or not?"
Sasuke looked at her tense frame; if possible, the recent conversation had only served to tighten her even more. Instinct more than thoughts led him to flash step toward her. He was so close, his chest pressed against her back, that Sakura went to step forward. But he wrapped his arm around her stomach and pulled her back until every inch of her was held against him.
"W-what are you doing?" Her protest sounded weak even to her own ears.
Sasuke's hand traveled from her abdomen to her hips. He slid his thumb under the tight fabric of her black spandex shorts and paused, his chin dipping to the base of her neck. "Do you want me to teach you," he slid his thumb further down, gracing the edge of her pelvic bone, "or not?"
Sakura swallowed. He pressed his lips to her neck and waited for her to decide. This close, he could hear the rapid beating of her heart, see the nervous droplets of sweat forming at her temple. And then, he could feel the way her shoulders loosened in consent before she verbalized it.
"Alright." Her frame went lax against him. "Teach me."
Sasuke took his time as he trailed his fingers from her waistline down the center of her spandex. He watched her lips part in anticipation, and then found her other lips, intent to feel her squirm as he deliberately teased her. Her breathing became shallow as she withheld breaths, and Sasuke pulled his lips up to her ear, biting her lobe, sucking at it. "Relax, Sakura."
Relax. She took a deep breath to listen to him, and when she did, he slid his first finger inside of her.
"Shit," she whispered, weakened and wet. Sakura reached back to hold him, and he dug his chin into the top of her shoulder to hold her tighter to him.
Sasuke's fingers were a pianist performing their best solo in a symphony. He was deep and exploratory inside of her, and slow and skilled as he alternated patterns with her clit. Whenever he felt her shoulders tighten or hips pull back from him, he kissed her neck, coaxed her to relax, and sucked hard enough to leave welts that would need to be healed or hidden later.
She bit her lip to quell the primal sounds fighting to be released and Sasuke knew it was another thing she thought she could control.
"I want to hear you." He slid a third finger into her, filling her.
This time, Sakura couldn't help but cry out.
It was nearing what felt too good, too close to completion, too unfamiliar, and Sakura started to shake her head.
"Let go," he whispered sternly; it sounded like a threat, she knew it was a promise.
Sasuke didn't relent, consistent in his rhythm that brought her to a climax. Sakura shuddered against him as the waterfall of ecstasy flooded up and through her.
"O-ooh." Her lips were parted from so much pleasure it looked like she was riddled with pain. When he looked at her, the height of her cheekbones tinged in rose petal pink and her emerald orbs glazed and distant, he smirked. There was something entirely too satisfying about seeing this new look about her, and more than that, something fulfilling in knowing he was the first man to bring her into this state.
"Now," he said, releasing his fingers from her wet pussy, regretting the circumstances ended their encounter here. Later, he'd have to finish himself. He knew the memory of her wetness, her cries, and this startled look on her face, would be enough for him. "Now, you can relate."
"Mmhm," she murmured distantly. "Al-alright."
It took a few moments before she gathered her bearings enough to continue with the training.
.
.
"Sasuke said you're quite the natural at performing layered genjutsu," Kakashi complimented.
Sakura choked on her miso pork. Alarmed, Naruto placed a hand behind her and began to pat her back. She brushed him away, insisting she was fine, her sudden blush misinterpreted as a result from the choking. Though it was Sasuke sitting directly across from her, and she thought she saw his smirk from her peripheral vision, she refused to look up to him.
"Y-yeah." She gripped her chopsticks. "Yeah, I'm working on it."
"That's good," Kakashi said. "Between advanced-level genjutsu, your chakra scalpels, and mastery of two elemental chakra natures, not to mention excessive chakra strength and medical ninjutsu, you'll be ready to test for jonin soon."
"Doesn't she need a letter of recommendation from a superior?" Naruto asked.
No doubt beneath his mask there was a proud smile as Kakashi admitted that part had already been taken care of.
"Oh," Sakura murmured. "Thank you, Kaka-sama. I'm honored."
When she made the mistake of meeting Sasuke's dedicated gaze, he somehow managed to look even more smug. "Congrats, Sakura."
She took another bite of pork and chewed it carefully before answering. "What can I say, I have an exceptional teacher."
.
.
It was late when Sasuke returned from assisting Sai on a covert ANBU operation. Well past midnight, Sasuke assumed the Hokage Tower would be emptied when he planned to drop off the mission notes. Yet it was Naruto who remained, looking more like a ghost than a man as he sat silently in his office.
"What're you still doing here?" Sasuke asked.
It was as if Naruto hadn't heard him, nor even acknowledged his presence. Sasuke let himself into the office and stared at his best friend.
"Naruto."
Finally, the dobe looked up. It was the same look in his glass blue eyes as Sasuke had seen during memorial services for killed comrades. Something about it made Sasuke's stomach churn.
"Who am I kidding, Sasuke?" Naruto shoved the papers off the desk. "I was just a stupid kid screaming at anyone who would listen. I was messed up, and desperate for attention. But this… this… Become the Hokage? Fuck. I can't actually do it."
Minimal light from the moon filtered into the office and Sasuke wondered if he was seeing right. Naruto's eyes were strained and bloodshot. Sasuke tried to remember if there'd been another time he'd seen Naruto this discouraged, but he couldn't. The dobe might get nervous or sometimes bashful, but he never considered giving up. Never.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke knew he should be more sensitive, but instead he was terse. It was ludicrous of Naruto to suddenly shy away from the responsibility now. He'd spent his entire life working toward this dream.
"Oh don't fuck with me, bastard." Naruto glared at him. "You've never thought I'd be competent."
For some reason, Sasuke felt this as an insult. He frowned as Naruto stood up, tossing more papers into the trash. Whatever had set the dobe off had him spiraling down swiftly.
Sasuke was silent, unsure what to do or say, when Naruto made his way to exit the office. "I gotta go tell Kaka-sama before I lose what balls I have left. It's done. I'm done."
Naruto started to walk past him, but Sasuke grabbed him. Too unfocused, Naruto was caught off-guard and stumbled when Sasuke tossed him back toward his desk.
"Get off me." It wasn't the nine-tailed fox seeping through his skin, but it was a similar foreign maliciousness as when Naruto had been a teen and Kurama was still a stranger trapped within him.
"What's gotten into you?" Sasuke jerked his head toward the trashed papers and disheveled desk.
"You heard me." Naruto's anger was scalding, but even through it, Sasuke heard the undercurrent in his tone. It wasn't anger, but fear. It wasn't fury, but sadness. "I can't do it, Sasuke. I can't be…"
Sasuke stared at him. "Can't be someone your parents would be proud of? In case you fail, and have to think about how they'd be disappointed?"
Naruto's eyes widened. What few memories he had of his father, the bold, brave Fourth Hokage, and his mother, wild and strong with her long, red hair, flooded his mind.
"I'd never be half as good as my dad," Naruto said quietly. "And you know it."
It was Sasuke's turn to get angry, and he shook his head with it. "No, I don't know it, Naruto."
Naruto blinked. It was hard to tell if it was exhaustion or sadness that caused tears in his bloodshot eyes.
"You should have talked to me sooner," Naruto said, blaming him. "Really talked to me. Made me come to my senses. Being the Hokage, Sasuke? I'm not cut out for that. I never have been, and I never will be."
It wasn't exhaustion. A single tear slipped down Naruto's cheek and he wiped it away, furious about it.
"Now I'm going to talk to Kaka-sama, so get out of my way." Naruto was as serious as Sasuke had ever seen him.
This time when Naruto tried to walk past Sasuke, the Uchiha grabbed him and didn't toss him across the room, but clutched his shirt and dragged him closer.
"Look at me." Sasuke was no less serious.
Annoyed, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm to remove him, but the latter held a stronger grip. Naruto's eyes flashed bitterly as he listened to Sasuke and finally looked at him.
"You're not the screaming idiot kid," Sasuke told him, unflinching. "You never were."
Confused, Naruto's grip on Sasuke's arm loosened.
"You were honest, fearless, and you loved the people in this village who didn't deserve the half of it. You loved me when I didn't deserve any of it. You didn't just shout about being the future Hokage until people listened, you earned it. You proved your worth."
Naruto frowned. "Proved what? That I was powerful only because I was a jinchuriki? That I was too stubborn to care about being smart or disciplined? I didn't prove anything besides how to be a reckless showoff."
Sasuke lost his temper. He tightened his grip on Naruto's wrist and pulled him closer. "This village and its leaders took everything from me. Everyone I loved. My entire family, my entire clan. I should have burned this village down to the ground."
He'd pulled Naruto so close their foreheads touched. "But I didn't. I trusted that you would make it right. You would do things different - better. I believed in you. Not because of your jinchuriki power, or your annoying, stubborn exclamations. Because of you. You're going to be the next Hokage, and you're going to be the best one this village has had."
Naruto's chest heaved as if they'd been exhausted after sparring, not from fighting off his emotions. He looked at Sasuke, at the sincerity in his best friend's visage, and couldn't refute him. It cracked him open, made him vulnerable.
"I'm afraid," Naruto admitted. "Fuck, I'm terrified."
"I know." For the first time, Sasuke's tone softened. "But that doesn't mean you can give up."
With their foreheads pressed together, it felt as if Naruto could physically gather strength from Sasuke, channeling the bastard's confidence until it became his own. To Naruto, in that moment, it felt like that was exactly how it happened.
"You're not doing this alone, Naruto. You're not the orphan kid on his own anymore."
Only Sasuke could read his mind and see straight through his soul. Naruto exhaled, not just letting go of a breath, but also the fear, and the loneliness, he'd harbored inside of his chest. Seeing the acceptance, the familiar glint of hope and determination as it returned to Naruto's watery cerulean eyes, Sasuke's lips twitched to half a smile.
"Now go get your shit out of the trash."
But he didn't let go of Naruto, and Naruto didn't move away from him, either.
"Thank you," Naruto said quietly, gripping Sasuke's forearm tighter.
Sasuke just looked at him for a moment. Then, finally, he nodded.
Later, neither of them could be sure who moved first. Staring into each other's eyes, holding each other so closely, lips already placed less than an inch apart, it was a kiss initiated in unison. This time, when Naruto pulled Sasuke's bottom lip to his tongue, the latter's response was warm and instant. They held onto each other so tight there'd be bruises to remind them in the morning that it wasn't just a kiss, it was several.
.
.
He listened to her as she spoke in earnest, waving her arms enthusiastically, emphasizing points with her wide, excited eyes. The Konoha Children's Mental Health Clinic had been open and operating for one full year and she'd finished analyzing the first set of data on how treatments for post-traumatic stress fared with those under ten compared to the young teens.
Sasuke poured her a third cup of tea. He added a spoonful of honey and dash of cinnamon, the way he knew she liked it in the early afternoons, and then handed it to her.
"An overactive amygdala is what causes half the probl- Oh, thank you - half the problems with sleeplessness. The anxiety skyrockets, you know? So, we found that if we can identify the now-harmless scenarios in which the amygdala starts to activate, like at bedtime, and then interrupt it for at least three minutes, like moving the child into another room to do another activity, then we can reprogram the triggered response and decrease the anxiety symptoms causing restlessness or insomnia."
He poured his own cup of tea and paid careful attention to her. The passionate fervor in which she discussed abuse and trauma in such a clinical, solvable manner provided him more peace than he'd ever admitted to her.
"What do you think?" She asked at her conclusion.
He stared at her. She'd carried the entire conversation thus far, he didn't see why she needed his opinion of the matter now.
"Were you even listening?" Upset, she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Aa." Sasuke put his teacup down. "I was. It's… it's impressive. It's impressive to see that it works. As a child, I would have insisted nothing would."
His honesty surprised her. She blushed some, held the edge of her loose sweater sleeves between the palms of her hands, and then moved to find her tea. It was probably cold now, but she didn't seem bothered.
"It's going to help a lot of children," Sakura said, cradling her tea. "And it's all because of you."
Sasuke shook his head. "I just donated the funds. You're the one doing the work."
"The expensive work nobody else believed in," Sakura added. Her smile was so ecstatic and pure, it made Sasuke realize it was the sort he hadn't seen from her in years. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."
Another thing he wouldn't admit was how often he found himself trying to do things to please her, to get her into a position in which she'd say his name with affection.
Deflecting her gratitude, he asked her about upcoming projects. "What will you do next?"
She was more than glad that he asked. This launched another enthusiastic explanation in which he understood only half of the neurobiological responses and clinical treatment interventions, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. He sat on her sofa and watched her pace through the living room, an actress of medical prowess come to life on the stage in her own home. Only sometimes did he find his eyes wander to the soft plump of her lip as she sucked on it thoughtfully, to her bare shoulders that slipped in and out of the oversized sweater, to the cords of toned muscle in her thighs that flexed as she moved, or to the curve of her ass that almost slipped out from her miniature pajama shorts.
When she finished this time, he ensured she knew he'd been listening by asking a few intelligent questions. She paused her pacing to answer them, but was still too excited and too caffeinated to sit. Sakura stood directly in front of him as she looked down and discussed it with him.
"I wish someone was doing this when you were a child," Sakura said, quiet and cautiously.
Sasuke's shoulders rolled in an unassuming shrug. "It worked out. I turned out alright."
She hummed. "I thank Kami for that every day."
He looked up at her. Her short hair fell in waves that landed at her collarbones, her emerald orbs glistened with excitement and admiration, and the thought occurred to him loudly, that she was beautiful. He wondered how women could spend laborious effort to portray themselves as attractive, but Sakura could stand here in plain pajamas, freshly showered with no attention put to her hair or make-up, and manage to be beautiful.
"You justified that kissing Naruto was only a drunk and meaningless mistake."
Sakura tilted her head. "You justified that finger-fucking me was only a method of training."
This, he thought, was the better part of the damage, pain, and suffering that had been done to her, to them. Her rueful confidence. The fearless attitude. Her bravery when she knew she had nothing left to lose.
"Kiss me like you kissed Naruto."
She blinked. "I can't."
"Because you're not drunk?" They both knew that was a stupid excuse.
"No," she admitted. "Because I kissed Naruto like he was safe. Kissing you would be... dangerous."
He realized she'd said she couldn't kiss him like she'd kiss Naruto. Not that she couldn't kiss him.
"Do I still frighten you?" He asked her, not sure what he wanted her answer to be.
She considered this. "No, not always."
"Are you frightened now?"
Sakura kept her eyes locked onto his as she looked down at him. Honest as always when it came to how she felt about him, she said plainly, "Yes."
She hadn't moved back from where she stood. Standing so close, his eye-level toward her abdomen, it was impossible to not touch her. That was the excuse he'd told himself, at least. Sasuke lifted his one hand to her thigh, wrapped his long fingers around the bottom of her ass, and pressed his thumb into her skin that looked soft as porcelain, felt strong as marble.
"What about fucking me like you fucked Naruto?"
Her lips trembled but they didn't settle and he couldn't tell if they'd been about to smile or frown. "I can't do that either."
"Why not?"
"Because I fucked Naruto to feel good."
"And me?"
"I'd fuck you to make sure you felt good."
What he hadn't expected was to go hard just at the sight of her while she said those words. "You don't think it'd feel good for you, too?"
It was a smile, not a frown. "Oh, I know it would."
Sasuke lifted his grip around her leg up toward her waistline. He traveled his thumb over the loose fabric of her shorts, found the outer lips of her pussy, started to tease her, wondering how wet he could make her before even touching skin.
"There's no justification this time." It was a question, even if it didn't sound like one; he was asking for her, and she knew it.
Sakura leaned over, pushed his torso so that he'd turn at an angle in which she could climb into his lap, and straddled her legs around him. Underneath her, she felt his cock, hardened in hopes that it would soon be inside of her.
"We don't need one," she decided.
Sakura pressed herself into his hard member as she wrapped both her arms around him. Sasuke went for her neck, remembering last time when he'd wanted to explore more of her, but couldn't. This time she wasn't salted from sweat, but sweetened from a recent shower. When he found her lips, he hovered over them, waiting to see how she'd respond. They'd never kissed before.
Kissing you would be dangerous.
Sakura was gentle but sure when she took the initiative to close the distance between them. The plump lips he'd watched for years as she talked, slept, fought, or cried were for the first time meeting his own. When Sasuke kissed her, he thought she might be able to sense he'd staved off the temptation for too long, too often. He slid his hand up her sweater and felt the warm, soft skin under her breast, and held her as he pulled her closer, kissed her deeper. Her hips rocked slowly, their instinctual need to invite him into her, and he held off for as long as possible.
She tasted like honey, like cinnamon, and like Sakura. Now he knew what Sakura tasted like.
When they'd both lost their senses and fumbled through removing each other's clothes, unwilling to separate their lips from each other for too long, she insisted on being on top. He sat taut, his back pressed to the sofa, as she climbed back into his lap, straddling him carefully. He gripped her thigh, impressed that someone so strong could be so soft.
"It's not too late to change your mind," he told her, but she pulled his hair to force him back to her lips.
"Please," she whispered between their next kiss, her lithe hand between both of their legs as she held his cock in earnest and slid his head between her wetness, up and down against her, not yet in.
Sasuke groaned and took his cock, too, and finally, Kami, finally after all these years of yearning and lusting, he finally pushed himself inside of her.
"Oh," Sakura gasped. "O-ooh."
She held him as she moved him within her, strong and steady, and he took his own advice, letting go of any control he thought he had. He cupped her right breast, wished for the first time that he had both of his hands, and tongued her perked nipples, taking his time with each of them, treasuring each of her moans.
This time, when she finished, it was his name that she whimpered. "Ooh, Sasuke-kun."
He came inside of her soon after, knowing it was hopeless now that he knew this was how he could get her to call out his name like that.
.
.
"You two are acting strange around each other." Naruto wasn't half the clueless idiot Sasuke had nicknamed him to be.
"Hn."
"What happened?" Naruto wiggled his brows. "Come on, I told you what happened between me and Sakura-chan."
"No you didn't. I figured it out. There's a difference."
"Did you just admit something happened then?" Naruto grinned, proud of himself for trapping the Uchiha in a corner.
"Hn." Sasuke was many things, but a liar wasn't one of them. He had no plans to boast, and no plans to pretend it hadn't happened, either.
"It did," Naruto exclaimed. He was so confident that Sasuke didn't see the point in a false pretense any longer.
"Leave it alone."
"Oh, so you were both wasted?"
When Sasuke didn't answer, Naruto actually lifted a brow in genuine surprise. "Huh."
"Shut up, dobe."
Naruto laughed. "I didn't say anything, bastard."
Sasuke's glare was half-hearted, and even he knew it.
Naruto whistled. "She might have fucked me, but she made love to you."
When Sasuke didn't refute this either, Naruto came up close, haughty and laughing as he reached below Sasuke's waistline, expertly finding his dick to hold, caressing him through the fabric until he went hard.
"Tell me," Naruto whispered, fox-grinned from his own arousal, "Are you wondering how I'll compare?"
Sasuke shoved Naruto away, annoyed with his own ethics that postulated he shouldn't lie to his best friend. Naruto, satisfied at the wordless confirmation, pulled back with a final laugh, then withdrew a kunai from his pouch, ready to spar.
.
.
Sasuke thought about both of them.
When he had painful nightmares of his clan's massacre and his parents being murdered in front of his own two eyes, he woke in a torrential sweat, a slamming heartbeat. He wished it was Sakura next to him, who would hold him, pull him toward her, slide him inside of her as she promised everything would be alright, everything that was broken could become whole again, until he believed her, believed that she'd make him alright, make him whole again.
When he had terrifying nightmares of what horrors he'd done, the betrayals and murders, and worse, the innocent lives he knew he'd planned to take, he woke with silent shivers, a cold chill down his spine. He wished it was Naruto next to him, who would kiss him with ease, hold him too tight, penetrate his body and soul, promising that he knew him, he knew that goodness still existed in the corners of his dark heart, until Sasuke believed him, believed for himself that he was good and worthy again.
Sasuke thought about both of them, and wanted both of them.
.
.