The detective could see the mischievousness in Sakura's gaze as she came down, but he was too distracted by what he saw to take stock of it. The other night when she'd inadvertently given him a view, he hadn't had much of a chance to do any admiring, but seeing her now, he could.
She was a small girl with very petite curves; he could see that her body was well-toned, but she maintained a slim figure with it. Her chest wasn't massive; if he was honest, size wasn't a factor for him. Every one of her curves was perfectly proportioned, making her appear tiny and adorable.
He could also see one other thing: the scar that marred the right side of her chest. Just seeing it caused a flare of anger; it was directed both at the man who had caused it and at himself. It was an incident he was never going to forget, and perhaps one that would take a while for him to forgive himself for. He regretted ever saying what he had that night to Naruto. He'd never meant to hurt her that way, and the fact that it had led to her getting attacked in her home like that just made the situation worse.
Sasuke was quick to react to her playful challenge, though she had a head start; she was on the beach by the time he reached the edge of it, but he was gaining on her. She was so playful sometimes and in unexpected ways. It gave him a rush of energy, gaining ground on her as she was tossing aside her cover and nearing the water's edge.
He caught up with her right as her feet hit the water, arms wrapping around her waist to catch her and lift her in a twist, eliciting laughter out of her. "Oh no, I've been caught!" She squeaked, laughing and giggling until he put her back on her feet again. "Damn, you're fast. Here I thought I was going to win if I threw you off."
Sasuke smirked down at her. "I chase bad guys for a living. You're not getting away from me." He turned her to face him, playful thoughts running through his head before he dipped down, swooping her up in a carry as she giggled and laughed. "And just for that, you're going in." He took off at a sprint and leaped up onto the dock, inhaling deeply as he leaped off the end into a cannonball, still carrying her.
Sakura shrieked as she hit the water; it was a bit of a cold shock, certainly not what she'd expected! She pushed to the surface next to him, her toes barely finding purchase on the sand; she was a bit short for the depth of the water, but it was just shallow enough that she could maintain her balance. She was laughing and giggling, putting some distance between them before splashing him as payback.
"That was mean," she teased, sticking her tongue out. It was good to see him play like this; it had to be the happiest she'd seen him. Sasuke was even surprised at himself; he'd never in a million years expected he'd feel at ease enough to do something so free-spirited. The effect she had on him was drastic. He liked it.
"You're the one who challenged me. I had to respond." He shrugged and blocked the splashes of water she was throwing in his direction. They were both drenched from head to toe; when he had a moment, he ran a hand through his messy hair, using the moisture to slick it back out of his face. While Sasuke had taken the time earlier to stare at him, she was now returning the favour. With his shirt drenched by the water, she could see a lot more of his figure than she'd expected.
And boy, was it a lot to take in. He was taller than her by almost a foot, but he was leaner than she recalled; he had a very lithe figure compared to others she'd seen. He wasn't the sort of burly, heavy-set detective one would expect. Based on the way his shirt had stuck to him, Sakura could see that he was very toned and muscular underneath, with the occasional bump noticeable, likely from a burn scar. All in all, despite the scarring, his skin was in excellent condition; he must have undergone treatment after treatment to bring him back to a better quality of life after the incident.
"I'm going to go check the fire," Sakura said quickly as she felt the heat rise to her face. She turned and waded out of the water and back to the fire, lifting the grate and tossing a couple more logs back in. Her heart was doing it again; the time she'd spent staring at him, she could feel it racing and thumping in her chest. Mentally trying to calm herself, she didn't hear him coming out of the water until he was behind her, gently wrapping arms around her waist and nuzzling his face against her neck.
"Sakura... thank you," he murmured softly into her hair. "It's been years since I've been able to do anything like this—since I've wanted to do anything like this. So... thank you. For everything." Was he thanking her? Sakura wasn't sure exactly what she'd done to deserve such thanks, but by the tone of his voice and the way he held her, she could tell he truly meant it.
"I... you're welcome, although I'm not sure exactly what it was I did," she replied, relaxing into his embrace. He didn't provide an answer to her query; he chose to remain silent, keeping her close and resting his forehead against her shoulder. Whatever sort of moment he was having, Sakura didn't want to be the one to interrupt it.
And a moment it was. It was a strange sense of relief that almost made him want to cry; he'd never felt more thankful for a person's presence than this moment standing here with her. He knew what emotions he was feeling; it was apparent, even if he didn't want to admit it.
He loved her.
He was falling in love with Sakura Haruno.
Really, what wasn't there to love about her? She was kind and gentle, and she cared deeply about everyone around her. She put everything into taking care of those around her, sometimes so selflessly it was at the cost of her health. She was brilliant, more intelligent than anyone he'd ever met; that intelligence made her an asset, even if at times he felt stupid for not understanding some of the things she talked about. And she was beautiful; she had to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life.
There was still that tiny nagging part of him that spoke; it was a profoundly pessimistic side of him that said that things wouldn't stay wonderful like this forever, that something was bound to go wrong, just like everything else in his life had. He was doing his best to ignore it, despite how loudly it screeched at him. He didn't want to think of things that way. He wanted to watch her be happy. He wanted to see her smile, wanted to hear her laugh... wanted to listen to her hum and sing as she cooked in the kitchen and made terrific food. He knew he was thinking further ahead than he should have, but he couldn't help it. The moment was right for it.
"Um... Sasuke?" Sakura asked as an audible growl could be heard. "I think your stomach is saying it's dinner time," she teased softly. Realizing it was indeed his stomach that had made the noise, he let her go, turning his gaze away in embarrassment.
"Yeah, guess it is. I'll go have some salad and wait for the burgers." How unfortunate that his stomach had interrupted such a moment. Certainly not what he was expecting. Either way, it meant that he would be gearing up to eat her cooking, which was something to look forward to.
Sakura followed him inside and pulled the burgers she'd made the other day out of the fridge, setting a few of them on a plate and carrying them out. She lifted the grate off the fire pit and stirred the coals a bit to expose them, replacing it and setting the burgers on top to start cooking. She was seated by the warm fire when he came back out, a bowl of salad in hand; he'd also brought a small bowl for her, handing it to her as he sat down in the other folding chair.
"You're okay out here?" She asked curiously.
"Yeah. It's... I'm okay outside with one. It's indoors that I get more uncomfortable with fire. This is just coals, anyway, so it's more like just... Warm rocks like you'd get in a sauna." It wasn't easy to describe. "With it being on the sand, there's nothing flammable around that I have to worry about, and the bricks contain it." He took a few bites of his salad, humming in appreciation at the taste.
"Is that why the other day, you..?"
"Yeah. I wanted to try because I thought I could do it, but I haven't tried." He was quiet for a moment. "Truth be told, I haven't ever tried to light a fire in the house since I got there. Well... no, that's not true. I tried. I couldn't do it. That's why I had all of that wood." It was a difficult thing for him to admit, the fact that after so many years, he couldn't bring himself to be involved in any way with fire. He hated it; he was supposed to be a grown man, a cop no less, and he couldn't even do something small like that. Even talking about it now, he felt the need to criticize himself for it internally.
Sakura saw the change in his expression and reached forward, gently resting her hand on his forearm. "It's okay. You don't need to be ashamed of it or beat yourself up over it. I doubt when you were young, they had the kinds of therapy they do today for what you went through. You were a kid, and you were traumatized. It's natural for you to be wary and to be uncomfortable. Trauma is... well, trauma." She chewed her lip before continuing. "To be honest, some days, even when I see your gun, and I know it's your gun, it makes me uneasy. I know you'd never so much as turn it on me, but still... Sometimes, when I look at it, I just remember everything I saw. Everything I went through." Hearing her talk like that, he felt guilty. He'd been responsible for part of that. Reaching an arm around her, he pulled her close and rested his chin on top of her head.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that. The first time, I know there wasn't much I could have done, but the second time... I shouldn't have left you alone, not for a moment." He sighed softly. "I'm just glad I got back in time."
"Don't beat yourself up over it," she replied. "At least... when I woke up, there was someone there for me. Someone I knew I could trust, someone I could rely on. If you hadn't come to my house, I wouldn't have made it. You saved my life, Sasuke. No matter which way you look at it. I could have gone home that night like any normal night, and he would have been there for me. The only difference was that you wouldn't have been on your way over, and you wouldn't have been there in time to save me." How did she always manage to do that? How was it that she could find the silver lining in a situation no matter how it looked from his end?
"I guess you're right," he relented. "And I think your burgers are done," he added with a smirk. "Come on. Let's eat dinner, and then we can relax for the evening."