Sakura had a spring in her step when she went to work that day. Uchiha Sasuke loves me. she thought to herself over and over again. Me! She couldn't stop smiling to herself as she made her usual rounds, tending to patients and checking on the other staff. The other nurses noticed her happiness and whispered their theories amongst themselves, but Sakura paid them no attention. Nothing could bring her down today.

To be honest, Sakura hadn't even completely realized that she herself harbored true feelings for the Uchiha. She had been interested in getting to know him again, of course. And she had always thought he was attractive. But after spending so much time together, hearing him say the words "I love you" had awoken all of her old feelings for Sasuke, and she knew that she had never really stopped loving him.

She was so eager to get home and see him again that she left work an hour early, after making sure that all of her current patients had been attended to. She was surprised to see Sasuke already waiting outside the hospital doors for her.

"How did you know I would leave early?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Maybe I perched outside your office window and heard you tell Shizune about your plans."

"How often do you spy on me like that?" Sakura asked playfully, raising an eyebrow.

"Every day." Sasuke answered honestly.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Really?"

Sasuke nodded, scuffing his foot on the ground. "I need to know that you're safe."

Only Sasuke could love someone so fiercely, Sakura thought to herself with a grin. "That's very sweet of you." she said, taking his hand in hers as they walked home.

"Nothing for me to carry?" Sasuke asked mildly, looking for her usual stack of patient files.

"Not today!" Sakura said cheerfully. "I left them behind for once. And someone was too busy making out with me this morning to send me an orchid." she teased, squeezing his hand.

Sasuke blushed at her use of the term "making out". He was still very new to the world of physical affection; it excited him and made him anxious all at once.

They walked in comfortable silence until they arrived home. Sakura walked in the door and sighed happily, relishing the cool air that filled the house.

"The air conditioning is fixed!" she said happily.

"Hn." Sasuke nodded, shutting the front door. "Just for you."

Sakura smiled sweetly and kissed Sasuke on the cheek; unlike Sasuke, she was not shy of affection. "Thank you." She made her way into the kitchen to find something to eat, leaving Sasuke blushing again.

Sasuke was struggling with his earlier declaration of love. It wasn't something that he had planned to say; he had just kind of blurted it out in the moment. That wasn't to say that it wasn't true; he had already decided that he most certainly loved Sakura. But to be honest, Sasuke had never had much experience with intimacy, and he did not know how to proceed now that his feelings were out in the open. He wasn't sure what was considered to be normal; he also did not want to move too quickly.

Intimate relationships were also foreign to Sakura for the most part, but being a social girl, she'd heard enough gossip from her friends and been on enough casual dates to know the basics. She also had no problem following her instincts, while Sasuke was much more cautious.

"So," Sasuke began awkwardly as Sakura made herself a sandwich.

"Hm?" Sakura asked, spreading mayonnaise.

"Um," Sasuke faltered.

"Someone seems a bit tongue-tied tonight." Sakura giggled. "Is everything okay?"

"Hn."

Sakura took a bite of her sandwich. "Is it because of what happened this morning?" she asked.

Sasuke shook his head quickly. "No."

"Because if you'd rather pretend it didn't happen and go back to just keeping each other company, I'm okay with that." she reassured him. "I know you're not really looking for a relationship, and I don't expect you—"

"How do you know what I want?" Sasuke interrupted her curiously, but not rudely.

"Well, I just figured…since you've been gone for so long…and I mean, you've never been the type of guy to have a girlfriend…"

Sasuke moved closer to her, lifting her chin to look him in the eye. "You're right. I've never wanted a girlfriend." he agreed. "But I don't want you as my girlfriend."

Sakura frowned. "Oh. I guess I just thought—"

"I want you as more than just my girlfriend." Sasuke interrupted. "I don't know what the future holds, but I don't just want you temporarily." he assured her, grabbing her hand. "I've put a lot of thought into this, and I know you're what I want." he said plainly.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You've 'put a lot of thought into this'? Just how long have you been interested in me?"

Sasuke smirked, gesturing to the house and all of its contents. "Ever since I bought all of this."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "What do you mean?"

Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly. "I was trying to get you to spend time over here with me. I wanted to turn this into a space that you'd feel comfortable in." He met her gaze steadily. "I wanted you to call this place home."

Sakura felt her heart melting. "Sasuke," she said softly, putting the rest of her sandwich down and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. She felt him stiffen momentarily with surprise before he placed his arms around her waist.

"I had no idea." Sakura whispered in his ear. "But thank you. I love being here with you every night."

Sasuke suddenly had an idea. "You should move in. Permanently."

Sakura pulled back to look at his face. "Really? You'd like that?"

Sasuke nodded firmly. "Think about it: how often do you actually go back to your apartment these days?"

Now that Sakura thought about it, the answer was "very seldom". She did her laundry at Sasuke's house, kept her favorite foods at his house, bathed at his house – everything.

"I suppose there's no point continuing to pay rent if I'm not there…"

"It's settled. On your next day off, you're moving in." Sasuke decided.


That night, both Sasuke and Sakura found themselves feeling a little more awkward than usual as they crawled into bed together. Neither of them knew how to proceed after their rather intimate encounter earlier that morning.

Is he expecting more? Sakura wondered.

Am I supposed to make the next move? Sasuke asked himself.

They sat in awkward silence for several minutes before Sasuke's curiosity got the best of him.

"Sakura," he began. "I told you before that I've never been with a girl, but you never mentioned if you've…" he trailed off, his cheeks turning the lightest shade of pink.

Is Sasuke trying to make conversation? Sakura had to fight off the urge to giggle. "Well, I've been on a few dates. But I've never done anything serious."

Sasuke looked perplexed. "When you say 'serious', what exactly does that mean?"

Now it was Sakura's turn to blush. "Um, well, I guess you could say that I've been to second base, but just barely." she admitted.

Sasuke didn't need to tell Sakura that he didn't understand; the look on his face said it all.

"You don't know the bases?" Sakura asked, stifling another giggle.

Sasuke scowled at her.

Sakura tried to compose herself and quickly failed. "Sorry, I guess you and Orochimaru probably didn't cover the sexual bases in your training." she snickered.

Sasuke's resulting glare would have paralyzed anyone who had not known him for as long as Sakura had.

"Alright, alright." she said, taking a deep breath and pulling herself together. "Getting to second base with someone means that you've passed first base, which is kissing, and now you're doing things with your hands." she explained, feeling a little embarrassed.

"So what did you mean when you said you've 'just barely' made it to second base?" Sasuke asked, smirking as he watched Sakura struggle.

"Um, most people our age take their clothes off by the time they get to second base, but I've always kept them on." she explained shyly.

"Interesting." Sasuke mused. "But I seem to remember you taking them off last night."

"That's only because you told me to!" she said, shoving him playfully.

"So are you telling me that you've gone farther with me than you've gone with any other guy?"

"Yes." Sakura admitted, blushing. She saw a satisfied smirk appear on Sasuke's face. "But I don't know why you think that's so funny, since you were too busy getting revenge to be interested in girls." she pointed out. "Unless you did something with that redhead and you're just not telling me." she said slyly.

Sasuke shook his head, scoffing. "No way. Karin was even more annoying than you were."

"Hey!" Sakura shoved him again. "Do you still think I'm annoying?"

Sasuke looked at her. "Of course not."

"Not even a little bit?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Everyone can be annoying at some point. But on the whole, no, I don't think you're annoying anymore. If I did, I wouldn't have asked you to move in with me."

That made Sakura smile. She scooted closer to him and reached up to run her fingers through his hair absentmindedly. Sasuke closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura purred into his ear. "If I'm moving in, does that mean we're officially together?"

"If that's what you want." he answered huskily, recognizing her use of the suffix as a sign of flirtation.

Sakura nodded, continuing to play with his hair. "I just want you to know that since we're officially together, you don't have to hold back anymore."

"Mmmm," Sasuke moaned softly. "I don't?"

"Not at all," Sakura said seductively, nibbling on his ear. "If you're curious about anything…or if you have any urges…feel free to let me know, and I'll help in any way that I can."

God, Sasuke thought, she is so fucking hot. Never in a million years had he imagined that Sakura could be so provocative. He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her neck as she straddled him. "I don't even know where to begin." he growled between kisses.

Sakura sighed softly as he kissed under her jaw. He's good, for someone with no experience. "We could start here." She slowly pulled off her tank top and threw it on the floor, revealing the bra that Sasuke had seen lying on the floor the previous night.

Sasuke's eyes widened with lust. "I like that idea."

Sakura tugged at the hem of his shirt. "You, too!"

Sasuke quickly removed his own shirt and tossed it aside. "Happy?" he asked with a smirk.

Sakura nodded, running her hands down his torso; feeling his muscles. Sasuke relished her touch while his eyes wandered over her body hungrily. Her black lace bra contrasted nicely against her ivory skin, and the low-rise waist of her red shorts showed off her hips. His fingers itched to take off the rest of Sakura's clothing, but he refrained from doing so.

"Do you like what you see?" Sakura asked, feeling slightly self-conscious.

Sasuke pushed her backward onto the bed and hovered above her, touching his forehead to hers with affection. "You're beautiful." he said sincerely. "I can't get enough." he said, kissing her neck again as she giggled lightheartedly. "In fact," he said, gently tugging at the waist of her shorts, "I want more."

Sakura blushed, looking away from him.

Sasuke paused his kissing to look into her eyes. "Do you want to stop?" He had no intention of pushing her past her limits, despite his raging hormones.

She shook her head. "No, no. I'm just feeling a little…nervous."

Sasuke frowned slightly. "Please don't. You're gorgeous."

"I guess I just…" Sakura trailed off, embarrassed. "I guess I just never thought I'd be doing all of this with the great Uchiha Sasuke." she finished, averting her eyes.

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle. "Are you intimidated by me?"

Sakura nodded sheepishly.

Sasuke touched his forehead to hers, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Listen to me." he said softly. "Don't be intimidated. I have no idea what I'm doing. You're in control here."

Sakura perked up a little bit. "Really?"

"Yes." Sasuke said, trailing kisses from the base of her throat down to her chest. "Just tell me what you want."

With Sasuke's reassurance, Sakura's moment of embarrassment had passed, and now she was pulling off Sasuke's pajamas pants, revealing his boxer shorts. She then pulled down her own shorts, tossing them confidently across the room. After dimming the lights, she wrapped her arms around Sasuke and pulled him closer so that his chest was pressed up against her breasts.

"I want you to make out with me and tell me that you love me." she whispered silkily into his ear.

Sasuke grinned as he lifted Sakura from the bed and cradled her in his arms. "Anything for you." he said, gently kissing her on the lips for the first time all night.

Kissing her made his head spin and his heart flutter. Although he initiated the kiss, he followed her lead; he truly had no idea what he was doing. He only knew that he could touch her and kiss her like this for hours and never get enough of her. He had been starved of physical affection for nearly his entire life, and now that he had it, he never wanted to lose it.

"Sakura," he breathed, looking into her eyes. "I lo—"

But Sakura never heard Sasuke finish his sentence, because there was a sudden explosion from the direction of the front of the house; it sounded like someone had smashed their way through the front door. Sasuke realized that the intruder was far too loud to be a serious enemy, and his thoughts were confirmed when his bedroom door burst open and none other than Uzumaki Naruto was standing there, struggling to catch his breath.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted, doubling over in an effort to breathe. He had run all the way to the Uchiha district from across town. "Sasuke, wake up! I can't find Sakura anywhere! I've been waiting for her all day, and she never came home from work!" he hollered into the darkness, assuming that Sasuke was asleep.

"Calm down, you idiot!" Sasuke barked as Sakura hurried to cover her exposed body.

"You don't understand!" Naruto said with exasperation, flipping on the overhead light. "Sakura isn't – oh my God! Sakura-chan?!" Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the pink-haired woman in bed with the Uchiha.

Sakura's face matched her hair as she blushed furiously, pulling the sheets up to her chin. Sasuke, on the other hand, was giving his orange-clad teammate a death glare.

Naruto continued to stare at the two, looking from one to the other. "Wait, what's going on here? Sakura-chan? Sasuke? Are you guys—"

"Naruto, let us explain—" Sakura interjected.

"—having sex?!" Naruto finished, flabbergasted.

"Shut up!" Sasuke said irritably, leaping from the bed to push Naruto out of his room. "Now that you know Sakura is safe, get out of my house." he growled, shoving Naruto down the hall toward the front door.

"Hey! You can't just kick me out! I have lots of important questions!"

"We'll talk later." Sasuke said tersely, ushering Naruto outside. "I'll even take you out for ramen if you keep your mouth shut about this." Sasuke said, trying very hard to keep his voice level.

Naruto took a moment to think about Sasuke's offer. "Alright, we have a deal. But you better not hurt Sakura-chan, or I'll kick your ass, do you understand?" Naruto's voice had taken on a more serious tone, and he looked at Sasuke with a threatening look in his eyes.

"You have my word." Sasuke said genuinely. I have no intentions of ever hurting her, you idiot, because I love her. he thought to himself, rolling his eyes. "And you owe me a new front door!" he said, gesturing to the splintered pieces of wood that littered the entryway of his home.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I was in a hurry."

"Clearly." Sasuke scoffed, raising an arm in farewell as Naruto left the property to pursue some instant ramen and his warm bed. Sasuke wasn't very worried about the front door, since the Uchiha district was completely deserted. But just for general principle, he searched the linen closet and hung a thick blanket over the doorway to ensure their privacy and to keep the newly-restored air conditioning within the house.

When he returned to his bedroom, a very sleepy Sakura was curled up in the middle of the bed, barely awake. She had stolen Sasuke's T-shirt from the floor and was now wearing it as a makeshift nightgown. She opened her eyes when she heard Sasuke enter the room.

"Is he gone?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, he's gone. And he's going to keep his mouth shut."

Sakura smiled sleepily. "I'm glad you didn't kill him."

Sasuke chuckled. "He's so dumb, he doesn't even realize what he did wrong." He turned off the overhead light that Naruto had turned on, and he crawled back into bed next to Sakura. He then turned off the lamp next to the bed and pulled the drowsy girl into his arms. Sakura tucked her head under his chin; he felt her sigh in relaxation.

"I'm sorry we didn't get to finish…" Sakura said softly.

Sasuke kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry about it, you can go to sleep. You've got to be at work tomorrow morning."

"Mmmm, goodnight, Sasuke." Sakura said, nuzzling into him as she drifted off to sleep.

Once he was certain that Sakura was fast asleep, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and finished his earlier thought that Naruto had rudely interrupted.

"I love you, Sakura."


A/N: Naruto is the best plot device! Also, I really enjoy watching these characters struggle through awkward moments. I feel like Sakura and Sasuke are both so inexperienced that they just don't know how to handle all of these new developments in their relationship. Also, thank to everyone who reviewed the last chapter – you guys gave my three times as many reviews as I was hoping for! Now, my goal for each chapter will be ten reviews, so keep it up!

Side note: I had one reviewer say that they're disappointed I won't be writing any lemons, and to that, I say: Sorry! Honestly, I love a good lemon just as much as the next person, but I just don't feel comfortable writing them myself. Hopefully this story will have enough sexual fluff without the need for any lemons.