Disclaimer: Nope, Naruto still isn't mine.
A/N: Good news folks, this fic is officially qualified to be posted on AFF! In other words, this is a lemon 0holds out an yellow citrus fruitThis is a lemon points to a perfectly fine looking car that breaks down every five minutesThis, is a lemon points to 1st scene of chapter 20 of the fic
So, this chapter contains scenes with graphic sexuality, reader discretion is advised. Due to 's policies on lemons, the lemon from this chapter has been cut. If you would like to read it, it is available on both aff and mediaminer. The links are in my profile.
And a huge thank you, hug and cookie go to Fly for helping me write it.
Thanks again to everyone who has been reviewing, especially you, my devoted readers who review every chapter. I can't express how much it means to me. So I'll just have to settle for the inadequacies of Thank you.
Oh, and about the cut on Sakura's hand and Sasuke's arm band things from the ANBU uniform…seeing as I forgot to write it in, we'll just say that those were taken care of in the last chapter sometime between when Sasuke got back and they laid down on the bed…work?
So here's the latest chapter, sorry for the lateness, I've been out of the house a lot of the day and was suffering a migraine for a while. But here it is, and I'll see you all next time -
The Butterfly: Chapter 20
By: Tea Leaf / Banana Soap
As it turned out, he didn't have to do anything.
She shifted suddenly, moving to lie fully on top of him and sliding upwards against him slightly so that their eyes were even.
Her arms were crossed over his chest, lifting her up slightly.
She watched him for a moment, a small secret smile playing on her lips.
He raised his eyebrow slightly at her.
Her smile widened as she pressed her lips to his. Just a soft, chaste contact at first but soon they parted slightly and she pulled his bottom lip between hers, sucking on it gently as he responded by doing the same to her upper one.
/scene cut out here/
She kept her eyes open with sheer force of will. She didn't want to fall asleep. She didn't want to wake up and find out it wasn't real.
Her arms were around his shoulders and neck, holding him to her tightly, his weight pressing her into the mattress.
She loved the full body contact. She loved that he had fallen asleep on her. Part of her didn't want him to wake up, that part just wanted to stay like this forever.
Her eyelids were heavy and she fought off a yawn. Her whole body felt heavy but it was her heart that was the heaviest.
Another part of her wanted to fall asleep and wanted this to be dream. She didn't want to have to deal with the repercussions of tonight. She didn't want to reopen the huge can of worms that constituted her relationship with him. She wanted to be over him.
But she'd never really been over him. She would never really be over him. And in the darkness, she could admit that to herself.
Her arms tightened a bit around him. Now that she could hold on to him, she didn't want to let him go.
Darkness coated the room, alleviated briefly by the faint glimmer of moonlight that filtered through the gauzy curtains. It was warm and secluded, this room. It felt cut off from the rest of the world.
She sighed softly and allowed her eyes to drift shut. Right now she didn't have to let him go. So right now, she wouldn't.
Tsunade adjusted her surgical mask as she stared at the bare slab on which Kakashi rested. His condition hadn't changed. He still looked like a corpse.
He lay naked on the metallic table except for a blanket that hid his body from the waist down. Spidery runes had been painted all over his torso, a large symbol painted over his heart.
Her jaw set beneath her mask. Hopefully, her theory was right and by day's end, Kakashi would be back to his conscious, living self again.
She closed her eyes and performed several seals with her hands. Chakra crackled from her right hand's fingertips. She placed them on his skin, filling the spaces in the pattern that covered his heart.
The words on his skin began to glow and then rushed up Tsunade's fingertips before being channeled into the symbol over Kakashi's heart and disappearing into his blood stream.
Her eyes closed as she gave her utmost concentration to the task at hand.
His eyes cracked open and he winced slightly at the bright sunlight filtering through the window.
But then he smirked. Smugly. He couldn't help it.
His hand reached out beside him expecting to find another body occupying the bed and frowned when he discovered himself alone.
Where did she--- The thought didn't bother to finish itself as the sound of rushing water reached his ears from the direction of the bathroom.
He smirked again.
His ego did too.
He dragged his still naked body out from under the covers of the bed and paused to laugh at himself as he caught a glimpse of his reflection. His hair looked like a rats nest, there was a bluish mark on the curve of his jaw near his right ear and there were several scratch marks on his shoulders and chest. He shook his head and walked into the bathroom. Steam assaulted him.
He glared slightly; she was going to use up all the hot water.
Well, if she didn't intend to leave any hot water for him, he'd simply share her hot water.
He walked over to the shower stall, opened the door and stepped in.
She whipped around and stared at him.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Conserving water." He answered as he moved her out of the way of the hot spray, enjoying the look of the few lingering suds of soap that clung to her wet skin before letting the scalding water wash over him.
She blinked at him for a second, still a little shocked before uttering and indignant "Hey!" and trying to shove him out of the way of the hot spray. He caught her against him easily.
"Good morning." He said before sealing his lips to hers.
She blinked again, taken by surprise once more. She smiled.
"Good morning." She answered as she pulled his head down for another kiss.
A little while and all the hot water later, they found themselves in the kitchen, he in a pair of drawstring pajama pants, she in one of his white button down shirts, both enjoying large cups of coffee as they sat across from each other at the table.
Sakura was sure she was glowing, she felt like she was glowing. She just couldn't seem to wipe the smile off her face or stop looking at him. She really did love to look at him. That mark looks so sexy on his jaw her inner self smirked.
Sasuke was definitely glad he had turned down that mission. He really didn't care what Tsunade tried to do to punish him for it, he'd be able to take it, he felt invincible. His ego was reclining with a definite smirk of satisfaction; his conscience was still in that happy daze mode. He himself was feeling a good deal of both.
He looked back at her across the table. That was how she was supposed to look. Her eyes were bright and open, colored a vibrant shade of sea foam green. Her cheeks had a little color to them; her lips were still a bit swollen. And she was smiling; she was smiling that soft smile he remembered from when they were twelve. That smile she had always saved for him, complimented by his mark that beat with her pulse at the base of her throat.
Neither of them could really think of anything to say at the moment so they simply said nothing and enjoyed the moment.
Tsunade crashed onto the bed in one of the empty sickrooms. She was drained. It had taken her longer than she'd thought to find any lasting traces of the butterfly. It appeared to have been steadily dissolving more and more as time had passed.
The good news though, she'd found the damn insect regardless. So, assuming the rest of her theory was correct as well, all she had to do now was remove the creature and cleanse Kakashi's system of the poison and he would wake up.
The bad news was that the butterfly had lodged itself in a vein that ran along his spinal cord, and was specifically stuck beside the nervous cord that ran through the vertebrae at the base of his skull.
The operation was going to be very dangerous.
She reached out an exhausted hand and pushed the nurse call button. A few moments later a young woman in a pristine uniform stepped through the door.
"Yes, Godaime-sama?" the young woman questioned.
"I'm going to rest for a few hours. I'm going to need a message send out to a few people around the village." She began.
The nurse pulled out a pen and a pad and jotted down the instructions.
A loud pounding came from the door.
Sasuke and Sakura both glared at it, how dare someone interrupt their morning afterglow!
"You know, ever since I put up that sign I seem to be getting harassed even more. I think it must be baiting them." Sasuke muttered as he stood up.
Sakura laughed softly as she watched him go to the door.
There was a brief, muffled conversation followed by the sound of ripping paper and the door closing.
He walked back into the kitchen holding a note in one hand while the other one crumpled up the "Go Away" sign and tossed it into the trash bin.
"What is it?" she asked him as he came back to the table.
"It's from Tsunade. Says that she's figured out what's wrong with Kakashi and that a surgery will be required. However, the surgery is highly risky and so she's suggesting we come and see him before he goes under the knife." He answered as he tossed the note over to her.
She picked it up and read it carefully as her forehead creased into a frown and she bit her lip. Worry clouded her previously clear eyes.
Sasuke watched her, trying very hard to ignore the steel band that had returned its vise-like grip around his lungs.