Chapter 22: Heat

He saw the blood-red eyes and couldn't stop trembling. They seemed to stare directly into his soul and beyond. "Sasuke… I did it for you.. only for you…" A clammy hand touched his cheek and then blood was running down his chin. "Thank you… I knew you would be the one to… to defeat me.."

Suddenly, the image disappeared and the first thing Sasuke could feel was heat. It seemed to engulf his entire body. He sighed quietly and painfully opened his eyes. What he saw was the ceiling of a foreign room. Why was he feeling so hot?

Something blurry appeared within his sight and then he felt a welcome coolness on his forehead. From far away he heard a voice: "You're awake, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura? He turned his head. She was kneeling next to his bed and wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a cool cloth. "You have a fever."

"Sa…kura…" he muttered and tried to sit up.

She immediately pushed him back down. "No, lie down. You need to rest."

"Where the hell are we?" he asked, exhausted. He felt completely helpless.

She stroked his forehead softly. "I wish I knew… We were somewhere in the forest when you collapsed. Thankfully, I found some good Samaritans and they generously offered us a room. There are only a few houses here; I think we should be safe from Orochimaru. We were really lucky."

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"We were separated, do you remember? They were attacked by Sound-nin and we couldn't find them…" she explained. "I hope they're alright. I haven't heard anything from them yet." She glanced out of the window. "There's a heavy storm, I don't think we should expect help any time soon, nor an attack."

"Good," he said slowly and placed his hand against his forehead. It felt as is he was burning up from the inside. "We should get away from here as soon as possible. I don't think the SoundNin will attack again, but we don't know what Orochimaru is planning." He tried to take a look out of the window but couldn't see much from his point of view. "How bad is the weather?"

"It's stormy. And it's still raining hard. You have a high fever; we just can't leave like that."

"Shit" he hissed. "Then we'll leave as soon as the rain stops."

"And as soon as you feel better," she added. "Get some rest, Sasuke. Just try to sleep; I'll take care of you."

Her caring gaze confused him. Maybe it was the fever, but he reached out for her hand. "Why are you doing this? I was about to leave you… again…"

"I'm your wife and I worry about you," she stated simply. He decided to take her advice and get some sleep. The sooner he got rid of the fever, the sooner he'd be able to bring her back home safely.

Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to relax despite the unbearable heat. When he had almost fallen asleep, he heard a noise, and then felt Sakura bend over him and place a soft kiss on his lips. Slightly surprised he opened his eyes, but hers were closed and she didn't realize he was still awake. Why the hell not..? he thought and relaxed again. It felt weird, but he decided not to protest. Even after all this time, he still couldn't get used to the thought that she was his wife now.

Over and over again Sakura jumped because she had almost fallen asleep. She couldn't sleep now; she had to watch over Sasuke. She couldn't remember how long it had been since he had woken up the last time. He had slept through at least half the day.

A glance out of the window proved that it was already late, maybe 8 p.m. or later. Soon it would get dark outside and it was still raining. With the coming of the night, the room's temperature became cold. She had used all the blankets she could find to tuck Sasuke in, except the one she was wrapped up in. She was so glad she had found this place. The few men and women who lived here had been very friendly and helped her to bring Sasuke into this room. They had offered her something to eat but she wasn't hungry. For Sasuke, there was some cold food ready, in case he became hungry. For the rest of the night, she had asked the people who lived here to leave her alone with him.

She looked at her husband and his state worried her. He was now trembling and she took the wet cloth away to feel his forehead. He was still feverish. But now he seemed to be cold, he was shivering. She whispered his name, concerned. She remembered what Tsunade had said about the fever. But they had obviously been very close to Orochimaru and maybe the curse had gotten stronger again. There was no doctor in this settlement, so she had no choice but to wait until the weather got better and she could get some help.

It was really cold in here. She shivered slightly. By now she was sure that as long as the weather was this bad, no one would attack them. When they had arrived she had stripped herself and Sasuke down to their underwear because their clothes had been soaking wet. She disposed her blanket and quickly lay down next to Sasuke, crawling under the sheets. He groaned, but didn't wake up when she placed her arms around him and tried to find some sleep as well.

Sakura awoke from an uneasy sleep when she felt someone touch her face. When she opened her eyes, she was staring directly into obsidian orbs. At first she was surprised, until she remembered where they were.

She attempted to raise her hand and feel his forehead, but she was so close to him that she could hardly move her arms. It was strange that he made no attempt to keep the usual distance from her. She knew that Sasuke hated close proximity. In his eyes she could see that he was feeling better, so the sudden change of mind couldn't be cause by the fever. "Sasuke, how do you feel?" she asked carefully.

"Better," he replied hoarsely. His body didn't feel as hot as before. "But still, I feel… strange…" Sakura wanted to reply, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. Being so close to him, both of them half-naked felt… weird. She couldn't think of a better word but something was different. A lot of things had happened lately and both of them had changed. Why was he still staring at her like that? She couldn't find the usual coldness in his eyes, nor the hint of hatred his gaze always possessed when he looked at her.

She licked her lips and forced herself to say something. "I'm so glad, that you're feeling b-" She was interrupted when he moved forward and kissed her. Sakura was so surprised, that, at first, her only reaction was to open her eyes wide. And what was even more surprising was that his eyes were closed. She couldn't remember if he had ever kissed her with his eyes closed. When he broke the contact, she whispered his name quietly; unsure of what he was up to.

He pressed his forehead against hers and said softly: "I'm… happy, that you came after me and stopped me, Sakura." His words were so out of character that she wondered for a split second if she was still dreaming. But she could feel his warm breath on her face and the heat of his body pressed against hers. "When I said that I left because I was bored… I lied. I was just frightened. To be honest… I… I want to stay with you."

It was almost too good to be true. Never had he said something so beautiful to her. She freed one of her arms and placed it loosely around his waist, just to make sure he was really there.

He supported his upper body with his left arm and bent over her. He kissed her again, and it was so different from anything she had ever experienced with him. This kiss wasn't a lie. It couldn't be. She felt the tip of his tongue lick over her lips and she opened her mouth slightly to give entrance to his tongue. His eyes were closed. He really meant this kiss. And it felt… good. No, more than that. Her heart was beating so very fast that she thought he might feel it when he placed a hand on her chest. His fingers softly stroked her neck, her breasts, and his hair was tickling her face. This had to be how it felt to be honestly loved. And even if there was a chance that he did this just out of guilt, she couldn't help surrendering to this dream. The dream that Sasuke might return her feelings.

On this stormy night it was as it should have been during their first time together. His hands were searching for hers, their fingers intertwining, and he was looking deeply into her eyes. They had been sleeping with each other a lot, but today it felt almost like it was the first time.

The first pale rays of sunlight on her face woke Sakura the next morning. She felt weak and drained, but at the same time entirely happy. Maybe happier than ever before. She felt his warm breath tickling her neck. She tried not to wake him when she moved to look at him. He looked exhausted. Maybe, considering his state, they shouldn't have done what they did, but she couldn't really bring herself to regret last night.

Sasuke had been so different. Loving and affectionate, even passionate. Somehow he had made her believe that his reason for being with her wasn't to produce an heir.

She touched his face and couldn't suppress a delighted sound. It was a perfect morning after a stormy night. That was when she realized that the rain had stopped. The sun was shining through the window. "Sasuke! It's over!" she exclaimed. "The sun is shining!"

His regular breath stopped and he tiredly opened his eyes. "Uh? What..?"

She laughed. "The storm is over. We can go home."

"Ah…" he uttered, still somewhat confused. At that moment he looked so cute… Sakura felt something in her stomach… butterflies.. it was that wonderful feeling of being in love, which she had felt so often in Sasuke's presence when they were younger. It was so wonderful that she laughed merrily. He stared at her in confusion. "What's up?"

"I'm just… happy" she replied with a smile. "Could we stay here for another few minutes before we leave?"

"Oh… okay" he replied, slightly insecure. She nuzzled closer to him to enjoy his warmth a little longer.

With his fingertips, he stroked her cheek and his dark eyes were looking at her as if he saw her for the first time. She wanted to say something but she simply couldn't. She didn't want to ruin this precious moment. For the first time in months she could see a vulnerable person beneath his mask of pride and loneliness. His fingers touched her lips. "I am sorry," he said calmly. "I'm sorry that I hurt you."

Only when he said it, she realized how much she had wanted to hear this. Something rolled down her cheek and she realized it was a tear. "I wish you could always be like this. When you look at me like this it almost feels like we are lovers."

She expected him to glare at her, but instead he pulled her to him for a simple kiss. "We should get up and get home as fast as possible. I need to know if Naruto and the others are alright."

Sakura agreed, even though it was so good to lie next to him like this. They let go of each other and got dressed. After Sakura thanked the people who had generously helped them, they left the settlement and made their way back to The Hidden Leaf Village.

…tbc…

hehe, okay it's fluffy. But deep downI LOVE some fluff. I think it was time for some romance. ehehe. But don't worry, there's still more to come.