Chapter 23: Fear

Sasuke and Sakura were welcomed with great relief when they reached the village. Upon arrival, they were immediately informed that Naruto and the others had returned safely the day before. Afterwards, they were sent to Tsunade and Sasuke told her what had happened.

She checked him quickly for any lingering side effects and then said: "Looks like you finally got over the after-effects of the seal. As I said, the fever was just a natural reaction to it, I'm positive you'll be alright now. But that doesn't mean that the curse can't break out any more. If you meet Orochimaru, it might happen again. That's why you're not going to leave the village for the time being. That's an order! Do you understand?"

He frowned at her, but accepted her orders with a nod. "Okay."

Both Sakura and Tsunade were satisfied with his answer and the Hokage added: "We're unsure what Orochimaru is up to. What we do know is that Naruto and the others were attacked by the Sound-nin. But, I still don't know why they were attacked and you two weren't. I'm quite sure this was about you, Sasuke-kun. We'll try to find out more and set up more guards in the village as long as this lasts. But, you both should be careful."

Both nodded in agreement. Afterwards Tsunade threw them out, adding offhandedly, "I have some other things to do, go home already!" She was probably tired and wanted to get some sleep, but Sakura didn't say that out loud.

When they left the Hokage building, someone was already waiting for them. Naruto grinned broadly and said: "I heard that you guys were back, so I wanted to make sure you're okay." He himself wasn't injured, except for a few scratches.

Sasuke snorted: "We were not the ones who were surprised by some Sound-Nin, isn't that right, dobe?"

The blonde made a face and they both stared at each other. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Jeez, some things never change. You can go on arguing, but I'll go home and lie down. I'm dead tired."

Sasuke threw her a quick glance and said slowly: "I'm hungry. I'll go get something to eat, then I'll come home too."

"Okay."

The two young men watched her leave and when she was out of sight, Naruto said: "Wanna get some ramen?"

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. It was unusual for Naruto to invite him, but for the most part, it was a good idea. Ramen was quickly served and the local ramen stand wasn't too far away. So, he shoved his hands into his pockets and accepted the offer.

Not much later, the two young men were sitting at the counter, sipping noodle soup. "Why did you come back?" Naruto asked, pointing at Sasuke with his chopsticks. "Didn't you say you wanted to leave because of her? Now you're here again and you two look more like husband and wife than ever before."

"She asked me to stay," he replied. "She said, if I leave, I'd never see her again. My feet just wouldn't move."

"Seems like she has more power over you than you thought," Naruto replied dryly.

"Oh shut up."

Naruto chuckled, "I'm sorry. I'm glad, that you're back. Sakura was really worried when I told her you were gone. I still don't understand how you could do that to her."

"Because you don't have a clue," Sasuke replied darkly. "I fucked up, Naruto. I shouldn't have come back. And, even worse, I raised her hopes. She… she was there when I had this fever and she took care of me and everything was… different. I was thankful… no, that's not the right word. I got carried away with saying things I didn't…" He shook his head. To say he hadn't meant the things he had told her would be a lie.

When Naruto realized that he wouldn't finish his sentence, he asked: "What are you afraid of?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You like Sakura, even I notice that. At first, I really thought you hated her. But now, when you look at her… something is different than before. You like her a lot, don't you? That's great! She loves you! And you're married. What's your problem? Why do you keep pushing her away? What are you afraid of?"

He didn't have the strength to think of a good lie right now. Hesitating, Sasuke replied: "I'm scared, that it might happen again." Naruto threw him a surprised look. "I'm afraid, that I might fall in love with her. That something will happen to her and I won't be there to protect her. Or that she leaves me, that she turns against me just… just like Itachi did. I've lost everyone I ever loved once. I couldn't even trust my own brother. I'm just scared, that it might happen again."

Naruto pointed to his temple, spinning his index finger around in fast circles, the universal symbol to let Sasuke know that he thought his former team mate had lost his marbles. "You're mean to her, because you're afraid to lose her? That doesn't make sense. If you push her away again, you are going to lose her."

"Yes! And then I can keep the distance from her, instead of falling in love!" Sasuke replied and shoved his bowl away. He didn't feel hungry any more. "I swore to myself not to let anyone get close to me, ever again. But she… she made me put my guard down."

"You worry too much, Sasuke. Just do it. Sakura is good for you. She changed you. Just… try to trust her. You won't regret it."

Sasuke sighed deeply. "Who would have thought, that I'd ever take any advice from you? Well, I'm tired. Thanks, Naruto. I'll go home and get some sleep. Good night." He hopped off of the stool.

"Hey! What do you mean, good night! It's 9 in the morning!" Naruto railed.

Sasuke ignored him and dragged himself home. Naruto was right, it WAS still morning and the sun was shining brightly. But, he felt so very tired. At home, he undressed on his way to the bedroom. At the bed, he stopped for a moment to think. Sakura was already asleep. She must have been exhausted too. He thought about what Naruto had said. You worry too much.

He shrugged. With a yawn, he slipped under the blanket and hesitatingly placed an arm around her. She snuggled against him. It didn't take long until he fell asleep as well. For the first time in a while, he was spared from any nightmares.

They were both so exhausted that they slept through the entire day and the whole night. Every now and then, one of them got up to get some food or go to the bathroom. Sasuke finally awoke when the first rays of sunlight shone through the window the next morning.

Sakura was half lying on him, she was still asleep. He considered getting up, but actually it was far too comfortable in bed right now. Usually he didn't allow himself the luxury of spending a morning in bed, but today was different. And he didn't have any plans for today anyways. The thought was disturbing, he felt useless when he couldn't work. Not because of the money, he had plenty of that, thanks to his inheritance, but because he hated to do nothing.

With a yawn, he stretched out and with that his wife woke up. At first she sighed, then her eyes opened and she raised her head, muttering something about, "far too early!" and let her head drop against his chest again.

Sasuke chuckled and waited patiently until she was more or less awake. She opened her eyes again and smiled brightly at him. "Good morning. How are you?" she asked.

"I don't know… good?" he replied awkwardly. He actually never really knew how he felt; he didn't waste a thought on that. "Well… and… you?"

"Mmm, I'm good. And I'm glad, that you're here," she purred and moved so that her face was above his. Her long hair was tickling him. "And what are we going to do now?" she asked seductively. He grinned and raised his head to kiss her. He couldn't deny that he was attracted to her. The memory of when he had slept with her after he got over the fever was still vividly on his mind. It had been so different from usual. He still found it hard to believe that it was possible to feel something like that. This feeling was addictive, he thought he could never get enough of it. He placed a hand on her neck and pulled her down to him, to….

The doorbell rang with deafening noise and abruptly they broke apart. "What the…?" Sakura hissed. Someone knocked on the door and a high pitched voice called from outside: "Where are you guys? Helloooo?"

Sasuke was about to say something but Sakura was faster. She got up and raised a fist. "NARUTOOO!" Quickly she wrapped a blanket around herself, while Sasuke didn't bother because he was, at least, wearing boxers. Together they went to answer the door and Naruto grew pale when he saw the angry faces of his friends.

"W-were you two… uh… busy?"

Sakura growled: "You have ten seconds to explain why you're disturbing us so early in the morning!"

Naruto stepped back and muttered: "Well, I just wanted to ask Sasuke, if we could go training together. At the moment, I don't have anything to do either and Tsunade told me to look after him! And you have to go to school in a little while, or don't you have to teach today?"

"Oh SHIT, I forgot!" Sakura yelled. "I'm never gonna make it in.." She raised an arm to take a look at her watch, but unfortunately it was the arm she had used to hold together the sheet she had wrapped around her almost naked body. The blanket loosened and Sasuke slammed the door shut before Naruto could see anything that wasn't meant for him to see. Sakura disappeared to the bathroom and Sasuke opened the door again to tell Naruto: "Alright, lets go train. I'll be ready in a few minutes."

The following days, Sasuke and Naruto were training together daily. Usually, Sasuke was gone until the evening and when he returned he was exhausted and not very talkative, but Sakura was still happy, because he seemed to be pleased because he, as he said, got better every day thanks to sparring with Naruto.

Sakura was busy herself at the academy and was tired too in the evenings, that's why they didn't get to talk at all. Even though Sasuke had changed a bit, they still hadn't talked about their current situation. She didn't know if he planned to leave again once Tsunade would cancel the detention. She knew him; it was at least possible, that he could change his mind eventually.

In addition to that, Sakura noticed something different about herself. She felt strange from time to time. She got sick, especially in the mornings, and twice, she had fainted for no reason. Of course, she assumed that she was finally pregnant, but she hadn't found the time yet to see a doctor and to confirm her condition. Also, she didn't know what to think about a possible pregnancy. Just now, that everything was more or less okay, she was probably pregnant. A child could mess up everything and she had no idea how Sasuke would react or even how to tell him. She definitely needed time to talk to him.

Sakura was working on grading her class' papers at sundown. She expected Sasuke to return in two hours, at the earliest and she was planning to talk to him today. But unexpectedly, she heard a noice from the living room. She listened attentively and heard the front door being shut. A smile played on her lips. Sasuke! So, he had made it home sooner than usual.

She got up, calling his name she opened the door to the living room, but to her surprise she was greeted with darkness. "Sasuke…?" she asked into the dim room. "Hello? Is that you?"

Abruptly, she was grabbed from behind and before she could resist or even realize the situation, a kunai was pressed against her throat and a hoarse voice said: "Forgive me." She tried to free herself but she wasn't fast enough. The kunai was stabbed into her belly and her assailant's had covered her mouth, suppressing her horrified scream.

…tbc…