Chapter 11
A persistent beeping threatened the state of serenity she lingered in, and Sakura groaned at the mere thought of having to open her eyes to face whatever it was. There was a mental fog clouding her mind in a manner that was almost comforting as it kept her from returning to reality, warming Sakura from the otherwise chilly night and she was thankful when the alarm was finally silenced, sparing her. It allowed her to snuggle further into a soft fleece wrapped snug around her, but that was when the peaceful bubble burst, the scent as sharp as a needle.
Still, popped bubble or not, it was a struggle getting her eyes to refocus once they found the strength to crack open by just the tiniest amounts, and she scowled over at the clock, unable to take in what it was trying to tell her. That was until her boyfriend returned with that playful smirk of his.
Oh no.
"Awake now?"
Oh no!
"I'm so sorry," Sakura told him earnestly.
Quick to sit up to try and regain just an ounce of professionalism, she dropped what she now knew to be one of Madara's fleecy blankets to the sofa before swiftly folding it up, giving it a few extra tugs throughout the process to shake out any creases.
Shit. How could she have fallen asleep like that? Going off the clock, it was obvious she'd just missed rounds and guilt bloomed in her chest. Caring for twelve residents singlehandedly was no easy task, especially when considering Madara was a double (a resident who required two caregivers for personal care) – not just a double, but likely still at odds with Shisui.
"I didn't mean to fall asleep," she added apologetically.
"Don't be sorry," Shisui reassured her, smile growing softer as he came to sit by her side. He undid her hard work of folding Madara's blanket before bringing it around her once more, tucking it beneath her chin. "Most of them were asleep and didn't require any changes."
Sakura chastised herself for being so out of it as she belatedly realised where Shisui would have started his rounds, the meaningful tug he gave on the fleece bringing her up to speed. Adding that to the visibly relaxed (genuinely relaxed) body language and even an idiot could tell he'd cleared the air with his uncle.
Only then did she allow herself to sit back and breathe through the spike of panic, though offered a pained grimace as another concern shot through her. "I really hope Shizune-senpai didn't see."
But the concerns were waved off in the same moment as Shisui flicked through the television channels, settling on a horror channel when nothing else appealed to him. "As long as you don't make a habit of it, she won't mind too much. It happens."
Sakura pouted. "Have you ever fallen asleep?"
"Several times." His careless shrug had her shoulders dropping, but it was as he reiterated that she fully relaxed, "It happens."
The horror movie playing gave away the time of night that it was – clearly an independent movie with its cheap budget, cliché jump scares, terrible CGI and even worse acting. Like an infomercial, not many would be awake to watch it, but they couldn't not have something to fill the slot. If she wasn't careful then it was without a doubt going to send her back to sleep.
Stifling a yawn at the over animated scream of the female lead, Sakura reclined back into the sofa, jumping minutely when she was met by a slack arm resting along the backrest. It was only for a moment until Shisui brought it forward to hang around her shoulders, bringing her to his side.
"Shisui…" she reluctantly reprimanded all the while contradicting herself by snuggling into him. "We're working."
She found it impossible refraining from imagining they were up late at one of their places. Maybe wrapped up in one another and that thick duvet on his bed, toasty warm despite it being the middle of winter, the terrible movie playing in the background and forgotten about within minutes.
Was it too soon for her to already be looking forward to having the next three nights off, knowing that Shisui was off too? They had just spent four nights together, after all and Sakura knew she could be tiring at the best of times. Hell, personal issues aside, sometimes people simply wanted a day to themselves to unwind and recharge after a long week of working – their job was particularly taxing, resulting in some of the worst burnouts.
"I know," came his sigh, cheek dropping to the top of her head. "But a few minutes won't hurt. Tonight's been hell."
Yeah, it had. Luckily for her, Sakura had the reminder of Shisui staying over to motivate and drag her through the shift. That and the burning questions keeping her distracted during mundane tasks. How clean was her bedroom? The apartment in general? What could she use to bribe Ino into not scaring Shisui away before they'd even reached a week of being official?
Sakura turned her warming face into him ever so slightly, murmuring lowly just in case somebody walked in and overheard, "I'll make sure it ends on a good note when we get back to my place."
"You're not worried we'll traumatise Ino-san like we did Itachi?" he teased.
There wasn't much that could traumatise her best friend, who'd undoubtedly seen it all by that stage in her life. As Ino always said: once a child barged in on their parents doing the nasty, nothing else possessed enough power to scar them. "She's more likely to freak you out," Sakura warned, snickering.
Speaking of her roommate reminded her to send a head's up message – all they asked of one another when inviting someone over. So alike in many ways, she and Ino didn't really like the thought of having to ask permission in their own home for it reminded them too much of living with their parents (although they continued to respect each other's need for space, so if one was uncomfortable, they gave the guests a rain check or went to their place instead). Hence, the head's up message.
The reason for Sakura's head's up was more for her own sake than Ino's, since knowing her as well as she did granted her with the ability to predict the future. She knew that the moment Ino returned home from working at her parents' flower shop, she was going to barge straight into Sakura's bedroom demanding all the sordid details of her night (or in their case, morning) with Shisui.
If they started the day how they had that afternoon… As close as she and Ino were, there were simply some parts of her life Sakura would rather she didn't see. Just the thought was mortifying.
"I'm sure she isn't that bad," Shisui chuckled.
"We'll see if that's how you still feel this time tomorrow after she's barged in for the hundredth time claiming she forgot you were there."
Deciding to be daring, Sakura leaned closer to rest her head on his shoulder, his arm flexing around her in a gesture that had her chest filling with warmth. Forget their heated day together – it felt shockingly intimate sitting there so casually with him. Breathing in his cologne with each breath, feeling his firm muscles, sharing body heat. It all had her itching to snuggle further into him.
Shockingly, it even possessed the power to chip away at the negativity that was festering in her chest since finding Madara in the lounge, allowing Sakura to take her first unburdened deep breath that evening. Apparently she wasn't the only one appreciative of the comfort the other radiated, for Shisui's body seemingly sagged with his next exhale.
They were near silent during the movie, daring to remain so unprofessionally close. It reassured Sakura knowing there were no cameras situated inside the lounge and she was grateful for those working on the other side of the unit for rarely ever sitting with them. While Shizune would (hopefully) be okay with their relationship, Sakura knew that would all change if they acted as unprofessionally as they currently were. They were taking a huge risk.
"Sakura…"
Tearing her eyes away from the credits that granted them freedom from such a godawful movie, she pulled back just enough to meet her boyfriend's troubled gaze. "What is it?"
His sigh was loaded with disappointment. "I don't regret anything I said during handover, but it was unfair putting you in that position. I'm sorry."
"Don't be," she said to try and lighten the tension, smiling faintly at Shisui's soft chuckle when she then added, "I kind of liked putting you in your place."
They were okay, Sakura confirmed upon meeting his eye and in response, the weight that was burdening her shoulders chipped away a little more. She imagined she would finally be free of it entirely once the other healthcare assistants were dealt with. That piece of knowledge added that little extra bit of oomph to her resolve.
"Maybe I really would be okay with being the submissive one for you," he playfully shot back. The lowering of his voice damned Sakura as her body responded eagerly, lips parting when Shisui leaned closer to whisper, "You have no idea how hot it was seeing you acting so forceful."
Shit, would there ever be a day where he couldn't make her blush so tellingly? She sincerely doubted it. Not when the tone of his voice managed to paint his scenarios for her, filling Sakura's mind with sinful images that were impossible to banish and damn it, she wanted to try all of them.
She jumped to her feet the second the alarm began beeping to alert them of a resident requiring assistance, much to her boyfriend's amusement.
"What's wrong, Sakura-chan? You look a little flustered."
But she wouldn't rise to the bait. Wouldn't give him the reaction he wanted. Instead, Sakura told him, "I'll go check on Hashi-san."
The nickname still seemed to amuse Shisui and she left to the sound of his chuckling, giving her hands an extra pump of sanitising gel once the door to Hashirama's room was open.
Placing him on the same side as Madara was undoubtedly done on purpose, especially since there were only three rooms between the two old friends (continuing to respect Madara's wishes of having no neighbours but keeping them close enough to be able to visit one another, should they wish to).
Like the other man's room, Hashirama's was kitted out with luxuries most residents couldn't even comprehend and boasted tens of family photographs both on his walls and cluttering hard surfaces. The majority were made up of who she presumed to be his children, soon joined by adult versions of them and their own children. It wasn't hard picking out the legendary Senju Tsunade amongst them all and not for the first time, excitement had her stomach fluttering at just the thought of crossing paths with her idol.
"Ah, it's you!" cheered Hashirama. He held out his television remote and offered up an apologetic smile, telling her, "Sorry for disturbing you, but I can't get this box to take me to the channel Nawaki had earlier."
"Let's have a look," she said with a smile, accepting the remote. From that alone she could tell it was a smart television and no doubt the channel the old man wanted was actually an app. Sakura was thankful that only four were set up, telling Hashirama, "Say when you recognise the right screen, okay?"
It only took two buttons to find the correct app and she couldn't help but grin at his enthusiasm of finally finding his favourite show. Although his grandchildren no doubt already repeated the instructions many times in the past, Sakura still talked Hashirama through the process of getting to his shows before asking if he would like any refreshments.
"Are you sure you don't mind?" he asked, frowning minutely. "You should be sleeping right now."
"You're one to talk," Sakura shot back humorously and smiled at his chuckle. "Is it the change of scenery?"
"Aa. I put this off for as long as I could to maintain my independence." Sighing in what she assumed was weariness, Hashirama admitted, "Tsuna finally won that argument, however."
When hearing those words, it was usually safe to assume there was an incident of some kind that acted as the resident's wake up call. Either general forgetfulness that put their health or lives at risk, or loss of mobility that resulted in spending who knows how long on the floors of their homes waiting for someone to find them – that being the best-case scenario.
In minutes, she had his table wheeled into his side with a cup of hot tea and a plate of biscuits soon taking up residence there. Then, Sakura aided him in sitting back comfortably on his reclining bed, though only after he teased her horrendously by claiming the angle wasn't right, having her going back and forth between two different levels. It was with a light-hearted laugh that he soon admitted to playing around with her – she had it right the first time all along.
"You really are trouble," Sakura chuckled. "I should have listened to Shisui's warning."
"Shisui-kun, huh?" A flash of regret had him sighing and glancing over at her as she jotted his care into the charts. "I hope I didn't upset him too greatly earlier."
For the most part, Hashirama was still mobile and didn't require incontinence pads, though it was noted by his granddaughter that there had been a few accidents that all happened in the past few weeks alone. Sakura hated being a pessimist but going off the highly detailed reports from Tsunade (who appeared to have been his main caregiver for the past decade), then it wouldn't be all that long before he was a user of them also.
"He never brings his personal issues to work," she replied in an unintendingly cryptic way, since she didn't really know enough of the subject to say for sure. Wondering if it was okay for her to ask such a thing but being too curious for her own good, Sakura asked at length, "Was Kagami-san his father?"
Hashirama nodded once, sadly, and sat back more comfortably in his bed. His sombre gaze was drawn to his tea, and he soon reached for the cup despite the fact he didn't even take a sip. "He passed away a while ago," he confirmed what she'd previously suspected. "Shisui-kun was devastated and struggling to accept his death. I regretfully forgot that part earlier."
It wasn't really her place to reassure him it was okay, but that didn't mean Sakura didn't feel the urge to. It really seemed to be eating poor Hashirama up, she noted and sighed in response.
"How is he feeling now? Better, I hope?"
"Much," she comforted him and smiled. "I think you just took him by surprise, perhaps. Shisui never speaks about his father – not at work, anyway."
"What a shame," he said with a sad shake of his head. "He used to idolise his father. To think he can no longer speak of him is upsetting."
It really was, she wanted to respond.
Out of respect for him and to steer the conversation away from Shisui's obvious bereavement, Sakura enquired about the television show and hung around for a few extra minutes to listen to Hashirama's explanation. It was not a show she would enjoy (although it did remind her of her grandmother) but witnessing how his eyes lost that saddened look as they lit up let her know that he was passionate about it. Sakura was happy to have taken his mind off the touchy Shisui subject.
After confirming Hashirama knew where everything was and how to work it all, she said a sweet goodnight and left with a smile that soon dimmed once the door was shut.
Dead relatives were never really the subject of conversations – bringing them up wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but the memories could hurt. Sakura knew that she oftentimes steered away from speaking of her grandmother because her passing was still raw. Expected, but still painful. And while she loved her grandmother dearly, she wouldn't say she idolised her. Losing an idolised parent had to be on a whole other level.
As eager as Sakura was to learn new things about the guy she was now dating, she didn't want to make him uncomfortable or sad. At the end of the day, they were still in the early stages of their relationship and had plenty of time to get to know one another. She could wait until he was ready to bring his father up before asking any questions.
While traipsing back to the lounge, Sakura shot off a text to Ino, alerting her of the plan for Shisui to come back after work with her. Knowing that her best friend would be exhausted from working two jobs, she didn't expect a text back. It was way too late for the blonde to still be awake. However, the warning was there and hopefully, Ino would take notice of it.
"I'm so tired," Sakura whined as she entered the lounge, throwing herself into the seat beside Shisui.
Another movie had started in her absence, but while it was considerably better quality than the last, it wasn't enough to hold Shisui's attention as he played around on his phone.
"We have yet to be forgiven," snickered her boyfriend after a few minutes ticked by.
She blinked in surprise. "Itachi-san is still awake?"
"He struggles to sleep sometimes," came Shisui's distracted response, thumbs tapping a teasing response to his cousin. "I told him with a pattern like his, working nightshifts would probably be the best for him."
"You think?" Sakura pursed her lips in thought, then said, "But wouldn't that mess his sleeping habits up more? The hormone that helps us sleep is only stimulated by darkness."
It was Shisui's turn to be surprised and he looked to her, seeming vaguely impressed. "How do you know the most random information?"
After her grandmother started to decline, Sakura had wanted to do everything in her power to help her in a sad attempt of keeping her out of a residential home for as long as possible. Sleep happened to be one of the major issues for her and a common aid that cropped up in her searches was melatonin – a hormone their brains was supposed to naturally produce.
"If I tell you now, I'll lose my edge to keep you on your toes," she murmured mischievously.
"I seriously doubt that," came his sinful response, and she sucked in a breath at the weight behind Shisui's unavoidable gaze. It left her warm and needy for a repeat of their morning.
But that was the moment their senior on shift made her appearance, offering a polite smile as she entered the lounge with her clipboard in hand. Luckily for them, there was a professional and respectful distance between them now, though the goody-two-shoes side of Sakura experienced an awful bout of anxiety and guilt regardless. Like they were betraying Shizune's trust somehow and it left her itching with discomfort, tongue thick with the words that could potentially split up hers and Shisui's working partnership.
A quick and informative update of the E.M.I unit's DNV case kept Sakura from blurting out the news of their progressing relationship. Residents were still unwell – some more than others, but the whole unit was going to continue to be locked down for a minimum of another week. They usually had to wait forty-eight hours after the last presented symptom before being able to open the unit again and even then, visits were restricted for a few extra days simply to give the residents' immune systems a rest after such a gruelling battle.
Sakura ensured to take note of the types of questions Shisui asked (because despite their relationship, she was supposed to be learning from him). They were mostly professional until the need to know was out of the way, allowing him to then ask about the individual residents and how they were coping. For the most part, it wasn't looking overly concerning for any of them, however Shizune reminded them gently that that could all change without much warning. Sakura suspected that part was added more for her than Shisui, though.
"So, in light of that, I have scheduled you both to come back to this unit next week."
"Day shifts?"
"Yes."
While she enjoyed spending the considerably more relaxed nightshifts hanging out with Shisui, what Sakura craved was more of a challenge. She didn't enter the profession with boys in mind; she wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. Dayshifts were when she learned the most and was able to interact with their residents without them being utterly exhausted.
Better yet, it gave them the chance to ease Madara into joining his friend in the lounge. Although acting like a tough guy at the time, she'd been able to pick up on the faint traces of protectiveness when Sakura spoke with the elderly man regarding Hashirama's joining the home. Until he was brought into the conversation, Madara hadn't seem all that concerned with filing complaints about his hellish day. There was no way the Uchiha could deny caring for his oldest friend.
She sincerely hoped it granted Madara some companionship in his final years.
They left that morning with the reminder of Madara's doctor's appointment being that afternoon. He seemed reluctant and grumpy about it, though Sakura knew that was more so down to how early in the morning it was.
While for the most part it appeared to be a shake-up of the staff, some of the group from the day before were present and clearly still pissed about their scolding. It irritated Sakura when they refused to make eye contact or offer any contribution to the handover, the only thing keeping her from snapping mostly out of overtiredness being the dangerous narrowing of Shizune's eyes. Then, wordlessly telling her it wasn't going to be overlooked, the dark-haired woman brandished her trusty clipboard and made several notes.
Nerves threatened to get the best of her during the much too long drive back to her apartment, eradicating the tiredness determinedly. Ino's reassuring response from just an hour ago granted some peace of mind to the overall state of their home, but Sakura continued to experience that horrendous pit in her stomach that screamed she'd forgotten something.
But what?
Her stomach fluttered when a hand reached for hers halfway to her place, and she offered a small smile at the entangling of their fingers. It was difficult focusing on anything but the gentle pressure, especially as their joined hands came to rest high up on her thigh. Even through the layers of her clothes, Sakura was bombarded with memories from the day before, and she glanced up at him with a steadily building crushing need, wondering just how the hell he was able to affect her so effortlessly. It was ridiculous.
Had she felt bolder, maybe she would have brought their hands further up her thighs. Maybe guided him between them. Sakura's fingers flexed between his at the fantasy of them pressed against her and she bit her lip.
How late a bloomer was she to be impacted by the mere thought of being intimate in public?
Fortunately for her raging hormones' sake, they arrived shortly after the burst of need, and Sakura fought against showing any signs of being too eager while tugging Shisui in the direction of their apartment.
"Ino should be at work right now," she told him during the short elevator ride, smirking. "You should be safe from her overbearing nature for now."
"For now," he repeated with a smirk.
His denial would be his own downfall, Sakura thought mischievously. After all, her part of forewarning him was done. If Shisui didn't prepare himself for the hurricane that was Yamanaka Ino, then that was entirely his own damn fault (and with popcorn in hand, she would be seated in the front row of the show a little too gleefully as he was shaken down and submerged beneath a barrage of questions).
Their stray greeted them at the door, his deep meow a signal of missing his saviour and confirming Ino had already left for work. Comforted, Sakura took the time to remove her shoes and jacket, poking her head into the kitchen to double check the cat was fed.
"He really is a sorry looking thing, isn't he?" questioned Shisui, crouched down to shower him with affection by the time she returned to him. "What's his name?"
"Cosmos." Rolling her eyes with a snort, she let down her hair and ran a hand through it to shake out the aches from having it up all night. "Ino's big on symbolism."
"Oh?" It was unfair how adorable Shisui looked when he glanced up at her, expression soft and warm and managing to pierce her straight through the heart. "What does his name symbolise?"
That was often a debate between the two of them. "I strongly believe she's calling him a work in progress. For now, he's not much to look at. But Ino said it's because he'll be beautiful again one day."
He seemed to mull it over before once more paying attention to Cosmos and his sweet but clearly skittish nature, pausing in stroking him when the cat flinched at a too sudden touch. Only once Cosmos showed the signs of wanting more affection did Shisui give it to him, a small smile playing on his lips.
"We had a cat growing up," he told her without any prompts, focus trained on Cosmos but seeming almost distant. The window he allowed her to glimpse through had her heart skipping a beat. "She was nothing like Cosmos, though. The only person she seemed to like was my mother."
"What makes you say that?"
Shisui chuckled at that and her chest burst with warmth at the light that entered his features. "She was incredibly territorial of her. To the extent of chasing me through the house on multiple occasions for being too hyperactive around my own mother."
Shit, Sakura wished that was caught on video.
"Come on," she pushed the second Cosmos had decided he'd had enough of them, taking her boyfriend's hand once he was standing again.
"It's so colourful," he commented while being pulled through the living area, eyes never allowed to linger in one place for too long before somewhere else demanded his attention.
Her bedroom was far more laidback in its design, and Sakura heaved a relieved sigh to find that it wasn't left in its usual state (although it left her confused, since that awful bout of paranoia over forgetting something continued to irritate her). It wasn't exactly rare to find clothes strewn about the place after an intense battle to pick the right outfit, one that ended in both mental and physical exhaustion from finding a winner that made it impossible to put them all away again. Sometimes if she was feeling extra lazy then she even tossed them into laundry to buy herself an extra couple of days.
But despite the blaring scream of her gut instinct, it was relatively clean, and Sakura promptly dropped her bag beside her laundry hamper with her shoulders relaxing. From what she could tell, anything that risked embarrassing her was tucked away and she suspected that was Ino's doing, since it wasn't unusual for at least one bra to be dangling from the closet's door handle. It was almost too clean – for her, anyway. The only time Sakura ever cleaned it to such a standard was when her parents were visiting.
Something was going to go wrong, she decided upon noticing Shisui's curiosity.
He was drawn to the shelf of trophies and medals and Sakura watched him reaching out to them quietly. It was the tiara that really captured his attention and she smiled softly at the memory of receiving it – her first tiara. At the tender age of seven years old, nothing could beat the burst of pride and excitement of having it placed atop her impeccably styled and glitter speckled hair.
After, she'd rarely left the house without it. It rested on her nightstand each night, tucked away in her bag during the day until her mother found out and ensured to check her bag every morning as a result.
Gods, Sakura wished she could feel that level of innocent giddiness just one last time. That sense of being so proud of herself. She'd worked herself to the brink of exhaustion to nail that routine once she knew first place's award and it showed, the difference in the points of her age group enormous.
"I knew from your videos that you're a good dancer, but this is incredible," he told her, smile wide and proud. "I can see why your mother wanted you to go pro."
That was a battle she continued fighting to that day. Somehow, her mother was never discouraged and refused to lose any hope of Sakura deciding to ditch the medical path in order to devote herself to dancing. It didn't matter what she said or did to try and dissuade her.
But facing fierce competitors in a string of draining competitions simply wasn't her. Not because Sakura lacked the motivation or aggressive streak – she was competitive. Incredibly so. It was more down to wanting it to stay fun. Working up to competitions with her team, getting ready and hyped together and celebrating with them afterwards. Of course, being professional didn't necessarily mean she couldn't have friends in the industry, but it could be so cutthroat.
Shisui's bag was set down beside hers after he was done admiring the collection of awards, his attention continuing to stray throughout the room.
"I feel like I'm seeing a new side of you but at the same time, it all fits you perfectly," he chuckled when she asked what he was hoping to find. "I…"
"What is it?" she all but demanded, paranoia returning with what felt like a swift kick to the gut.
The playful smirk should have warned her of what he'd caught sight of, but Sakura still felt herself growing flustered when he asked in a low murmur, "How tired are you?"
Oh no.
Horror laced through her in nauseating waves when she followed his line of vision towards the bed.
Oh no.
There, poking out beneath the bed and creating a solid lump in her stomach as Sakura belatedly recalled how lazy she'd felt post-orgasm, was the box belonging to the item Ino referred to as Beast. Part of her weakly suggested that at least it was cleaned when all she'd wanted to do was roll over and sleep, but Sakura was too mortified.
That was what she'd forgotten about!
"You have toys?" Shisui asked, smirking lightly like he could tell how embarrassed she was feeling and wanted to ease it somehow. "Well, well, Sakura-chan. Here I was thinking you to be too sweet."
Her cheeks burned horrendously. "Shisui–"
But there was nothing negative in his body language, Sakura quickly came to realise. No signs of his laughing at her. No, that mischievousness she adored was showing and she found herself holding her breath at the sight of Shisui approaching the bed and kneeling. He opened the box with an appreciative whistle before meeting her eye, his gaze lidded as it hungrily roamed her body.
"You're not going to be able to walk when we're done with you," he warned.
Shit.