A/N: ...B)

Chapter 25

Silly Little Crush

Sakura dreamt of him that night.

He stood in her doorway. The moon cast long shadows across his face through the window, and his dark eyes shone with moonlight as he gazed down at her. She stood before him, neither of them quite ready yet to say their goodbyes.

He kissed her suddenly, surprising her. When he pulled away he searched her eyes, pleading and uncertain. She immediately drew his face back in and kissed him fiercely. He leaned into her mouth as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her in. Sakura sunk into him, hands exploring his face, his hair. He guided her backwards into the room, hands and mouth never leaving her. The raw intensity of his need - his desire to show her the full depth of his feelings for her - overwhelmed her, yet at the same time she found herself wanting more. Her hands tugged at his shirt.

"Sakura," he breathed between kisses, his voice low and husky. Pleasant shivers shot down her spine. She loved the way he said her name - she wanted him to say it again.

Her back pressed against the wall as he ran his mouth down her neck. Breathless, she combed her fingers through his dark hair. She wanted - no - needed more.

He picked her up effortlessly as she wrapped her legs around his waist. With an alluring grin he carried her to the bed and laid her gently down. He then leaned down and kissed her again, slow and tender this time, as he crawled over her. When their lips parted he smiled lovingly down at her, and her up at him, as she cupped his face.

"Sakura," he murmured tenderly, brushing her hair from her face.

"Lee," she sighed.

Sakura woke up.

It took her a few seconds through her grogginess to realize just what her pleasant dream was really about before her eyes snapped open and her face heated with embarrassment. She rolled over and screamed her frustration into her pillow.

Really, Sakura? she scolded herself, You're that quick to having a dirty dream about him?

She left her face buried in her pillow as she grumbled to herself. She peered over the edge of the pillow at the dawn sun peeking through the blinds. It was really early - too early for them to meet Goda yet too late to try and fall back asleep. Sakura would just have to lay there and suffer her inescapable feelings.

I have feelings for Rock Lee, her mind reminded her, as though she could forget.

She rolled over to her back and stared at the ceiling. She blew a pesky stray hair out of her face.

Sakura was married. She was now Sakura Uchiha - married to the man of her dreams. She couldn't have feelings for someone else. Why would she when she was lucky enough to marry her one true love? How could this even happen to her?

When she reminisced of Lee she knew exactly why. She thought of his endless kindness and sincerity. She thought of his humor, his optimism, his passion. She thought of his attentiveness - how when they spoke Lee gave her all of his undivided attention as though she was the only thing that mattered. She thought of how easily she found herself laughing with him, and how easy it was to speak to him, like she could tell him anything. She thought of his infectious bright smile and his warm eyes, and how just the captivating way he looked at her made her feel... cherished. She knew she loved these things about Lee before, but she just did not know what these feelings meant until last night. She cursed Yumi for being so right; Sakura had been living in a fog.

Sakura sighed hopelessly.

What sort of wife was she for having feelings for someone else?

People who were unfaithful to their partners were supposed to be scum. Whispers and insults haunted those who cheated - those who betrayed their partner in such a way were unforgivable. By just having these feelings for Lee... did that make her scum? Was she nothing more than a worthless cheater? Did it make a difference if she held these unwanted feelings but didn't act on them? Or was she simply the same as those who cheated on their partners with purpose?

A hard lump formed in her throat.

Am I a horrible person?

The thought frightened her. She did not want to have these feelings for Lee - to betray Sasuke in this way. If she could just throw them away she would, but unfortunately that was not how things worked - she was stuck with them... at least, for now.

It's just a harmless crush, right? I'll get over it, she thought, trying to assure herself.

Harmless? her mind scoffed at her as she remembered kissing Lee's cheek last night.

It was platonic, Sakura reasoned.

Would I have done that with Ino or Naruto? countered another part of her mind.

Sakura toiled over this question longer than she would have liked. She did not know.

Unfaithful whore.

She rolled roughly over onto her side.

Not that Sasuke would even care, came a bitter thought. When had he ever showed her he cared?

Sakura remembered his rare, heart melting smiles and his even rarer kisses. When she finally expressed how upset she was over his secrecy he promised her that things would change. Sasuke needed her for a mission, and on that mission he would explain everything, and they could finally be together like she always wanted.

How dare I think something like that, Sakura thought. Sasuke deserves better.

But I deserve better too, replied a small voice in the back of her mind as she was reminded of his coldness, as though she was nothing more than a stranger to him. That she had some lingering doubt that everything would be fixed between them with one explanation.

Sakura promised she would do better for herself the next time she saw him - to stop acting the part of the pitiful housewife helplessly waiting for her husband to give her what she needed. She was his wife, his equal, not a dog hoping for its master to give it treats every once in awhile. Next time she saw him she would be true to needs and to herself - hard edges and all - and Sasuke would have to deal with that.

But what if he gets mad at me? a small, fearful voice thought - a voice that tempted her back to easy passivity to please Sasuke, to avoid conflict.

That gave her pause.

Sakura deeply feared upsetting him. It always felt like she was on the verge of losing Sasuke forever again, like she was just one step away from him telling her it was over and that he no longer loved her. This fear suffocated her while in his presence. And how could she not feel this way? When she wasn't even sure he actually loved her?

If she pushed him too far when she saw him next would he leave her? And would she be okay with ultimately causing that?

Dread formed in the pit of her stomach at the thought.

No, no, I can't lose him again.

She had loved him for far too long and shed too many tears to let go of Sasuke after finally making him hers. What would be the point of all her suffered misery then?

Stop.

She let out a slow breath to calm herself.

There was no point in worrying about it now while away from home on a mission. She would see Sasuke when she returned home and the two of them would have to figure things out. It was possible everything would be fine. Her submissiveness around him was self-inflicted after all - perhaps he would welcome a change in demeanor from her. Perhaps she had nothing to fear from him at all.

Until then, she had to figure out what to do with these feelings for Lee. She first wondered if she should distance herself in the hope that it would cool her feelings for him, but she immediately discarded that idea. She had only just gotten back her friendship with Lee and she was not going to let her marriage threaten it again.

Selfish, came an intrusive accusation.

Sakura couldn't disagree. Her friendship with Lee brought her a certain kind of joy she had been missing from her life and she was not going to give that up, even if it was the right thing to do.

She decided she simply would not act on these wrong feelings. It would be simple enough, right? Her feelings for Lee would fade with time, especially after she finally fixes her relationship with Sasuke.

She could handle this silly little crush.

When the time came for the four of them to meet up Sakura left her room. Lee was standing with Shino in the garden, head bobbing with interest as he listened to the Aburame sharing facts about a breed of exotic butterfly as one fluttered around them.

When she approached she greeted them both. "Morning, Lee. Morning, Shino."

Both men turned to her as she stopped beside Lee. Shino simply nodded his greeting while a huge grin spread on Lee's face.

"Good morning, Sakura!"

The affectionate way Lee looked at her caused her chest to flutter.

We danced together last night. I kissed his cheek, her mind impulsively reminded her. I have a crush on Rock Lee.

Don't think about it, Sakura scolded herself.

She thought about it as she returned the smile shyly. "So, uh, what are you two up to?"

"Shino was telling me all about this butterfly!" Lee answered her, motioning to it as it fluttered around him and Sakura. "The... what was it called again, Shino?"

"The red-spotted empress butterfly."

"Yes! The red-spotted empress butterfly! It symbolizes hidden love, and it is said that they will fly around young couples who secretly hold feelings for one another! Right, Shino?"

"Yes."

"How romantic," Sakura said as she watched it continue to circle her and Lee. It was beautiful - Sakura had not seen patterns and colors like that on any native butterfly around Konoha.

Wait, don't tell me it's...

"It likes you two," Shino commented.

Lee chuckled at first. "Yes, it looks like..." His voice trailed off as he came to a sudden realization.

Sakura and Lee's wide eyes met for a split second before they both looked away, eyes finding something else interesting to stare at in the garden.

"Ha, that's funny, Shino..." Sakura awkwardly laughed off. "I must smell nice to it or something."

Shino quirked an eyebrow at her. Sakura didn't know what that look meant.

Kiba joined them a moment later, saving Sakura from Shino's penetrative gaze.

When they arrived at the Yukage's office they were led once again to the planning room where Goda awaited them with a broad smile. After some brief greetings they dove right into business.

"As far as we can gather from the prisoners, we did it," Goda said. "We eliminated all of the Sound camps in our borders. The Steam thanks you, from the bottom of our hearts. We will always remember your names and what you've done for us."

There were triumphant grins all around.

"It is the Leaf's honor to be able to assist our peaceful neighbor in their time of need," Sakura answered Goda with a short bow of her head. "However, surely the conflict with the Sound has not truly ended just by pushing them out of your borders?"

"Yeah!" Kiba agreed. "That genjutsu expert even said something about the Leaf being involved in their plans. They're not just gonna give up and go home. They have bigger plans."

"You're both right," Goda replied. "To figure out what their plans truly are, we will need to spend weeks interrogating our prisoners. They seem to have such sparse information between them - the Otokage - Orochimaru or not - was smart to give his shinobi limited information. We will have to stitch together what little pieces of intel we can gather in order to learn something of value."

"What about the items on the genjutsu expert's body?" Shino asked.

"We can't seem to find any code in the letter from just a night of looking at it. We simply need more time," Goda answered. "As for the scroll - that's an interesting one. It's actually hard to decipher what its purpose is. It's... incomplete almost. It's not quite a summoning scroll, not quite a sealing scroll, and its not quite a jutsu scroll either. I wish we had more knowledge about fuinjutsu, but we don't have any experts in our Hidden Village."

"If you permit, the Leaf can look at it," Lee said. "I know someone who is a genius at scroll jutsus in Konoha. If anyone can decipher it, it is her."

Goda nodded. "Very well. We will defer to the knowledge and talent of the Leaf. You will take the scroll with you back home today then."

"Today?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yes," Goda smiled. "Your job here is done. You may leave at any time you would like, even tomorrow if you wish to enjoy more of what Yu has to offer."

"But-" Sakura protested.

"Go home," Goda said firmly. "You completed your mission. You solved the mystery of the untraceable Sound-nin. You helped push the Sound out of our borders. You determined that the Talons are allied with the Sound. You killed the genjutsu expert that confounded us - with her dead she cannot adapt or change her genjutsu barriers on us. It will take us weeks to sort through and interrogate all of our captured prisoners. And we did not hire you to fight this entire border war for us. We will not insult the Leaf by keeping its shinobi idly by waiting or drag them in to something outside of the scope of our mission request. Go home to Konohagakure and we will send word of any information we gain, including anything that pertains to the Leaf. You are our allies after all."

"Very well," Sakura conceded.

"So before we hit the road we're definitely going to get one last use out of the hot springs, right?" Kiba said as they left the Yukage's office.

Akamaru barked in support.

Sakura pretended to think hard about it. "Alright, Kiba. As long as there are no objections. We can go for one last dip, gather our things, then get breakfast before we head home."

"Hell yeah!" Kiba exclaimed.

When they made it back to their private resort, Sakura and her teammates headed straight for the hot springs, eager to get one last use out of it. No hot springs in Konoha quite compared to the ones in Yu. Not only that, they got to have it all to themselves and for free.

Sakura entered in the women's only side, grabbed a towel, undressed, and slipped into the soothing hot water. She let out a deep sigh as she sunk herself in deep. As Sakura lost track of time she let her mind drift to happy, peaceful thoughts as she imagined all of her worries seeping out of her.

Her peace was suddenly shattered when she heard Kiba's frantic hollering from the other side of the privacy wall.

"Sakura! Sakura! Come quick!"

"What does he want?" Sakura grumbled to herself, sinking in up to her chin.

"Sakura! Lee passed out!"

Sakura shot up from the springs as panic filled her.

She cursed herself for her state of undress but she would never forgive herself if she lost precious time because she wasted time clothing herself. She grabbed her towel, tied it securely around her torso, and leaped over the privacy wall onto the men's side of the hot springs.

"Sakura!" Kiba said with relief. "Do your medic-nin stuff on Lee!" He was kneeling in front of an unconscious Lee while Shino stood over them. All of the men were wearing towels tied around their waists, except for Shino who oddly had more towels wrapped around his torso and arms.

While this would be awkward normally, Sakura was in full medic mode. She rushed to Lee's side and knelt beside him. "Tell me what happened," she commanded as she checked his pulse. His pulse was rapid. His skin was hot to the touch and covered in a sheen of sweat.

Was he poisoned?

"Lee and I decided to have a little competition in the sauna room," Kiba answered her sheepishly. "We wanted to see who could last the longest without bailing. In the middle of it he just suddenly passed out and then I dragged him out here."

Heat syncope, Sakura diagnosed. With Lee's blood loss from yesterday paired with likely low blood sugar from a lack of breakfast, it had to be that.

Sakura sighed in relief. Lee would be okay, but Sakura still wanted to scream bloody murder at Kiba for them doing something so idiotic, but it would have to wait. "Kiba, bucket of ice cold water. Now."

"Yes, ma'am!" Kiba said as he scrambled off. It took him less than a minute to return with the requested item before splashing it across Lee as demanded.

Lee's eyes immediately shot open with a yelp. He looked around, dazed and confused. "What... what happened?"

"Kiba! Glass of water!" Sakura demanded.

Kiba grumbled why it wasn't Shino's turn to do something instead as he left.

"You passed out from the heat," Sakura answered Lee as she helped him up into a sitting position. "You'll be okay."

Lee winced and clutched his head as his eyes finally found their focus on Sakura. Upon recognition he blinked in bewilderment. His gaze then trailed down to the mere towel clinging to Sakura wet skin. His eyes bulged. Panicked, he scrambled backwards until he whacked into a wooden column - bumping his head with an audible thump. He clung tightly to the towel around his waist.

"S-Sakura!" he squeaked, gawking at her like she was a ghost.

Sakura's firm medic persona fell away. "Um, sorry!" she said as she clung to her own towel. "Kiba was shouting that you passed out when I was on the other side of the springs. I rushed here as fast as I could. Um, is your head okay?"

"Yes! It will be fine!" Lee answered her quickly. "Sakura, please forgive me for my sorry state of dress- er, undress! It was not my intention for you to see me like this!" He bowed his head at her several times.

"Er, you don't need to apologize... It's me on the wrong side of the springs after all..." Sakura laughed awkwardly. She approached him. "Just let me take a look at your head for a quick second, okay? It looked like you hit your head hard. I can heal it before it swells into a painful bump."

"It is fine, I promise!"

When Lee shot to his feet Sakura found herself suddenly face-to-face with him, barely a foot of distance between them. Their breath caught in surprise as they stared at each other. Lee took a step back.

Don't think about it, Sakura thought, swallowing, as the sight of Lee clothed in nothing but a towel reminded her the dirty dream she had last night.

"Could you bow your head a little?" Sakura asked kindly, summoning her composure. "You're a little too tall for me to see."

"Oh. Y-Yes!" Lee said, flustered, as he bowed low enough for her.

For the second time today, Shino quirked an eyebrow at Sakura with a stony expression. Sakura didn't know what that look meant either.

Yep, this is embarrassing now.

Kiba suddenly announced his return. "Oh shit! Sakura! Your towel is slipping!"

"What?! Where?!" Sakura squealed, clinging to her towel desperately.

Lee's eyes bulged once more and he immediately whipped around backwards, hands covering his eyes. "I did not see a thing! I promise!" Lee stammered as he fled into the men's changing room.

"Just kidding!" Kiba cackled.

"Why you...!" she glared at Kiba. "Grow up!" Sakura wanted to clobber Kiba, but she couldn't with him holding the precious cup of water she requested. There were more important things to worry about right now, like Lee's health.

Kiba was still cackling as he joined Shino and Sakura. "Come out, Lee! I got you some water!"

"Thank you, but I am not thirsty!" Lee called from the changing room, embarrassment clear in his voice.

"I went out of my way to get you this water, Lee!"

"I am indecent. And I... I do not wish to disrespect Sakura by seeing her... uh..."

"You scared of her, or something?" Kiba taunted, a wicked grin on his face. "C'mon, Lee. Girls aren't that scary."

"Your mom and sister are pretty scary," Shino commented.

"Okay, you're right about that, I guess. Maybe I'm just used to scary women," Kiba nonchalantly shrugged before turning his attention back to Lee. "Either way, Sakura's not even nude or anything. She's got a towel on, I promise. And it's not falling off... at least not right now it's not."

Sakura took the opportunity to punch Kiba's shoulder.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Lee, please drink some water," Sakura sighed, long past ready for this embarrassing scenario to end. "Doctor's orders."

"Okay," Lee said, resigned. One hand shielding his eyes, Lee came out of the changing room, head tilted away from Sakura.

Kiba thankfully didn't give Lee any more trouble as he handed him the cup. "Here ya go, bud. Drink up." As Lee gulped down the water a boastful grin spread across Kiba's face. "Y'know, I was kinda close to passin' out there too. But I didn't! Which means I won."

"Wait a minute! I request a rematch!" Lee insisted.

"You're on!"

You've got to be kidding me, Sakura thought, feeling the shame and embarrassment dissipate into righteous anger.

"No," Sakura interjected harshly. "No more sauna for either of you two! Whose idea was this anyway?"

"Uh... me," Kiba answered.

"I thought something terrible happened to Lee! What were you two even thinking doing something like this after getting beat up yesterday?! Lee lost a lot of blood, and we haven't even eaten breakfast yet so your blood sugar is low! What if both of you passed out and no one realized you were still in the sauna? What then, huh?" Lee and Kiba's eager expressions fell into shame. "And you!" Sakura pointed an accusing finger at Shino as he inched away. "You're supposed to be the responsible one out of the guys here yet you just stood by and let this happen?!"

Shino's brow furrowed with indigence. "But-"

"No buts!" Sakura interrupted. Sakura chewed them out for a few minutes more until she felt satisfied that they wouldn't pull a stupid stunt like that again. "Boys..." she huffed under her breath as she left.

Lee's head thankfully stopped throbbing after a few more cups of water. When all of them had finished at the hot springs they gathered together at a restaurant for breakfast. Lee and Kiba eyed each other when they sat down at the restaurant and made sure to eat a little extra. Sakura still chided them anyway about eating more and Kiba retorted with a "Thanks, Mom!" that riled up Sakura enough for her to start squabbling back and forth with him. Akamaru joined in and started barking. Lee just meekly gulped down his grilled fish in silence. Lee and Shino shared a helpless glance.

The road back was uneventful, and when the sun began to lower over the horizon they found a suitable tucked away place between some thick trees to set up camp. Their camp was well into the Land of Fire's borders so Lee felt a little more at ease resting tonight. The risk of an enemy-nin attack - let alone a Sound one - was low. Still, they remained diligent.

Sakura began setting up her genjutsu border tags and Lee followed after her with setting up his physical traps. This would be the first time they would be together alone since last night.

Do not think about it, Lee thought nervously as he remembered their dance and how she kissed his cheek goodnight.

Do not think about it! Lee thought more firmly that only this morning he saw her in nothing more than a towel - how she knelt beside him, skin shiny wet, towel clinging tightly to every curve, one thigh slipped suggestively out of the folds of her towel...

Stop it.

God, why did it have to be so hard for him to stop thinking about her in the towel?

"How are you feeling now, Lee?" Sakura asked as she pinned up the next genjutsu tag.

Lee nearly jumped. "Oh! Good!" he answered quickly. "The headache is gone thankfully and I feel back to one-hundred percent!"

"Glad to hear it," she smiled sweetly at him.

Lee gulped.

Lee also tried not to think of the fact that when they made it back home he would confess to her. More than anything he wanted to enjoy uncomplicated moments of friendship between them while it lasted. He had to get himself back under control or lose out on this last chance to enjoy them. What would happen to their friendship after his confession was an unknown to him.

Lee summoned his composure before he spoke. "Thank you for caring for me, Sakura. It is only thanks to your expertise that I am feeling well so fast!" He grinned and gave her a thumbs up.

"Of course, Lee. You gave me quite the scare though," she laughed.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

After that Lee was able to maintain his composure and the two of them spoke lightheartedly, the awkward tension between them thankfully dissipated... until Lee noticed Sakura lightly shivering.

"Sakura, are you cold?"

"Yeah. It's going to be a cold night," she sighed. "I think I'm going to end up regretting not packing that extra blanket."

"Do not worry, Sakura! I can help you keep warm!" Lee grinned.

Sakura's cheeks turned red as she stared at him. "C-Come again?" she squeaked.

Lee was puzzled by her expression until he repeated what he said to her in his head. He paled. "With an extra blanket!" he sputtered quickly. "I always pack an extra blanket with me! You are welcome to it, Sakura! I will not need it tonight!"

"Oh!" Sakura laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, for a second I thought you meant... well... um. Great! Thanks!"

The two of them had an unnaturally hard time looking away from their traps and tags as they sparsely conversed for the rest of their border prep. Lee felt utterly mortified the entire time as his mind cursed him by replaying his awful word choice over and over again in his head.

Why did he have to go and word it like that?

A/N: I'm sorry, I love dumb silly sexual tension. I've been watching too much Kaguya-sama: Love is War. If you haven't watched it yet, please do. I never thought I would be into romance/slice of life shows but here I am. There's so much excellent comedy, slowburn, and silly sexual tension between dumbasses that me and my husband are laughing and screaming and cheering at the tv at every single episode. EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE. No show has ever done this to me lol. If you love fanfic romance scenarios you'll love this show.

Hopefully Sakura's inner monologues about Sasuke aren't getting too frustrating to read lol. I've been trying to portray the back and forth of being stuck in a mindset/situation that you're afraid of leaving. And that means making and losing progress as you fight this inner battle to learn what's best for you, and gain the courage to make a change, even if that change is scary. I write Sakura partly from personal experience with a bad relationship and how my own mindset was before I found it in me to leave. Writing Sakura in this fic does give me some catharsis, because I want her to be able to move on and find love with someone better for her just like I did.

You guys can expect the next chapter really soon! Originally this chapter was twice as long, but then the editing overwhelmed me and I had a sudden big brain moment and realized I can indeed split the chapter in two lol. The next chapter is done basically. I am just going to spend some time fixing it up before posting it. Until next time, dear readers! :)