a/n: This chapter's for lovesasusakuforever and Meemy-chan. I'm really sorry if it came out so much later than I promised.


Boundaries

The drive on the way home was uncomfortably silent – at least to him. It was an indication of change, of another possible turning point, and it was beginning to bother him because it might be a turning point for the worse. Sasuke had convinced himself that their relationship had already progressed – supposedly – compared to what forced civil relationship they had from weeks before. He was no longer used to this kind of tight-lipped silence because he would like to believe that they had already been successful in breaking the tensed atmosphere over the days they had spent together. They had shared simple, casual talks – highlights of their day, plans for future breakfast sessions, and harmless details of their individual histories and hidden past.

Sasuke had learned about Sakura's mother who was an international lawyer and currently stationed overseas. When he waited for her to volunteer more information, she just said that she and her mother never got to bond that much because of her mother's demanding job. She never mentioned a thing about her father, and he no longer insisted on the matter. After all, he himself had not told her anything. He also learned about her best friend (the girl did not seem to like him very much) who was also a medical student before she decided to pursue her passion.

Prompted by her simple question of what he usually does, he was only able to share with her or at least give her an idea of his work as a CEO whose sole function was to have his ink on the needed documents. He felt the need to say more but decided against it.

If there would come a point that a segment of their conversation ended, it was always followed by an anticipatory silence because there were a lot of things they could talk about, and Sakura would always be the one to initiate another light talk over which he had the pleasure of hearing her soft chuckles.

Not hearing anything from her as was the case right now was more than worrying; it terrified him.

"Sakura," he began, eyes still focusing on the road ahead.

There was no response, so he turned to look at her. Her head, limp, lolled to one side, with some of her hair cascading to cover part of her face.

When he came to a stoplight, he reached over and swept those stubborn locks of hair behind her ear, his fingers and gaze lingering on her unperturbed sleeping face.

A few more minutes, and they finally arrived at their house. After parking the car inside their garage, Sasuke lightly shook her by her shoulder, nudging her awake.

"Sakura . . . "

It took him a few nudges before her eyes fluttered open and she blearily took in her surroundings. She rubbed the sleep off her eyes and consciously ran a hand through her hair.

"I can't believe I slept through the whole drive. Sorry, Sasuke," she threw him an apologetic glance.

Sasuke just unbuckled his seatbelt before pushing his door open. The next thing Sakura knew was him opening the car door for her.

"I'll help you."

She thought of refusing his help again, but over the past few weeks, she had learned to just accept his offers. She was starting to get used to it, proof that she had finally let her guard down...again.

"Thank you."

Sasuke let her lean against his frame as he supported her by her waist. They began to walk, each step making Sakura more and more conscious. Sakura never had the chance to be this physically close to Sasuke. Sure, she had been sharing a bed with him, but both of them were always too careful to not breach the safe zone.

She remembered being close to him before – those meaningless moments of skin-against-skin which she thought would suffice. There was no intimate proximity, only a careless throw of kisses and touches, a desperate act to feel something.

But never had she been this close to him – his touch was barred by fabric, but he was holding her, securing her against him, and she had never felt something so innocently reassuring. Sakura leaned her head against his shoulder and almost sighed in content.

Sasuke could feel some wisps of her hair against the side of his neck, and he could only tighten his hold around her waist when they started to ascend the steps towards their shared room.

He helped her sit on the bed, and Sakura reluctantly moved away from his warmth.

"I'll get you something."

Before Sakura could even ask, Sasuke was already out of the room. Sakura lied down, wanting to be pulled into a quiet sleep, but she thought it would not be fair to Sasuke. She heard him entering again as she passed a hand over her eyes. She looked at him and saw that he was now carrying a bed table.

She sat up, her one arm outstretched behind her to support her weight.

"What . . ."

"Dinner."

Sasuke carefully placed the table in front of her.

Sakura then frowned.

"I'm sorry. I was supposed to cook something for you, wasn't I?" she said as she looked up at him, her tone deflated.

"I didn't say I was coming home either," he answered evenly.

"But you're here," she finished with a lilt of gratitude.

"Just eat up, Sakura." He began to shuffle out.

Sakura's hand shot out to grab his wrist.

"But these are . . ."

"You love them," he paused, "Right," he added in his lowered voice, half-intending to hide the fact that he had cared to know about what would make her happy.

On the table was a deluxe tomato meal – tomato salad, a bowl of fresh sliced tomatoes, and some more extra balls of tomatoes – and a tub of strawberry ice. He would never tell her that he bought the meal from their go-to salad place (although he was pretty sure she would have guessed it anyway). He had promised himself he would never bring her again anywhere near the creepy waiter, would never go back to "The Salad Spot" again, but he had to consider the fact that if he would buy Sakura her favorite craving, then it had to come from her favorite salad place as well.

Sakura could not help smiling profusely at the sight.

"Thank you so much!"

He nodded. "Call me if you need anything."

"Where are you going? Sit here and eat with me," she urged, tugging down at his wrist.

Sasuke stared blankly at her, and she just rolled her eyes.

"I know you love them more, Sasuke," she said with a faint twinkle in her eye, her hand around his wrist now sliding to grab his hand instead, pulling him.

Sasuke was not sure if Sakura was conscious of her actions – specifically her hand holding his – or if he would just have to chalk it up to her unpredictable mood swings. But he stay rooted to his spot.

"I've eaten dinner before buying you that." He lied.

"Awww. Are you saying no to tomatoes now, Sasuke-kun? I know you love them so much, too," she teased, briefly swinging their joined hands.

That was the first time she called him that, and before he knew it, he was already closing the distance between them, carefully taking the space beside her.

"You can have the whole tomatoes. I'll be okay with the sliced ones," Sakura grinned before picking up a tomato and handing it to him. "Itadakimasu!"

Sakura started eating, gushing about the incredible taste of tomatoes which was working miracles on her, supplanting her exhaustion. She then adjusted her position, rearranging the pillow to cushion her back against the headboard, as she reached for the table, which Sasuke then wordlessly offered, catching up on her idea. She then patted the space beside her, inviting him to do the same.

Sasuke did as he was told and slowly began biting into the tomato, making sure to turn away from her sight. He did not mean for Sakura to know that he had always been fond of tomatoes since he was a child. His mother would usually cook tomatoes for him whenever he got sick. In fact, his mother had become so skilled and inventive in her cooking that she would usually cook any tomato meal for their family. But most of the time, his father was not there to dine with them because he always cooped himself up in his office. Their routine had all began to change when the company that his father started grew and his father had to enlist the help of his mother and then eventually, his brother.

Sometimes, he let himself remember those happy, warm memories even though the feeling associated with them had become distant, an alien to him.

He took another bite of his tomato rather distractedly when he heard Sakura softly chuckling and saw her looking at him, amused.

"You've got bits on your cheek."

Before he could even bring his hand up to his face, she had already stretched out her hand and began brushing away the offending dirt on his chin with her thumb.

He felt the traitorous urge to fix her hand there, so he turned away his face as quick as possible.

Sakura, sensing his discomfort, immediately withdrew her hand and bit her lip. She then awkwardly resumed eating, picking at her sliced tomatoes with her fork.

"I'll cook you some tomato pasta next time as a way to thank you for this, Sasuke-kun," she said, savoring the delectable juices now squeezing out from the tomatoes between her teeth.

Then he just had to ask.

"What did you just call me?"

Sakura faced him, blushed at the intensity of his gaze, and blushed even harder when she just realized what she had said.

"Oh . . . I . . . I wasn't –" she stuttered, eyes flitting about him, "I could change it if you don't – Ino was –"

"I like it," he said flatly and focused back on his tomato.

Sakura just smiled and thought that that was his way of recognizing the growing familiarity and dare she say, newfound proximity between them.

She then opened the tub and scooped some ice cream into the cup, offering it to Sasuke, noticing that he had just, finally, finished eating his tomato.

"You can have this. I'll eat from the tub."

He looked at the proffered good then at her. "I really don't like ice cream, Sakura."

"Oh, I wish there was a tomato-flavored ice cream then. I'm sure you'd like that," she mocked, moving the cup closer to him.

He finally accepted it, and Sakura placed down the bed table on the floor, leaving only the tub in her hands.

An expression of contentment and delight was written on her face as she started spooning some ice cream into her mouth.

Sasuke, not wanting to touch the ice cream just yet, resorted to watching her instead.

"You looked a little pale earlier," he started.

She set down her spoon. "I was just a bit tired. But I'm okay now. Thanks to you," she replied, gracing him with another smile.

She then drew up her knees to her chest and settled her arms around them.

"By the way, thank you for introducing me to Naruto and Hinata-chan."

"Hn."

"They seem like a happy couple," she smiled to herself.

"It took the Dobe years to confess to that girl," he smirked at the memories of Naruto constantly pestering him and Kakashi to give him courting techniques.

"And they're finally getting married! I'm so happy for them," Sakura whispered, unconsciously letting out the words rolling through her mind.

Sasuke felt a stab of guilt.

"Is that your dream?"

"Hmm?" she asked, still caught up in her daydream about the happy couple.

"To get married?"

Sakura turned her head to him and replied softly, "It's every girl's dream, Sasuke. To marry her prince charming."

Sasuke stayed silent even though he felt the need to apologize for taking away that dream of hers. He felt droplets forming around the cup, and he frowned at the sight of the melted ice cream.

"But I have a different dream now," Sakura began again in a new tone, now leaning back on the pillow propped against the headboard. "I just want to continue being a doctor, see my patients smile, and watch my own child grow up. I may not be a wife but I'll be a mother soon and that's more than enough. So don't worry, Sasuke-kun," she gushed confidingly and smiled chastely at him

She did not want him to mull over what he had done to her in the past. Things were getting better for and between them, and she did not want to start regretting anything.

"Do you have the same dream?" she asked, somewhat hopeful.

He pursed his lips, and suddenly, they found themselves plunged into a halting silence. With each passing second, Sakura became less and less confident that she would get any form of response from him.

But she then heard him setting down his cup of untouched, melted ice cream on the bedside table.

"My father and my mother . . ." he croaked.

She remained silent, but she inched a bit towards him to let him know she was ready and willing to listen to whatever he would want to open to her about.

"Are very . . . different. Mother cared for him deeply," he said, reminiscing the gentle smile of his mom as he continued, "It always shows. But father . . . was more of the – "

"Silent, brooding type. Just like you, Sasuke-kun," she jested.

He smiled faintly. He did not know where this was going, but he found himself sharing with her the few things in his life that actually meant something to him.

He brought a leg up and rested his arm on it, his eyes now fixed on the ceiling. "But they were happy. I've always thought he doesn't give a damn but I think my mother has always known better."

"What about," she hesitated for a moment but went on, "your brother?"

Sasuke looked at her sharply, the wonderful picture of his family now quickly getting shattered by the horrible images of Itachi, of that night, of blood.

Sakura inwardly berated herself for even venturing to ask.

"I'm sorry . . . " she muttered as she reached for his hand.

He got out of the bed, pocketing his hands, his back facing her as he spoke. "Let's go to sleep."

Sakura could only nod, feeling bad that she just ruined what could have been a promising moment. Sasuke volunteered to bring out the table.

"Then I'll just do the washing," she chirped, an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere.

"I know how," he countered none too gently as he walked out with the table in his hands.

"Good night then, Sasuke-kun," she managed to say before the door closed.

Sasuke knew that Sakura did not know anything, that she meant no harm in asking, but holding in his hatred for the brother he once admired was something he could not do, and it was a misfortune that Sakura had to be the one at the receiving end of his outburst. He just hoped she would understand.

...

Sakura woke up from the incessant movement on the bed punctuated by groans. She helped herself up and turned to see Sasuke copiously sweating and thrashing around, rapidly mumbling incoherent utterances. She immediately hovered over him.

"Sasuke-kun, wake up. Shhh," she said, lightly tapping his cheek, " Wake up, Sasuke – " the tapping became more urgent and insistent " – Sasuke, Sasuke!"

Sasuke jerked up from the bed, panting heavily, absentmindedly running his hand over his face, and feeling the cold air slapped his skin.

"Sasu – "

He immediately turned away and flung out the sheet, moving to get up.

"Go back to sleep, Sakura," he ordered icily, not wanting her to ask.

"No. What—"

"I said go back to sleep!"

He threw her a glare to make a point and immediately stalked off. But Sakura reacted on her instinct and went after him, hugging him from behind.

"No. Tell me. Tell me what's happening to you. Please," she implored, her voice trembling with concern and an ache to share his pain.

He felt the torrent of bloodied memories battering into his mind, and he could not move. Sakura felt him shaking, and she released her grip, urging her to face him. But Sasuke moved away and sat back on the bed, his hands now crumpling his face.

"Blood . . .it's . . . it's all . . . blood. Mother . . . Father . . . they're . . . they're gone," he choked into his hands.

She climbed into the bed so that she could sit up and pull him close. She cradled his head against her chest as she rocked him gently, rubbing circles against his back.

"I'm here, okay. I'm here. You're no longer alone, Sasuke-kun. It's not gonna happen again."

She pressed a kiss to his forehead and repeated the gesture as she held him even more tightly. She then felt him shift in her arms, his face tilting to look at her. And suddenly, their noses were touching. She closed her eyes as she let go of all her remaining inhibitions, breaking down her own barriers, waiting and wanting.

But she felt him inching away, prying her arms from him. And she dared not open her eyes.

She heard the faint creak of the bed, the diminishing echo of footsteps, the door shutting, and she wondered why she had crossed the boundary again.

...

Tbc.

(Tbh, I'm having a HUGE problem with the pacing of the story. I'm so used to writing oneshots that I cannot seem to handle time when it comes to longer fics like this, not to mention that this is my first ongoing fic. Apologies for the inconsistency. Reviews/PMs would greatly help!)

Itadakimasu in Japanese means "Let's eat!"

I deem it more fitting to use the Japanese term because it sounds more natural (at least in their context).

(1/10/16) Minor edits were made. Thanks so much, fanofthisfiction!