Disclaimer: I own nothing

Note: Thank you all for the reviews.

Chapter 6

Hinata woke up to the sound of running water. Sitting up, she realized it was midnight and Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

The room was dark save for the light coming from the bathroom. Sasuke was probably in there but why was he taking a shower in the middle of the night?

Jumping out of the bed, Hinata approached the bathroom, hand raising for a gentle knock. It was rude to disrupt people's showers but no one should be taking a shower at midnight. Casting aside the hesitation, she gently knocked on the door, calling his name. "Sasuke, are you in there?"

"Yes," He replied amid the sound of running water.

After a few minutes, the bathroom door opened and Sasuke stepped out, still wearing his old clothes. He had washed his hair too as he had a towel on his head, dripping wet with water.

"You took a cold shower at midnight?" Hinata asked incredulously, and couldn't understand why he would do that. "Why?"

"I wanted to."

"You really shouldn't do that. You might catch a cold."

"I'll be fine." Turning on the hair dryer, he started drying his hair, avoiding looking at the girl.

"Do I smell bad or something?"

"No. It has nothing to do with you."

Actually, it had everything to do with her but not the way she thought. After she fell asleep, he tried to sleep too but failed miserably. He couldn't sleep when he was hard-rock down there. And she had slept peacefully, oblivious to the struggle he was having.

Maybe it's because it was his first time sleeping with her so he got a little too excited. Things would probably get better once he got used to it but right now, he had to do something to ease this pain.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he tried to sleep but again, he failed. So he just laid there and endured this pain, panting, sweating, and emitting heat.

Hinata was so close to him he could count her lashes. At this moment she was completely vulnerable to him. She trusted him to the point of being naïve. He could be a bad person taking advantage of her right now and she would have no chance of fighting him. He was bigger, stronger than her, he had her at her most vulnerable moment, completely defenseless against him.

She thought he was a great person, someone who risked his life to save a stranger girl but she might have been mistaken. Sasuke knew he wasn't the hero she thought he was. He was cold and uncaring. No one had ever said to him that he was a great person. He only cared about what he wanted except Naruto. The blonde was the only person he considered his family and someone he was willing to risk his life for.

Heroes helped people and never wanted something back but Sasuke was different. He did want something back from her.

He watched her carefully, from her head to her toes. The baggy clothes couldn't hide her great figure. From the dip of her waist to the swell of her hips, her breasts peeking under her shirt, her lips parting lightly as she took in deep breaths... The sight was so inviting and he had to close his eyes to keep his imagination from roaming too far.

In the end, the pain became overbearing and Sasuke decided he had to take a cold shower. It was never a good idea to take a cold shower at midnight but it was the only way to ease this pain.

Quietly, he left the bed, being as quiet as possible because he didn't want to wake her up. Losing the source of heat, Hinata shuddered a little before drifting into sleep again. After checking to make sure that she wasn't woken up, Sasuke made his way to the bathroom to take a cold shower. He never thought there would be a day when he had to do this to ease his erection but it seemed his life had turned upside down since he met Hinata.

Standing under the cold shower, he shuddered slightly as the cold water hit his heated skin. His dick was raging hot as Sasuke leaned his head against the bathroom wall, panting and heaving. His muscles contracted lightly before starting to relax.

Hinata would definitely get scared if she saw how he was looking right now. But her innocence was somehow amusing to him.

Are you having a fever? She had asked him with a voice so soft and a face so innocent he wanted to pinch her cheeks and ask if she was playing with him. He had wished he had a fever because fever was still better than this aching pain down there.

It took a while for his erection to fully go down but even then, it's still uncomfortable. The incident with Sakura one year ago once again flashed across his mind. He wondered if he had made Hinata uncomfortable as Sakura did him. She didn't seem uncomfortable or even aware of his struggle but maybe she was just hiding it. After all, that was exactly what he had done to Sakura because he didn't want to embarrass her, pretending to be unaware and simply walking away, leaving her alone, frustrated and disappointed.

The gentle knock on the door pulled him out of his reverie and now he was drying his hair while avoiding her eyes. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." He assured her again. He didn't want to make her worry but at the same time, he wanted her to worry because it meant she cared. He was conflicting with himself.

"Could you please not take a shower at midnight again? It's not good at all and you might catch a cold."

"Hn."

"Don't hn me." She fussed. "Your health is important. Please don't neglect it." Before the man could reply, she brought her blanket to his bed, layered the two blankets over each other, and to his surprise, pulled him under the blankets with her. Sasuke then found himself squished under 2 blankets, face to face with a fussing Hinata.

Her scolding face quickly turned flustered as his right hand sneaked over her waist, pulling her a little closer to him. He was risking having to take a cold shower again but he just couldn't stop. It was as if his body had a mind of its own and whenever she was with him, his brain shut down and his body started to take over. Fortunately, it seemed the cold shower earlier had had a lasting effect as he didn't have an erection this time, although his body still heated up. He still really needed to work on his self-control though.

"You're blushing." He pointed out. It didn't seem fair that he was guilty of having an erection while she could blush brightly and act like it was normal. Yes, she was shy and all but didn't all that blushing and flustering mean that she felt something towards him?

"Please, could we just sleep? It's already midnight now." The girl clearly was avoiding his statement, showing in the way her eyes were looking everywhere but him. Normally, he would tease her more but she was right, it was already midnight and they should be sleeping. Besides, he was starting to feel tired. Sleep gradually claimed him and with her cute red face being the last thing he saw, he knew his sleep would be peaceful.

"39C." Sakura sighed as she read the thermometer in her hand. "It's not looking good."

Sasuke was having a fever and it had been going on for 2 days without any hints of cooling down. If this continued, they would have to take him to the hospital, which he despised.

Sakura wondered what had caused his fever. Sasuke was generally very healthy. He barely got sick and in fact, the last time he was sick was when he was 13 years old, which was 5 years ago, and even then, it had been a very minor cold, nothing like the raging fever he was having right now.

"It's time to take medicine," Sakura said as she took some pills out of the bottle and helped Sasuke sit up. Giving him the pills and a glass of water, she watched as he swallowed all of the pills in just one gulp. "If your fever doesn't cool down tonight, we will have to take you to the hospital."

Not bothered to reply to her, he laid down again, panting a little because apparently, even sitting up was exhausting to him. Not even in a million years had Sasuke thought there would be a day he would get sick because of an erection. Well, not technically because he had an erection but because he took a cool shower at midnight to calm down an erection. It was so stupid and embarrassing that if Naruto knew he would laugh at him for the rest of his life.

Like an omen, Naruto's laugh erupted within his apartment and Sasuke flinched, eyes widening in horror. Between Naruto's laugh, he could vaguely hear Hinata's voice, thanking him for something. Couldn't lay still anymore, he propped his upper body on his elbows, trying to get a view of what was happening. "What's happening?" He asked, ignoring Sakura's attempt to get him to lie down again. How could he just lay here while Naruto and Hinata were laughing with each other like that?

"Sasuke!" Naruto grinned as he walked into the room with a bowl of chicken soup in his hands. Placing the bowl on the bedside table, he put his hand on his hip, looking very proud of his work. "Hinata and I made this for you. It took us the whole morning to make it. I know you like origini and all but chicken soup is the best when you have a fever."

"I didn't know making chicken soup could be so fun. You two were sure laughing and joking and enjoying yourself a lot while I lie here having a damn fever." It was strange he managed to say all of that in one breath. His throat was dry and speaking was hard but right now, he was so upset he had to speak his mind even if it meant every word hurt his throat. One was his friend, one was the girl he saved, how could they laugh with each other while he was sick?

Naruto's expression softened. Looking around, he made sure Hinata wasn't around to hear their talk. The girl was still busy in the kitchen making some tea for Sasuke because apparently, it was recommended to drink hot tea when you were having a fever. "I was just trying to cheer her up by telling some jokes." When Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed in suspicion, he quickly clarified. "You should see Hinata. She looks so sad and worried I can't stand it and had to crack some jokes to cheer her up."

"And did you succeed?" Sasuke asked, still a little suspicious.

"She knew I was trying to cheer her up so she thanked me, but she barely smiled." Naruto sighed. Worry fluttered across his face as he sat down on the chair near Sasuke's bed. "We're just very worried. Please eat your soup and rest."

Looking at the bowl of soup, he noticed there were a lot of tomatoes, which Hinata had probably added herself. His ears picked up the sound of pouring tea and his nose smelled the scent of ginger tea with honey. It immediately had a calming effect as his headache was less intense. Maybe it was the medicine he took earlier, not the tea she was brewing; nonetheless, it was calming and he liked it.

His little moment was interrupted as he felt a cold, metal thing touch his lips. Flinched, he realized Sakura was trying to feed him the chicken soup, using an inox spoon. Her cheeks were pink as her hair. She looked shy and gentle, nothing like the girl who always smacked the shit out of Naruto when she was angry. "Let me feed you."

"I can eat myself," Sasuke said as he took the spoon out of her hand.

"No. Just let me. You're sick." She protested but eventually gave up as he just turned away and slowly ate his soup.

Sakura was disappointed but as a determined girl, she quickly recovered. To her, this was an opportunity to show him that she was good for him and his best choice. Anyone could cook chicken soup but only she could tell him which medicine to take because she was a soon-to-be medical student. And she was sure her medicine was what treated his fever, not that simple chicken soup.

"How's it?" Naruto asked expectantly, wiggling his brows. The man looked comical in every possible way.

"It's good. But I'm sure Hinata has done most of the work while you're just playing around laughing and joking."

"Hey, I did help her chop the vegetables."

"I doubt it."

"He did help me a lot." Hinata interrupted their argument and when 3 pairs of eyes turned to look at her, she blushed brightly, setting the tray of tea on the bedside table, keeping herself busy as she wasn't used to having all the attention directed at her.

"I'm surprised he didn't destroy my kitchen," Sasuke said, finishing his soup and putting it away.

"Hey, don't underestimate me. I know how to cook. I just need a little help from Hinata." Naruto whined. He didn't have any medical knowledge so he couldn't help Sakura. Hinata had suggested he helped her make some soup, which was great because an energetic man like him couldn't sit still and do nothing. He had to do something to burn his extra energy.

Naruto's words went past Sasuke's eyes as he watched Hinata. Naruto was right. She looked sad, worried, and tired. There were dark circles under her eyes, her hair was a little messy, her movements were slow, and she looked like she hadn't gotten enough sleep. The sight pained him to see but there was a corner in him that was silently pleased. She cared about him just as much as he did her.

"Please drink some tea," Hinata said as she gave him his cup of tea. Just as he thought, it was ginger and honey tea. It smelled nice and tasted sweet. He didn't like sweets but he guessed he just had to endure it. He needed to get well soon.

Lying down after drinking the tea, his eyelids felt heavy, and sleep soon took over. Before falling asleep entirely, he noticed the ginger and honey scent of the tea had faded away and the only scent left was Hinata's lilac scent, which he liked better.

When Sasuke woke up, it was midnight. Looking to the side, he nearly had a panic attack when he realized Sakura was lying next to him, sleeping peacefully. He wondered why the hell she was sleeping next to him but then remembered she was Sakura and Sakura would take every opportunity to get close to him physically. And very close to him she currently was.

Although he didn't want anything more than to shake her awake and ask her to leave his bed, he decided to do a little investigating first. Turning on his side, he now was face to face with her, even closer to her than before. She looked pretty with long eyelashes, flawless skin, and pink lips... but he didn't feel anything. His body didn't heat up and most importantly, he didn't have an erection. No, he really couldn't get his dick hard. In fact, he was uncomfortable and wanted to put some distance between them.

And he thought about Hinata. The girl made his body react in a way it had never before. She could get his dick excited just by lying beside him, make his hands tingle to touch her, and cause a foreign ache that only she could ease.

It made Sasuke scared. He had never experienced this before so he didn't know what he was supposed to do except take a cold shower and see where it had gotten him. Having a fever in 2 days certainly wasn't the result he expected but at least it had done the job of calming down his erection. If he had the chance of turning back in time, he knew he wouldn't have done it differently.

Once it was confirmed that Sakura couldn't get those kinds of reactions from his body as Hinata had done, he slowly and quietly sat up to look for the girl. His fever had cooled down and he felt better. And when he got a full view behind Sakura's back, he couldn't believe his own eyes.

Naruto was sleeping on Hinata's bed, turning his back towards him. The girl was nowhere to be seen and he was quick to assume that she was sleeping next to Naruto. She was small so Naruto's big body could easily block her from his view.

Instantly, Sasuke saw red. In just a few seconds, thousands of scenarios flashed across his eyes as he imagined what they could have done while he was asleep. Did Naruto put his hand on her waist as he did? Were her breasts pressed against his chest? Did Naruto get an erection as he did? The thought made him furious even though he knew he didn't have any right to. They were not a couple, Naruto was single, Hinata even told him she liked Naruto once and the man was like sunshine to her, so they have every right to be together.

No.

His mind screamed. Casting all logic aside, he was about to kick Naruto out of his apartment but stopped when he noticed the dim light in the bathroom. He was so furious he didn't notice someone was using the bathroom. When the bathroom door opened and Hinata stepped out, he decided he would deal with Naruto later.

"Oh, Sasuke? Sorry, did I wake you..." Hinata couldn't finish before she found herself pulled into the bathroom. Her back pressed against the cold bathroom wall as Sasuke had his hands put on either side of her head, blocking all of her possible escapes.

"Why the hell is Naruto sleeping on your bed?" He asked.

"Uhm... Because he fell asleep I guess." She replied hesitantly, confused as to why he looked so upset. "I don't want to wake him up so I just let him sleep there."

"Then where did you sleep? Together with him?"

"N-No. I was sleeping on the couch." She immediately blushed brightly. She didn't even think about sleeping with Naruto, let alone actually doing it.

The silence was heavy as the seconds ticked by. Her mind was blank because what just happened was sudden and she was unprepared for it. She had never expected Sasuke to suspect her sleep with Naruto and get upset over it.

His sigh broke the silence and she was a little startled when he slumped forward, forehead resting on her shoulder. "Sorry." She heard him mumble.

His sudden movement startled her but she quickly recovered when she realized he wasn't burning anymore. The skin on her shoulder felt the warmth of his forehead, the comfortable warmth of a healthy person, not the burning heat he used to have.

When he lifted his forehead from her shoulder, she immediately raised her hand to touch his forehand, wanting to feel it with her own hand and make sure she wasn't mistaken. "Your fever has cooled down."

"Yeah." He nodded his head. "Thanks for the chicken soup."

"No. You should thank Sakura. If it wasn't for her medicine..."

"Yes. Thank to her too. I owe her this time." Except for the fact that she's sleeping on my bed without my permission. He thought but decided to keep it to himself. The girl was probably too tired, just like Naruto. Taking care of him was probably exhausting and she deserved to have a nice, comfortable sleep, he just didn't want to sleep with her. She was more than welcome to have the bed all for herself while he could sleep somewhere else.

"I'm so relieved," Hinata said. And with little hesitation, she looked down, hands clutching behind her back. "I'm sorry."

"Why sorry?" He furrowed, confusion written all over his face.

"You were having a fever that night and I didn't do anything. I should have called Sakura-san or done something but instead, I just went to sleep as if nothing happened." She said, voice trembling as she recalled that night. Her pale eyes were prickling with tears but she tried her best to hold them back. He wouldn't want to see her pathetic tears. "You're burning with heat, you even panted and sweated and I didn't do anything."

"It's not a fever." His mind was messy as he tried to come up with an explanation that didn't involve information about the male anatomy. The girl was too pure for that.

"You don't have to lie to make me feel better."

"I told you. It's not a fever." He said, more firmly this time.

"Then what was it?"

"I got a fever because I took a cold shower in the middle of the night. It was my fault and it has nothing to do with you."

"You're having a fever even before that. If I just did something, you wouldn't have taken a cold shower and your fever wouldn't have lasted for 2 days at 39... What?" Hinata's loud gasp would have woken up both Naruto and Sakura if Sasuke hadn't covered her mouth with his palm to muffle the sound.

Her pale eyes were wide and he could feel her lips tremble under his palm. Shocking wouldn't be enough to describe how she was feeling at this moment.

His other hand was covering hers, putting it on the bulge of his pants. It was hot and hard, occasionally twitching under her palm.

Sasuke felt like a hypocrite. Just a few moments ago he was telling himself she was too pure for this and now he was making her touch his erection. It was scary to think how easily she could make his dick excited though.

Putting his forehead on her shoulder again, he whispered in a husky voice. "This isn't a fever."

His body was heating up and he was panting, just like that night. But tonight, it was ten times worse as she was touching him down there. He had to bite his lips to stop a groan.

He was looking exactly like that night. He was emitting so much heat and the bulge under her palm was even hotter. It was burning. It was demanding all of her attention as she couldn't look at and feel anything else except how hard it was.

Her hand moved ever so slightly and his reaction was immediate. It twitched and got even harder, while Sasuke panted hopelessly. She could hear his strangled grunt as he bit his lips, see the tension in his shoulders, and feel the struggle he was having.

He noticed the hand touching him was trembling, which was totally understandable. The girl looked shocked and she hadn't moved an inch since he guided her hand to his erection. It was as if she had frozen.

Slowly, he removed her hand from his erection and took a step back from her. "Sorry. I must have frightened you."

"I-I... T-That's..." She stuttered, at loss for words. Her mind was messy and she couldn't think. What was happening? What did she just experience? Deep down she knew what it was, she just couldn't believe it was happening. Sasuke was turned on by her?

She suddenly felt light-headed. Her entire body was heating up so fast she couldn't breathe properly. Her vision started to become blurry and Sasuke's panicked face was the last thing she saw before everything went black.

Her skin felt the warm sunlight before her eyelids cracked open. Overwhelmed by the bright sunlight, she had to squint and take a deep breath, before opening her eyes again and looking around to assess her surroundings.

It was midday and the sun was high in the sky. The curtain was drawn but the sunlight still managed to get through the fabric thanks to the occasional winds.

She was laying on Sasuke's bed with the blanket pulled up to her chin. She must have fainted last night when Sasuke... Her face immediately turned bright red it felt like all of her blood was concentrating on her face. And it didn't help that this was his bed and she was engulfed in his smell. She tried to calm down but failed miserably as the next moment her pale eyes were met with a pair of dark eyes.

"Do you remember me?" He asked. She at first thought he was joking but his eyes told her he was dead serious.

Confused, she replied to him anyway. "Yes. Sasuke."

His relief was tangible. His tense posture started to relax as he sat down on the chair near her bed. He looked like a heavy weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. Noticing her confusion, he explained. "Sorry. Last night must have been traumatic for you and I was afraid that you're so traumatized that you lost all of your memories again."

It was true that she was scared last night, but definitely not traumatized. In fact, when she thought about it with a clear and calm mind, she realized how nice and kind a man he was. That night he was turned on but he never did anything inappropriate to her. He even took a cold shower to calm down his erection. He hid the truth from her to not scare her. Last night, when she fainted, he could have done something to her but he didn't. He was holding himself back because he cared about her.

"If you want to move out, I'll help you." He said, effectively cutting her thoughts.

"Move out?" She was perplexed. Since she woke up, all he had said was confusing things.

"I guess you wouldn't want to stay with me after last night."

"I never said I want to move out."

"You don't want to?" He was shocked. Staring at her, he looked at her like she was an alien thing.

Last night, when she fainted, he thought he was done for. He carried her limp body to his bed to let her sleep with Sakura while he would sleep on the couch, though he didn't get a wink of sleep the entire night. He thought about how stupid he was and how traumatized Hinata must have been to faint right on the spot. All had been messed up.

If she was traumatized, would it mean she would once again forget everything? No one should be that traumatized upon feeling an erection but for an already fragile mind like Hinata's, nothing was impossible. But if she really forgot everything once again, wouldn't it mean she would also forget last night's traumatizing incident and he would have a chance to start all over again? And most importantly, she wouldn't want to move out and leave him if she didn't remember anything.

He should never have done that to her. The girl was too pure for that kind of thing but when she insisted that he had a fever because of her, he just needed to do something. The guilt in her pale eyes tugged at his heart and wouldn't leave him alone until he started to do something. And before he knew it, instinct took over and he had already done it. He realized how little self-control he had over his body. The moment her hand touched his dick over his pants, he twitched hopelessly. The feeling made him slump forward and lean his forehead against her shoulder because his legs were feeling weak. His face turned light pink and he started panting.

He was both at her mercy and wanted to conquer her. He knew how she viewed their relationship. Platonic. But it never was. And he was guilty of making it that way.

"Are you like that with other girls?" Hinata's soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts and her question made him a little upset.

"No." His response was immediate. There was no doubt about it.

"Sakura slept with you last night." She meekly said.

"I didn't even know she was sleeping next to me. But when you fainted, I let you sleep with her and I slept on the couch."

"So you're not like that... when you're with h-her?"

"Never." In fact, the first thought to enter his mind when he found her sleeping next to him was to get out of bed immediately. As Sakura explained to him earlier, she was so tired she fell asleep but he doubted it was the full story. Nonetheless, he didn't question her more because he felt he owed her.

"Where are Naruto-kun and Sakura-san?" Hinata asked, looking around but couldn't find them.

"They left earlier," Sasuke informed her. Sakura looked disappointed when she woke up and found Hinata sleeping next to her and it took the loudest ringtone to wake Naruto up but eventually, they left his apartment.

He might not look like it, but he was really thankful for his friends.

He used to contemplate the possibility of her forgetting him so that she wouldn't remember last night's incident, but then he realized he wouldn't want that. Every memory they had together, both the good and the bad, he wanted her to remember them all, which she did.

"U-Uhm, it's okay. I don't want to move out." She said as her cheeks tinted red again.

Sasuke couldn't be more shocked. It took him a few moments to process what she had just said. She wanted to stay here. She wouldn't leave him. "Are you sure?" He asked, still finding it hard to believe.

The girl nodded her head. Slowly sitting up, she smiled softly at him. "I trust you."

This wasn't what was supposed to happen. She was supposed to be scared of him, not trust him like that. Only when she was scared of him could he maintain the little self-control he had left. It was like a warning, that he should stay away and keep his distance from her, but Hinata had thrown away that warning and shredded his self-control into pieces with just a few words.

Hinata didn't know that once those words left her mouth, she had stepped into dangerous territory, where he would keep her and never let her go.

"You should rest some more," Sasuke said as he started to leave. He needed some time for himself to think and he couldn't do that when she said those words with a face so innocent, completely obvious what she had done to him.

"Sasuke, wait!"

He heard her call him and felt her little steps follow him but he didn't stop. Only when the girl grabbed his arm did he stop. Shockingly, he found himself leaning against the kitchen counter with Hinata caging him between her arms. They looked a lot like the incident last night, except that their roles were reversed.

A few silent seconds ticked by until Hinata realized what she was doing. She gasped and quickly took a few steps back, stuttering incoherently. "I'm so s-sorry. I s-shouldn't have... Please forgive me."

She couldn't take more than a few steps back until Sasuke grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards him. His left hand was holding her wrist while his right hand slid into her long hair, gently cradling the back of her head and keeping it in place. Her face was buried into his chest and she could hear his fast heartbeat. She felt his warm breaths against the crown of her head, his lips brushing her hair and she wondered if he was kissing her head, or was she imagining it?

Her body didn't move an inch but her mind was running wild. What should she do? Should she even do something at all? Or should she stay still and wait for him to do something first? But what would he do? What did she want him to do? Her mind was a mess but among those confusing thoughts, she realized there was no question if she was comfortable or not.

Because, without any questions, she was very comfortable. Despite the incident last night, she wasn't scared of being close to him at all. In fact, she liked it. The way he held her wrist very gently, the way he carefully cradled her head in his palm as if she was made of glass, and the way his body's heat engulfed her in its warmth, made her feel safe and secure. This feeling was the exact feeling when he saved her from drowning in the sea. When she was cold, couldn't breathe, and was scared, he appeared and saved her from the bottom of the darkness.

After some hesitation, Hinata shyly removed her wrist from his hand. His hold tightened around her wrist at first then slowly relaxed, letting her retreat her wrist. And then, unexpectedly, her arms wrapped around his waist, pulling him into a warm hug. He quickly returned her hug, wrapping his arms around her petite frame. Hinata was small and it provoked a sense of protectiveness in him.

His dark eyes met her pale ones as she looked up from his chest. Her face was pink but her lips were smiling. "You could never hurt me."

And that was the assurance he needed

A/N: For anyone who is wondering if the last scene is implying that they will have sex afterward then no, they're not at that point yet but they will be, eventually. Keep following the story if you want to know *wink wink*