Chapter 6 – I Want It Now

As expected of the Haruno family, the party for Sakura's sixteenth birthday was huge. It seemed like almost every person from school was there, as well as their family members and not for the first time, Sasuke thought it was a good thing that they had such a big house.

There were people running around in their swimming costumes, cannon-balling into the pool out back. There were just as many in and around the house which was blaring with music. Looking at some of the guests made him want to find Mebuki and remind her to lock the bedrooms with all things valuable in them. Did they even know half the people there? Did Sakura? He highly doubted it.

Sighing, Sasuke followed his older brother as he made his way through the crowds, smiling politely and knowingly making girls swoon in his wake. Jerk. At least with Itachi around, hardly any of them bothered him. They would keep him occupied, too, meaning Sasuke would have time to find Sakura and get her alone.

At the minute, that seemed impossible.

She was completely surrounded by the other girls from school, laughing and joking with one another. Stupid, in his opinion. It was all so stupid and fake. Before she became more outgoing, before she gained more confidence after sleeping with that idiot Naruto, none of those girls had so much as looked her way. They hadn't cared about her in the least (other than the fact she was Yamanaka Ino's friend, meaning they had to be at the very least polite to her), yet there they all stood in skimpy bikinis, acting like they'd been friends all their lives. How could sex change one person that much? How could it change their entire image?

Either way…

It was her birthday. He didn't want to interrupt.

Turning, Sasuke went to find Naruto.

The blond was with his parents when he found him, grinning brightly with his arms behind his head and for a brief second, he debated on walking away. They seemed so… complete and it left him feeling hollow on the inside. It made him feel as though he would be intruding if he joined them now.

A hand fell to his shoulder and he jolted, glancing over his shoulder, but he calmed when Itachi smiled down at him in understanding.

"Mebuki-san would like to know if you want any tomatoes, Sasuke. She has some freshly picked."

His eyes slid over to the picture Naruto's family made and he nodded in agreement.

He wondered if it would ever get any easier.

It was difficult keeping his concentration.

Surely Sakura was doing all this on purpose? What other reason would she have for repeatedly walking by him, dressed only in a bikini? Ino was with her, too and it only confirmed his suspicions: they were trying to get his attention. Well, they had it – Sakura had it, rather.

Her pale skin looked smooth and flawless and Sasuke found himself wanting to run his fingers over it, to feel if it was just as soft as it appeared. And while her breasts weren't overly large, or as big as Ino's (who was walking with her chest sticking out, making him wonder why she wanted to make them seem bigger than what they already were), he thought that they were a size he appreciated. They looked natural. Perky.

Don't even get him started on the view from the back.

Ino definitely had the bigger chest, but she couldn't compare to Sakura's ass. It was toned and you could actually tell she had an ass, whereas some of the other girls at the party looked flatter than a sheet of paper.

Damn it…

Turning on his heel and ignoring Naruto's yell of anger, Sasuke made a beeline to the stairs, intent on using the bathroom up there instead of the downstairs one. Since Mebuki knew him personally and knew he wouldn't try stealing anything, he knew she would allow him to go up there.

Really, what he needed was some time to himself. It was much too crowded down there and Sakura's figure was… It was getting to him. Physically getting to him and Sasuke sighed with relief as he entered the bathroom, shutting the door quietly behind himself and making sure to lock it. Sitting on the edge of the bathtub, he lowered his head into his hands, shielding his face and breathing deeply in order to calm himself.

Sakura was undeniably beautiful, but it wasn't until recently that he had noticed that. At first, to him, she had been attractive. Then, pretty. But now… Reluctantly, he smirked. She was using her figure to try and capture his attention, unaware of the fact that she already had it. She had always had it.

A soft knock on the door startled him and briefly, he contemplated ignoring it. Something told him to get up and answer, however.

He should have known that it would be Sakura.

Part of him was wary when she entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind herself and leaning back against it, smiling at him shyly as the turn of the lock seemed to echo deafeningly. Since when did Sakura do shy, as of late? Since when did she follow guys into the bathroom?

"Too crowded?"

Hardly. She knew exactly why he'd gotten out of there. He could see it in her stunningly green eyes.

"Happy birthday," he murmured.

Those eyes widened, stunned to hear the words before Sakura gave him the most beautiful smile he'd seen. When was the last time she'd truly smiled? Not the fake ones she gave to the people around school, or the reluctant ones she gave to Itachi, but a genuine, happy smile. For some reason the thought made his chest ache.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun." A blush stained her cheeks and she bit her lip. "It's the first time you've ever said it, you know."

Was it? Surely not? This time, his own eyes widened and suddenly, Sasuke felt sick with himself. The reason why he never really remembered Sakura's birthdays was because he never really cared to remember. He simply handed over a meaningless gift and left her to it.

His fists clenched, very much like his jaw.

How could he have done that to her?

"Sakura-"

"Don't get caught up on it," she tried to soothe him. "It's just a birthday, right?"

But it meant a lot to her. Whether it mattered to him or not wasn't the problem – he knew where he stood. Sakura, however, always cared about special occasions such as those and since it was her birthday, it was important that they celebrated it.

"Sasuke-kun?"

He looked back at her, surprised to find the worry creasing her brow. "Meet me at my place tomorrow, Sakura. Four o'clock."

Her frown deepened, but instead of concern, she looked confused and it vaguely amused him. Due to how smart she was (when she wanted to be) it was difficult to confuse her.

"Eh? Why? What are we doing?"

This time, he smirked. "I'm taking you out for dinner. It's your present."

It wasn't some expensive necklace or bracelet that would eventually fade in colour, break or get lost and it wasn't an outfit that would become forgotten about in the back of her never-ending wardrobe. Instead, Sasuke had stolen an idea or two from his brother's previous gifts and decided it should be something that they could do together, something that meant they would spend time together.

Childish delight lit up her entire expression and Sakura all but threw herself at him, squealing with excitement. Her previous smile returned, nearly splitting her face in half and it made him feel lighter on the inside when she laughed. The sound was happy, right in his ear and it was a sound he tried his best to savour. It made him feel like… It made him feel free.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, his arms came around her waist and just like he had wondered: her skin was soft. Incredibly so. Dark eyes slipped shut and his breath left him in a sigh. How was Sakura able to fight off his negative feelings by doing the simplest of things? Just one smile, one touch or one look scared them all off. It made him feel like everything was going to be okay, like he was free.

What would he do without her?

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," she whispered, voice shaking with happiness. "Thank you!"

No, thank you.

It was slowly that he showered and dressed himself for the day ahead, memory still replaying yesterday's events without a second of pause. The reminder of how she felt in his arms refused to leave his mind, as did the constant reminder of how she was able to lift his mood without even trying.

Up until that moment together in the bathroom, Sasuke had not been enjoying the party and didn't even try denying that fact. There was no use. Everyone knew that, after the deaths of his parents, occasions such as birthdays or Christmas no longer held any meaning to him. However, when he was with her, she made him feel like he was finally a part of something, like he was no longer an outsider looking in on the events going on around him. The ever-present loneliness eased up when she was around.

Glancing at the clock, he calculated how long he would have before she turned up. If Sakura knew what was good for her, then she wouldn't be late. If anything, she should be early. The one thing that really pissed him off was when others kept him waiting, because it was time he could spend doing something more productive.

Like he should have known, however, Sakura arrived half an hour early, not for the first time taking his breath away with her appearance. Due to it being a chilly spring afternoon, she wore a jacket over her outfit, but that was the only way she tried to keep warm because under it, she wore a halterneck red dress that reached midthigh, along with those strange nearly black tights that weren't all that thick.

"Am I overdressed?" she asked, cheeks stained with a blush. "I wasn't sure what to wear."

You're beautiful.

"You look fine," he said instead.

It wasn't all that formal at the restaurant, so he simply wore a shirt with a pair of his best jeans and when they arrived, he was once again distracted as Sakura removed her jacket, showing him that the back of her dress was backless.

…And she wasn't wearing a bra.

Pretending to be engrossed with the menu, he skimmed through the contents, despite knowing exactly what he wanted to eat. Since she arrived so early, he and Sakura had decided to go to the restaurant earlier, though much to his annoyance she was the one to drive them, as he wasn't sixteen yet.

"Thank you for this, Sasuke-kun," she said after they told the waiter their order. "It really means a lot to me."

Yes, he could tell by the warmth that refused to leave her eyes. It was like she was fighting back a smile and it had Sasuke wondering how his presence could do that to a person. He wasn't as cheerful as Naruto, or as softly spoken as Itachi, or even as funny as Shisui! He was the one who never knew what to say, who always allowed his anger to get the best of him, who more times than not screwed up. He-

"Get out of that head of yours," Sakura teased with a giggle. "This is supposed to be a date!"

"It's not a date," came his automatic defensive reply.

Just as Sasuke was about to inwardly kick himself, however, Sakura replied by laughing and tilting her head to the side and under the table, he felt her cross her legs. How did he know? He knew because her foot not-so-innocently brushed against his leg.

"You can keep telling yourself that, but I'm calling it a date."

A reluctant smirk curved his lips. She was so persistent, yet lately, he was finding that he quite liked that about her. Not because it made the chase less difficult for himself, but because it was refreshing to have somebody genuinely wanting to be in his presence and not simply because he was Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura wanted to be with him… Well, because she was in love with him.

They'd known each other since they were days old, way back before either of them knew about reputations and popularity. It meant that, no matter what happened, he could always count on Sakura to be by his side. She was perhaps the only stable part of his life. Even when everything was turning to shit, she stayed with him, picking him up again whenever she had to.

And for that, he would always be grateful.

Their dinner had been a success, in his eyes. Sakura continued to call it a date, whereas he refused to admit such a thing (it was more of a game now and the first one who gave in, lost – something they were both way too competitive to do).

When it was over, despite it already being way into the evening, he found himself not wanting to say goodbye just yet and instead invited her back to his place. Much to his gratefulness, Itachi still wasn't home and then when evening turned into night, he still wasn't ready to say goodbye and found himself saying something incredibly foolish.

"Sakura." She looked up at him and Sasuke could tell that she was chewing on the inside of her cheek nervously. "Stay the night with me."

Sakura had stayed the night before, but this felt different and he wondered if she could feel the change, too. It didn't feel like all the other times when she and Naruto had stayed at his home, or those two staying at hers (or even them staying at Naruto's). They were never truly alone like they were right at that moment in time. Sure, they'd stayed over at each other's houses with just the two of them, but there'd always been an adult present.

"I…" Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm not going to sit here and guess at your thoughts, Sasuke. You need to be clear with me."

The loss of the '-kun' that was usually added to his name told Sasuke that she was serious, that she really needed him to be honest and blunt with her and it made him swallow nervously.

Standing from her seat on the windowsill in his room, Sakura walked over to him, her dress swaying around her. It felt wrong to stare at the flipping motion it made as she walked, however. The moment was too serious.

"If I stay the night," she began, hand pressing lightly to his chest, over his heart. "What would it mean to you?"

She knew him well enough to know that he needed a push in the right direction at times. Still, it was difficult finding the right words. If he said the wrong thing, Sakura would think he was only putting in an effort to have sex with her. If he said too much, he would fill her with false hopes, because there was no telling how things would progress between them. They could fall in love tomorrow and then out of love the next day!

"Would it just be sex to you?"

How could she even ask such a stupid question? Sakura, no matter how much she acted it at times, was certainly not stupid. "No."

A small smile pulled at her lips and she stepped impossibly closer. "And you'll still want me in the morning?"

The way her body fit against his had him once more nervously swallowing, trying to find an appropriate place to look. If he looked down at her, he could see her face, but if his eyes slipped just the slightest bit, then he had a breath-taking view of her cleavage and just the sight of it made him feel warmer.

He nodded.

Her confidence… How easily she made the first move… Who was this girl? Black eyes searched green, intrigued to find out more about her. Sasuke wanted to know everything. Desires, nervous habits, what made her laugh and what made her cry, how easy would it be to piss her off – he wanted to know them all. Most of all, he wanted to know the bold girl who firmly pushed him into the bed, her leg lifting and sliding over his body until she was straddling him.

Questions soared through his mind faster than he could keep up with. Was this too soon? What would happen to them if they had sex? Would they end up like her and Naruto? What if Itachi walked in on them? Did he even have any protection? Did Sakura? Had she told her parents she would be spending the night at his? What about Naruto and his feelings for her?

"Stop thinking so much," she chided quietly, lips mere millimetres from his own. "Just… live in the moment."

Live in the moment. Sasuke shut his eyes as she kissed him deeply. No time was wasted when her hands came up into his hair, tugging gently and at the same time, her teeth nibbled his lip and he breathed out a shaky sigh of pleasure. They hadn't even started and already he was…

Sakura laughed breathlessly, parting from him with a lingering kiss. Experimentally, she rolled her hips and he couldn't help the broken moan that sounded, head falling back into his pillows.

The sight of her above him was beautiful, there was no doubt about it and it became ten times better as she reached for the hem of her dress and pulled it up over her head, slowly dropping it to the floor. She appeared every bit as confident as she had moments ago – and with good reason.

Her body was nothing short of amazing. Of course, he'd already known that because of her party, but that was beside the point. There was a huge difference between her waltzing around in a bikini for the world to see, to her revealing laced underwear and matching strapless bra for him (he was a bit disappointed that she was wearing one after all), only. Her skin was flushed with arousal, gaze lidded and lips swollen from their kisses.

He reached up without hesitation, dragging her down against him as he rolled over. It was more difficult than they made it look in movies, with them both needing to take a moment or two to reposition themselves. They wasted no time in continuing their needy kisses. This time, his hands joined in, exploring her body like a starved man. Soft, soft skin met his fingers, rising and falling in time with her breathing and he looked up as he cupped her breast.

Watching her expression to know what she liked and how she liked it, Sasuke continued to explore, leaving wet kisses down her neck and to her breasts, which were soon freed from their confines (he wouldn't admit to anyone that she had to help, for his hands were suddenly too unsteady to fiddle with the stupid clasp). It seemed they were especially sensitive and beneath him, Sakura moaned, hands clutching his back and hair.

She was restless beneath him and he was aching, practically throbbing in his pants. Who wouldn't have felt the bordering on desperate need to feel more of her, though? There she was, clad in a pair of lacy thongs, rubbing herself against him, while he was still fully dressed.

Sasuke pulled back long enough to remove his shirt and throw it aside, soon followed by his pants. And when he returned to her…

Fuck.

She was wet already, soaking through his own underwear and Sasuke gripped her hip tightly, willing himself to hold on just that little bit longer. It would be worth it, he reminded himself. Don't finish too soon, he begged of himself.

He could see what Naruto meant by it all happening so fast, though. Despite the possible repercussions, despite where it could leave them or land them into, Sasuke was unwilling to stop. It was intoxicating. She was intoxicating.

"I want you, Sasuke-kun," she whispered into his ear, nibbling the lobe. "Inside."

A shiver ran up his spine and he nodded quickly into her neck. They were both trembling while removing the last articles of their clothing, eyes meeting. There was no nervousness in her eyes, only a love so strong that it made him feel like he could never go without it. It warmed him entirely and he found himself drowning in her mesmerising green eyes, even when she was aligning their hips and guiding him to her entrance.

An involuntary moan left him as he pushed all the way in and the eye contact broke, his eyes squeezing shut. Amazing. It felt amazing. Warm and wet, wrapping around him like a vice. Beside her head, his arm flexed and soon, his stomach muscles tensed. Shit… How was he supposed to last when it felt so fucking good?

It was difficult finding a rhythm, Sasuke realised, and was incredibly grateful when Sakura gripped his hips and directed him into a slow grind that created wonderful friction for them both. Her hair spread out across his pillows as her head fell back onto them, expression contorted into one of extreme pleasure. The grip on his hips shifted once he found the rhythm she set, moving along his back and he faltered when her nails bit into his skin.

At the rate they were going…

Long creamy legs lifted, raising and bending until her knees were almost touching her shoulders and Sasuke joined her moan at the feeling of him slipping deeper inside.

"Sasuke-kun," she encouraged breathlessly when his pace picked up. "Yes, like that."

There was no more focusing on the struggle of keeping up his rhythm. His spine was tingling, balls feeling tighter than ever and he gritted his teeth, grabbing one of her legs to try and steady himself.

Her moan, a pitch higher than before, was his undoing.

And he could finally understand perfectly why Naruto was finding it impossible to forget about her.

Haruno Sakura…

His forehead pressed to hers while he tried to catch his breath, unable to stop himself from embracing her when Sakura lowered her legs and giggled, eyes shutting and nose scrunching up in a way that he was beginning to think was adorable (later, he would scold himself for such a sentimental, mushy thought).

It was impossible not to fall in love with her.

A/N - Please don't think I've forgotten about this story! I promise you all, I haven't. I'll admit I've been struggling with it and have had to re-read They Never Knew to try and piece together the memories I put in there of the two and their relationship, but I made a promise to you all that I would never leave a story unfinished. Even if it takes me a while, I will finish it.