Title: it's time to fall into my arms
Summary: He had a secret. He had a secret and she was hellbent on knowing what it was.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Prompt: Secrets
Rating: K
Warning(s): A little angst.
Comments: CONTINUATION OF THE LAST PROMPT.

He was hiding something from her.

He was hiding something from her, and she hated it. It made her feel like he didn't trust her, like he still thought she couldn't handle the truth—like he was still trying to protect her from getting hurt by keeping important information from her. But didn't he know that wasn't the case? Didn't he realize how she could handle herself after he'd told her and Naruto the whole, honest truth about his clan, Itachi, and Konoha? Didn't he know?

A frustrated sigh left her lips, and she gritted her teeth to keep from saying anything to the man beside her, who was riffling through scrolls and books with a concentrated frown. He paused when he heard her, and when she saw the frown on his lips deepen, she knew he'd noticed she had abandoned her own work. He looked at her, then.

"Is… something wrong?" he questioned quietly, his eyes holding a little uncertainty and hesitation. He looked nervous, almost.

The temptation to sigh again was almost overwhelming when she concluded to herself that he was still acting rather oddly with her. He'd gotten unbelievably worse since yesterday, acting all jumpy and agitated around her, as if her very presence made him extremely uncomfortable. Sometimes she thought he was terrified of her—a thought she always immediately dismissed because why in the world would Sasuke ever be scared of her, and in what messed up world would that ever happen? Sasuke was a strong man, and highly unsusceptible to be intimidated, especially not by someone like her.

Clearly, she had to be imagining.

But his edginess? His twitching and grinding of teeth? How he hardly met her gaze unless necessary? He was hiding something—something he didn't want her to know, and something incredibly important. If it wasn't so important, he wouldn't be so… tense around her.

"I don't know, you tell me," Sakura responded, sounding sickly sweet.

From the way his eyes narrowed a little, she could tell he had detected something was wrong.

"You're… angry," he said, slowly. He nodded to himself when she growled in response. "Why are you angry?"

"You're hiding something from me," she said, not bothering to beat around the bush. "And I want to know what it is."

The way his ebony eyes widened in panic when she finished speaking was enough to confirm her suspicions. She fixed him with a steady glare. "I'm done being in the dark, Sasuke," she said, voice firm but… coaxing, also. Her eyes softened a little. "You have to trust me with these things. You have to let me in."

"It's not…" He trailed off, swallowing tightly. "It doesn't…" he tried again, but quieted down rather quickly while he shifted his gaze to the ground.

"It's not important?" she suggested, fisting her hands tightly. "It doesn't matter?"

Sasuke was quick to retaliate with, "No! That's not what I wanted to say, I—"

He cut himself short again, and Sakura shook her head sadly.

"I don't understand you sometimes, Sasuke-kun," she started, looking at him in a way that was almost… disappointed. Strangely, it didn't seem to be aimed at him. "We were doing well when you came back, no? You opened up to Naruto and I, you made us understand. We got closer…" She paused here, letting out a defeated sigh. "At least, I thought so, before you started acting all weird on me. What did I do, Sasuke-kun? Did I say something that made you lose your trust in me? Did I do something that threw you off? Did I ruin our friendship?" Her throat was starting to get a little tight, and she could feel the familiar sting in her eyes—the one that signaled tears. She shut them tightly, refusing to let them fall. "Can you please just explain to me why you've been acting so weird, because I can't understand. I just… It just feels like you're trying to push me away by acting like this, like you're trying to make me uncomfortable and I know it makes no sense but—"

Suddenly, she felt something warm, moist and soft on her lips. Her eyes snapped open in shock, and she recoiled in surprise, taking a few steps back.

("Just kiss her.")

Sasuke straightened himself, a deep frown passing his lips, but she couldn't seem to take in anything at the moment. Her mind was reeling, running through her memories of recent events, mouth falling open in shock when the realization of the meaning behind his weird, awkward actions, hit her like a ton of bricks. Sakura expelled an astonished breath, refusing to believe in her epiphany—refusing to give herself false hopes.

It can't be, she thought, trembling to her very bones. It can't be, he can't actually—

Reality slammed back into her when he called her name. She tipped her head up a bit and looked at him, breath catching in her throat at the sight of his guilty, hurt, features.

"I just thought that you still…" He trailed off, looking down with what seemed like dejection. He sighed. "I'm sorry," he muttered, turning towards the door. "I'm—I'll just leave."

But she grasped his wrist firmly to keep him from leaving, and bowed her head low.

"…Why?" she asks, her voice small and low and hopeful.

He turned to look at her, then, slowly. She wouldn't look at him, so she couldn't see how he straightened at her tone of voice, how the flash of realization crossed his face, too.

Quietly, he said, "For the same reason most people kiss someone, Sakura."

Beat.

"But you're not most people, Sasuke-kun."

An impatient, angry breath.

Then abruptly, his hands were on her shoulders and he was kissing her again, nose pressing against hers awkwardly—revealing how inexperienced he was. He was frowning angrily, and his grip was a little too tight on her, but she reminded herself that this was Sasuke and he was intense and beautiful and perfect in his imperfections.

Just when she was about to start responding, he pulled away, already blushing. His grip wasn't loosening, either.

He cleared his throat, looking away from her. "I shouldn't have to explain to you why I did that," he finally said. "You're smart, Sakura. You know why."

She was blushing now, too. "You…" she started, smiling shyly. "You really don't have a clue how relationships work, do you?" she asked, referring to his weird behavior in their recent past.

His eyes narrow.

"Don't make fun of me," he bit out, before he slammed her against the wall and forcefully kissed her, allowing her to reciprocate, this time.

He was clumsy, clearly did not know where to put his hands, and moved his mouth rather quickly, messily, but it only made Sakura smile. Gently, she rubbed his neck and tried to get him to calm down—tried to get him to follow her lead. She coaxed him into relaxation, sliding her lips over his slowly, sensually, guiding him into a proper kiss. One of her hands slipped into his hair when he slowed down and fell in sync with her, running through the tangles tenderly.

He was a quick learner, she would give him that.

"I love you," she whispered in his ear when they pulled away, both panting softly.

In response, Sasuke leaned back lightly and laid a gentle, fond kiss on her forehead before he nuzzled her hair.

A/N: I didn't want to do a continuation. Mostly because I knew it'd mess it up, but partly too because I felt like it could just stand on its own. But this was the only idea I had for this prompt, the only one that inspired me to write something that wasn't half-assed. All thanks to a reviewer, really. So I guess, you could say this stands alone too, but technically it's a continuation of the last prompt.

Yeah… so, next update shall be soon, I believe. I'd like to get the two next ones out tomorrow, and I think I probably will, having absolutely nothing to do but sit in my bed and nurse my nasty sunburn hahahha. Not going on with a burn like that, certainly not in this heat! xD

Hehe, toodles loves. :)

DeepPoeticGirl