A/N: Wow, can any of you believe that this story has just gone past it's 4 year anniversary? Probably since this marks the 59th chapter. Trust me when I say that I am shaking my head in disbelief. I imagined maybe 30 chapters total when I first did my layout, but this story almost writes itself as I sit down at the keyboard and start typing. Thank you very much for those of you who have hung on this long and welcome to any of you who have picked up the story along the way.

Birds chirping. That is the first thing that she notices as her consciousness begins to push back on the fog as she awakens to a new day. In a sense it is a new year for her because it is her birthday. As her eyes open she has to blink a few times to get them into focus so that she can look about the small bedroom. The place they are staying in is a wonderful way to celebrate her birthday, especially with the scent of cherry blossoms coming through the partially open window. She cannot help but smile contentedly at how perfect everything seems right now.

Honestly she really hasn't had much of a reason to smile for the last few years, but this assignment which was meant to be a punishment mission has really turned to be just what she has needed for a while. The Leaf Village is her home, which means that everywhere she looks there are things that trigger memories. So many of those memories belong to a face with big blue eyes and an even bigger smile. A smile that through her careless actions and unforgivable words, has gone away and may never be seen up close by her again.

Sakura squeezes her eyes tightly shut and forces herself to focus on something else before she breaks down into tears again. She reaches out with her left hand and places it upon the naked chest of the dark haired man lying beside her in the bed. She looks at his calm face and smiles. She wonders if he honestly thinks that he is fooling her by pretending to be asleep. He should know better than pretend with someone of her medical caliber, someone who has and will again watch him get the rest he deserves.

As she slides her hand across the smooth lean-muscled skin of his chest she cannot help but feel aroused. She thinks about the romantic night that they had last night and wonders what else Sasuke could possibly have planned today for her birthday. He had somehow gotten them access to an exclusive mountain retreat near the Village Hidden in the Clouds. This place really should be called the Cabin Hidden in the Clouds by how it is surrounded by a thick, almost tangible fog all the time. All she does know is that Sasuke had disappeared just before one of her medical seminars and then a few days later asked her to postpose any of her other classes around her birthday.

As they left the village and headed up high into the mountains she had no idea what Sasuke had in mind for her birthday. When they reached the ancient looking small building he explained that this was a place that one of the Hidden Cloud clans uses as a personal mediation and training retreat. It has some modern amenities; like a small windmill that keeps a battery bank fully charged to power any modern conveniences that a visitor might need. Though most people, in keeping with the idea of cleansing ones spirit, rarely use them and instead cook their meals and heat their water for bathing using the wood burning stove in the back of the house.

It had been enjoyable to work closely with Sasuke to open up the house to air it out, building a fire in the old stove and begin preparations for their dinner like a pair of newlyweds. The cabin's water is collected from the prodigious amount of rainfall the area gets in a cistern just up the hill and is piped down to the house by gravity. Once dinner had been set to slow cook and the ingenious water circulating coil system around the flue had been set to heat up water for their bath the two had went for a short walk.

It had been so romantic to wander in the nearby rock walled maze, left over from some old clan tradition, all alone with the misty clouds that give the Hidden Cloud Village its name floating about the maze as well. The mist could hide passages to other areas or even obscure where that had come from, making the maze even more disorientating. Obviously, Sasuke with his kekkei genkai could waltz through the maze without losing a single moment, but acting like a couple of normal people wandering the maze all alone had made it more romantic. Especially when they would stop at a dead-end, one of which she had gotten frustrated and nearly punched a hole in the wall. When she turned around Sasuke was standing there looking at her blankly. That look had made her feel shy and self-conscious like she had when they were teammate fresh out of the academy. All she could do was stare at him with shoulders hunched and her head cast downwards.

Sasuke had taken a step forward and poked her in the forehead, his way of telling her to stop acting silly. It was something about this old familiar act of caring, one she would later learn was Itachi's way of telling Sasuke in his own quiet way that he loved his little brother, that sent a thrill through her body. Without a second thought she reached out, grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. At first he tried to act like his usual aloof self, but after a little persistence from her Sasuke warmed up and began to kiss her in return. Later, after backtracking to the last intersection they finally found their way to the center of the maze. It seemed only fitting that it was a shrine to Susanoo, the god of the sea and storms plus the name of the armored figure that Sasuke can form around his body. Before returning to the cabin they explored the shrine at the center of the maze and even said a short prayer.

The onsen in the cabin's bathroom was a perfect place to relax after their dinner and just let the soothing warm water soak away every care. Its size made it a little cozy for two people, but that was no problem for a couple now used to being intimately close to each other. Intimate they had been during and after their long soak in the fresh rain water warmed to a perfect temperature.

As she thinks about last night Sakura traces little hearts on Sasuke's chest right over his own heart and whispers in his ear. "I love you, Sasuke-kun." Maybe never going home to the Leaf Village wouldn't be so bad if they could just live the rest of their lives here hidden away in this cozy cabin in the mists.

Sasuke opens his eyes and gives her a crooked smile. "I know." His eyes close partially in reaction to her lithe naked body quickly sliding over on top his own and grabbing his hands. He stares up into her piercing jade green eyes, framed by a pink curtain of hair, and waits to see what she has in mind.

Seeing that he is enjoying the sensation of her body rubbing against his, Sakura slowly writhes on top of him as she plants tiny kisses; starting on his sternum and slowly working her way up towards his collarbone, neck, cheek and finally lips. It doesn't take long before her stimulations achieve her goal and she begins to feel part of him rising up between her thighs. Sensing the increase in his heartrate and the change in his breathing Sakura decides that it is time to go to the next phase. She increases her strength and presses down on his wrists while arching her back as she straddles Sasuke, putting most of her weight onto her knees. She cannot help but smile as he looks up at her curiously while trying to hide his increasing lust. 'Well, I guess I will just have to make him take off his mask and show me what his body is already saying it wants.'

Sasuke sees the miniscule tightening of the muscles in the corner of her eyes and doesn't even need his kekkei genkai to know that she is about to change her seducing tactics. Even his powerful eyes might be unable to prepare him for the erotic torture she is about to unleash. He closes his mouth as Sakura begins to move her hips in a circular motion to keep himself from audibly gasping. He only hopes that she did not hear him sharply inhaling through his nose as it becomes clear that she wants him to be the first one to surrender.

Inner Sakura is already pumping her fist in victory. Sasuke's eyes reveal nothing of the turmoil going on inside his body, something that anybody not trained as a medical ninja would miss. Unfortunately, for him the medical skills she poses are on par with the Fifth Hokage and better in a few areas if Tsunade's bragging is to be believed. She watches in glee as he struggles to control himself as she rubs her outer labia up against the very tip of his penis. Just as his tip catches the edge of one of her labia and begins to pry her open she lifts her body just enough to escape and slide her public mound down his shaft, but only enough to tease and leave him nearly begging for more. She doesn't want him to detonate prematurely and never reach the point of surrender, robbing her of her complete victory.

Sasuke can feel that the tip of his penis is now damp from a mixture of her juices, and some of his own that have begun to leak out in anticipation as she continues to tease. As her hips swing about for another pass he waits for the right moment and thrusts his hips forward to plunge inside, only to have her giggle in his face as she leans forward and pulls her entrance out of his reach. It is obvious that she wants him to beg her to let him inside. After the third time of her pulling away he decides that it is time to tease her as well if she does it again.

As she pulls away again, waiting for him to finally give in and beg out loud, Sasuke lifts up his head and opens his mouth. By her sudden gasp he can tell that she had been so focused on teasing him that she had forgotten what morsel of her own would be dangling right in front of his face. Her breast might be small when compared to most other women, but the puffiness of her areola does help make up a little for any overall size disadvantage with something different. Her breasts looks like they have a smaller light brown mound on top of her much paler one, with a perfect little pink cherry nipple to complete the whole thing. Sasuke smiles at his little ironic joke as he wraps his mouth around most of her small breast. He begins to massage her areola between his tongue and the roof of his mouth while trying to occasionally stimulate her nipple further back in his mouth with precise movements of his tongue.

Sakura nearly impales herself onto Sasuke as her body reacts to the sensation of him suckling on her right breast. She has been very self-conscious of not only her lack of cup size, but that her puffy areola looks weird when compared to Ino's normal looking more rounded breast. To make sure no one could see or even guess, she always wears minimizing bras with thick padding, which also helps keep them out of her way when working. Fortunately, Ino only made fun of her the one time when they were younger and after seeing just how much the comment hurt her Ino never said anything about their shape or looks ever again.

Wondering what Sasuke's reaction would be if he ever saw her naked was on her mind for many years. So much so that she asked for the lights to be turned off their first time together. He had ignored her request, left the light on and instead of flinching away he had held still with his eyes studying her as she slowly took off her clothes. When the time came he didn't even pause when he looked into her eyes and began to gently fondle her breast. Later, when her self-consciousness got the better of her, she asked him if he was okay with how her breast looked and if not she knew of some medical procedures to augment their size and shape. He just gave her a small smirk, poked her in the forehead with one finger and told her that they were perfect, like her.

As she is reflecting upon this Sakura lets her guard down and is flipped over onto her back. In her distracted state she had lost focus on using her chakra to give her the strength to keep Sasuke pinned, and is now looking up with her hands pinned to the bed by Sasuke. Her attempt at overpowering him and taking control again is interrupted as he thrust himself deeply into her body. The feeling of her lover filling the aching emptiness inside her body overtakes all other rational thought and her body relaxes to let him even deeper inside.

Sasuke knows that in reality he lost when he let himself succumb to the desires that Sakura was instilling into his body with her teasing, but at least he began their lovemaking on his own terms and without him asking permission. As their rhythm synchronizes he slows his pace for their equal enjoyment and releases her hands to allow her to do as she pleases. He has learned recently that her medical ninjutsu knowledge has applications beyond repairing the body, that it can be used in other ways including lovemaking. With a little bit of chakra manipulation she can prolong their lovemaking or even stimulate nerve endings to increase the sensation and intensity of both his and her climax. What is unexpected this time is her use of her strength in a completely unexpected manner. "Ooohh!"

Sakura strokes Sasuke's cheek soothingly as he lets out a loud moan. She has taken the basic medical advice for women to keep their pelvic muscles strong so that they will not have urinary incontinence later in life to a new level. Those same muscles can be used to enhance a man's pleasure by gripping him tightly while making love. Sasuke is the only man she has ever had sex with and he is so self-conscious about needing to be in control that they don't make love as frequently as Ino claims that she does with Kiba. Honestly if Ino is to be believed the two of them do very little else when together, either that or it doesn't take very long for Kiba to finish. Thanks to that infrequency her vaginal walls are still near their virginal state, but she has been wanting to try this out on Sasuke ever since she read about it in a textbook years ago. Maybe she should have waited till his birthday instead of her own, but seeing his reaction is like a little present to herself, and now he knows that her hands are not the only muscles she can enhance with her chakra.

Not to be outdone by her, Sasuke leans back and sits down on the bed. He pulls her with him, making sure not to slip out, and sits her down on his lap in the right angle to reach that special spot deep inside her body. Before she can react and do something else to drive him even more crazy with lust he starts kissing her neck and fondling one of her breasts, while continuing to slowly thrust himself in and out of her body.

Sakura wraps her legs tightly around Sasuke and with each of his thrusts she tries to pull him even deeper inside her body to press against that spot even more. She loosens her vaginal muscles as he thrusts and tightens as he pulls back in a milking-like motion. This causes him to increase the intensity of the kisses on her neck to a pain inducing level. In response she reaches up with both hands, grabs ahold of his dark hair and crushes his face against the most sensitive part of her neck. "Yes, right there my Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke can feel his thrusts become more erratic as his need to orgasm is quickly becoming beyond his ability to control. His left hand grips the swell of her hips while the thumb and index finger of his right pinches the nipple of her left breast. The pain of being pinched causes her to let out a loud moan and clench her muscles even tighter, driving Sasuke over the edge.

It is easy for her to tell that his orgasm has hit by the sudden change in his thrusting, and that he is now moaning against her neck rather than kissing. It is the thought of his fluids, part of her Sasuke, being deposited inside her body that induces her own orgasm. She loses her voluntary muscle control and leans back till her head is touching the pillow as wave after wave of pleasure radiates out from where they are connected and throughout her whole body.

Sasuke grabs Sakura by the hips and holds onto her as he watches her naked form undulate in an erotic display of her pleasure. One of his thumbs brushes over the heart-shaped pink hair on her neatly trimmed pubic mound. He can't help but grunt as her leg muscles spasm pushing him even deeper into her body while her vaginal walls rhythmically tighten like a vice around his manhood. It is as if her body is trying to milk every last drop out of him that it can, he starts to wonder if she will begin to extricate blood out of him as well, or if his penis we need real medical attention once their lovemaking is finished.

As her orgasm finally subsides, Sasuke gently lowers Sakura's body the rest of the way onto the mattress and lies down beside her gasping. Without hesitation Sakura rolls over and clings to his body with her ear pressed tightly against his chest. She smiles as she listens to the rapid heartbeat of the man she has loved since they both were kids on the playground. Once the euphoria has finally left her body Sakura raises up out of bed and looks down for a moment at Sasuke's chest to admire the sheen of sweat reflecting the light before gesturing towards the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower before breakfast; thankfully this place does have an electric water heater for emergencies." Sakura cocks her head a little to insinuate that she would not say no to some company.

He gestures for her to go on and then laces his fingers behind his head in a show of contentment. In honesty he did want to risk her injuring his penis anymore before it has a chance to recover from the abuse it just endured. He was damn sure he was not going to tell her that though, it's not that he fears that her healing touch on his manhood would be anything other than pleasant. No, his Uchiha pride will not let him admit that she may have gotten the best of him in their last lovemaking session. Though watching her walk towards the bathroom is making him reconsider his decision and to just ignore the pain in his aching member. He lets his eyes roam down Sakura's sleek feminine form in admiration. Some might say that her body is almost androgynous from the shoulders down, if not for the bright colors she wears to accentuate her femininity. Seeing her walking away confident in her nakedness there is no way to mistake her for anything other than a woman. His eyes pause on the slenderness of her waist and the slight swell of her hips before coming to a halt at her small perky buttocks, small enough that his hands can completely wrap around one of them and still have room for most of her other cheek. He almost lets his mental groan escape his lips as she bends over to pull her pack out of the closet and head into the bathroom. There is just no way that display was an accident he think to himself as she saunters into the bathroom

After she enters the bathroom he waits for the sound of the water running before sitting up on the edge of the bed. She has already won once today, and now that he has watched her obvious offer his body wants him to surrender once more. Movement at the window catches his eye and just as he slides Sakura's kunai out from under the pillow he pauses from throwing when he recognizes what is sitting on the window sill. 'Damn, how long has that been there waiting and watching?'

"Uuuuuchihaaaa Saaasukeeeee." Croaks a wide-eyed red and dark blue stripped toad about the size of a watermelon. Once it gets a nod of affirmation the toad opens its mouth and produces a scroll at the end of its elongated tongue.

Sasuke takes the scroll with one hand while the other grabs the bedsheet and drapes it over his exposed genitals. He can only shake his head at himself for even bothering to see who the scroll is from before breaking the seal and pulling it open. There is only one person in this world that would have such bad timing.

Sasuke,

You asked to know more about what happen between the girls, and I guess I sort of promised you that I would find out. Honestly, I don't remember if I promised to tell you or not, but you said it might help your investigation, so I did talk to Hinata.

Speaking of Hinata I finally figured some things out and I am going to tell her that I love her tonight at the party, maybe on the dancefloor. Wow, it's been so long since I even used that word for anything, even ramen, that it feels really weird writing it down. I am not sure if I ever wrote that word down before, being that I never cared much for writing, or reading if I am going to be honest.

Oh yeah, I probably shouldn't say this because I might jinx it before he even says anything, but Gaara is in love with somebody. I don't think you have met her since right after the war you were rushed off to the Leaf Village and all. Her name is Matsuri and I helped Gaara rescue her from a group of kidnappers shortly after you left the village. She is really shy and quiet, kind of like Hinata, so I am sure that the two of them will be a great couple.

Anyways, I got to start getting ready for the big party tonight.

So bye,

Uzumaki Naruto

Sasuke pulls the scroll all the way out to the end and flips it over to see if there is anything on the other side, but to no avail. "That idiot, I thought he was going to tell me what he learned from Hinata. I could not care less if Gaara has feelings for some girl." Well he should not be really surprised at how the letter was brief and rambled like stream of thought, but dammit that information may provide something that he needs to prove Sakura is innocent of sneaking into the medical archives and altering those medical charts. That is if Naruto can actually concentrate on the information long enough to write it down correctly.

The messenger toad seeing the irritated look on the Uchiha's face promptly disappears in a cloud of smoke rather than wait for a reply. A moment later another toad, this one green with big yellow wart-like bumps, jumps through the window and says, "Uuuuuchihaaaa Saaasukeeeee."

Sasuke resists the urge to get his sword and split the toad in half, instead he holds out his hand while glaring menacingly at the toad. He is not surprised when the toad quickly spits a scroll onto the floor and jumps up onto the window sill as if preparing to get away if attacked rather than wait for a possible return message.

Sasuke,

Sorry about that, I realized after the first messenger toad left that I forgot to tell you what I learned from Hinata. If you don't mind give both of the messengers a snack of some kind as a thank you and I'll pay you back later when I get the chance. They prefer bugs, but they can be bribed with snack foods.

Before I forget, I should tell you that Iruka-sensei is getting married in a couple of weeks to Ayame. Crazy huh? I would never have thought about them being an item, but just seeing them together makes perfect sense, you know.

Sasuke closes his eyes for a moment and says a silent prayer hoping that the next line will be about Hinata and Sakura. If not, and if there is a third toad on the way his reply message will contain a paper bomb. Luckily for Naruto the next line begins with the words, 'Hinata said…'.

Sakura is standing in front of the mirror drying her pink hair while admiring the new bruise Sasuke left on her neck this morning. She is a little disappointed that he had not joined her in the shower, but knowing him he did not want to come across as too eager after she had made an invitation. It would have been better if she had just walked slowly into the bathroom and not hinted at him joining her, that way it would have been his idea and he would have come in to take a shower with her this morning. Maybe it could have turned into another long soak in the onsen afterwards, her legs still feel a little weak after making love to Sasuke and they could use a nice relaxing soak. She needs to see if the water heater in this place has enough capacity to fill the onsen without needing the wood stove. You know, just in case they want to take a long bath together after breakfast.

Well anyways, it looks like they are going to be having plenty of chances to shower and bathe together soon. Sakura stuffs the towel into her mouth as she struggles not to scream in glee. In the middle of the night when she had gotten up to pee she had a terrible taste in her mouth and realized that she had not brushed her teeth before going to bed. Being a medical ninja, dental health is just as important as the health of any other part of her body. Besides she didn't want to gross out Sasuke this morning with a bad case of morning breath. As her hands fumbled had in the darkness to find the pouch where she keeps her emergency toothbrush she touched a strange object.

As her hand was pulling it out of the pocket she realized that it was from Sasuke's pack, and that is when it hit her like a slap in the face what she might have in her hands. Sakura had stepped into the bathroom and turned on the light to stare at the small box, you know the ones that are the right size for a ring. She had argued with herself for a short bit trying to decide whether to sneak a peek inside or not. In the end her fear of him finding out and becoming angry had won out over her curiosity, so she had put the box back unopened.

Sakura looks at herself in the mirror as she brushes her wet hair and smiles. Is this why he wanted someplace secluded and romantic for her birthday? Is he planning on proposing this weekend, maybe even sometime today? "Well, best make sure that he has no reason to second guess himself." She wraps the towel around her body so that there is a hint of her small breasts sticking out the top. Sakura also arranges the gap in the towel so that her left leg can be seen all the way to her hip. Hopefully it is so enticing that Sasuke will want to unwrap her personally before taking his own shower.

As she finalizes the adjustments of her towel Sakura thinks about the wedding arrangements. Since she was little she wanted to get married in the spring when the cherry blossoms are blooming, but she really doesn't want to wait a whole year to get married to Sasuke. If they hurried home now they could catch the end of the season, but she is supposed to stay out of the village till the investigation proves her innocence of manipulating patient's charts. Oh well she does like the autumn too; but in the end does it matter when, as long as she can finally be Sasuke's wife she will be happy. Uchiha Sakura, at last.

It would be a happier occasion for her if everyone could attend the wedding. "I wonder how Naruto and Hinata are doing?" From what Ino and Tenten have told her everything is going very well with her old teammate and Hinata. From what she has been hearing, Naruto has been unusually hesitant to take his relationship with Hinata to the next level for some reason. Which is friend speak for hinting that his fight with Sakura is why Naruto is so tentative to do something for the first time in his life, so why not tell them so they can help out.

A pang of guilt makes her heart ache for allowing herself to be happy when things are still unresolved between her and Naruto. Maybe she should have not stopped Sasuke from talking to Naruto? Those two always bring everything to the surface when they are around each other. It doesn't matter what it is; eating, fighting, training, anything really. Maybe if they had talked to each other it would have created an opening for her to get close enough to Naruto, at least long enough to rescind her request of him staying away. She should tell Sasuke that she has changed her mind about him talking to Naruto, but should she tell him before or after he proposes. Before, definitely before, otherwise it will look like she only wants it because she is engaged and is now unafraid of losing Sasuke. 'While he is taking his shower I will fix us something nice for breakfast, and afterwards I will just tell him everything that happened between me, Naruto and then later Hinata.'

As she leaves the bathroom, Sakura is surprised to see Sasuke sitting on the edge of the bed reading from a scroll with another unrolled scroll beside him on the bed. The question of where did the message scrolls come from is quickly answered by the presence of a nervous looking toad sitting on the window sill. A hopeful smile spreads across her face as Sasuke picks up the scroll on the bed and tosses it towards her with an expressionless look his face. The thought of him giving her something from Naruto sends a surge of happiness through her body.

She quickly skims through the short letter and looks up in disbelief. "Wait, you talked to Naruto even after I asked you not to?" She speaks harshly out loud before she can stop herself, and then her inner self chides her for being mad after she had just decided to ask Sasuke to go and talk with their old teammate the next chance he gets. Hold on, Naruto did his usual string of consciousness letter and never got around to really saying what Hinata told him about their fight. "What's in the other scroll, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke ignores the look of panic on Sakura's face and holds up the other scroll. "I think we need to have a long talk."