Apologies for ANY typos or grammatical errors, but I am determined to finish this story within the next week (fingers crossed). This is either the last lemon or the second to last. Either way, I warn you, this one got a little raunchy, or sour if you want to stick with the lemon lingo. As always, everyone, thank you for your support, even if you don't leave a paper trail. Also, holy cow, over one hundred followers! You guys RULE! Read, Review, Enjoy xo
"Oi, Teme, I brought fish!" Naruto pounds his fist on the door, "We can make sashimi and miso soup!"
"I'm going to kill him," I press the steady throb of my cock against her slick heat; she's already so wet. Sakura laughs but drops her gaze. She unhooks her legs and I release her with great reluctance.
"We'll be right out," she calls, rummaging around for something to wear. She won't look at me and I feel her pulling away again. I take her wrist and she tenses under my fingers, "Sasuke, I'm fine."
"Look at me," gently, I urge her chin upwards. She meets my eyes for only a second before she has to drop them.
"It's painful," she whispers, "To look at you I mean."
"I don't understand why," I speak with an imploring tone.
"You're the only man I've ever wanted and," she stops when she looks up at me, "We should greet Naruto. He's probably wondering where we are."
I let her go; she needs space. I wish that space included me, but I can only hope that she'll decide to open up to me soon. Is this what she felt when I would hide secrets from her?
Arousal thrums in my veins. I can still taste him on my tongue and smell the damp earth that lingered on his skin. If Naruto hadn't shown up, we wouldn't have stopped. The thought terrifies me now more than ever because I know the more I lose myself in him, the harder it becomes to imagine myself recovering from a negative sentence. I watch Sasuke smirk at something Naruto's said. Kakashi joins in with a rebuttal. I don't know how any of us could survive losing him a second time. I avert my eyes, staring down at the table in the kitchen.
When I present my information to the Daimyos tomorrow, it needs to sound convincing. Orochimaru was controlling Sasuke before he left the village. Orochimaru's influence was the reason Sasuke abandoned Konoha. I have to steer the attention away from his thirst for vengeance; it only makes him look more guilty.
"Sakura-chan, what's wrong?" I look up and see Naruto's concerned gaze.
"Can we talk?" I drop my voice to a whisper, but I still see Sasuke's head turn in my direction out of my peripheral. Naruto nods and follows me towards a secluded hallway at the back of the house.
"What's going on?" all at once, Naruto's eyes widen and he grits his teeth, "Did he do something to you?"
"N - ," I try to swallow the lump in my throat but find myself choking on the words, " - T's not - It's not him."
I try to swallow a blubbering cry, to quiet the tears that start to fall. Naruto pulls me against him and I go slack in his arms. I don't stop the pitiful, selfish sobs that assault my body. It feels good to just let it go, to lose myself quietly in this sorrow.
"Tsunade told you that it's over in three days, didn't she?" I shake my head against him.
"I'm so scared," I weep, "We just got him back, Naruto."
"I know," his voice is quiet, but I can't be soothed.
"What are we going to do if they go through with it?" I stumble over the words, "If they - If they decide to execute him?"
"Don't think about that right now. There's nothing you can do to prepare yourself for it," he hugs me a little tighter, "Just like when your father passed away."
I feel conflicted by my frustration at Sasuke's indifference. A desire to both pull away to protect myself from him again and an unfulfilled need to be with him wage a struggle in my heart. It surprises me that I have any urge to pull away from him whatsoever, but it makes sense. I'm afraid that if, at the end of these three days, I'll have to say goodbye to him forever, I'll never be able to completely come back from it.
Naruto's right. My father's death felt so sudden, dismantling my life with a single swipe. Naruto was there for me, Kakashi and Tsunade, too. I remember my mother being so distraught that for a time we could only come together in our grief. The only thing I could do was throw myself into my work at the hospital during the day and then cry myself to sleep at night.
"I can't go through that again, Naruto," I whisper, as the tears finally slow, "I can't be with him anymore, it's too painful."
"Why would you say that?" Naruto pulls back. He is not accusing, but looks genuinely perplexed, "If I knew I only had a few days left with Hinata, I'd make the most of it."
"What's the point if he's just going to be taken away from me?" I pause, "From all of us?"
"They haven't made a decision yet and until they do, there's no point in worrying about it. You can't enjoy your time with him if you're too busy guarding yourself from your own feelings," he frowns, "I wouldn't want to spend my last days with the woman I love thinking about anything other than her."
His words strike a chord in me, because I know he's right. Sasuke and I aren't the same, though; we haven't built a life together. But does that make us any less entitled to happiness?
"Should I tell him?"
"About the shortened time?" Naruto doesn't hesitate, "Of course, he needs to know."
What if he pulls away from me, like I tried to do?
"How long have you been meeting with the council?"
"Almost since I got back."
"What have they been saying about him?"
Naruto looks away, hesitating.
"I imagine you heard the same as I did when you met with them."
"Have they ever said anything good?"
"Yes," despite that, he frowns, "They know that he's one of the last Uchiha, maybe even the last, and that brings about a whole other problem. If they execute him, they'd be wiping out the clan. There'd be no more Uchihas in Konoha, perhaps ever."
"That has to be enough. What if he served some form of penance? He could show his loyalty to the village."
"That's up to the Hokage, and Sasuke," Naruto answers solemnly.
"Why didn't you tell us that you were going to the council?" I try to hide the hurt in my voice, but I know he hears it.
"I didn't want Sasuke to worry."
"He doesn't," I scowl, "Sasuke doesn't care what happens to him."
"He does, Sakura. He's just too stubborn to show it."
"Naruto," I look up at him as if I can find the answers in his forlorn eyes, "I don't know what to do."
"Do what feels right," he releases me, "And don't give up. But for today, let's just enjoy having Team Seven together again."
I nod, trying to draw strength from the surety of his words. I know he's right but I can't shake this dreadful cloud hanging over me. I'll have to tell Sasuke and I'll have to speak to the council tomorrow.
I wish we could have stayed in the rain, let it wash away all our troubles. It would be so nice to disappear with Sasuke, to vanish into our own corner of the world. How am I supposed to enjoy my time with him if I know it's going to come to an end?
He's not condemned, I remind myself. However much it might feel like his fate is sealed, it hasn't been decided yet.
Why would she talk to him before me? Doesn't she trust me? She said she loved me, doesn't that mean she knows she can rely on me? It's annoying that I feel so defenseless around her.
I look away when she and Naruto reenter the kitchen. I can see her shoulders have lifted some. What is he able to say to console her that I can't? A flicker of irrational anger ignites in my chest. It hurts to think that she feels like she can't confide in me.
Sakura's hand touches my arm gingerly, pulling me away from the bottomlessness of my thoughts.
"Can I help you fix anything?" I set the wooden spoon down on the counter and turn to her. Her green eyes hold some remorse as she smiles demurely at me. I bring my hand up to her cheek, stroking my thumb over her soft skin and try to convey the words that I can't speak out loud at the moment. Bringing my fingers up to her forehead, I smirk. She gives me a wry smile and nods.
"Okay," her eyes dart behind me before she leans up and kisses my cheek.
"Gross, guys, do that on your own time!" Naruto exclaims. Sakura whips around, shushing him.
"You're so noisy, Naruto," she gives a vague gesture in the direction of the living room. She leans in close to him and hisses, "I don't complain every time you and Hinata do that."
"Yeah, but it's Hinata. She's so adorable."
"Are you saying Sakura's not?" I shut my mouth before I can say anything else but notice that her mouth hangs open as if I beat her to it. She points to me so as to emphasize what I've just said.
"I don't know if I want to answer that question," Naruto laughs and Sakura punches his arm.
"Ow, see this is why Hinata's adorable, she doesn't make me afraid of her," he rubs the spot she just hit. Sakura smirks, satisfied.
We infiltrate the living room again, scattering the guards to all corners of the house so that we can sit around each other and eat. Naruto's slurping fills up most of the silence. Kakashi smacks the backside of Naruto's head for it.
"Watch it," Naruto says through a mouthful, "I'm going to be your Hokage soon."
"Kami help us all," Kakashi grins.
"Let's hope Hinata has a strong influence on your decisions," Sakura mutters.
"That girl has more kindness in her pinky than the four of us combined," Kakashi says.
"I think Sasuke brings down the group average, though," Naruto wags his eyebrows at me and I smirk, but I wonder how it can be so easy for him to joke about what I've done. Sakura puts her hand on my knee and squeezes lightly. She knows me so well, like I've come to know her. She recognizes what sets me off in one way or another. I can see when something's bothering her and I like to think that I've been able to help her through some of it, like when I held her as she cried over her patient. She raises her gaze to mine, searching to make sure I'm okay. Is this what love is? To look into somebody's eyes and, not just feel it, but know in your heart that you're home, that you're safe? "You guys are freaking me out right now. Do you know how gross this is?"
"What?" Sakura asks, seeming as entranced as I was. We divert our attention back to Naruto.
"I've known you guys since we were kids, we grew up together, and now you guys are," he breaks off and orchestrates an explicit gesture with his hands.
"It was bound to happen, don't you think?" Kakashi raises an eyebrow. I frown, this whole conversation is becoming unsettling.
"No," Naruto and Sakura reply in unison. Their eyes turn to me and I think about it for a moment. I'd never considered being with somebody like this, something where it isn't just physical. But Sakura's the only woman I've ever cared about in this way.
"My mother thinks I'll wind up an old hag with no children," she jokes. Naruto and Kakashi burst into a fit of laughter. I chuckle, but in my head I can picture it so clearly; Sakura, perhaps in her thirties, with a young child at her side and a baby on her hip. Motherhood would suit her, I think.
"Hinata wants kids," Naruto blurts out, a look of absolute fear washing over him.
"Don't you?" Sakura asks, bewildered, "You always told me you couldn't wait to have them."
"I do, I do, don't get me wrong, and if they're anything like Hinata, they'll be perfect," he pauses, "But what if I'm not a good father, or what if they're more like me? I was a little shit when I was a kid, I mean, all the crap I got into," he breaks off, shaking his head.
"Uncle Neji will set them straight, I think," Kakashi says with a nod.
"Don't get me started on him," Naruto shudders.
This is what it would be like, I think, if I came out of this alive. To my shock, I don't mind it. I would like to continue traveling and completing missions as a shinobi, but if this is what I had waiting for me when I got back, then I want this future.
"I'll take care of the dishes," Sakura ushers Naruto and I out of the kitchen. Begrudgingly, I leave it to her and Kakashi. Naruto wavers by the front door.
"I should probably get home, Hinata hasn't been feeling well lately."
I nod and try to formulate the words to something I should have told him long ago.
"Naruto, I want to thank you," I think about what I said to Kakashi this morning. It really does sound like goodbye, but I have to let them know how much they mean to me, before it's too late, "And I want to apologize for everything I put you through."
"Don't apologize to me," Naruto shakes his head, "It feels weird. I've never once blamed you for the situation you were put in. I'm just sorry we couldn't do anything for you."
"You did everything for me, each of you," Naruto hugs me then and it takes me a moment to reciprocate, "That's why I want to thank you. You've waited for me, and when I came back you welcomed me without hesitation. You three are my family, and I can't show enough gratitude for it."
"What's she done to you?" he pulls away with a smirk, "You're emotional."
"Hn, I don't know," I scowl, "It's all new to me."
"I'll be back tomorrow," Naruto hugs me once more, "I wouldn't normally say this, usually I'm threatening guys to stay away from her, but enjoy yourselves tonight. She's feeling a little vulnerable right now. I think what she really needs is you."
"She has me," I give him a confused look.
"You should probably remind her of that," he flashes his wedding band excessively, "Trust me, I've been happily married for three months."
I don't answer, just smirk at him as he walks out the door. I want to enjoy our time together tonight, if she'll let us. I'll let her know that she has me; she owns me. Instead of fear, a thrill runs through me. I'll show her.
"Do you want to stay with me or Kakashi tonight?" Sakura appears unassuming and the effort behind it solidifies what Naruto told me. She stands in our room, before the bed, teetering on the edge of pulling away and coming closer.
"That shouldn't be a question," I pull my shirt over my head and toss it on the floor. Sakura swallows visibly as her eyes follow my hands. I drag my waistband down and step out of my pants. Sakura doesn't move, letting her eyes rake over me shamelessly. I step towards her and curl my fingers around the hem of her shirt, shoving it upwards. She takes my lead, not breaking contact with my gaze, and unbuttons her shorts. Sakura allows her shorts to slip down her legs until she's left only in her undergarments. I reach a hand into her hair and find that most strands are still caked with mud from earlier, "Are you mad at me?"
"I think so," she lets my hands drop to the back of her neck.
"Will you tell me why?" I keep my voice calm, hoping it will lull her into confession.
"Aren't you worried about what might happen to you?" I don't answer right away so she pursues, "You don't act like you do."
"How am I supposed to act?" it's a serious question. I want to know what she thinks an appropriate reaction should be.
"Shouldn't you be upset?" she sighs, her frustration slipping in, "It doesn't seem like you care about yourself."
"I do," I drop my hands to her waist, "I just care more about what it will mean for you three if I'm gone," I hesitate, the words are on the tip of my tongue. Her eyes widen; she must know what I'm thinking, or at least she suspects it, "You're all that I have."
I feel the heat go to my cheeks and rest my forehead on her shoulder to hide the transparency I'm sure is evident on my face. Lacing my fingers together at the small of her back, I pull her closer. She complies and slides her hands up my chest. All at once it feels good and terrifying to be like this with her.
"Sasuke-kun, I'm so scared," she breathes deeply, her warm exhale fanning over my skin.
"Tell me," I kiss her neck and whisper in her ear, "I want you to tell me everything. I felt jealous when you told Naruto what was bothering you. I want to be the one you come to for your problems, even if I'm the cause of them."
"Okay," she nods against me, "I will, I'll come to you."
"What else is wrong? I know Tsunade said something to you," I pull back to look at her, to scour her eyes for the truth.
"I don't want to think about it," her voice quivers.
"But you will. That's what happens when you hide something from other people; it consumes you."
She wages a silent debate within herself and I wait patiently, entreating her to trust me with her burdens. Sakura shakes her head and rests her cheek on my chest. I place a hand over her hair.
"I've been trying to fight this since the day you got here and it felt so good to finally give in," I can feel her lips tremble against my skin, "But Tsunade told me we don't have very much time left before they decide. I thought that I could protect myself from loving you and losing you again. But, I can't keep myself away from you. I always think about you, in everything that I do. And the truth is, I never want to stop loving you. I'm selfish and greedy. I want you to my own and I want you for far longer than I think we have."
I tuck her head under my chin, holding her tighter.
"How long until they make a decision?"
"Three days," her voice is so quiet that if it weren't for the deathly silence in the room, I wouldn't have heard her. Only three days to hold her like this. I have three days left with my team, my friends.
"Then I'm going to make the most of it," I take her face in my hands and press my lips against hers harshly. I'm going to make sure she remembers this night for the rest of her life.
Not breaking the lock of our lips, I push her towards the bathroom, shutting the door behinds us. I only leave her long enough to switch on the shower to a pleasant heat. She slips out of her bra and underwear. I trace the swell of her breasts up to her pert nipples. Sakura moans as I flick them softly. She pulls me into the stream of the shower, placing a fervent kiss on my mouth. I run my hands along her body, following each curve but not stopping in any one place, "Have I told you that you're beautiful?"
"I don't know," my fingers slip between her legs and she gasps as I skirt the apex of her thighs. I deny attention to the one place I know she wants it, "You always make me feel it, though."
"What do I make you feel?" I kneel on the wet tile and encourage her to slide down the wall until she's propped against it. Widening her legs, I let my fingers roam lightly up the inside of her thighs.
"E-Everything," anticipation is evident in her lusting orbs. I slither onto my stomach until I'm looking up at her from between her legs. I press a trail of kisses from Sakura's knee up to her hip bone then skip over her sex and repeat it on her other side.
"Describe it to me," I hover inches above her opening, locking eyes with her pleading gaze.
"You make me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world," satisfied, I place my tongue flat over her entrance and lick slowly upward. She cries softly, her thighs shaking. I do it again and her fingers fly to my hair, digging in to my scalp. All the blood rushes to my cock in an instant. I enfold my arms around her legs, pressing my hands against her inner thighs to keep her exposed to me.
"What else?" I kiss the skin of her upper leg, biting and sucking hard enough to leave another bruising mark.
"You make me feel lewd," she gasps when I reward her with a few swift licks along her clit, "But I don't care. When you make me come - "
She gives a surprised cry when I slip a finger inside her soaking heat.
"Keep going," I growl against her.
"When you make me come," she pants softly, "I can feel it everywhere. And whenever we're fucking, I can feel you hitting this spot inside me."
I smirk; I know exactly what she's talking about. Slipping another finger into her, I press them against the upper wall of her sex and rub there softly. She arches off the tile so sharply that I worry she may hurt herself. A long, low whine barrels past her lips as her fingers twist in my hair painfully.
"This spot?" I ask, continuing to massage soft circles while I begin stroking her little bundle of nerves in a continuous motion with my tongue. She cries unintelligible words as her limbs shake. I can feel the muscles in her thighs tighten as well as the ones in her sweet cunt, "Tell me more, Sakura."
"I - ah, fuck, Sasuke-kun - I can't think like this," she shuts her eyes, pushing me into her with urgent, spasming hands. I feel myself harden further, "You make me feel pleasure. I've never - Ahn!"
I piston my fingers harder into her, sucking her clit until she seizes completely. For a split second, everything is quiet, save the shower, and then Sakura lets out an ardent cry. Her hands are forced to leave me so that she can silence her mouth.
Without stopping, I feel her convulse around my fingers, pulsating as another orgasm builds quickly after the first.
"Don't stop," the pitch of her voice is skewed, muffled by her hand, "Don't ever stop."
Spurred by her words, I dip in another finger and bite her nub softly. She comes undone once more, a wound coil springing free until my hand is coated in her essence. She watches me as I slip my fingers out of her and bring them to my lips. Unabashedly, I lick her juices off my skin.
"You make me feel wanted," her chest heaves as she catches her breath.
"I do want you," I assure her, coming to my knees again, "I also need you."
"I need you, too," she nods solemnly, taking my hands to help her sit up straight. Sakura leans forward to kiss my neck, her lips pressing their way down my chest. Suddenly she pulls away, "I'm going to wash the mud out of my hair," she chews her lip as her eyes glint lasciviously, "And then I'm going to take you to bed."
"Is that a promise?" I smirk. She grins and shakily stands, pulling me up with her. She grabs the shampoo, but I take it out of her hand, "I'll do it."
I turn her back to me and squirt the shampoo into her hair. With less skilled fingers, I lather the soap through her softening strands. Sakura leans into me with a contented moan; I know she can feel me throbbing against her backside.
"Sasuke-kun," her fingers reach behind her to wrap around my neck. She grinds her hips into mine and I still my hands with a groan.
"We might not make it to the bedroom," I growl in her ear. She giggles softly, turning to face me.
"Then, hurry up," Sakura tips her head back to the shower. I weave my fingers through her hair to rinse out the last of the suds. I lower my lips to hers and kiss her chastely. She gropes the wall until she finds the lever and shuts off the water. Grabbing a towel, I drape it around Sakura. She shakes her head and throws the towel aside, "I won't need it."
I take Sasuke's pulsing member in my hand, admiring his silky rigidity. I've never had so much desire for him; my heart is full and my body now craves the same fulfillment. He's the only one that can give it to me.
"It's your turn," I say, watching him tense under my touch as he lays on the sheets, "How do I make you feel?"
"Hn, I'd rather show you."
I lower my lips to his cock, sucking softly on the swollen head. He grunts and winds my hair around his fingers. I pull back as his hips thrust up.
"Do you feel helpless like me?" I lick from his balls to his tip, "Like you can't function until you're inside me?"
"Yes," he hisses through clenched teeth, "I'll say it again, Sakura: I need you."
I push him into my mouth, but he growls and lifts me off of him. Sasuke pulls me up the length of the bed until I'm resting on the pillows and he's kneeling between my legs. He grips the base of his cock in one hand, stroking himself. His other hand reaches up to fondle my breast. With a light squeeze, I moan. The rough pad of his thumb flicks my nipple and circles it in quick succession causing me to moan.
"I feel powerless around you," I can see, in his dark eyes, how difficult it is to admit that. He rubs his blunt head along my opening. A throbbing ache settles at my entrance so I buck my hips up. He prods me softly, but pulls himself away to continue rubbing my sex slowly, "I don't feel right until I've kissed you. I'm not okay until I know you are."
"S - ah - suke-kun!" the head of his member presses steadily against my clit.
"This is what you do to me," he pushes in a couple inches, easing in, "I thought that after we had sex for the first time, I might not want you so badly."
"Me, too," he sheathes himself completely inside me. I feel that slight burn as he stretches me, right before it turns into a scorching pleasure that spreads through my body. Sasuke grips my thighs, raising my butt off the mattress to rest on his legs. At this angle, I can feel him slip deeper into me, his tip petting the edge of my womb.
"But you're addictive," he groans as he gives a quick, sharp thrust. I bite my knuckles to stifle my outburst, "I didn't think it was possible to crave somebody so much."
I moan at his words, rocking my hips into his, trying to get him to move. He obeys, roughly circling his hips, pulling out a few inches and driving in again. Sasuke focuses on fucking me deeply; callous, but painfully attentive at the same time. His eyes have darkened with lust and his normally resigned face is screwed up in pleasure.
"I love seeing you like this," I moan, taking up the sheets beneath me, squeezing them in my still damp palms.
"Like what?" he grunts, establishing a fluid rhythm that causes the pressure in my abdomen to increase rapidly.
"Like you're enjoying yourself," I smirk, before he cuts me off with quick snap of his hips, "Ah!"
"I am," he grabs my wrists and pins them above my head. I never noticed how large his hands are until they capture both of mine in only one of his, "I enjoy fucking you and I think you do, too."
"Yes," I say breathlessly as his movements become erratic, though I'm sure he doesn't need that confirmation. I feel him swell inside me and I know he's close. His fingers move down to circle my nub.
"You like my cock in you?" his tone is guttural, raw. I nod aggressively, unable to look away from his dominating gaze. Sasuke's words make me tighten around him and I feel him stutter before he orgasms, releasing thick spurts of warm cum into me. His ministrations on my clit push me over the edge and his lips capture mine before my release can give us away.
His hand doesn't leave my wrists until our breathing has returned to normal and he pulls out of me. I feel the stream of fluid rush down my legs, but I'm too tired to move; I can't be bothered. I close my eyes as I feel Sasuke's lips on my wrists, my shoulders, my breasts and then my forehead.
I can feel the comforter envelop me and soon I feel myself being pulled into Sasuke's side. The whole bed is wet from our shower and sweat, but I find that I'm perfectly content in his arms. There's nowhere else I'd rather be.
"You make me feel alive," his words are a hoarse whisper against my hair. I wrap my arms around his back, reaching up to his shoulders as a smile spreads over my lips.
"Me, too."
