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Seven|Sept
There was nothing that could quite compare to the solidity of a thick branch under a chakra infused booted foot. It seemed silly at face value. What could be so amazing about feeling the beat of solid wood under your feet as you raced through a forest back home? For a shinobi it meant everything however. For Sakura it meant another day alive, another day she could return home to her loved ones. When her time came she was sure that would be in the forefront of her thoughts.
Green hues looked upward; briefly, in reverie, they trailed after white flecks emblazoned on the blue-black canvas of the sky. She leapt up once, closing her eyes, and deeply inhaled the fresh night air. Her hair whipped around her face and the white mask pulled up and to the side of her head. Her hair, braided, bounced along her back. She opened her eyes just as she came down on another branch and below the canopy of green.
"Showing off, Sakura? To who?"
The pinkette laughed at the man next to her, who at the moment met her pace to talk. "Not you, that's for sure." Her smile faded slightly before she gave a shrug; her eyes met his opaque-violet hues, as it was lit dimly enough to see only by the grace of the full moon. "I like to look at the stars. It's a nice night, all considering that border patrol bullshit we had to clean up."
"You only say that because we assumed this would be a simple procedure. Ultimately, it was."
Sakura sighed just after dodging a low branch before her next jump. "Are you calling me whiney, Neji?"
He smirked.
She rolled her eyes. "You only say it was simple because we got out without any major injuries. I say it was a pain in the ass because the ringleader was a slippery bastard."
"Genjutsu masters generally are."
"Then perhaps I should have asked a Sharingan user to join me instead."
"That would be your err, not mine, Haruno."
This time she just smiled. There wasn't much point in trying to aggravate or irritate someone of Neji's constitution. Well, unless your name was Tenten; then all bets were off. Sakura could easily admit the brunette had to be only one she knew—even counting Naruto—that could really ruffle Neji's proverbial feathers.
Neji wasn't stuffy, per say. He had been as a kid. It was just hard to get under his skin. Working in ANBU with him off and on for a year had told her that much.
"I'm surprised Tsunade called you in for this one," he said from her right.
She glanced over at him, observing that his long mane was tied back at the base of his neck. His mask was pulled up on top of his head and away from his face like hers; it had been since they'd come within a five mile radius of Konoha.
She turned to look forward. "Why? Someone of my rank or higher needed to examine the bodies so we could ascertain the culprit."
"It was pretty standard, even for a medic. For someone of your caliber…"
Sakura shrugged. "They don't have a lot of medics in ANBU, not really. And this job required a little finesse. That's why I asked for you.
"And anyway, it's like Kakashi says, 'Once ANBU always ANBU.'"
"True," he agreed a little mutely, looking to mull something over. His brow furrowed. "Why did you retire anyway?"
The ground thumped under her feet as she landed and stopped. She moved her hands to her hips and half faced him as he joined her. They were a good quarter mile from the village, she estimated; ground movement would be fine from here.
He raised a brow at her.
"I figure we can walk from here," she answered before glancing about and moving to head towards the main road that led to the village gates. "I retired for something of the same reason I joined," she explained as they trudged up and through the brush. She pushed a bush out of her way and held it until he grabbed it behind her. "I wanted Kakashi to be my recruiter. So, I asked him what he thought about it.
"He told me, 'Stay until you're not too soft, but, quit before it makes you too hard.' That's what I did. So, I stuck with it for a year and then left to go back to Jounin level missions.
"Actually, I think this is the first time since I was eighteen that Tsunade called me back in for something ANBU related.
She shrugged. "Ah well. Why did you quit?" She asked this as they stepped onto the main road.
"Sort of the same reason." He reached up, stretching his arms above his head and sighing as something snapped. "I didn't really need to…"
"I don't think anyone needs to," she agreed.
"True, but I have other responsibilities. ANBU can be a little demanding."
"Agreed."
"Speaking of ANBU…" he started, alluding to a subject change as he looked over at her to his left. "How did the technique work out with Itachi-san? I meant to ask you sooner, but you haven't come by."
She smiled and dug her hands into her pockets. "You could always come say hi to me, you know." He rolled his eyes so she continued and answered. "Pretty well, actually. It didn't take him long to master it at all. We've been training. Just before I left we were going to start working with weapons and not just taijutsu."
"It's been about a month since you were assigned to him…"
She nodded. "Yup… a little over, actually. He's much better, even if he still has a bit to go."
"It can't be easy."
"What?" She looked over at him, drawing her gaze up from the road.
He met hers, a soft earnest aura present in his opaque-violet hues. "Losing your sight. For a shinobi… for someone like him." He closed his eyes and tuned his face towards the direction they were heading. "I can't imagine it."
"It's not uncommon," she replied. "Our careers aren't exactly safe…"
"It's different—harder—when so much of what you do is based on your eyes—your techniques."
"It is," she agreed softly, nodding. "I think it did a little more than damage his pride."
When he looked over at her again she knew it was his way of waiting for her to explain. It was odd; having dealt with so many quiet, introverted people her whole life gave her a little insight as to their signals.
She sighed. "He was angry; that's the best way I can put it. He didn't want anyone to help him. He didn't want to be fixed or learn how to cope."
"And he has now?"
"Not totally, no; however, at least he leaves the house on his own. That was something he hadn't done since he'd come back to the village."
He nodded, signifying the end of the conversation at least on his end.
Sakura watched the wide, dirt paven path roll on under her as she submerged into her thoughts. With her slightly hunched over stance, some would say—sans the mask, Icha Icha, and a few other obvious qualities—she looked a little like Kakashi on a fairly normal day.
She hadn't had a chance to talk to Sasuke about the transplant yet. The day after her night with Itachi, and then Tsunade, she'd been called in and shipped out for a two-day mission near one of the border patrol stations. She'd thought about it a lot though; mostly about what she would say to him.
Itachi never came up as a topic for the team seven trio, with or without Sai and Kakashi around. The one time he'd been brought up recently had been by Sasuke and herself. Both were brief and stated with a certain level of understanding. This was so different though. This wasn't Sasuke telling her he was happy she was watching out for his brother; this was her asking him if he would be willing to give Itachi back his eyesight, and ensure the lifespan of his own as well as his brother's.
Where would she start?
Plus, she hadn't even considered how Itachi would feel about it. Naturally, she assumed he'd be ok with it—he'd want it. Then again… there was a chance he'd be completely against it for his own reasons.
Sakura closed her eyes, listening absently as a gentle wind rustled the leaves on nearby trees in a way that sounded like rain.
She could still hear Tsunade's voice in her head.
Are you in love with him?
Even as they repeated she could feel her chest both tighten and lighten at the same time.
It was hard for her to admit anything to herself. Part of it was asking herself if it was right to; he was her patient, and there was no telling how he felt. There wasn't that kind of fear for her admitting her feelings to someone as there had been when she was a girl; however, there was that fear of jumping into something and…
Sasuke had been her whole world for so long, for so many years. In a way, he'd become an unhealthy religion for her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to entertain the idea of dedicating herself so thoroughly to someone again. Especially someone…
She just… she hadn't expected this. It wasn't the first time she had to take care of a patient on an intimate level… Even if she had gone an extra mile or two for Itachi, he shouldn't have been making her question herself like this.
But then she was reminded of moments like when she'd gotten him to learn the new technique, and he'd taken her face in his hands. She knew he was just caught in the moment and feeling out her facial features—he could have done it to anyone. The blind did that. But, for some reason there was no stopping the way her body stilled at that moment, the way her eyes had widened, the way her heart had caught in her throat, or the way her belly had jumped under his touch. With every touch it got worse; she had to keep holding herself back, burying the way her body reacted to him—and now her feelings.
At some point she was going to have to make a decision: cut herself off or give into what she wanted.
She reiterated to herself that she wasn't afraid to tell him how she might feel, or how she was starting to feel… she just didn't know if she was willing to do that to herself again. Sleeping with someone was one thing… she wasn't sure what would come of sleeping with Itachi.
She didn't want a repeat of Sasuke. She didn't want to hurt someone again like she had him. She couldn't bear the level of disappointment she would place in herself.
"Sakura?"
"Huh?" Emerald-greens jerked towards Neji's questioning ones.
"I said we're here." He motioned to the gates.
"Oh… sorry."
"You alright?" He placed his hands on his hips and leveled a concerned look on her.
She nodded and reached over, rubbing her shoulder. "Yeah, just tired. It's like, what, midnight? I think I'm just gonna go home and hit the hay. I'll write up the report tomorrow."
"Nah I'll do it." He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go get some sleep. I'll sign in for you at the gate too."
"You sure?" She raised a brow.
"Yeah, I'm sure."
"Thanks, Neji." She smiled, grateful to be out of mission report duty for once. "I owe you."
"Come by the compound a bit more and we'll call it even."
She chuckled. "Alright, night." She waved at him, and then at the two gate guards at their post before heading on.
The night air was cool, she noticed again. There was that ever present, subtle breeze shifting through as she moved in the direction of what was considered—by most—the unofficial shinobi district. During this hour the place as almost entirely shut down, with the exception of a bar or two, a twenty-four hour supply shop, and a small convenient store. However, during the day it was a bustle of movement for all walks of people in her career. Almost all of her team lived here. Ino had considered it her next choice when and if she moved out of her parent's place.
She gave a soft sigh, half in relief and half in exhaustion, as she made her way up the stairs to her second story abode. Her gloved hand slid along the iron rail that was chipping green flecks while her booted feet thumped against the concrete under her. Her free hand came up to rub circular motions into her temple just as she came to her door. Her other came up and she pressed her palm into the wooden barrier, quickly and smoothly releasing the seals. A second later and it closed behind her, cutting off the bright light of the moon.
She exhaled long and low, immediately sliding her pack off and dropping it on the hallway floor with thud; her sandals came next. It was then, as she stood up and moved down the hall that she noticed the light in her living room was on. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she took a step forward. Naruto and Sai were known to break into her house right before she came back from a mission; however, by now they would have let her know they were around…
Slowly, she moved around the corner, her hand poised above the clasp of her weapons pouch. Carefully, quietly, she slipped it open. The kunai was already in her hand as she came forward and into full view of her living space.
She blinked, momentarily taken aback. "Itachi?" She stood there for a while, staring at him where he sat in one of her comfiest chairs.
He looked rather relaxed, legs spread slightly and slouched back. His cloudy gray depths had looked up towards her the moment she came in, almost locking on her green ones. He was fairly well dressed and looked the same as he always did. Still, having been away two days did not detour the jump she felt in her chest at the sight of him… nor did it stop memories from resurfacing, quietly reminding her why she was attracted to this man and how it had very little to do with his face; although, that didn't really help either.
She frowned, just then realizing a good minute had passed with her woolgathering over the man before her.
"I'd ask you how you got in, but…" She smiled ruefully. "What are you doing here?" She replaced the kunai in her pouch and dropped her hand to her hip, resting it there.
"You're aware I can't cook."
"Uh…" Her brow furrowed at his sudden statement. She contemplated why it would matter and then said, "Yeah… but I left you some premade meals before my mission. All you had to do was microwave—."
"Can't."
Her eyes narrowed slightly and both hands came to her hips as she eyed him. Certainly he wasn't reverting back to… "I showed you how to use it."
He sighed and shut his eyes. His hand came up, elbow resting on the armrest, and cupped his cheek; he leaned into it on his left side. "I believe I broke it," he muttered.
"You broke it," she deadpanned.
"Yes."
There was a moment of quiet; it lasted for a good thirty seconds. "So…" Maybe it was sleep, but she wasn't quite sure how a broken microwave equaled him in her house waiting for her arrive back from her mission.
"I haven't eaten for a day and a half."
"What?" she half exclaimed, not quite able to help the rise in her voice, nor the widened eyes. "Why didn't you order out, for Kami's sake?"
"If you recall," he droned out, "someone banned me from ordering any and all take-out in Konoha."
"…Oh…" She frowned—deeply. Her hand came up and she pinched the bridge of her nose in slight frustration. "Itachi, then why in the hell didn't you notify Tsunade-sama?"
"Why should I have to when waiting for you was certainly adequate?"
Her eyes snapped to his now open ones, fury half present there. It really was a shame he couldn't see how aggravated she was. "It wasn't adequate! You haven't eaten for a day and a half!" she snapped, hands out in front of her in exasperation.
He sighed again, appearing to look up at her through hooded lashes.
Bastard.
Her jaw flexed.
"I didn't want anyone else assisting me, Sakura."
"I'm sorry?" She blinked.
She wasn't sure, but he appeared to sigh again. "I'm not… comfortable with the idea of anyone else."
And just like that, the anger washed away at his honesty. In a single moment understanding and something akin to pride bloomed in her chest. Before she could even catch herself, to try and stop it—something—it was there.
She swallowed. "I… ah…" She closed her eyes and took in a breath. "I'll just go make you something to eat…" She walked out of the living room. She counted her steps idly, trying to refocus her mind and slow the beat in her chest.
The kitchen sat just behind her living room; it was almost adjacent to the front door. An opening and a counter separated her and Itachi as she shifted around in the cabinets. She set a pan out and gathered veggies from the fridge. She bent over, reaching for a package of red peppers. She moved to straighten up and—.
"Ah, Kami!" The package fell at her feet, clattering to the floor and dumping red peppers everywhere. "Son of a bitch!" She pulled herself up slowly and forced her back straight. Her face contorted in pain as she reached, trying to touch the knot.
"Sakura? Are you alright…?"
"Yeah… fine," she muttered before sucking breath through her teeth. "Damnit," she snapped quietly as her fingertips barely grazed the area.
"You don't sound fine."
"I'm fine!" She closed her eyes, trying not to sigh in exasperation. She shouldn't be yelling at him; it's not like it was his fault. He didn't ask for her to be an emotionally repressed idiot because of one simple admission, nor did he ask for her to deal with a knot she couldn't reach.
"Sakura?"
She jumped in surprise, facing her now slightly concerned ward. She released a breath and closed her eyes, trying to push down the pain waving over her spine because of that sudden movement. Her free hand lay on her chest. "I'm alright," she murmured. "Go… sit down."
Her eyes flashed open to his once she felt a pressure on her back. She opened her mouth to say something him, but then the pressure increased. "What—shit!" she snapped, wincing again.
"You are not fine. Come on." He took her arm and tugged for her to follow.
"Itachi, I told you. I'm—."
"You're in pain."
She blinked up at him. "Well… yes, but—."
"Are you going to fight me on what's best for you?" He raised a brow. "Pot calling the kettle black, isn't it, Sakura?"
She frowned. "That's different. I'm not you're patient."
And then he rolled his eyes.
She opened her mouth to reply with some kind of rebuttal, but stopped short as he bent over. Green eyes went wide. "What are you—Itachi!" In the fraction of a moment she was heaved into his arms. "This is—!"
"No different than how you've treated me, yes, I know." He smiled slightly. "I do recall a moment a month ago when my face was plastered to a kitchen island because of my bad behavior, and then there was the time I was told if I didn't do what was best for me I would find myself without any voluntary body movement of my own and stuck on an IV drip.
"Do you remember, Sakura? I was very stubborn."
She shook her head. He was not turning this around on her. "That's because you're my patient, Itachi. It's my job to see to your needs." She looked around as she realized he was lowering her on to something.
Her bed.
Oh… no, no, no…! "Itachi—!" she said, raising a hand as if to stop him.
"I really don't care what you want to call it, Sakura. You're in pain. You can't expect me to let you make my meal while crying out obscenities. Does that make any sense?
"Now take off the armor and roll over."
She felt slack-jawed. "….You're not going to let this go, are you?" Unfortunately, she wasn't in much of a position to argue, not really.
"No, I'm not."
It couldn't be that bad, right? All he had to do was rub the knot out. She could endure that. She'd endured worse, right?
"Alright…" she said, exhaling the word as she gave in. She reached up and slid the mask off; this was set on her nightstand, porcelain clattering softly. The side zipper on her first layer of armor came down; once done, she dropped it on the floor. The gloves, arm bracers and leg bracers came next. She reached for her shirt and slid it up and over before she though much of it.
It was just bindings. All of team seven had seen her in bindings. No big deal.
"Let me know when you're ready."
As she moved onto her stomach she adjusted a pillow. Once she'd relaxed down into the bed, happy enough with how she was laying, she spoke up, "I'm good."
Just when she thought she'd convinced herself that the situation couldn't possibly get any worse… she felt a weight settle on her butt. As her eyes widened a fraction his hands pressed into her half bare back.
Whatever she intended to come out of her mouth, the sound that exited next at his punctuated caress over her skin was not it. She groaned and exhaled all on the same moment; her eyes fluttered closed and she was quite sure that somewhere in the mix was a hail to Kami or the Will of Fire.
His thumbs rode circles into her lower back, up her spine, and across her shoulder blades. His hands worked magic into her shoulders in a way she hadn't experienced since Tsunade had demonstrated on her how to do a medical chakra enhanced massage.
"Shit," she whispered in half reverence and half sluggishness.
In fact, she didn't feel too much pain that amounted to anything until he started working the knot itself. That was when her breath came in short pants, cut off by half pained inhales for oxygen.
She grunted and nearly screamed into her pillow until it was gone. And once it was… her back felt completely new; it made her wonder about the last time someone had given her a good work over on her back, much less the rest of her body.
"Thank you…" she whispered, not able to do much else as he continued to run his hands across her gently.
"My pleasure," he murmured back just as gently as he ran his fingers across the outer areas of her spine.
Perhaps it was the tone, the caress of his voice on her ears; she wasn't sure. But, the carefulness of it made her open her eyes and stare at her closet across from her bed. It was then she was suddenly much more aware of him than she had been before.
"I wasn't aware you were in ANBU…" he said next with the same soft voice.
"I'm not."
He stopped and she could sense his confusion. "Retired."
"Ah…" he said, once again continuing.
"Surprised?"
"No."
She winced as he pushed into a fairly sensitive area. She tensed.
"Sorry…"
"It's alright." She relaxed.
"How long?"
She blinked, lost for only a moment. It was hard to keep abreast of the conversation with his calloused fingers dancing over her skin. "A year when I was seventeen."
"Why'd you join?"
"Awfully inquisitive, aren't we?" she murmured, adjusting under him slightly. He lifted to accommodate her, stopping.
"Perhaps."
The air was shifting; she could feel it. In way, it had been since she'd walked into the apartment. There was just… something different going on between the two of them than before. But she wasn't stupid enough to think it hadn't been building. Still, ignoring…She didn't need to be so defensive.
She closed her eyes, pushing it back.
"For myself. For Sasuke." It was honest. And she almost regretted that honestly once she felt his hands still for a fraction of a second. "I didn't want to be second place, I guess. ANBU helped me do that. I stayed in just long enough to…"
"To be satisfied?"
"…Yeah." She opened her eyes slowly, halfway. "Being useless wasn't enough for me."
"I'm sure you weren't." Even now, his voice was still soft, whispering—just as much as hers.
"I couldn't see myself as anything less next to Naruto and Sasuke." The words came out in a strong breath, more to herself than in response to him. "It's never easy being on a team with two legends in the making…"
"It's never easy living up to someone's expectations, especially if they're your own."
There were memories in those words as much as they had been in hers. He stopped and she stilled, eyes narrowing. When he didn't move she turned, carefully rolling over onto her back so she could look up at him.
"Sakura."
He was close, he had been. She knew it was just her; he hadn't moved.
"What happened between you and Sasuke?"
He was looking at her, staring through her and into her with the same eyes he had on that night she'd cleaned him up. It was that moment again, him in the tub, looking at her as she soaped him up, hand poised on his chest as she watched him like a deer caught in the headlights.
She swallowed, unable to look away. Still, the jerky movement of her heart would not rest. She sighed and forced herself to look away from him.
What in the hell was she doing? What was he doing? What was this?
"Sakura?"
His voice cut through her again, the memories, the feelings. His presence tugged at her in a way…
She pulled it all in, suffocating herself inadvertently. She wasn't sure if it was Sasuke or him, her memories or Itachi's presence that was making it so hard to talk about. Thinking about it, she'd never even really explained it to Naruto—not even Ino. There were a dozen misdirected conversations in her head.
But, Itachi wasn't easily deterred. And it wasn't easy to deter someone who made your blood rush like liquid flame, that made your chest ache to point of premature regret.
Before she could put much more effort or thought into it, she spoke, "After the war… things weren't easy. But, it was better. Naruto and I had spent just under a decade trying to find Sasuke, to try and bring him home.
"For Naruto it was a matter of brotherhood… for me…" she trailed off, processing her own memories. She stared at her closet, not seeing it, but herself months ago—Sasuke. "I was hopeful something would begin between us, but I would have been ok with friendship. I didn't really think he would be ready for anything, all considered."
"He asked you out."
She nodded, still not looking at him. "He started staying over at my place after about a week. Sometimes we would switch places between missions or work. It seemed odd to a lot of people, but I didn't care. I knew Sasuke was making up for lost time; he'd spent so much of his life hating himself and everyone else…"
She smiled softly, but not bitterly. "I spent my whole life chasing after him, trying to get myself to a place where I could say I was proud of myself, that I didn't need him to rescue me, and that I wasn't going to be a hindrance anymore.
"I told myself I was going to be a woman who didn't chase after anyone—even Sasuke."
She sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was smiling again, once again without bitterness. "In the end I felt like fate had played me some awful hand; because, somewhere in the process, the man I labeled unreachable… labeled me unreachable."
"How do you mean?" he asked, finally speaking.
She turned, meeting blind eyes that saw so much more than anyone else. "I guess I wasn't what he expected." She shrugged. "I wanted so badly to be someone he wouldn't look down on that I became…" She trailed off, pausing as she thought for the right words. Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Perhaps a little… a little more than reserved…
"Tsunade-sama jokes that I remind her a little too much of Kakashi now and then. Until Sasuke… I never put much though into it."
"ANBU can do that you…" He said. "Life does… our career does that to us, Sakura—it shapes us, but there's not shame in that."
"I know." Another brief smile. "I don't hate myself for that. It doesn't hurt anymore. Not that way it did."
"But you blame yourself."
"I do." This she admitted without hesitation. "I blame myself for hurting Sasuke. I'm sure some part of him was waiting to come home, not just to team seven… but to me."
He shook his head. "Everyone grows up Sakura. You can't always be what people want you to be."
"No, but I can be careful."
"Careful?"
Dangerous territory, she told herself. Talking about this was far too close to the heart of what wasn't being said. Then, more than ever, she knew she couldn't be sure if he could feel what was going on. "I think we'll save that for another time." She shifted, trying to get up from under him. But he didn't move; if anything he tightened his thighs over her hips.
She already knew where he was, where she was; she knew the position they were in, despite her best effort to ignore it. Talking had helped up until that point. Now she was so much more aware of him. She found herself staring between them as he half hunched over her, overpowering her in a way she couldn't really admit to herself, overwhelming her with his scent… something purely shinobi… purely male.
"Why do you need to be careful, Sakura?" he whispered. His warm breath was close; she could feel it.
"I don't want to hurt someone like that again…" she replied, her voice even despite everything else. "I can't."
"I'm not my brother, Sakura," he admitted softly.
Bright green depths shot to his cloudy-gray hues. She wished she could read what was there; although, perhaps it evened the field in a way—he couldn't see her eyes either.
He sighed. "I might not have the best experience with women, Sakura… however, I can usually tell when one is attracted to me."
"…I'm not denying it," she replied.
"But you're not admitting it either." His eyes narrowed naturally as his face took on a scrutinizing air.
She released a long exhale. It was hard to act controlled when nothing about any of this made her feel like she was in control. Which, was out of place in and of itself… she never felt like she had to fight for control with Itachi. But, it wasn't him… it was her own physical and emotion reaction she was trying to repress and figure out.
"Well…then I guess I'm just going to come out and say it, Haruno." He moved forward, placing both hands—palms flat—to either side of her shoulders on the mattress.
Something inside of her jumped as he came in closer, inches from her face.
"…Can I kiss you?"
Anyone else would have just kissed her. If anyone else had asked her, she would have been hard pressed not to laugh at the old fashioned manner of it all, despite the thick cover in the air around them—despite the cracking chain that surrounded her reservations about the situation and him. But it didn't make her want to laugh; instead, she found her heart caught somewhere in her throat.
She wasn't sure how to answer that. There was this part of her that wanted to give in because she did feel something for him. And then, there was the other part that wasn't sure she could handle hurting someone—especially someone like Itachi—again. In many ways, he was far more fragile than his sibling…
But it was different.
The part that made her wanted to give in was the same part that tied all those memories over the past month with him together. It was the way he made her feel when she was with him. Sasuke had never made her feel… apart of him.
Itachi understood her. There was a firm, binding friendship borne of their relationship. Maybe it was her experience… maturity, maybe it was because she was his equal more than she was Sasuke's because of their time together. She didn't know, but… such thoughts were present now more than ever as she lay there… as he hovered over her waiting for an answer.
Everything was breaking, cracking and the longer she dwelled on it the less and less she wanted to fight herself.
What would it hurt… to give in—really?
He was right there… wanting her—if for nothing more than a kiss.
She reached up; slowly, her fingertips moved across his cheek. She watched his brows raise and his face move into a mixture of confusion and… anticipation?
Her thumb rode a trail across the upper curve of his cheek just below his right eye. In advertently, her digits slid into his hair. She stared at it.
"The first time I combed it… I thought it was a little unfair…" She swept her hand out, slowly pulling his bangs away from his face on his right side. "I love how soft it is," she said in a whisper.
Before her plaguing thoughts could make much more of her indecision, and before he could say anything, she moved forward and took advantage of his open mouth. His stilled in surprise initially. But, once she started to move, once her lips caressed over his, once her tongue entered into his mouth and swept across his own softly, he reciprocated. He inhaled sharply through his nose and took hold of the side of her face. He settled down onto her carefully, slanting his mouth over hers for a better angle in one single, smooth transition of movement.
He was warm, soft, and everything about it was so much more than she imagined it to be.
She tangled her hands into his hair; in the same moment she undid the ribbon holding his long strands in place. Her fingers combed through it, feeling it before she dug them into his scalp at the base of his neck.
Soft.
She could feel his hand on her side, calloused digits trailing over her bare flesh; his thumb traced over her stomach, following the dips and curves. Her skin reacted instantly; her abdominal jumped and goosebumps pricked.
She gasped softly, nigh mutely.
As she pressed further into the kiss, inhaling deeply through her nose in more than reaction to just his touch, her free hand went to his chest. She went lower and tugged at his shirt, pulling it up until her bare skin met his. He jerked sharply at the contact instantly; even as he did she didn't stop. Both hands came down and she pulled at the shirt, trying to take it off.
"Sakura…" he breathed in mix of a statement and question all at once. The firm pressure of his lips pulled away from hers. At the same time she felt as he set his forehead against hers and took hold of one of her wrists, stilling her.
His breath was erratic across her face, her mouth. As she lay under him, trying to catch her own momentum, with her bare hands half plastered on his chest and stomach, she quietly noted the heavy hammering of his heart—the heat demanding more as it crept into every pour. As she felt her own pump blood, quietly and angrily, she could barely make out the near unified beat they paced together.
Nearly perfect tandem.
"What?" she whispered in a broken voice.
She could feel him swallow; she could hear it; her whole body hummed in direct reaction to him—to his actions and reactions. "I wasn't intending to go that far."
If her eyes were open she might have blinked. As it was, confusion set in with little more than a barely furrowed brow on her part. "Did I do something to upset you?" she asked quietly.
He tensed under her; his grip tightened around her wrist by a bare fraction. "…No, it's nothing like that."
"Are you nervous?" It occurred to her she should have asked with a little more tact; however, it wasn't easy to manage tact with the given situation. There was a reason discretion was the better part of valor and not haste, she supposed.
"Are you?"
A question with a question; that was more her style than his, and, more Kakashi's than hers. "That's part of the fun. I'd be a dead fish not to be.
"Yes, I'm nervous." As she spoke, the free hand on his chest pressed an idle circle, caressing; her fingers moved gently, though just barely.
He sighed long and low. In turn, the grip on her wrist softened. He almost mimicked her actions by gently running his thumb up and down the inside of her wrist. He pulled away from her face; his lips drug along her cheek and towards her ear. She shivered only a little as his hot breath fanned over neck, across her shoulder and her ear. Her lips parted only just as her body tensed for a moment under such a simple movement.
As she relaxed he said, "I don't want to disappoint you."
"I think that feeling is fairly mutual for most people with someone new."
He sunk into her, pressing his hips fully into hers with the barest of actions. As he released her hand she moved to accommodate him; her hands fell to his hips and partially his back. As he naturally sunk into all the right places atop her—completely—the thickness of him settled fully between her legs and partially against her right thigh.
"I certainly hope this isn't you way of implying you're not adequate, because if it is I—."
"That's not the problem either, Sakura."
She frowned. "Then how could you possibly disappoint…" She paused, one single thought striking quickly and immediately. It rolled around in her head for a time, perhaps a minute at most.
As if reading her, he said next, "I was fifteen when I left Konoha, Sakura. And while I was with Akatsuki it wouldn't have been safe to keep a lover. Taking the occasional visit to a brothel would have signaled to shinobi searching after me an opening. Taking a trusted lover would have put someone at risk… Neither was an acceptable option." His voice wasn't what she would call strained… she could hear the tension all the same.
It was probably one of the bigger bombs she'd had thrown at her, especially in the middle of something so intimate. Sasuke hadn't been her first, but she hadn't been his either; a fact that might have upset her a few years prior to months ago… Even so, she recalled her first easily. It had been messy, quick, and a little painful; not because of a hymen though. Kunoichi rarely had a hymen by the time they acted on sex—mostly because of the athletic demand of their career.
She hadn't wanted roses her first time, no fairy tale dream to gain and burn into the scrapbook of her mind. Release from her aches, release from the all of the tears, blood, sweat and anguish she'd thrown into the return of the man she once loved. That's what she'd wanted.
"Sex isn't about compounding more stress, Itachi. More the opposite, actually.
"I'm not going to catalogue your every action and judge you."
"I know that."
She reached for his head then, pulling him up so that she could look at him. He moved as she did so, lifting up to accommodate her. In that position he wasn't very far from her face; his lips were scarcely inches from her own. She locked her eyes on his; green met unseeing hazed coal. "Then—for once—quit worrying about the details and trying to preemptively calculate everything, Uchiha."
"Easier said than executed."
At this humorous, yet serious whispered admission, she smiled.
"Just stop thinking," she muttered before her lips pressed softly, yet firmly into his. This time it took him less encouragement than the first to kiss her back. He met her almost readily, perhaps fiercer than before. One hand came to her side again, moving to her hip; his thumb traced the waistband of her pants, half pressing into her bare skin and half into the material of her standard issue capris. His free arm, the elbow, held him up while his hand partially tangled in her hair and cupped the back of her neck. Once more, he angled his mouth across hers.
Her hands reached for the back end of his shirt; she tugged it upward, pulling until he adjusted and helped her remove it completely. Where it landed in their seamlessness, she couldn't be sure.
He was hard, toned, fibrous muscle—everywhere. When his abdomen pressed against hers, skin on skin, she knew then that the rest of it couldn't come off sooner. Heat—molten, liquid heat; it rushed through her, urging her. Her thoughts weren't there; she was lost on the energy of it all—of him.
She couldn't smell anything but him. With each kiss the taste of him became that much stronger. But wasn't just that, and she knew it; she knew why this was all so much more.
She slid up slightly under him, tugging at the clasp of her pants. It surprised her a little that once he realized what she was doing that he moved to help her speed up the process. In their haste not only did those find their way to the mysterious pile location, but, so did her underwear.
She could tell he was hiding the shake in his hands as they both fumbled with removing his. Once they were gone her lips found his again. She took advantage of the fact that he was still sitting and placed her hand on his chest; he was on his back in an instant.
As she loomed over him she said in a low voice, "Have you stopped thinking yet, Uchiha?"
…
If there was ever a time in the last seven months of his life that he wished he could see it was then. As it stood, all of his other senses were on fire. On one hand, he wanted to tug her under him again and force her to let him touch, taste and breathe in every inch of her so that by the time he was finished the memory had no real chance of escape; he wanted it burned into his brain. On the other hand, he couldn't stop that gripping hesitance that made him second guess it all, that made him try to wrap his mind around each move he made five steps before he made it.
Her voice rang out in his ears, breathy and a little foreboding all at once. Naturally, he tried to imagine what she was plan—.
Warmth, wetness, heat…
Her name jerked beyond the passage of his lips just as the comforter under him nearly tore in his grip.
Her hands were on his hips, holding him without force.
Thoughts escaped him completely.
He gasped, fighting for air as… yes, her mouth worked over him. He couldn't stop the image that came to mind. He couldn't keep himself from visualizing her tangled mess of half bound hair falling from the confines of the braid and draping over her shoulders as her soft lips pulled his length into her mouth almost completely—over and over again.
He saw her meeting his eyes, staring him through hooded lashes with a smile in her gaze.
He shuddered raggedly—repeatedly and without control or any sort of pattern; his hand reached for her headboard; one came down and tangled into her hair on what he could only call instinct.
"Sakura…" he rasped, tugging at her gently.
I she didn't stop…
Fuck!
His jaw clenched and he sucked in air through his teeth; he pulled, tugging on her. In the less instinctual part of his mind he hated whatever pain he inflicted; but then, it was becoming increasingly hard for him to hold onto any such notion of sanity.
She was under him; his hands locked over her wrists. His body moved on its own; his hips bucked into hers at the same time, seeking friction and the slick heat. He could feel her breasts, not for the first time, flat and bare against his chest.
He admonished her with his mouth. A groan escaped him as his tongue tangled with hers and she lifted, arching into him, rolling her hips upward so that her center drew along every inch of him. He gasped, jerking hard enough to involuntarily pull his lips from hers for air. His forehead bumped onto hers and his hold on her wrists increased.
He needed to slow down. He needed to—.
Teeth.
She bit into his neck, licking a wanton path and branding him in her wake. "Sakura," he rasped. He didn't know how to convey slow down, especially when everything was telling him the opposite.
Her lips were back; his lower lip was tugged into her mouth; she nipped lightly and then pressed up into him harder, fuller. Her legs wrapped about his hips; her entire front—warm, wanting, willing—stuck to his as if she were apart of him.
"Itachi…" she exhaled, her head thrown back.
He shut his eyes as that one word—his name—washed over him and mixed with what he was already experiencing. All he could smell was honeysuckle; all he feel was her slick skin sliding against his own; all he could hear was her tortured voice in his ear. He wanted to sink into her, drink her in, bathe in the moment.
His thoughts consumed half based instincts and half based logic as he kissed her neck, the underside of her ear, and her collarbone. Salt lingered on his lips, his tongue. He sucked, nipped, inhaled every curve of skin in his path. His grip loosened; one hand came up and reached down, feeling down her side as he fumbled, her arm, until he could feel her hip. As his grip settled to cup the curve of her butt he gripped, pulling her closer. A moan was captured by her lips and he felt a trail of bare pain along his back—her nails. They dug into his scalp and she angled his head, deepening the action. She moaned with him, thrusting upward and nearly undoing him.
He could feel as her hand moved between their bodies and slid across his abdomen. When she took hold of him his fingers dug into her, reflexively biting into her flesh. Before he could contemplate stopping her, she positioned him and thrust upward—consuming him. Her hands were around him; her arms took him fully and tightened as she cried out against his mouth. The sound reverberated and became apart of his own outcry into her.
They stilled.
Breath mixed with heat; heat mixed with a unified shudder; sweat mixed with skin and transferred from one surface to the next.
"…Are you alright?" he asked softly, forcing himself to remain as he was when everything continued to scream move.
Being the barest of inches from her, he could somehow sense as she nodded. "…Yeah. You?"
"I believe so, yes," he managed.
He was so comfortable with every aspect of her; however this… this was new. And somehow, finally breaking that barrier… his own fear and hesitation was gone. He didn't really understand it, but felt it even as she kissed him gently, tentatively. Her lips were soft and now he could take the time to actually experience it for more than just a brief moment between them.
She realized it a well. As he started to move her movements became slower but no less punctuated. Her fingers wove through his hair, caressed across his scalp; her thumbs drew over his cheeks as she kissed him lazily and passionately all at once.
Every action was seamless between them, like water. No words were needed. And yet, it did nothing to kill to the burning flame that burned through his veins with every touch, taste and inhale between the two of them.
He wanted to see her.
He wanted to stare into her eyes. He wanted to watch her expression as her lips parted, as her jaw flexed, and he drove into her. He wanted to watch her as he died inside of her. It wasn't enough; smelling her, feeling her, all of it—it wasn't enough.
"I wish I could see you," he rasped against her neck, across her ear just before he drew the lobe into his mouth.
Her her nails tore into his skin as she drove upward for the angle and met his rhythm.
"Me too," she replied, her voice straining as their pace quickened.
"You're beautiful," he whispered back between broken kisses as she started to tighten around him.
"I…!"
At the same moment they clung to one another. He gasped as she cried out in his ear, arching into him and poising, tightening. Her muscles pulsed around him so much so that he couldn't really help falling after her. Her name was a mantra on his lips, breaking free against her ear as he thrust once, twice, three times more into her.
Tension left him as she inadvertently relaxed into her. There were no sounds aside the mutual, broken air they pulled into their lungs and released together. He couldn't find the will to roll over, and didn't for what felt like hours after it all ended. But eventually—somehow—he made himself do so and dropped onto his back next to her, sinking.
The silence continued onward for a long while. Yet, as he lay there half falling into sleep he felt her move in next to him, curling at his side. Gently, lazily, he accommodated for her. He was nearly asleep, his arm around her waist as his breath slowed and his mind faded into some deeper reaches of preemptive slumber.
It was in this moment he heard her ask, "So… how did you break the microwave?"
Apparently, you were never really too tired to laugh.
AN :: Yo! OMG! It's been like, two freaking months! I was so aggravated this update took so long. I do my best to update my fics once a month. Sorry, guys. But, onto stuff about the chapter.
Yeah, answers! A new level of intimacy! Progress! Let the mushiness commence! Go on, say it: Awwwww! No, seriously, this chapter was over 8.6k words—no joke. Hope you guys enjoyed it. And I hope it all flowed well. Don't worry about letting me know either way; honesty helps me improve.
Next Chapter: Sakura talks to Sasuke about the cross-transplantation.
On a side note: I'm writing original work now! I have the first chapter of my free series on wattpad[dot com!]. This week I'll be doing chapter two for it. So, if you guys like my writing and want to see what I can do non-Naruto—go to wattpad[dot com][forward slash]2215251-the-chronicles-of-rose-red-not-your-average-fairy. Read the summary on the side bar there and see if it interests you. There's a link to a facebook page so you can get updates as well.
I'll be replying to all of my reviews soon!
Thanks!
—Blade
P.S. Saw the Sasuke thing at the end of last chapter! I'll fix it! Thanks to those who let me know about it.