-10-
„But then there's a moment like tonight, a profound and transcendent experience, the feeling as if a door has opened, and it's all because of that instrument, that incredible, magical instrument."
Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Mite Makes Right, 1994
„A man who doesn't trust himself can never truly trust anyone else."
Cardinal de Retz, Memoires
Three days later…
"So, are you just gonna keep it up with Lightening Macqueen being dangerous?" Naruto asked as he and Sasuke were heading towards the main door of a hospital.
"Yep" Sasuke answered shortly.
"If she's afraid of the rat, why don't you just tell her he's harmless?"
"Because then she'll stop being angry at me"
"Oh, and now she's doing…what? Not talking to you?"
"Exactly. I'd like to keep it that way" Naruto shook his head.
"Is it…really that terrifying to have somebody by your side?"
"It's not terrifying. I just don't want to loose my space" Sasuke said as he pushed the door open.
"That's crap" Naruto confronted "you're simply looking for an excuse to be alone. And the consequence of that will be miserable, self-loathing, pitiful Sasuke Uchiha"
"Should I be scared now?" Sasuke asked as they closed to his car "you're afraid of me in that state, cause you know that I will drag you down along with me"
"No. I simply want you to be happy. Because you're my best friend. Is it really that hard to understand?"
"Was that a rhetorical question? It will make things easier if it were"
"I don't get you. Never will" Naruto raised his arms in defeat "see you tomorrow"
"You too, idiot" and Sasuke jumped into his BMW and drove off.
"Look who's talking" Naruto mumbled under his nose.
-x-
"No kidding?" Sakura leaned towards Tsunade on the other side of the table, eyes wide open "Sai's gotta girlfriend?"
"Not that kind of girlfriend. More like a sex buddy"
"Oh. But it's still nice. He's been alone for quite a while" Sakura leaned back onto comfortable couch. She and Tsunade were sitting at a restaurant with many people around chatting lively.
"By the way, I have good news for you" the blonde woman smiled at her companion "your money business finally moved. You'll be able to get your bank account back by the end of this week. Also, it seems like you've inherited a flat in Manhattan"
"Seriously?! I…don't believe it" Sakura tried to smile, but it reminded more of a sad grin "that was fast"
"You don't seem happy" Tsunade stated "did…something happen?"
"No, everything's fine. I'm happy, really. I missed my own personal space somewhere. Thank you"
"Don't mention it. Also, I've heard-where are you going?" Tsunade frowned at Sakura when she stood up.
"Sorry, I promised to meet Itachi today. Gotta go now"
"Oh, so…is it serious?"
"Who knows…I…seem to like him"
"Good. He's a fair play" Tsunade winked.
"Yeah…well…see you later"
"Sure" and Tsunade watched her friend rushing out of the restaurant. I don't suppose her sad smile is because she got a flat in the noisiest place of the city. I bet from anything it's the Uchiha issue. And not the one she's about to meet.
-x-
On the other part of town, Sai was sitting in the restaurant on the river bank…waiting….waiting…
"Hello, stranger" a cheerful and also seductive voice reached his ears. As he turned, he saw Ino, standing right in front of him, with gorgeous lavender dress and white-teeth smile.
"That's my line" Sai stood up to greet her.
"I have to admit, I was surprised when you called and actually asked me out" she said when they both sat down in front of each other.
"Surprised? Why? Is it that bad?"
"No, it's…the first time you know. When we go out"
"True, but…I, erm…" Sai let out a little laugh to his own inability to talk.
"Hey, what's so funny?" Ino also laughed a little "did anyone tell you that you're cute when you smile like that?" she whispered.
"Ino, I want this to be serious. Us, I mean. You and me. Together" that left the blonde speechless.
Ok, when I first came into his hotel room, I thought that maybe only some flirting will do. But then…I found out that he actually cannot be fitted into simple boxes. He was different. He is different. And what makes it worse, he remind me of Itachi sometimes. And the worst thing of it all: I can't refuse to it. Damn! Now I know what I'm going to say. And all I needed was a piece of information of the bitch, who stole Itachi from me!
"I, well, now you got me" Ino smiled nervously "it's…even more unexpected"
"I understand if you want to wait and…"
"No, I don't want to wait" Ino put her hand on his "this is…what I want" and she leaned in and kissed him softly into lips.
What the hell am I doing? Falling for him like some love-struck puppy. This is the strangest thing that has ever happened to me: I seek for use and I find myself in use. Creepy, but…awesome.
-x-
Later the same night…
Sasuke was sitting behind the grand piano in the living room, playing a jazzy piece. His eyes, however, were suddenly caught by a light, running behind the windows. He heard a soft sound of car breaks and two doors opening banging close. Then silence, only the engine buzzing silently at the midst of piano song. Then another bang of door and tires rustling the ground. High heels tapping down the path. Then the door opened. Sakura froze in the middle of the door, then slowly closed them, her eyes not leaving Sasuke. He, however, didn't even react. The woman closed to him and leaned onto the grand piano, a mysterious smile playing in her lips as she listened to the music.
"That's beautiful" she whispered as he finished the piece "what's it called?"
"Still don't know" Sasuke shrugged "wrote this in the junior high, but it just stayed with three little stars above" Sakura giggled.
"Well, you should name it. If the name doesn't exist, the identity is also barely existent"
"You read too much" Sasuke smirked.
"And you practice smirking in front of the mirror too long" Sakura shot back "listen, about the rat and all that hysteria I caused. Sorry, I…just…"
"Don't be sorry. Lightening Macqueen is the part of the family" Sasuke stretched his arms and put them on the black wood of the piano in front of himself.
"You…" Sakura frowned, looking for the right word "know this rat?"
"Ah, yeah. I just wasn't able to catch him. But…Jules was ok with Lightening, so…he's harmless, don't worry"
"Don't tell me you feed him"
"Swiss cheese is his favorite" Sasuke smirked to how confused Sakura was right now "don't worry, he's a vegetarian. Not gonna eat your toes"
"Unbelievable" Sakura walked closer to him and sat on the large seat in front of the keyboard…right next to Sasuke.
"How come you're talking to me? Did sex with Itachi melt the ice in your heart?"
"How much of a jerk can you be?" Sakura closed her eyes in annoyance "is it that strange to you when someone is actually friendly to you?"
"Yeah, it does seem strange from a person, who wasn't talking to me for three full days. So, what happened?"
"Nothing. We didn't have sex"
"Yet"
"Drop it"
"Why?"
"Because it's annoying"
"I like to annoy you"
"Why?"
"It's fun"
"Are you jealous?" that made the guy stop for a while.
"No. Should I be?"
"Erm, yeah?"
"Give me one extremely good reason"
"You constantly ask me about my relationship with Itachi, you…warn me not to have sex with taxi drivers, you…respond to every kiss I give you…and I'd like to remind you that you were the one who kissed me first!"
"What are you getting at?"
"That you like me, Uchiha" Sakura looked directly into his eyes "I'm also getting at the fact that we should have sex. Since we both live together and we are both single, so…I see no reason for us to not be doing it"
"Should I be translating this from women language to normal human?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her.
"No. Take it straight" Sakura gave him a smirk…the one Uchiha should be giving "Straight, human, reasonable…the way you like it"
After about a minute of staring at each other…
Sasuke leaned in and kissed Sakura in a rough manner. They both stood up and headed towards the sofa, not stopping the kiss. Sasuke fell onto the couch and Sakura sat on him, removing his black sweater and landing soft kisses all over his chest. Sasuke sucked into her neck here and there, also unbuttoning her red shirt and pulling it away from her. Sakura's mouth returned to Sasuke's as he found the clasp of her bra and released her full large breasts. She moaned as he sucked into her nipple and drowned her fingers into his raven hair. Sakura's hands then started to move down Sasuke's back and to his torso, to remove the dark blue jeans. She unzipped it and found a firm bundle. Sakura's eyes narrowed with passion and she licked the middle of his chest, going down and down…
Ring, ring…ring, ring…
"You've got to be kidding" Sasuke scoffed in annoyance. Sakura sighed, but still lifted herself up and gave him a light kiss.
"Is it important?" she asked with luscious voice. Sasuke looked at the cell phone.
"Pray to the god" he noted sarcastically and flipped the phone open.
"What?!" he yelled.
"Bad timing? Where are you?" a voice of Temari reached Sasuke's ear.
I mean, COME ON! Duh it's bad timing. It's a DISASTROUS timing! I was about to have a real, kick-ass sex with a sex bomb here and that...colleague of mine called and ruined it all! Do I have a right to be upset? Hell yeah I do!
"Roaming through your underwear" Sasuke said, making Sakura freeze for a while, then giggle silently. She continued placing soft kisses on Sasuke's face and neck "I think Shika has a lover, cause I saw one bra, way over your size"
"Size is not what counts and if Shikamaru had a bitch, they both would be dead by now"
"Now that sounds scary. What do you want? Besides me telling you about how size does count" Sakura giggled again, placing a soft kiss on his lips. Sasuke bumped his nose into hers while listening to what Temari had to say.
"We have an autistic patient" Sasuke's eyes suddenly widened.
"Wait, you called me at this bad timing to confirm that autism is an incurable genetic disorder?!"
"Erm, no. We called because kid's parents wanted. They came straightly to you and won't accept any other doctor. Kid's got some minor liver problem, plural infusion and…supposed-to-be chest pain, which could only be diagnosed by him screaming his voice out and constantly rubbing his chest"
"Does Tsunade want me to come?"
"Ah, yeah, she's actually listening to this conversation" Sasuke pulled the phone away from his ear.
"Holly crap" he cursed. Sakura played with few strands of his hair for a while.
"Inconvenience?" she asked provokingly.
"You have no idea" he sighed and returned the phone to his ear "have the kid in the ICU. Do a blood work, see if he doesn't have any fungi or bacteria in his liver. And take the sample of gastric juices. That kid poked with something"
"Roger that" then the voice changed "and you better be here, Uchiha! This is without any warning"
Beep, beep, beep, beep…
"Aye, aye, captain" Sasuke noted ironically and flipped the phone closed. He then wrapped his arms around Sakura's waist and looked up at her eyes.
"Really gotta go?" she asked.
"I'll be dead if I won't. We won't be able to do anything if I'm in that state. Unless you develop necrophilia" Sakura slapped his chest.
"You're still a jerk"
"And you're still a bitch" he kissed her shortly "to be continued?"
"To be continued"
After ten minutes, on the way to the hospital…
Tsunade, you old bag! And you just HAD to be there! Crap! Being a doctor will soon turn out as a huge disadvantage! Look at a bright side: now I can have sex with her without having a relationship. Poor Naruto, never really found this heaven. Score goes for me!
-x-
"Hope you pulled me out of Temari's underwear drawer with a good reason" Sasuke said the moment he entered the lab. Temari raised her eyes from microscope and shot him a deadly look.
"We didn't find any common bacteria yet" she reported through closed teeth.
"Primary fungi cultures are about to grow, so, be patient" Karin said and leaned back to the tester.
"I'm already patient by coming here" Sasuke complained and sat on a chair in the corner of the lab.
"Get over it, Sasuke" Shikamaru raised his finger up, not lifting eyes from computer screen "sex can wait and I don't have a bitch. Of course of you don't include Temari"
"She's your wife, man. She's supposed to be your bitch"
"I'm in the room!" Temari yelled from behind the microscope.
"Yeah, and while you're still here, tell me about his stomach"
"It stabilized. Whatever this thing is, it's in kid's liver now"
"How old is this kid anyway?" Sasuke asked, crossing arms on chest.
"You didn't even open the file, did you?" Temari frowned at him.
"I just got in. So, will you tell me or should I be heading to the office"
"Stay here, cause if you do, you'll be daydreaming about the hooker girl" Karin interrupted "he's nine"
"Leaving my personal stuff aside" Sasuke said in louder voice "how about his parents?"
"They both used to be business shark, but once their child was diagnosed with autism, they both quit" Shikamaru reported.
"Wow, that's something you should read in People. Any similar sicknesses?"
"No. Not that they presented in family history. But the kid is autistic. He could've done anything to himself" Shikamaru shrugged "he could've eaten anything, or scratched somewhere...who knows"
"Good point" Sasuke nodded "but we won't know until you finish the lab work. Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta go get some coffee" Sasuke stood up to leave.
"No daydreaming" Karin warned.
"Heh, come on, the patient's life hangs on a balance. What daydreaming?" Sasuke smirked on top of that ironic note.
"He has a serious crush" Karin diagnosed.
"Sure does. My ear almost exploded when he picked up" Temari scoffed.
"This only means one thing: if he can't concentrate on the case, we are in trouble. Why do men always have to get stupid when they're in love?"
"Because you have something dandling" Temari teased.
"Troublesome" Shikamaru mumbled.
-x-
Sakura was lying in her bed, little lamp by her side illuminating a picture of her and a tall, black-haired man, black-eyed man, standing together in the park, hugged around the waist. The man's arm was reaching towards her and disappearing somewhere behind the objective. Sakura in the picture had her head conveniently leaned on the man's cheek, her eyes shining happily.
Then the current Sakura's mind suddenly flashed back to the moment when another black-haired, black-eyed man touched her naked skin just over an hour ago. The woman shook her head and put the picture into the drawer.
Now then, which one I like more? Which one…I should be with? Itachi, who makes me feel like I'm the only one in the world? Sasuke, who makes me do crazy things…like tonight and not regret it? But I still have time to figure this out…until about Saturday…
Right?
--
A/N: Information to all of my readers: my update schedule is about to change and become very inappropriately unpredictable. The cause is my summer job. End of information. P.S.: You can flame at my employer :DDDD anyways, thanks for all the comments and other stuff ;))) and support, especially support ;))) can't go on without it ;)))