Chapter 5. Falling in Love

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes to the faint rays of sunlight shining on his face. He had no idea what time it was, but he definitely didn't feel like getting up yet. Especially because of the warm body of a certain girl next to him.

He was laying on his side with his arms firmly wrapped around Suki's small waist. She was facing him, her breath leaving tingles on the delicate skin of his neck. To Sasuke she looked like an angel; her silky skin, her soft hair and those beautiful blue eyes like a piece of bright blue sky was stolen and placed into them. He couldn't help but blush as he suddenly realised how close their faces were.

"Kami, I only realised yesterday how much I like her. And now I'm already having trouble controlling my emotions! Kuso..."

Gently Sasuke lingered his fingers into Suki's hair and wiped some bangs out of her face. In her sleep, Suki smiled and laid closer to Sasuke. Sasuke's blush turned bright red when their lips almost touched. Quickly he shifted so he was laying on his back while Suki shifted with him to lay her head on his chest. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth radiating from her body.

Suki shifted in her sleep and made herself comfortable on her pillow. But something seemed weird. Her pillow was moving; slowly rising and falling. And she felt something warm laying next to her. Slowly she opened her eyes, but they widened a little when she noticed why her pillow had been moving and what, or rather who, was laying next to her. She lifted her face and stared into the dark eyes of no-one other than Sasuke. Sasuke noticed a panicked look upon her face and calmed her down.

"Don't worry. You're safe, Suki."

Suki relaxed and laid her head down on his chest again and closed her eyes. She felt very comfortable laying next to him like that. Oh how she hoped Itachi wouldn't just walk in and see them like that. He would definitely get angry and hurt her. Suddenly her eyes shot open. Itachi! The things he did to her last night replayed themselves in her head, causing her to shiver. Upon noticing this, Sasuke wrapped his arms tighter around her.

She was confused. She felt so safe right now, but on the other hand she was afraid of getting hurt. Could everything that happened last night have been a dream? If it had been, then it was definitely the most realistic dream she had ever experienced. She closed her eyes and tried to relax against Sasuke's body.

"Suki, I'm going to take a shower. Just stay in bed and try to get some sleep, alright?"

Suki nodded in response, after which Sasuke gently let go of her and slipped out of the bed. Apparently he didn't feel like returning to his own room, because he grabbed a towel and walked into Suki's shower, leaving the bathroom door unlocked behind him. Suki smirked a little at how trustful he was; if she had had naughty intentions, she could walk in any time she wanted. But of course, that's not how she was, and he knew it.

When Suki heard water running, she laid her head down and closed her eyes. What if Itachi suddenly walked in? What would he do to her, and to Sasuke? Would he rape her again?

She sighed. She still had no idea if it had been a dream or not. She lifted her head and looked around the room; clothes were spread all over the floor, and it looked like a mess. Again, she sighed and came to a seated position. She was going to clean her room for now, it's not like she had anything else to do. As she stood up a sudden wave of pain overcame her and she winced, practically sinking to her knees.

"Okay, I guess it wasn't a dream after all..."

She also noticed a small puddle of blood laying in a corner of her room. That must have been where she had been sitting after he...his deed. Again she shivered. All the feelings and emotions from the night before came back, almost overwhelming her. This time she did sink to her knees, feeling more nauseous than she had ever felt. Silently she begged Sasuke to hurry up in the shower. As if her pray was being answered, Sasuke stepped out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. Normally she would have blushed at the sight, but right now all she cared about was getting to the toilet as fast as she could. She ran past him as fast as she could, leaving Sasuke stunned.

"Suki, what are you-"

His question was answered before he could even finish it. He watched Suki throw up in the toilet. Quickly he walked over and kneeled down next to her, rubbing her back and whispering comforting words into her ear.

When she was finally done throwing up, she fell backwards, exhausted and her body weak. Sasuke caught her just before she hit the ground. He stood up, lifting Suki from the floor and carried her to her bed. When he let go of her, he could only just grab his towel before it would fall all the way down. Suki closed her eyes and tried to relax.

"Are you alright?"

Suki noticed the concern in Sasuke's voice. Careful not to get sick again, she sat up.

"I'm alright, I guess."

Sasuke looked at her, and shook his head slightly in disbelieve.

"You know, when I woke up, it felt like everything had just been a bad dream...God, I hate myself! I couldn't even stand up for myself!"

Sasuke placed a hand on her shoulder, calming her down a little.

"Don't, Suki."

"Don't what?"

"Don't hate yourself. It's not your fault this happened. I know Itachi is strong; even I have trouble fighting him off sometimes. If there's anyone to blame, then blame me..."

Sasuke had lowered his head and averted his eyes from Suki's. His voice was quiet, almost as if he was ashamed. Suki couldn't believe what he was saying. Blame him? But why? Gently she placed a hand on his cheek, lifting his face upwards and looking deep into his eyes.

"Why would you say that?"

"Because I shouldn't have left you. I knew Itachi had tried to rape you before, so I should have checked up on you! I should have —"

Sasuke got silenced by a finger on his lips. A slight shade of pink found its way to Sasuke's cheeks as Suki's finger left a tingling sensation on his lips.

"Don't ever say that again, Sasuke. It was not your fault, alright!"

Sasuke's eyes widened a little. He had never seen her so serious before.

"Alright..."

Suki gave him a little smile and hugged him tight. She suddenly blushed when she recalled he only had a towel around his waist and felt his naked chest. Sasuke too blushed as he felt her warm body being pressed against his naked form. Quickly they both let go of each other and avoided each other's eyes for a few moments, both blushing intensely. They sat in silence for a while when Suki decided to break it.

"So ehm...Maybe you should go back to your own room, Sasuke. If Itachi sees us like this, he'll -"

"Don't worry; Itachi is gone for at least a week. That coward ran off somewhere..."

Sasuke growled inwards, or so he thought. Suki raised an eyebrow at Sasuke's growl, but then smiled when she realised she wouldn't have to worry about Itachi for a whole week.

"So the two of us..."

Sasuke scooted a little closer to Suki and placed an arm around her.

"Will enjoy this week of peace, alright? No worrying."

Suki smiled at the childish grin Sasuke had on his face and nodded in agreement. After seeing her agree, Sasuke got up and went to his own room to get dressed.

Suki got up, careful not to force herself. She decided a long, hot bath would probably relax her, so she waited until the water had filled the bathtub before undressing and letting the warm water engulf her sore body. She closed her eyes and let her thoughts wander. She banished Itachi from her thoughts however, and tried to focus on Sasuke. She wondered why she had let him sleep next to her last night. Had her mind been that messed up? She had to admit; he was very good-looking. She loved spending time with him, trying to beat him with Shogi. But there was more. He was nice to her like no-one, except Sasori, had ever been. Like he tried to understand her and was interested in her.

She smiled contently to herself.

"What is this feeling? I get the same feeling when I'm close to Sasori, but with Sasuke it's stronger...Am I in love with him?!"

Just the thought of being in love with someone made her feel weird. Geisha weren't allowed to be in love. They had no choice in who to love. They loved whoever paid more for them. Still, she smiled. It's not like anyone needed to know how she felt about him. She wasn't even sure she was in love. But even if it was 'love', she was pretty positive he didn't feel the same way. He could get any girl he wanted, so why would he be interested in her? And what about Itachi? Just the thought of what he might do to her or Sasuke if he found out about her feelings, made her shiver.

She suddenly realised the water had gone quite cold, so she got out of the bathtub and wrapped a large towel around her. When she was done drying herself, she walked into her bedroom. But as soon as she opened the door, she froze.

"S...Sasuke...what are you doing in here?"

Sasuke was sitting on his knees on the floor, cleaning up the mess from last night. Unaware that Suki had walked in, lifted his head and faced her, only to find her almost completely naked with only a towel around her. He could feel the heath rising to his cheeks.

"Suki...I...I didn't mean to...I just..."

He had some difficulties finding the words he was looking for. His mind was a little shaken, and the sight of such a beautiful, almost naked girl in front of him wasn't helping one bit!

"I came here to ehm...get my shoes, and then I ehm...decided to clean up a bit, and then you ehm...well, came in..."

He placed a hand behind his head and ruffled through his spiky hair while laughing nervously. Suki would have smiled at how cute he looked if only she wasn't so embarrassed and looking like an over-ripe tomato.

Sasuke rose to his feet with an apologizing look on his face. His blush had almost disappeared.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...you know..."

"It's okay, I know. But could you just...ehm...leave for a few minutes now?"

Within a millisecond, Sasuke's blush was back. Of course she wanted him to leave! It's not like she would just drop the towel and get dressed right in front of him! He smacked himself mentally.

"Y-yeah, of course. Just call me when you're ready."

Sasuke rushed out of the room, closing the door behind him. Suki let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Kami, that was embarrassing!"

Finally, she let the towel fall and dressed herself.

It had been three days since her 'incident' with Itachi, and the past three days had been the best she could remember in a long time. Spending time with Sasuke — who had now officially become her crush — was what she enjoyed the most. She had gotten better at Shogi, and even beat Sasuke a few times!

Currently, she and Sasuke were standing outside in the garden. She was wearing a pair of old trousers and a T-shirt, both old clothes which once belonged to Sasuke. He had brought her out here, but she still didn't know why. The serious look on his face made her feel slightly nervous.

"Suki, I know you don't like to hurt people, but you've got to learn how to defend yourself."

His voice was stern and convincing, which made her gulp a little.

"Defend myself? What do you mean?"

"Just what I said; defend yourself. Against people who would want to take advantage of you, like my brother did."

Suki's eyes widened. She nodded in understanding, knowing he was right.

"Good. Now, I'm going to teach you where to kick or hit and what to do when someone tries to hurt you, okay?"

Again, she nodded. Sasuke sat down in the grass and gestured her to sit down next to him. He explained her all about the weak spot of the manly body and told her how to hit them. After about half an hour of explaining, they stood up again.

"So, with everything you now know, you should be able to defend yourself against me. I will try to 'hurt' you, and you'll have to fight me off, okay?"

"Alright, Sasuke."

Sasuke ran up to her and caught her in a head-lock before she even had the chance to avert his attack. She squealed and squirmed, but found it impossible to get a hit at Sasuke.

"If someone catches you like this, Suki, it's best to either bite them or wait for them to loosen their grip. If you squirm too hard, you'll end up choking yourself."

Sasuke loosened his grip on her neck so Suki could spin around and push him off. Almost immediately after she was sure to be free, she was pushed against the ground by Sasuke's weight. She hit the ground with a loud 'thump' and winced from the impact.

"Lesson number two: no matter how much the other person is hurting you or how much you're hurting him; don't ever let your guard down. They will take advantage of the situation, and you'll mostly end up the way you're laying now: trapped between some horny man's legs."

Suki couldn't help but grin at his comment and raised an eyebrow.

"So does this mean that you're a horny man as well?"

Sasuke's face turned red; that's not what he meant.

"That's not what I'm saying! What I mean is —"

Sasuke stopped in the middle of his sentence when he noticed Suki giggling underneath him. He couldn't suppress a smile. She looked so cute.

"Sorry..."

Suki finally got control over her giggles and Sasuke stood up, pulling her along with him. Again he ran to attack her, but this time she avoided his head-lock.

The rest of the day was spent outside, 'fighting'. Sasuke had to admit that she was a fast learner. She had even bitten him a few times, which had left bite marks on his hand, arm and shoulder. He swore at her at that moment, but he was also proud of her. By the end of the day, she was sitting on top of Sasuke who was laying with his back on the grass. She smirked victoriously.

"Told you I could beat you!"

Sasuke smirked in return and made an 'Hn' sound.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you."

All of a sudden Suki was pushed over and Sasuke was on top of her, their faces inches apart.

"Control yourself, Sasuke! Kissing her would be the stupidest thing to do right now!"

But Sasuke's body didn't seem to respond to his thoughts. His face moved, if possible, even closer. Suki couldn't help but stare into those beautiful dark eyes and get lost in them. Oh how she hoped he would kiss her already. His breath fanned against her lips, leaving the delicate skin tingling. She craved for his lips against hers, his body against hers. They had gotten to know each other to a whole different level the last few days, and she knew this was what she wanted.

"Kami, I'm so close…just one more millimeter and then…"

Okay, that's it for this time. I hope you enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed writing it =)