Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Or Halo. Or Microsoft. :]
Chapter 3:
Thump! Sakura groaned as she hit the floor. It was still in the middle of the night: pitch black and the silent creek of the windows from the howling wind plagued the room with an eerie aura. Sakura gripped her own shoulders, cold with the night air even inside the house. She crawled back into the couch, resting her head on Sasuke's chest. He's so warm… she thought, cuddling up closer. His heart beat quickened as he groaned awake.
"What?" He mumbled, apparently upset to be disturbed from his sleep. Sakura laughed quietly as he rubbed his tired eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you… I fell off the couch," she explained to the grumpy Uchiha, softening his mood with gentle strokes to his face. A smile played at the stoic's lips from the soothing touch of the pink-haired beauty.
"You're such a baby," he teased, kissing the soft mop of hair. As his hands travelled down to her back, he felt her skin: bare and cold. "Hey, you're cold," he pulled her closer to his chest.
"It's probably because I'm naked and without a blanket," she laughed softly, shivering all the while. Sasuke frowned at her nonchalant character.
"Wait here, I'll be right back," he got up to navigate through the dark house.
When he returned, Sasuke wrapped the shivering doll up in a warm blanket and carried her bridal style over to the guest bedroom. He remembered… a soft smile spread across Sakura's lips. Laying her down, Sasuke tucked her in with a stone face. Sakura frowned. "Are you okay?"
"Hn…" he grunted, kissing her wide forehead with a small smile. "I'm just still pretty tired is all."
She reached out and grabbed his wrist as he turned to go. "Don't go… sleep with me… please?"
Sasuke smiled down at her. "All right," now lying inside the bed, he received the pinkette in a cuddling embrace. Together, they slept.
In the morning, it could be seen that the snow had started to melt. Just as predicted, tomorrow would be the day Sakura would leave back for her own house. Sasuke frowned; the realization ate at him. He didn't want her to go. His home would be empty, barren, and quiet once again.
He looked down at her precious face: delicate with a pleasant sleep. Her lips were opened only a bit, her caressing breath sighing out from between. The loose, pink strands of hair tangled around the pillow, forming strange designs.
Sasuke smiled softly at the beautiful girl in front of him. She was only nineteen and already had such wonderful features. He saw her eyes twitch open as an awakening registered into her head. "Mmh…" she groaned as she awoke, rubbing her eyes.
"Good morning, Sakura," Sasuke whispered in her ear, planting a short kiss on her cheek as he pulled back. A tired smile formed on her rosy lips.
"'Morning, Sasuke…" she yawned, stretching her arms out comfortably. Once they both got up and dressed, it was slow. Both of them knew she would leave tomorrow. Sure, they would see each other—when they weren't working. Ever since they got back to Konoha after college, they had been occupied with work nearly seven times a week: covering for co-workers, trying to impress difficult bosses… Reality was coming back to haunt them.
"Sakura… do you want to do something fun?" Sasuke looked over to her, a grin taking the place of the solemn expression.
"What might that be?" Her emerald eyes sparkled with interest.
"Bake cookies; we can double the recipe so you can take some home with you tomorrow."
"Ohmigosh! Yes! Let's! I love baking! You're so sweet," an excited smile glowed on her face, her eyes still sparkling with equal excitement. That gentle glow in the soft green of her eyes sent a blush to Sasuke's cheeks.
"Well, then let's get started," he winked.
The kitchen was set up for the invasion of the two adolescents nearing adulthood; they were both seeking fun: upbeat music was blasted on a radio, bowls and spoons and measuring cups and all the ingredients were lined up neatly—for now.
"Karaoke!" Sakura cheered as she sang into her spoon-mic, cracking Sasuke up.
"Do you even know the words?" He laughed as he wiped his teary eyes. Sakura grinned and shrugged, now nodding her head to the music as they baked.
"So that's three cups of flour… we need six," Sasuke read and corrected. As Sakura poured in the six cups, she readied a seventh. "What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, confused.
"Mom's secret recipe," Sakura winked, "'Sweets always taste better—" she dumped the cup over his head, "'when you have fun making them'!"
"Revenge!" Sasuke smirked and dumped flour over her head and messed her hair. She laughed good-naturedly and swung chocolate chips at him.
The two continued to toss ingredients in pleasurable fun, making a mess of the kitchen—a good mess. Once they had managed to create the dough, they rolled it onto the metal sheets in round spheres and put them into the oven. In unison, they flashed grins at each other and called out "Race you to the TV!" while running into the living room.
Plopping down on the couch, Sasuke snatched up his game controller while Sakura turned on the screen. "What are we gonna play?"
"Halo 3," Sasuke winked, tossing her the second controller. Sakura rolled her eyes teasingly.
"You just want to be sure you win. We should play a racing game," a mischievous glint flashed in her eyes. Sasuke frowned.
"Uh-uh; Halo 3," He shoved the game in the system and smirked impishly. She giggled as she took her seat beside him and played the video game.
The two chipper teens laughed and conversed as they played. Sasuke, of course, won their match. As soon as they smelled the aroma of homemade cookies, Sasuke and Sakura distractedly ventured to the kitchen.
Those beautiful, golden brown cookies looked absolutely perfect when Sasuke slid them out of the oven.
"I want one," Sakura stared at the chocolate chipped goodness with a near uncontrollable desire. Sasuke turned up his eyebrow. "Isn't that just a little weird? We have to let them cool, Sa-ku-ra," he guided the frowning and resisting cutie out the kitchen before she fulfilled her fantasy of eating the gooie cookies.
When they had finished baking, Sasuke set Sakura up a bubble bath and as he led her in he said, "Don't worry about cleaning the kitchen; I'll take care of it while you bathe," and with a smile, he shut her door.
She sighed as she relaxed in the warm water, feeling wondrous on her cold skin. Little details in the bathroom stood out to her: the simplicity of the design, the subtle color of the walls, the roundish tub—they all provided the elements of serenity. Come to think of it, his entire house was serene and simplistic.
Sakura wondered about where Sasuke got the solution for her bubble bath. A giggle escaped her lips as she thought of Sasuke in a bubble bath, playing with the foamy bubbles with a toothy grin plastered on his face.
Once she finished her bath, Sakura wrapped herself in a robe, which she concluded was for guests, and walked out to meet Sasuke in the kitchen. "You finished?" She frowned as she saw him shaking his wet hands over the sink. He looked over to her, "Don't worry about it," he pat her shoulder.
"All right; are you going to take a bath too?" She got closer to him, resting her head on his chest. Her hair was still damp, and he could smell the sweet fragrance of her apple shampoo. He lightly wrapped his arms around her waist.
"No, I'm going to take a shower."
She smiled. "Then I'll wait for you to eat cookies!" She tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He smiled back and returned her affection with a loving kiss to her forehead. "I'll be fast," he said, releasing her and going to the bathroom.
Sasuke did finish fast. He wanted to spend as much time with her as possible before she tired out for the night.
"Ah!" Sakura opened her mouth as Sasuke fed her a bite of a cookie. "Oh these are so good! Your turn," she said after swallowing. She held a cookie up to Sasuke's lips. He willingly opened his mouth, happy to accept the fruits of their labor.
Sasuke played a movie for them to watch for the rest of the night. Sakura cuddled up on Sasuke's chest as he put his arm around her slim waist. Even the small touches that he gave her sent waves of romance in Sakura's mind. No, she wasn't thinking about making love with him again. Right now, she just loved the fact that they were almost acting like newlyweds. Of course, that fantasy couldn't happen—not for a while, but with the way things were, she could practically see their future together.
Sasuke could feel it too, and he caressed her arm romantically, a soft smile forming on both their lips as they drifted off to sleep on the couch.
I know this sounds like the ending and I'm not sure, but I think I said I'd only make it three chapters, but Truth or Dare is still going to have more chapters, so I hope you're liking it so far still. :] R&R and thank you to those who are still supporting me. Arigatogozaimasu.
InaGaTa.