Disclaimers: I do not own or profit from Naruto.

This is a Kakashi/Sakura romantic pairing story.

Mature scenes ahead.

3. Since I could stand on my own two feet again.

"Yes, Sa-ku-ra?" Sasuke mocked with his degrading smirk.

Sakrua's agape mouth audibly snapped closed and her green eyes took a submissive look to them. She knew Sasuke liked this look the best.

Sasuke pulled her back to him, wrapping his left hand around the back of her neck and ravaging her lips hurtfully. She knew that he wanted them to be bruised when they were done, when he was done with her.

Sakura jerked her head to the right side and Sasuke continued down her neck while giving a non too pleased growl at her for removing her lips, his rough hands acting such on her chest and down her back to her ass, kneading it, and then pulling her up to be wrapped around him as he laid hem onto the moistened ground.

Thunder crackled and lightning snapped behind Sasuke, making him look all the more powerful from her submissive point of view. His longer black hair styled much to the like of his brother's. His berry lips leaving wet marks on her, his white teeth nipping and marring her legs, stomach, sking. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back as he started to fully remove her clothing. Quickly ripping through her bindings, Sakura sighed as he kissed and rubbed her breasts. The tears building behind the walls of her closed eyelids, as always.

She wanted this.

She wanted to make Sasuke happy.

She wanted him to want her the way she had wanted him, pined for him through all these years.

She wanted him to treat her as an equal, the elite shinobi she was, the elite ninja he was.

She wanted him to show her she was desirable to him now, laying her down beneath him and not on a city bench.

She wanted him to know they still loved and cared for him.

She wanted him to come back.

Mostly she wanted him to acknolwedge her, and if this is how he was going to do it she would take it, no matter how much it hurt, how bad she felt, how many tears she cried when she went back to her lonely bitter apartment.

She would give Sasuke all he could need to understand that was just wanted to be whole again, be a family again.

Sakura lay on the cool grass letting the rain pour down heavily on her. This was a thunderstorm, not a light dusting of rain. She could see the steam rising off her naked body, fighting the coldness of the drenching rain.

She was hoping it would cleanse her.

She was hoping it would wash away the confusing and reveal the truth.

She was hoping it would wash away her sins and let her rise anew.

She was hoping she would drown in it.

Sasuke had already left. Dressing calmly and precisley to Sakura's right as she lay flushed and red on the ground.

"Konoha isn't safe," Sasuke started slowly. Sakura had turned her head to be able to look at his face. He was staring at the ground in between the two of them, the small patch of dirt that contained no grass that was slowly turning into a puddle of mudd. "If I can travel so easily in and out of the gates, anyone can."

"You're stronger than most anyone Sasuke-kun," Sakura stated, annoyed that she now had to stroke his ego.

"...You would be safer traveling with me. It would be most pratical considering you could become impregnated while I'm away," Sasuke said, his icy glare at the ground turning into a staring match with her. His sure obsidian eyes fighting her confused wide green ones.

Sakura was beyond shocked. She sucked in a breath of the thick, humid air. Her cheeks burning red at the implication of carrying his child, Sakura said, "I can protect myself. Naruto will protect me. And Kakashi-sensei."

"Ha, you're so pathetic Sakura. Naievity..If your chakra control wasn't amazing for the future of my clan...I don't know why you put your faith in those so obviously incabable of anything. Then again you do it everyday with yourself now don't you, always needing me to protect you," Sasuke said as he leaned down to brush the hair off of her face and forehead.

"You make me sick," Sakura said. "And I can't be the only one. Don't you realize why I'm doing this? We want you to come home Sasuke, you have no reason to be a missing-nin anymore. I'm showing you that I'll except you in any way you need. Please. We'll give you anything you want." Sakura's hand moved onto the top of his and moved it down to her left cheek. She pressed her face into it, trying to ignore the fact that her tears were now spilling freely.

Sasuke pressed forward with lips pursed and eyes closed. Sakura's eyes widened as she thought he was going to kiss her affectionately and not sexually, but then he disappeared.

That was hours ago. Even though it was definitely close to seven in the morning the sky was still black as night as the storm continued to erupt in and around the village. The harsh rain was soothing to Sakura's still burning skin. Sometimes she thought his marks burned through to her.

She would make Sasuke see how much he was worth to them still. That she was worth something to him if he deemed her fit enough to carry his child, which she hoped it wouldn't have to come to to make him realize that they were already a family, always were, always will be.

Suddenly she recognised three prominent chakra figures approaching her at an alarmingly fast rate. She swiped her clothes off the ground and bound behind a thick tree, concealing and repressing her chakra.

"...His nose doesn't lie. And neither does mine. He was here, not maybe hours ago but the rain is washing his scent easily."

She recognized the voice of Kiba.

"We continue to pursue the trail until it runs cold. Then we report to the Hokage."

She recognized the voice of Neji.

"Did you drop something?" Neji asked someone.

"No, just checking for tracks. The ground is warm. Let's move."

Sakura gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Hai."

The figures split into the dark of the storm and the forest.

Sakura through her uniform back on, not noting that they were more soaking wet than her body because she just wanted to get out of the forest and back into the village. She quickly became dismayed as she realized she could not find her underwear. The dismay changed into frustration and then fear as she realized that he was picking up her underwear, not checking for tracks.

Kakashi-sensei had retrived her underwear from the scene of the crime.

What was she going to do? Obviously she wouldn't ask for them back. Hopefully she could practice her surprised face when he would bring it up to her. This was officially the worst week of her life.

Making her way back to the village and slipping over the wall she decided that she would see Naruto today. She deserved some comedic relief. And genuine, mutual love. She didn't want to stand on her own today.