So… tired… Written to my Breaking Benjamin, and also to Paramore. Oh, and I left a reference in there (FUCK NO IT'S NOT TWILIGHT), from a story called "One of the Hungry Ones". Can you find it?

Disclaimer: Insert witty disclaimer here.

Dedication: To trying to keep yourself from falling apart.

"I NEED TO MEET THIS KID NAMED PAUL!!!"

---

The others had gone home, and it was just Sasuke and I left in the house.

I didn't know why this was worrying me, but somehow it was. Damn it. I slammed my fist into the wall, and then I hissed as pain shot through my hand.

A minute or so later, when my body gained control of the unprecedented pain, I surveyed the damage done, biting my lip to keep myself from yelling, and having Sasuke come running up here to see what's wrong. Two split knuckles, nothing serious, but it was bleeding, and it would bruise if I didn't wrap it up quickly.

I knew without knowing that Sasuke was sitting in the kitchen, staring out the window, maybe conversing with Kaeleo in his head, maybe not. But either way, it didn't matter, because I still… couldn't look at him.

Actually, it's kind of pathetic you're-so-pathetic-it-makes-me-sick-sick-sick.

My little five-year-old laughed at me. She's not been happy, recently. I groaned, and went downstairs, to the kitchen.

Okay, now I feel like I fail at life, because I'm standing in front of the kitchen door, my fingers inches from the knob, and it's all because I did something as stupid as say that Kendra looked like my mother out loud.

I winced, as I thought of the looks on all their faces. It had only been a murmur, the words that had past my lips, but they'd all heard it.

And they froze up, and that made me freeze up, and then we sat there for something like ten minutes, none of us saying anything at all. It sucked.

And then Hinata, being the god-send that she is, took control of the situation, grabbed the folder out of my hands, and went through the rest of the profiles.

Four males; well, there was Silver, a very tan kid of that looked about seventeen called Torr, one dude who seriously looked like Kakashi called Jagh, and one named Luke who looked like a girl. And then there were five females; one girl with black and purple hair called Kethryn, another girl who had apparently been with Kethryn when they were changed called Storm, a red-head (fire-engine red, too) called Brittle, then a blonde called Hannah, and then, of course, Kendra.

I snarled silently, and gritted my teeth together, and refuse to let my fear rule me. Simple law of the jungle folks; eat, or get eaten.

So I pushed the door open, and just as I'd suspected, and there was Sasuke in all his twisted pretty-boy glory. There was sunlight pouring in through the glass window, and it lit his features in a way another type of light could never replicate (I so hate hate-hate-hate fluorescents), and I thought he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

It made my heart ache, because I wanted him. He was mine.

I guess he hadn't even heard me open the door; he was so absorbed in his own head. I smirked to myself; it was kinda funny. I snuck up behind him, and I almost wanted to wrap my arms around him.

But fear, the little fucker, took hold of my body again, and just as I was pushing it away, Sasuke whipped around, and wrapped his arms around me.

God damn, I hate it when he does that!

So he obviously had heard me, and had obviously been waiting for me to approach. Did he already know my childish, curious mind that well?

I sighed into his chest. I guess he did.

I could feel his breath pressing into my hair, and I sighed again. He always smelled so good, it was just totally unfair. A few more deep breaths gave me enough courage to look up into his eyes.

They were hard and soft and Sasuke. I knew he hadn't liked the fact that Kendra reminded me so much of my mother, but there was nothing I could do about that.

"Does she really remind you that much?"

Damn, we even think alike. "Yes. She looks like every memory, every picture I have of her. My mum didn't have that eye colour, but then, we're not sure of Kendra's actual eye colour. She might have picked green because she liked it."

He blinked down at me. "Then where did the green eyes come from?"

I smiled. "They came from my daddy, and his white hair lightened my mum's red hair enough to give me… pink." I groaned, and rolled my eyes,

He laughed softly, and caught my lips in a very unexpected kiss. It was sweet and soft and sort of scared, almost hesitant, and I liked it.

I twined my fingers through his hair, and tugged him closer. The possession that always seemed so close to the surface hummed in satisfaction. Mine, it hummed mine-mine-mine-mine-mine-mine, and I hummed along in my head.

I pulled away to breathe, and our eyes locked, even as he pressed his forehead into mine. I was losing control of my perfect composure. Shit. Both our breaths were heavy as he looked at me.

He whispered. "You're very dangerous to me, princess."

"Why?"

He smirked, crooked and twisted, and I wanted to know if he was hurting, but he didn't voice it. He just kissed me again, still soft and sweet, but there was heat in this kiss.

I knotted my fingers more firmly in his hair, and I pulled him back. "Why Sasuke? And don't lie to me. Lies are annoying."

He chuckled, his voice reverberating through me. Okay, that was the sexiest thing that's ever happened to me, in my entire life. I wanted to swoon, but I kept myself in control of my body's hormones. Responses. Whatever you want to call it.

"You're dangerous to me because you have me wrapped around your little finger. If you asked me to kill myself, Sakura, I would."

"So if I asked you to kiss me again, would you?"

He chuckled again, and said "I just might." And then he sealed off my air supply, and I didn't really think anymore. He's just too damn persuasive like that.

I pulled back once more and said "If I'm dangerous to you, you're dangerous to me, too."

He didn't say anything, but he claimed my lips again, and neither of us pulled away for a long time.

---

I dreamt, that night. I dreamt of dancing with strangers and imp masks and so much blood that it might have been an entire sea. I dreamt of too many swirling colours, lost in a ballroom, and I dreamt of Persian princes and foxes and nobles from an ancient French court. I dreamt of dancing in the dark under flashing lights, and I dreamt of losing someone important, but I couldn't see their face. I dreamt of spinning and spinning in the middle of a night full of stars and a smiling moon, and I dreamt of my mother's smile and her thick red ringlets, but the face was somehow wrong, with cold green eyes and canines too long, curving gently over her lips. I dreamt that I was sitting on a swing, and jumping off a cliff, and I was flying. I dreamt I was dying.

I dreamt for so long it couldn't have been real.

But I did dream, and dreaming was such a strange thing to me. It was so strange that I didn't even remember it when I woke.

---

The next time I had coherent thought was pretty much the next day, and I had just woken up half naked next to Sasuke. He was still in deep sleep, and I sat up and looked down at him. He's so weird, really.

We didn't sleep together, okay, well; technically we slept in the same bed, but whatever. It doesn't matter. I didn't get laid, to put it bluntly. And also, to put it bluntly, I was beyond fine with that.

Part of me the-childish-little-five-year-old-me was still… unsure was the best word I could think of to put in to words what she was feeling, of Sasuke. This was unfair, but it was also the truth.

That part of me still wanted him, but she wanted a different part of him. She wanted someone to play with, not someone to be with forever. I locked her away, with the dangerous one, and they both were unhappy with me.

Innocence is something I can only dream of, and I lock the mental door in my head shut. A delicate horror. The five-year-olds whispered, and I loved them.

I realized that Sasuke was waking up, and that he was staring up at me. "Morning, princess."

"Hi." My voice was soft, so soft. So tired. Why am I so tired?

He looked up at me, half-squinting. "Sakura, is something wrong?"

"No, I'm just tired."

He laughed. "You're always tired."

"Yes."

We didn't speak, and eventually I realized that I should probably get up, and get changed. I really needed to give Sasuke his shirt back, despite the fact that it was the most comfortable thing I'd ever worn.

And I needed to call Anko.

I was starting to get worried about her and Kakashi, because they hadn't called yet and it had been more then two days. And the profiles from yesterday unnerved me. One of them, Jagh, looked so much like my foster-father that it was eerie.

I needed to know that they were alright.

But, just as I was about to get up, Sasuke pulled me back down, and I ended up lying next to him, my - his shirt riding up my side. Asshole.

"I need to call Anko."

"Anko can wait half an hour, right?"

I glared at him, and he smirked at me. Damn it, I can't kick him from this position! "Sasuke, really, I actually need to get up. And Hinata will probably have called already, so-"

He kissed me again, and cut me off, effectively shutting me up. What's half an hour, right?

No, no, control, Sakura, control!

I tugged away, and laughed at him because he was pouting at me. And it was cute. But it wasn't enough to sway me. I pulled myself out of bed, and went into my closet to grab some clothes.

I have no idea what I grabbed, either, I just grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt off the floor, and I poked my head out the door, and sent Sasuke a glare.

"Can you get out of my room? I'm going to change."

He grinned at me, and I swear I could see 'pervert' written all over that look. Oh no, he better not go there… "Well, you could always change with me in the room, although I'm not sure you'd get much changing done…"

He went there. I stormed over to him, and sat on him. And I felt much better afterwards. "Out. Now."

He gasped for air, and I smiled, understanding the 'well, you're kind of sitting on me' vibe he was sending off. I got off of him, and pointed out the door.

He sat up, letting my sheets fall off his body, and I realized he was only wearing an old, torn pair of Kakashi's pajama bottoms. No shirt. While that sight was very nice, the pants… weren't. It's kind of awkward to see your - what is Sasuke to me? Future husband?- wearing you dad's pant.

Not normal.

But he walked out of my room, and I quickly threw on the shirt, the red tube top from yesterday, and the black jeans. Whatever. It wasn't pretty, but I didn't care. Sasuke could cause all kinds of trouble if I wasn't around to watch him.

But when I got downstairs, he was just making pancakes. I snorted to myself. Could Sasuke honestly get anymore perfect? The guy can kill leeches, disobey Tsunade, cook, and make it look hot, to top it all off! What kind of person can do that?!

I watched him flip a pancake high into the air, and pretended I wasn't impressed when he looked over at me for approval. I yawned at him, actually, and I really didn't like the glint that suddenly appeared in his eyes.

He flipped another pancake in the air, and spun around, only to catch the thing as it fell, right back into the frying pan.

Damn. Now I couldn't hide the fact that I was impressed. All I could think to myself was 'Why must he be so. Fucking. Perfect?!' I growled to myself, and watched as he flipped two pancakes into the air and we watched them land perfectly on my plate.

This is beyond unfair.

We started eating, and it was quiet. Soft. It wasn't forced. It was nice, just sitting there together, but with every passing second, my concern for Kakashi and Anko grew. I couldn't lose them. Not them. They were all I had.

Well, maybe not just them. My eyes flicked up to Sasuke. I had him, too. But they were the closest things to parents I had, and I would not be happy with Tsunade if I found out either of them had been harmed in any way. Actually, I wouldn't even be mad at Tsunade. I'd be pissed at the thing that harmed them.

My jaw clenched. How I despise bloodsuckers. They've taken everything from me. They won't take this.

I didn't (couldn't, really,) even finish my breakfast. My jaw was still clenched, and I shoved myself away from the table. Sasuke looked up at me questioningly, and I just shook my head.

I looked down at him, and I could feel my anger leaving my body, draining away through some invisible tubes. I sat back down, suddenly exhausted.

I dislike emotionally upheavals. They take so much out of a person. Sigh. I whispered into the still air, not wanting to ruin the perfect silence, but I knew I had to.

"Sasuke, we have to go find Kakashi and Anko."

He didn't say anything, so I careful-careful-carefully peeked up at him, and saw him mouthing words, talking to himself. Everyone does this, and I wasn't surprised when he looked up at me, and our gazes locked. "They can take care of themselves."

I snarled. "I don't give a damn anymore, Uchiha."

I saw him wince, and I knew it was a little harsh. So I changed my tone to one of soft pleading, and continued. "They're all I have, Sasuke. If they die, what's the point in even existing?"

He looked away. "What about me?"

I smiled. "Sasuke, we don't even know what we are to each other yet, let alone living for each other. Things like that… well, I kinda suck at them, and Kakashi and Anko are the only example I have to compare with, and they kind of fail. They're really too weird. And unless you're ready to define exactly what we are, then what's the point?"

I didn't tell him that he was already mine. He didn't need to know that yet. Then again, he might already know it. I just didn't want to say it out loud, because it could really fuck everything up twenty-one ways to Sunday.

And I really didn't want that.

"So what are we, princess Sa-ku-ra? What exactly is it?"

I glared at me, and I forced the blush that I could feel rising back. I was not in the mood to blush, because I knew that as soon as I did, I wouldn't be able to stop. Hinata was the one who blushed. Not me. "I don't know what we are, Sa-su-ke. Why don't you tell me?"

He laughed, and I winced at the bitterness of his tone. It… hurt… to hear his voice like that. "You still don't want anything to do with me, do you?"

I blinked at him. Where had he gotten that idea? "And what makes you think that?" I asked him.

He just laughed again, still as acidic as before. "Because you won't even look me in the eye. You'll kiss me, but you won't look at me, will you?"

I clenched my jaw. "Excuse me?! Are you implying that I'm a slut?!" I hissed at him. Okay, how it gotten like this so quick?

His eyes widened, and he shook his head frantically. "Hell no, Sakura." He laughed bitterly again. "No, I just mean that you'll never really let yourself go and lose control, no matter how much I want you to."

I loosened the muscles in my jaw, and I looked away. He was right. I hated losing control. I let out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding, "So what are we, then? Why can't it just be simple?!"

He reached out, and pulled me close to him. My breath caught in my throat, and I sighed softly as he pressed his lips to my hair. I didn't want it to matter what we were to each other -he was mine, and I knew without a doubt that I was his, so why did it matter so fucking much?!

I took a couple breathes of air from where my face was buried in his chest, and I felt like a sap. God, it should matter this much. "Can we just say that you belong to me?" I whispered into his shirt. My voice ragged with suppressed hope, and I hated myself for being so weak.

I felt, rather then heard his affirmation. His whole body relaxed, and his voice was at my ear when he spoke. "Yes. We can say that I belong to you."

"Good." I closed my eyes, and smiled into his chest.

---

The house line rang, and I dove at it. I couldn't help it. I'd been diving at the phone every time it rang, to find out if it was Anko or Kakashi.

So far, we'd gotten three calls. One from Hinata, wondering whether or not Sasuke and I had killed each other (… killing Sasuke isn't really on my agenda right now…), a second from Tenten because she was bored (I'd hung up on her because I was so worried and I couldn't concentrate on a conversation anyways), and a third from a telemarketer (I'd slammed the phone back in it's cradle so hard, it almost broke).

I picked up the phone, my fingers shaking, and managed to whisper "Hello?" My voice cracked as I said the second and last syllable, and I waited to hear the voice from the other end.

"Sakura? Is that you, sweetie?!" Anko's voice crackled through the receiver, and I almost cried I was so happy to hear the soft words delivered in that sharp tone she uses when she's annoyed.

"Yeah, it's me Anko. Thank god you called. I was starting to freak out."

She snorted at me, and I smiled to myself. So Anko. "Honey, you should know by know that we call when it's safe to call. It hasn't been-" She broke off, and I guessed that something Kakashi had done had distracted her.

And besides. I'm not stupid. It hadn't been safe to call before today. Still, four days is a long time, and I'm just not used to being left in the dark. Grawr. "Anko, are you coming back anytime soon?"

I could hear her grinding her teeth - not a good sign. "No, we're not. We need to stay stationed here, basically until further notice. Kurenai's not happy - she thinks she might be pregnant, and I wouldn't doubt it, with the way that she and Asuma-" She broke off again, but this time I think it had to do with the fact that Kurenai just stole the phone from her.

And I know this, because it was Kurenai's voice that I heard next screeching from the phone "DON'T BELIEVE A WORD SHE SAYS, SAKURA!!!"

I held the phone away from my ear until the screaming on the other end died down, and then I put it back, and listened to Anko continue to rant about the many leeches in the area, and how, during our (Sasuke's and mine) almost-a-day absence, there had been seven deaths.

Seven.

Am I the only one extremely disgusted by that number?! There have never been that many deaths in one night when I've been in a city.

As soon as I hung up the phone a few minutes later, I slammed my fist into the wall. My still-healing knuckles re-split, and it hurt. Damn.

I'm such a masochist for things like this. But seven deaths. That was too many. My eyes widened, and a part of me was worried about Emma, the girl I met, and her younger brother. I winced at the thought of the little boy, surrounded by all those machines.

"Sakura?"

I looked up, and saw Sasuke staring at the blood on my knuckles. He didn't look happy. I smiled hugely at him. "Could you get me some gauze or something? I'm bleeding, and it kind of hurts."

He shook his head me, looking slightly amazed. What? I don't feel pain when there's adrenaline rushing through me!

He got back a few minutes later, and I watched him carefully wrap my hand up. Seriously, the boy's too protective for his own damn good. He'll end up dying doing something in the name of making sure I didn't get hurt.

And honestly, how stupid is that? Everyone's going to die one day. He looked up at me, and kissed each of my split knuckles, one by one.

"You're so dumb."

"Yeah, but you love me anyways."

"That I do, princess, that I do."

I blinked at him, shocked. Had he just said what I think he'd just said? Oh please god, I'm not ready for this…