Whew, what a busy week. It was all I could do to get this drabble done. I'm working on Stripped Bare, really I am, but life keeps pulling me away from it. I hope to have the next chapter out before Christmas but I make no promises.

So in the meantime, enjoy some Sai/Sakura fluff.

A Lesson in Happiness

Sai had tried asking Sakura to describe the things known as "emotions". He found it odd that everyone around him seemed to feel anger, happiness, love and sorrow so easily when he struggled to even define them. However, the concepts were so abstract and foreign to him that no matter what vocabulary or analogies Sakura drew upon, he could never really understand what she was getting at.

It was during one of these conversations that Sakura finally got through to him.

Night had fallen over Konoha and the two of them had decided to spend it stargazing on top of the Hokage monument, Sai with his sketchbook at his side. He had seen Sakura's lips curve into a soft smile after seeing a shooting star streak across the sky and asked her what it meant. When she replied that the stars made her happy, he had simply stared at her blankly, clearly not comprehending.

"I don't understand how you don't know what happiness is. Everyone is happy at least some of the time."

Sai continud to look at her quizzically.

"How can I know I'm happy if I don't know what happiness is?"

Sakura sighed and leaned back on her elbows, stretching out her legs in the cool grass.

"Well, what about your art?" she asked, nodding towards his sketchbook. "You like drawing don't you?"

Sai nodded.

"Then it makes you happy," she confirmed.

The artist however, still looked unconvinced.

Sakura sighed again and began to chew her lip thoughtfully as she tried to put her ideas into words.

"You feel happy on a beautiful day," she tried to explain. "When you can feel the sun on your face. You're happy when someone you've missed comes home from a mission or when someone you like gives you a kiss."

"Hmm," Sai pondered, setting down his sketchbook and drawing closer to the woman laying in the grass. "I've never had a kiss."

Before Sakura could protest, Sai had leaned down, brushing his lips against hers. She gasped and stilled, staying propped up on her elbows as his tongue glided over her bottom lip before pulling away.

"So, this is happiness?" Sai asked, looking down at Sakura who was wide eyed and still shocked by her teammate's actions.

"Y-you idiot," she stammered when she finally regained enough composer to speak, a blush spreading over her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. "You can't just go around kissing people."

"Why not?" Sai asked curiously. "Didn't it make you happy?"

Sakura's blush burned hotter. His lips had felt quite nice, but she didn't approve of the way he had practically ambushed her mouth.

"Well…I…you shouldn't—"

"Perhaps you are still uncertain?" the artist asked, slinging a leg over her thighs so he was straddling her.

Sakura didn't have time to argue before his lips were on hers one again, more forceful this time as he warmed up to the idea of exploring her mouth. She felt a broad hand slide through her hair to cradle her head, supporting her weight in the awkward position she was lying in. His forearm braced himself as the grass as he hovered on his knees over her, teeth nibbling inquisitively at her lower lip before his tongue gently slid inside her mouth.

The kunoichi's eyes fluttered shut as he stroked his tongue against hers, his movements soft and gentle, almost inquisitive as he tasted her in what was almost certainly his first kiss. He was thorough in his exploration, kissing her deeply until she felt dizzy.

When he pulled away she was breathless and hungry for more, but he had moved away from her, resuming his cross-legged position beside her before she could pull him down for another kiss.

He picked up his sketchbook before turning to his teammate, his customary smile in place, only this time, it didn't look quite so fake.

"Thank you Sakura. I think I understand happiness a little better now."

"Oh, um…that's good," she replied, surprised at herself for not immediately pummeling him into the ground. Instead she touched her fingertips to her still tingling lips and looked over at the young man who had already gone back to drawing, wondering why her first kiss had been with Sai and why she couldn't bring herself to be angry about it.