Hello everybody. I know it has been something like 5 YEARS since I have posted another chapter. But I promise, I did not forget about my story. I normally wouldn't share something personal like this so openly but I feel comfortable enough to tell you guys why it has been so long. Because there is a piece of us in every one of our stories. To make it short, life threw a lot of downs at me all in very close intervals. Not to mention, I really lost myself in a toxic relationship which is now OVER and its for the better of course. When you lose yourself to someone else... you lose your hobbies, your interests, and stop indulging in what makes you happy. But I am back, and I am healing. I hope I haven't lost any of my touch with this next chapter. I re-read my entire story multiple times so I didn't miss a beat. I know there was a time when I posted a Chapter 11, but then I immediately took it down. I read it like "this isn't me, this isn't how this should go!" I became so frustrated because I couldn't get it right. Not with where my mind was. So I apologize for that randomness as well. I appreciate all of the messages and reviews in between my long time away. I thank everyone so much. You make me happy and motivate me for the good. :)

Chapter 11: Fragile

A smirk lifted the corner of his mouth. Slowly he kneeled down, eyes shadowed over black. Planting his hands onto the ground he felt the soft blades of grass wrap around his fingers. All of the emotions of his regained freedom consumed him. Then he instantly leaped into the air over the steel gate landing in the parking lot huffing out of his nose. He darted off with his arms thrown behind him in route to Sakura's house. It took everything in his power to hold back his ninja capabilities: refraining from leaping building to building, running at inhumanly speeds, etc. He had been stuck inside the four corners of room 17 for so long, too long.

(SAKURA'S POV – NORMAL)

I was lying on my bed trying my best to fight the heaviness of my eyelids. And right when I was beginning to fade away into slumber, I heard my door knob jiggle. I had left it unlocked, awaiting Sasuke's arrival. I sat up immediately and hung my legs over the side of the bed. But then I was… confused. I rubbed my eyes believing that this was a dream. When the pink haired girl closed the door she finally lifted her eyes from the handle for the first time and looked up at me. We stared at each other in silence. Mirror-like we blinked twice and tilted our heads. The disordered facial expression I was wearing I'm sure was comical.

"Oh, right. Sakura it's me." My double brought her hands together and she closed her eyes. A blue light traveled from her feet to her head, unveiling the true character underneath.

"S-Sasuke?" My breath was cut short. I immediately grew nervous at the realization that he was officially standing before me, in my apartment. I could feel my body begin to tremble.

"F-For a moment there I thought I was dreaming…" I said all cutesy like brushing my hair behind my ear. My face flushed as he quickly began to walk towards me. In a matter of seconds I was lifted off my bed. Sasuke wrapped his arms around me, forcibly pulling me into his chest. He buried his face into my neck and held me for what felt like an eternity. Just the way he did before back at the asylum. I could feel the heat emitting from his face. I could tell this type of action, this form of affection, wasn't something that came natural to him.

*No wonder he came over to me so abruptly like that.* My inner thoughts were interrupted when I felt Sasuke inhale deeply and squeeze me even tighter.

*Oh wait, that's right…THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING!* My arms still hung by my side. And my legs? They began to literally shake uncontrollably. My knees buckled from under me and I fell further into his chest. Sasuke's arms were wrapped around me so tight that I didn't, no I couldn't, fall to the floor. I heard him make a muffled noise in my neck and he lifted his head to look at me.

"Sakura?" He gently sat me down onto my bed and used his fingers to lift my chin. My nervous eyes locked with his caring ones. Our cheeks were both flushed a light red.

"Still weak from earlier, Sakura?"

*He really needs to stop saying my name.* My body was shaking so badly I felt like my damn teeth were going to chatter. I took in a shaky breath to try and form a normal response.

"Uh… yeah…that's it." I said through the rising stomach acid in my esophagus.

*How does he do this to me…* Sasuke sat down to the right of me on my bed. Suddenly he cupped the side of my face with one hand and pulled me into his chest for yet ANOTHER embrace! My eyes were wide in disbelief. His eyes were closed as he wrapped his arms around my head. My face was pressed against his chest.

"S-Sasuke…y-your heart…it's beating so fast." Sasuke eyes suddenly opened wide and his hair stood on end. [Gh!] escaped through bared teeth and his face completely turned red. He basically THREW me off of him. Of course I was surprised by this sudden action. My eyes were wide and my hair was frazzled from my head being locked within his arms just a few seconds ago. I looked over at him manically. He had his hands held up in front of him almost as if to block me from returning into his embrace. His eyes were wide and his face was still completely red. It was quite comical or dare I say cute with the millions of bullets he was also sweating out.

*Ohh I get it, maybe the cool Sasuke must be a shy boy when it comes to women. Or maybe just damn there to all vulnerable emotions!* I brought my finger to my lip and shot a flirty facial expression to Sasuke. He just looked even crazier after I did that.

"U-UH…SORRY." He blurted out.

"It's not you! I just-" Sasuke stopped speaking and slammed his hand over his eyes. He crossed his legs and leaned forward. Hand over eyes but I could still see his red cheeks.

*Now I know that Sasuke makes ME nervous… but do I make HIM nervous!?*

"I just…don't know how to thank you." Sasuke interrupted me from my seemingly impossible thoughts. He finally lowered his hand, he collected himself so it seemed. His cheeks were no longer flushed. He was comfortably looking into my eyes. I mimicked him and crossed my legs now facing him as well.

"T-Thank me?" Sasuke looked down at his hands and back up at me.

"Sakura… you don't understand what you did for me. You…you made me me again. You saved my life."

"O-Oh that! Pfft, don't mention it I mean come on." I said nervously waving my hand nonchalantly. Leave it to me to treat such an act that I did as common day to get out of an uncomfortable discussion.

"I just…" Sasuke barely said. He crawled forward towards me on the bed and put his hand behind my head closing his eyes. As I was being brought forward I felt like I was moving in total slow motion. My eyes fixated on his lips.

*W-What's he doing. I-Is he going to-* My thoughts were interrupted once his lips were planted. Wasn't exactly what I thought, but wasn't terrible either. He separated his lips from my forehead and then rested his forehead against mine. I felt our noses touching. His skin was so soft. Not a blemish to be spotted on that perfect face of his.

*LEAVE IT TO MY BIG FOREHAD TO GET IN THE WAY!*

"Sakura…" My unmet expectations angrily coursed through my being. But Sasuke saying my name could break me from any thought. I looked up into his eyes. He was using his Sharingan.

"I must thank that beautiful intelligence of yours." Sasuke separated from me and returned to his original sitting position. He studied me with his Sharingan.

"You're a prodigy you know." I nodded.

"You probably only merely have a basic grasp of what you're fully capable of. Naruto told me your story. Is it true your Father scolded you for this?" I nodded again.

"It's now finally to my understanding that he was a medical ninja…I guess he was just afraid of me getting hurt or killed."

"It infuriates me to hear that Sakura. He kept you from who you truly are." I breathed hard.

"I know Sasuke, but I don't hate him for it. Besides, all of that doesn't matter now…" A silence went by. I could sense Sasuke felt bad for touching on the subject.

"I'm just happy that I am aware now. A-And that I can help you guys. Sasuke… I want to be by yours and Naruto's side. I want to help rescue your friends. I-I know that I am just scratching the surface with who I really am…but I really feel that I could-"

"Sakura stop." Sasuke interrupts.

"You don't need to explain your worth to me. I can already see just what you are made of and you'd only be an asset to mine and Naruto's fight." I jumped after that statement.

"An asset…" I said. I slowly lowered my eyes down to my lap. I felt so small. Tears filled my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. Sasuke looked genuinely confused.

"JUST AN ASSET HUH!?" I screamed through tears. I buried my face into my hands comically and cried like a little girl.

"W-What!? N-NO I-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Sasuke said waving his hands in front of him. I cried even louder. Tears spewed from the sides of my face amusingly.

"HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT SASUKE! AFTER WHAT I DID FOR YOU!" Sasuke grabbed my wrists and yanked my hands away from my face.

"SAKURA STOP CRYING I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT!" He was looking at me angrily with scowled eyebrows and steam puffing out of his flared nostrils. My eyes were huge and pathetic like a puppy. After he seen my eyes he breathed hard. His facial expression changed. It was still serious, but not as angry.

"Sakura you're more to me than just an asset…I owe my life to you." He said. He was so serious when he said that. He looked directly into my eyes with such sincerity. I sniffled and nodded my head, he released my wrists. I wiped my eyes and nose with the back of my hands. Sasuke suddenly blinked his eyes and looked over at my front door. Within that split second of blinking and redirecting his stare his Sharingan activated once more.

"Someone's coming." He said. His body went from tense to relaxed after a few moments of studying the door and his eyes returned to their normal state. Seconds later I heard my door knob jiggle.

[tap tap] "Hey guys, it's me! Let me in!" A familiar voice whispers loudly. I looked over at Sasuke who was wearing a comically annoyed expression and laughed. I smiled a big smile in awe.

"You could tell it was him?"

"Unfortunately." Sasuke stood from my bed and walked over to the door. He let Naruto in and shut the door behind him, being sure to lock it.

*Wow they must be so close that they can sense when one another is approaching. Must be another part of this whole 'chakra' thing I'm learning about.*

"Whoa Sakura are you okay?" I looked up at Naruto.

"Yeah why do you ask?"

"You're eyes are all red like you've been crying or something." I jumped and thought back to my silly display of feminine emotions earlier with Sasuke. A comical expression fell on my face.

"No I'm fine."

*Whyy did I have to react that wayy?*

SASUKE'S POINT OF VIEW (THIRD PERSON)

Naruto sat his backpack on the floor and threw his hands together in a clap.

"Yes we are all finally here!" He said in relief. Then he ran over and jumped onto Sakura's bed. She bounced a little and looked over at him angrily. He cowered. Sasuke slowly walked over and sat down on her bed as well. Everyone got comfortable.

"I guess I should start this?" Sasuke said through a sigh. Naruto and Sakura nodded. It was game time.

"Elaborate on the Tsunade act you performed earlier."

"Right. I found out that 'employees' such as Asuma all report to Tsunade. She has a huge office and everything. I listened in on a conversation between them two actually, and it was about you. Pretty much it was important that you stayed alive because your 'eyes' and 'chakra' were too precious."

"I wondered why they hadn't just killed me off from the start since they couldn't use that mind control jutsu on me."

"But earlier before that conversation I also heard her say that she would be going away for a week or so to report to someone far away as soon as her shift ends. Didn't say where she was going though. That's why I acted as her, just to make up some kind of excuse to get 'you' out of there!"

"Makes sense. Now no worries about medical care for Sasuke's body." Sakura said through a yawn. Her eyes showed her fatigue.

"Exactly. Good move Naruto. And now we also have some time without worry of the real Tsunade finding out." Sasuke said. A silence went by.

"Now that I'm out of the picture, what's next?" Sasuke asked.

"I was just about to say the same thing." Naruto said.

"Well now its plan time. A lot of things need to be given thought here and mapped out appropriately. No more acting on a whim Naruto. I'm happy it worked for us last time in regards to Sasuke but this time is different. No one can afford to get caught. It'll take all three of us if this is going to work."

"She's right." Sasuke said.

"Yeah yeah I understand all of that stuff but before that I still have a question for YOU Sasuke!" Naruto pointed at Sasuke. Sakura gasped and looked over at Naruto. She knew what he was getting at. Then she redirected her focus to Sasuke. He just sighed and closed his eyes.

"I knew this was coming…"

FLASHBACK

The boiling water poured onto his skin. Screams muffled behind duct tape only continued to be unheard. They began to die down though as the pain almost became mind numbing. Sasuke tilted his head forward resting his chin on his chest. He looked down onto the floor onto to see blood mixed with scattered pieces of his flesh. Iruka returned after an unknown amount of time. He grabbed the knobs of the shower but immediately pulled its hands back.

"SHIT that's hot!" He yelled shaking his hands. Then he used his shirt to turn off the shower. He walked over to Sasuke and cut the rope loose with his kunai knife and released the hand cuffs. Sasuke's chair was kicked by Iruka and he fell into the floor. Iruka kicked him in the ribs.

"GET UP!" Iruka stepped over Sasuke and walked to the entrance of the shower. With all of Sasuke's might he finally crawled out of that boiling water onto dry tile. As he crawled he seen pieces of his flesh stay behind. That dry tile was just a mere instance of relief for it was cool against his skin. Iruka was smart enough to keep the duct tape wrapped around his head. Sasuke's screams would have been horrendous if not subdued by the tape as he strained to move.

"Ugh, I don't have time for this!" Iruka stomped over and put Sasuke's arm around his shoulder. He walked Sasuke down a hallway that he had never seen before. His vison was blurry for he was he fading in and out from the indescribably pain. His feet just dragged along the ground. He could feel his skin on the tops of his feet curling up and ripping away. The dirt from the floor made it sting. At the end of the hallway were two steel doors. Sasuke could make the red lettering along the door: 'RISTRICTED ACCESS: AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY'. With his free hand Iruka used a second card on his lanyard and swiped to unlock the doors. Sasuke was taken through and then thrown onto the ground. He just laid there, naked, unable to move as he watched Iruka. Mind almost in a complete fog now from the pain. He flicked the lights on and this back area lit up. It had eight rooms in it, four on each side. The walls were an ugly dull yellow; it looked very old and unused. After some struggle Iruka opened up one of the heavy doors to one of the rooms and dragged Sasuke into there. Whatever part of his skin was touching the floor gathered up beneath him just like his feet did and collected dirt.

Iruka shot one long, last stare at Sasuke before he slammed the door behind him and muttered "Disgusting!" as he stomped off. Sasuke waited to hear those doors shut before he even decided to breathe again. Once he was sure Iruka wasn't returning Sasuke managed to lift himself to a sitting position. He laid against the wall of that small room. He looked all around and could see that everything was padded. This was an old solitary confinement area. Only a small window was on that door allowing a small amount of light in. Even though dimly lit Sasuke could clearly make out the state of his skin. He ran his left hand up his right arm and pieces of his flesh just sloughed off and slapped the floor like hunks of meat. Sasuke gasped and began trembling. Realization of the disturbing visual of his own body's reaction to the boiling water began to consume him. The pain was imminent once his mind became fully aware. Pain that once was so horrific it was numbing was now turning into a full body torturous sensation.

*What…what am I going to do!?* Sasuke screamed to himself. Tears fell like streams down his cheeks onto his lap.

*How do I…how do I…?* The pain was so loud that he couldn't even think to himself in full sentences.

*This pain…it needs to stop…before I lose all my skin!* With all of Sasuke's strength he feebly lifted his arms and brought his hands together in front of his face. More skin fell from his forearms. He busted out more tears when he saw this.

"S-Snake…Sheep…" Sasuke was breathing heavily at the power it took him just to focus on his hand signs.

"Monkey…BOAR…GAH!" He winced one eye at the pain. Body still quaking, breathing still labored, skin -still dripping off.

*Keep going, that's it…!*

"H-Horse…"

"…"

"TIGER!" The chakra was set.

"Ninja art…GREAT FIREBALL JUSTU!" Sasuke blew has hard has he could. The great ball of fire consumed the small room including…Sasuke himself.

END FLASHBACK – (SAKURA'S POV -NORMAL)

"So you…did that to yourself?" Naruto asked.

"A-Anything to cauterize m-my skin. I just…I couldn't…" Sasuke said through sobs. His eyes were wide, pupils the size of a pinhole. His voice was shaking terribly.

"I-I couldn't bring myself to complete suicide!" Naruto and I gasped.

"Oh Sasuke." I said pitifully. A silence went by. Naruto and I just stared at the crumbling Sasuke before us. Naruto and I were on the verge of tears after hearing his fucked up story.

*I'm shocked to see Naruto being so cool about this right now. I expected him to become enraged.*

"Wow Sasuke…you must be really shaken up about this." Naruto said. His voice was very low and quiet. He leaned forward and put his hand onto Sasuke's shoulder.

"Are you going to be okay?" Sasuke finally broke his ominous stare and looked up at Naruto.

*Hopefully looking into those blue eyes will calm him down like it does for me.*

"Come here buddy." Naruto wrapped one arm around him and embraced Sasuke for a moment. Sasuke closed his eyes and pressed his face into Naruto's shoulder. I stood from the bed and grabbed Sasuke's hand.

"Come with me, we can finish discussing everything later." I looked up at Naruto and he nodded. Sasuke just slowly lowered his legs off of my bed and walked with me. I led him by hand into the bathroom with me and shut the door behind us. He leaned against the sink and stared down at the floor. Body still slightly shaking, breaths still slightly uneven.

*He seems to be calming down. Poor Sasuke… I never thought I'd see him like this.* I continued to stare at him for a few more moments. He didn't move from that spot. I walked over to him and stood in front of him. He looked up at me. Tears were still in his eyes. I used my thumbs and wiped both of his eyes. He blinked so innocently.

"Try to pull yourself together Sasuke." I said. Then I turned around and walked over to the closet. I grabbed a towel and placed it on top of the toilet.

"Take a hot bath or shower… I think it'll help to calm you down." Once I said that I literally wanted to punch myself in the face. Sasuke swallowed his spit when I said the words 'hot' and 'shower.'

*Ughhh WHY AM I SUCH AN IDIOT. Why did you have to go saying that were you even LISTENING!?* I felt like such a fucking terrible person. I returned my attention from my inner self back to Sasuke. He was just staring at my shower nervously. I had a hunch so I walked over to my shower and turned on the water. He jumped as soon as he heard the knob squeak. I looked at him comically.

*My fears were accurate, he is already showing symptoms of PTSD from that event.* My heart ached for him. My cool collected mystery man was now a delicate child. Myself, the one who is usually trembling nervously in his presence, was now the one in control. I guess just seeing him like that made something click in me. I turned off the water and took a deep breath.

"Sasuke there are a lot more things to be afraid of. You need to over-come this if you are ever going to save your friends." Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something, but he just couldn't speak past that nervous lump in his throat. I walked over to him and stood in front of him once more.

"We're gonna look this dead in the eye. Realize the reality of it, and understand that it is in the past. It can no longer hurt you." Sasuke continued to nervously stare at the floor.

"You don't understand what it's like to watch your own skin fall off! I can't stop reliving the pain." He gripped the sink. His voice was cracking. I grabbed his hands and pulled him off of the sink. Then I slowly walked behind him and grabbed the bottom of his shirt.

"One step at a time…" I softly said behind his ear. He jumped and I seen his skin lift with goosebumps. Slowly I lifted his shirt. But then, I stopped. I then decided to turn him around to face the large mirror above my sink. I circled him again so I was behind him once more. I grabbed his shirt and slowly peeled it from his torso. Once above his head and completely off we both just stared at him in the mirror. I continued to stand behind him. I grabbed his forearm and slowly lifted his hand to his chest, placing it on his heart.

"You see…? You're normal again Sasuke" I then took my nails and lightly traced them up his muscular back.

"Your skin…it's beautiful once more." His shoulders hunched and more goosebumps rose. I relished in all of the shadows the only dim light in my bathroom produced within the contours of his back.

"You're alive and healthy again. Don't let what Iruka did to you slow you down. Because I can promise you this: It won't ever happen again. And if it did? I would use every last drop of my being to bring you back once more, even if it kills me." Sasuke blinked and his eyes grew wide. They were quaking from my last statement. He turned himself away from the mirror to face me.

"Does everything externally seem to be normal with you since you've been healed? Is everything as it was before?" Sasuke lifted his hands and looked down at his arms and torso questionably. I could tell he hadn't even had the chance to study himself on that level since he's been back.

"Well…let me see. May I?" Sasuke just looked up at me for a split second with no words. He returned his focus to his arms once more. I gently placed my fingers on his jaw and turned his head to my right. He immediately dropped his arms and stood firmly. Almost as if I made him weak or something. I used my eyes to observe and my fingers to feel as I scanned my canvas. I traced my fingers down his delicate earlobe, falling from his ear to his lovely neck. Slowly they fell further onto his collar bone. Just barely tracing against his skin I continued the journey of my rebuilt architecture. Across his collar bone I traveled to his right shoulder. I took both of my hands and ran them down his chest onto his navel. My fingers weaved through the deep trenches of his abdominal muscles as I slowly dragged them down. I ran my thumb over his belly button and he exhaled. It must've tickled. Back up his sides my hands traveled. Now on the other side of his neck I ran my thumb across his second earlobe. My fingers and eyes now almost finished their descent traveled onto his face. He was wearing such a vulnerable and nervous expression. Oddly enough I was calm, yet, my hands were trembling. Maybe because I replayed my mental fantasies of Sasuke so much that it provided me some courage for the real thing. I traced my finger down the curve of his noise, and I used my thumb to part his lips. His bottom lip succulently bouncing back into place. Such a beautiful, serene moment we shared. My descent of scanning his exterior was over. But I appreciated every moment of it. I moved so slowly so I didn't miss a second. I was so turned on and wet just from simply touching him. All the while he was nervous with red cheeks and hair standing on end. But he did not stop me. And I'm glad he didn't.

"D-Did everything form okay?" Sasuke asked. I lifted his chin and looked back at his neck for a moment. How badly I wanted to lean in and kiss it gently, slowly, passionately, and tell him that he is absolutely perfect. Then maybe sink my teeth into it making him moan in surprise as he gripped the edge of the sink.

"D-Does something look wrong? …Sakura?" My eyes grew wide and I looked away from his neck up at into his eyes.

*I really hope I wasn't making a crazy weird face just a second ago.*

"Uhh yeah!" Sasuke lifted his left hand to scratch his stomach and redirected my focus to it. I grabbed it.

"Yeah…" I ran my thumb across his fingers then flipped his hand so his palm was up. I traced my nail down the center of his palm and I traced my thumb across his wrist. I grabbed his other wrist and slowly ran my hands up his muscular arms, discreetly squeezing at his biceps.

"…everything is…fine." I said with both of my hands on his shoulders. I then let my arms fall to my side.

*Why does it have to be over?* I humorously thought to myself. But I was grateful for any time I had with Sasuke. And just having the ability to trace his outer being with my own fingertips was nothing that could ever be replaced. It was simply amazing. I turned around to keep from staring at his shirtless perfection. The imagery of every muscle that my fingertips were able to trace was forever etched in my memory. I started the shower and I heard him gasp. I put my hand under the water until it felt comfortable. I reached my hand out for him. He placed his hand in mine and I slowly it placed under the running shower water. I could feel his hesitation like he wanted to pull away, but I could also feel that he trusted me, so he didn't.

"How does that feel? Is the temperature comfortable for you?" He nodded.

"Good." I slowly took his hand from the water and released it.

"Look Sasuke it's real easy, just turn it to the left to warm it up, and to the right to cool it down. Turn it completely to the right to turn it off okay? …You have full control." He nodded once more.

"Uhh soap, shampoo, conditioner… all in there for ya. Holler if you need anything." I began to walk towards the bathroom door and then stopped myself. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Oh and uh, Sasuke? Be sure to check…the remainder of your body to make sure that everything else looks normal okay?" I looked back at him and he had a hilarious facial expression. I hurriedly left the bathroom cracking the door behind me. I seen Naruto on the couch already sleeping.

*Ohh he's got the right idea.* I was exhausted. It was almost 3 hours later than when I usually fall asleep. Not to mention everything that happened earlier at the asylum. I still wasn't feeling completely like myself. I grabbed some blankets and pillows from my closet and made a bed for Sasuke on the floor next to Naruto. I walked over to my bed and shut the blinds to prevent the sun light from coming in. I lied on my side facing the wall. About 10 minutes later I heard the shower turn off. Sasuke quietly walked out. I heard him walk into my kitchen, make a glass of water, then pull out a chair and sit at my table. After that I started to zone out into slumber. Maybe an hour or so later I was awoken by rustling. I looked over my shoulder to see Sasuke moving around a lot in the bed I made him. I wanted to ask if he was uncomfortable, but as soon as that thought hit me, the more comfortable my bed got and I feel back to sleep. I was awoken again once more from my sleep but this time someone was gently shaking me. I felt something warm on my shoulder. I looked over to see a hand, and up to see a Sasuke looking down at me like a lost child.

"Still uncomfortable?" He just looked at me confused.

"Here we can switch spots if you want I know sleeping on the floor probably sucks." I went to sit up but Sasuke pushed against me to stop me.

"C-Can I sleep with you?" I blinked twice.

"Uhh…sure if ya want…"

*CHA SASUKE IS CRAWLING INTO BED WITH ME!* I scooted over closer to the wall and he climbed under the covers. Once he did I immediately laid on my side as I was before facing the wall. My stomach was in knots. I didn't even want to breathe around him. I had to make sure I slept 'pretty' if you know what I mean. And by that I meant DON'T FACE HIM.

*What if he sees me drooling? What if I fart in my sleep? What if I kick him? What if I hog all of the covers?* My mind was racing with all of the negative experiences Sasuke could have while laying in the same bed as me. Eventually after a good 30 minutes I accepted the fact that Sasuke was behind me. But for the life of me I DID NOT MOVE. I tried to breathe as quietly as possible. But the more I tried the more disgusting I sounded.

*Is he asleep? Or…IS HE FACING ME?* My eyes lit up and the incredibly cute thought had me secretly look over my shoulder. He was lying on his stomach facing away from me. It actually made me feel better though. He could've caught me looking over my shoulder to look at him which would've equaled awkward and weird on my end. He seemed to finally be restfully sleeping so I rolled over to face him. That was short lived though. He started to rustle around again. He flipped to his side, then on his back, then onto his stomach again. He turned his head to face me and opened his eyes.

*BAAHH! HE CAUGHT ME STARING!* He just returned my stare for a moment and blinked.

"I'm sorry Sakura…" He said groggily. He put his hand on his forehead and brushed his hair back.

"I can't sleep."

"Trade spots with me and face the wall, see if that helps. It helps me." He scooted under me as I climbed over him underneath the covers. He laid on his side facing the wall. I laid on my stomach and watched the snoring Naruto DROOL ALL OVER MY COUCH. About another 10 minutes go by and he starts flipping around again. I make a comically annoyed expression.

*Why would he even ask to lay with me!? Unless…* I looked over and seen that Sasuke was facing me. His had a pained expression on his face.

*I guess I wouldn't want to sleep alone after going through something traumatic like that either… He must not be able to stop thinking about it…* A few moments went by and I heard him rustle like he was going to flip again. I quickly rolled over and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Hey!" He shot open his sad, red eyes. He looked miserably tired.

"Here…face this way." I help roll him back over to his original position facing the wall. I extended my right arm under his neck and wrapped my left around his waist. I pulled him close so his back was snuggly against me. He nestled his cheek into my forearm and relaxed. We felt like completed puzzle pieces. Not even five minutes later his stillness and breathing became apparent… he was fast asleep.