Chapter 14 – Stop Interrupting!

She hadn't removed the necklace once.

Okay, that was a lie, because Sakura took it off whenever she was sleeping, bathing or in the shower, not wanting to ruin it, but still! Other than when it was necessary, she didn't remove the necklace.

Turning her head to the side, Sakura gasped for breath and her eyes slid shut when heated kisses littered along her jaw.

Since Christmas Eve, since they had met each other's parents, Sasuke had taken to kissing her like he had the day, every time they were alone. And Sakura certainly wasn't complaining. Sure, sometimes they weren't in an appropriate setting for such makeout sessions, but…

It was hard to explain, really. It was like something took over her body whenever Sasuke touched her, making it difficult to think about anything other than him. Homework? Curfew? Rules? None of them mattered when she was with Sasuke. It was both relieving and terrifying. It brought forth the feelings of having nothing to worry about while she was with him, but also the horrible sensation of falling, like there was nothing for her to cling onto.

It took a lot of effort not to run her hands through his hair and instead hold onto Sasuke's shoulders. If she did the former, she would mess his hair up and they had a lesson next, so it would be blatantly obvious that something had happened. They didn't need any rumours being spread around school.

His breathing was just as loud and just as shallow as her own as Sasuke tilted his head back and captured her lips once more. And as he tugged on her lower lip with his teeth, making Sakura's breathing hitch, he also caused her heart to stop by leaning forward, effectively lowering her onto the blankets.

"Sasuke…"

He paused. His dark eyes examined her features back and forth, taking in her flushed cheeks and her lidded eyes. Just a moment later and he sighed, though continued to lean over her partly reclined position. "Nobody's going to see."

That wasn't the point, Sakura thought irritably. "I don't want my first time to be in this dirty, cramped hideout."

Another pause and this time, Sasuke regarded her with confusion. "I wasn't expecting us to have sex."

"…Oh." Her eyes lost their harshness and Sakura sighed. "It's just… You were pushing me onto the ground and–"

"Lowering you. Pushing involves forcing."

Green eyes rolled. "You lowered me onto the ground, then."

It was with a sigh that Sasuke leaned forward once more, brushing his lips softly against hers. "You don't–"

"Oi, what's going on in here?"

They both froze and with horrified eyes, looked up at the angry blond who was halfway through the entrance of the hideout.

It didn't look good. They all knew that. She was leaning back on her elbows, almost laying on the ground and Sasuke was on top of her. Sure, he was on all fours, but did that really make any difference in a moment such as the one she found herself in? No. In Sakura's eyes, it didn't. And she could feel her face heating up dramatically.

"You can't have sex in here," he yelled angrily, climbing the rest of the way into the hideout and much to Sakura's horror, somebody else was behind him, her eyes wide with shock and her face as red as her own. "This is my hideout."

With a vicious glare, Sasuke sat backwards until he was simply on his knees with his legs parted, giving Sakura the chance to slip out from under him. He didn't like the way she leaned against the wall with her hair shielding her eyes, tugging on her skirt like she was paranoid, like they could all see her underwear. He didn't like how Sakura refused to meet anybody's eyes.

"Shut up, Naruto," Sasuke snapped in return and pushed him out of his way so that he could sit beside Sakura. "We weren't having sex."

Now that there was some room, Hinata slowly entered the hideout, pausing for a moment before she sat next to Naruto, who was currently glaring right back at Sasuke. "N-Naruto-kun, you shouldn't–"

"Doesn't look that way to me, you bastard. I know what I saw."

"I don't care what you think you saw."

"Not think, know!"

"You–"

"You–"

Hinata gulped and shrank back against the wall as Sakura leaned towards the two arguing boys and while their attention was on each other, she reached out and gripped their heads tightly, knocking them together without hesitating and ignoring their grunts of pain. Still holding onto them, she turned their heads in her direction, staring them down angrily.

"Naruto," Sakura growled out, her eyebrow twitching, "we were kissing. Not having sex. Clearly you have no experience in that area. If we were having sex, my legs would have been the ones–"

"Sakura-san!"

Breathing deeply at Hinata's exclamation in an effort to calm herself, she turned her head in Sasuke's direction, ignoring his annoyed expression. "And you. Arguing back like that makes it seem like you've got something to hide. Just ignore him next time!"

There was no use in arguing, not when it was so very obvious that she was feeling embarrassed and angry. So, Sasuke instead sighed and nodded once, much to Naruto's surprise. He'd never seen Sasuke back down to anyone who wasn't family.

It was the beginning of spring already and exams would be beginning soon, so everybody had been shoving themselves head first into studying. It was a shame for them, really, because spring, in Sakura's opinion, was the best season of the year. Spring signified new life. Flowers blossomed and trees grew green once more. The weather was finally starting to warm up, too. What was there not to like?

In just a few short weeks, it would be her eighteenth birthday.

That also meant that she and Sasuke had been together for nearly four months now. People were used to seeing them together and while his fan-girls still hated her, they no longer went out of their way to show their hatred. Instead they ignored her and acted like Sakura wasn't even there. Better that than have them glaring at her all the time. It got tiresome after a while. Time was passing by so quickly without her even realising. It seemed like only yesterday that she was returning to school from the Christmas holidays.

"What are you planning for your birthday, then, Sakura-chan?"

She looked up at him and frowned. "What?"

"Your birthday, Sakura-san." Hinata smiled, noticing that her friend had spaced out for a moment. "We want to know what you're going to do to celebrate."

Usually, birthdays were not celebrated. However, they all knew that her family was not a traditional one. Had it been, her mother never would have left her father despite the beatings and would have continued to live in a loveless marriage. Not for Sakura's sake, but for the sake of the family's reputation.

"I'm not sure yet," she answered truthfully. "My mom suggested a meal–"

"You should totally do that," exclaimed Naruto. "We'll all come! It's obvious that Rock Lee will be there, too."

Sasuke tilted his head to the side, looking down at her. "You know my mother will want an invite."

She couldn't help but smile at that. "Looks like she'll finally get to meet my mom, after waiting over three months."

Since meeting Sasuke's parents, Mikoto had been very warm towards her and was always suggesting that Sasuke should invite her over. If she needed somebody to talk to, no matter how embarrassing that problem seemed, the woman was there for her. For example, one time when Sakura was over at the Uchiha home, her period had suddenly started but because there was no pain and they were never heavy, she hadn't realised until she went to the bathroom. There had been no fuss made. After politely asking Mikoto if she could speak privately with her, the woman had gone through her supplies and managed to find Sakura everything she needed.

He nodded once, giving Sakura a small smile.

Time flew by and soon enough, it was her birthday.

The meeting between their parents was definitely a positive one and unsurprisingly, Mebuki and Mikoto became friends, both liking the fact that the other woman also believed they didn't need men to survive.

There was only one incident that tried to get her down, but Sakura had refused to let that happen, as had her mother and Sasuke. What happened? Her father sent her a birthday card. Some would think of it as nice, they would think that he was thinking about her and wanted to make things right. Those people didn't know what kind of man her father was. Not only that, but there was a message in the card, one with a not-so-subtle warning:

I'll be keeping my eye on you.

With the birthday message and hopes of getting in touch, it seemed like a fatherly gesture, like he was hoping to hear good things from her and if not, then he'd keep his eye out for them. However, that was not the case.

Like she had stated, though: her mother and Sasuke didn't let her focus on it for too long. And everything else about her eighteenth birthday went smoothly and without trouble. Just as she had planned with Hinata, there was a birthday meal, one with her friends and family as well as Sasuke's mother. Fugaku had been too busy to attend, but Mikoto turning up took that off her mind, too.

And now that she was eighteen, she was legally allowed to travel out of the country without an adult.

It kept reminding her of how fast summer was approaching.

"What are you going to do when I'm not here?"

Sasuke looked down at her with a frown. "What?"

She sat up on the grass, sighing. "For summer. What are you planning on doing?"

It was a beautiful day out, in her opinion. The sun was shining brightly and it was incredibly warm, but not overly so. Also, there were many large, fluffy white clouds littering the blue sky, bringing out the cloud watchers who were all lazing around on the grass outside of school, just like herself and Sasuke.

He shrugged.

"No plans at all?" Sakura questioned, leaning back on one of her hands. "No family vacations? No trips? Meeting friends?"

"Sakura–" She tried to cut him off, but Sasuke silenced her. "I'm not going to start looking at anyone else just because you're not here for a few months."

"…That's not my problem."

"Oh?"

There was another sigh and this time, it came from Sasuke when she didn't reply. It didn't annoy him like he thought it would have, though. If she was feeling insecure, then as her boyfriend, it was kind of his duty to take away that feeling, right? And if Sakura was worried about him meeting another girl, or doing whatever with them, then it was his duty to prove to her that that wouldn't happen.

He gave her a small smile. "They don't matter."

Another frown. "What?"

"Other girls," he told her patiently. "They don't matter." When her frown remained in place, he raised an eyebrow. "We've been together for nearly five months now, Sakura. I'm not going to throw away the trust I've earned for some girl I'll be bored of in a matter of days."

She snorted, a playful smirk on her lips. "Oh and I keep you entertained?"

"Definitely."

His smirk was practically sinful, Sakura thought. She sighed. "I'm just… kind of jealous, I think," she admitted quietly. "I want to spend the entire summer with you."

Like hers had, his smirk slipped away and he shifted closer to her. "You're going to Suna, Sakura. Like my father said: you can't let me distract you from what you truly want."

She nodded. "We can still talk, right? I mean, it's not like there's that much of a time difference."

Without warning, his hand raised to the back of her head and Sasuke ran his fingers through her soft hair, enjoying the surprised look in her eyes. It was such a gentle move that she hadn't been expecting it – not that he was ever rough with her. It just seemed so pleasantly out of character, although Sakura certainly wasn't complaining about the attention he was giving to her.

"Stop worrying," he murmured, his fingers threading in her hair. "The only thing that should be worrying you right now is your opportunity. You need to keep their interest and you need to make sure they don't regret giving you this opportunity."

A sigh escaped her as Sakura leaned forward, pressing her forehead to his shoulder and relaxing against him. "I know, I know. It's just…"

Her hair hid his small smile. "I'll miss you, too."

"I won't be gone for all of summer," she stated quietly and leaned back to look up at him. "I'll be back a few weeks before college starts."

A few weeks was better than nothing, right? And during that time, he could finally decide just what the hell he would be doing in the fall. His course was decided, but what college would he actually be attending? Konoha was his home town, was the place he'd grown up in, but change was always a good thing. However, Sasuke was torn about the distance. If he went to Kumo or Oto, he'd rarely ever see his family, friends or Sakura.

Then again, he may not see that much of Sakura anyway. After all, if she found that she enjoyed Suna, then she would be staying there for college.

Summer, for their year, would be starting in just over two months, so was there really any point in fretting over it right at this moment? Wouldn't it be better to just spend as much time with Sakura as he possibly could, just in case they did choose different colleges?

It was selfish, so very selfish, but Sasuke found himself hoping Sakura didn't enjoy it in Suna. He hoped she hated the heat and the sand and the people. He hoped she despised the food and the drinks and whatever else that was different in Suna. But at the same time, he wanted her to enjoy doing what she wanted to do: learning how to help people.

"Have you decided yet?"

It was like she could read his mind. "Not yet."

"Me neither." She sighed again. "I'm kind of hoping somebody will make my mind up for me."

"This is your future. It's your decision and no one else's."

She pouted at his seriousness, though her eyes softened at the look in his eyes. The name of that emotion couldn't be identified, but it looked very similar to displeasure and it made her feel warm on the inside. Sasuke didn't want her to go.

Sasuke's eyes immediately averted, his cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. "What?"

"What?" Sakura repeated, smiling at his sudden nervousness.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

His eyes met hers again, narrowing in confusion. "Like that."

With softness? Gentleness? How was she looking at him? Sakura wanted to ask what the hell he was on about, but it felt like if she did, the mood would shatter. The mood wasn't all that intimate, though it definitely felt like nothing else mattered. There were many people around them on the grassy field, yet it felt like nobody could be seen or heard for miles. All that mattered was them.

But then somebody broke the mood for them as they collapsed onto the couple, almost crushing them into the grass. Sasuke did his best to keep the weight off Sakura, but there was only so much he could do when a blond idiot was shoved right into them, tripping over as he did so.

Sakura's teeth ground together harshly and her eyebrow ticked – all signs of her impending explosion.

"Naruto!"

The blond was off them in a second, once more tripping backwards to try and avoid Sakura's wrath, but his wide eyes didn't meet hers or Sasuke's as he fell to the ground once more.

And Sasuke's narrowed dangerously when he saw what part of Sakura's body he was looking at.

During the collision, it seemed Sakura's skirt had risen, revealing her underwear and since her arms had been crushed behind her, she hadn't noticed. He was quick to tug it down and cover her once more, glaring around them to make sure nobody had seen anything. Anybody who had, quickly looked away as soon as they met his hard eyes.

"You have ten seconds to explain what the hell just happened," the Uchiha snapped, keeping his hand on Sakura's skirt and not bothering to sit up properly as he remained leaning over her now sat up position, "before I beat the shit out of you."

Naruto waved his hands defensively, his blue eyes wide. "I swear I didn't mean to fall on you guys! We were goofing around and Kiba shoved me–"

"Oi, Naruto!" said boy yelled over at the blond. "We're going to the shop. You coming?"

Seeing this was his opportunity to safely escape, Naruto was quick to jump to his feet, smiling sheepishly at the couple. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. It won't happen again!"

"It better not," she growled warningly.

He gulped and nodded, running off only a second later.

As soon as he did, Sakura's eyes slid up to Sasuke's and she raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to keep your hand there for the rest of free period or…?"

Instead of taking his hand away, Sasuke smirked and faced her once more. "Does it bother you?"

"Since we're in a public place," she reminded him, "it does a little."

This time, he was the one to raise an eyebrow, glancing down at the ground for a moment, but just as he raised his eyes to hers, he caught sight of something that had his blood boiling and in response, his hand slid from her skirt to her thigh, holding it and when the guys finally managed to drag their eyes away from Sakura's body, he met their gaze with an intimidating glare.

They immediately looked away.

"Sasuke, you're not being jealous, are you?"

Finally, his eyes tore away from the two guys and met Sakura's. "Jealously implies that I want what somebody else has."

"Fine, you smartass. You're not being possessive, are you?"

"Maybe I am."

As always, Uchiha Sasuke was unpredictable to her. "You have no reason to be."

"Doesn't change the fact that I am."

Apparently her boyfriend was in quite a playful mood today, Sakura realised belatedly and the thought made her smile. She liked it when Sasuke was in a playful mood. The air around them was so light and being around him felt as easy as breathing. When his mood was rather down, she felt the opposite and would rather give him time alone to sort his thoughts out. Not very supportive, Sakura was aware of that, but they couldn't be together every second of every day, could they? Sometimes, a person needed time alone otherwise it would all become too much.

It was the same for him, too. If Sakura was having a bad day (temper-wise), then Sasuke would give her some space and wait for her to approach him. When Sakura was feeling stressed and angry, like she had been feeling quite often lately due to exams, it was best to let her sit in the library and study, or sit outside if it was a nice day and simply relax. If he, or anybody else, came on too strongly then her anger would continue to grow until it exploded out of her.

Don't get them wrong, though, because if they were feeling low, they would comfort each other as best as they could. They could have a laugh with each other and felt comfortable discussing certain things with each other. There were merely days when they needed a bit of space and the pair of them knew not to take it the wrong way.

"They don't matter," Sakura repeated his earlier words, smiling teasingly.

He gave her a serious expression, though she could see the warmth in his dark eyes. "Good."

A/N - Just a short filler. Kind of a time-skip. I'm not too happy with this chapter and the lack of detail in some places, but I was really annoyed with Kishimoto when I wrote it. He's trolling SasuSaku fans again! But then you get the SasuKari fans trying to rub it in our faces and it's like "no, stop".

Anyway, I don't like this chapter, but I posted it for the other annoyed SasuSaku fans. Promise the next chapter will be a lot better!