Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rating: M for themes

Summary: After Sasuke wakes up from a year in coma. Continuation of "Ocean of Eternity" ( /s/9447389/30/Against-the-Odds), reading it is optional.

Awake (1)

Limits

It was just a second day after his awakening from the coma and Sasuke was already restless. The prospect of passively laying down and resting when he has been already doing it (albeit unconsciously) for a whole year was outright unbearable. His finally active mind practically cried out for some sort of physical exercise. He needed to move, now.

That's why, not caring at all that no one was around to monitor him, he flung off the covers decisively and shifted his legs over the edge of the bed before propping himself up on his hands and lifting his torso upright into a sitting position. The strain caused an almost immediate shaking of his arm muscles, which surprised him but didn't diminish his determination to get up and do something.

Sasuke gathered all his strength and haltingly stood up. He had to brace himself against the nightstand as he struggled to stay on his feet, however the obvious weakness plaguing his body, caused by a prolonged state of disuse, only fueled his will to go on and overcome his limitations.

Some would call it pigheadedness. For Sasuke, it was a way of life.

Leaning heavily against the walls, the ninja headed painfully slowly, watching his every step so as not to fall over, for the door on the right. The aching burn spread through his body, its main focus on the legs, as he made an effort to walk by his own power. The overpowering exhaustion crept upon the stubborn man, small rivulets of sweat uncomfortably sliding down his skin and soaking into his hospital pajamas. Sasuke reached the door and twisted the knob. As expected, the door was open and he thankfully stumbled into the private bathroom.

Slumping against the wall right across the mirror, he took an appraising look at his frame. It was trembling from the tiredness, his chest moving spasmodically as he took in laboured breaths, the gripping weakness he felt all over in every cell of his still mostly lethargic body making him instantly angry and disgusted with himself.

His reflection glared at him harshly, sharing the sentiment.

"Sasuke-kun?" a call from the room brought him back to the reality.

Soft padding of feet announced Sakura coming into the bathroom.

"What are you doing out of bed?" she asked, stopping at the threshold, clearly exasperated as if she was dealing with this all the time. Sasuke supposed she did, she was a medic-nin after all. "Get back in here and lay down, you still need rest."

Sasuke bristled. He had had plenty of rest already, a whole year of rest. He purposefully ignored the weak feeling permeating his barely stable frame.

"Sasuke-kun..." she must have caught onto his mood, because she didn't admonish him or try to pressure him into following her instructions. Instead she chose to compromise. "Come on, it's not like I'll just make you lay around. You're recovering from a coma, so I've scheduled exercises for you in the afternoon."

The Uchiha nodded, appeased by this information, and accepted her help on the walk back to the bed. Sakura smiled gently and somehow it made him feel a little lighter, the angry cloud drifting away and evaporating into nothingness.

As promised, after lunch Sakura took him straight to the rehab center. Though Sasuke wasn't very keen on the idea of using the wheelchair to get there, he refrained from making any caustic remarks, too eager to begin some sort of physical activity to waste energy on useless grumbling. The medic led him through series of exercises designed to restore his motor functions and increase the muscle strength. The way he struggled to complete all of them drove the point home about how much he would need to work in order to build himself up and regain his former strength.

Even though her heart called out to him, Sakura bit her lip and schooled her face into a professional, neutral expression, aware that in his current, still fragile state of mind the proud Uchiha would only mistake concern for pity and he never took well to being pitied. She preferred to avoid such a misunderstanding between them so early on.

Sasuke's strong will made him push himself to his limits, so when they were done, he didn't have energy to even lift a finger. Docilely, he let her put him into the wheelchair and transport him back to his hospital room. When he dropped onto the soft, beckoning pillow, he dozed off instantly.

A gentle shaking of his arm woke him up. He blearily looked at the person bold enough to interrupt his slumber and wasn't too surprised to see that it was his personal medic. He wondered just how long did he sleep – maybe five minutes? Felt like an hour.

"Sakura, what is it?" he rasped, annoyed.

"Sasuke-kun, you can't sleep now," she said with a smile tugging at her lips – he looked so cute when he was grumpy and bleary-eyed, his hair sticking out more than usual, though of course she wouldn't say a word about it to him. "I need you to raise your arms," she pulled the edge of his shirt up.

"Why?" Sasuke asked obstinately.

"I'm going to give you a sponge bath," she explained patiently.

He was too tired to argue and wanted to just get it over with, seeing as she would not be swayed to leave it for later. Besides, the sensation of dried up sweat making him all sticky was getting too unpleasant to endure, so he obediently raised his arms and helped her pull the shirt over his head.

Sakura dipped the washcloth in the warm, soapy water and started energetically rubbing the bared skin, washing away the accumulated dirt and bringing the proper circulation back. As she applied the strokes of appropriately hard pressure, similar to a massage, his weary mind wandered, finally focusing a curious gaze on her serious expression. No matter how closely he looked, he couldn't find a single trace of the former admiration she had usually bestowed upon him. There was nothing but a professional indifference on her face, which should have been what was expected but nonetheless for some inexplicable reason didn't really sit well with the Uchiha.

Done with his upper half, Sakura slipped on him a fresh pajama shirt and moved to pull down his sweat-soaked bottoms, however a hand on her wrist stopped her from going through with this.

"Sakura, don't," he glared, daring her to cross the line.

She dared.

"Sasuke-kun, don't be ridiculous, I need to wash your legs," she glared right back at him.

"No, you don't," he ground out, keeping her from yanking his trousers off.

Fed up with his recalcitrant attitude, Sakura easily broke his hold on her wrist and pulled the sleepwear down, exposing literally all of him as he had no underwear on.

"Sakura," he grunted, embarrassed and frustrated. Futilely, he tried to cover himself and preserve what little modesty he had remaining, but she didn't allow him that, wrenching his hands to the sides.

"Honestly, Sasuke-kun," Sakura sighed as she quickly wiped his privates with the washcloth, taking care not to touch him directly, "there's nothing to be ashamed of. Who do you think washed you when you were asleep? I've seen it all so many times I've lost count."

Sasuke gaped for a moment, shocked at her matter-of-fact, forward behaviour, then snapped out of it and averted his eyes. He should have thought about it before. This made so much sense, he was angry at himself for not taking into consideration that she was a medic, therefore used to seeing people naked. Not only was she a medic, she was his personal medic. It was to be expected that she had given him baths when he had been in a coma. It was normal. Nothing to be embarrassed about.

He still couldn't muster up the courage to look her in the eye.

Inconspicuously, Sasuke glanced at her face searchingly, a strange, twisting feeling hitting him like a punch in the gut. Her expression, despite his state of exposure and the intimate action of washing him she was performing, stayed perfectly unaffected. It didn't matter to her, he realized with an unexpected bitterness. He was just another patient and she was doing her job which she had done hundreds of times already, nothing else.

The disappointment stung though he didn't really know where it came from. Sasuke balled his hands into fists and pointedly looked out the window.

"All done!" Sakura announced cheerfully and he wanted to sigh out 'Finally', but stubbornly didn't utter anything. She helped him put on the fresh pajama bottoms and efficiently changed his sheets.

Sasuke grunted and didn't protest when she tucked him in. He felt so drained, both physically and emotionally. It didn't even register to him that Sakura bid him goodnight and gently ran her hand through his hair.

He fell asleep, cherry blossom petals swirling in an endless hurricane behind his closed eyelids.

AN: Hope you liked the first part of this sequel :) Let's just say in the next chapter there's going to be some serious drama.

Am I the only one who thinks grumpy Sasuke is cute? Haha.