The dimly lit archive room feels bigger when Sasuke is alone, and the sense of wonderment, assumedly brought by Sakura, is no where to be found.
Beneath the village is cool, though he doesn't notice, Uchiha are known to run hot. He's dressed in low-slung shinobi pants and a loose t-shirt, usually worn to bed. He gazes down at his bare feet and wiggles his toes; the ground is cold and hard.
Did he look at the time before coming here? Sasuke can't remember.
He grunts in annoyance, because he hasn't been himself since learning of this damned place; he's been forgetting things, and zoning out; he hasn't been sharp.
It's obvious something is wrong with him, because he can't remember why he is here. He's already been through everything in this room that he can think of; his rapidly processing eyes have seen anything that has the slightest amount of importance, or possibility of being important.
Sasuke knows personal details about family members that cease to exist - secrets and abilities, assets.
He's also read things about his mother and father that he never knew, and knowing it all now seems pointless…
His family -and their mistakes- are in the past. His feelings should be in the past too.
And yet he finds himself here, at some ungodly hour - just like the first time he accessed Konoha's archives.
'But why am I here now?'
Sasuke knows for a fact that he's absorbed everything that he can; he read for days before he showed the archive to Sakura.
'So what else is there?'
He steps backward until he is in front of the many shelves, which are lined deep into the room and reach the stone ceiling. From his place, he can read the labels at the end of each row that state which scrolls, information, or heirloom is in each section. In front of him is the label 'Uchiha Main Family'; Sasuke has already been through it twice.
His eyes narrow considerably, and his doujutsu gleam in the light. He looks without seeing. He isn't thinking either.
Sasuke feels compelled into movement, as his body lurches forward, reaching the shelf in a few steps. He touches the side of the box filled with his family; his mother and father, Itachi.
His hand presses flat against the lid, and his brows furrow. His family have been relegated to this box, and their records are with Sakura.
Still, he opens the lid anyway, taking it off completely.
His eyes widen.
…
The box is full.
The lid clatters to the floor and he steps backward rapidly. Sasuke's back hits the row of boxes behind him, and he stares at the torn seal on the box in front of him.
His heart thuds sharply in his chest, picking up in pace as he tentatively leans forward again. As he reaches, his fingers come into his eye line and Sasuke stops…
His breathing ceases and he halts.
There, in front of him, is a perfectly unharmed hand - his hand.
"This is a dream." He realises aloud.
Sasuke wiggles his fingers - fingersthat he hasn't seen in awhile. It's common knowledge that his left arm was destroyed in the war, and the limb that was generated for him, with Hashirama's cells, is not his genetic skin tone; it's white.
He marvels no more, because this isn't real. He knows that he's dreaming and it prompts Sasuke to follow his instinct-
He grabs the box from the shelf and he peers inside for the second time.
The box is no longer full.
Now there is only one scroll waiting for him.
He blinks at reaches blindly forward. Once the scroll is in his grasp he looks it over, running his digits over the name on the side.
"Sasuke." He reads aloud, and he takes a moment to wonder about the meaning of this. Then, his fingers wrap around the scroll and he unfurls it.
There should be information about his birth, and milestones inside, but instead there is one word directly in the middle of the page.
It says,
"Itachi..."
...
Sasuke's eyes snap open and the sharingan and rinnegan swirl rapidly. He racks in a much needed lungful of air, his back arching off the bed involuntarily, and his fingers grip the sheet beneath him.
His pulse is loud in his head and Sasuke forces himself to breathe. He falls back flat and counts very deliberately to himself. He tries to pace his breathing with it, like he has learned to do. He is no stranger to waking up from a dream, or nightmare, and he knows what works for him.
This dream is more perplexing than anything.
It isn't the painful nightmares he is used to, but it plagues him all the same.
Sasuke's breathing evens out and his heart rate returns to slightly above normal. He closes his eyes and finishes counting to 1000.
His eyes blink to obsidian as Sasuke's head lolls to the side. He gazes toward the window. It's still dark outside -there is time before the day. He slumps into the mattress and gazes up at the dark ceiling.
Hair veils over his eyes and it irritates Sasuke in a way that he is used to, so he doesn't move.
He needs to layoff on the night reading. This is the third time his dreams have called him to the archives, and each time seems so real. It always begins and ends in the Uchiha Vault, and he has never been able to open the box before waking up.
This time he opened the box. His scroll was inside, and his brother's name was on it.
Sasuke knows that it's just a dream. In reality his scroll is basic and unfinished. It makes sense though. He has been scouring through his brother's records for weeks, and he's been reliving moments of his own life along with it.
Itachi died at Sasuke's hands, although he wishes that it wasn't so...
His brother has forgiven him, and loves him, and while he spoke briefly with Itachi before his parting, it's not enough.
None of it is enough.
He has too many questions – Questions that his brother's clan scroll cannot answer.
It's frustrating to have access to so much information when it has no use to him; yet his heart feels compelled to dig through it anyway.
A sigh falls from his lips, and Sasuke tries to pack Itachi into the back of his mind, where he always sits; it's not so easy this time.
Finally, he pulls himself upward, and Sasuke stretches as he stands. His body feels stiff, and he cracks his neck with a satisfied grunt.
It's still early; the clock says 5am, and the soft light, now shining through his window, affirms it. If he is quiet enough, he should be able to put Itachi's papers back on the living room table without Sakura waking up.
Sasuke has been thinking about his family a lot lately, especially his brother, and this research is the cause. It is no wonder he dreamed his scroll was filled with Itachi's name, and nothing else. Sometimes Sasuke becomes so full with emotions for his brother, that it feels like there is not enough room for himself.
His dreams are merely his projections that he doesn't like to address.
So how does he stop it?
Sasuke steps on his shirt that he threw off in the night, and slings it over his desk chair. Then, he bundles up Sakura's notes, and the original documents on Itachi. Silently, without even a rustle of paper, Sasuke pads his way down the hall and into the living room. His eyes narrow on Sakura as he very stealthily puts them down on the table, where he stole them from last night.
His gaze turns to Sakura. She is exactly where he left her the night before, but now the blanket is beneath her, and she lies flat on her back. He doesn't know why her legs are bare, but he doesn't resist the sight. His previous worries are obscured, as he looks her over. She's shorter than him but she looks long and feminine. Her arms are thrown over her head, and he can see her unruly hair poking out. Her lips are visible and it looks like she's been chewing on her lower lip in her sleep.
Sasuke's tongue darts out unintentionally, and he stands up straighter. His unbound hand moves up to rest on his stomach, as if quelling his sexual tension. He should walk away, but he looks to her toes instead, following the length of her slowly, from her strong calves to her upper thighs, and her cotton panties. Sasuke takes a moment to appreciate the curve of her hips and he is fixated where her shirt has ridden upwards; her pelvic region is as toned as her abdomen, and reminds Sasuke that he hasn't seen Sakura naked before; she hasn't seen him naked either. They have been intimate, and it was something else. Sasuke probably isn't in the right frame of mind to be doing this right now.
He shouldn't initiate something with her before he is ready…
Sasuke remembers that he already has initiated something. They've experienced things together that he can't describe with words, because he felt them within.
He wasn't ready the first time she came whirling into his life and it's possible that he'll never be ready.
Sakura's breath hitches as she stretches in her sleep, before she relaxes and exhales deeply. Sasuke steps closer as she breathes in, and he watches the rise of her chest keenly. He can see her better now, and he feels compelled to reach out. He moves slowly, unsure of his decision despite having made it, and he brushes his thumb along her lower lip; it isn't as soft as he imaged, but it doesn't lessen the sudden urge he has to press his lips against hers.
His fingers brush over her cheek, before he pulls away.
The last time he stood above Sakura like this was the night that he left Konoha, and he was much younger then. He can't say that he was completely different, because he is more like his old self now, than he has been in years.
Sasuke closes his eyes and remembers placing her down on the bench. She was much smaller than she is now, and so was he. She felt full in his arms, and warm, and then he wasn't holding her anymore. He felt the cold from letting her go, and he didn't move away.
He didn't kiss her then because he was leaving, and he didn't know if he would be back. Sasuke respected Sakura, even if she was naïve. He felt something for her, or he wouldn't have taken her limp hand in his; he wouldn't have brushed his thumb over her forehead as a last goodbye.
Sasuke isn't intending on leaving this time, and his confidence is bolstered as he goes over the history they have together. Sakura has admitted her love for him, and although he hasn't said anything, he does have a soft spot for her.
Truthfully it's more than that. It's unsettling…
Sakura is able to eclipse everything else, if he isn't careful, and she doesn't even know it.
But right now that's what he wants; to feel something other than this familiar crazy; to forget about the bad bits of his past.
"Sakura." He whispers her name and she doesn't move.
Sasuke tells himself not to do it as his hand lifts from his side. His fingers touch hers and he holds her hand. It's strange doing this when she is asleep, but it is preferable to initiating something when she is awake. Sasuke isn't that kind of man.
Yet here he is.
"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura murmurs groggily and he lets go of her hand. She reaches for him though, and Sasuke finds himself back where he began. Her fingers curl around his and she squeezes surprisingly strong for someone half asleep.
"What time is it?" She asks, calling him to grimace.
He tells her softly, leaning close to the couch, "Too early. Go back to sleep."
She stretches anyway, and reveals her face. She smiles loftily at him and chances a look through one eye.
"Come here." She orders fondly, tugging on his hand.
"Why?" Sasuke asks. He sounds defensive even though he has no reason to be. Sakura doesn't take offence. In fact, she smiles.
"So I can steal your doujutsu." She whispers jokingly. He has already leaned to forward to hear her, and Sakura reaches up to bat him playfully up the side of the head. It's too soft to hurt him, but it does get his attention. He frowns until she says equally quiet, "I want to kiss you."
His eyes show recognition; Sasuke is surprised even though it isn't surprising.
He wants to kiss her as well.
"Sasuke-kun doesn't want to kiss me?" She asks. She is still tired with the haze of the morning and it's made her silly. Absently Sasuke wonders why they're whispering; they are the only ones here.
Her fingers thread through his and he feels her thumb run back and forth where their hands join. She has been acting differently since they talked; she's been touching him more, and hiding her feelings less.
It's different, but it's also like before.
"I want to." Sasuke replies gruffly, feeling the tension gathering lazily, flowing with the moment.
His lips touch hers and Sakura leans upward. Sasuke bends awkwardly because of his height, and it prompts her to pull him closer.
His knee sinks onto the couch and Sasuke catches himself in time; he holds himself up on the frame of the seat, quite easily. He kisses Sakura the way she prompts him to: languid, and exploring. They haven't kissed like this before, but he can still feel the emotion she puts into it. He enjoys the way her fingers brush through his hair as she nibbles on his lip, pulling away to look at him properly. She's not so sleepy anymore, it seems, because she presses up into his body and Sasuke closes his eyes, enjoying the feeling.
It's not long before his weight settles against her and their kiss becomes longer, and deeper. Her legs wrap around his hips and he juts against her clothed mound. It feels incredible, but it's not enough.
Sakura moves before he knows what is going on. She lets go of him and pushes upwards, using some chakra to help. He lands on his back with an oomph, and the couch creaks beneath them. She's atop him in the next second, with messy hair, and a smirk of triumph. He grips her hip and he tugs at her shirt. She pulls it off, tossing it on the floor.
Sakura isn't wearing a bra, or bindings. Her chest is completely devoid of material and it affords Sasuke a perfect view of her bosom.
"My bra pokes me in my sleep." She explains.
He doesn't care about the why. Sasuke leans back on his elbows, catching her incredibly green eyes. Sakura looks at him, and she runs her hands along his abdomen, feeling his muscles.
"You're body is beautiful." She whispers, and Sasuke feels like she stole the words from his lips.
She grinds against him like this, and for a few moments it's enough to gaze up at her aroused and flushed chest.
He holds her hip with his right hand, and Sasuke sits up suddely. Sakura adjusts so that she's on her knees, and he looks up at her, missing the warmth against his crotch already. Still, he takes the opportunity to press a kiss to her neck, and explores her breasts with his calloused hands, feeling her nipples experimentally.
The breathy noises that emit her grow to be too much though, and Sasuke slides his hands to her hips and pulls her closer, so that Sakura is against him again. With their height restored, Sasuke smirks against her lips. He doesn't close his eyes straight away when they kiss. He's unable to resist though, as their opened mouthed touch becomes less calculated, and faster.
Their skin moulds together, Sakura's breasts squishing against his pectorals. She's so soft, and a noise is pulled from his chest as she runs her hands over his shoulders and back - feeling him without purpose. Sakura makes a noise of her own and she spreads her legs wider, pressing herself down against Sasuke's erection.
He can feel his control slipping away. His dick pulses against the damp cloth of his pants as his fingers slip beneath Sakura's underwear. He's glad for the oversized shirt that lay on the floor. There is nothing between them now but his pants and her underwear. She's slick against his middle and forefinger. Sakura is definitely into this.
He knows where this is headed, and while Sasuke doubts that he will have visitors at this time of the morning, he decides to play it safe.
He pulls back from Sakura's kiss, and breathes out against her lips, "Come to my room."
xxx
Thanks for reading. See you at next week's update :)