Sorry for the late update! There's no easy way to say this but I kinda died just this once. It won't happen again! Well, at least, I'll let you guys know if it happens again.

I changed the title and summary to what I believe suits the story better. It might change again in the future. Full summary is on the first chapter if anyone wants to see it.

Hope you enjoy it! Leave me a review to tell me what you think.

I'm also changing the update day for this to Tuesday. Is that good or bad? Anyway, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

25th April, 2032, Uchiha Corporation, San Francisco, time- 15:26 pm.

Sasuke froze as he walked into his office.

And then he smiled.

No, it wasn't one of his trademark Uchiha smirks which lay somewhere between a grin and a grimace.

It was a genuine, soft smile.

He couldn't help himself.

On one of the chairs in front of him- the one which she had claimed while she sat and watched him as he worked; where she had decided to stay in compliance with her task of guarding him- sat her petite form.

Seated with one knee to her chest and the other hanging off the chair, with the side of her head leaning against her knee, her arms clasped around the front of her calf, her pink hair half covered her delicate face, leaving him with only a slight glimpse of the curve of her lips, and the arch of her high cheekbones, beneath soft eyelashes and her gracefully lidded eyes.

So perfectly sculpted it could have been artwork, if not for the small rise and fall of her chest and the quiet sound of her breathing.

She must be incredibly tired.

He had heard from Kabuto about what had happened the previous night. Though it was futile on the FBI's part, and it could never trace back to the Uchiha Corporation in the first place, he couldn't help but commend her team on finding out so much.

He had left the room for a few minutes, only to come back to find her slim petite form fast asleep.

He found himself frowning as he saw her shift in her sleep, seemingly uncomfortably.

Without considering his actions, he scooped her up with an arm nestled behind her back and the other beneath her legs. Stilling for a moment to check that he had not woken her, he moved behind his desk, to the elongated, leather cushioned window sill which stretched along the length of the tall bay windows of his office to form a bed or sofa of sorts- something which Naruto had insisted on adding to the room.

Who would have thought that the idiot's antics would ever turn out to be useful?

He gently lay her down on the soft black surface, careful not to rouse her from her fragile slumber. Instinctively, she curled up on her side with her hands nestled beneath her head.

Still smiling slightly, he reached down to her face to softly tuck her hair behind the soft curve of her ear, and move it away from her face, and was about to withdraw his hand when she moved.

He froze as a small, cold hand wrapped around his and held it in place next to her face.

Itachi had warned him not to get too close to her. Especially because in the end, he would only end up hurting her, and she him. But when had Sasuke ever listened to him? He could be involved with her as he wanted- at least until they brought her in. And it's not like he would stop doing what he was doing for the her sake. Right?

It was attraction he felt towards her. Not 'love'.

Yet as he watched her curl up around his hand as though that was where it belonged, he couldn't deny the almost painfully uncomfortable ache in his chest. A sense of completion, as though that was exactly where she belonged, with him. He wanted-no needed to feel her in his embrace, with his arms circled around her. He dropped to a crouch so that he was closer to her eye level.

Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at him with clear, innocent viridian eyes.

Well Itachi be damned. If it hurt them later on, he didn't care.

He cared about her.

Them.

Now.

"S-Sasuke?" She asked gently.

She was unnerved by the look in his eyes.

He held her gaze, searching for some form of acceptance in her eyes.

When she raised herself to lean on her elbows and push herself into an upright position, he softly said, "There's a business dinner I must attend tomorrow. I'd rather not have your entire team following me around for that."

She frowned, biting her lower lip slightly as her forehead creased. He realised that perhaps that hadn't been the best way to open conversation.

"We can't let you go without any protection. Unless you're implying that these 'threats' are unimportant?" She said, slightly satirise in her words.

He couldn't help but appreciate how alluring she was when angered. Curling the end of his mouth up in a smirk, yet not once raising his voice above its previous soft tone, he said, "I never said that, did I?"

She looked slightly confused as she ran through the possible implications of what that might have meant.

"I can have one of my teammates accompany you if you-"

"Come with me. As my date." He said abruptly.

She frowned slightly as she looked at him searchingly, her gaze suspicious.

"I won't do anything out of line. It's just a business dinner." He said, stung by annoyance at her lack of trust in him.

She paused for a moment, no doubt weighing out his request in her mind, before saying, "Okay. I'll come with you. But only since you refuse a security team."

He nodded, barely concealing the smirk that would have graced his lips, before saying, "It's a formal meeting with a business associate from Britain."

She nodded.

He stood up, looking down at her again, saying, "You seem to be exhausted. If you want I can-"

"There's no need." She said curtly, a twinge of anger in her eyes at his words. She seemed to think he was belittling her ability. Moving to the door to leave and talk to the members of the team she brought with her. ". You can get back to work now." She added, before walking out of the room.

"S-Sakura. We're sending Choji over to take over guarding Sasuke for you. You should come back. T-there's something we need to tell you."

Hinata's voice echoed through the phone's speakers. Sakura frowned hearing her voice hoarse. As though she had been shouting. Which meant something was definitely wrong.

"Hinata? What happened? Are you okay?" She asked, worry filling her voice.

"I-I'm fine. But you should come back soon." She said, hesitantly.

"Okay I'll be back at HQ as soon as Choji gets here." Sakura said.

"W-wait! You should come back home. Nobody's at HQ."

Something was definitely wrong. But before she could further interrogate Hinata, she heard the line go dead.

Walking back into Sasuke's office, she looked around to ensure there were no clients inside before saying, "My colleague will be here to relieve me of my post here shortly. He will accompany you until you retire to your apartment, whereafter our teams will position themselves outside your residence."

He nodded in acknowledgment, his eyes fixed on her with a hint of...disappointment? "Hn." He said, still looking at her.

Disappointment for what? She had no idea what to make of Sasuke's abrupt change in behaviour. He had been anything but friendly for the majority of the morning- though that may have had a lot to do with the fact that she had been interrogating him as a potential suspect- and his behaviour thereafter hadn't exactly been warm and fuzzy. Not to mention she hadn't exactly forgiven him for his deceit in lying to her about his identity. But still...when she felt her hands involuntarily reach up to catch the hand which was caressing her cheek, and had heard his small sound of approval, followed by the sound of him crouching down, and the echo of his steady breathing tickling her ears...she couldn't help but notice his smouldering gaze fixed on her, filled with...filled with what? Lust? To some degree, yes. But there was more than that. Longing? Attraction? Dare she say it, love? Love was too strong a word, she decided. But that didn't mean there was no reason behind that scorching gaze.

Like fire, she decided. Now it seemed like the flame was giving her a chance to play with fire- but she didn't want to get burnt. Atleast not yet.

25th April, 2032, Hyuga Mansion, Time- 16:48

"What?! Suspended?! On which bat shit crazy old man's authority!?" She demanded as soon as she heard the news from an unlucky Kiba who'd drawn the shortest stick in terms of who had to break the news to Sakura.

"It's nothing really! Just me, Arisa and Neji! Nothing else really out of place! No harm done!" Kiba defended.

"Nothing out of place? Nothing out of place?! So Unit chief, and two of our best operatives off the force are 'nothing'?! "

Kiba was visibly sweating with fear. Sakura had a fierce temper. One normally kept tightly under control. Until it snapped. Like it was now. And her anger, though directed at Danzo, was being taken out on Kiba. Poor, poor, Kiba.

"Calm down Sakura. You're over reacting." Neji's smooth voice rolled over her as she turned to look at the doorway, where Neji stood, followed by Arisa.

"Calm down. You expect me to calm down, when you're getting told off and forced to stay out when the real threat is somewhere out there doing god knows what to goodness knows how many more children?! How could you not object to what he said?!" She demanded.

"Wait a sec, Sakura, we didn't have much choice. And you've not heard the rest of it. There's not much we could have done to stop Danzo. He's being bribed."

Sakura stiffened at that, looking straight at the speaker, Arisa, bristling with anger towards the old man.

"We will continue this case, just not on field or official service. And we don't have much time. So we better start working."

Inwardly, Sakura felt guilty. She had been the one to get the location information from Kabuto, and she had been the one who led them to that false doll infested mansion. Yet she was so sure that Kabuto hadn't been lying. Then where had she gone wrong?

"Relax Sakura. Breathe. We all need to be on our A game to crack this case and bring down the culprit before the one week deadline. Close your eyes and take deep breaths."

The soothing, relaxing voice of Ino accompanied by her soft hands gently massaging her shoulders released all the pent up tension in Sakura's back.

She closed her eyes, and cleared her thoughts with a few deep breaths, feeling the immediate anger leave her to be replaced with a calculated want to bring down the enemy.

Opening her eyes, she said, her voice once again cool and in command, "We better get started. Where to begin?"