That night, Madara lay awake with a very naked and very asleep Sakura resting against his chest. Just like the forecast said, it'd begun snowing shortly after the couple returned from the grocery store and hadn't slowed by the time they retired to the bedroom for the night. His thumb brushed softly against the woman's bare hip, not taking for granted the luxury of finally being able to touch her all he wanted.

Things have been even better than he imagined.

An understanding and comfortable aura dominated the pair when together. Madara thought Sakura was an empathetic and rational person soon after meeting her, but those characteristics were much more robust than expected. Not once has she judged his past mistakes. The woman had also obviously picked up on the fact that he was a fan of physical affection and tried to cater to the trait.

Madara looked down to see long strands of pink hair rolling down her back and over his arm, a smile tugging at his lips, 'If the rest of my life is even a fraction as amazing as the last forty-eight has been, I'll die happy.'

The Uchiha man was still almost wholly against her decision to remain at his side, given the fact that there may still be criminals loyal to Danzo out there. If, somehow, they become aware of the circumstances of the man's death, both he and the Haruno woman would be in grave danger once again.

He knew it.

She knew it.

Both kept their mouths shut and pretended the fact didn't exist, at least until they completely recovered from their injuries.

Until it's unavoidable, they'll act like just another couple, excited to spend time together, stuck inside during the terrible winter weather. It was a concept Madara was unfamiliar with, the spending of quality time with a loved one. Already, it was extremely noticeable how inexperienced he was with being in a relationship, but she was being patient, as usual.

Even now, the man couldn't believe Sakura was there in his arms, in his bed. All those days of longing to get to know her better and get closer despite knowing it'd never happen seemed like a faraway memory now. The little glances he'd steel at her profile when she was focused on a task, simply in awe and yearning to tell her all the out-of-character and corny things that come to mind in her presence.

It's adorable, the bashful blush the woman gets when he flirts with her out of nowhere. The man tries to surprise her often, just so that he can see it. She was still a little shy around him at times, and he wondered if the charming trait would ever go away. He had a feeling it wouldn't, not entirely.

'There's one thing I didn't expect,' Madara thought, suddenly hyper-aware of the warmth between Sakura's legs. He could feel it because one of her knees was hooked around his hips.

When the pink-haired woman was sick with a fever and confessed that her ex-boyfriend accused her of being frigid in bed, the Uchiha man didn't believe it for a second. That said, he never imagined she'd be this good.

Though she was riddled with unnecessary insecurity, Sakura was riveting from start to finish. No matter what position they were in or the mood was like, Madara was captivated by her facial expressions, the sound of her voice, and the incredible way it felt to be with her, both mentally and physically.

It was like she was wise beyond her years. Young people often hesitate to say something if they aren't comfortable or need something specific to feel good, but that's not the case with her. She's eager to show both him and herself satisfaction.

The communication was sexy, a definite turn-on for Madara.

A soft groan interrupted the man's thoughts, and he unbent his arm when the woman of his affections rolled over and stumbled out of bed toward the door, likely to use the restroom or get a glass of water.

His eyes followed her slender form in the dark room, trying to memorize the way it looked when the long strands of her hair brushed against her bare back before she turned into the hallway and out of sight, 'I thought things would get easier now that we're finally together, but it feels even harder to think straight than before. What the hell is this woman doing to me?'

Madara wants it all, every piece of Sakura. He wants to know her biggest fears and desires. He wants to see each expression she can make. More than anything, he wants to make her happy.

The Uchiha man wants to love her in all meanings of the word.

Sakura returned to the room, pink hair falling messily over her shoulders and down her back, as she sipped a glass of water with half-open, sleepy eyes. While sitting it down on the nightstand, the woman mumbled in a tired voice, "Did I wake you? Sorry."

Moonlight shined into the room through a crack in the curtain, catching her eye. He watched as the green irises widened slightly before she climbed onto the bed on her knees and reached up above the headboard to part the curtain further and look outside. Fingers delicately came to her lips as she watched the heavily falling snow with an expression of subdued glee.

Madara sat up and turned around to face the window at her side, only sparing the winter scenery a glance before returning his gaze to the beautiful woman. The moonlight washed over her appearance, giving everything a slight blue tint that made her seem almost ethereal.

"Do you like snow, Madara?"

Her voice shook him out of his daze, and he averted his eyes back to the window just in time for Sakura not to see as she turned to look at him.

"I don't really pay attention to it unless I'm driving, so I don't get in a wreck," he answered honestly, hoping she didn't notice his staring moments ago. It was hard to keep from stealing more glances. She was still naked, after all, and Madara never got used to or tired of the view.

There was a pause so long that he had to look over, and when he did, he realized she'd been watching him this time. With a pretty blush dusting her cheeks, she tilted her head and smiled softly before peering outside again, "Well, look at it now since you're inside. How does it make you feel?"

The man had no choice but to obey, so he followed her line of sight to watch the thick snowflakes flutter heavily to the ground. Though the weather was rather severe, there was still a unique gracefulness about the image that Madara had never noticed. Silence blanketed the room as the couple witnessed the snowfall from the fourth-floor window.

'I guess it does have its appeal, visually,' he mused but was again distracted by his girlfriend. A serene expression had met her sleepy face as though she was happy and content with something as simple as watching the snowfall. 'She really isn't like most women.'

This time, Sakura did catch him staring but whispered bashfully, arms crossing over her chest self-consciously, "Well? What do you think?"

Madara's lips tugged at the corner as he tried not to grin and barely succeeded. He shook his head, gently reaching to guide her arms down so he could hold the hand closest to his and gaze back outside, "I don't know if I actually think it's beautiful or if it's just because I'm sitting here with you."

There it was, that oh-so-charming pout she gets when she's embarrassed.

Sakura blushed before facing forward and leaning closer, voice softer than before, "Maybe both? I've always enjoyed snow, but it's never seemed quite as pretty as it does tonight."

To Madara, it felt like the woman was trying to say "I love you", just with different words. A small, pleased breath left his nose, but he chose not to respond verbally and simply returned to admiring the night's view with the woman of his dreams resting her head against his arm.

Ten minutes passed before the man was snapped from his content daze, but the fingers intertwined with his becoming slack. Looking down, he realized Sakura had fallen asleep. For a moment, his brow furrowed because it continued to surprise him how she could make him swoon without even trying. Then, he chuckled to himself and gently maneuvered the unconscious woman to lay correctly in bed under the covers and climbed in beside her.

The Haruno woman turned her back to him but snuggled into his side for warmth, a hand grasping his arm when he slid it under her neck. Rather than stare at the sleeping woman's hair, Madara watched the shadow of the snow falling dance down the covers. He'd left the curtain open so he could see it.

While finally falling asleep, he thought, 'It was both; I'm sure of it.'

The next morning, Sakura peered out the kitchen window with a coffee cup in hand.

Snow had accumulated high enough to nearly reach her hips, meaning it was much more than enough to effectively shut down Konoha's stores and restaurants. No one could drive anyway.

Secretly, the Haruno woman prayed the weather would remain bad for as long as possible. Three days from today, she's supposed to return to school and begin taking her midterms.

For many reasons, she wasn't excited about that.

First, Sakura's anxious about doing well. She's always been bright and devoted more time than most to studying, but the medical field is notoriously challenging to thrive within. All her life, she'd been a straight-A student, never receiving so much as an A- on an assignment. That was a fact she didn't want to change.

Sakura Haruno is a perfectionist, and it shows in her everyday behavior. Though she sometimes ended up surrounded by piles of unorganized text and notebooks, there was an order to the chaos.

Other than study materials, wherever she was staying was always tidy and clean. If any of her clothing got ripped or stained, and she couldn't fix it easily, they'd get either donated or thrown away. The woman could count the number of times she'd left her apartment looking not-put-together on one hand because she was too worried someone significant would see.

Needless to say, if her test results don't reflect her plans of perfection, it would be a real kick in the gut.

The second reason the pinkette dreaded returning to school was the more obvious. There was absolutely no way of knowing for sure that all of Danzo's men were unaware of what'd transpired at that mansion Christmas Eve night. Madara said he took care of everyone in the building, but it was evident there were many more employees than those that'd been there.

Sure, Sakura had begun to come to terms with the fact that her boyfriend was a very dangerous man who's committed dozens of crimes, for better or for worse. She's even forgiven him for not coming clean about it sooner. That said, the woman was terrified to leave the apartment building without the Uchiha man.

'What if I get kidnapped again? If they drug me like last time, it won't matter how hard I try to fight.'

Her eyes darted to the living room, where Madara was typing away on his laptop while sitting on the sofa, completely focused on whatever he was doing and not noticing her gaze. Then, she was also afraid she'd come home from school one day to an empty apartment. 'What if he gets hurt or killed? What if he decides it's too dangerous to stay with me, after all, and disappears?'

It wasn't a question that Madara loved her. In fact, that's why she was so concerned. He wants to protect her more than anything, even if that means letting her go.

'It felt a little too easy convincing him to stay,' Sakura mulled, sipping her coffee with a furrowed brow.

The final reason for her not wanting to go to school was the most childish, or maybe selfish. Being stuck in this apartment with the handsome Uchiha man had been enjoyable. The couple spent hours discussing anything and everything, getting to know one another better.

Learning more about him only made Sakura fall more in love, which in turn caused her anxiety to skyrocket further.

'I've never felt this way about someone, not even Sasuke,' she thought, her chest tightening, '...I'm scared….'

Being so head over heels for someone that you can accept flaws as substantial as first-degree murder was terrifying, to put it lightly. The Haruno woman knew it was insane. She was an idiot and one in love. Not holding Madara accountable for his actions was wrong, but she just couldn't help it. If one thing's for sure, he's no longer that person. That fact was the only hope for redeeming her sanity.

"Hey, come here," Madara said, breaking the Sakura of her anxiety-inducing thoughts.

Jumping in surprise, she pretended to be calm like she has for the twenty-four hours and climbed onto the sofa by his side to look at the laptop screen, "Hm?"

"What about this place?"

Green eyes went wide as the woman was shocked. The thing he was focusing so hard on all morning was apartment hunting. With either a pale or bright red face, she wasn't sure, she watched the screen as he clicked through photos of a newly constructed building not too different from the one they were currently residing in. The most significant difference was that it was an open-concept style unit rather than how this one's kitchen was separated from the family room by a doorway.

"It's a little further from the college than here, but I'll drive you."

Sakura's gaze turned onto the man, still bright and watery with disbelief. Madara was too focused on the laptop to notice. She studied how his brow furrowed ever so slightly, dark eyes firm and unyielding like a hawk's.

'He was serious about moving in together? If he's doing all this work, he probably doesn't plan to disappear on me, right?'

Hopefully, it wasn't wishful thinking.

When the Uchiha man finally looked at her, likely because she hadn't responded, she couldn't stop herself from smiling and offering a corny albeit genuine reassurance, "I don't care where we go, as long as we're together. Please choose wherever you'd like."

He smirked but tilted his head with a lifted brow, "You have to help decide even if you flirt."

Sakura's heart fluttered, heat rising to her cheeks as she laughed and leaned over to kiss the attractive man. A knock came at the door, making the pair part. He made a gesture insinuating for her to stay seated as he got to his feet to answer it.

It was likely one of the other tenants. This morning, two people had already visited to check in on Madara. Many of those in the building were elderly. Though he was rather cold and unapproachable to strangers, the Uchiha man always had a big heart, so he often lent a hand if he noticed someone carrying groceries or having an issue in the hallway. He'd garnered a handful of fans.

A tiny smile tugged at the woman's lips as she clicked through the photos on the laptop again, looking more closely since she now knew she couldn't get out of offering an opinion. The grin disappeared when a deep voice, laced with authority, met her ears, "Have you seen this woman? She is the tenant residing next door to you."

Sakura's blood ran cold.

Without a doubt, it was a police officer, but why was he asking about her? If either of them were at risk of being identified as someone having broken the law, it'd be Madara, not her. Regardless of the reason, she silently moved to stand with her back to the wall around the corner from the entryway, holding her breath as she eavesdropped on the conversation at the end of the hall in the doorway.

"Did she do something wrong?"

Madara was good. The way he asked managed to come off as both ignorant of her identity and curious, as a nosy neighbor might be.

"We believe she's connected to a matter resulting in multiple deaths. Have you seen this woman or not, Sir? Please answer the question."

"Not in a week or so, no. It's been quiet over there, so I don't think she's home."

"If you see or hear anything, please do not approach her as she could potentially be dangerous. I ask that you contact me directly, regardless of day or time."

"Sure thing."

Sakura felt the world around her had frozen solid as she processed what had just happened. She stood there with wide eyes glazed over, deep in thought.

'The police want me? But why? It's related to what happened at Danzo's mansion, but how in the world did they find out I was there? Sasuke said his dad said all the blood samples they'd taken had been too tainted to identify anyone other than the bodies inside.'

Madara came around the corner, a look of apprehension and poorly subdued guilt on his face, "Sakura…."

She snapped out of it, tears welling in her eyes although she desperately tried to keep her composure, "Well, I-I, uh…I guess I'm not going back to school anytime soon, am I?"