Things are heating up with ol' SasuSaku, hehe!

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As soon as Sakura reached the floor level of the house, she realized there were more people around that she didn't recognize than those she did. Politely, she made her way through the crowded rooms, keeping her head low to not offend anyone or draw attention to herself, until she found Konan in the kitchen.

The woman's orange eyes locked onto her, and she spoke quietly once she was close enough to hear, "Tonight, you are to entertain guests as a lady of this house."

The pinkette's face must've properly emoted her panic because Konan quickly added in an annoyed voice, "I won't force you to provide that type of entertainment. You're more than welcome if you'd like, of course, but you're to drink, smile, and flirt. Do whatever you feel will make these men like you."

"I'm sorry if I'm speaking out of turn, but why do these people need to like me? I'm a housekeeper. Shouldn't I just stay out of sight?"

The older woman's brow furrowed into an expression of disbelief, "Let me give you some advice, Sakura."

She turned to pour a glass of alcohol-spiked cider, speaking softly so only the pink-haired woman would hear and not the men around, "As a female, you have more power than you realize. Men think with their dicks more often than their brains, especially when a woman's younger and innocent-looking, like you. Do you understand?"

Sakura accepted the glass from Konan, swallowing nervously but nodding, 'So that's why she didn't put me in a slutty outfit,' she looked around at the men in the room who were doing little to mask their wandering gazes, 'These are the type of guys that get off on feeling powerful, so someone strong and confident like Konan doesn't do it for them.'

"I-I, um, I don't know if I can do this…."

"Here, drink this," she was handed a second glass, this one being full of a dark-colored liquor, "Chug all of it. Now."

Tears welled in her eyes, but Sakura did as ordered and tossed back the entire drink, wincing as she swallowed before placing the empty cup on the counter and shaking her head, 'Where's Sasuke? It won't take long for that to hit me.'

"Now go. Don't disappoint me."

Internally, the pink-haired woman was pissed, but the fear overshadowed it. 'How dare they try to whore me out! This wasn't in the contract I signed. I read it very carefully!' she thought while walking out of the kitchen as instructed.

By the time she arrived in the den, she was tipsy, but at least the nerves had calmed a little. A couple of guys talked to her briefly before she caught a glimpse of a familiar face across the room and politely excused herself.

'I really should've eaten something before this. I already feel a little dizzy, and I haven't even drunk that much yet.'

"What are you doing here?" It was Mr. Hatake, the professor who'd encouraged her yesterday. The woman stumbled, only for him to hurriedly grab her shoulder and steady her.

Sakura grinned up at him, "Um, well…." She wasn't so drunk that she'd stupidly admit to being employed by the house's owners, especially when he seemed concerned by her presence. "I-I wanted to thank you again for your help yesterday. It meant a lot to me."

His brown eyes were a little hazy, hinting that he'd also had some to drink. That was likely the reason he allowed the topic to change. They chatted casually for a moment or two about the holiday and the weather before he suddenly said, "You look beautiful tonight, by the way. I hope it's alright that I say that."

"Thank you! Kon-Uh, my friend bought this dress for me, so I was worried it wouldn't fit," Sakura averted her gaze with a red face, tossing back a good portion of her drink to mask her slip-up.

'I don't know what I'm allowed to say to people. I potentially almost got myself in trouble just then!'

It was then that Sasuke finally showed up. He didn't come over to speak to Sakura but found a couple of men to chat with across the room, where he glanced her way occasionally. It made her feel much safer, so she relaxed and spoke casually with the professor.

Maybe half an hour later, Sakura gasped, officially intoxicated because she hadn't made that cider to be weak, 'Konan will probably be angry if she finds out I spent the entire night talking to my teacher! I should go before someone tells her.'

"I need a refill, so I'll talk to you later, okay?"

The man nodded, grinning from behind his mask, "Of course. Have a good time. If you happen to see me later, come say hi again."

'Thank God he didn't try to stop me,' Sakura thought, heading into the kitchen for another drink.

"Here, Sweetheart. You look like you might be thirsty." A tall man with tan skin, green eyes, and black hair in a ponytail offered a glass to her.

She hesitantly accepted it, "Thank you, um…"

"Hyo! My name's Hyo. What about you?"

The woman forced a smile, not drunk enough to feel entirely at ease around a strange man, and lifted the cup to her lips while responding, "Nice to meet you. My name's-" "Sakura."

She and the tall man looked over to see Sasuke glaring at the man, "Sasuke…?"

He took the cup from her hand and offered it back to Hyo, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The green-eyed man laughed awkwardly, glancing between them, "Having a drink with Sakura here. Why? Is there a problem? I thought this was a party."

"Drink it."

Sakura's eyes widened when Sasuke shoved the drink into the man's hand, who accepted it with a surprised expression, "What?"

The Uchiha man's glare deepened, "I said drink it. Is there a reason you don't want to?" Hyo's face paled, and he donned an expression of dread. Sasuke scoffed, "That's what I fucking thought. Try something like that again, and you'll have more teeth in your stomach than your mouth."

Rather drunk, Sakura stumbled to keep up when Sasuke grabbed her arm and pulled her into the kitchen and out of the hallway, "Don't drink anything you didn't see poured, Dumbass. Are you trying to get roofied?"

"Oh, is that what happened? Thank you so much for helping me!" Sakura smiled while simultaneously prying at the man's fingers around her arm. Drunk or not, it made her uncomfortable.

He released once at the counter, shooting daggers at Konan, who returned the look with her own, "How fucked up are you right now? Be honest."

Sakura realized he was trying to figure out if it was safe to let her go off on her own again and assured him, "I'm alright. I won't take a drink from a stranger again." She could feel both Yahiko and his wife watching them. Not only did she not want to get into trouble, but she didn't want to drag Sasuke into it, too.

'It's just a little flirting, and that's it. She even promised they wouldn't make me do anything more. Just try to have a good time.'

"If you feel sick, go upstairs." She nodded, accepting a new glass from the Uchiha man. He gave her a warning glare before leaving the room again.

She followed more slowly, only then realizing that Christmas music was playing softly from somewhere in the house. Gravitating toward it, she realized it was the television. An hour passed as the woman talked with whoever came up to her, careful not to lose sight of Sasuke or her drink so nothing terrible would happen.

Another hour passed.

When the party had been going for just under four hours, nearly one o'clock, Mr. Hatake reappeared. Sakura giggled, standing beside him against the wall. She'd cut herself off after her last glass because she was officially trashed. That decision used up the last of her soberness. The woman could barely walk straight, slurred her words, and found almost everything funny.

"Are you alright? Do you need to sit down?" He asked, but an amused twinkle was in his eyes.

Sakura made a negative noise, leaning into him momentarily before beaming at his surprised face, "I didn't tell you this earlier because I was embarrassed, but you're totally my favorite teacher, Mr. Hatake."

"Is that so? I'm flattered."

"Am I your favorite student?"

The man's eyes widened before he chuckled, turning to stand in front of her rather than beside her so he could be better prepared to catch her if she fell, "I'm not supposed to choose favorites. It's a bad practice for teachers."

The pink-haired woman sighed dramatically, "So all that talk about liking how I write my assignments was just you trying to butter me up? You'll make me cry, Mr. Hatake!"

"It's Kakashi."

She met his eye as steadily as possible in her state, "Huh?"

He pulled his mask down under his chin so she could see his grin as he repeated, "Call me Kakashi when we're not at school. That's my name."

A giggle left her lips, and she tilted her head, stumbling to the side as she teased him half-heartedly, "Mr. Kakashi, why'd you go into education when you're this handsome? You could've been an actor or model."

The professor steadied her with a hand on either side of her waist and an incredulous look, "Is that any way for a student to speak to her teacher? You'll give me the wrong idea."

"What do you mean? Should I not call you Mr. Kakashi? I thought you wanted me to."

He chuckled but changed the subject, "I think you should probably call it a night, Sakura. You've had too much to drink. You might hurt yourself if you fall. Should I have your boyfriend come get you?"

"Huh? My boyfriend?"

Kakashi turned his torso, hands still keeping her steady against the wall, and nodded toward Sasuke, who glared at them, "Him."

Sakura gasped, grabbing a loose handful of the man's shirt while dismissively waving her other hand, "Sasuke? He's not my boyfriend! Are you crazy?"

"He's not? He's been keeping an eye on you all night, so I thought maybe…."

"Oh, that. Yeah, he's like my bodyguard! If someone I'm flirting with gets out of line, he'll come beat them up!"

The white-haired man faced her fully again, cautiously asking, "Is that what you're doing? Flirting? Sakura-"

"Oh, he's coming over! Isn't he intimidating? I still get scared of him sometimes when he's mad." Sakura's chest and face felt warm when Sasuke came close enough that he could hear her, and she grinned, "Don't worry! He's not attacking me or anything."

The Uchiha man looked at the teacher, who glared back for some reason before lowering his gaze to her hand, which still clutched a handful of his shirt, "I think he's more at risk of you attacking him right now. C'mon."

'Why'd he have to say that? This is my teacher, for Christ's sake,' she thought but didn't fight when he grabbed her hand and guided her to his side so he could hold around her waist to keep her upright.

Instead, she hugged him with one arm around his middle and laughed, "Mr. Kakashi, I think I'm in trouble, so I'll see you in class on Monday. G'night!"

Sasuke slowly made his way with a very drunk Sakura through the house, toward the stairs so he could put her to bed. She stumbled, a hand on his chest as she giggled, "Ha, sorry. It's these shoes. They're taller than I'm used to."

'She's so annoying,' he thought as she stepped on his foot for the third time in less than two minutes. It was true, but he also found himself incredibly amused by her more honest reactions.

"Ugh, can I take them off? My feet hurt."

"We're almost there, you crybaby."

The woman grumbled, "You're so mean."

At the top of the stairs, she tore away and stumbled into his room rather than Zetsu's, who agreed to let her keep using his room since he never does.

'If I were a good guy, I'd stop her, but I'm not a good guy, am I?'

He shook his head at himself before following her inside just in time to catch her as she lost her balance trying to lean over to take her shoes off, "Just sit down, damn it. I'll do it." Sasuke, too, was drunk, but he had enough sense about him to take care of a drunk girl that he could probably lift with one arm.

After helping her to sit on the edge of the bed, he knelt, pulling one of her feet onto his knee so he could hold it still while unbuckling the two latches at the ankle. It was silent for a few moments as he did, and once he removed the shoe and switched to the other foot, he looked up to see if she'd fallen asleep because she'd stopped talking.

'Jesus Christ.'

The woman was not asleep.

No, she was staring at him with an expression he recognized from the night they nearly slept together. When their eyes met, she sat straighter before looking away while pushing some hair behind her ear, "You're actually kinda nice sometimes. I shouldn't have called you mean."

Sasuke averted his gaze back to her shoe, unbuckling and removing it before allowing her to pull her foot away, 'I have to get outta here, or I'll end up fucking her senseless.' He stood.

She stopped him by grabbing a hand. When he looked down at her, she gasped and released it, "Sorry, I don't know why I did that."

"...Do you want me to stay?" He hesitantly asked. The man was playing with fire, and he knew it.

Sakura grasped handfuls of the skirt of her dress, not meeting his eye, "Kinda."

'Get out of here.'

Sasuke crouched before the inebriated woman and spoke honestly, "If I stay, I'm going to kiss you and touch you and…. I know you don't want that, so I need to go."

Emerald eyes widened in surprise, locking onto his as she tried to comprehend his words.

It seemed like she understood, so he nodded once before standing again, turning to leave. 'Damn it! If it was anyone else, I wouldn't have to be careful. This fucking sucks.'

"I-I don't mind if you kiss me a little bit…."

'Don't fucking do it.'

The Uchiha man came down to her level again, searching her face.

'This is the opposite of what Itachi told me to do!'

She bashfully met his eye before fumbling to place a hand on either of his shoulders and leaning forward, gaze drifting to his mouth and back up.

'Stop her.'

All the arguments disappeared when Sakura pressed her lips softly to his, the scent of alcohol, cider, and vanilla enveloping the enamored man. Sasuke remained still; it was the only thing he could do to keep himself from attacking her. She didn't seem to mind and moved so that her arms rested over his shoulders, angling her head to deepen the kiss, her tongue slipping past his teeth to dance with his in a surprisingly skillful manner.

When the softest hint of a moan left the woman's chest, his hands twitched, reaching to grab her waist only to freeze. "Your hands…they're scary."

'That's what she said last time. If I touch her, will she want to stop? I want her to stay here.'

Sakura felt so small compared to his larger frame, so feminine and pretty. All that was true, but she was kissing him with the confidence of someone dripping with it. The arms over his shoulders grabbed the shirt on his back, and the woman tried to come closer.

The weight shift threw Sasuke off balance, and he caught himself with his hands on the ground as he eased them back so he was sitting with his knees bent. She maneuvered onto his lap, straddling his hips and pressing against him in a way that made his pants tighten.

A low sound rumbled through his chest when her thin fingers slid into his hair, only to pull it so he'd let his head fall back and part their kiss. She panted for air, gasping as she stopped pulling but kept her hand in his messy hair.

Her voice was soft and airy as she spoke between kisses to his neck, "I feel really warm when I'm with you, Sasuke."

He closed his eyes, swallowing hard to keep control of his urges, "If you don't stop soon, I won't be able to help myself."

"Do you want me to? I will." Sakura said that, but her free hand slid beneath his shirt, and she gently bit the damp skin of his neck, following the act by slowly running her tongue over the same spot.

"I mean….no. Keep doing that." 'You're a piece of shit, Sasuke Uchiha.'

To his surprise, the hand beneath his shirt disappeared, only to grab one of his and guide it to her chest. She pulled back to look in his eye with a heated expression that said she wasn't here on planet Earth but somewhere else. Sakura said nothing, but he understood she wanted him to touch her, so she kissed him once before dipping to pay attention to his neck again.

'Fuck it. We're already this far. I'll back off if she says she's scared.'

Sasuke leaned against the wall to support his weight, using his now-free hand to squeeze her bottom, earning a sound of appreciation from the writhing woman in his arms.

A couple moments later, her energy lessened, and she breathed out, "I'm sleepy now…."

The man could've cursed, "You're joking."

"Alright, Sasuke! I thought you two were hooking up all this time, but I never saw anything. Nice! Lucky!" The Uchiha man turned his head to see Kisame and Kakuzu in the hallway helping a trashed Tobi to his room, the latter having been the one to speak. The other two appeared to be at varying levels of irritation.

They moved on without waiting for his response, and he slid the hand from Sakura's chest around to press against the middle of her back with long strands of soft pink hair between his fingers, only for her to remain still and silent, 'You've got to be fucking kidding me.'

"You're asleep, aren't you?"

The woman softly groaned, the hand in his hair falling slack so her arm hung over his shoulder and her face buried into his neck. An exasperated sigh left the man's mouth, and he moved the hand from her ass to wrap it around her middle, glaring at the ceiling as he felt the thin girl's steady breathing against his chest and stomach.

After a moment of convincing himself not to get too pissed off, he got to his feet, holding the underside of her thighs so she wouldn't fall. Sakura sighed softly, moving her other hand around to hug his middle.

Sasuke shook his head in disbelief before carefully kneeling on the bed and laying her down. 'It's my own fault. I already knew she falls asleep easily when she gets this drunk.'

She mumbled his name unconsciously, "Sasu…ke….you…."

The man glared down at her, comically hissing despite knowing she couldn't hear it, "I'm not falling for this a third time. You're gonna fucking kill me."