Trigger warning for gun violence, implied sexual assault, and night terrors.
The boy sobbed hysterically, and it took everything in her not to join him. She took a very deep, shaky breath, and turned to the child in her arms.
"Hey, what's your name?" She asked, her voice pitched high in pain.
"A-Ashitaba…" The boy sobbed. "Th-That m-man he—"
"Ashitaba-kun, I know you're scared, but I need you to listen to me carefully, ok? You need to go down the ladder by yourself, and find a place to hide. I'll come find you, I promise. We're just playing hide and seek, so hide really well, alright? If someone finds you before me, ask if they're part of the KPD. They'll have a badge—ask them to show it to you. If they don't, run as fast as you can and find a new hiding place, ok? It's just one big game of hide and seek, can you do that for me?"
"I don't want to leave you nee-chan, I'm scared."
"That's ok. It's ok to be scared…it's scary. But I really want to play hide and seek with you, and I need to talk to this man first. And he's really mean and has bad breath, so you don't want to be a part of that, right?"
The boy let out a reluctant giggle and shook his head.
"Okay. Go on and hide. I'll come find you." She set the young child down, tearing off a small piece of cloth from his already ripped sweatshirt as she did so. Hopefully if she didn't die here, and he listened to her and hid well, she could ask Kiba and Akamaru for help, if Kiba was doing alright…she just hoped they'd make it in time…but the situation really wasn't looking too bright.
Once the boy disappeared down the fire escape, Sakura turned herself to face Orochimaru with enormous effort, the pain in her left leg unbearable.
"You need me alive." She stated boldly, watching the gun he held pointed at her carefully.
"Alive, but not unscathed. If it comes to that."
"I would sooner throw myself off the fire escape than let you experiment on me."
"Yes, you do seem like the strong minded type. Fear of death won't effect you. But you see Sakura-chan, Kabuto's kept pretty close tabs on you for me, and there is something I know will make you comply."
"Oh?"
"Those hostages you just freed. I'll have my guards round them up and kill them in front of you, one by one. Starting with that little boy. It's not an idle threat, so do take it seriously."
Sakura felt her blood run cold. She didn't need him to tell her it wasn't an idle threat. His profile told her as much. He was a sadist who saw no value in human life and enjoyed watching others suffer.
"And…what's to stop you from doing it anyway?" Sakura asked, trying to make herself sound stronger and braver than she felt.
"Nothing." He said simply. "Although at the moment I really don't have much use for them. So there's no reason for me to go out of my way to get them back. You're the test subject I actually need. And while killing them in front of you would be fun, it's really not worth the effort, if you're going to cooperate." Orochimaru cocked the gun, a slim eyebrow raising. "So? What will it be, Sakura-chan? Will you be responsible for the death of nine others, before I play with your body? Or will you choose to be noble and give yourself to me willingly?"
Sakura's breathing was labored, the pain in her leg incredibly distracting as her mind worked to come up with some way out of this…but she couldn't think of a single goddamned way. She'd done all she could, and now her only hope was to try and buy time for Sasuke and the KPD to find her. But she couldn't just get him talking like they did with bad guys in movies…he was a narcissist but he was brilliant. He'd see through it in an instant. And no matter what, she couldn't let him go after the freed hostages.
"…Fine. You win, you snake bastard. I'll go with you."
Orochimaru's lip curled in a sickening smile. "Good girl." In a swift move, he pointed the gun at her already injured leg and pulled the trigger, the bang almost drowning out Sakura's choked back scream of pain.
"What the fuck?! I said I'd go with you!" Sakura spat, fighting to stay upright, letting out a strangled gasp when she pressed her hand over the second bullet wound in her leg.
"You didn't think you could cause all that trouble, and I'd let you off without any sort of punishment, did you? Well? Come to me." Orochimaru answered, grotesque smile still in place.
Sakura's eyes narrowed, twitching slightly from the pain.
"If you don't start moving, I'm going to send the signal for my guards to go after the—"
"That's unnecessary. Don't waste your efforts." Sakura growled, taking an agonizing step forward. She only managed two halting steps before collapsing, catching herself on the knee of her uninjured leg, and her hands.
Orochimaru chuckled. "Much better. You're well suited to being on all fours. Now, crawl back inside like the pest you are."
Sakura was shaking, whether from pain or rage she honestly didn't know—probably both. She could feel Orochimaru leering at her, his eyes tracing her body in absolutely revolting ways. That fucking misogynistic sadist was getting off on torturing and degrading her! Probably the slower she went, the more he'd enjoy it, the prick! Sakura's eyes widened as she stared at the cement roof she was painfully dragging herself over. Orochimaru had just handed her the way to buy time…even if it did royally suck for her. It wasn't his narcissism she would use against him, but his sadisim. He wanted her to painfully, drag herself to her death, the more of a struggle it was for her, the more satisfying it was for him…she could stretch this painful death crawl, milk it for every second it was worth…hopefully she wouldn't need the full length of the wide roof before KPD showed up.
…But holy shit did it hurt her pride! Every show of pain she didn't try suppressing, she could feel his smirk growing, hear him chuckling, and it made her more sick than her steadily bleeding leg.
Orochimaru's eyes traced the trail of blood she was leaving, up the line of her injured leg, over the pronounced swell of her hips, down the scoop of her back and up the line of her dainty neck, stands of her silky pink hair glued to her skin with sweat.
"Do you have any idea how delicious you look right now?"
She hated him. Every cell of her body, strand of her DNA, every atomic molecule that formed her being, hated him. Her only comfort was that she was pretty sure she was hearing the sounds of a helicopter in the distance…she prayed to every god she knew that it was the KPD.
Orochimaru heard the sound of distant chopper coming closer, but he didn't think anything of it. It wasn't the first time a chopper or plane had flown over this area. It was open airspace. Sometimes, it was even the Akatsuki. So while he registered it, he didn't process any potential risk or threat.
The chopper was coming closer, fast. But unfortunately it didn't arrive before she reached Orochimaru. Sakura knew he probably intended to have her crawl herself all the way to the operation table, but now, he was next to her, and soon he'd be behind her. And she hated the idea of not being able to clearly see what his next move would be…what if he decided to act on all the gross sexual comments he'd been making?
As she drew level with his legs, her body tensing apprehensively, the wind began picking up, as did the volume of the chopper. That wouldn't happen unless it was very close and flying very low…and the only reason it would have to do that would be if it were there for her.
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed at the low flying vehicle, the KPD letters now visible. How they found his hideout, he had no idea, but it was obvious who they were here for. He quickly grabbed Sakura by the back of her hair, violently hauled her up in front of him, and brought the gun to her head. If they were going this far to get her back, they wouldn't risk taking a shot at him while she might get hit.
Sakura let out an inadvertent shriek as she was suddenly forced to put weight on her leg, but took full advantage of Orochimaru's distraction and carelessness to make a covert swipe at the gun, feeling the safety lock shift under her nail, before bringing her arms to grab at the hand holding her hair, playing the textbook hostage role.
The chopper hovered above the hospital roof, the side door opening, while Shikamaru's voice blasted over a speaker. "Lower your weapon. I repeat, lower your weapon."
"Now why would they waste all their resources on someone so useless?" Orochimaru hissed in Sakura's ear.
"You're going pretty far yourself, if I'm so useless…" Sakura bit back fiercely, glaring up at him from the side as he pushed the gun harder against her temple.
"Let me rephrase…useless to them. The only thing you're good for is manipulating your genome and fucking."
"So calm and confident, but I don't see how you're getting out of this one, you pathetic sack of testosterone. "
Sasuke jumped down from the helicopter to the roof, the distance just a little too high to be considered sane or safe…but she supposed neither of those things mattered to him while a psychopath was holding her at gunpoint. Sasuke raised his own gun, a glacial look in his eye as he glared at Orochimaru. His eyes swept briefly over the trail of blood brushed across the cement, coming to rest on Sakura's heavily bleeding leg. When his eyes met Orochimaru's again, they'd bypassed glacial and went straight to homicidal, his irises bleeding to red.
"Hm, that's a good look. I can't wait until I'm the one wearing it, but you'll have to be patient Sasuke-kun. It's not your turn yet. I have to test some things on our dear Sakura-chan first."
The murderous aura around Sasuke continued to grow. "Put. The. Gun. Down." He growled.
Orochimaru smirked, taking a step back, dragging Sakura with him. "So angry," he chuckled, "why? Because I've damaged your little toy?"
Sasuke's grip on his gun tightened, his gaze shifting to Sakura and immediately softening. "How bad's your injury?"
"Nothing I can't recover from with time. It'll be bad if I can't stop the bleeding soon though. Don't worry, Sasuke-kun, I'll be safe." Sakura said, casting a meaningful glance at the gun.
Just like always, Sasuke knew how to read her, better than anyone else ever could. His red-irised gaze didn't even have to follow hers to the gun. Her words and glance were enough for him.
"Alright. I'm here now." Translation: I'll be your backup, whenever you're ready. And she loved him for it.
Sasuke took another step forward, and Orochimaru took another step back—but this time, instead of dragging Sakura with him, she threw her weight backwards, knocking him off balance and sending them both to the ground.
Orochimaru hissed, instinctively squeezing the trigger…but nothing happened. The trigger didn't pull back all the way, as if it were locked. Almost as if the safety were on. "Bitch!"
Sakura didn't waste any of the precious seconds she'd bought herself, grabbing the gun and his hand and aiming it straight into the air, away from any people, before she started twisting it towards his thumb, forcing him to drop the weapon. But Orochimaru didn't just let it happen, he kicked her hard in her injured leg, and tightened his arm around her neck, putting her in a choke hold, while his other hand grasped around for the dropped gun.
Sakura tried to hold her breath so she could make a more strategic counter attack instead of letting her body waste energy fighting for air, but her body didn't get the message, her hands trying desperately to pry his arm away from her windpipe.
Sasuke had closed in the second Sakura made her move. He grabbed the fallen gun from the ground, away from Orochimaru's reach, and pressed it firmly against the maniac's forehead. "Let her go. Now."
Orochimaru slowly released her, his arms going up against his head. Sakura immediately gulped down air, coughing a little from the pressure on her throat only seconds before. She sat up, swaying a little in dizziness of lack of air and loss of blood. Sasuke lowered his gun, kneeling to help Sakura up, supporting her weight.
"S-Sorry Sasuke-kun…I let him get the jump on me…you must have been so worried…"
"Don't say stuff like that now! Not when you're in this state!" Sasuke half snapped, half soothed, completely forgetting the snaky asshole who started this mess in the first place.
Orochimaru's arm shot towards Sakura, hand equipped with a syringe of genome altering chemicals, but Sakura reacted faster, twisting around and grabbing his wrist, using it to yank him forward so his face met her fist.
Orochimaru dropped the syringe to the ground, holding his nose as blood gushed between his fingers. "How did you…?" How had she had the awareness to counter him in her state?
"You think all that time you were holding me against you, I wouldn't notice that syringe in your pocket? I figured that was going to be your desperation play. A suicide move maybe. If you go down I go down, right? Once you were backed too far into a corner, you'd pull that. Too bad I noticed it or that may have worked." Sakura cleared her throat, wincing painfully. That bastard had a strong chokehold.
Sasuke's gun was once again trained on Orochimaru. "Can I kill him? Please?" Sasuke growled, his eyes fiery red and screaming for blood.
Honestly, she considered it for one long second. If there was anyone she felt deserved to die, it was this piece of barnacle scum. But even so, his victims deserved justice. Ageha deserved justice. Karin deserved justice. She deserved justice. She wanted everyone to know about his sick, twisted, experiments. She wanted everyone to know how little regard he had for human life. She wanted everyone to rightfully hate him, and wanted a court of law to give him a sentence fitting of his crimes. Shooting him in the head, here, on a roof of an abandoned hospital, when he was now weaponless, would make them no better than cold blooded murders.
Sakura slowly shook her head. "He needs to go to trial. For all the people he's hurt. They need to see him go to trial." She felt more than heard Sasuke's soft intake of breath, feeling him soften against her.
"Hn." He hummed quietly, slipping a pair of handcuffs into her hand.
Sakura grabbed Orochimaru's wrists, twisting them behind his back, while Sasuke leveled a gun at him, lest he try anything.
"Not going to read me my rights?" Orochimaru taunted coldly, feeling the metal snap around his wrists, binding them together.
"You have the right to shut the fuck up." She hissed. Someone else could read him the rights he didn't deserve. She'd taxed her ethical limit at arresting him instead of murdering him.
Shikamaru and Lee jumped from the helicopter, and ran over.
"You two alright?"
"Sakura-san! The most beautiful flower of Konoha has been injured!"
Sasuke nodded to Sakura's leg. "We're fine, but we need to get to the hospital."
"Before that, there are nine hostages—7 that went down the fire escape, 2 inside in the ICU. I don't know how far they got but we need to find them and bring them in for treatment, especially this little boy named Ashitaba. He won't trust you unless you show him your badge and mention my name. There's also Kabuto, somewhere in the hospital—I knocked him out but he'll probably wake up soon. And—"
"Sakura. We'll take care of it. Part of why we weren't here sooner was that we needed to set down to let Naruto and some of the others out, so they could go in on foot. They're securing the hospital now as we speak, along with the rest of the area." Shikamaru drawled.
"Oh good. How are Neji and Kiba doing?"
"Neji will be alright! He is as strong as you are skilled, Sakura-san! Tsunade-sama said he would make a full recovery!" Lee reported excitedly.
"And before you start worrying, Kiba's fine too." Shikamaru added. "Come on, Lee, let's get this bastard locked away…It's a drag reading rights to a slimy bastard like you, but it's my job so I may as well. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…" Shikarmaru sighed, while he and Lee dragged Orochimaru to the chopper.
"You really don't know how to worry about yourself, do you?" Sasuke sighed.
Sakura blinked, watching as Orochimaru disappeared into the chopper and out of her view. And then it all hit her. She'd been putting off her fear and anxiety, focusing more on her anger and survival. But now the threat was gone. And the emotions she was feeling needed to be processed. Her body began shaking as she remembered how he stood over her, ready to inject her with all sorts of horrible chemicals. Remembered how he leveled his gun at her and fired. Twice. Her breathing became uneven.
And then two strong arms were around her, holding her in the warm safety they provided. "I've got you. I'm here." She felt Sasuke's voice come out in vibrations against her, soothing her more.
"He…I almost…that was so scary…" She breathed, her eyes gathering moisture.
Sasuke's arms tightened against her, one hand weaving into her hair and gently massaging her head. "Yeah…Yeah, it was…" His voice was quiet and a little horse.
Sakura's fists tightened against his shirt. "S…Sorry."
"For what?"
"Scaring you…and ruining your shirt." She mumbled, sobbing a little.
"It's not your fault…none of this is your fault…Still, the possibility that I lost you…I…it was…I'm glad you're…still with me."
"…me too…I thought I might never see you again, Sasuke-kun." The longer he held her, the more she felt the vibrations of his voice, the calmer she felt. Her body slowly stopped shaking, and with the draining emotions, she began to feel tired. It made sense, aside from the adrenaline crash, the emotional release, the pain she'd been desperately ignoring, and the blood loss was all hitting her at once. "Sasuke-kun…?"
"Hn?"
"I need to get to the hospital. I'm gonna pass out."
"Right." Sasuke pulled back, only enough to look down at her face. "Do you want me to support you, or carry you?"
Normally, Sakura would have said support. She was strong, and hated being a burden, hated being treated like a princess. But she'd been shot twice in the leg and forced to crawl across the cement floor of the roof, picked up and held at gunpoint, and had to physically fight off a psycho while her leg bled profusely. And all of that was in addition to being knocked out, nearly experimented on, and bloodying up her hand breaking the prisoners out. She'd fucking earned her right to be carried just this once. Asking though, felt like a blow to her pride, regardless.
Luckily, Sasuke didn't need her to ask. He read her like he always did, and saw her lack of motion, saw the way she looked down a little sheepishly, her face a little red, and just like always, he knew how to correctly interpret that.
"I'm gonna pick you up now."
She let out a small sigh, relieved that he'd read her lack of response correctly. She nodded, and Sasuke scooped her up. She gasped as her leg gave a painful throb.
"Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"
"The change of position just hurt, I can keep my leg still, but move slowly just to be sure."
Sasuke nodded, slowly making his way to the helicopter.
Somewhere during the trek, with the knowledge that she was now safe, Sakura lost consciousness.
When she awoke, she was staring at the white ceiling of a hospital. Kabuto standing over her in an OR-turned-lab flashed through her mind, but the panic attack was quickly dismissed before it could fully trigger, because she wasn't on a cold table, she was in a fairly comfortable hospital bed. The white ceiling was a familiar one, cleaner and less abandoned looking. The heart monitors sounded friendlier. Outside the door, there were constant footsteps and the voices of nurses and doctors filling the halls. Familiar voices. Ones she used to hear daily, before being transferred back to the KPD. This was her hospital. And with that very quick realization, any trace of apprehension or fear drained out of her.
She turned her head and paused, seeing Sasuke asleep in a chair at her bed side. There was an open book in his lap—he must have fallen asleep reading, and she couldn't help noting his bruised knuckles, he'd been punching something again, repeatedly and recklessly.
As if sensing her eyes on him, his fluttered open, locking with hers.
"You're awake." She noted.
"So are you."
"Why do I get the feeling you've been here since I was brought in?"
"Maybe because I was." His lips pulled up slightly at the very familiar but role-reversed conversation. "Sorry, I meant to be awake when you woke up."
Sakura felt herself begin to smile as well, recalling the first time she read The Implausibility Factor, her first time recommending a book to Sasuke. "You're still here." She murmured softly, relief and soft warmth wrapping around her at that truth. He hadn't gotten scared and ran, after getting her back. He hadn't closed himself off again.
"Of course, cause my girlfriend fought her way out of a psychopath's laboratory, rescuing 9 people in the process, and got shot twice in the leg." He tried to keep his tone dry and humorous—tried to keep the mirror of their past conversation going, but he couldn't keep the flintiness from his voice, something she immediately caught. How could she not? Still, his wording brought a positive feeling to the messy tangle of dread and fear. She now also felt proud. She'd survived. She'd fought her way out. She'd rescued 9 lives in the process. She was strong. That feeling of pride was lost with Sasuke's next words. "Kabuto…he escaped."
The sentence brought more flashes of his lab, Kabuto standing over her, Orochimaru pointing his gun at her…she felt her stomach drop to her feet, as a chill ran up her spine. "He escaped." She echoed, her voice flat. Damn, she was gonna need a lot of therapy to move passed this one. Her eyes pulled to Sasuke automatically, latching onto his presence to keep her mind focused on the present.
He sat steadfastly at her bedside, his fist clenching and unclenching tightly, muscles tense and face drawn into a furious glower. She knew Sasuke better than maybe anyone. Sasuke's instincts lead him to revenge. If someone hurt one of the people he held dear, he would go after them with full force, with the goal of unleashing ten times the pain on them that they inflicted on his precious person. But Sasuke wasn't chasing Kabuto down. He was sitting next to her hospital bed, as he had been since she was brought in. The heavy dread sitting in her stomach was replaced by a warm security that could only have come from Sasuke's presence.
"He escaped…and you're still here…Thank you, Sasuke-kun. For still being here."
Sasuke stared at her for a second, before reaching out, his hand gently cupping her cheek, fingers tracing her jaw. Sakura heard her heart rate monitor pick up speed, and silently cursed at how embarrassing that was, that the effect he was having on her was clearly audible. Not that it mattered much, since he could probably feel how her face was heating up against his palm.
"I'm not leaving you Sakura…not when…everything's a mess and nothing makes sense…except you, so…don't leave me. Please. That was…I thought maybe…He never should have…I lost focus. I'm sorry."
Sakura couldn't help smiling. He'd come so far in such a short time. He was still here. She hadn't asked him to open up, she hadn't asked him to tell her about what happened at the warehouse. He just volunteered that on his own, in his own disjointed way. He was so open with her now, about how he felt, what he felt, why he felt, and in turn it made her feel loved. Because this was Sasuke, and he would only open up like that, and share like that, with someone he truly loved.
She gently removed his hand from her face and held it, studying his purpled knuckles. "Must have been some fight."
"You're one to talk." He murmured, his eyes trained on her own bandaged up hand. But the difference was her wounds had been treated, while he just left his. What if they got infected or something?
"I do wish you'd take better care of your body, if not for yourself than at least for me. I worry when you let things sit like this." She sighed. "So…what happened? With Itachi I mean…Did you get him?" She'd felt the need to be slow and cautious with her tone when asking, the audio version of slowly approaching a cornered animal. She wasn't even sure what she was expecting as an answer…a yes or a no, obviously. But it was the emotions that were in question. Would he sound happy? Vindicated? Sad? Angry? Empty? What she didn't expect, when her eyes trailed up to his face, was the utterly lost look that he wore. He kept opening his mouth to say something, and then abruptly closing it before a single sound could escape.
Sakura's brow furrowed. This reaction…didn't seem good. Sasuke, even if the words came out a jumbled mess, had never been completely unable to articulate to her before. Whether he was confused, or angry, sad or processing, even struggling with his feelings about their relationship, he'd always been able to say something. To make a sound, and if he couldn't, there was some sort of action instead. But there were no actions this time either. This…whatever happened, he hadn't even begun being able to formulate the words for. And by this point, it had to be at least a day or two of time to process, if not more—she didn't know how long she'd been out for, but she was pretty sure it was at least twenty-four hours, after all, her leg had been fully treated and bandaged, as had her hand.
She swept her thumb over his knuckles, giving him her most understanding smile. "We don't have to talk about this now…not until you're ready, Sasuke-kun. Don't worry, I won't ask about it again."
Sasuke's midnight eyes stared at her, wide and lost, in an incredibly rare moment of complete vulnerability, and then his arms were tightly around her, his face buried in the crook of her neck.
"Sasuke-kun…!" She'd never seen him like this before, he was shaking a little, and she was sure she felt small beads of water dropping onto her neck and shoulder. What ever happened must have really done a number on him. She'd never seen Sasuke like this, not once. "I'm here, Sasuke-kun. I'm not going—"
"I love you." He was so quiet, she might have thought she'd imagined it, if she hadn't felt the words ghosting over her skin. "I love you." His arms tightened around her, his body shaking harder as he repeated it.
Sakura's eyes were wide with shock, her heart monitor was going crazy, and in the back of her mind, she registered that not a single nurse or doctor had checked on her because of it—she'd have someone's ass for that later. But for now, all that really mattered was Sasuke's breathed out confession. Of course, she'd already known. He'd never said the words out loud, but she could tell clear as day from his actions. Sasuke would never have invited her to stay with him, and keep staying with him, if he didn't love her. He never would have had sex with her. Sasuke was the type of person who ran in extremes. And sex was an extreme act of intimacy and vulnerability. For him it was probably exclusively tied to love—he probably didn't even consider sex a thing, to him it was always going to be making love. She'd known how Sasuke had felt about her for a while now…but hearing him say it…she never thought that would happen. Words had always been his least favorite method of communication. And that meant two things: He was completely sincere and meant it more with every repetition, and whatever had transpired between him and Itachi had completely shaken him to his core.
"I love you." He breathed again, pressing himself even closer to her as he fell apart.
It hurt seeing him like this, and a small piece of her wanted to get up, track down Itachi and give him a hard punch in the face for putting Sasuke through this, but more importantly, he needed her right now. Punching Itachi could wait, Sasuke was more important. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, one hand finding its way to the back of his head, gently stroking over where his hair line met his neck.
"I know, Sasuke-kun. I…" She hadn't said it to him since he left, she'd been too scared too. But this wasn't the same Sasuke as back then. This was a Sasuke who admitted what she meant to him, ran closer when things got scary and hard, instead of distancing himself. This was a Sasuke who let her in…it was time she fully did the same. "I love you too, Sasuke-kun. I always have…I never stopped. I love you."
She felt him take in a sharp exhale, his shaking lessening, and his muscles losing some of their tension. "…I know."
They stayed in that position for a long time, relaxing into each other in silence, until Sasuke finally spoke. "Itachi's in custody, but…things got complicated…I don't…he…"
"Can I speak with him?" She felt his eyelashes flutter against her skin in what was probably surprise.
"You…want to?"
"Whether you love him or hate him, he's an important person to you, and as your girlfriend, I should meet your brother at least once. Besides…if you're having too hard of a time, why force yourself, when I can hear from the source directly?" Also, she'd love to punch him in the face, but now didn't seem like a good time to mention that.
She felt Sasuke relax even more against her. "Sakura…thank you…for everything."
His words carried so much weight, she never knew a simple thank you could be so loaded, but she heard all the things he didn't specify. Thank you for caring. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for being strong. Thank you for surviving. Thank you for coming back to me. Thank you for existing.
Her heart hammered wildly, her throat tightening as she was once again overwhelmed by memories of the ordeal she'd barely survived. Reflexively, her arms tightened around Sasuke, anchoring herself with his presence, feeling the safety and security that came to her with his body so close to hers. Whether Sasuke sensed her need for grounding reassurance, or whether he was still reeling in his own torrential emotions, she didn't know, but his arms tightened around her as well, holding her ever closer to him.
"What the damn hell is wrong with your heart monitor?!" Tsunade thundered in a panic, throwing the door open so hard it cracked the wall it banged into.
Well, the intimate moment the two had been sharing completely shattered.
Sakura and Sasuke sprung apart from each other, Sakura meeting her mentor's gaze wide eyed and red faced, while Sasuke pointedly looked anywhere but at Tsunade.
The prime minister stopped short as she took in the scene, a tired brow raising skeptically. She'd been caught up overseeing the transfer and care of the nine trafficking victims Sakura had saved, and just when she finally had a moment to check on her surrogate daughter, she got to the nurses station only to hear a heart monitor beeping wildly from the direction of Sakura's room, and not a nurse in sight. Of course she panicked…but apparently, her student had just given her a heart attack for nothing—no, it wasn't Sakura's fault, it was the one who made her physiology react that way.
"Of course this is your fault." Tsunade grumbled. "It's like you Uchihas are trying to kill me. Drowning me in paperwork and giving me the migraine of the century wasn't enough, now you've gotta scare me to death thinking my pupil's having a cardiac event?"
Apparently, that comment provoked enough anger in Sasuke to get him to look at her. "Can't go anywhere without causing at least some property damage, can you?" He bit back, though his bright red ears still clearly conveyed his embarrassment.
"Watch it, brat. I can and will put you on traffic duty for the next three months." Tsunade growled.
"M'lady…" The timing may have sucked, but seeing her beloved mentor really drilled in that she was in a safe place.
Tsunade turned to face her, all the hostility dropping. "Singlehandedly saved nine trafficking victims, brought down a human trafficking and experimentation hub, caught a shit head guilty of warcrimes, and most importantly, you made it back alive. I have a lot to be proud of, as your mentor."
"Thank you, M'Lady…"
Tsunade smiled at her, honey eyes warm and comforting, before looking down at Sakura's chart. "Your surgery was a success and your recovery is on track. I'll sign off on your release in three more days, but you should keep off your leg for at least another three weeks, and then you'll definitely need crutches and PT."
"Yeah, I figured."
"I know I really don't need to tell you any of this, but Doctors are the shittiest patients alive. You're accepting everything all nicely now, but by tomorrow you'll be up my ass to sign off on your release early, and I know you're going to start trying to move around on the leg within a week. I'm telling you now, if you pop a single stitch, you're fixing it yourself, and the sooner you start pushing yourself, the longer I'm extending your leave and recovery."
Sakura opened her mouth to argue, but quickly snapped it shut again, upon realizing that she had no argument. Tsunade knew her too well and everything she outlined was exactly some shit Sakura would try to pull.
"Yeah that's what I thought." Tsunade said, satisfied with Sakura's lack of response. "I'm also assigning you mandatory trauma counseling, and you'll need to pass a mental health eval before I allow you back on the force or clear you for surgery."
That, she really didn't have an argument for. "I would have asked for counseling if you didn't assign it." Sakura agreed, leaning back against her pillows and staring at the white ceiling—feeling the white ceiling of the abandoned hospital, and Kabuto standing over her, once again flash through her mind.
"Shishou, I know you'll strap me to a wheel chair, if you have to, but once I'm released, can I speak with Itachi? I won't make a move to work after that, for three weeks, but I want to speak with him." She didn't look at Sasuke while making her request, but she felt him tense next to her, felt the vulnerability that he'd been masking since Tsunade burst in, creep dangerously near the surface again.
Tsuande studied her carefully, glanced at Sasuke, who sat pale, blank faced, and jaw clenched, before turning her attention back to her favorite student.
"If it means you won't whine to me to lessen your treatment plan, then fine." Sakura cared so much for Sasuke, and it was about damn time the idiot reciprocated. If her pseudo-daughter was happy, that's all that mattered. Her gaze focused back on Sasuke, eyes hard. "Bring her to the interrogation room in three days. And keep a close eye on her after that—I don't care how she tries to seduce you, she's to stay off that leg."
"M'Lady!" Sakura was scarlet, her heart monitor going wild.
Sasuke nodded stiffly, his face regaining a little color, making Tsunade smirk. She didn't approve of the Uchiha by any means—he made too much work for her, but at the very least, it was fun seeing him squirm. And she had to admit, that boy would do anything for Sakura.
Tsunade turned to leave, but paused, glancing back over her shoulder. "Once you're back to work, fire someone's ass for not checking on you sooner."
"Was planning on it." Sakura grumbled, her face still red. Tsunade gave her one last satisfied smile, before marching out of the room.
Sakura cleared her throat. "Ignore her, I'm not that bad of a patient."
"Yes you are."
Sakura whipped her head to face him, eyes wide and a little affronted. After everything, did he still underestimate her?!
Sasuke was staring at her seriously, taking her look as a demand for elaboration. "You barely take proper care of yourself when you're healthy. You're so insistent on your ability to handle everything that you overwork yourself and refuse help unless someone actually forces it on you." He sounded a little miffed, which when she got passed the insult, she found rather cute. He was annoyed at her on her own behalf.
Sakura was about to respond, but a voice from the door cut her off.
"Oh my Sakura-chan! Thank goodness you're alright! Don't worry sweetie, as soon as you're released, we'll take you right home! You can stay with us!" Her vision was clouded by dusty pinkish grey of her dad's hair, as he squeezed her tightly.
"D-Dad?" Sakura gasped, blinking in confusion.
"What is he doing here?" Her mother's stern voice snipped, glaring at Sasuke, from her spot behind Kizashi.
"He's here because he's my boyfriend, and he is the one who saved me, so of course he should be here." Sakura answered flatly, before dislodging her dad's arms from around her and leveling him with a bewildered stare. "What do you mean you'll take me right home?"
"Well, obviously it's too dangerous here for you. You'll come stay with us, that way we can look after you."
Sakura felt the air grow thinner around her. The idea of going back to her parents home made her heart constrict. Her parents were suffocating. Their lack of expectations for her, their confidence that she'd never succeed…phone calls with them alone were stressful enough, going back to living with them full time…She knew she could protest, but she also knew it wouldn't do much good. Her stubbornness hadn't come from a vacuum, she'd learned it from them.
"Dad…I don't need to come stay with you. I'm doing fine—"
"You got shot, Sakura! Twice!" Her mother snapped.
"And the guy was caught! I survived. And I'll make a full recovery—I'm a doctor, I would know."
"You were also stalked, taken hostage, shot twice, and needed to be rescued by the KPD you claim to be a part of! If it hadn't been for them—"
"—I don't claim to be a part of them, I am—"
"Mebuki." Sasuke's cold tone cut through their argument, silencing them both, though Sakura assumed for different reasons, given her mother's affronted expression. She probably didn't appreciate being addressed without an honorific by someone younger than her, who was supposedly interested in her daughter as well. "Sakura saved 11 lives total within forty-eight hours. Two in the middle of open gunfire, and nine from a hospital turned fortress, after she saved herself. She got shot while ensuring other hostages made it out safely, one of which was a young child. There's no shame in needing a team for backup—that's why the KPD operates in three man cells. Sakura has never been weak or fragile the way you seem to think she is, and she's more than capable of looking after herself. Apparently you don't agree, but even so there's no reason for her to go back with you, because I'll look after her myself."
"Sa…Sasuke-kun…" Sakura breathed, her face flushing. It meant everything to her, the way he was defending her. He wasn't just saying that he'd take care of her so her parents wouldn't have to. His wording was carefully crafted to bolster Sakura, and not place any blame on her—the opposite of her parents, who seemed unaware of how cutting every word they spoke to and about her was.
"Oh? And who are you, exactly? Just some fleeting crush that she got too sucked into, read into too deeply, and ended up heart broken for no reason because of it!"
"Sasuke-kun's not just some fleeting crush! He hasn't been since we were first placed on a squad together!"
"She didn't read too deeply into anything! I couldn't admit my own feelings to myself back then, and lead her on discreetly so no one else could call me on it. She had every right to be heart broken and upset, and I'm determined to make sure she never feels that way because of me again." Sasuke was glaring at Mebuki, his voice cold but calm.
"You really think I'll let you anywhere near her after how you just admitted to hurting my baby girl?" This time it was Kizashi who was glaring at Sasuke.
"The only permission I need is Sakura's."
"And he fully has it." Sakura cut in sharply, before either of her parents could protest. "I've put up with this long enough. I've sent you money, even choosing shittier places to live, to make sure I can help support you. I've put up with every brush off you two give me, every lack of acknowledgement. And that's fine. If you don't want to see what I've accomplished, fine. I can live without it. But what I can't deal with anymore is you two looking at me like I'm still just the little girl who got bullied, and quit gymnastics before she could go to Nationals. I'm an adult now, and I make my own choices, including where I work, where I live, and who I love. I'm going to continue working wherever M'Lady needs me, whether that's here at the hospital, or at the KPD. I'm going to continue living here, with Sasuke-kun. And I'm going to continue loving him, lord knows I wasn't able to stop before so there's no way I can now. You two are going to need to just deal with it…I'm tired of hoping I'll gain your approval."
Mebuki and Kizashi looked floored. It was Kizashi who recovered first. "Come on dear, let's give Sakura-chan some space. She clearly doesn't want us around right now."
"But—" Mebuki protested, while Kizashi lead her out of the room.
Sakura leaned back and groaned. "Great. Now I feel guilty."
"You shouldn't. They're manipulative." Sasuke grumbled, glaring at the door.
"Yeah well…even so, they're still my parents…" A warm hand encased her own, drawing her attention back to him.
"Your parents kinda suck."
"So did yours." Oh what a dangerous thing to say. Sakura nearly stopped breathing, her eyes widening with fear. How stupid could she be, saying something so careless like that? Even if it was true, Sasuke was understandably sensitive and defensive of his parents because of how he lost them.
Sasuke's lips twitched a little, before his hand tightened around hers, interlacing her fingers. "Aa. We'll have to do better than them with our kids."
"Yeah—what?!" Sakura's mind caught up with his words, and her heart monitor was the first to react, once again beeping wildly. "Our…kids…" Sakura choked out, her face flaming. "You…Would you want that? Kids…with me?"
"I…holding your hand…being with you…I want that. I'd…I'd be happy with kids, so long as it's with you. I'd be happy without them, so long as you're there. I used to think…I used to think I'd never want another family, after what happened to mine…but…with you…the thought of a family is really appealing."
Sakura stared down at their hands in thought. She'd never been able to picture herself as a mother, partially because of her own parents. Their comments had nurtured her insecurity in several facets of her life, including her own mothering instincts. As a result, she'd never been able to see herself with kids…which cognitively, she could acknowledge as somewhat ridiculous, given how frequently she worked with children and even started the children's mental health clinic. But the emotions were still there.
"Do you think I'd be a good mother?"
The look Sasuke gave her seemed flat, but she knew him well enough to see the incredulity beneath it. "Do you need me to answer, or should we check with the countless number of children you've single handedly saved? The entirety of the children's wing either want you to adopt them, or wants to marry you when they get older."
"I think you'd be a good dad."
Sasuke blinked, staring at her intensely, before leaning in and kissing her, his lips massaging her own, while her heart monitor went wild. When they finally broke apart, breathlessly, Sasuke glanced at her heart monitor, an infuriatingly cocky smirk on his face.
"New rule. You're not allowed to say or do anything to me until I'm unplugged from this." She muttered, mildly irritated.
"Hn." Sasuke chuckled, leaning in again, once again setting her heart monitor into a crazed rhythm, but at least temporarily, the lost, vulnerable air around him had eased a little.
Three days later, true to her promise, Lady Tsunade had Sakura in a wheelchair in an interrogation room, Sasuke at her side, while Itachi sat across from her. The room was heavy with tension, and she was particularly aware of how Sasuke refused to meet his brother's eyes.
"I was told you wanted to speak with me." Itachi began, breaking the silence.
"I was told you aided in my rescue. So I suppose I should be thanking you."
"That's unnecessary."
"Good, 'cause I wasn't going to."
Itachi cocked his head, eyeing her with his keen gaze. "How long have you two been formally together?"
"This isn't your interrogation time, it's mine. What happened between you and your family? Why did you kill them?"
Itachi glanced at Sasuke, who still wouldn't look at him. His eyes drew back to the pink haired woman in front of him. Her jade green eyes were unwavering, and incredibly clear. Even from here, he could see traces of his reflection in them. That would have been striking enough on its own, but even more so was the openness in her gaze. He could read every single emotion like it was spread out in plain text in front of him. Anger, but no judgement. Concern—likely for Sasuke—but not without empathy. She was sitting there, fully infuriated for what he'd done to his family and his little brother, but ready to listen and willing to understand. No wonder Sasuke was so in love with her. Her entirely unique beauty was also probably a contributing factor in that as well. Who knew his baby brother's type would have been so…colorful.
"I'm not sure you have clearance to know."
"She does. Tell her everything Nii-san." It was the first time Sasuke had spoken all morning, his voice coming out a little strangled.
Itachi stared at Sasuke for a second, wishing his brother would look at him just once, before his gaze trailed back to Sakura, who sat wearing the exact same expression as before. Just waiting. He supposed Tsunade wouldn't have allowed this interrogation if she didn't have clearance. He took a deep breath, and told her everything.
Sakura was silent, just listening, until Itachi completed the end of his tragic tale. After a moment, Sakura leaned back and closed her eyes. No wonder Sasuke looked so lost before, and said nothing made sense. Her own emotions were such a confusing swirl, it was horrible to imagine how Sasuke must be feeling.
"You're lucky I'm stuck in this chair for now, or I would lean over and slap you."
Itachi's brows shot up. He wasn't sure what he expected her reaction to be, but it wasn't that.
"I can't believe you just saddled Sasuke-kun with all that hate to pacify your own guilt. Before I knew everything, I wanted to punch you in the face…and maybe get a few good hits in for good measure. But, now I know why…You were asked to make an impossible decision before your brain had fully formed—who sticks a seventeen-year-old in ANBU?! I get that times were different, but the mental repercussions of black ops work are severe on an adult! Did they seriously expect a kid to be able to handle that sort of stress?! I mean, seventeen?! You weren't even of legal age of consent!"
Itachi blinked in utter bewilderment. Clearly she was mad, but for the life of him, he had no idea who she was actually mad at, at this point. Sasuke was also staring at her wide eyed, also seeming a little surprised, though far less so than him…Itachi supposed that was a good thing. He understood his girlfriend well enough, to at least somewhat anticipate this sort of reaction.
"I'm sure it seemed like a no win situation to you—no, it didn't just seem it, it was. But, you should have at least tried to explain things to Sasuke-kun. I know he was young, and it seemed like he wouldn't have been able to understand, but children understand more than we give them credit for. If you couldn't back then, then you should have tried to reach out and explain things a few years later! Manipulating him into killing you?! Were you trying to ruin his life?!"
"I admit…it was the wrong choice."
"No shit." Sakura huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting. She still wanted to smack him, but the table was too wide for her to be able to get a good angle. Being stuck in the chair was also frustrating, given that movement was how she calmed herself down. She had no outlet for her feelings at the moment.
When she looked up again, Itachi's lips were twitching, fighting back a smile. "What?" Sakura snapped in irritation, but the small huff next to her drew her attention. Sasuke was also fighting a smile, and failing, until he just gave in and began chuckling quietly.
"Sasuke-kun?"
He shook his head a little, fondness saturating his gaze. "You're so…" He chuckled lightly again.
Sakura blinked in confusion, before turning back to Itachi. The soft look he was giving his brother was unmistakable to Sakura. He loved Sasuke a lot. She felt vindicated in her assessment that Itachi had left Sasuke alive because he was unable to hurt him. Itachi had gone to great lengths to save Sasuke, even if he had made several missteps along the way that cost Sasuke his happiness for a while.
"I'm glad I was right about that." She murmured.
"Right about what?"
"That you never could have physically hurt Sasuke-kun. Leaving him alive and alone was cruel of you. But you did that because you couldn't kill him…couldn't even stomach the thought of it. It was cruel of you, but thank you for leaving him alive. I never would have gotten to meet him, if you hadn't."
"Nii-san…" Sakura turned back to Sasuke, seeing him finally holding eye contact with his brother. "I…" he seemed to close up for a second, before reaching over and grabbing Sakura's hand, interlocking their fingers. "I…don't know how to forgive you…but…you're my brother. You always have been…even…even with everything you've done…I made the biggest mistake of my life because I was so dead set on killing you. And if it weren't for Naruto…I may have thrown myself fully into darkness. There were several times I wanted to kill you when I got back…and if it weren't for…" Sasuke met her gaze, and her breath caught at the softness in his eyes. His hand squeezed hers gently, before turning back to Itachi. "I would have lost myself repeatedly if not for her…I…I don't…I haven't forgiven you, but…without you, I may have lost…" Sasuke swallowed hard. "Thank you. I…can't forgive you yet, but I'll forever be grateful to you."
Sakura's face warmed, and her heart rate picked up—thank the gods she wasn't hooked up to that damn heart monitor anymore!
If there was one thing Itachi hadn't expected, it was to be thanked by either of them, for the reasons they were thanking him for. And for his brother to articulate so much…this girl really had brought out the best in him. "So…how did you two meet?" Itachi asked, genuinely curious.
Sakura glanced up at Sasuke, immediately locking gazes. She scanned his face looking for any trace of hesitance, but Sasuke gave nothing more than a squeeze of her hand and a slight nod. That was all Sakura needed to know. He may not have forgiven Itachi yet, but he was ready to slowly start trying to let him in again. If Sasuke was ready to try moving forward with his brother, she could try as well. Whether it was love or hate, Itachi would always be a huge part of Sasuke's life, and Sasuke was a huge part of her life. Transitive property stated that Itachi would also now be a huge part of her life as well.
So Sakura turned back to the older Uchiha, and began telling him the whole story of her and Sasuke's relationship from the beginning. Sasuke never let go of her hand, but he also never took his eyes off Itachi, who was listening with rapt attention, asking questions where he could. Finally, Sakura drew to their tense talk in the car, firmly establishing their relationship, officially marking the end of the story of how they'd begun dating.
Itachi leaned forward, his gaze cautiously on Sasuke when he asked, "When I'm officially released, could I…by any chance treat you to dinner? I've…missed several occasions that I should have been there to celebrate with you." Everyone was on the same page, this would only move forward at Sasuke's discretion, at the pace he set. And that's how it should be. Sasuke was the victim here, and Itachi understood that.
After a long pause, Sasuke gave a jerky nod, before speaking. "O…Okay. But Sakura has to come too." His hand had tightened around hers so much so it may have been painful, had she not been used to Tsunade's bone crushing grip strength.
Itachi cast a quick glance to her, before agreeing. "Of course. I'd welcome the chance to get to know you better as well, Sakura-chan." That wasn't a lie. He wanted to get to know this fairy-woman who saved his brother from darkness.
"Well, I mean, yeah, I'll come, if the foods free." Sakura allowed. If Sasuke needed her there—which if his grip on her hand was any indication, he definitely did—she'd be there in an instant, but she also wasn't going to call him out like that. Next to her, she heard Sasuke let out another huff of laughter, the tension easing from his stiff body a little.
When Itachi was lead back to his holding cell, Sasuke deflated fully, before turning to Sakura, leaning in and hugging her tightly. "Thank you."
"Feeling grateful enough to let me use crutches instead of this chair?"
"Nice try." Sasuke chuckled, getting up to push her wheelchair. "You really are the worst patient."
By day one, Sakura was getting stir crazy. Having to rely on Sasuke, even just to help her to the bathroom was infuriating and embarrassing. She felt like such a burden, and couldn't help the icy crawl of insecurity, that Sasuke would grow tired of having to wait hand and foot on her like this. Not that any of his actions remotely indicated that. He was almost too attentive, there the millisecond she displayed even a little discomfort. It was embarrassing to be fussed over like that, offensive to her ferociously independent sensibilities. But even she couldn't pretend she wasn't grateful for it, particularly at night.
While they had shared a bed up until the incident, and even made love the night before the bust, Sasuke was worried about sharing a bed, and hurting Sakura's leg accidentally during shifts in their sleep. She'd tried to argue with him about it, but even she could see where he was coming from. She was a doctor and if it had been her patient, she would have recommended against sharing the bed. It was probably the least hard she fought, giving in fairly quickly. So Sakura got the bedroom while Sasuke slept on his couch.
What a mistake. The first two days, Sakura was plagued by terrible nightmares of the abandon hospital, and Kabuto and Orochimaru standing over her. She was amazed she hadn't completely screamed herself awake. The next night, she kept herself awake, too scared to go to sleep, even though she knew how bad it was for her, and how much her body needed to rest to properly recover.
The pain in her leg was exhausting, and while Sakura was no stranger to pulling multiple all nighters, her body simply didn't have it in her to do while she was recovering. And much to her dread, on night number four, she fell asleep.
Orochimaru was standing over her, his sadistic, salacious grin in place. She tried to move, but she was strapped to an operating table, and the strength she'd used to escape before was nowhere to be found in her muscles—just the opposite, there was a steady burning all through her body.
"Do you have any idea how delicious you look?" Orochimaru growled, his hand encircling her neck lightly. "My cute little monster. You're taking the treatments quite well. Just as I thought you would."
She glanced down at herself and nearly stopped breathing. Her skin was a pale green color, her fingers replaced with claws, her feet some horrible human foot-cat paw hybrid. She could feel an acute pain in her back and some wing like appendage fluttering helplessly pinned between her and the table. From what she could see, there was some sort of strange pattern on her body as well—some sort of dark purple, spiraling, crisscrossing lines that entered her line of sight at her shoulders and wrapped down her arms, torso, and legs.
Orochimaru circled to the foot of the table, undoing the strap binding her legs, and Sakura immediately tried to kick at him as hard as she could, but a sharp shooting pain in her leg and the perpetual burning in her muscles drastically cut into the force of her usually bone breaking kick. Orochimaru easily caught her leg, spreading them and retying them to the table, while she thrashed against the bindings.
"I think my little pet deserves a reward…" He cooed darkly, climbing onto the cold metal table, between her now spread legs.
Sakura screamed, fighting desperately against the restraints but to no avail. A primal, animalistic instinct, completely foreign to her, told her that she was prey, in the clutches of a predator, and her only two options were flee or submit, with fleeing off the table. There was no way in hell she was about to submit though. She screamed and shrieked, fighting with all her might as he leaned in, his tongue elongating like a snakes, before entering her mouth. Her eyes squeezed shut as she continued to scream, and when they opened, her surroundings were different.
She was in a dark room, the bed beneath her was soft and familiar, but she was too disoriented to place why. A dark figure was looming over her, as she continued to scream and thrash, tears leaking from her eyes. Her limbs were flying everywhere—they were no longer restrained, and the burning in her muscles wasn't present anymore, though there was still a sharp piercing pain in her leg.
"Sakura! Sakura, it's me! It's just me!"
She knew that voice. She blinked rapidly, her flailing slowing to a full body shaking as the dark figure came into clearer view.
Sasuke stood at the side of the bed, his pale face glowing in the dark, making it easy to see his terror at the situation. His hands kept slowly reaching towards her before pausing and dropping, as if unsure if touching her would make things better or worse.
"S-Sasuke-kun?" She gasped. That's right. She was safe. She wasn't in the abandon hospital anymore. Orochimaru had been caught. He hadn't been able to experiment on her the way her nightmare had shown her. But the imaginary fantom feeling of his snake tongue sliding into her mouth had her bolting upright, and dashing out of bed for the bathroom. She only made it two steps before the sharp pain spread through her leg and she collapsed. She ignored it though, dragging herself forward. Getting to the bathroom to empty her stomach far more important to her in the moment.
Before she could continue the crawl to the toilet, sparking unhelpful flashbacks to the abandon hospital roof, with Orochimaru standing above her smirking, an arm was around her waist, and her arm was brought around a set of strong shoulders.
Sasuke helped her rise and supported her to the bathroom, releasing her arm only when she'd grabbed either side of the toilet. He gathered her hair away from her face, while his hand gently rubbed soothing circles against her back as she threw up.
When everything was out, and her nausea settled, Sakura took the water and mouth wash Sasuke held out to her, rinsed her mouth and flushed the toilet. She leaned back against the wall, Sasuke's hand at her back guiding her the whole way. Wincing in pain from the position she'd forced her injured leg into, she straightened it out gingerly. Even so, the wave of pain that hit was almost enough for her to want to hurl again. She dragged her other leg up to her chest, her body shaking violently, tears continuing to stream from her eyes.
"Can I touch you?"
Sakura's uneven breathing hitched painfully as she remembered Sasuke's presence next to her, turning to face him slowly, and giving a sullen nod. Immediately Sasuke's arm was around her, pulling her close and carefully shifting her onto his lap, ever mindful of her leg. His arms encircled her tightly, and Sakura buried her face in one of them, letting her tears fall onto his ever-warm skin.
He didn't say anything, likely unsure of what to say, but his body seemed to intrinsically know what she needed, his arms tightening around her right when she wanted them too, loosening to allow her more easy movement when flashes of her dream and the restraints danced in her minds eyes, his fingers tracing light, gentle patterns on her upper arms when she needed something to distract her—and all without her having to say anything. Even when her breathing evened out, her body stopped shaking, and her tears stopped falling, Sasuke continued to hold her. It was a long time before Sasuke spoke, his voice quiet and soothing.
"That nurse, Seguwara…she's in love with Doctor Umeda."
Sakura blinked, calling up which nurse and which doctor Sasuke was talking about. "What makes you say that?" Her voice was quiet and weak, a little raspy from strain of screaming and throwing up.
"The way she looks at him…she always fidgets with her uniform right before he comes into the room. And she hangs on his every word."
"He's too old for her." Sakura murmured.
"It does seem to be one sided." Sasuke agreed, falling silent again. After a long while, he spoke again. "I like flowers."
The statement caught Sakura off guard, making her look up at him to see if he was messing with her. His face was dead serious. "You do?"
"They're…strong. They're these delicate plants, but some can grow even in the winter through the cold and snow, or out of pure rocks. And they never truly die, they just grow again the next season…they have their own defense mechanisms, thorns, barbs, poisons…but many of them can be medicinal and healing despite those. They're all different from each other, in shapes, structure, and color…and they're pretty."
Sakura's mind seemed to have an exorbitant amount of difficulty processing this. "You…think flowers are pretty?"
"Aa."
"That's unexpected…it doesn't really fit your image, Sasuke-kun."
"Is there a rule against moody, dark, brooding types liking flowers?" His tone was still soft, but there was a playfulness to it now. Belatedly, Sakura realized he was putting what he learned from Ino to use again. He was giving her a distraction—one that was working surprisingly well. She was feeling more calm and relaxed, though she still didn't want to talk about her nightmare. She doubted she'd feel up to that for a long while. And it wasn't like it was a mystery as to what her nightmares might contain or where they were coming from, given everything that just happened. She figured Sasuke knew that as well, which was why he wasn't even trying to bring it up.
"At least you didn't go right to the tall, dark and handsome."
"That's a given."
Sakura laughed lightly, further relaxing into him. "I like them too. Flowers. They have different meanings. The language of flowers, it's called. Ino's fluent of course. I remember it, but when you start getting into pairings and bouquets, I start to lose the plot a little."
"Color matters too, right?"
"Mhm."
"Sai's got his work cut out for him." Sasuke murmured.
"Ino can be a bit high maintenance. I'm kinda surprised Sai can keep up even a little."
"He must really like her."
"She was always his type. And she saved him—her psychological expertise were crucial in breaking Sai out of that brainwashing he'd been fed all his life." Sakura's gaze shifted to her leg, leaning forward a little to study the damage she'd done. It was inflamed, and had started bleeding again, but she hadn't popped any stitches, by some unfathomable miracle.
"Is it bad?" Sasuke asked, quietly.
"No. I just need to re-bandage it. It should be fine so long as I don't put any further stress on it."
Sasuke disentangled himself from her, and she immediately felt the absence of his body heat, but it only lasted a minute, before he was back in place behind her, setting the med kit she kept stashed in the medicine cabinet next to her.
"Do you want to do it, or do you want me to?"
"I can do it."
"I know you can, but do you want to?" Sasuke pressed.
"Yeah. Yeah I do." She wanted to remind herself of her own ability and skill. She was alive because of it. But it was something lost in her nightmares. She needed to reaffirm her own capability to herself, in wake of the nightmare where she was rendered completely powerless.
"Okay." Sasuke relented, leaning back into the wall to allow Sakura to lean forward, though he kept his hands resting lightly at her waist, ready to pull her close again once she was done. She didn't miss the slight resignation in his tone. He sounded a little disappointed that he wasn't going to be the one taking care of her. She found that a little silly, given how there was very little she could do for herself at the moment, and had to keep relying on Sasuke for everything.
She worked in silence, leaning back against him tiredly once she was done. Pain was exhausting, and the adrenaline of the night terror was wearing off. She was exhausted, but the fear of closing her eyes was creeping back in, afraid of giving a nightmare another opportunity to reach her.
"Can I carry you back to bed?" Sasuke asked gently, reading the exhaustion on her features.
"Yeah." Sakura murmured. Her muscles tensing in apprehension.
Sasuke scooped her up, cradling her like a princess, and carried her to the bed, setting her down gently. Sakura dreaded the moment he left, and she'd be alone against her mind again, but to her surprise, Sasuke headed to the other side of the bed, and climbed in.
"Do you mind if I stay here?"
"It's…it's your room." Sakura murmured, never taking her eyes off him.
"Our." He corrected, before lying on his side facing her. "I've been having trouble sleeping the past few days."
"Sorry—the couch must—"
"The couch is fine. I just sleep better when I'm next to you."
Damn, how did he say stuff like that so easily? It was such a change from the Sasuke who could barely tell her he liked her back in his car, ages ago. But the feeling was mutual. She felt safer with his presence there, and knowing he could wake her up before her nightmares ever reached this level again.
"Me too…please stay."
"Aa." He reached out, grabbing Sakura's hand and bringing it in towards him. Cuddling her too directly could risk hurting her leg, so this loose tethering was the next best option. She wanted more, but knew why this would have to be all for now. Simply knowing he was right there was enough.
Her eyes drifted shut, her body relaxing, to the feeling of Sasuke's thumb drawing gentle circles against the back of her hand.
By one week in, the icy crawl had become an icy sprint, her insecurity surging. "This really doesn't bother you?" Sakura asked, wishing she could go seven passes on the beam at Leaf Hurricane.
Sasuke, who had been essentially placed on paid leave by Tsunade, glanced over at her from where he was cooking in the kitchen. "You don't put the volume up very loud in the first place, so why would it bother me?"
Sakura looked back at the TV for a second, processing his words. She currently had on a documentary about some ancient alien conspiracy theory—some supposed alien tribe called the Ōtsosuki, who had paid repeated visits to earth to farm human energy, or something. A theory Sakura found to be utterly ridiculous.
"I didn't mean about that." Sakura said, after a beat, turning back to him.
"Hn?"
"Taking care of me."
"Why would taking care of my girlfriend bother me?"
"Because at the moment, your girlfriend's about as useful and independent as a sack of rice."
"Rice is very useful and versatile."
"You know what I mean Sasuke-kun."
"Actually I don't." Sasuke turned off the burner before coming over to the couch to sit next to her, his arm automatically going around her. "Is this actually something you're worried about?"
"You can't tell me you wouldn't be if the situation was reversed."
Sasuke considered that for a second before shrugging. "I'd feel guilty."
"See?"
Sasuke looked down at her, his coal eyes glinting with confusion. It was a look that was strangely innocent and cute, despite those words seeming to clash with Sasuke's personality on the whole. "You're feeling guilty?"
Sakura opened her mouth to tell him yes, but the words died on her tongue. She felt a little guilty, but that wasn't what was bothering her. At its core, this wasn't guilt eating at her, it was fear. Fear Sasuke would grow tired of her. Fear that this 24/7 exposure to her at her most pathetic would turn him off the idea of continuing to be together. Fear that the honeymoon phase would shatter, and they wouldn't be able to move passed it.
"No, it's not guilt." She murmured, swallowing hard. If she was feeling this way, it was better to address it now so they could talk it over rather than secretly hold onto it. Her voice was much stronger and more stable when she spoke next. "I'm afraid you'll get tired of me, that waiting on me like this is too burdensome and annoying."
Sasuke was silent for a long moment, before speaking. "You're familiar with psychology."
"Yeah."
"Would you say I'm single minded, prone to hyper fixation and incredibly stubborn?"
"Yeah." Sakura agreed, unsure of where he was going with this, but unable to help the slight chuckle from escaping.
"Do you know what that means for you?" Sasuke had that slight smirk on that made her body heat uncomfortably, and her stomach flutter.
"Do tell."
"They'll be no getting tired of you. I'm hyper fixated on you—on being with you. And that's not…recent. I've been fixated on you since the sound trio case, even if I was too stupid and hyper stuck on revenge to realize it. Even while I was…gone, I never considered any other women. They were around…I had the option. But they weren't you. They weren't kind, and patient, annoying, short-tempered, funny, volatile, brilliant, reckless, insecure, dedicated, strong, stubborn, over-analytical, graceful, beautiful…"
Sakura stared at him, wide eyed, barely breathing. It took too much effort to disengage her eyes from his, letting out a small huff. "Oh, good. If you only listed good things, I'd be worried you had me on too high of a pedestal."
"You aren't perfect Sakura." Sasuke chuckled, with that unfathomably soft look that was only for her. "But all of your flaws…at the core, it's all because of how deeply you care…about everything. There's no getting tired of that, Sakura. This…taking care of you…I like doing this." He murmured, reaching out to cup her cheek. "I…was always alone here, and so stuck on my hatred…There wasn't peace or a future, but when you're here…there is."
Peace. She hadn't really felt that before either. Between her bullies when she was a child, her parents belittlement, financial stress, the stress of the KPD and hospital, and all the angst and useless feelings she'd harbored through all of it, Sasuke's leaving, her patient being kidnapped, and becoming a the target of a deranged mad scientist, she couldn't remember the last time she felt at peace…at least, not on her own. But since Sasuke first brought her here, after her apartment was broken into, she felt safe here with him, reassured, at peace.
"Sasuke-kun…?"
"Hn?"
"What if…what if I never left?"
"What—?" Sasuke breathed out, hope but hesitance radiating off him in equal parts.
"What if I stayed here. with you. Forever? I'm at peace, too, when I'm with you. And I know you already asked me to stay here, and I already said yes, but…but what if we make that a permanent arrangement?"
Sasuke stared at her for so long, she thought she must have said something unbelievably dumb. Her heart started to sink painfully, when he slowly shook his head, but then he finally spoke. "Damnit Sakura, you keep beating me to it. I wanted to be the one to propose to you first."
"P-Propose?!" Sakura gasped, her face beet red. "That wasn't a propos—" actually, it kinda was. She hadn't said let's get married, or be my husband, she actually more or less skipped straight to the wedding vows…but the semantics aside, the idea was the same. She asked to be with him until the end. That's what marriage was. "Eh…yeah, so remember a minute ago when you said I was reckless?" She laughed awkwardly, rubbing at the back of her head self-consciously.
"I would say this was more impatient than reckless."
"Ah, but you cited patience as one of my virtues."
"I may have to reconsider."
"Too late." Sakura laughed, the gripping fear that had spurred this conversation finally deteriorating fully.
Sasuke was smiling at her, but his smile soon slipped, his face growing serious. "Not yet…I need to work through things with Itachi first, and deal with Danzo…but I'm going to ask you to marry me."
"I get it. And I'm going to say yes when you do." Orochimaru was behind bars. Itachi was back and he and Sasuke were working on their relationship. Danzo was a problem, and Kabuto was still out there, but neither of those assholes would keep her or Sasuke from being with each other. It was time for their future.
Author's note: Almost done. I promise this story will get a proper conclusion...thank you for waiting so long for it. I hope the confrontation with Orochimaru didn't feel too anti-climactic. I was trying to walk the line between realistic and badass. Speaking of which, it's probably not very realistic that their helicopter got there so fast, but oh well...I really like the idea that Sasuke and Sakura's relationship is built on backing each other up. Whether it's in a fight or just support against nightmares, they're always going to put the ball in the other's court. Sakura already made some opportunities during her fight with Orochimaru, so Sasuke was gonna work around that, rather than force his way forward and risk screwing something up for her that would put her in an even more dangerous position. Sakura can see how hard it is for him to talk about what happened with Itachi and how much it's shaken him, so she's not about to make him relive it if he's not ready, nor would she run off and talk with Itachi about it before getting Sasuke's side or permission to do so. She'd rather wait than put pressure on him or hear any side but his own first. He wants to be the one to take care of her-he enjoys it, but he also get's how hard this is for Sakura, and how letting her take care of herself where she can is important and necessary. I wasn't even trying to be subtle with his whole "I like flowers" distraction. While I do think he does like flowers, and I feel like there's a good amount of canon evidence for that, that was heavy handedly about Sakura. I did think it was important to see that distracting Sakura when she's upset wasn't some one off trick he got from Ino. That's what Sakura needs when she's upset, and he'll do it whenever it's necessary. I know in that moment, he's asking for consent to touch her after he already has been touching her, but I think there's an important distinction between crisis and comfort. While Sakura is struggling to get to the bathroom, she's injured, panicked, and needs to get there. He helps her get there with the wounded soldier carry. It's not intimate, it's not an act of comfort, that was a necessity. He holds her hair back while she's puking, and once she's thrown up, he's helping to support her as she leans back, because her leg is still injured. Now she needs comfort, and this is where the distinction in types of touch are important. This would need to be more intimate and caring, and he needs to make sure she's comfortable with that before acting on it.
Thank you again for waiting and for reading this far! :)