276chapter tw elv e
The sun was well up in the sky once they finished cleaning his family's house. Sakura's parents had gone back to their own house half an hour ago, leaving her behind to make sure that Sasuke was settled in and okay. Kizashi had given them both a hug and Mebuki had given them both goodnight/morning kisses, which seemed to startle the young Uchiha. The surprised look on his face would've made Sakura laugh it wasn't so… sad. He hasn't felt these small displays of parental affection for years now.
Now, the couple sat on the newly-polished engawa, facing the ocean beyond the backyard's low fence. At 7a.m., the rolling waves were clear and blue, sparkling with soft early morning sunlight, the moon nothing but a frosty imprint in the sky. Sakura was nestled between his legs, a blanket wrapped around the two of them as she cradled a steaming mug of hot chocolate in her cold hands. She leaned back further against his chest and rested her head against his shoulder. She felt his arm tighten around her, his nose in her hair.
She sighed in contentment. This felt nice, simple. She listened to the relentless waves, the gentle breeze, Sasuke's steady breathing, and the calm quiet of the empty house. She hasn't felt this light and relaxed in so long. It felt good to be so close to him without worrying about getting caught. But just before she felt herself getting lulled into sleep, a thought struck her.
She was home. She was in the place where she could simply be. And it was only starting to occur to her that Sasuke didn't really know her. Just like how there was a gap between the little boy she watched drive away from here and the young man who boldly confessed his feelings to her, there was a disconnect between the awkward high school girl he last saw and the woman that she was now. She had gone through dramatic teenage phases and periods of wild experimentation and self-searching, and she grew from these experiences. She had changed. She was different.
She knew that he had some ideal version of her in that pretty head of his and she worried that she would fail to live up to her. Not to mention that he was meeting her friends later that day. Only God knows what those fools were up to. She had tried to refuse Ino's invitation but for some reason, her boyfriend had spoken for the both of them and said yes without even thinking about it, to her utter mortification.
What was the saying? Something about how your choice of friends reflect who you really are as a person. Right. Utterly mortified.
*＊✿❀ ❀✿＊*
It was weird. The last time they had walked these streets together, his head barely reached her shoulder and she could easily pick him up and carry him on her back. Now, Sasuke towered over her and his hand covered hers as he held it. She loved where they were at now, but she couldn't help but feel nostalgic and miss how little he had been. She remembered, for one summer, he had even lost his tooth. He wore the brightest smile in that time.
"You're making a face," he said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
She looked up and found him frowning at her. Sheepishly, she explained, "I was just thinking about how cute you were when you were smaller." To which his judgemental expression slowly morphed into mortification, his face close to a grimace. She only grinned widely as she touched upon another memory. "Ne, ne, remember when I used to beg you to call me onee-chan?"
He paused in his steps, frown deepening. "Do you really want me to call you that now?"
She nodded eagerly, green eyes wide with anticipation. But he only smirked and raised a hand to flick her painfully on the forehead. "You're dirty," he teased, before walking ahead.
She felt her entire face heat up at the insinuation. "Hey! That is so not what I was going for!"
Sakura huffed before picking up her feet. She had to jog to catch up to him−damn his long legs. But he stopped in his tracks, so abruptly that she bumped into his arm. She was about to ask him what his problem was when she realized that they were standing in front of the public library.
He stared at the building before them for a long moment before turning his head to the other side, across the street. It was the little convenience store they went to frequently.
This had been where most of their eventful summer days began. Itachi, being the huge nerd that he was, always needed to go to the library to pick up a book for something to do in their downtimes. Sasuke and Sakura would always wait for him by the store, not because they didn't like reading, but because they were too loud when they were together and Itachi was embarrassed to have them with him in such a quiet setting. So the two of them would buy snacks from Chiyo-baachan's store and sit on the crates outside, waiting for the older Uchiha.
Then they would move on to the real fun. On particularly hot days, they would go to the ocean for a swim. Or they would go to the other side of the island where Tenzo-san tended to his rice paddies. On some days, he would take the three of them to the barn and have them help out with the animals−more often than not, they ended up just playing around. And for some reason, Itachi particularly liked the chickens.
Sakura nudged Sasuke with her elbow. She cocked her head to the side, pointing to the store. "Do you wanna share a popsicle?"
She half-expected him to reject the idea. The two of them were already wearing three layers of clothes. This certainly wasn't the weather for a popsicle. But instead, he lowered his face into the high collar of his thermal jacket and shyly tugged at her hand. The gesture, along with the reddening tips of her ears, made her laugh loudly.
Uchiha Sasuke might not be as small as he used to be, but he was still the same baby.
They entered the store and she walked straight to the back where the freezer was, while he looked around the shelves and walked down the small aisles. She knew that not much has really changed in this place, in all of Suna, as a matter of fact. She wondered if he thought of it as a good thing or a bad thing.
She grabbed a melon-flavored popsicle, paid for it at the cash register, and exited the store to wait for him by the crates. He followed her out not long after and took a seat next to her.
"The… lady is different…" he said, before shoving the tip of his popsicle into his mouth. He visibly shivered from the cold.
Sakura hummed thoughtfully, giving her popsicle a lick before responding. "Chiyo-baachan passed away, maybe like… three years ago?"
He nodded solemnly and said nothing. She moved closer to him for warmth. She linked her arm with his and slid her hand down to fit her fingers in the spaces between his, and gave him a comforting squeeze. The old woman had been particularly fond of Sasuke, pinching his cheeks and giving him a free konpeito every time they came around. Sakura only imagined that he had been fond of her, too.
"Is everything what you expected it to be?" she asked, twirling the now empty and slightly damp popsicle stick in her fingers.
He looked straight ahead at the library across from them, almost pensively. "I don't know what I expected."
She looked at him curiously for a moment before they settled into a comfortable silence. She clutched his hand tighter in an attempt to keep warm. His hand was so much warmer compared to her frozen fingers. As if taking pity on her, he began rubbing her hand with his thumbs. She hummed pleasantly.
"How do you manage to be so far away from home?" he asked quietly.
She turned to look at him, a little surprised by the question. Then she realized exactly what it was that troubled him.
Sakura had moved out of Suna twice in her young life. The first time was when she left for university. She had been ecstatic then, excited to be out of the countryside, to be living on her own for the first time. The second was just this year, when she decided to pursue a teaching career in Konoha. This time was significantly harder than the first, more terrifying. She was going out into the world as a full-fledged adult, an independent woman, in a big city where she didn't know anyone but two boys she hadn't even been sure remembered her. She had never felt so small, so unsure of herself.
She reached into her back pocket and fished out her phone, then waved it in the air in front of him. "It's like home in my pocket," she said. "I keep in touch with everyone. I still tell my best friend everything. I call my parents when I miss them, or when I need help figuring stuff out in my apartment." She sniffed; whether it was from the cold or her sentimentality, she wasn't sure. "I do get homesick, but… I'm not lonely. I have you guys! I… have you…"
"You'll be okay!" She clapped her hands over his cheeks. He complained about her cold hands but she only tightened her hold on his face, squishing his cheeks further. "I'll call you every night," she promised, "and I'll come over when I can−what's a few hours' drive, right?"
Sasuke looked at her with something akin to surprise, her dark eyes weighing on her. Then she froze, realizing what she'd said. Her fingers folded into fists and she slowly lowered her hands to her lap, before pushing them into her sweatshirt's pocket for warmth. She kept her eyes on her feet.
This was the first time she's addressed what would happen to them when he moved out. But it wasn't a conversation she was ready to have yet, not when she still wasn't certain what this was.
"And I'm sure Itachi and Shisui will, too," she added quickly, chuckling nervously. "I don't think your brother can last three days away from you−I can't even imagine how you talked him into letting you come here."
She peered at him nervously to gauge his reaction to her backtracking, but the look on his face was unreadable. Then a corner of his mouth tilted upwards, though his eyes remained mirthless. He pulled her hand out of her pocket and pulled her up to her feet. "Where should we go next?" he asked, stuffing their clasped hands into the pocket of his own jacket. "You didn't tell me that it would be too cold to do anything this time of the year."
She breathed in deeply and blinked a couple of times to clear her head. "We could stop by my parents' shop," she offered.
Without further discussion, they began walking in the direction of her parents' little teahouse. Sakura's mouth practically began to water as she thought about the sweets that her parents had in store. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to get the anmitsu or a strawberry daifuku. But a warm taiyaki sounded good right now, too. Sasuke winced as he listened to her debate with herself. He hated sweets. He just wanted to get a cup of tea, especially after his insides had been frozen by the popsicle they just shared.
They tried for a lighthearted conversation but she couldn't bring herself to end their talk there, leaving him more anxious about his future than before. "Sasuke-kun," she said with a change in her tone. He turned to look at her, eyes patient as he waited for her to speak. Always patient. She squeezed his hand and pulled him to a halt, before raising herself on the tips of her toes to touch her lips to his. It's the warmest she's felt the entire morning. "You will be okay."
He squeezed her hand in return. "Aa."
In the end, Sakura ended up getting two orders of strawberry shortcake, one of Kizashi's many specialties. Her eyes closed as she moaned gloriously as the soft texture melted on her tongue and the rich, sweet flavor exploded in her mouth. Last night, she realized how much she missed her mother's cooking. But it was only now that she realized how much she missed her father's baking. It was like her entire childhood, in her belly.
"This is so good," she said, almost tearfully. She looked up at Sasuke, who stood over her with a white apron tied around his waist, holding a tray with her tea on it.
He looked down at her blankly. "This is free labor, isn't it," he said flatly. She nibbled on her fork and peered up at him shyly.
Sasuke was Hana Teahouse & Bakery's barista for the day.
Saturdays were always busy for the Harunos and the place had been buzzing when the couple arrived. Mebuki was balancing trays on her arms and nearly bending over backwards to serve the customers, so Sasuke grabbed two of the serving trays from her while Sakura manned the cash register and took orders. But in a town as small as Suna, news that there was a handsome new barista at the shop spread quickly, and their patrons doubled.
Sakura sighed in defeat. She swore she was going to have a talk with her mother about this−she's sure there were laws against what she had just put her student through. But for now, she settled with, "I'll give you extra credit on the final."
He stared at her for a moment longer. Then he yanked the fork out of her hand and scooped up a big chunk of the shortcake, so big that her face was smeared with whipped cream when he shoved it into her mouth. "Hurry up and finish eating so I can take my break."
*＊✿❀ ❀✿＊*
And here came the part that she had been dreading−but also the part that, in the back of her mind, she'd been looking forward to.
Just before Sakura and Sasuke left home, Mebuki had warned her not to be a bad influence on the young Uchiha. He had looked at her curiously then and she avoided looking at him at all. "We're not going to do anything, kaa-san," she insisted, exasperated.
This prompted Kizashi to bark with laughter, such laughter that he had to wipe tears at the corners of his eyes. He clapped her on the shoulder. "With your friends? Not gonna do anything, my ass!" Then he turned to Sasuke. "Stay in moderation," he had said in all seriousness, which only confused the boy all the more.
Sasuke was thrumming with curiosity now, she could feel it, as they stood outside of Shikamaru's apartment door. She raised her hand to knock, but hesitated. She quickly turned to Sasuke instead, holding him by the shoulders. "I have to warn you," she started slowly. "My friends are crazy and annoying."
"Have you seen my friends?"
"You're right." She let go of him and faced the door with uncertainty once again. And in a small voice, she added, "Listen, these guys are… well, they might offer you some things. Don't feel like you have to take them. Don't feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing, okay?"
His brows shot up slightly and she knew that she was only egging his curiosity on. But she just didn't quite feel that he was prepared to mingle with the kind of people she did. "Are you giving me a lecture about peer pressure right now, sen-sei?"
The title made her cheeks hot. She opened her mouth to retort but he had already raised his hand and knocked on the door, making her eyes widen in alarm. Not even a second later, the door swung open and Ino clasped her hands together happily, announcing their arrival to everyone else in the house. She kissed Sasuke on the cheek in greeting before pulling Sakura into a tight hug.
"Gee, keep it down, woman. You're gonna alarm the neighbors."
Nara Shikamaru emerged through the bead curtain that led out to the engawa. She reached around Ino and bumped fists with the woman she held captive. Chouji followed soon after and tried to give Sakura a hug, as well, but the needy blonde blocked him protectively, so he settled with a simple hello. Temari, however, seemed to have already had her eyes set on the newcomer standing closest to the door.
Ino rested her chin on Sakura's shoulder and she wrapped her arms around the pinkette's waist, hugging her from behind. Sasuke's temple twitched in response, as though irritated that she was snaked around his girlfriend. Smiling sheepishly at him, Sakura began her introductions.
Next to her was Shikamaru, the gracious host for the night. He was quite possibly the smartest yet laziest person she knew. Next to him was her girlfriend Temari, a year older than all of them and one of the most badass women she's ever had the pleasure of meeting and befriending. Then there was Chouji, Shikamaru's partner in crime. He was the best of them, friend-shaped like a capybara.
Finally, she squirmed out of Ino's embrace and sidled up next to Sasuke, linking their arms and pressing herself against him. "This is Uchiha Sasuke," she said. She was mildly surprised by how proud she sounded and how excited she was to introduce him to her friends as "−my boyfriend."
Ino squealed and Temari's brow arched elegantly. Shikamaru stepped forward and shook Sasuke's hand before clapping him on the shoulder.
They pulled the couple into the apartment, getting tangled in the bead curtain in the process. The boys whisked Sasuke into the kitchen for a drink−"Knowing these girls," she heard Chouji say as they went, "they're gonna need a minute or ten to themselves to scream about things."
Sasuke didn't resist their pull but he looked over his shoulder to meet her eyes, as if to ask for permission. Sakura gave him a thumbs up just as she herself was dragged into the living room and pushed down onto the couch. She raised her brow at the ensemble before her. Tonight's paraphernalia was neatly arranged on the low coffee table; a grinder, a lighter, and two now-empty cigar wrappers−the weed must still be with Shikamaru.
She looked up and found his girlfriend pinning her with a look. "What?" Sakura asked.
Temari rolled her eyes, grin widening. "Come on, there's always a catch with you." She raised her hands and began counting off on her fingers. "Hidan was a gangster, Sasori was obsessed with puppets, Deidara was an arsonist−and looked way too much like Yamanaka−and Lee… is Lee…"
Sakura pouted. She thought Lee was the biggest sweetheart out of all the guys she dated in the past. Ino sat down next to her and crossed her legs, and she winced. The blonde always did that when she knew something good was coming. Sakura exhaled heavily and rolled her eyes. She kept her eyes to the ceiling to avoid looking at her two girlfriends. "He's my student," she murmured.
Temari looked at her incredulously, her mouth wide open in disbelief and awe. She looked at Ino once as if for confirmation before punching Sakura in the shoulder and falling onto the couch next to her. "You bitch," she hissed. "You bad bitch!"
She groaned in response, but couldn't quite fight the smile on her lips. "Stop, I'm not very proud of that aspect."
They all started to hit and slap each other, until the two of them began leaning against Sakura, hugging her. She reached up and touched the arms around her as she was unable to hug them back in their position. "I missed you guys!" she said tearfully. They returned the sentiment with two lip gloss-sticky kisses to her cheeks.
And that was how the three boys walked in on them, a mass of limbs and violent displays of affection.
Sasuke handed her a mason jar−because in this house, they used mugs and mason jars instead of teen-movie red plastic cups because they care about the environment−before sitting on the couch opposite from her because it was quite obvious he wasn't going to get his girlfriend back anytime soon.
Shikamaru cleared his throat and sat closer to the coffee table, and began to roll a joint. He worked with the expert fingers of someone who could do this even in their sleep. He tipped his chin towards Sasuke. "You ever tried one of these, kid?"
He shook his head in response before turning to Sakura with a look of surprise. This was it, she thought, she was shattering his expectations. She wondered how far he would let her go until he realized that he wasn't the girl he fell in love with anymore.
Shikamaru placed his finished product into his mouth momentarily just to light it, before handing it over to the young man. Sasuke only stared at it for a long moment, before taking it in between his fingers. He sniffed it cautiously and his nose crinkled in response. Chouji snickered and told him to ignore the foul, skunk-like smell.
Black met green and she meant to tell him not to force himself to smoke it if he didn't want to, but he's already brought the joint up to his mouth. His eyes were smoldering behind the thin rise of smoke and she felt her mouth run dry. He held her gaze as he inhaled, brows furrowing slightly from the burn, and lips parted as he breathed in deeper. He held it in for a moment before exhaling the smoke out of his mouth. It was the single most erotic thing she's ever seen.
And she should have expected this, him taking it like a pro. Uchiha Sasuke wasn't going to cough his lungs out like she had her first time, he already had a bad smoking habit. Nonetheless, he did cough up some smoke, but he still looked attractive doing it. Shit, he's too hot.
*＊✿❀ ❀✿＊*
Sakura held a mason jar of Temari's special concoction in one hand and half a blunt in the other. At this point in the night, they were all already slumped and sunken deep in the couches, their conversations going off on multiple tangents, laughing at nothing in particular, with both the TV and the radio playing at low volumes in the background.
Sasuke laughed a lot when he was high, and Sakura found herself falling in love with the sound. He was more laid back this way and she could see the boy that he truly was rather than the dignified Uchiha he was raised to be. Ino was talking fast and loud in her ear, and laughing even louder like she always did when she was high. Shikamaru had closed his eyes and retreated into his own space, humming to the music with an entirely different tune. Chouji was beginning to grumble about munchies, listing off all the food he was craving at the moment only to moan that it was too late for any restaurants to be open. Temari had her leg thrown over Sakura's thighs and she spoke slowly as she talked politics and existentialism. And Sakura tried to follow the conversations that were happening simultaneously around her, she really did. But all she could do was giggle.
She leaned against Ino, who shifted her position and opened her arms to receive her. She missed this. The carelessness, the irresponsibility.
One thing about being a teacher was that she felt that she was no longer allowed to indulge in these habits of hers, no longer allowed to misbehave. She was meant to be someone her students looked up to, after all, so she had to be a good example for the youth. And yet here she was, getting crossfaded with a student she was dating.
Sasuke excused himself and slowly rose from his seat, stopping abruptly and holding his hands out to steady himself. His surroundings must be spinning. With careful steps, he followed Chouji's instructions to find the bathroom. Ino's blue eyes followed him out of the room and once he was out of earshot, she held onto Sakura's arm tightly. "Forehead," she said excitedly. "You have to talk shit about your students right now. Come on, it's high school! There's always tea to spill!"
She thought hard about it. Her students' private lives wasn't something she was at liberty to share with her own friends just to gossip and poke fun−but she found herself talking about Class President Hyuuga anyway. She had taken quite a special interest in the boy, ever since his close friend Tenten began talking to her about how much she liked him but how painfully dense he was. Once, Tenten had straight up asked him to go out after school and Neji had brought his little cousin along because they usually went home together.
Sakura had grown really fond of the girl, who would usually stay after class just to chat with her. But dense as the boy was, the all-knowing teacher knew that he did harbor the same feelings towards Tenten, he was just too emotionally constipated to express himself properly.
Shikamaru snorted and Chouji said, "That reminds me of Ino and that guy−what was his name again?"
Ino was already fuming but Temari answered nonetheless, "Sai!"
They all burst into laughter, remembering how much effort Ino had put into getting him to notice her only for all her shots to be deflected.
By the time Sasuke returned, Temari had taken his spot and was cuddling with her boyfriend. Sakura patted the spot next to her and moved away from Ino to lean against him instead. She sighed comfortably as his arm went around her shoulders to hold her against him.
Soon enough, they were reminiscing about their own high school experiences. But there seemed to be a bias in her friends' storytelling since they all seemed to be centering around Sakura−hey, remember that time Sakura spray painted the principal's car after he told her to dye her hair a more natural color? Remember when Sakura was caught making out with an upperclassman in the janitor's closet? In second year, we broke into the school swimming pool at night and the cops came and Sakura decided to take one for the team. She became, like, a legend after that… among other things…
They seemed to be really keen on exposing this side of her to her boyfriend, so she pushed her face into the material of his sweatshirt to hide her reddening face, both from mortification and inebriation. So she wasn't the clean-cut high school girl she knew Sasuke thought she would be. But don't get it twisted; Sakura had graduated high school with flying colors. As much as she had been the school's top troublemaker, she had also been their top student. Which was really what made her such a threat, she thought smugly.
Sasuke listened intently to the stories. And now that he was more expressive than ever, she could clearly see the incredulity or fond amusement or, more often, the flat-out judgement on his face. And at some point, their positions had shifted and he now leaned against her, sunken in his seat with his legs outstretched and wide apart in front of him. He rested his head heavily on her shoulders and his laughter eventually died down into small hiccup-like chuckles.
"Are you okay?" Sakura asked as they went deeper into the night.
Ino was already crying over her most recent breakup, Shikamaru and Temari were not-discreetly making out while they slow dance in a corner, and Chouji was already snoring on the other couch.
"'Mshleepy…" Sasuke grumbled.
She touched his face and cooed at him and Shikamaru tore his mouth from his girlfriend momentarily and told her to take him to his room to sleep it off. The couple held each other up, swaying as they went. Every movement they took felt too fast as the room continued to spin around them. They continued to sway and stumble and tumble until eventually they found the right door and gracelessly fell into Shikamaru's bed.
Sakura has never felt so good in her life, so comfortable in a bed. She must have elbowed Sasuke as they fell, but he just laughed.
She crawled onto his outstretched arm and laid her head on his shoulder, her hand on his chest. His eyes were closed, his long, pretty lashes fluttering. She reached out and traced the strong line of his jaw with her index finger, going up to his high cheekbones. She cupped his cheek and turned his face so that he was facing her and his heavy eyes fluttered open slightly.
His arm underneath her curled against her back, his hand settling on her waist with his fingers just under her sweatshirt.
"Do you really love me?" she asked, voice barely above a whisper. A quiet snort escaped him, then he nodded lazily. Through his heavy eyelids, she could see his dark eyes shining with the faintest hint of a smile. "But you don't even know me."
He moved to lie on his side so that he was facing her. This close, her eyes could only focus on his mouth. "I don't know you," he agreed, making her heart sink momentarily. His thumb brushed the skin above the waistband of her pants. The simple contact made her shiver. "But I want to."
"You're still the you that I know, in the ways that matter." He threaded his fingers through her hair as he spoke. She sighed pleasantly, sinking further into him. She could fall in love with him like this, she thought. "You're still the one who wiped my tears away when I scraped my knee. The one who taught me how to ride a bike. The one who held my hand when I was too scared to jump into the river. You made me soup when I was sick… gave me a failing grade in chem… gives me shit for skipping class…" His mouth turned up into a lazy, lopsided grin and she felt herself melting. "You're still the most annoying woman I know."
And she could feel her eyes watering. Gods, she was too high. "Why were you crying back then?" he whispered.
"Back when?"
"When I first told you…"
Oh. She could remember it vividly, how he'd found her crying in her car. He held her as she sobbed. This boy who loved her, holding her as she cried over his brother. And she had selfishly clung onto him then, much like she was selfishly clinging onto him now. He had also touched her as gently, as tenderly, as he was touching her now. "I… told Itachi how I felt about him."
"Oh." He seemed unperturbed, his eyes more focused on her mouth than what she was saying. The weight of the statement probably hadn't hit him because something else was hitting. The hand on her waist had gone considerably higher up her shirt, now tracing shapes on her abdomen. He dipped his head to nuzzle her neck, which made her giggle. Her skin tingled wherever his lips touched. "What's the hardest drug you've ever done?"
She paused thoughtfully. "I tried acid once…"
He gave a small laugh. "And here I thought you were an absolute nerd in high school, like nii-san."
"You're the nerd," she shot back, playfully punching him in the shoulder.
He looked at her for a long moment, the twinkling mirth in his eyes slowly shifting into something more devastating. He moved to lean over her and she let him push her onto her back as he hovered above her, the hand that had been cradling his face dropped to the side of his neck. She could feel the burning in his eyes, stirring reactions in her lower stomach.
They were too high, too drunk, too lost in sensations to think straight. We shouldn't, she thought, just as she pulled him down. We really shouldn't, she thought, as he slanted his mouth over hers and she held him close. The hands that caged her in moved to roam her body. His hands, touching everywhere, his tongue on her skin, it was a sensory overload. High as a kite, Sakura was nothing but a sensitive mass of nerves.
She felt a slight chill as her shirt bunched up over her chest though his hands didn't go higher than the band of her bra, but the cold was quickly remedied when he pressed himself flush against her.
Sasuke's breathing was hot and ragged as he found himself between her legs, his front pressed firmly against hers. She gasped at the contact, nails digging into his shoulder as she felt the hardness in his pants. They stilled for a moment, surprised by the sensation and how far they were going, but neither of them cared. He grabbed her by the neck and the action was enough to make her moan, to make her ache with want. He kissed her deeply and fully, fervently devouring her.
She gasped as he moved against her, grounding into her once more. But she didn't quite have him where she wanted him yet. She locked her thighs around his hips, halting his movements. She heard a small growl next to her ear and she swore she was soaked between her thighs. "Like this," she breathed. She wrapped her legs around him and crossed her ankles over his back. Then she pushed his hips into hers, angled so that she could feel his hard length right on her clit.
Sakura threw her head back in pleasure and almost immediately, she felt gentle nips along the sensitive skin. He moved back and forth between her legs, his hands gripping her hips tight enough to bruise. "Fuck," he rasped as he bowed into her neck. "Shit, Sakura."
Her mouth parted in a silent cry as he sucked at the skin above her collarbone, making her back arch involuntarily and pressing herself further against him. She moaned his name and his hand clamped down on her clothed breast, squeezing hard. Gods, she wanted him. Inside her.
Dry humping her student while they were under the influence of drugs and alcohol? How many lines had she crossed?
And yet she couldn't stop her hips from rubbing against him, following his rhythm. The way Sasuke gasped profanities harshly and groaned deliciously into her ear made it all the more harder for her to control herself.
She moaned loudly at a particularly hard thrust. His body stiffened for a moment, so minute that she didn't pay attention. Then he began holding her hips down as if to stop her from moving, but feeling him pin her down as he breathed hotly down her neck only made her want him more. She squirmed beneath him, desperate to feel him flush against her again. She was beginning to whine and whimper, and she heard him take a deep breath, before pressing his forehead against hers. And only at this proximity did she see the agonized look on his face.
Immediately, her arousal gave way to panic and worry.
"Are you okay?" she asked quickly, voice thick with concern. She cupped his face gently in her hands.
"Yeah, I just…" The expression on his face was close to a grimace. "I don't think I can stop if we keep going."
She felt herself soften at that. "I'm not asking you to."
She brushed a thumb along his lower lip and she could see the conflict in his eyes, how he warred with himself for control. Finally, he held her hand away from his face, lowering it to the bed. "I want to be sober for this."
Her mouth parted in surprise. Suddenly, guilt and shame flooded through her. She hadn't even considered that, hadn't considered what this would have meant to Sasuke. He lowered himself to embrace her and she locked her hands over his back, holding him tight. "Me too," she said. "I'm sorry. I got… carried away."
Her inebriation caught up with her once again. She closed her eyes as the room began to spin and Sasuke rolled off of her and plopped down onto the bed. She could hear her friends' voices from the living room and their own heavy breathing. When she opened her eyes again, she tried not to look at the bulge straining painfully against his pants with so much yearning.
"I'm cold," she muttered instead, reaching out and feeling for Shikamaru's blanket. Sasuke sat up and picked it up from somewhere at the foot of the bed. He laid the blanket out on top of her and tucked it in at her sides before he started gently rolling her, turning her every which way. Before she could voice her confusion, he had finished and she'd realized how warm and snug she was in a blanket burrito. It felt like a tight hug.
"Stop," she cried, "I'm too high I'm actually gonna burst into tears if you give me affection."
He chuckled, rolling his eyes at her. Sasuke planted a kiss on her forehead before excusing himself to go the bathroom to… take care of something, she could only guess.
They were going to have one hell of a morning. But for tonight, she fell asleep with his arm and leg draped over her burrito.
a/n: didn't have the energy to proofread so i apologize for errors.
also, i realized that some people might not be comfortable with the use of recreational drugs in this chapter. i'm from california so this is pretty much the norm for me but i do understand that not all cultures are as open or accepting on the topic.
