Chapter 20

-Sakura's POV-

"I just can't believe that you, of all people, would jump Sasuke's bones the moment you wake up after collapsing, Sakura!"

"For the hundredth time, Ino, it wasn't what it looked like," I glared up at the ceiling as I lay in bed as my best friend dressed.

She didn't even care that both Uchiha brothers were still in the room as she shrugged off her pajamas before bending down to sift through our small pile of clean clothes for something to wear. Sai sure didn't seem to mind as he sat at the edge of the bed and watched her in silence.

We'd all already freshened up, me included, albeit with a lot of help from Ino, and I wondered why she hadn't just gotten dressed in the bathroom.

The blond stood back up and tugged a flannel shirt onto her arms before starting to button it up as she gave me a look that said she definitely didn't believe me, "I'm not blind. I literally saw you guys." She gave Sai a flirty grin for a second when she noticed him staring before returning her attention to me, "I'm not judging you, so I don't know why you keep denying it. I think it's great that you're finally coming out of your shell."

An irritated groan left my lips, and I looked over at Sasuke, who also wasn't trying to pretend he wasn't looking at her, "Will you tell her we don't do that kind of stuff, please?"

He glanced at me before meeting Ino's eye as she stared at him expectantly. His expression remained passive as he spoke bluntly, "She held me down and touched me yesterday."

My face erupted with a violent blush, and I sat up to hit him in the stomach, making him flinch and turn onto his side to baby the area, but the unmistakable sound of him snickering met my ears, "S-Sasuke!"

"I didn't think he was your type, but I guess the heart wants what it wants," Ino came up in front of Sai and hugged his face into her chest with a teasing grin aimed at me, "or is it the body that wants what it wants in your case?"

I opened my mouth to argue with her, but she pulled away from the Uchiha twin in front of her and gasped loudly, cutting me off, "Next time, we should figure out which brother is better!" I slapped my hand to my forehead, but both Uchihas laughed at her musing.

"You two are just as bad as she is!"

Sai spoke amusedly, "It wouldn't be the first time we've been compared." Ino laughed loudly, smacking his hands away from her hips so she could pull some jeans on.

Sasuke turned to look at me, and I glanced over to meet his gaze. His eyes were warm with amusement, likely due to my humiliated expression.

Once Ino was finished dressing, she sat on the edge of the bed beside me and gave me a grin, "I hate to leave you here, especially when we have so much to talk about, but we've gotta start training again today, so I have to." She looked past me to waggle her eyebrows at the boy lying on the other side of the bed, "Take good care of her while we're gone, Lover Boy."

They knew his gunshot wound was healed, but he said the muscles in the area were still sore, so they insisted he spend one last day resting. While I agreed with their advice, I still felt dread sink into my stomach when the bedroom door closed behind them after they left.

The room was silent momentarily before I let out a defeated sigh and fell heavily back against the pillows. There was a small bookcase near the wardrobe that I planned on raiding if only to find something to browse through and help the time pass, but I hadn't mustered the energy to put my body in motion yet.

"So, what is your type?"

I turned onto my side to face the annoying boy, glaring at him when I realized he'd done the same, "What's gotten into you? You've never been like this."

The amused look in his eye faded slightly, and he seemed to get a bit more serious. I gave him a confused look as he stared at me silently for a long moment. Finally, he replied, his voice more akin to what I'm used to hearing from him, "You don't seem as scared of me anymore."

It was true. Since he came to my aid in that arena when I'd been shot in the leg, my body stopped naturally tensing up in his presence. Guilt washed over me. By confirming that he'd been actively backing off because of my fear, he also affirmed that I'd yet to see his true personality. It must've been exhausting having to constantly walk on eggshells, for my sake.

"I'm sorry about that."

So, was the Sasuke from last night and this morning closer to how he'd have acted the entire time if I was normal? His lips were set in a firm line, but he didn't respond to my apology and instead changed the subject, "Last night, you felt it too?"

My brow furrowed, but I nodded, "That's what Naruto and Hinata go through all the time? How do they function?"

The look in his eye surprised me because he seemed almost offended, so I raised one hand and lightly waved it as if trying to erase what I'd just said, "Not that I hated it or anything! It was just distracting."

The not-so-serious air returned, "That's only because I was turned on." My face burnt hot again, and my eyes were wide. He snickered at my bewilderment, "It's not my fault. You were all over me when I woke up."

My glare returned, and I argued, "That's not true! You were holding me there."

His amusement seemed to grow, "You're the one who cuddled me. I just let you because I felt bad you passed out healing me."

That hurt for some reason. I frowned, "Well, if that's true, then it was an accident. I won't do it again, so don't worry," Then I turned my back to him with a huff as I sat up to get out of bed. It was like he expected me to thank him for blessing me with physical contact. Who the hell did he think he was?

My head throbbed with a migraine as I rose, only for a rush of heat to come up from my toes to my face. I didn't realize my legs gave out from under me until a strong arm wrapped around my waist and held me upright, "You're such an idiot."

My fingers shakily touched Sasuke's arm, and I let my head fall back against his shoulder, exhausted out of nowhere. He pulled me back onto the bed and helped me lie back down with a glare on his face, "It was a joke; quit freaking out."

I pouted as he lay down on his side, closer to me this time, likely so he could stop me if I tried to get up again, "Am I supposed to just know that?"

He rested his head on his fist and smirked, "I thought it was pretty obvious." I just glared up at him. The Uchiha boy seemed like he wanted to laugh but didn't. "Okay, fine, I admit. I did give you a little help, but I wasn't lying when I said that you're the one who started it," he leaned forward slightly to study my face more closely, "But if I recall, you liked it so if anyone should be upset it's me for having my body taken advantage of."

I closed my eyes and grumbled weakly, "If I could smack you right now, I would."

Suddenly, I felt his weight shift, and when I opened my eyes again, he was staring straight down at me with his hands and knees on either side of my body. My brow furrowed, and my face became substantially hotter, "W-What're you doing?"

"If I say this when you're not incapacitated, you'll try and kill me, so I'll say it now." Black and red eyes danced over my green ones, and I unconsciously held my breath. "I saw what happened back then when you were in school, so I get it," he paused but didn't stop despite the unmistakable look of unease I was giving him, "If you need someone to help you get over it, I don't mind."

It took multiple long moments for me to get it together enough to respond, "Y-Y-You're such a pervert! I can't believe you'd say something like that knowing how much I-"

"Well, yeah, it'll be no chore for me, but I really do want to help." I stared at him silently for several minutes, and he stared back.

Last night, it surprised me when I realized how nice it felt to be close to him. Hesitantly, I averted my eyes and looked at his arm with a burning face, "You won't rush me?"

When he replied, he seemed just as surprised by my response as I was, "You'll be in complete control. We'll only do what you wanna do." He paused and waited for me to respond, only to lightly reach up with one hand and guide my face to look him in the eye, "It's not like I can force you to do anything anyway. You'd beat the hell out of me if I ever tried."

A small smile came to my lips even though I tried to hold it back, "Yeah, I would."

His eyes warmed slightly, seeming as though he was relieved I wasn't more upset with him. As I stared up at him momentarily, my eyes hesitantly danced down to his mouth before I looked away from his face again.

"Do you want me to kiss you?"

My brow furrowed, and I met his gaze nervously.

"If you want me to, make it clear. That's what we agreed on."

I paused again before hesitantly nodding, "Okay."

His hand moved from lightly holding my chin upright to softly running into my hair beneath my ear, and he leaned in, "Close your eyes if you're nervous." I did as he said, trembling beneath him. The anticipation was killing me.

Then, his lips were on mine. It was…warm. He pulled away after a few seconds, likely to make sure I wasn't lying under him terrified. My eyes reopened, and he smirked, "That wasn't so bad, was it?" My brow furrowed in humiliation, but I shook my head anyway.

He went to climb off me, but my hand reached up to clasp over the wrist of the one still wrapped gently in my hair, "Again." I squeezed my eyes shut before seeing his reaction, ashamed of my weakness.

After a short pause, lips were pressed against mine again, more firmly this time. My free hand instinctively raised toward his chest, but I timidly brought it back down as I lost my courage.

Sasuke pulled back, and my eyes opened to meet his. It was silent for a moment, and neither of us moved. Then he leaned in slightly, stopping just before our lips would touch, "Again?"

I nodded slightly, breathless in response to our proximity. My hands were trembling. He closed his eyes and obeyed my wishes, pressing his lips against mine more slowly this time. Instead of coming back to look at me like before, he pulled away ever so slightly and adjusted his lips against mine before pressing them firmly again.

My fingers shook as I hesitantly ran them over his shoulder into the hair at the nape of his neck. At first, it felt a bit awkward, kissing him like that without completely parting, but it didn't take long for me to figure it out. Soon, it felt natural. After another few moments, he stopped kissing me and opened his eyes, nose still touching mine as we breathed slightly heavier than before.

I didn't feel quite so nervous making another request, "Again, please."

The Uchiha boy obviously expected that because he went back to it without hesitation. The longer we performed this action, the more my anxiety faded, and the positive feelings were able to shine through. When I snuck a peek, his eyes were closed, sending a wave of something foreign down my body.

We both gasped when, just like last night, a flash of his emotions suddenly jolted through me, but we immediately returned to what we were doing. He felt almost exactly how he'd been last night: amused, curious, excited. This time, however, a sense of urgency made adrenaline shoot through my limbs.

His fingers moved further into my hair, forcing me to release his wrist, to the back of my head, where he gently pressed so my lips would be against his more confidently. My brow furrowed as another wave of that foreign emotion ran through me. My now-free hand tugged on his shirt more decisively than I thought I could.

Sasuke lowered at my wordless request, his body pressing gently against mine. His voice was raspier and more profound than before when he suddenly spoke against my lips, "Stick out your tongue." The heated feeling rising at the same speed as my heart rate was too powerful to acknowledge anything else, so I obliged, looking at him through lidded eyes.

Then we kissed again, but it was different from before, more intense. His tongue twirled slowly with mine, a sensation that threw me off guard and emitted a soft sound from my throat.

"I forgot my-!"

I tore my lips from Sasuke's and pressed my hands against his chest as I turned my head to see Ino standing in the doorway with a stunned face. The Uchiha on top of me didn't move or even look away from my face.

"I-I-Ino!"

"I fucking knew it! You two were messing around last night!"

Sasuke spoke annoyedly, "And we'd like to get back to it if that's alright with you." My brow furrowed, and I looked up at him in disbelief.

With a knowing look, the blond girl crossed the room to grab her taser from the nightstand, "She's supposed to be resting."

He responded, finally turning his head to glare at her, "Which is why she's not on top. Can you leave now?"

Ino shook the weapon in her hand at him with a look of warning, "Keep being cute like that, and we're gonna have a problem, you and me," then she shot me a playful glare, "I'll talk to you later, and you'd best not skimp on the details." Then Ino left the room again, shutting the door behind her.

I slapped his chest lightly, still not having the energy to put much behind it, "What the hell was that!" He leaned down, obviously wanting to pick up where we left off, but I put both hands over his mouth with a blazing blush on my face, "Nuh-uh! We just got caught!"

His voice was muffled behind my hands, "So? She already thought we were doing worse than what she just saw."

I shook my head quickly, "I don't get how all of you are so casual about this stuff."

He reached up to pull one of my wrists so I'd move my hands away from his face, "Because it's normal these days."

I let my arms fall lifelessly onto the mattress, "It doesn't feel normal. It feels embarrassing."

He brushed his nose against mine, our lips coming close to touching, "That's because you're a virgin." My eyes hardened into a glare, but he pressed his lips against mine before I could yell at him again. An annoyed sound was muffled between us, and I felt his lips tug slightly as he fought not to grin.

It took a minute or two to work back up to where we were before Ino interrupted us, and by the time we got there, my anger and embarrassment at being caught were tossed to the wind. The heated feeling had returned to full force, and my anxiety was overpowered almost wholly.

Sasuke was keeping his promise and didn't let his hands roam, instead keeping one in my hair and the other firmly against the bed. If he ever did something even slightly new, he'd do it gently and at a slow pace to not scare me and to give me a chance to stop him if it did anyway. My body was still beneath him, but it took everything in me to keep it that way. My instincts urged me to press against him, but I was too nervous.

Every thirty seconds or so, the odd emotional sharing thing would occur, and I'd get a bit of insight into what was going on in Sasuke's head. A more substantial wave of the odd, heated feeling rolled through me, and I surprised myself with the sexual sound that got caught between our mouths.

He slowly pulled his tongue away and kissed me quickly a few more times before looking back at my exasperated face with a knowing look, "You shouldn't be embarrassed. I can tell you are."

I closed my eyes and tried to calm my breathing, not to mention the nearly uncontrollable urges my body was having. As I agreed to experiment with overcoming my fear of being close to men with him, I swore to be completely sincere in my attempts. "I don't know what to do. I-I feel...I want…."

"I know what you want, Sakura. I can feel it."

My frown deepened as my humiliation grew, "I don't want to do everything in one day. That's too fast, don't you think?"

He paused for a moment, making me open my eyes in curiosity about what his face looked like. To my surprise, a slight pink had hit his cheeks, and he swallowed hard before finally responding, "Do you want me to keep going, and then you can stop me whenever you don't want to continue?"

It was tough to force myself not to look away from his gaze, but I hesitantly made another request, "You'll take the lead, right? I-I don't know what I'm doing."

He kissed my lips softly before resting his forehead against mine, "Well, if you want my advice, you should stop holding back."

If the blush on my face got any more severe, I'd surely pass out, "What if I do something you don't like?"

He kissed me again, "Then I'll tell you, just like you're gonna tell me." I relented and let him resume where we had left off.

Taking his advice, when a wave of heat came through me, I let my body respond to it naturally rather than tensing to prevent it. My lower body moved slightly, and Sasuke replied smoothly without breaking our kiss. He moved between my legs rather than having his knees on either side of my body. My legs bent as they parted far enough for him to easily press against me.

My brow furrowed at the odd sensation the motion caused, and he slowed his movements slightly, obviously picking up my hesitance. In a reassuring yet breathless voice, I spoke against his lips, "It's okay; keep going." Sasuke obeyed without complaint.

A minute or so later, once I'd gotten used to the feeling of him so firmly against me, he removed his hand from my hair. Calloused fingers danced down to my neck before continuing down to my chest. I was mortified, but not because he was touching me there. It was because my boobs were so small. He probably thought it felt like he was handling a boy since I was so flat. If the Uchiha did have that sentiment, he didn't show it and let his hand naturally roam to caress my waist, then hips, before slowly moving it back up to grasp one of my wrists.

A flash of terror came through me briefly but quickly disappeared, so I didn't stop him. He gently moved my wrist against the bed and held it there as he angled his head to try and somehow deepen our kiss even further. Everything excellent my body had been feeling until now disappeared in a heartbeat as I recalled the sensation of the men in that alleyway holding my wrists down.

My chest heaved as my breathing picked up, and tears immediately rose to my eyes as I squeezed them close in an attempt to shove the awful memory away. A gasp slid past my lips when Sasuke pulled back, "Hey! Hey! It's okay. I'll stop."

My eyes shot open to see him looking down at me in concern, but he hadn't removed his hand from my wrist, so I was still panicking. I reached with my other hand to frantically grabbed at his fingers before pushing him back a bit and bringing the wrist he'd been holding to my chest.

He gave me even more space than I'd requested and moved over to lay on his side, facing me as he waited silently for me to catch my breath.

I was so disappointed in myself. Having encountered and overcome many complex challenges during the last six months, I thought facing a memory would be simple. Losing a battle against an enemy that's not even physically there had me feeling ashamed because not only did it happen, but Sasuke saw it all.

After a moment, I turned to face him, wiping angrily at my tears, but they weren't slowing, "I-I'm sorry."

He didn't say anything for the longest time and simply watched me continue to try to control my body's reaction to my fear. My shame only heightened the longer he lay there silently. He was likely trying to figure out how to break off the agreement we'd come to because he hadn't realized how crazy I was and didn't want to deal with it.

"I should've known better than to…I shouldn't have grabbed you like that."

I shook my head, giving up on wiping my tears and simply letting my head fall forward as I buried my face in my hands. It wasn't fair of me to accept his offer, to begin with. Sasuke hadn't known the extent of what he was getting himself into. I can't let myself try something like this again.