Chapter 10

Morning came, and Sakura woke up with a slight headache but otherwise felt comfortable. A groan past her lips when she tried to open her eyes, and the light made her head throb, so she reclosed them. That's when last night's events returned to her memory because a firm, warm body was against her back, and an arm was wrapped around her. Her knees were bent up toward her stomach, and Madara's hand rested between her thighs, fingers twitching slightly in response to her groan.

The woman's first response was to feel giddy and a little embarrassed that the man had seen and touched parts of her only one other person had in her life, but in the next moment, she panicked.

'Oh, God, we were both so drunk. What if he didn't mean all those things he said last night? What if he wants to pretend none of it happened? Can I really do that?'

They'd gone at it until they were too exhausted to continue, and Madara had said such sweet, passionate things to her. He told her he's liked her since the day he told her about his issue with one-night stands, and she comforted him rather than judged. He said she's the only woman he's ever wanted to wake up and find still in his bed. Then, the Uchiha man showered her with compliments about her body, her voice, her everything.

'No one's ever talked to me like that. It made me feel…appreciated. I really hope he meant it all and wasn't just letting the alcohol talk.'

Sakura would be heartbroken if he got her hopes up like that, only to demolish them with a "just kidding" the morning after. Realistically, she couldn't see Madara doing that kind of thing, but she also never imagined they'd actually sleep together instead of her just fantasizing about it like usual.

The hand between her thighs disappeared and gently ran up the bare skin of her hip, waist, and shoulder to smooth her hair away from her face. Lips pressed against her back, and the arm came around her middle again, pressing flat against her stomach to pull her more closely against his front.

Praying she wouldn't regret it, the woman lifted a hand to place it atop his, sighing softly when he let out a happy little hum. His voice was low and raspy when he spoke, his lips tickling her as they moved against her skin, "Sakura…."

Her eyes peeked open, this time managing to stay that way as they adjusted to the lighting, "Hm?"

"I'm sorry."

Her heart felt like it was breaking in her chest. Slowly, she sat up, turning as her hair fell over her shoulders and down her back to look at the Uchiha man with tears in her eyes. He was gorgeous, even after a night of drinking and fucking. Long black hair was wild and messy on the pillow, and his dark eyes were sleepy in a charming way. He frowned when she turned away from him, wiping at her tears as they fell.

'He even told me he doesn't sleep with people he wants to keep around. Why would I be an exception?'

"...You regret it, don't you?"

Sakura sniffled, grabbing a pillow to hold against her front and hide her chest as she turned to shake her head at him, admitting pathetically, "No, I don't, but you do, right?"

Madara sat up, the blanket falling on his hips where he would be visible if it went any lower, "No, why would you think that?"

Sakura's spine straightened, and she frowned at him, sniffling as she offered a confused look, "Then why'd you apologize? I thought…."

The Uchiha man's mouth opened slightly before he chuckled, placing his hand over his eyes before running it through his messy hair, "I was apologizing for this." He tugged the pillow away from her and pointed at her midsection.

Her eyes followed to land on a bite mark, not deep enough to break the skin but enough for it to be easily identifiable. It sat a few inches above her hip. The woman's face warmed quickly as she ran her fingers over it and realized the skin wasn't smooth. He'd been touching there when he apologized. He must've felt it.

Madara's gaze warmed amusedly when she met his eyes, and she found herself smiling when he couldn't hold back his grin. Shaking her head, she wiped at the last of her tears, "I'm an idiot."

He chuckled, stretching his arms above his head with closed eyes.

Eventually, they got out of bed, Madara returning to his apartment to shower and change clothes. While Sakura was showering, her phone rang. She reached past the curtain to grab the device, clicking the green phone icon when Ino's name appeared on the screen, "Hello, Pig."

"Bitch, when I say this man is a genius, you have to understand how serious I am," Ino gushed, her voice taking on a familiar gossipy tone.

The pink-haired girl put her phone on speaker and resumed washing her hair, "Have a good night, did you?"

Her best friend sounded amused, "And I'm not the only one. Little Miss high-school-sweetheart got herself some action! I'm so proud of you."

Sakura dropped the conditioner bottle she'd been holding, sputtering as she dipped down and fumbled to grab it, "How do you know?"

"Are you forgetting I have a spare key and was supposed to crash at your place last night?"

"You didn't hear us, did you?" the pink-haired girl groaned.

Ino laughed loudly, "It sounded like Madara knew what he was doing. Was it amazing? How big's his dick?"

"Sakura?"

The woman snatched her phone up when she heard the door to her apartment open, and Madara call her name. She took it off of speaker and hissed into the receiver, "Text me!" before hanging up and swiftly placing the device on the counter.

The Uchiha man poked his head into the room, "Breakfast?"

"I'll finish up in here," Sakura nodded, her face red.

Just as she was finished dressing and pulling her wet hair into a pretty bun, the door to her apartment shot open, and her blonde friend came inside with a big, bright grin on her plump lips, "It reeks of sin in here, kids!"

Sakura scoffed, looking her friend up and down as she walked past her to go into the kitchen for a glass of water, "You're one to talk. At least we know each other. You went home with some random guy."

"What did I tell you, handsome? Just do what I say, and I'll make sure you get the girl." Ino ignored the pink-haired woman's taunt, smirking at a silent Madara, who was on the sofa checking his phone for any missed calls or texts from the previous night.

"I'm still not a fan of your tactics," the Uchiha man murmured, not bothering to look up at her.

Sighing dramatically, Ino waved a dismissive hand, "Whatever, ungrateful jerk; let's go. I want pancakes. You're paying."

Sakura scoffed, returning to the living room with a hand on her hip, "Don't boss him around."

"It's alright, just this once, since I'm starving, too," Madara stretched as he got to his feet with a smirk, "It won't become a habit."

Half an hour later, the trio found themselves at a little diner down the road with enough food to feed twice the amount of people because the Yamanaka woman's stomach miraculously holds more food when she's hungover.

"You're so rude, Pig!" Sakura chastised her friend, who was too busy stuffing her face with pancake to speak, instead offering her friend an eye roll. She sighed, lightly elbowing Madara's side, "Sorry about her. I'll pay you back."

The man just watched the blonde woman wash down her food with a big gulp of coffee, appearing both amused and astounded by her appetite, "You two are complete opposites. How is it you became friends?"

It was the truth. Sakura could barely stomach the food on her plate, nibbling slowly to ensure she didn't become so nauseous that she'd throw up. She also demanded to at least pay for the next meal they eat together since he wouldn't allow her to split the bill. Whereas Ino was on her third pancake topped high with whipped cream, berries, and syrup and wasn't showing signs of slowing. She also couldn't care less who was paying for the food so long as it wasn't her.

"Did I tell you that Sai's gonna be working in Kiri starting next month? He said he'll visit me!"

Sakura frowned at her friend over the top of her coffee mug, a little concerned that she was getting her hopes up for something that wouldn't actually happen, "Do you think he meant it?"

Ino shrugged, "It'd be a shame not to get a second helping of that dick, but it can't be helped if he lied. At least he left me satisfied last night."

Madara coughed, turning his head to the side with the back of his hand to his lips, obviously shocked by her honesty. Even Sakura struggled not to laugh at the man's response, gently patting his back, "He was pretty cute if I remember correctly. I was already drunk by then."

"Ugh, I know, right? I wish you could've seen his butt, Forehead. Ten out of ten."

The waitress cleared her throat, making her presence known. The trio looked up to see the poor woman blushing, "Is there anything else I can get for you today?"

The blonde woman smiled widely, "Girl, look at the guy I landed last night!"

She pulled out her phone and seemingly pulled up a photo, handing it to the waitress with a proud look.

The woman's eyes widened, a hand coming to her lips to mask her grin when she returned the phone, "He is pretty hot."

Sakura glanced at Madara as the girl and Ino gushed over her one-night stand, whispering to avoid interrupting them, "She's always been like this."

When they were in high school, the pair fought over Sasuke. His choosing Sakura almost ended their friendship, but then Ino started dating Kiba and got over it. Their relationship lasted all of four months, but Ino grew to support her best friend's love life rather than try to end it. The blonde woman's been boy-crazy ever since then.

"Now I know why you're so easy-going. She's crazy enough for the both of you."

The pair shared a slight look of amusement before refocusing on their breakfast.

Ino left to catch her flight back to Kirigakure the following evening, on Sunday, and then things returned to how they were before her visit, for the most part. Sakura slept in her own apartment, Madara in his. The pink-haired woman was relieved the Uchiha finally knew her feelings for him weren't so innocent but was left in a state of insecurity because they didn't really have a conversation about how things would be going forward.

'He probably won't want to date because he doesn't like putting labels on things like that. I knew that before anything even happened, but I'm still somehow hurt by it,' she frowned to herself the next afternoon while at work, refolding shirts that'd been messed up by some customers on the showroom. During her classes earlier, the woman couldn't focus because she was too lost in her thoughts of the gorgeous Uchiha man.

Her daze was broken when a customer approached her politely, "Excuse me, miss, but can you help me?"

"Of course! What can I do for you?" she plastered her best smile on, almost happy to have a distraction.

It was a tall, older man with a large scar on his chin, but his smile was friendly. His hair was dark brown, almost black, and showed the earliest signs of beginning to gray. Judging by the well-tailored suit he wore and the large jewel embedded into the handle of his cane, he was part of the upper class.

'He doesn't seem old enough to need a cane, so he must've injured one of his legs at some point. Poor guy.'

"Actually, I'm looking for a dress for my wife. She's around the same size as you, so I thought you could pick something out. We're attending a formal event on Christmas Eve."

Sakura walked over to the black-tie event section of the upscale store, trying her best to accommodate the man, "Oh, that's only a week away! If you need to have any alterations made, we offer that service, as well."

The man nodded, following her with a serene grin.

"Do you have any color preferences?"

"Black or Red would be fine."

The woman pulled a few options for the man and hung them up on a show rack for him to view, "How about one of these?"

With a finger to his chin, his brown eyes looked over the selections before pointing at the sexier of the three, "Does this one come in red as well?" It was low cut, made of silk, and hugged the body elegantly. A slit ran up the side of it from the floor to the upper thigh.

Sakura's smile widened, "It does! It's pretty, isn't it?"

'His wife must have a great physique if she can work a dress as revealing as this! I wonder what she looks like.'

The man ended up purchasing it, following her to the counter while Matsuri went to the back to fetch the red version of the dress in Sakura's size since the man said his wife was the same size as her.

"If it's not too much trouble, could I get your name? I'd like to give it to my wife so she knows who to ask for if she wants to purchase anything else from this location."

A slight blush rose to Sakura's face as she prepared his receipt, writing her name just in case he forgot it, "It's Sakura."

Her coworker returned with the dress in a pretty box filled with soft tissue paper. After handing over the receipt, the pink-haired woman smiled again, "Would you like to take it home with you today, or would you like to have it altered and delivered?"

The man's phone began ringing, and he held up one hand apologetically, "Pardon me, just one moment, please." He stepped away to answer the call, speaking low so the two employees couldn't hear his words.

Matsuri and Sakura glanced at one another. It was their pet peeve for customers to talk on their phones when shopping, but the man was otherwise very polite, so they weren't judging him too harshly.

A moment later, the man returned to the counter, "I'd like to have it altered, please. Here are the measurements." He grabbed one of the slips on the counter meant for that exact thing and jotted down some numbers, his contact information, and when and where the dress should be delivered once finished.

Sakura accepted the paper when he was finished, skimming it before tilting her head and offering one last smile, "Your name's Danzo, then. It's nice to meet you. Thanks for stopping in today, and I'll see you soon for delivery!"