I'm sorry for the wait, but the struggle with editing this was real, so I'm also sorry for any errors or pacing issues. Thank you, everyone, for all of the reviews, favs and follows, for what this story is I didn't expect to get so many. I really appreciate this.

Sakura rubbed the sleep from her eyes, delirious. She had a free week, despite that her inner clock had made her get up at 7 AM. She dragged her feet to their kitchen corner, contemplating if she should just try and go back to sleep after a glass of water or start her day. A large yawn ripped past her lips. She'll probably start her day, sleep seemed like a nice idea, but her mind was still worrying about exams. She did not need dreams about her failing her exams one after another.

A clatter of noise brought her attention to the stove. She stood frozen. Karin was rummaging around the small kitchenette, red hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was dressed leisurely in some shorts and a white tank top. Her usual red glasses were replaced with thicker black framed ones. Now that was a sight she didn't see every day.

"Hey! Want some breakfast too?" Karin picked out a carton of eggs from the fridge, not sparing a single glance her way. Her movements were fluid and precise. As always Karin probably had been up for a while already, except this time she hadn't decided to study or run off with her boyfriend.

Something was up.

"Sure," Sakura rasped, voice rough from sleep.

She watched Karin work for a while. With deft hands, she sliced the salad and placed two eggs in a small pot of water. She hardly ever offered to make breakfast for the both of them or anything for that matter. Sakura knew that Karin was a great cook, the few times she'd been kind enough to share told her as much, though she knew that the redhead wasn't particularly fond of cooking.

Karin wanted something from her.

Sakura rubbed her face. She poured herself a glass of water, mindful to stay out of Karin's way. Taking a seat at the counter she waited for the inevitable grilling that was about to come.

"I don't like the new guy you're seeing."

Oh? She flattened her lips. So this swas going to be one of those conversations. She took a sip of water, stalling.

Karin threw in two slices of bread in the toaster. She turned to her, eyes hard. "Sakura?"

"I'm not in the mood to discuss this, Karin." She avoided her red eyes, staring into her glass instead. She wasn't even going to question how the hell she knew about Hidan. Karin had never seen him and he had been to their apartment only once. It had been over two weeks since she'd seen him in person herself.

"Then when will you be? When the police comes barging in our apartment looking for that felon? Or when I get the news that you've been abducted by them?" She crossed her arms, leaning against the counter, throwing her possibly one of the most scorching glares ever.

It probably was the old lady downstairs that had tattled, she was like a local security camera. Karin had a friendly relationship with her.

Sakura rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I'm not sure what Mrs Yamada told you, but whatever it was it was blown way out of proportion. Relax. Just please, let this go."

"I can't let something go when it potentially involves my safety. I have the right to be worried about that."

Sometimes talking with Karin could be the most exhausting thing ever. She'd already given her shit for hanging with Itachi. Now it was the same thing with Hidan.

"I'm not saying you don't, but this is none of your concern. I can choose who I want to hang out with." She was like an annoying, overprotective mother, minus the concern and mothering. Karin always had to nose into her business one way or another, providing comments on her choices. It was irritating and Sakura had been considering a change of roommates for months. How the hell Suigetsu was able to handle her Sakura had no idea.

Karin kept quiet, continuing with breakfast. It was far from over though. No doubt she'll find another thing to latch onto to criticize her over.

Sakura took that as her chance to fetch her phone from her room. Through her sleep she'd heard someone blasting her phone with messages, it probably was Ino trying to get her to confirm their way overdue lunch later today.

When she got back Karin had set out the plates. An aroma of freshly toasted bread prevailed in the air. Her stomach growled. This would be so pleasant if the company would have been better. Karin threw her another judging side glance. Sakura pretended she didn't see it.

She turned on the screen only to smile and shake her head at the five messages at three am from Hidan.

He did not disappoint.

For the past two weeks, he'd been blowing up her phone with texts and pictures. If she hadn't been desensitized to nuisances like that by Ino and Naruto she might have dropped his ass faster than a hot potato. Boy did he know when to pick the best of times to bug her with weird-ass opinions or memes. In the middle of the night or during her lectures seemed to be the prime time for him to bug her.

Not that she minded. She had her own arsenal of shitposts to annoy him with. Perks of being friends with Naruto – she never ran out of weird, out of context images.

Sakura snorted, swiping through the pictures Hidan had sent her. His humour bordered on disturbing and he had the most vivid imagination in coming up with vulgarities than she'd seen anyone do before. For some reason, she didn't mind it. Disturbing things didn't bother her and at one point she'd learned to get used to his vulgar euphemisms.

Opening the chat with Ino she confirmed their lunch, saying to decide on the place later.

"You're texting him, aren't you?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, putting down her phone. "Just give it a rest, Karin. I'm handling this."

Karin handed her an egg and placed the bowl of salad on the counter, sitting at the opposite side of it. "I thought that you knew better than to get involved with jerks. Didn't your break-up with Sasuke teach you anything?"

She balled her hands, teeth grinding. That was a low blow, even for Karin. She made a point to avoid her eyes. As someone who had dated Sasuke in the past as well, she should have known that this was a subject she did not want to discuss. "He's not like Sasuke, far from it actually. In fact, that 's why I like him because he's the complete opposite of Sasuke."

Karin pursed her lips. She didn't say anything else.

Sakura could eat her generously offered breakfast in peace.

Xxx

It took her and Ino a whole debate to settle on a place for lunch. Stubborn as always Ino had her mind set on a pizza joint on the outskirts of the city. She had found that suspicious but had relented eventually – fighting was pointless. She had a hunch that Ino had chosen that specific place for nefarious reasons, hell, she had even refused to disclose the name of it. If that didn't scream "I'm planning something" she didn't know what was.

Admittedly she should've realized sooner that the reason why Ino had wanted that specific pizza place was that it was owned by the Akatsuki MC. She'd heard of it before, it wasn't very popular, though it still held a reputation. Part of her was curious, she had never been to the place and no one had said anything bad about it either, apart from the usual rumours that came in association with the MC.

Should be fun. Maybe she'll even see Hidan again. Ino sure was banking high on that chance.

They played catchup during the drive. Ino's life as always was a crazy-ass soap opera courtesy of the blonde herself.

Sakura could only shake her head in good humour. Ino had a way to tell stories that made them out to be way more outlandish than they actually were. Her date stories, in particular, were a good joke to tell among friends during a night out drinking. Of course, Ino didn't let her sit quietly either, pestered her like a gnat about the rumours around the MC. She had to disappoint Ino's inner gossip, she didn't know much. Hidan wasn't as secretive as Itachi but still managed to expertly avoid disclosing any kind of information about the inner logistics of the club. Not that she had pestered him about it...much.

She had missed these conversations with Ino about nothing and everything.

Ino had gone into another one of her recent life stories, retelling her weekend with her childhood friends.

Good-naturedly Sakura grinned at her. Maybe she should hit up Naruto sometime and get up to shenanigans themselves, it had been a while.

"...sometimes I think that I should just drop my personal life and focus on my studies. The extra stress isn't worth it," Ino muttered.

"That might just be the smartest thing you'd said today."

Ino threw a brief mock glare her way.

She returned it with a cheeky smile.

They pulled into a nondescript parking place. Only two other cars were on the small lot. The beige, one storey building in front of them was simple, with the store's name written in the windows in a bold red font and a few tables in the front with huge umbrellas over them.

"Looks decent enough."

Sakura unbuckled her belt and hummed in agreement.

As soon as she stepped out of the car wind blew under her dress, nearly making her flash the two other people out front. From Ino's cursing, she'd discerned that the blonde had had the same problem with her dress. It had been hot as balls in the city and both of them had dressed in loose dresses. Ino had on a lilac floral dress that tied up in the back with a bow. Her ridiculously long hair was up in her usual high ponytail, bangs nearly covering her right eye. Sakura had dressed similarly in a simple black dress with a deep v-neck. To spruce up her look she'd added a few random accessories.

Involuntary her eyes drifted to the clubhouse across the parking lot. She'd been trying to ignore its presence.

It was different seeing it during a clear day. Somehow all the times she had been here it had been raining and the place had looked almost ominous. She didn't know if Itachi had done it on purpose to scare or not, but it hadn't worked – her interest was sparked. A row of bikes were parked nearby. On the patio at one of the tables two of the members were having a heated conversation, beverages in hand. They were too far for their conversation to be eligible, all she could tell was that the larger man with bulk that could rival a strongman was Kisame and that the blonde with the crazy hand gestures was Deidara.

She tore her eyes away from the two men.

"So…," Ino drawled.

"So what?"

"Do you think he's here?" She threw a quick glance towards the clubhouse.

Sakura stifled a sigh. "I don't know, Ino. It's not like we report to each other our whereabouts."

"I was just wondering…" Ino's eyes strayed towards Kisame and Deidara, tone low, a devious quirk on her lips.

She knew that tone – Ino was planning something, something she wasn't ready to face on an empty stomach. Sakura looped her arm through Ino's, dragging her towards the entrance of the shop. "Nope. Food first."

Ino pouted. "Aw, okay, but I wanna meet him. You're not gonna weasel out of this. I gotta see the guy that puts that big, stupid grin on your face."

"I don't grin like that."

"You totally do. I saw you on the street a week ago and you had the cheesiest grin on your face while you were tapping away at your phone."

She pretended to be scandalised. "And you didn't even come to say hello."

"Don't change the subject, Forehead."

"Alright, alright, I give. I got it bad."

Ino grinned knowingly. Thankfully she didn't press the subject further, changing the topic instead. "What will you want to order?"

"I'm too hungry to be picky, I'll take whatever." She released Ino at the door. "While you do that I'm going to pick us a table." Mouthwatering smells flowed in the wind from the shop and her stomach growled. Karin's healthy breakfast had not been enough, oh how she craved for some cheesy goodness. She's been on a study binge for so long that food hadn't even been at the forefront of her mind.

Ino nodded and disappeared through the doorway.

Sakura chose a table further from the other two patrons with a clear view of the clubhouse. Admittedly, she had been imagining over and over again what her next face to face encounter with Hidan might be like. Maybe it'll be just like last time, minus the injuries or...crap. Butterflies exploded in her stomach.

She groaned, letting her head fall on the table. Gods, she was so fucked. Why did she always have to fall this hard so easily? It never ended well for her.

Placing her chin in her hand she surveyed the clubhouse again in hopes to distract herself from a certain biker. How did the inside look? Was it like a regular biker bar or was it cosy and homey? What did they even do in their free time? What incriminating thing did they keep there for the members to act so secretively?

From her peripheral, a dark approaching figure caught her eye. She sat up straighter with a jolt, her breath in her throat.

Shit! Itachi!

How could she forget about him!?

Fuck, fuck, fuck...

"Sakura?"

She flinched, slouching back in her seat and keeping her head down. No, no, no. She wasn't ready for this.

Itachi came into her field of view and took a seat from across her. He looked good, like he always does – his long dark hair neatly tied back in a low ponytail, bangs framing his face, expression schooled in practised indifference. He was wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt, the necklace he always wore and, of course, the Akatsuki MC cut.

Her hands were clammy and a knot formed in her stomach. She'd always found his facade appealing, cool – now she was fucking terrified, she couldn't read him. What should she expect? How will he react? She hasn't seen him for weeks.

He surveyed her, face unmoving. "It wasn't the club, it was me, wasn't it?" His voice was even, just barely louder than a whisper.

If there's one thing she'd learned about him it's that he got quieter than usual when upset.

She took a deep breath and turned her head away, she couldn't look him in the eyes, not now. Sometimes she hated his straightforwardness. She had adored it at first, liked that she didn't have to engage into meaningless small talk with him. This time she would have preferred to have a buffer and prepare herself.

"I get it, Sakura. I just wish you would have been honest with me from the start."

Guilt ate at her. She hadn't been honest with him when she'd told him to leave her alone in a middle of an argument, yelling that she didn't want to deal with him while he was in the club, that she hated the club. Her being here again contradicted her words, especially when she had been hanging with Hidan. How Itachi could be so understanding when it was obvious that she had acted like a lying, two-faced cunt? She didn't deserve his kindness, especially when she knew that if she would be in his position she would chew herself out.

Would the ground like to swallow her up now….?

No?

Finally meeting his dark eyes, Sakura shakily exhaled. "I'm sorry. You're right, I should've been honest." She could admit that she had a type, Sasuke, Neji and Itachi, they all fit under it, yet she just didn't mesh with them. She should have seen this sooner and saved everyone the trouble. "You deserved better, Itachi." She scratched at her chipping nail polish, fingers trembling.

A small smile settled on his lips. "It's alright, I knew that it wasn't working."

She opened her mouth...no words came.

"It seems that I was holding onto false hope." He hefted himself up, sending her one last glance.

Sakura blinked. Why? Why was he being so nice? She stared at the spot he vacated. "W-wait." Jumping up from her seat she ran after him. "Why are you forgiving me?"

Itachi pivoted on his heel, taking a moment to answer. "I don't hold grudges, Sakura. Especially against someone who is just starting to figure themselves out."

Her head fell and a bittersweet laugh escaped her mouth. She shouldn't be surprised that Itachi had her figured out way before she had. She never was able to hide much from him, he was a master at reading people. "I… don't deserve this, but thank you." She smiled. A weight, she didn't know had been there, fell off her chest.

He returned her smile, subtly shaking his head in good humour.

The wind picked up and she grasped the hem of her dress. It was one of the ways she could calm her fidgeting fingers in the absence of her bag for she wasn't sure if she should bring up the next topic. Curiosity won out in the end. "By the way, why did you send Hidan after me? Y'know, when it was raining and he picked me up."

Itachi paused, eyes trailing towards the clubhouse for a moment. "I never sent Hidan anywhere."

"But he told me that you sent him."

"I'm afraid I don't control what he says or does."

She blinked. That...made sense. Itachi would never send someone else to fight his battles. It also explained why Hidan had been vague when she'd asked him about Itachi. "But...why?"

Itachi shrugged. "You'll have to ask him." He waited for a moment, watching her reaction until in a quiet tone he said goodbye and left her alone with her thoughts.

Hidan had picked her up on his own volition and had hidden it. Why? He had been pretty pissed about it. It made no sense.

Lost in thought she trailed back to her table. Ino had managed to slip past her unnoticed with their orders already on the table.

Sakura faltered, slowly taking her seat, gauging Ino's reaction. "How much did you hear?"

Ino pushed one of the plates with a slice of pizza towards her. "Some. What the hell did you do, Sakura?"

Stalling for time, she took a bite from the pizza. She never did tell Ino the truth about how she ended it with Itachi, mostly because she didn't want to think about it and she was figuring out that shit herself. "I was a bitch and I had to apologize for my bitchiness."

"That doesn't explain a lot, you're a bitch pretty often."

She deadpanned. "Gee, thanks, Ino."

Ino chuckled. "Hey, I'm just being honest. I love you nonetheless."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Taking a sip from her glass of juice, she explained everything to Ino, even what she had learned about Hidan from Itachi. Surprisingly enough Ino had stayed quiet through most of it. At least Ino had understood that she had a bit of an aversion towards this topic. Hidan's lies were another thing.

"Obviously he has the hots for you. Dunno why he was hiding it. Embarrassment?"

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out," she replied, sarcasm lacing her tone. "Though he doesn't really strike me as a guy that even knows the definition of embarrassment."

Ino's attention diverted to her phone when a chime came from it and conversation died down.

Sakura picked at her nail polish. Maybe Ino had been right with her off-hand statement – dropping her personal love life would be such a relief from the stress it had caused her. Then again she was the root of it. Maybe this time if she does it right, she won't make a hot mess of everything? That was assuming that she can stop being a fuckup.

She took a bite of her cheesy pizza and grinned mischievously at Ino. The blonde was lost in thought, staring at the MC clubhouse.

"Already picking out your next victim, Ino."

The said woman scoffed, smirking. "Just weighing my options."

"Uh-huh, so who're you eyeballing so hard? The fishing-is-just-a-"hobby" Kisame or probably-smokes-crack-in-the-back Deidara."

"He doesn't really smoke crack, does he? I'm fine with surviving one relationship with a junkie."

Sakura shrugged, trying to stifle her growing smile. "I've only ever spoken to Kisame."

Her smile fell when a familiar face emerged from the garage door next to the clubhouse. Another very familiar man followed out the first, leather cuts on both their backs. Both of the men engaged in conversation with Deidara.

The smile slowly returned. Well, well. The unpleasant eyesore aside it looked like she finally found some dirt to smear in Karin's face.

"Since when is Sasuke the MC's prospect?" Ino asked.

"I don't care, I'm more interested in Suigetsu being there and also being a prospect." Oh man, this was fucking gold. Karin had been giving her shit for so long, while her own boyfriend was prospecting for the club she detests so much. She couldn't wait to get back home and shove this in her face. Maybe finally she'll find some relief from the red head's nagging.

"Isn't he Karin's boyfriend?"

In response Sakura pulled out her phone from her bag and snapped a picture of Suigetsu, making sure to get a shot of him with the logo of the club in the middle of the back on full display.

Ino eyeballed her weirdly.

Nonchalantly she put her phone back in its place. "What? I'm gonna need some evidence if I want to prove my words to the red-headed banshee."

"I still can't believe that you're living with her."

"Yeah, well beggars can't be choosers. C'mon, let's go have a chat."

"Oh, now it's 'bout to get interesting." Giddy, Ino shoved her phone in her purse, a huge shit-eating grin on her face.

Sakura couldn't agree more.

She advanced the four men, Ino walking beside her. She pointedly avoided looking at Sasuke's back, instead keeping her gaze on Kisame.

Sasuke, as always, was complaining about something. Deidara was nodding along to everything, obviously distracted and deeply annoyed by the intrusion while Kisame was the perfect picture of indifference, sipping his beer leisurely. Some things never changed apparently, Sasuke was still as critical as always.

Kisame was first to notice her approach, recognition flashing across his face. "Hey, Sakura."

She greeted him back with a wave of her hand. The conversation stilled and all eyes were on her and Ino.

Sasuke observed her briefly. His face showed the barest glint of a grimace. Without a word he turned around and walked away. Suigetsu opened his mouth and closed it soon after, following the Uchiha.

"So...what brings our little cherry blossom here?" Kisame's question broke the sudden tension.

She smiled, relaxing now that the eyesore was gone. "You."

Kisame laughed. "I'm flattered. You're sure this has nothing to do with Hidan and his sudden interest in you?" He grinned slyly and threw a quick glance towards Deidara who snorted.

"Hidan's been a real annoying dumbfuck lately." He rolled his eyes. "More than usual."

Kisame chuckled, snuffing out his forgotten cigarette on the ashtray. "He's just a passionate lad."

Ah, so he had been talking about her to the others. Must be how Itachi found out about her hanging out with Hidan. A pang of guilt hit her. She's such a shitty person and Itachi forgave her for it. She doubted that this will be something she'll forget easily, guilt like that could ebb at her for weeks. She shook her head, replacing her frown with a small grin before anyone noticed her sudden glum mood.

"Won't you introduce me, Sakura?" Ino asked, announcing her presence, eyes pinned on Deidara.

"Yes, Sakura, introduce us to your pretty friend." Deidara leaned forward in his seat, running his gaze all over Ino.

She quickly introduced Ino to both men, smiling to herself. Both of the blondes fell into easy conversation, flirting with each other. Kisame lit another cigarette.

She could get used to this, learn more about the members, make new friends. Bad reputation or not they didn't appear to be bad people. Figuring out the controversial was always a wild ride.

"I heard someone talking shit about me." Hidan came barging through the open doorway of the clubhouse, an opened bottle of beer in hand and a large bruise on his left cheek. Without hesitation he set his eyes on Deidara, ignoring everyone else around him.

She stilled, heart beating wildly in her chest. Fuck, what was she going to say to him? Why did she always have to go into things unprepared? Curse her hormonal, impulsive mind.

Deidara raised his hand. "It was me, I called you a cocksucking bitch."

"Fuck you, blondie!"

Deidara flipped him the bird, which Hidan graciously returned.

Kisame took a long drag from his cigarette, shaking with laughter. "Your selective hearing is amazing. Yesterday Konan told you right in your face to clean up the mess you left and you didn't hear that, yet you heard Deidara from all the way across the clubhouse."

Hidan pointed a finger at Kisame, jaw clenched. "Fuck you too, fish-face. You guys have been giving me a hard time for no fuckin' reason."

Time froze when he finally noticed her presence. Their eyes connected. The snarl fell from his face and his hand lowered. Her stomach did a flip and she swallowed thickly. Why is she so fucking nervous? C'mon Sakura, don't pussy out, smile, say something. Don't stand there like a freak and stare.

"Yeah, because you've been annoying us more than usual," Deidara added, effectively catching Hidan's attention again.

"Your face is annoying," he bit back.

She exhaled, exchanging a quick glance with Ino. The blonde for her part was amused, hiding her grin behind her hand. Maybe she should stop overthinking things as well and go with the flow. Here's to hoping that she doesn't fuck up again.

A piece of cloth hit Hidan at the back of the head. "Go home. You're not getting drunk at the clubhouse midday again and please put on a shirt." A woman with vibrant dark blue hair stepped out, her yellow eyes sending daggers towards Hidan. She was stunning, yet terrifying. Now she understood why Itachi had warned her of the president's old lady – that impassive glare was giving her the chills.

He scoffed, pulling the navy cloth off his head. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going." He slung the cloth, which appeared to be the said shirt, on his shoulder, mumbling a curse under his breath.

Deidara yelled expletives at his back while Kisame just chuckled.

The situation was diffused so quickly. Dang, her short-tempered self will have to take notes.

Hidan retreated towards the row of parked bikes. He finished his bottle of beer in one swig and threw it aside. The glass shattered against asphalt with a loud crunch.

Ino nudged her. "You're gonna go after him?"

She scowled. "I don't know, I kind of value my head." He looked pissed and she knew first-hand that dealing with that could end explosively.

"It's fine, he's just a drama queen. Made a fool of himself last night, probably bruised his ego a bit, but he's fine." Kisame added offhandedly.

Sakura blinked. She didn't think it was possible to embarrass him. Whatever it was that got him so upset really had him strung high. She sighed. Well, if there was one thing she knew about being upset was that just talking to someone who spoke calmly could soothe the seething anger that came with it.

He was in the process of viciously grabbing his helmet from the handle of his bike when she tapped him on his shoulder.

"What!" he yelled.

Sakura recoiled back, avoiding the swing of his hand. He nearly knocked her in the fucking face with that backhand, purposeful or not. Anger sizzled in her. She was not going to get pushed around like this.

His glare softened when his eyes settled on her. "What is it, Sakura?"

The suddenly soft tone of his voice quelled whatever anger might have risen up. Get it together, Sakura, you're not here to fight. Her hands unclenched. "I just wanted to see you."

"Okay."

She scrunched her eyebrows. "Just okay?"

Hidan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Do ya want me to yell at you? Because I don't want that."

Calm down my poor heart. "You're drunk, it's not safe to ride like that." Especially when he was sporting new injuries and still healing some of his old ones.

He chuckled, removing the shirt from his shoulder and wringing it in his hands. "It takes more than one bottle to get me drunk. Konan's just angry. I think I said something that pissed her off," he grumbled the last part, showing the shirt in a side compartment on his bike.

"Just...I..." She averted her eyes, clutching onto the strap of her bag. How does she word this? She would love to ride with him, though how does she word this without sounding needy? In avid distress to find something to say her eyes fell on the bruises on his palms. On impulse she took one of his hands, observing the injury closer. "What happened?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I fell off my bike."

She raised her head incredulously.

Hidan laughed dryly, avoiding looking at the bruises himself. "More like tripped off it."

"Are you serious?"

He sighed deeply. "Yeah, had a shitty night and I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing." He took his hand back, looking at the crusted blood and dirt on the scrapes impassively. "Haven't found the time to clean them."

He was a walking infection waiting to happen. Sakura rubbed her forehead. "I'm going with you."

"Huh?"

She propped her hands in her sides, daring him to object. "Apparently, you can't take care of yourself, so somebody has to."

For a while, they stared at each other until Hidan relented. "Alright. Put that on." He indicated to the helmet he had left on the seat of his bike.

Owlishly she blinked. It was that easy? No resistance, no complaining or fucking with her? What the hell had happened to him? "Wait, are you sure you can ride?"

He sat on the bike, flipping up the stand leg. "Quit your whining and just get on the damn bike." He looked at her like she was an annoying gnat.

Sakura hesitated. Her eyes trailed from him to the bike and then to the helmet. She's done crazier shit than drunk driving, why was she faltering...

He pulled on her arm and she stumbled into him. "It's gonna be fine. Seriously, it's like you don't trust me with a car or my bike."

She snorted. "I wouldn't trust you with a scooter."

Suspiciously enough he was smiling. It was a nice change from the scowl before until she realized the reason behind the smile. Like burned she removed her hand from his thigh. Heat crawled up her neck. Rats, he got her, she can't say no when he looks at her like that. Grumbling she put on the helmet and slipped behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle.

Thankfully he didn't say anything. He revved up the bike and backed up out of his parking space.

She pressed her cheek against his back and tried to not think about her hands touching his bare skin.

He was a reckless driver. She was pretty sure he had a death wish for the number of times she thought he was going to crash into a car in front of them was way too much. Good to know his driving habits translated from car to bike pretty accurately.

He pulled up in his driveway, parking near the garage.

She had loved bike rides with Itachi, but with Hidan, she might have to start disliking them. Her legs were stiff from the tension of several near-death experiences. She slid off the bike first, taking off the helmet and dragging shaky fingers through her hair. Hidan followed her, turning the bike off.

Sakura handed him the helmet. "C'mon, let's go and get those scrapes looked at." She took his hand, mindful of the scrapes and dragged him towards the front door.

He didn't protest and wordlessly pulled out his house keys from his pocket to unlock the door.

"Where do yo-"

"In the kitchen, under the sink."

She nodded.

Inside the house, it was just as dark as it had been the last time she had been there. Nothing had changed, it was just as she remembered. Automatically she released him to unstrap her wedges. He once again followed her actions and took off his own boots.

She grasped his hand again and dragged him to where she presumed the kitchen would be.

Hidan sat on the island counter, eyes following her.

Nothing stood out in his kitchen either. Maybe her assumption of him being a minimalist might have been inaccurate, maybe he didn't live in this house as much. She flattened her lips when she got to the med-kit – it was a mess. He never showed concern or complained, but she was getting the impression that he got injured a lot. Maybe his death wish extended past just his driving habits. It was concerning.

He was being unnaturally quiet and docile, yet the quiet, for a change, didn't feel awkward. His attitude reminded her of three weeks ago when she'd intruded him in his home. She knew from that encounter that the docile act might be misleading.

She took his hand and started cleaning up the dirt and blood on his palm with a wipe. He was tense, almost stony. The scrapes looked a lot worse than they actually were. Some ointment might be just the right remedy.

In a daze, he ran his fingers up her arm to her collarbone. The action sent shivers down her spine, distracting her from her work. He dragged a single finger across her collarbone.

She swallowed and took the sinful hand, avoiding his gaze. Taking a new wipe she set to cleaning the dirt off.

He was out to torture her for he resumed the same actions with his other hand and the bastard knew that it was having an effect on her. His touches became more lingering, more daring. When his fingers trailed closer to her bust, she cursed herself for not wearing a bra. He grinned like a kid on Christmas morning, discovering the fact for himself.

If he wanted to play, she can play. Finished with her task, she turned the hand she had been working on around and placed a small kiss on a bruised knuckle. All through the process, she didn't let her eyes stray from his. His lustful gaze made her smirk. Payback was nice. "Gotta kiss it to make it better, right?" She placed another kiss on his rough skin. "Do you have any other injuries that need to be treated?" She roamed her eyes across his naked torso, looking for anything else that was new.

"Yeah, I got other places that need to be kissed to make better." His voice was rough, cracking at the end.

She walked between his legs, latched onto the collar of his cut and pulled him down to her level to lightly press her lips against his. It was short and over way too soon.

"Not really what I had in mind." Yet he kissed her again, harder and needier this time, angling her head with his hand. The wetness from the ointment she had smeared on his palm tracked into her hair and on her scalp. She couldn't find it in herself to care.

Oh, she knew, the innuendo wasn't lost on her. In a feather-light touch, she tracked her fingers up his chest, making sure to linger where she knew he had a tattoo. Her daydreams couldn't live up to the real thing.

He broke their contact to push her away and a fearful gasp escaped her. Did she do something wrong? He slid off the counter and pulled her back in by her waist, locking their lips again.

Sakura melted into it, letting him explore her mouth. He tasted like beer, sour and poignant. It was so different from Sasuke, from all of her kisses before that she relished in the new experience. This was what she needed, something new, something to help her forget her past self and the faulty decisions she had made.

He pressed her against the opposite counter. The edge of it dug into her lower back almost painfully.

Her hands automatically wrapped around his neck, heart beating loudly in her chest. The weight of his hands on her waist, the unexpected roughness of his lips...it was intoxicating. She wanted more.

He moved away from her lips down to her neck, his hands doing a similar descent to her hips. The scruff on his jaw scratched her.

She arched her head to give him more freedom. A cross between a gasp and a moan escaped her lips when he bit her. He nibbled on her skin, leaving small kisses afterwards. That was gonna bruise for sure, yet at the moment she didn't care. Her hands got a mind of their own, slithering under his cut.

With his hands he was pushing her dress up, exposing her skin to the chilly air inside.

All the sensations were shooting straight down to her crotch. Her nails latched into his back when he kissed the side of her breast. Her dress was loose enough that he had managed to easily slide the material away with his nose. She exhaled breathlessly, body buzzing with desire.

She freed one of her arms and clamped it in his dishevelled hair, bringing his face back up to meet hers. Their lips met in a frenzy, teeth almost clashing.

"Why don't we stop with all of this foreplay and get down to business already?" The throbbing between her thighs was becoming unbearable. He'd turned her into a horny mess. She'd been fighting with the itch for the past two weeks. By this point she was sure that only he could scratch it; her fingers hadn't worked.

Hidan hummed with a smile, eyes hooded. "Gladly." His hands easily found the waistband of her panties, pulling them off. He haphazardly threw them somewhere on the floor.

She sat back on the counter and pulled him back closer to her by his belt. A very prominent bulge strained against his jeans. Gods, she wanted to touch him so badly. Her hands fervently fumbled around his belt buckle.

He laughed and removed her hands. "I love how eager you are." He easily undid his pants himself.

Sakura pouted. "Lemme touch you."

He pecked her. "Later."

Her world stilled for a moment. He was alluding to wanting to spend more time with her, having more of this. Oh, she was fucked. She hoped that he will be able to handle an airhead because he was making her breathless.

Suddenly he pulled away and she felt the loss of his heat. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Condom."

"Don't worry I'm on the pill." She latched onto his arm and pulled him back between her legs. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she whispered in his ear, "Besides, I like it raw."

"Fuck, Sakura." He shuddered, grasping her hips, voice deep and throaty with desire. His lips found hers again, tongues intertwining. One of his hands went between her legs, fingers skimming around her inner tights, avoiding the one place she wanted to be touched the most. Her dress scrunched around her waist. In deft movements, he removed his fingers and replaced them with his cock.

Her head fell back in a moan as he sank into her. It had been a while, she'd almost forgotten how it felt to be filled. Her legs wrapped around his waist, rocking with him. Her hands went through his hair, messing up his neatly combed strands, a string of moans falling from her lips.

His lips skimmed over her shoulder, his hot breath leaving tingles down her spine. She clamped around him when he bit her, sucking on the forming bruise afterwards. He groaned into the crook of her neck.

Her fingers trailed over his chest, feeling the heat of his skin. She was so close, the pressure building up. Leaning back on the counter she looked at Hidan, whose eyes were pinned on her bouncing breasts. The want in his hooded eyes, the lust. She loved how unguarded his expressions were, how much she was affecting him.

A sultry smile fell on her lips. She took one of her fingers and plunged it into her mouth, sucking on it. It successfully drew his attention.

He cursed and his speed increased.

Her orgasm was fast approaching. A sudden spike of pleasure made her moan loudly. With rough movements, he was circling her clit. It brought her over the edge, a cry slipping past her lips, her thighs quivering.

Hidan was still looking for his own release. His thrusts had become jerkier.

Panting Sakura took one of his hands from beside her on the counter and sucked one of his fingers into her mouth, working her tongue around it. She made eye contact with him and gently bit down on his finger.

With a groan, he spilt into her. She leaned back up to stifle his moans with a kiss, hands latching into the lapels of his cut. They pulled back from each other, breaths intermingling. She was flushed from the chest up and she had been right – he was able to scratch the itch.

"Wanna do it again?" he whispered, voice low.

Sakura chuckled, locking their lips again. "Only if you let me touch you this time."

"No objections here." Yet he abruptly pulled away, taking the warmth with him.

She shuddered and hugged herself. By this point, she was learning to get used to his sudden actions. He was busy looking for something behind her on the counter.

He was close enough that she could clamp onto his cut, trying to pull him back to her. "Wha-what are you doing?"

Instead of a response, he spread her legs back open, a paper towel in hand. At her resistance he spoke up, "This is my mess, let me clean it up."

An odd request, but she nodded nonetheless, letting him clean up her sensitive flesh. She quivered from the contact. How thoughtful of him, guys usually didn't care and she had to take care of the sticky mess herself. It was over quickly.

He pulled her down from the counter by her hand, steadying her when she stumbled on her unsteady legs. "C'mon, we're just getting started."

She let him lead her upstairs, body tingling from her high. She watched their hands, how his larger one engulfed her smaller one, how warm it was, how much she wanted that hand back on her body.

The upstairs was as dark and empty as rest of the house was, nothing of note, except one door that had something white scrawled on it. He led her through one of the nondescript doors. She didn't see much of the room, Hidan immediately pressed her against the wall and started ravaging her mouth with fervent nips and kisses. She could only whimper into the attention, letting his hands work off the straps of her dress.

"Now who's eager?" she teased when he'd moved to nip at her jaw.

His breath fanned her cheek. "Oh, I'm in no rush, just gotta get this fuckin' dress off ya." He tugged at the zipper at the back. His mouth latched onto her shoulder, kissing the bruise he left there before.

She winced and pushed herself off the wall. He really did not pull any stops when he went for something, the bruising kind of stung.

He gave her space to unlatch her pentagram belt and remove her dress. His eyes burned her, taking in her naked body. She had to fight the urge to cover herself from his hungry gaze.

In a desperate move to keep her nerve, she pressed herself against him, skin on skin. A sharp breath escaped past his lips. She pressed soft kisses to his neck as she trailed her hands under his cut, sliding the leather off him.

With great effort, she tore herself away from him and dragged him by the hand to the bed. "Tell me what you want?"

"You." His voice was low almost gravelly.

"How?" She sat on the bed, pulling Hidan on top of her. Something dug into her when she sat down. Suddenly, mid-song Careless Whisper started playing from speakers across the room. Sakura burst into laughter, looking him in the eye. "Seriously? Careless Whisper? Don't tell me you were planning this?"

He groaned, laying on top of her and hiding his face in her hair. "Fuck you, coincidences do happen." He caressed her body with heavy hands, when he reached her breasts he kneaded them.

Sakura tried to concentrate on the pleasure, leaning into his crass touch. When the song switched to Hungry for Love she couldn't contain her giggles. Best coincidence ever.

Growling he pulled the remote of the music centre from under her and shut off the music, throwing the remote on the ground.

"You're such a dork," she tittered, laughing harder when he glared at her.

"Shut up."

"I'm judging you so hard right now."

He hovered over her, a huge grin on his face. "Good because I judged you before on your granny panties."

She fake pouted, trying to stifle her giggles. "So mean."

He kissed her again, taking her breath away. When he pulled away he looked at her, searching for something in her face.

"Sooo...can we put the music back on?" She sucked her lip in her mouth, hiding her grin.

"No."

"Aw, but I wanna listen to your cheesy 80s playlist."

"You can listen to it later." He cut short whatever else she wanted to ask by kissing her again.

She moaned, hands falling on his chest. She'll let this go...for now. Definitely, a topic to bring up later, maybe even around his friends, embarrass him a little.

Rest of the day was spent in a rinse and repeat motion. They talked for hours, sharing odd titbits about their lives or just talking about random nonsense after that falling into each other's arms again, exploring their likes and dislikes differently.

She found out that 80s cheese was a guilty pleasure of his he'd gotten from his dad, his actual favourite genre was black metal, which honestly made more sense. In return to her prying, she had to disclose her own guilty pleasure – My Little Pony. She'd smacked him when he'd burst out in cackles at her admission. Not everything she likes has to be all doom and gloom.

All that time she expertly avoided talking about his cult, every time he seemed to get on the track to talk about it she diverted the conversation or gave him surprise kisses. If he had noticed her aversion, he didn't say anything. Which he probably eventually did because at some point during the night he gave up trying.

Somewhere along the way of discussing which is the worst pizza topping she clocked out.

Xxx

When she stirred from sleep disorientation hit her like a ton of bricks. The room was dark, larger than her own and the bed was firmer than her own. She was warm and there was an odd weight on her chest. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Hidan was half slung across her body, his face nearly tucked in the crook of her neck, his even breath tickling her skin. His arm was laid across her chest, which explained the weight.

She smiled, remembering last night, all the activities, the chatting and how warm it all had made her.

She ran her fingers through his tousled hair. "By the way, anchovies are the worst." She chuckled to herself. They never did finish that conversation, something they couldn't agree on.

He stirred, rolling off her. "Olives are worse," he grumbled, voice still thick with sleep.

Sakura laughed. Not a heavy sleeper just like her. When she turned to him he was already looking at her. "Hey."

"Hey."

She sucked in her lip, trying to hide her growing grin. "Y'know you have really bad morning breath."

He returned her smile and leaned closer to blow in her face.

She chuckled, pushing his face away. "Stop." Sudden wetness was on her hand and she pulled her hand away. "Did you just lick me? Gross." She cleaned her hand on the sheets.

"I didn't see ya complain last night when we swapped spit like over a dozen times."

Sakura blushed. She pulled the sheet up to cover her nose. Can't argue with that, especially when she had been the initiator more than half of the time.

"Shit!" Hidan suddenly sprung up from bed, taking the sheets with him.

"W-what?"

He fell out of the bed. She grabbed the sheet, pulling it back to cover herself.

He rapidly searched the ground, grabbing his pants and jumping in them. "Fuck, the Prez is going to have my balls."

"Hidan, what's going on?"

He scrambled through his room searching for his clothes. Surprisingly enough he put on a shirt and only then shrugged on his cut.

"I was supposed to head out tonight. We had this deal we needed to settle." He pulled out his phone from his jeans. "Fuck! I gotta go."

"Hidan?" She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "It's 4 AM."

He didn't seem to hear her. "Just...stay here, I'll be back." He awkwardly hanged around, eyes searching her face. "Please. Stay." His voice was low, pleading.

She blinked. This was the first time she'd heard him say please or any other kind of pleasantry. "Okay."

He nodded gravely and opened the door. "By the way..." He turned back, a mischievous smile on his face. "Your morning breath could kill someone."

Sakura mock frowned and threw a pillow at him which he deftly avoided. "Just go already. Jackass."

Cackling loudly he left, closing the door.

She crossed her arms and slumped back in the bed, back in the warmth he had left. Something was up, he was acting oddly. Obviously, he had gone to take care of club business, though it didn't explain the sudden insecurity. Her thoughts kept wandering around until sleep overcame her again and she was out like a light.

When she came to it was 8 AM. The sun was peeking in through the curtains, casting a dull glow to the room. Now alone the room had a different atmosphere to it. It was too large, too empty, despite this being the only room in his house, that she'd seen, that looked lived in. It was weird, being here alone, in a house she didn't fully recognize.

She rolled over, smushing her face in the pillow. Gods, the pillow still smelled like him. She clenched her hands around it, willing for the butterflies to calm down.

Last night had been unexplainable, she had never spent a whole day like this with a guy before. Amazing sex aside, they had connected on a personal level. She might have spilt all of her embarrassing stories and revealed her love for the morbid. Finding someone else who understood her branch of dark humour was riveting. She should've realized that neither Sasuke or Neji were the right guys for her sooner. She didn't have to walk on eggshells around Hidan like she had had to do with Sasuke or hide her interests like she had had to do around Neji.

It was freeing.

She groaned, rolling on her back. This stupid feeling wasn't leaving her, only growing stronger. It never ended well for her to like someone this fucking much. She could get a bit clingy when she got like this and that was a major turn off for guys like Hidan, she knew. She should keep herself in check.

What if she became his old lady?

Heat crept up her face. No, no, she shouldn't get ahead of herself.

With a grunt, she untwisted herself from the sheets and out of bed. She was sticky in places she did not want to be and she was sure that her eyeliner was smeared. Somehow Hidan hadn't commented on that. Smart man.

It took her a while to feel less like an intruder in his home and actually go find a bathroom. Only after her shower, she came to the realization that she had no change of clothes to wear. Her dress was nice, but not exactly something she would like to wear now. Without any other option, she stood in front of one of the chest of drawers in the bedroom, fidgeting on her feet. She didn't want to overstep a boundary and make things weird by wearing some of his clothes.

Ah, to hell with it. Hidan will just have to suck it up. At random, she pulled open one of the drawers. Uh, well, it seemed Hidan had the same situation she had in her closet – everything was in a shade of black, with some spruce of other dark colours in between. Only one way to find out what is what.

In a stroke of luck, the first thing she grabbed was some kind of band t-shirt. The logo was so brambled that she wasn't sure that it even was a logo. She shrugged. It looked good enough. She threw the shirt on. The shirt was long enough to cover her butt, and that's all she could really ask for.

So...does she just wait for him to come back now? Or can she explore the house a bit? It wouldn't be overstepping any boundaries if she snooped around and maybe found the ritual room he had briefly mentioned last night?

Her stomach growled.

Or she should just make breakfast before her insides start eating each other.

At the door, she faltered. He won't mind that she makes breakfast if she makes enough for both of them, will he?

One way to find out.

She ran down to the kitchen where she had last left her bag, fished out her phone and typed out a text to him, stating her intentions. After five to ten minutes there still was no response. Well…she can't say she didn't warn him. Besides who could refuse some fluffy pancakes?

On the floor, she found her panties. She scrunched her nose. No way she's wearing those again. Better to just stuff them in her bag. She'll make sure not to bend over and reveal her lack of underwear, though the only person who could see has already seen everything. A conspirational smile fell on her lips. She could have some fun with this.

For the next few minutes, she rummaged through the spacious kitchen, searching for the basic ingredients. The good news was that he had everything to make the pancakes with, bad – nothing to put on them. Still, her mind was settled on pancakes.

All through the task, her hands were shaking and her insides were doing circus loops. Her nerves were never going to give her peace, were they? This relationship she had with Hidan was odd, she could admit. The rate in which it was progressing was way faster than any of her previous relationships had. It scared her. She didn't know what to expect, didn't know how this all worked.

The front door opened, heavy footsteps following. He was back.

Sakura held her breath, trying to pretend like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. She could feel his eyes on her just as she was finishing up the last batch. She turned off the oven and swivelled on her heel. "I, uh, made breakfast if that's fine with you."

He stared at her like she was a ghost.

She cleared her throat awkwardly and placed the bowl of pancakes on the island counter. "I didn't see anything to eat these with in your fridge, so we'll just have to eat them as they are."

His eyes drifted from her to the pancakes, his hands were clenched, posture stiff.

Sakura swallowed. Avoiding looking at him she pulled out two plates and set them down, taking a seat near the counter. Calm down, Sakura, he's just tense and probably surprised.

Stiffly he sat across from her at the counter. "You...you really did this?"

"Uh, yeah… It's fine, right?" Did she do something wrong? Why was he acting so weirdly? She did send him a text that she'll do so. Apparently, he never saw it.

"Yeah..." With a fork, he slid some of the pancakes on his plate. "You didn't run."

She paused, fork midway to her mouth. "You asked me to stay. Did you want me to run?"

"No…"

His hair was still a bit of a mess and he did look like someone had shot his dog, but apart from that, there were no new injuries on his person that she could see of. "What's wrong?"

"...no one's made breakfast for me before."

A long stretch of silence followed.

"Really? Didn't your dad make breakfast for you as a kid?" Last night when she'd mentioned her parents and how they had been her main driving force when applying to med school, Hidan had briefly mentioned his dad. He hadn't told her much only that he had grown up with just his dad around, he also being the reason why he fell into the MC scene.

He snorted. "Never said that my dad was a good parent."

"Oh..." Well, now she felt like a privileged asshole. Both her parents practically cradled her like a little baby, showering her with love and affection. She tended to forget that not everyone had such loving parents as herself. "Well, I wouldn't mind making breakfast for you..." she clamped her mouth shut at the end. It was like she was insinuating that she'll stay around longer, live with him even. She pinned her eyes to her untouched pancakes, pink dusting her cheeks.

Hidan stayed uncharacteristically quiet, the scrape of his fork against the plate filling the silence.

How does she follow up to that? She ruined things, didn't she? She peeked at him through her bangs. Or maybe not… His fear of her running on him, the surprise of her making pancakes. He wasn't used to getting such attention. He always acted so boisterously, like nothing could hurt him that now seeing him so vulnerable broke her heart.

She racked her brain for five minutes, trying to find something to say, something to distract him, something to change the atmosphere with. Oh...there was something she didn't get to bring up last night. "So..." she let the word drag, gauging his reaction. He didn't even look up at her. "Itachi told me that he never sent you to pick me up."

His movements stilled, pink dusting his cheeks. "I...uh..."

She grinned knowingly. Bet he didn't expect to get called out. It was so refreshing to see him flustered for a change.

He cleared his throat. "Let's just say that I didn't wanna be a girlfriend stealing dick in case you two were still together."

Her mouth opened. She had suspected that he'd been trying to hit on her, though hearing him admit it himself was a lot more satisfying. It took her a while to compose herself, find the correct words. "...how...thoughtful of you. Though you still were a dick back then."

"I gotta keep my reputation up somehow."

She continued as if he hadn't said anything at all. "But don't worry, I don't mind your dickish-ness."

He snorted. "That's a first."

A grin stretched across her lips. It was working, he wasn't as tense anymore and was that a smile she was seeing? "Oooh, what other firsts could I possibly steal from you?"

He leaned forward in his seat, smirking suggestively. "Wanna find out?" They locked eyes and her insides did a flip.

She looked away first. "Maybe after breakfast..."

He hummed, a pleased grin on his face.

She fumbled around with her fork. The way he'd looked at her when he'd seen her making pancakes, the way he had looked at her when they first had sex – it was clear as day that she meant something to him. And she could admit that he meant something to her. Which is why she wanted to know him better, find out all the little ticks, habits, things that he liked, was passionate about. There was a lot she didn't know. She didn't care about the MC business, but maybe… "Say, why don't you tell me more about Lord Jashin?"

His face instantly lit up.

There was that smile she liked so much.

No doubt it was a shady cult, but it was a part of him, a part of his life. She wanted to know, even if she didn't like religion. Sure, he was like a walking disaster, had a vulgar vocabulary and carried a reputation that would make old ladies faint. She didn't care. In him, she had found someone who had accepted her, understood her, someone who did not look at her like she's a nut case when she'd said that she likes to collect skulls. Even if this will be temporary, she will soak up every bit of him that she can get.

This has been the most self-indulgent bullshit I have ever written and I'm not even sorry for it, I love every piece of this garbage. I'm just glad that there are people who have gathered enjoyment from this as well. It was a hell of a ride writing it. All over I'm just glad that I was finally, after who knows how many years, get it out of my head.

This story also had some pretty obscure references not relating to my own life.

1."This is just a flesh wound" - Not really that obscure, but it was the first hint I gave that Hidan is a memer. I pretty much confirmed it in this chapter.

2. Sakura collecting skulls - Paul Booth is awesome and I just had to mention that somehow. Check out his storytime videos over at Inked on YouTube, he's an inspiration and an awesome dad.

3. Holy Ghost - Johnny 3 Tears from the group Hollywood Undead pretty often refers to god as such. A fun little tidbit about my favourite band.

4. Akatsuki MC owning a pizza place - got this idea from Tumblr posts about random mafia's owning pizza places as covers for their businesses, and eventually switching to be legitimate pizza places only because that gained them more profits. I just think it's hilarious.

5. Hidan's favourite music black metal - a reference to his special ritual jutsu which makes him look like a skeleton. Black metal artists often wear makeup (corpsepaint) that can be very similar to Hidan's appearance when in the jutsu.

Also plz give meh the feedbacks. My dumb ass has never written anything so heavily romance themed.