A/N: I decided to ease the insanely tense and intense atmosphere of this story with a little humor. Thank crazymel2008 for asking me to update when I though everyone had forgotten about this story. Enjoy!

There was fire everywhere, the blazing orange erupting from every part of the forest. Sakura whipped her arms up in front of her face to protect herself as a rush of fire came particularly close. She looked around from the branch she stood on, searching for an escape. A loud crack from the branch standing between her and the rising flames caused the urgency of finding safety stronger. As the branch gave a thundering cry Sakura was forced to fling herself from the branch into the reaching flames, hoping her hands would grab something before she fell straight to her death.

She let out a scream as she fell, the heat enveloping her, before two arms wrapped around her waist. She jerked her head around to look behind her and found sharingan staring back at her. She felt relief for only a second before it turned to panic upon realizing it was not Sasuke but Itachi holding her. She struggled and suddenly the whole scenery changed. She was no longer in a blaze but pressed back against a tree. 'Sweet Sakura, there is nowhere you can go I will not find you.'

Sakura jerked awake with a harsh scream, clutching the blankets close to her chest. She heard the comforting pounding of footsteps followed by her bedroom door whipping open to reveal Sasuke filling the doorway. Such had been a ritual for the past week yet it was now in Sasuke's house instead of at the hospital, her departure from the hospital only a few hours earlier. They didn't have much room at the hospital and she didn't have a reason to need to stay any longer there after being healed and watched over by Tsunade and also with a skilled ninja watching her every hour of the day. In her stay Tsunade had also finished mending the bones in Sakura's legs, but the nerve damage in them was still there and dangerous so Sakura was to remain in her wheelchair until she could start physical therapy.

Sasuke stared at her from the doorway like every night, studying her body up and down to make sure it had just been a nightmare. Seeming satisfied, Sakura expected him to turn around and leave like every other night but was surprised when he moved into the room and closed the door behind him. "Sasuke?" she called, worried there was something off that was alerting him to look around for threats. She began looking around in a frenzy, searching for what he saw.

"Sakura, calm down." Sakura quickly stilled, easily finding reassurance in what he said. He swiftly moved across the room to rest beside her bed. He peeled back the covers, a cool surge of air rushing over the exposed skin of her legs since she only wore underwear with a loose white t-shirt that had ridden up from her movements. Sasuke crawled in beside her, dropping his head down on the empty pillow to her right and reaching across the bed to wrap a hand around her bare waist. He then pulled her back backward against his chest, letting out a sigh as he did so.

"Sasuke?" Sakura squeaked nervously, trying to understand what the raven-haired boy was doing joining her in bed so late at night.

"I read in one of your medical textbooks on trauma that it is easier for the traumatized to sleep in the company of another since it gives peace of mind to them. Go to sleep." She faintly recalled reading that in one of the many textbooks on trauma Tsunade had given to her at her departure from the hospital upon hearing from Sasuke her nightmares were still occurring every night. She smiled, grateful that Sasuke had made the move to sleep beside her since she knew she would have never had the courage to ask him to sleep with her.

~The~Next~Morning~

"Sakura, how could you! Teme, get your hands of my precious Sakura!" Sakura stirred at the obnoxious screaming, still remaining in the hazy state between awake and asleep. She felt the warmth against her back and around her waist lessen and she gripped the thing holding her waist, murmuring out a protest. It again tried to move and she was forced to be louder.

"Stop it, I'm cold." she moaned. A high pitched screech followed by a chuckle caused her to bolt upright in bed, turning her glare on the source of the screech that had fully awoken her. There, clad in his usual orange outfit, stood Naruto with a horrified expression. "What the hell are you screaming about?" she demanded, frustrated with the obnoxious blond. Sticking out a single finger Naruto pointed to her right where her warmth had been. She looked over and let out a scream herself. There, his head propped up on his elbow as he lay on his side with his body facing her, was a shirtless Sasuke.

After snapping her mouth shut, the previous night returned to her memory and Sakura sighed. Her faced dropped back into one of annoyance as she brought her palm up to rest against her forehead in a poor attempt to prevent her oncoming migraine form all the yelling so early. "Oh yeah, you're here." she mumbled, making Naruto let out another screech.

"He's shirtless in your bed, why Sakura?" Naruto whined, rushing around to her side of the bed and attaching himself to her left arm with a pout on his face.

Sasuke apparently found this a good time to interject, getting enough amusement. "She was having more nightmares, dobe." That seemed to slow Naruto down, as the blond briefly thought over what Sasuke had said.

"So?"

"So, it is proven trauma victims sleep better in the company of another."

"Bullshit."

"Trauma victims sleep better in the company of another person or animal they trust because they feel safer than when they're alone. That is quoted from the damn textbook, I can show it to if you want."

Naruto vehemtly shook his head, fearful of any type of book or learning. "But why are you shirtless?" Naruto demanded, thinking he had finally gotten a good point.

"It was hot last night. Look at Sakura; she didn't wear pants because she was hot." Sasuke seemed to find comedy in Naruto gasping, turning white, then passing out and falling to the luckily carpet floor.

"Come on Sasuke, I don't feel like treating this idiot for a concussion this early!" Sakura whined, stretching her arms up above her head while being careful to not agitate her ribs. The raven-haired man simply shrugged, getting out the bed and going around to her side. Careful not to step on and wake up the blonde, Sasuke gathered Sakura in his arms, fighting down a blush from his arm being under her naked thighs. He carried her to the bathroom and set her on the toilet seat. That was when Sasuke wondered, how the hell was Sakura going to shower? The first night he had brought her home she had showered earlier in the day, the day after that they had gone shopping and then Itachi had attacked. After that the female nurses at the hospital had dealt with everything.

"H-how is this going to work?" he asked, mentally berating himself for stuttering.

Sakura stared at him for several seconds, seeming confused, before a deep blush spread across her cheeks like wildfire. "W-ell, we should probably strip down to our underwear and then you could get in the rub and help me wash what I can't." Sasuke simply nodded, pulling off his pants and socks before turning to Sakura. She lifted her arms straight up in the air and Sasuke grabbed the hem of her shirt, gently lifting her shirt up and maneuvering it around Sakura's still in place wrist cast. Sadly Tsunade hadn't felt her wrist was properly set yet, so the cast had to remain. With the girl he had found peaking his interest in only her skin colored underwear and bra before him, Sasuke let out an awkward cough.

"Alright." he lifted Sakura up in his arms and walked her over to the tub that also had a showerhead before setting her on the bottom of it. Next he reached out and turned on the water, making sure it was warm before he put the stopper in the drain and climbed in the tub behind Sakura. His arms wrapped around her shoulders and his chin rested atop her shoulder as his legs snaked around her hips and legs. Her cheeks burned bright red as Sasuke reached around her to grab the shampoo. He pressed some into his palm before setting the bottle aside and setting to work on Sakura's hair. He dug his fingers into her hair, massaging her scalp causing her to release a low moan.

Next he grabbed a bristled brush and after applying body was to it he began to gently scrub different parts of her body.

"That feels amazing!" Sakura groaned, dropping her head back on his shoulder.

"Hn. Be quieter, if dobe catches us like this he'll kill me." Sakura and he practically naked in a tub together wasn't exactly an innocent image.

He continued to scrub her skin. "Harder!" she whined, loving the massage.

"Relax, if I rush this it will hurt." he reminded her, cautious of the sharp bristles.

"Come on, give it to me!" she whined, trying to snatch the brush away from him. He chuckled and pulled it out of her reach. With the water and soap all over the tub, Sakura easily slipped when she turned around to grab the brush and ended up sprawled out chest to chest with their legs entangled on top of Sasuke.

Naruto POV

I groggily opened my eyes and looked around and found the room empty other than myself. From the bathroom next door I heard a disturbing exclamation.

"That feels amazing!"

"Hn. Be quieter, if dobe catches us like this he'll kill me." My eyes bugged out, my mind automatically jumping to sexual assumptions since Jiraya was after all my sensei.

I heard Sakura let out another moan. "Harder!"

"Relax, if I rush this it will hurt." I jumped to my feet, slowly proceeding towards the bathroom.

"Come on, give it to me!" I rushed to the bathroom at that point, hearing a thump. I found Sakura on top of Sasuke.

"Baa-chan! Sasuke is trying to de-flower Sakura!" I screamed, turning and sprinting from the apartment. I bolted towards the Hokage tower, screaming out about Sasuke being a pervert.

Normal POV

Sakura blinked a few times before bursting out laughing and dropping her head down against Sasuke's chest as her body was racked with laughter. Sasuke joined her laughter with chuckles of his own a couple moments after and soon they were both shaking with laughter. As they calmed down Sasuke looked down at the girl on his chest, examining her from her pink roots to the tips of her toes. He subconsciously reached forward with a hand and brushed some of her hair out of her face to reveal two emerald eyes staring back at him.

"You know shishiou is going to come storming over hear after she hears what Naruto was screaming." she mumbled, attempting to motivate herself towards moving off Sasuke's muscular and warm chest.

"Aa. We should probably move." Sasuke agreed, yet neither made a move to get up. After several minutes of lying together in silence, Sakura propped herself up on her left elbow before using her right hand to draw circles on Sasuke's chest while admiring his very fit shape.

"Did you miss us when you were gone?" she asked, and Sasuke stared at her with a blank expression for several moments.

"I missed being asked out constantly by my number one fan and watching you punch Naruto in the head." Sakura giggled at his reply, still keeping her gaze on his chest. "And apparently you missed me."

Sakura seemed to stiffen at that comment, her pattern tracing on his chest slowing down. "I did. You were a big part of my life and then you were gone." After that silence once again took over the bathroom again. When Sasuke heard someone pounding on the front door he decided to say one last thing to Sakura.

"I may have been a big part of your life, but I wasn't all of it." She seemed to understand the underlying message there that her whole life wasn't worth anything on his departure since she froze, shocked he knew about her suicide attempt. Then Sasuke slipped out from under her and climbed out of the bathtub, dressing quickly before exiting the bathroom. He made his way downstairs, shouting to the front door to knock it off. Sakura remained lying in the bathtub, not sure what to do. She settled for turning up the heat of the water and sinking further into the water until only her face wasn't under it.

Tsunade POV

I heard screams and lazily lifted my aching head from my desk. Naruto burst into my office and I quickly became alert at his words. "Baa-chan! Sasuke is trying to de-flower Sakura!" I leapt up, knocking over the obnoxious boy in my haste, and sprinted to the Uchiha household while pumping chakra into my fist. When I arrived I began pounding on the door. I heard Sasuke yell for me to knock it off and a vein bulged in my forehead at the brat's disrespectful attitude.

The door opened the reveal a fully clothed Uchiha glaring at me. "Will you not smash my house." he growled and I felt the need to punch him.

"Where is Sakura?"

"Sleeping."

"With you?"

"Were you talking to Naruto, the moron who last week thought he saw a rabid chinchilla eating his toes off and snakes sexually harassing Hinata? Do you not recall the chinchilla's being him chewing on his own feet and the snakes being the water Hinata was swimming in but he got confused because of his extreme intoxication?" I paused to think over what the Uchiha had said.

"Yes."

"First mistake." And then the damn brat slammed the door in my face.

~.L~.A~.T~.E~.R~. ~.T~.H~.A~.T~. ~.D~.A~.Y~.

Sakura laughed at Sasuke's attempt to make eggs, the burnt pile of goo on her plate the result. "I've never made eggs before, you just have weird taste!" the dark haired man mumbled as he grumpily attempted to wash the pan in the sink. Sakura smiled at him and moved off her stool silently to help him but her was alerted of her movement when her legs gave out and she hit the floor.

"Damn it." she hissed, her legs aching more than usual from her fall. Sasuke was quickly by her side looking her over for any injuries. When he found none other than the possibility of her legs bruising later he glared at her.

"You're not supposed to be walking yet."

"I know, I know. It's just too damn infuriating that I'm not starting physical therapy until tomorrow. I'm so glad I convinced Shishou to move it forward from next week though, my patience would have been completely gone by then." she grumbled.

"You have patience right now?" Sasuke mused, wondering what her without 'patience' was like.

Sakura scoffed before replying, "Yeah I do, your counter is still in one piece isn't it?"

Sasuke's eye twitched at that comment and he growled, "You will not break any part of the Uchiha compound, got that?"

Sakura shrugged and put her hands up in a defensive position. "No promises."

Great. Sasuke thought grumpily. She just had to have monstrous strength didn't she?

"Now, help me up so I can show you how eggs are really made." Sasuke rolled his eyes before sliding his hands under her knees and lower back. He lifted her up and then walked over to the counter next to the stove and placed her up on it with her legs dangling off the edge of it. She smiled at him before playfully kicking her feet out. He snatched them up out of the air and brought them to his chest before tickling them causing her to screech girlishly. It was moments like those that he could truly relax and be happy, especially those when she was around. "Stop it!" She giggled and he smirked at her.

"I only torture people who make fun of my eggs!" he replied between chuckles.

Her broad grin for a reply told him that she didn't plan on apologizing for the comment and he resumed tickling her. Things were getting easier and Itachi seemed to fade to the back of his mind, becoming a burden to think about. "Come on, we need to do something productive today other than scarring Naruto and pissing off shishiou! What should we do?" Sasuke stopped to try and answer her question. With her only beginning physical therapy the next day they probably should do some sort of exercise so she wouldn't be completely out of shape.

"Let's go to the training grounds. I'll help you attempt to do some stretches, practice nerve stimulation, and maybe even try walking." Sakura looked excited by the suggestion and gave an immediate smile.

"Really? No joke?"

"Nope. We'll get dressed in more comfortable clothes and go." He gathered her in his arms before heading upstairs to prepare them for the day. Once there he set her down on her bed before pulling out a mesh tank top with a red leather tank top with the Haruno emblem that Ino had given him at the hospital and a pair of black spandex shorts that were also a gift from Sakura's blond best friend. He handed them to Sakura before heading out of the room. She stared at the clothing with a sigh before peeling off her clothing to leave herself in only her underwear.

She then put on the mesh top followed by the Haruno tank top and shorts. They were definitely more fitted for the predicted warm weather and she'd have to thank Ino later. Once dressed she called for Sasuke who re-entered the room wearing a pair of black pants and a black muscle shirt. She paused and smiled at his good looking appearance before being jostled from her thoughts by being lifted up off the bed. Sasuke carried her downstairs before depositing her in her wheelchair where she huffed and crossed her arms.

"I hate this damn thing."

"Get over yourself. You aren't strong enough to go without it yet." She only glared at him when he made that comment as he wheeled her out of the house and locked the door after them. He pushed her all the way to the training ground making sure to take her out to the middle before stopping. He then walked around to the front of her and held out his hands. She lifted her bare feet and placed them in his palms and he shifted her legs closer and further from her chest to stimulate her nerves and flex her muscles. She nearly groaned aloud at how good it felt to move her legs around so much.

When he finished he tried several other nerve stimulation and muscle stretching exercises. Much faster than he'd expected he'd done all the things he'd prepared and she was staring at him expectantly. "Can I try to walk yet?"

He sighed before nodding. "I'll remain a foot in front of you at all times so if you're going to fall, try to go forwards." She grinned before bracing her palms against the wheelchair armrests and pushed off the chair onto her feet. At first they shook and she teetered, but she quickly worked to regain herself and was able to take several stumbling steps forward to help. After that she lightly picked up her feet before setting them back down gently to make sure they didn't give out. Once she had gone around fifteen feet she gained confidence and began walking quickly, her smile like a wildfire as it spread quickly across her face.

Another fifteen feet and she turned her steps into a jog, earning a protest from Sasuke. "Sakura, slow down! You're going to hurt yourself!" She continued to smile and upped her speed to a full sprint before dodging past him and running barefoot through the grassy area. He chased after her, a smirk tugging at his lips, and she simply laughed. When her legs did give out, buckling under the pressure being thrown on them, she fell forward and rolled. "Sakura!" Sasuke had screamed before sprinting to her side to find her lying in the grass laughing wildly. He had to join in and dropped to the ground beside her, placing his clasped hands under his head.

"I beat you."