kiss me

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.

.

"so are you and sasuke like an item now, or what?"

sakura is at yamanaka flowers, shopping different floral scents one day when ino blithely poses the question.

"that is quite none of your business, ino-pig."

"i mean, he follows you around the village when you're in town, and looks like a lost little puppy when you're not, so i already know the answer to that. but like, when are we getting the official memo?"

"we are not an item," sakura insists, hovering over a rack of moringa stalks.

"sure, whatever you say," ino says from behind the counter, and even though sakura's back is turned to her, she can hear her friend's eye roll in the inflection of her words.

"how are things at the interrogation division? can you read my mind yet?" she tries to change the subject.

"no, not yet," ino says, tone ripe with disappointment. "ibiki has me working on the really exciting stuff right now, like filing paper and running errands to the hokage's office. but any day now, he's going to see me for the bright, talented interrogator that i am and probably resign and leave the division to my supervision."

sakura cannot help but laugh. "any day now, of course."

she gathers a bunch of moringa flowers in her hands, and walks over to the counter.

"do i get the best friend discount today?"

"i suppose." ino sighs and rolls her eyes again. "god, drop that stupid grin. you're going to kill my flowers walking around like the sun incarnate."

sakura pulls a straight face with some effort, and says, "yes, ma'am. are we still on for tonight?"

"getting shit faced on free booze? wouldn't dream of missing out."

"perfect, i'll see you tonight then!" sakura starts walking toward the exit, her flowers snugly held against her chest.

"you laugh more now," ino says.

sakura turns to look at her, puzzled.

"i know you and sasuke are not an 'item', but you laugh more now." she's not even looking at sakura, she's inspecting her nails like she couldn't care less about what she is saying. "just an observation."

sakura waits till ino looks up to meet her eyes, and smiles.

"okay, get out of here. you're killing my flowers. get out."

sakura and sasuke are an item now.

neither of them have openly acknowledged it—not to each other, not to anyone else—but it's obvious enough to everyone that they're patently, unapologetically together. sakura knows it from ino's incredibly leading questions, and kakashi dragging naruto away to "train" whenever he sees their knuckle-headed teammate obliviously trying to squeeze between them for some quality team bonding time, and the way her mother graces her with that knowing, gleaming smile only a parent, ecstatic for their child, would wear.

she sees these things, and she is silently content.

silent, only because whatever it is they are is still taking shape. it is just becoming, and she wants to give it the time and space it needs.

"are you coming out with us tonight, sasuke-kun?" she asks, as they sit over lunch at her dining table.

"he is going to be in training for a year, he's not becoming hokage just yet. this celebration is premature," he says, but only after swallowing the food in his mouth.

"well, it is still an important milestone. and honestly, everyone's just looking for an excuse to go out and have fun. you should come if you want to," she says.

"hn." sasuke answers with his usual non-answer, and she takes it to mean she won't be seeing him later tonight.

they finish eating, so she starts to get up and collect their empty plates, but he puts a hand on her wrist. "no, let me."

"okay." she watches him pick up the plates, and walk to the sink. in his wake, she considers her wrist where he'd just laid a completely innocent hand. she stays rooted in her chair, hoping he cannot hear her raised heartbeat. the fact of the matter is that sasuke rarely indulges in touches, so every time it happens she has to take a moment to gather herself.

"so what are you going to be up to tonight?" she gets up and walks over to his side. his hands are swift and efficient as they scrub the plates and rinse the suds off.

"some reading, some cleaning," he says, without looking up from the sink.

"hm, well, you know where we'll be if you get bored," she says, smiling, but something in her expression must betray disappointment, because his hands suddenly stop scrubbing, and he asks, "do you want me to come, sakura?"

"what? no," she says, perhaps too hastily to be believable. "i do not want you doing anything you don't want to do, sasuke-kun."

"okay." his hands resume their work. he turns the faucet off after he's finished rinsing and uses a dishcloth to pat his hands dry. he turns around and joins sakura in leaning against the kitchen counter.

"i can meet you afterward, if you'd like," he says, gruff voice almost just a whisper.

"i think i would like that," she returns, smiling, "very much, actually."

and there is a gap here, a hole in the tapestry of their relationship wherein it might have been commonplace to close the distance between them and perhaps lay an everyday sort of kiss on the other. but they are still becoming, still coming into shape, and neither has found the courage yet to weave in that particular part of the tapestry.

sasuke doesn't like crowded places, so he waits outside the bar. sakura was to meet him here approximately fifteen minutes ago, but so far, he has only seen some very drunk chunins stumble out of the establishment. he's just made up his mind to venture inside against his liking when he spots a flash of pale blonde dash through the door.

"steady, steady now, forehead." he hears ino say. she has sakura's arm around the back of her neck and is struggling to keep her standing straight. he steps in front of them just in time to catch sakura from falling face first onto the ground.

"oh, thank god you're here," ino lets out a loud sigh.

"hi, sasuke-kun." sakura giggles, and ino looks slightly mortified.

"she's had a little too much to drink, clearly. can you take her home and make sure she doesn't choke on her own vomit and die, please?"

"of course." sasuke takes one of her arms, and snakes it around his neck. she has to stand on her tip toes for this to work though, which means she just ends up stumbling some more.

"okay, i gotta step back in there. shikamaru's a fucking mess, but please, take care of her." ino looks grateful, which is new and unfamiliar to sasuke. he nods his assent, and she runs back inside, looking like she's heading into a scene of disaster.

he turns to look at sakura, who has her head leaning against his shoulder, and a wide, sleepy smile on her face. he suspects she won't be able to make the trek back to her place on foot, so he swoops her up in his arms.

"oh," sakura lets out a high-pitched, elated sound, immediately followed by uninhibited laughter.

"you're a happy drunk, aren't you?" sasuke says, more a statement than a question.

"i am happy that you are here," she returns, head resting against his beating heart.

sakura is light as a feather, and mostly quiet the rest of the way home. he knows where she keeps her spare key—under the pot of her aloe vera, the undisputed favorite in her burgeoning home garden. he unlocks the door and steps into the darkness of her apartment.

"are we, are we home?" she raises her head slightly, and squeals when he turns on the light. "we are home!"

"yes, and you are going to bed." sasuke carries her to her room, and lays her on her bed. as he's starting to let go, she grabs a hold of his shirt.

"wait, sasuke-kun, where are you going?" her voice is small and afraid in the dark.

"i'm not going anywhere, sakura. i'm right here," he tries to reassure her, pulling the blanket over her body.

"okay, good," she says, wrapping her arms around his neck in a sloppy embrace, "because i want to make out with you. on your face."

sasuke's body goes stiff. he stays still until he hears a light snoring sound and is certain she has fallen asleep. carefully, he peels her arms and lays her back until her head hits the pillow.

moonlight spills into the room from her uncurtained window. he can make out the flush of pink over her cheeks, a sign among many that she'd had one too many tonight. he finds himself reaching out for her, the back of one shivering hand caressing her face.

she is warm, and the contact comforting. he withdraws his hand after a moment, and notices she's smiling in her sleep. a strange, lulling sort of peace washes over him.

before he leaves, he draws the curtains so the sun will not be too cruel to her come morning.

sakura wakes up with an unforgiving hangover. a pounding headache just making its home at the base of her temple. all she wants to do is go back to sleep soon as she opens her eyes, but she vaguely remembers her parents are expecting her for lunch today. groaning, she throws her blanket off, and makes a run for the shower.

later when she goes out to the living room, she nearly screams when she sees sasuke sitting at the dining table, with breakfast ready in front of him.

"oh my god, you scared me, sasuke-kun," she says, half-pleasantly surprised to see him, half-annoyed she couldn't detect his chakra because of the hangover.

"how are you feeling?" he says, morose as always.

"i've been better, but what are you doing here?" sakura does not remember seeing him last night. come to think of it, she doesn't remember much of any of last night.

"i was just getting ready to leave." he pushes his chair back, and gets up. "eat. it'll make you feel better."

"did you… bring me home last night by any chance?" she asks, mildly apprehensive of his response. she'd just assumed ino had dropped her home.

"yes, i did."

"oh, oh," she says, suddenly crippled by a wave of self-consciousness. "i'm so sorry."

"for what?"

"i don't know, but i'm sure i did something. many things, probably."

"you were fine." he starts walking toward the door, so she follows him to see him off.

"thank you, sasuke-kun." despite everything, she is beaming. she could get used to this. getting up and walking out into the living room to see his face everyday.

"what is the matter?" he asks.

"oh, nothing. you know me, i'm just such a morning person." he raises an eyebrow at her, and she scrambles to salvage an obvious lie. "…even when i am nursing a killer hangover. impressive, i know."

sakura has a habit of laughing at her own jokes when she's nervous. she's doing just that, letting out a thin, reedy, unconvincing laugh, when sasuke steps in front of her, standing much closer than he's ever been. the sound in her mouth dies.

"what are you doing, sasuke-kun?" she manages to ask somehow.

"making out with you. on your face," he says, and he claims the distance between them. sakura barely has time to process what's happening before she feels his lips on hers. he is gentle but sure as he kisses her, and as the shock subsides, she slowly closes her eyes and wraps her arms around his neck. sasuke's lips are achingly soft, and they whisper the most divine song against her own, compelling her mind and body into a state of uncharted euphoria.

she's breathless when he lets her go, only for a moment though, as he leans down for another peck, then another.

they stand by the door like that, him tenderly cupping her face still, her trying to look him in the eyes and blushing profusely. like all of their other beginnings, it's as dizzyingly exciting as it is terrifying.

sakura cannot stop smiling.

a/n: this was written a couple of months back as a gift fic for a dear friend's birthday. i never got around to uploading it here, which is just as well, because now i can use this opportunity to make a very important announcement to my subscribers/whoever happens to stumble upon this.

by now, you have probably heard about the earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25th, 2015. the 7.9 magnitude hit claimed thousands of lives and destroyed centuries worth of cultural history. on May 12th, 2015, there was a second major hit of 7.3 magnitude. this devastating tragedy has rendered an entire nation to its knees, wrecked lives, rattled psyches. now, it is upon those of us who have the means to help to step up and lend a hand.

to help in whatever measure possible, i am currently running the Naruto for Nepal project. if you haven't yet heard about it, please go to my profile, where you can find more information on the project. in short, this project allows you to request fan fics, fan art, or fan edits from participating writers, artists, and graphic designers, in exchange for proof of donation to UNICEF Nepal. many, many talented and amazing and generous artists + writers + graphic designers have come together for this project to raise money and awareness for Nepal. if you can, please consider donating and requesting work from one of our participating contributors (many of whom are open to taking requests for multiple fandoms). if you cannot donate, please spread the word about this project, so someone who is able to donate may learn about it.

i never thought i'd be asking for anything more than a thoughtful review when i posted on this site, but here i am: if you have the means, please consider donating. every little bit counts, every little bit would be saving lives.