AN: This chapter is somewhat M rated, please be aware (again, somewhat). Thanks for your patience while I put this together! Hope you're ready for emotions.

He was kissing her. Sasuke was kissing her, and though she felt in real danger of bursting into flames all Sakura could think was finally, finally.

It wasn't a chaste kiss. Though nothing more than a hard press of their lips together, Sakura burned hotter with it than any of the kisses she'd given or received before. There was no innocence to the movement; they were too enmeshed in one another for that, her shoulder blades resting against the door as Sasuke's larger frame molded itself to hers, an intimate position that escalated the simple touch of lips almost immediately. With her arms around his neck she could touch the frantic shake of Sasuke's pulse, measure the way his whole body seemed on the verge of overwhelming hers.

Sakura wanted it. Wanted him, with an urgency that surprised her as his lips left hers, tracing a path along her jaw to temptation under her ear. She felt the hesitant press of teeth against soft skin and then-

And then he bit down, eliciting a noise directly from her deepest, dirtiest dreams, and Sakura felt the way her teammate's heartbeat was trying to escape his chest as she pressed them closer together, aligned from shoulders to hips in an embrace that held nothing of friendship.

Through the haze, the medic wondered what he'd been trying to say before she had distracted him. She was… what? Forward? Annoying? Shameless?

Probably all of those things and more, but as Sakura watched Sasuke's arm rise to curve around her back, she found she didn't care. Thinking could, would, come after this release, the result of too much tension and not enough outlet that had been slowly building between them since Sasuke returned.

His hand traced the curved line of her spine with a hesitance at odds to the weight of his body against hers, a touch that held more heat for its gentleness. She moaned into his mouth and Sasuke swallowed the sound; his lashes brushed against her cheeks as his eyes slid shut, and she felt keenly the way his hand was now splayed between her shoulder blades as though he was holding her up.

He might as well be, because Sakura sensed she was one kiss away from losing her balance. Feeling daring through the haze his touch had brought on, she leaned into him further, lifting a leg and curving it around his hip. The height difference made it difficult but she was a kunoichi and limber with it.

And the sound the move dragged from the back of Sasuke's throat made it well worth the stretch.

"Sakura," he gasped, voice shaping her name against her collarbone. His spine was still straight even though he'd leaned into her, and Sakura knew it was Sasuke's last semblance of sense; the stubbornness keeping him from escalating what was already burning between them.

"Sasuke-kun," she replied, half a whisper and half a moan, and even though she didn't have anything more to say her lips remained parted when he pressed his teeth into her pulse again.

She was half lost in the intensity of sensation when Sakura felt Sasuke's hand slipping down the bared skin of her back once more, skating across the ridges of her spine and making her shudder. There was an instant where the kunoichi couldn't read his intentions before his hand settled on her backside, pressing into the clothed flesh with enough pressure that she was jerked forward, closing the final distance between their bodies.

The heat of his hard body had been a furnace when they were scant inches apart; with the space finally, blessedly closed Sasuke was as hot as damnation, a temptation that made Sakura's head knock back against the door as she rolled her hips in pure instinct.

At the sound Sasuke raised his head from exploring the secrets of her shoulder with his lips, red eyes scanning her face in the dim night. He didn't speak, just watched her for a moment, breathing heavily with the tomoe of his Sharingan spinning hypnotically. Leaning forward to meet him halfway Sakura pressed a kiss to his parted lips, initiating with a fervour that surprised her. She felt wild, revelling in the way his body was responding to hers.

And it was. Intimately awareness of their closeness, Sakura was conscious of the unmistakable proof of Sasuke's physical attraction pressing against her raised thigh. Rolling her hips once more - partly to feel the tantalising tingle at the apex of her legs, and partly to make Sasuke's head fall forward onto her shoulder again - she bit her lip with enough pressure that there was a hint of blood on her tongue.

Chest heaving, Sakura waited for Sasuke to begin his teasing exploration of her collarbone once again, but he simply panted against her neck, hot breath tickling her skin and sending heat right to the pit of her belly. His fingers flexed against her backside once, twice before sliding down to cup her even more fully, and Sakura thought he was about to bring her other leg up to straddle his hips when Sasuke suddenly let go, placing his hand next to her waist on the door.

He heaved a few deep breaths, obviously trying to calm his heart rate, and through the overwhelming sensations Sakura felt a flicker of apprehension when he held himself still.

"Sa-Sasuke-kun?" she hedged after a moment, her hands flitting anxiously between his silky-smooth hair and the nape of his neck.

"Aa," he replied, not moving. The touch of his lips against her bare shoulder was exhilarating even through the trickle of fear. "I'm just…"

Just what? she worried. To be rejected after such an explosive release of tension would be devastating, but as Sasuke's heartbeat started to slow to a normal pace the kunoichi wondered if it might be about to come to pass.

"What is it, Sasuke?"

Sakura wasn't the timid girl she had been, waiting patiently for any scrap of attention from the boy she loved. Though she was still anxious about how he felt, their current position showed that it was far from nothing; if anything, Sakura was finally convinced that Sasuke had, in fact, an abundance of at least physical attraction for her.

"I… I don't want to hurt you," he whispered, raising his head and gazing into her eyes, still half-lidded with desire. His voice was quiet, the barest whisper in the utter stillness of his bedroom. "This is only…"

He nodded to their flushed bodies and Sakura lowered her leg cautiously, knowing he meant that it was lust, just lust. She knew that for Sasuke it was.

And I don't care, she thought. If she said it enough it might be true.

But when she opened her mouth to tell him as much her teammate had already read her intentions.

"You're my friend, Sakura."

Friend. It was as close to saying he cared that Sasuke had ever gotten; and it was a rejection, but it was so, so important to hear all the same. Friend was better than teammate. Better than what the small, worried girl inside Sakura thought in her worst nightmares: that she wasn't anything to him at all.

Friend was, she conceded, better than someone used to sate a brief desire. Still, though Sakura could tell herself she was happy to hear Sasuke considered her a friend, her fragile hope that they could be more sputtered and went out like the fire in her chest as they stood.

Sasuke looked away. With his gaze on the darkness of his bedroom Sakura took the chance to look at him, really look; and the shake of his pulse took on a new dimension when she looked at the way his eyebrows were drawn down, the way his fingers dug into the wood of his door and his spine was once more ramrod straight. She'd seen Sasuke truly agitated only a handful of times, but he looked it now.

"I'm-"

Sakura shook her head as he spoke, disentangling her hands from Sasuke's nape and placing them against the door. There wasn't really anywhere else to put them; for all he was putting a stop to things, the Uchiha hadn't stepped back.

"Please don't apologise." She knew that tone of voice.

"Sakura…" Sasuke said, rueful, and the medic was half-tempted to let him apologise, but they really hadn't done anything wrong.

"Really, don't," she insisted, though she could feel the hot sting of tears behind her eyes. "It's been… we've been finding our feet since you got back, and tonight there was… there was a little bit of alcohol. It happens."

It didn't happen to Sakura, but she knew it was a common enough story, and the telling of it made the threat of tears subside somewhat. Sasuke looked back into her eyes again and she noticed the Sharingan had finally faded; his Rinnegan piercing while his black eye bored so deep into her that Sakura wondered if he could see right to the heart of her upset.

"I…" Finally, Sasuke stepped back a little, brushing dark hair off his still-flushed forehead.

"I want to be friends," he said. "You're important to me."

Unbidden, her eyes widened. "I am?"

The Uchiha nodded in deadly seriousness. "Yes. And I don't want to hurt you."

He'd said that already and Sakura cocked her head thoughtfully, resisting the urge to neaten out her clothes - that would only heighten the embarrassment she was definitely feeling - before frowning lightly. Why was he so convinced he'd hurt her? Because this feeling was a momentary infatuation? Because it was, on his part, just lust? She couldn't pretend to gauge his thoughts, but Sakura agreed on one thing: she didn't want to hurt him either.

And if the thought of losing themselves in one another made him agitated, upset and off-balance, then she'd pull back and give them the space they needed. Even if it was hard.

Even if it devastated her.

"Alright," she said slowly, watching as Sasuke waited anxiously for her words. It would be easy to cry, and to rage, and to call foul but Sakura was as complicit as he was; she wasn't a child anymore. "Let's be friends."

"Friends," Sasuke repeated, hesitant, and if she hadn't been balancing on the edge of upset then Sakura might have smiled at the wondrous expression on her teammate's face as he tested the word on his tongue.

He'd ruined it. Ruined everything, likely, despite Sakura's assurance otherwise, but even Sasuke knew that if he didn't come to pick up his birthday present sooner rather than later then it really would be an unmitigated disaster.

Still, he hesitated on her doorstep, hand clenching and unclenching against his thigh before he knocked once. He entertained a brief impulse to run away, drag himself to Kakashi's office and take the first pile of paperwork hurled his way but Sasuke resisted. Although tempting, the thought was probably pointless. Sakura was bound to know he'd been hovering outside; she was a good enough ninja to sense an unexpected presence, even through a wall.

Indeed, she opened the door almost instantly, standing in the darkened hallway with her free hand curled protectively against her chest.

"Sasuke-kun," she greeted, and he was equal parts surprised and relieved to see that she stepped back to let him in without hesitation.

"What's up?" Sakura continued, walking into her small kitchen. Kicking off his shoes, Sasuke followed, watching her clothed back shift as she reached for two glasses from the shelf. Where yesterday she'd been primped and styled today Sakura was dressed simply, wearing an old red shift that could have been from her genin years if not for the fact it fit.

It made him uncomfortable to consider that she looked no less appealing than she had in the night.

The medic turned to glance at him over her shoulder when he didn't answer; feeling slow, Sasuke simply brandished her birthday card at him, holding the invitation to come pick his present up like it was a talisman.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, looking surprised. Before she turned around to finish pouring lemonade he saw the telltale redness around her eyes, the bruising of delicate skin that spoke of crying. "Well, let's have something to drink first."

"Hn," he said, agreeing. The heat of the evening was thick enough that her lemonade sounded like heaven, even if part of him wanted to escape. Grabbing his present and running away would look bad, Sasuke figured; and besides, he wanted to gauge how Sakura felt, though the tear tracks on her face were a terrible indicator.

They moved to her cosy living room and sat; he on the couch, Sakura on the worn armchair he'd noticed she preferred on previous visits. So far, so normal, until-

"Should we talk about last night?"

He flinched before realising it, watching the hurt expression steal across Sakura's face at the movement before it smoothed out.

"Ah… we should."

Sasuke had thought about it. And thought about it, and then thought more; if his teammate's face bore obvious signs of crying then his must be painted with the greyness of poor sleep. Sakura had excused herself quickly after extricating herself from his bedroom and he'd been able to do little more than watch her back as she retreated into the night - promising to keep the fact they snuck away a secret - and then drift back into his bedroom to lean against the door.

He wasn't sure how long he'd stayed that way, only it was long enough that the sky started to lighten before he finally sunk down to the floor, berating himself for falling prey to his baser desires.

"I wanted to apologise," Sakura started, and he blinked with bemusement, looking up from his drink to watch as she blushed in embarrassment. The colour looked good on her; Sasuke was appalled at how much he wanted to feel the heat of it against his own skin. "I came on a little strong."

"That sounds…" he paused, unhappy. "That sounds like you took advantage of me."

Sakura waved her hand in a shrug. "Well…"

So that's what she thinks, Sasuke thought, mouth downturned as he averted his eyes. It certainly hadn't felt like that to him: even if she'd halted his retreat the first time he reached out, he'd participated in everything else. Enthusiastically. It was just like her to blame herself, and the spice of his anger at that tendency was enough to bring his thoughts forth through his reticence.

"You didn't take advantage of me, Sakura."

She started to argue, stopping when he glowered at her fiercely enough to make her mouth snap shut.

"I kissed you," he continued, "repeatedly."

There was a morbid satisfaction in watching the blush deepen on her cheeks even as the back of his neck burned with it.

"I think we were both…" he trailed off, words spent.

As always, Sakura came to his rescue, holding the glass of lemonade against her hot face. "We've been… I think… ah, reassessing what it means to be friends. As adults. And I think we got carried away."

There was absolutely nobody else that Sasuke thought of as a friend that he'd even remotely considered kissing, but Sakura looked pained and so he nodded until she relaxed.

"So I think," she said, looking between him and the window and back again, "that we can keep working on it, alright? Our relationship. I mean, as friends."

The kunoichi brought her other hand up to her cheek, obviously flustered.

Slowly, Sasuke raised his glass to her before draining it. "On being friends."

That was… not so bad, he thought, surprised, shifting in his seat as Sakura approached to take his empty glass. The ninja should've known he'd spoken too soon; Sakura's leg brushed against his and he saw the way she bit her lip at the contact because he'd almost done the same, her fresh scent washing over his senses in a way that was completely distracting.

"Um," she hedged, "would you like to come see what I got you?"

Not trusting himself to speak - or even to open his mouth - Sasuke inclined his head, fighting for a levelheadedness he didn't feel. Following her as she wandered back into the hallway the Uchiha spied something he'd missed on his way in: hidden behind a curtain in the small recess in her entranceway were two deep blue planters, painted proudly with the Uchiha fan and each bearing a small rose bush that he recognised instantly.

Sakura was watching him, though he was only vaguely aware as he took three large steps towards where she stood, bending over to look at the flowers closer.

"These are…" he started, disbelieving.

"Uchiha Mikoto-san's prized roses," Sakura confirmed. "Anata no Tame ni, considered lost when...well, I found them during the cleanup after the war, and I've been growing them ever since. They're big enough now, so I had those planters made for you."

He was speechless. The miniature flowers in front of him had the same strong incense scent that he remembered from his youngest years, a heady smell that followed his mother around as she went about her day in the estate. She'd been very proud of the blooms, both for their pure white sheen and their strong perfume, and they'd been much requested for cuttings to use in flower arrangements. His family's home had been filled with them; they'd graced the displays in his father's favourite teahouse, and Itachi had always served his breakfast when he was sick with a bloom cut into a stem on the tray.

After his mother died, Sasuke had pulled off all the flowers in a panic, the smell drifting through his windows and waking him in the night with a ghostly echo of Mikoto.

They'd never grown back. He'd regretted it ever since.

"Sakura…"

Without warning, the ninja felt his knees weaken and unresistingly he sank to the floor, Sakura's hands fluttering in medic's worry around him as he knelt.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, I - I'm so sorry, do you not… are they a painful memory? Oh, I'm-"

She dropped beside him, placing a warm hand on his thigh and looking at him imploringly. With her reddened eyes and startlingly bright hair she made a compelling picture of repentance although she had no reason to be; Sasuke wasn't sure how to stop her fretting, and so he simply extended his arm and pulled her roughly into an embrace.

Predictably she quietened right away, and though he'd half-hoped she'd pull away, Sasuke equally hoped she'd fold into him. The kunoichi did an awkward mix of the two, with her free arm curving hesitantly around his waist and her face buried into his shoulder, the rest of her held away from him with careful rigidity.

It was, Sasuke figured, an appropriate distance for friends.

"Thank you," he murmured, "my mother… she loved these."

There was a conspicuous sniff from near his ear. "I didn't even think about how it might bring around bad memories," Sakura said, sounding as though she was trying not to cry. "I just wanted to give you something back of the place you grew up."

"You did," Sasuke said, quietly, and before he could reconsider he placed his hand on her silky hair, stroking it once, twice before tipping her head up from his shoulder and poking her in the forehead.

It brought a smile to her face, lifting the despair as he'd hoped. "Will you tell me about why she liked them, one day? I've been caring for them for years, I'd love to know their story."

"Sure," Sasuke conceded, still looking into her face.

"And they don't like the heat much, which is why I said to transport them at night…" she continued.

"Hn."

"And I think they'd look lovely outside your front door, but of course it's your decision."

"I agree," Sasuke said, watching Sakura's lips as she spoke. If he didn't move back from her he was pretty sure he was going to kiss her, he worried, but before Sasuke could act on it - either outcome - Sakura had come very, very close to him, her pale lashes brushing his cheek.

"Happy Birthday," she whispered, and her low tone right next to his ear sent a sensation not unlike the curling electricity of chidori down his spine. "Do you honestly not think it's a weird gift?"

Although far more innocent than last night, their current position was in its own way intimate; when she'd moved towards him Sasuke's hand had drifted of its own accord to her back, pressing lightly against the Haruno circle that graced her dress. Sakura herself had brought both of her arms around his waist, kneeling beside him in a way that made him think, briefly, of pulling her into his lap.

But that would most definitely not fall under the type of relationship they'd agreed upon, so he cleared his throat and replied huskily, "no, it's not. It might be the best gift I've ever been given."

Sasuke wasn't lying. Both of his teammates had outdone themselves with their birthday gifts; Naruto's set of Uchiha formalwear was currently hanging in the living room of his apartment where Sasuke could look at it until he felt brave enough to try it on.

But Sakura's was a memory of his mother, and Sasuke had precious few of those.

Sakura hummed, pleased. "Well, wait until you get Naru-"

"Already opened it," Sasuke interjected, and had to close his eyes against the sensation of her smile against his cheek.

Though the feel of her against him was certainly nice, Sasuke realised slowly that he was just as interested in bringing the smile back to her face as he was her continued close proximity. A stance which definitely did not feel like simple lust, and there wasn't any reason to be possessive, so it wasn't that either.

Whatever it is, Sasuke thought as Sakura pulled back to give him a wide smile, running her hand reverently over a small flower, proof of her and his mother's dedication, I'm pretty sure it's going to be difficult to figure out as 'friends'.

"I can send one of the junior medics," Kakashi says, and Sakura doesn't like the way he's looking at her, hands folded under his chin with his 'sensei' face on. "Or even Shizune-san, if you're worried about the materials being handled properly."

"It's a dangerous location," she argues, but the Hokage is unmoved.

"So I'll send a detachment of jounin with them."

"Kakashi-sensei…"

"Sakura-chan… you're not running away, are you?"

She's tempted to stick her tongue out at him but that would probably be a terrible breach of professionalism, and professional is what she needs right now. At least Sasuke isn't working; Sakura waited until he was out before knocking on Kakashi's door and requesting permission for a mission.

"Excuse me," she denies, huffing, "I've had this work planned for some time now. I've been gathering ingredients for months."

"Right," Kakashi agrees, "and you've decided to commence the longest, most perilous part two days after a certain Uchiha survivor's birthday party. Where I might add," he says, holding up a hand, "certain observers noticed that some prominent members of said birthday party disappeared after an hour."

Sakura sighs. There's not much gets past even a passive Kakashi: when he's engaged with something, it's not unlike being caught in an inescapable web.

"Fine," she admits, and her shoulders slump so much she feels she's lost a foot of her precious height, "if I tell you that I really, really messed up, and that I'm leaving to give Sasuke a little space, would you let me go?"

"Messed up, huh?" the Hokage muses, but he doesn't press further, simply tosses the mission scroll to her, smiling when she catches it deftly even in her distraction.

"Thanks, sensei. I owe you one."

He waves her off. "Mah, just come back safe, okay?"

"I swear," Naruto grumbled, hands behind his head as they walked back from the training grounds, "I think Sakura-chan's been gone for a hundred years."

"It's been a week, Naruto," Sasuke retorted, rolling his eyes as he wiped his forehead with his sleeve. To be precise, it was a week and a day and a half; but he didn't like to admit to himself that he'd been counting.

"Yeah, but you know…" the blonde trailed off with a shrug.

Sasuke did, in fact, know what Naruto meant. This week had been hotter than all the ones before it, and with tempers short, moods fraying and sense evaporating in the muddling humidity Sasuke wouldn't mind the refreshing breeze that was Sakura's company. The jug of bitter lemonade that Kakashi had presented enviously to him was long gone, and Sasuke had found himself walking past her doorway more than once.

He didn't like it; he'd spent years on his own, travelling with people he disliked, travelling people that he pushed away and then finally on his own path of redemption, so to be attuned in such a way to a person's absence was an unfamiliar feeling. He had the thought that this might be a little like how Naruto and Sakura had felt for all the years he'd been away.

It was an uncomfortable realisation, and the ninja hoped it was a friendly reaction; he was tempted to manoeuvre Kakashi into sending Naruto away for a week so he could compare.

"Do you wanna get something to eat?" Naruto asked, finally giving in and pulling his top off, leaving only his thin mesh under armour on. Sasuke did not miss the way a few passers by drew their eyes to his teammate's exposed upper half.

"No," Sasuke said, thinking of the hotness of the ramen Naruto was bound to suggest, "but I'll get something to drink."

Naruto beamed sunnily at him and Sasuke frowned back for the sheer obviousness of Naruto's happiness; though he wasn't particularly opposed to spending more time in his best friend's company, he still didn't find it easy to express.

"Let's do the teahouse," Naruto suggested, laughing when Sasuke looked at him in unguarded surprise. "What? I don't just eat ramen."

"That's a lie," Sasuke retorted.

"I don't! Hinata has me hooked on these little bites from the teahouse, they're really…"

The blonde rambled on, content to talk although it was fairly obvious Sasuke wasn't paying much attention. It wasn't until they were seated and ordered that he tuned back into whatever Naruto was talking about, and had to stop himself from choking on his drink when he realised that they'd circled back around to the topic of Sakura's mission and absence.

"I just don't get why it was so soon after your party, yanno?"

"Uh…"

"I mean, I wanted to sit with us all and watch you open your presents since you cheated me of it on the actual night. But then Sakura-chan had to go and leave, and Sai said he wasn't interested in your gifts unless it was a social obligation and then Kaka-sensei told me to stop being nosy," Naruto complained. "And I know she would've backed me up. She's as curious as I am."

"Nosy, you mean," Sasuke corrected. "And I've only opened half. You can still come round."

Naruto shook his head, leaning over the table and taking a glum sip from his drink. "It's not the same without Sakura."

It really wasn't. But the fact that Naruto admitted it first made it okay for him to nod his head in agreement, and the pair sat in the cool shade of the teahouse ordering drink after drink, cooling their heads after the intense sparring bout of earlier.

Sasuke was finally starting to feel comfortable in the heat when Naruto abruptly sat bolt upright, his chakra wavering into the bold signature of his sage mode. When Sasuke turned to him confused, he saw that Naruto only had the facial markings of the toad sage and not the full regalia, but it was enough turbulence that a few of the jounin-level ninja in the teahouse turned to him in curiosity.

"It's Sakura," Naruto said, staring off with slitted pupils into the distance. And when Sasuke grasped Kusanagi, ready to fight, the other ninja in the vicinity watched him anxiously, wary of both of their reputations.

"What is it?" he barked. Though he was a skilled sensor, Naruto's sage capabilities had a far wider range.

"She's, ah- I'm not sure," Naruto said, screwing his face up in concentration. "But I don't think she's very well. We should go," he continued, but Sasuke had already stood, throwing money down on the table. It was far too much.

He didn't care.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"The gates," Naruto replied, hurrying to his feet, but if Naruto's range was wider Sasuke was faster and before the Uzumaki could follow him out he was already gone.

He'd probably never moved so fast in his life before, not even in the final fight against Kaguya; the ninja streaked towards the gate so quickly that he felt the hesitant trailing of ANBU agents, clearly roused by his speed and his former destructive tendencies.

Sasuke ignored them. Naruto could talk to them when he arrived on the scene, because even though he was Kakashi's aide his friend was still better at that kind of diplomacy. Skidding to a stop when he reached the main Konoha thoroughfare Sasuke was confronted with the sight of Sakura on her knees, waving off the assistance of one of the gate guards as she moved to get to her feet.

She looked terrible; her hair was blackened with dirt and what looked like streaks of blood, her arms covered in the kind of grazes she usually healed without thought and one of her hands was hanging limply at her side, swollen painfully at the knuckles.

And he was no longer under the thumb of the curse of hatred but Sasuke felt an urge, long buried inside him, to hurt someone simply because he wanted to. Whoever had done this to Sakura-

He halted that thought, because he could feel the dark bubbling of his chakra beginning behind his eyes.

Taking two long strides until he reached her side, Sasuke directed the full force of his intimidating gaze to the guard - who he vaguely recognised as an Academy classmate - before crouching on his haunches, tilting Sakura's head up with his hand.

"Sasuke-" she started, surprised, but he interrupted with,

"Who did this to you?"

As he said it, he remembered the last time he'd uttered those words, the fury that he'd felt in the Forest of Death upon seeing Sakura bruised and battered at the hands of the ninja from Sound. Sakura was clearly thinking of it too, her bright green eyes searching his face as he tried to keep his expression stoic. As it had last time his heart started to thud in agitation in his chest, his hand moving from tilting her chin to holding it firmly in his grip.

She didn't shake him off.

"I'm fine, Sasuke-kun," she tried, placatingly, her eyes skirting around him to see the people who were murmuring in the ever-moving crowd.

"Who-"

"I killed him," she spoke over his low voice, looking down at her swollen hand. Now that he was close Sasuke could see the blood coating her arm, flecks of red swirling across her pale skin in an explosive pattern. He'd seen what her punch could do to the unprepared; Sakura had likely caved in her assailant's head, or chest, and the small wounds coating her fingers were the result of shattering bone.

"You usually heal that," he admonished, staring at her hard, his Rinnegan picking up the struggling signs of a chakra system depleted to almost dangerous levels. Her Yin seal remained untouched - she'd decided to make it home on her natural reserves alone.

"I'm fine, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, frowning now. "I'm just tired."

She started to rise again, this time making it to a crouch before faltering, her hands splayed on the ground and her breath laboured.

Before she could say another word, Sasuke leaned down, scooping his hand under her knees and sweeping them out from under her, ignoring her undignified squawk as she fell. Balancing her shoulderblade against his own shoulder, he propped the stump of his arm against her spine, cradling her awkwardly to his chest with his arm under her knees. She was light, but the carry would be far easier with two arms. He considered summoning a fragment of his Susanoo, but the gate guards were already watching him cautiously and the ANBU were hovering on the rooftops - with no sign of Naruto to diffuse things - so Sasuke made do, leaping into the air and hoping Sakura was too tired to protest strongly.

This close Sasuke could feel her utter exhaustion, and when she didn't fight his hold but simply wrapped her unhurt arm around his neck he looked down at her tired, bruised face, letting a touch of concern dance across his features.

"Where are we going?" she asked, voice drawn and quiet.

"The hospital," he replied shortly, moving fast but with smooth steps. From her wince when he picked her up, Sasuke suspected a broken rib.

"I'm a medic, I don't need-" Sakura started, then stopped when he raised a disapproving eyebrow at her.

"I might have… overdone it."

He couldn't help the snort that escaped past his lips. Overdone it was an understatement; he hadn't seen her this battered since the final conflict. He raced on in silence, sweating with the added weight of his teammate and the unrelenting beating of the sun, trusting that Naruto would sense their chakra and follow (hopefully at a more sedate pace).

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun," Sakura murmured, and he looked down into her face to see her staring pensively up into his. "I'm sorry for worrying you, but I'll be fine once I get looked at."

"I'm not-" Sasuke started. To deny it would be an obvious untruth; now that he could see she really would be fine Sasuke's ears reddened with his overreaction at the village entrance. It would likely be the talk of the Hokage Tower tomorrow.

Still, he couldn't find it in himself to care. People reacted with worry to seeing their teammates hurt all the time, even if he didn't. The talk would die down eventually.

"Did your mission succeed?" he asked instead, deflecting.

Sakura grinned triumphantly, nodding towards her brimming medic's pouch. "Yes," she said, "more than succeeded, I'd say."

He tilted his head inquisitively, before slowing as the white walls of her hospital came into view.

"I'll let you read the mission report… could you drop me off in my office?" Sakura requested. "It doesn't present a good image if the Chief of Medicine gets dragged in looking like this."

That was true; he'd drop her off and then find one of her many apprentices to fix her up in peace, a return favour for all the times Sakura had done the same for him. Without speaking, Sasuke navigated the rooftops towards her office window, remembering the last time he'd dropped in to find her asleep at the desk. She was practically asleep in his arms now, eyes fluttering shut and her breathing evening out in the peace of near-sleep; it was painfully clear that Sakura felt the danger was past, her body relaxing in the security of his presence.

Her trust in him never failed to astound the Uchiha. The magnanimity of her disposition, to let him get so very close to her after all the hurt he'd given her was incredible; Sasuke knew he'd never have enough forgiveness in his heart to do the same. Landing on her office's ledge with featherlight footsteps, Sasuke paused before opening the window, shifting her in his grasp to free his arm, her legs hanging over his bent knee.

She didn't move, although her hand flexed against his neck, inadvertently stroking the skin there and leaving the trace of her touch behind. He'd moved only to open the latch on the window but as he looked down at her face, tranquil in rest even though it was bruised horribly Sasuke felt his fingers rise of their own accord, brushing a strand of dirty hair away from her cheek.

He lingered like that, his index and middle finger gentle on her skin before shaking his head, discomfited. It had been far too tender a touch for a friend.

And when he looked up and saw Naruto grinning as he leaned against Sakura's luxe desk, Sasuke didn't hold back the sigh as he slid the window open, leaping through and moving to place their teammate on her receiving couch.

She didn't rouse, but Sasuke was glad of it as Naruto crowed,

"I saw that."

"She had something on her cheek."

He didn't need to be facing the Uzumaki to picture Naruto's expression.

"How did you know we'd be here?" Sasuke asked, staving off further comments.

It worked: Naruto was always proud of outsmarting others. "Well, you might be faster, bastard, but I'm in both of your heads, and I knew you'd bring Sakura right to the hospital, just as much as I knew she'd beg to be brought up here."

Sasuke looked over his shoulder from his kneeling position in front of Sakura in time to watch Naruto fist his hands against his hips in triumph. "She hates making a fuss in front of the rest of the staff," the blonde finished.

"Right," Sasuke said: she'd admitted as much to him, too. "Will you go get one of her apprentices? Someone who doesn't look like they'd gossip."

There would be enough of that already with his somewhat ill-advised overreaction at the gates.

"Sure," Naruto agreed easily, coming closer to make sure Sakura was okay before making his way to the door. "I'll leave you here, you know, to nurse or whatever."

He was gone before Sasuke could retort, his boyish laughter echoing down the hallway and making Sasuke glare down at Sakura like it was her fault.

Well, he thought, leaning over to readjust her position to make it easier on her ribs, that is definitely not the last I've heard of that.

The Uchiha could only hope Naruto had the grace to bring it up when they were alone.

Sakura was fast approaching the end of her sanity. She'd thought distance would help, and it had, only for her newfound calm to dissipate like smoke almost as soon as she'd walked - fell - through the gates of the village.

That was to say nothing of Sasuke's display of protectiveness, so like he'd behaved in their younger years and yet touched with something else, something she didn't recognise.

The mission had been brutal, distracting and ultimately painful, feelings that were an almost welcome respite from the tension and uncertainty between her and Sasuke after his birthday. Sasuke had in fact overreacted, a product, she thought, of his unfamiliarity with seeing her in a post-fight state. Though she'd fought hard she was in no real danger throughout the fight, and in fact it was only her pride that stopped her tapping into her Yin seal. She regretted that: Kakashi had thoroughly admonished her for it, before banning her from solo missions until she could prove she wasn't going to act recklessly.

"Argue," he'd said, merciless, "and I'll make sure Sasuke has to accompany you on even the shortest D-Ranks."

She'd looked so appalled that today's lunch, on him, was Kakashi's way of making it up to her. Either that or he was fed up of her coming to his office for the past week to plead him to change his mind; nevertheless, Sakura was happy to take the bribe.

He wasn't completely off the hook, however, as he'd deftly arranged things so that she and Sasuke were sitting together. The private room, courtesy of the restaurant paying the proper respect to their Hokage, was small enough that there wasn't enough space to put the distance she'd like between them.

It was almost torture.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, turning to talk to him over the noise of Sai and Naruto's bickering. "Have you managed to put away all your gifts?"

He'd mentioned that there had been a surprising volume of them and Naruto had confirmed it; she'd not been brave enough to go round to his house since what she'd taken to calling their mutual 'lapse in judgement'.

She had to hold back a smile when he heaved a sigh into his iced tea: in the months since his return Sasuke had become more expressive, or she'd gotten better at reading him, and she could tell he was exasperated with the task before he shook his head.

"Hn, no," he muttered, looking annoyed. "I don't know why people buy active ninja shuriken sets…"

"Right?" she agreed, voice high. Bless Ino for talking her out of her fall-back choice of gift.

"You don't need any, do you?" he asked, and she grinned a refusal before suggesting donating them to the Academy.

"Iruka would love you for that," Kakashi commented. "He's been on at us about budgets again, as you know."

As Sakura was still in a fit of pique with their former sensei, she simply narrowed her eyes at him before turning back to Sasuke.

"Well," she said, "if you need space to store anything, you can use my attic." Before he could read into that as anything more than a friendly offer she gestured towards their other teammates, who were currently engaged in a heated discussion over the way Naruto used his chopsticks (barbarically). "Both of those two idiots do."

"Ah," Sasuke said, looking grateful. "I think I might need to."

Kakashi smiled at the pair of them over his tea, looking unruffled even though the restaurant was in dire need of air conditioning. The only indication that he was feeling the weather was the fact that he'd removed his flak jacket and rolled up his sleeves, forcing them high enough that the bottom of his ANBU tattoo peeked out from under the dark fabric. Sakura wondered how he resisted the heat; it was another part of his mysteries, because even with her chakra-controlled cooling she was uncomfortably close to sweating like a pig.

"I have a spare box I'd like-" he started, but she cut the silver-haired ninja off with an upraised hand.

"I'm not storing back issues of your dirty books, sensei," she refused. "The Hokage mansion is huge, and besides, I'll not have you making my house a den of sin."

"It's not already?" Kakashi mused, the picture of innocence, and both Naruto and Sai stopped arguing to grin as Sakura fought to keep her composure. It was futile, anyway, because Sasuke had turned to give his best glare to their sensei, which insinuated that something had happened more obviously than any outburst of temper that Sakura could've displayed.

I'll do it, Sakura considered, I'll kill him, and I'll go down to the dungeon without complaint.

Naruto must've read her murderous intentions because he leaned over the table to place a hand on Kakashi's shoulder and hers, looking serious and as though he was about to hit them with a heartfelt lecture.

"Come on, stop fighting," he implored, although there was a definite twinkle in his cornflower eyes, "or we'll all have a horrible time at the Summer Festival tomorrow, OK?"

His entreaty was met with a glare from Sasuke and Sakura and a bland look from Kakashi, but it was Sai who piped up first.

"Oh," he said. "I forgot to tell you, Dickless, but I'm not coming."

"Whaaaa?" Naruto wailed. "I asked everyone ages ago. You need to."

"I did not promise," Sai countered. Sakura watched him flick his eyes up to the ceiling, pretending to wrack his brains to check whether, in fact, he had. She'd taught him that, a good stalling move to gauge the other person's level of annoyance at skipping out on plans. "I haven't finished the Trai- I haven't finished Sasuke's birthday gift yet, and now it is late."

"That doesn't matt-" Naruto started, when Kakashi held up a finger contemplatively.

"Actually, I don't think I can come either."

"Why?"

Kakashi shrugged, looking unapologetic. "Hokage business," he offered lazily. "Why don't the three of you go?"

He swirled his hand to indicate Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto, and the blonde sank back onto his cushion, huffing and folding his arms in the first stages of one of his famous sulks.

"Fine…" he growled, sounding utterly put out.

Sakura smiled at him, secretly a little relieved that he hadn't cancelled it altogether. She'd already picked out a new yukata and hair ornaments, and had enlisted Ino's services to help braid her lengthening hair with some of the sweet-smelling summer blooms that were popular at the moment. It was no exaggeration to say that the Summer Festival was her favourite event of the year; and of course, this time Sasuke was there to sweeten the experience. Somehow, she didn't think he'd go unless Naruto did, and though that stung a little to admit to herself, Sakura was determined to have a good time.

"Still coming?" she asked, a touch plaintively, and was gratified to see the frown lift from Naruto's features. He loved a festival as much as she did; it was part of the reason they'd grown so close after all was said and done with.

"I wouldn't miss it," Naruto assured, restored to his usual bright demeanour, "for the world."

Little did Sakura know that she would.

Contrary to what people expected of him, Sasuke didn't like traditional clothing. It wasn't fitted enough for easy movement; the sleeves were a pain with his lack of an arm and he'd always hated the uncomfortable geta sandals.

Still, he had to admit that the tailor had done a decent job of adjusting the yukata to his specifications; it was one of his brother's, and although Sasuke was taller now than Itachi had been the dark blue summer kimono didn't look ill-fitted in the slightest.

She'd even furnished him with a matching tasuki, the red fabric of the strip contrasting nicely with the sombre shade of his robe, allowing him to tie back the sleeves of the yukata and allow at least some freedom of movement.

He was tempted to wear ninja sandals; however one assessment in the mirror had confirmed they looked absurd with the yukata, and so geta it was.

Walking down the busy street and observing the festive atmosphere of the villagers, Sasuke was surprised that he'd even agreed to coming out, never mind coming in traditional festival wear. If he was honest it was in part due to Naruto's somewhat infectious enthusiasm, but the vast majority of his agreement rested in the way Sakura became animated when they talked about it.

She'd been, if not withdrawn, certainly more hesitant around him since his birthday, holding herself back as her way to make sure they kept things platonic. If spending time in a too-busy festival ground and eating his way around Konoha's greasiest food vendors would help them regain their friendly balance then Sasuke would do it.

And he'd do it graciously; Naruto had commanded him to go pick Sakura up, allowing the blonde to scope out a good spot for the fireworks.

When he arrived at her house, Sasuke found the front door was slightly ajar, and the noise of off-key singing was pouring out into her garden. He knocked, letting himself in cautiously and shutting the door behind him.

"Sakura?" he called, raising his voice as loud as he was comfortable with.

She didn't respond, and the sound of her singing drifted downstairs to him, revealing itself to be a made-up tune chronicling her adventures at the Summer Festival with himself and Naruto. Unbidden, he smiled, and then repeated her name louder, although she was sure to have detected his presence by now, especially as he wasn't concealing it.

It would definitely be rude, he mused as he waited at the bottom of her stairwell, to go upstairs and see what was taking her so long, but Naruto had been emphatic about hurrying her up ("Sakura-chan takes forever to get ready for a festival, yanno?") and so with a hint of trepidation Sasuke made his way to her upper landing.

Part of him regretted it immediately, just as much as his other half blessed its good fortune. For Sakura had just opened the door to her bedroom to confront him, looking like the season personified with a mint green kimono and white flowers braided elegantly in her hair. With the fading light from her balcony behind her and her eyes sparkling with pleasure from her singing, his teammate painted a picture of summer, standing joyful and beautiful in the doorway to her room.

Sasuke swallowed, taken aback.

"Ah," she said, "I promise I'm almost ready, Sasuke-kun!"

It didn't look true; now that he'd taken in her appearance Sakura's yukata was in fact still in the process of being put on; the obi hadn't been twisted around and her feet were poking out from under the hem, clad in fresh white tabi socks. For some reason, Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off them, staring until she waved a hand in his face.

"Do you want some sake?" she queried. "I've got some cooling in a bucket of ice here…"

She turned to head back into her room, opening the door wider for him as she went. He didn't move, gazing through to see the chaotic disaster that was her bedroom, looking like she'd been robbed with under-robes and jewellery tossed haphazardly across the floor.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, curious, when he didn't make a move.

"Hn," he replied, eyes following her as she raised her arms to adjust her braid. The movement caused the sleek sleeves of her yukata to roll back, exposing arms clad in two silver and jade bangles, gifts, he knew, from the Godaime for her birthday. "We should go."

"We should," she agreed, fussing with her obi and neatening the line of her yukata. "But let's have a quick toast, first?"

She waved the bottle temptingly at him, and Sasuke wondered whether she'd been sampling from it already: there was a definite colour to her cheeks and unguardedness to her demeanour that said she had.

Besides, Sasuke wasn't sure that Sakura would invite him into her bedroom so easily, especially after…

"Sasuke?"

He sighed. There was nothing inappropriate about a drink, and he'd been on her balcony before.

That wasn't, a voice whispered to him, her bedroom, in the evening, when you really should be heading out. When she looks at you like that.

Sasuke ignored it, crossing the threshold and walking towards her, holding out a hand for a cup. She blinked from his outstretched hand to the bottle in hers, before covering her mouth with a hand as she gasped. He didn't see any cups; clearly Sakura had forgotten them in her eagerness to have a festive drink.

"I'll go-" Sasuke said, turning, but he froze when Sakura placed a hand on his bare arm.

"It's fine," she said with a smile that he was sure she didn't mean to be seductive, "I always say the bottle is the best glass, anyway."

That said, she twisted the cap off and took a generous drink, sighing in pleasure before passing the bottle to him. He raised an eyebrow before accepting it and doing the same - minus the sigh - before she snatched the bottle from him and made to take another sip.

"Not really a toast," Sasuke heard himself observe, "if we don't have glasses to raise."

He wasn't sure where that had come from, only that the alcohol had been pleasantly strong and that it must've loosened his tongue on the way down. Sakura looked at him, surprised, before nodding in agreement and putting the bottle down on her messy armoire.

"Ah, you're right," she mused, a finger curled absently into her braid. Sasuke wondered when it had grown long enough for that. "Well…"

Before he had a chance to step back, the kunoichi approached him swiftly, planting both hands on his yukata-clad chest and dropping a kiss on his cheek. "To us!" she said, sounding merry, and she began to curl her fingers into the fabric of his robe before withdrawing them hurriedly.

"Oh, oh no… I meant, I'm sorry, I'm trying to be-" Sakura said, embarrassed, holding the hands that had just been a brand on his chest up in apology. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable-"

Before she could disparage herself further and his sensible side could talk him out of it, Sasuke took a step closer to her, bringing her hands up and placing them back where they were.

"Please," Sakura said, quietly, and Sasuke looked over her head to listen as the first cheers of the festival began. It was almost loud enough to drown out the drumming of his heart.

"Sasuke-kun, if you do this kind of thing, I don't think… I…"

She tilted her head back to better see his face, and her hair brushed against his chin, as soft as he remembered it. "I don't think I can just be your friend," she finished in a whisper, green eyes coaxing him closer.

"Hn," Sasuke said, eyes dropping from her gaze to her mouth, watching with fascination as she swallowed and licked her lips nervously. They shone with devastating wetness, the smell of her flowers in his nose as he closed the distance, stopping just a few inches before her lips in a feeble attempt to draw back from the madness he was undoubtedly courting.

Sakura had always been able to read his intentions through his eyes; he saw the moment realisation dawned in hers before she pressed both hands firmly against his chest, erasing the final shred of sanity between them and kissing him sweetly, the taste of sake touching his lips.

Sasuke deepened the kiss, tilting his head to coax Sakura's mouth to open, feeling the rush of heat as her breath hitched at the first caress of his tongue. Reaching back with an unthinking hand, Sasuke swung her bedroom door shut behind him, his knee coming between Sakura's legs as she slid a cautious hand beneath his immaculate robe.

He didn't think they were going to make the fireworks when she pulled back and he saw how his hand had sunk into her hair, mussing her hair into the unmistakable tangle of intimacy.

I don't think I can just be your friend, either.

AN: What are they like, hm? I hope this chapter was worth the wait, and worth the burn!

I'd love to know what you think, so please do leave me a review (unless, of course, it literally just says 'update') and tell me where you think the story is heading. I'm curious :-)

Thanks as always for reading and reviewing. You're all great!