Another week, another chapter. As always, this story contains smut so be advised.

I do not own Naruto.

Bonded

"Sai," she whispered, her eyes still glued to her own visage in awe and wonder. "It's absolutely beautiful."

Her body had been utterly transformed, her pale skin now shining blue and pink and green with the masterful application of paint.

For a moment, she could only stare in awe at what he had done to her, how beautiful he had made her, for this kind of beauty she had never before seen in herself. Yet Sai had seen it, and brought it to the surface so she could witness it too. This is how he really saw her, beneath her harsh words and angry fists, beneath the inhuman strength and master skills. Her profession of kunoichi and medic were all stripped away and now she was a woman and a stunning one at that. He had managed to leave her soul as naked as her body and it was something Sakura had never experienced before, but rather than be ashamed or afraid, she embraced it because she trusted him, because he was bonded to her.

Somehow, in the expanse of one night, he had accomplished his goal; bringing them so close together that Sakura could never again imagine what it would be like without the artist in her life. He hadn't done it through careful scheming or even through passionate sex, but through the naïve innocence of a child and his true desire to include her in his passion for art, something that was irrefutably apparent with just one glance at what he had painted.

Her nude torso was a rich shade of midnight blue, covering her from collarbone to hip. Tendrils of the inky hue snaked down onto her arms, thighs and up the column her neck. The color wasn't flat but had lighter distortions and shading that made it look like water. It reminded Sakura of when she had stood with the artist on the red bridge the night before, listening to the crickets and staring out into the water that reflected the darkness of the sky above. That moment seemed like forever ago and she wondered how so much could have changed in just one night.

However, the part that really caught her breath and made this work a masterpiece was the beautiful pink cherry blossoms that bloomed all over her body, looking so real that one might think that if they stretched out their hand and touched them, the silky texture under their fingertips would be real petals instead of soft skin. There was one near her neck, one spread out over her shoulder, a large one on her right breast that made Sakura flush at the remembrance of its creation; how hot she had been, how much she had wanted him, and the blossom that resided right above the patch of pink curls between her legs only fanned the flame as she recalled how her center had practically throbbed for him as her body called out for his. A trail of individual petals stretched from one shoulder and diagonally to her hip as if they were being carried on an unfelt breeze. Beneath the pink petals, a spider web network of thin green lines curved and twisted, looking almost like chakra threads ensnaring flowers and holding them in place. The color also happened to match her eyes perfectly. The overall image was magnificent and unique and would have taken Sakura a lifetime to create something like this on her own.

Her eyes finally lifted to meet Sai's in the mirror. He was watching her intently as always but this time his lips held the faintest trace of a smile, no doubt brought on by her awestruck reaction.

Sakura returned the smile in the mirror and linked her arms back behind his neck.

"You're amazing," she whispered, liking how his hands continued to slide up and down her sides.

"All I did was draw something that suited you," he said in a low husky tone. "Just like you, these flowers appear beautiful and delicate. They are soft and pink and overwhelming at times but their splendor is seldom paralleled. However, unlike the flowers, you have an inner strength that is endlessly surprising. Coupled with graceful femininity and moments of vulnerability, you become quite an unpredictable person with a quiet beauty that shines inside and out."

"Is that what you really think of me?" Sakura whispered breathlessly.

"After growing so close to you, yes."

His eyes, as dark as the ink he drew with, remained fixated on her and Sakura noticed that he wasn't looking at her naked body or what he had drawn on it but at her, her face, as if he couldn't look away. Together, they gazed at each other in the mirror, the artist and his work of art and Sakura felt that familiar heat that had been momentarily forgotten begin to return. She was now all too aware of his naked body pressed to hers and the wetness that had accumulated at her sex. She wanted him, wanted him to take her all over again but first there was something she wanted him to do.

"Sai," she murmured while holding his gaze. "I want you to draw me one more time."

The shinobi said nothing but a subtle change in his expression alerted Sakura that he wasn't sure why she would ask that of him.

"After this paint is gone, your art will be nothing more than a memory. I want a piece of it to hang on to. I want to remember how I looked and how I felt as your work of art. I want you to draw me how I am now and let me keep the sketch."

"A picture won't do you justice."

"I know," Sakura answered, loosing her arms from around his neck and twisting in his grip to face him. "But I want you to try, just so I can have something to remember this by."

The artist seemed to consider her words a moment before dropping his hands from her sides.

"Alright."

Without any warning, Sakura leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, being careful not to let their bodies touch and ruin the paint. Sai seemed a little surprised but regained his wits enough to deepen the kiss until their tongues were intertwined. When they finally broke apart, Sakura was panting and the artist could feel his body beginning to stir again, alerting him to the primal needs he had suppressed for so many years. However, he had a task to complete first and as lovely as his team mate was, he could control himself while he drew one last picture of her.

He drew away from her and took in her body for a moment, imagining what the best pose would be to display the painting. She couldn't be sitting or the image would be distorted, so that meant she would have to lie down or stand.

The artist walked to the door and took the mirror off its hook. He then beckoned for his subject and arranged her so her back was against the door. Sakura nearly moaned at the contact of his hands on her, positioning her limbs the way he wanted so her arms were once more above her head, gently gripping the door jam while her legs were slightly apart with one bent so she sat into her hip a little. Her back was arched a little and her burning green eyes bore into him from beneath lush lashes. She looked exactly how she felt; sexy, beautiful and wanting a man's touch badly.

Sai grabbed an empty sketchpad and a fistful of colored pencils from one of the many cluttered surfaces and made slight adjustments to his lighting sources. After he pulled up the chair that had been by the bed, he sat down with the pad in his lap and began to try and recreate the vision before him even though he knew all his talent still wouldn't be enough to capture her image.

He worked quickly but precisely, sketching her outline with a normal pencil first before adding detail and shading in color. He couldn't help but notice his body's reaction as he drew, for every moment he looked at her made his blood boil a little harder. He could feel his manhood beginning to harden and realized he had never had an emotional response like this to a subject before; but how could he help it when she looked at him like that, her eyes all liquid fire and heat, her chest practically heaving with every breath and her shapely body covered by a layer of paint which he found to be the sexiest attire in the world. She was his muse and his masterpiece, team mate and companion and he realized that all the Icha Icha books he had read could never accurately describe the passion he felt, nor the nature of their relationship, for being bonded together turned out to be far more complex than he ever would have guessed but now that it had happened, he wouldn't have it any other way.

With a few strokes of his pencil, the image was completed and he signed the picture with a corresponding scribble that matched the one on her hip.

Wordlessly, he turned the sketchpad around so she could see the finished work and she pushed away from the wall to walk towards him, painted hips swaying.

She took the pad from his hands and held it for a moment, a genuine smile of happiness on her face.

"Thank you."

The artist gently took it from her hands and set it on the floor behind him before tugging her into his lap so she was straddling him on the chair.

"Sai!" she squeaked, placing her hands on her shoulders to brace herself so she wouldn't collapse against him. "You're going to ruin the paint."

"I can always paint you again," he whispered, placing a hand on her upper back and pressing her forwards until her chest was against his and her cheek was resting against his shoulder.

She could feel his erect manhood brush against her belly and instinctively rolled her hips against his. He had teased her for so long and now she was going to have him, even if it was at the expense of the picture he had placed on her skin.

Turning her head she began to press hot kisses against his neck, making the shinobi moan and trail his hands down her back to cup the globes of her ass.

The pink haired woman licked along the shell of his ear before taking the lobe between her teeth and biting softly. She could feel the shiver that ran through him and smiled as she pulled away to whisper, "Put it inside me."

Even a sexual novice like Sai knew exactly what those words meant and the artist obligingly lifted her up, his hands grasping her ass firmly and slid her back down while Sakura made sure to align their bodies perfectly.

Ragged moans escaped both their lips as Sakura felt his shaft fill her once again, stretching her tight canal as she slid down to the base. Her plentiful lubrication eradicated any painful friction there might have been and Sakura set about grinding her hips against him, trying to wedge him within her as tightly as possible.

Sai groaned her name as slick walls contracted around him and began to ripple as she moved her hips in slow circles, forcing him inside her until he bumped against her cervical wall. Her lush breasts were pressed flat against him and her fingers came up to tangle in his hair as he griped her hips and coaxed her to move up and down in a slow, steady rhythm.

The paint that had once been dry grew wet again when their bodies began to sweat as they undulated against each other. Sai could feel the slick slide of her torso against his, aided by sticky paint that smeared with their movements, soon coating his own chest as well.

Once again he was on fire for her, gripped by an unstoppable desire to thrust up into her. Every thrust evoked a cry and every cry drove him on until he was totally lost in her world. The scent of sweat and sex and paint filled his nostrils as her whole body writhed on his lap.

He reached between their bodies to cup her breasts, letting his thumbs rub over taunt nipples and watched as her head fell back in ecstasy as she arched into his palms. The paint on her skin worked its way between his fingers and under his nails as he fondled her but neither seemed to care. Every toss of her head sent pink stands flying about her face in an erotic display that seemed to pull Sai in and hypnotize him. When he was inside her like this, everything else around him seemed to melt away and not even all those years in ANBU could make him aware of his surroundings. She was like a drug, numbing some senses and heightening others, pulling him in to this agonizingly blissful chaos.

The hands on her breasts slid over her shoulders to her back, pressing her to him desperately, leaving streaks of mottled blue and pink and green and brown. Her hands tightened in his hair as she pulled him in for another kiss that seared his lips with its intensity, muffling her moans that were growing louder as she was swept further away with every moment.

Every downwards press of her hips sent pleasure flowing through her, not in mind shattering jolts but in rolling waves that continued to grow until she thought she would drown. She was lost in an ocean of bliss and soon she would be in over her head but Sakura didn't slow down, working her body against her lover's relentlessly.

Sai had pulled her tongue into his mouth and was sucking it in time with his thrust. The combined sensations made the kunoichi shudder against him, releasing her grip on his hair and raking paint covered fingers down his back, leaving evidence of their love making with the very materials that had made her his masterpiece. When he finally released her she gulped oxygen into her starved lungs before clinging to him tighter, sobbing incoherently that she was about to come.

She was beautiful, absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful and he told her so as she pumped her hips against him urgently. Her nails sunk into the corded muscle of his back, smearing sweat and paint as she reached her peak, arching her back and screaming into the empty room.

Sai groaned as he felt her clamp down around him but grit his teeth and rode it through, refusing to surrender just yet.

When she finally sagged against him, the artist stood up and took the exhausted woman with him, supporting her with a hand under each toned cheek as he carried her to the bed and laid her down on her back.

With a lot of effort on her part, Sakura was able to crack open a jade colored eye to look at him from beneath heavy lids. He was still looking at her as always, observing her as if she were something fascinating, but this time there was also hot lust in his eyes and she knew immediately that he was not done with her yet.

"Sakura," he whispered, her name coming out in reverent tones as he traced a thumb over her cheek, leaving a smear of purplish gray.

He pulled away to observe her disheveled form without leaving her body completely. His art was now nothing more than a mess of muddy colors, as if they had been experimenting with preschool finger paints on each other's bodies. The sweat thinned hues were everywhere, even in her rose colored locks but it still couldn't dull the beauty of her in the afterglow. Even limp and exhausted, panting and sweaty, he couldn't help but admire her and he wondered if that's what happened to you when you became so close to a person, you couldn't see them as anything but radiant.

Bracing his hands on either side of her head, he leaned down until their chests were touching once more and pushed his hips forward, encasing himself fully in her liquid heat. Immediately, Sakura's whimpers started anew as he began to build her up towards climax again, his torso sliding effortlessly along hers and smudging the paint further as they created their own designs with wandering fingers and hands that trailed and clawed and gripped. The friction of his body against hers only accelerated the ride towards orgasm and soon both of them were on the edge.

She surprised him when she rolled them both over and took over setting the pace, choosing a rhythm slower than what Sai would have liked. He was already so close he thought he was going to explode but she was riding him with slow rolls of her hips, forcing him to hold out as she prolonged their coupling.

He ran his hands up over her hips, fingers cutting trails through the wet paint to pinch and roll her erect nipples between his fingers. The pink haired woman moaned and arched but didn't increase her speed any. At this rate, he would lose it again before she reached completion and he remembered what had happened last time.

Gripping her hips, he rolled her over again so she was once again pinned under him, sending sheets flying. He began to thrust into her hard and deep at a pace much quicker than the one she had set but he could tell by the renewed volume of her moans that she was enjoying it.

He could see it in her eyes as she stared up at him that she was at the brink of another climax and he had leaned his lesson the first time. Although his body ached to release, he continued to thrust into her as she crossed her ankles behind him and held on tightly, her hands fisting in the sheets and leaving distorted hand prints behind. Only when those glistening green eyes lost focus and her vaginal muscles spasm rapidly did he allow himself to give in, emptying his seed inside her with several hot spurts before collapsing on top of his trembling team mate.

His limbs felt leaden and lifting them seemed like far more trouble than it was worth and for a while he was content with just laying there and listening to the rapid thrum of Sakura's heartbeat slowly return to normal. He didn't care that the fact his head was against her chest meant his hair and cheek were now covered in paint. He didn't care that sweat and paint and possible his own seed would no doubt stain these sheets. All he knew was that he felt satisfied, fulfilled, a feeling that was hard to get used to after so many years of feeling nothing at all.

"Mmm," Sakura muttered sleepily beneath him. "I think I'm ready for a nap."

Sai was inclined to agree but he knew that if they fell asleep like this now, the paint would dry and they would stick, not to mention sleep the whole day away. As good as that sounded, they needed to get cleaned up before anything else.

Summoning all the strength he had, he rolled them over so she was on top and cradled her against his chest gently.

"Sakura, we both need a shower."

"Later," she mumbled, preferring sleep over rinsing away the pigment that was beginning to cake on her skin.

As much as he wanted to hold her smaller form in his arms and drift off, he knew they would regret waking up and having to pull their bodies apart that had been sealed together with paint. Since she obviously wasn't going to cooperate, he waited until his strength returned and scooped her up in his arms, carrying her towards the door.

He turned the brass knob, leaving smudges of paint behind and for a moment, both were temporarily blinded for the bathroom was filled with light and their eyes had to adjust after being in the candlelit room.

When the kunoichi was finally able to focus on her new surroundings, her fatigue was forgotten. While the main room had been shrouded in darkness, either having windows disguised by curtains or simply having none at all, his spacious bathroom had one wall that was practically all glass. She hadn't known exactly where Sai lived but now that she could see outside, she discovered that he must live on top of the rock facing that contained the carved faces of past Hokages because she was now greeted with the sight of her beloved village spread out below her and beyond Konoha's gates, an endless expanse of forest. The view was made even more magnificent by the rising sun that was creeping above the horizon, tinting the world in soft pinks and grays as another day was about to start.

"Sai, this is absolutely amazing," she breathed as he carried her into the room.

"Yes, the view is quite inspiring sometimes. I've painted it once or twice but I prefer life drawings to landscapes."

The shinobi set her down on the tiled floor and for the first time she noticed a large claw foot tub in the corner with a shower head sprouting from one wall. Sakura's own apartment lacked a tub of any sort and she envied him for being able to take a bubble bath in the comfort of his own home, although she doubted he actually did.

"This house is so beautiful," she murmured awe as she continued to look out the window. "How did you end up with it?"

Sai walked over to the tub and cranked on the hot water as he spoke.

"This is where my parents lived and when they died, they left it to my brother and me. After he passed away, I continued to live here by myself when I wasn't on ANBU missions."

"Oh," Sakura said softly, wrapping her arms around herself as the chill of the tiles began to get to her. "Don't you ever get lonely?"

"No," Sai stated, running his hand under the running water to see if it was hot. "I like my privacy and nobody ever bothers me up here. It's peaceful and quiet."

'Another reason you're socially retarded.' Sakura thought with a quiet smile. However, she had to admit it was rather lovely up here. Where else could an entire wall in your bathroom be glass and you wouldn't have to worry about anyone watching you?

Satisfied with the water temperature, Sai turned on the shower and held out his hand for Sakura to come join him. The kunoichi wanted to giggle at the thought of readily accepting his offer, for a day ago, she would have claimed that she would rather endure a training session with Gai than shower with the peculiar artist, yet here she was taking his hand and letting him help her into the tub. Life sure was full of surprises.

She sighed as the hot spray hit her muscles and immediately the water running down the drain turned brown as the paint loosened from her skin and was washed away. However, stubborn bits of color stuck to her everywhere and she knew she'd have to give her body a thorough scrubbing to get it all off.

As if reading her mind, Sai climbed in after her with two wash cloths and a bar of soap. He positioned himself behind her and began to work up a lather and soon Sakura felt the warm press of a sudsy cloth on her back.

He was methodical in his cleaning but also gentle and nearly tender and Sakura couldn't help but let her eyes drift close as he spread the suds over her neck and shoulders and down her back, not even pausing before focusing his attention on her butt where paint undoubtedly also remained. Sakura was surprised to find she wasn't even offended by the act. In fact, what he was doing felt rather nice as he rubbed the cloth in circular motions over the pale globes, making sure to clean every inch.

Just when the kunoichi thought she might fall asleep standing up, Sai announced that he was finished and handed her the rag so she could clean up the front half of her body. With soap in hand, she was able to scrub her chest, belly, arms and legs until she felt clean once again and noticed that Sai was doing the same thing behind her. Gently, she took the cloth from him once she had finished with her own body and prompted him to turn around so she could return the favor of washing his back.

Muddied colors in the form of long streaks and hands prints still covered his alabaster skin and she could hardly believe she had been impassioned enough to leave her mark on him like this, for as the paint was washed away, long red welts marred him where her nails had scraped. Though they were nothing more than superficial abrasions, Sakura had never pictured herself to be so wild in bed. She traced her thumb down one of the puffy red irritations lightly but Sai didn't flinch so she supposed they didn't hurt but she still felt a little guilt for leaving marks on the otherwise flawless surface of his muscular back.

"Sai, I'm sorry but it looks like I scratched you when we were…you know," she said apologetically. "I'm sorry if I hurt you."

"Don't be," Sai stated simply. "You have bruises all over your back from me so guess that makes us even."

The kunoichi gasped and turned to try and see the marks he spoke up but unfortunately, most of them were in a place she couldn't see. She did however get a glimpse of four purple blotches on the left side of her rear that were no doubt left by his fingers digging into her. She had been so caught up in the moment that she hadn't even noticed how hard he was gripping her. If similar marks covered her entire back then that indeed made them equally guilty.

She continued to clean down his back, finding more nail marks beneath the layers of paint. When she reached his butt, she hesitated a little but figured if he touched hers it should be ok to touch his too. She was a medic for crying out loud! It's not like she hadn't seen one before, but touching Sai like this was a little more intimate than hospital duties.

The skin was firm with nothing but tight muscle beneath and even through the soapy cloth she could feel the definition of his body clearly. It was almost a rule that male shinobi had fantastic bodies, kunoichi too for that matter, and no matter how many masculine bodies she saw each day, it was still a different thing entirely to be with somebody like this, not as a patient or even a team mate, but as something closer.

She managed to finish cleaning him without succumbing to the blush that threatened to tint her cheeks when she saw that his butt was also covered with scratches. Apparently she had grabbed him here too while he had pounded into her passionately. Even now, despite their nudity, the thought of having had sex with the artist seemed surreal to her, but there was evidence everywhere that they had indeed made love, and the picture of her Sai had drawn would remind her of this night for as long as she lived.

After rinsing the last of the soap from his body, Sai cranked off the water and went to step out of the tub but Sakura caught his hand and pulled him back. His eyebrows were raised in confusion and he opened his mouth to speak but she stopped him with a finger to his lips before the words could come out.

"Sai, you have this wonderful bathtub and a glorious view of Konoha, but how often do you actually take a bath and enjoy it?" she asked with a smile.

"I don't take baths. Showers are quicker and more effective."

Sakura had to repress the urge to roll her eyes. That was just the sort of response she had expected from him. While she admired his appreciation for some things, others were completely lost on him and she wasn't about to let him go another day without experiencing the wonders of a bubble bath.

Unfortunately, she knew he wouldn't have a bottle of bath bubbles just lying around so the bottle of generic shampoo on the floor near the tub would have to do.

She turned the hot water on again, letting it come out of the faucet instead of the showerhead. She ordered the shinobi to sit as she plugged up the drain and squirted a generous amount of the light blue liquid into the running stream. Almost immediately, plentiful suds began to form and the air was filled with the spicy and sharp scent of his shampoo, like sandalwood and eucalyptus and Sakura settled into the rising water, breathing in the soothing smell.

Before her was the running faucet and to the side, the expansive view of the sun rising over Konoha. She settled back against Sai's chest and hummed in contentment as the water percolated into weary muscles. To her surprise, she felt completely at ease with the socially inept ninja and actually enjoyed his company. This moment they shared, watching the sun rise while enjoying a bath together was both odd and unexpected but as she felt the steady rise and fall of the shinobi's chest behind her, she found that it was the perfect start to her day and it would become a memory she would cherish.

"So now what do we do?" Sai murmured against the top of her head, shifting to spread his legs and let Sakura settle between his thighs.

"Now we relax silly, or is that something you don't know about either?"

"No, I know hw to relax. It's just that this seems like an inefficient use of time," he remarked honestly.

Typical Sai.

"Well, tell you what," Sakura giggled, reaching behind her to grab the artists arms and cross them over her own chest so he was holding her to him. "Why don't we make this time productive by talking?"

"About what?"

"Anything."

"Is talking what you're supposed to do when taking a bubble bath?" he asked sincerely.

Sakura wanted to sigh in exasperation. He had made so much progress in one night but it seemed some things were still clearly beyond him.

"Not usually. Most people take them alone. If you take a bath with someone, that means you're very close to them. I wouldn't recommend you try this with anyone else."

"I see," Sai pondered. "So is this is a ceremony recognizing that the two of us have improved our team bond?"

'Hopeless' was the word that came to the kunoichi's mind. It seemed he would never learn.

"Perhaps if we invite Naruto to take a bubble bath with us, I can get closer to him too."

Ok, now he was starting to scare her.

"Sai, you can't take a bubble bath with Naruto."

"But why not? Once he sees how well we work together in the field and hears about how we built our connection, he'll definitely want to improve his team work skills as well."

While Sai may have impressed her with skills learned through reading Icha Icha books, it was clear the perverted novels gave him no insight when it came to real life.

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that," Sakura said, turning off the faucet with her toe so she wouldn't have to leave his comfortable embrace. The fragrant bubbles were heady and soothing and she would have been lulled into a pleasant sleep if it wasn't for their conversation. "What we did in your bed is an act meant only for two people and besides, Naruto isn't the type to allow guys to touch him like that."

"But there were several scenes in Kakashi-sempai's books in which three people had sex." Sai replied against the dampness of Sakura's shoulder. "Sometimes it was two men and a woman and other times two women and a man but both ways seem physically possible."

'Well yeah, but that's because the man writing those scenes is the world's biggest pervert.' Sakura thought to herself.

"Sai, you cannot tell Naruto what we did tonight. I think it would upset him if he knew we were together like this."

She didn't want to keep things from her team mate, especially one that had been there for her through thick and thin but she honestly didn't think Naruto would take it well if he knew what she had done. She didn't want to make it seem like the sex she had shared with the blonde would make him only one partner out of many, because that wasn't her intention at all. She just knew that jealousy had a way of changing people, and if their team dynamics were shaky before, they would be horrendous if Naruto were to harbor resentment towards the two of them.

"Do you really expect him not to notice the differences in the way we will interact?" Sai asked calmly. "It will be extremely obvious that something between us has changed and if it makes us work better as a team, I don't see what there is to be upset about, especially if we want to include him as well. Besides, you two have already joined bodies once, I'm sure you can convince him to do it again."

"Yeah, but throwing you into the mix makes a big difference," Sakura sighed patting the pale thigh that rested on the outside of hers.

"I don't see why it should. Having you between the two of us could make for a very pleasurable experience and would undoubtedly bring us all closer, don't you think?"

Now that was something Sakura hadn't considered. Sex with Sai ha been awesome but what would happen if she had two men working to please her? She imagined herself in bed with the two of them, Naruto's mouth kissing hers while Sai's mouth was busy licking her…ok, maybe this plan was worth giving a try.

"It won't be easy to get him to agree," Sakura said thoughtfully, feeling a little bad that she had ulterior motives for considering Sai's plan.

"Well, you were disagreeable at first too and now look where we are," Sai said, uncrossing an arm from around her to absently run his fingers over her taunt stomach. "I suppose we could always use the same methods on him."

The kunoichi shuddered lightly under his touch. She had already gotten herself slightly worked up with thoughts of a Team 7 threesome and his fingers were only making her hotter. While his touches were seemingly innocent, they were arousing just the same and when his fingers dipped under water to absently play with the pink curls between her legs, a moan slipped out without her permission.

"Sakura, what's the matter?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"What you're doing feels good, you idiot," Sakura panted as his fingers combed through the candy colored hairs. If she didn't know any better, she thought he was seducing her on purpose.

"Oh," Sai said, sounding a little confused. "Do you want me to stop?"

"No," Sakura moaned in frustration when his fingers began to pull away. Honestly, it was like he had cast some sort of jutsu on her to make her want him like this, but his fingers had been so close to her sex that it only would have taken a minor adjustment to slip them inside her and she found herself quite disappointed when he didn't. "Keep going Sai. I want you to touch me."

While Sai didn't completely understand, he had no problem with granting her request, especially since he enjoyed touching her supple body as well. When his fingers reached her slit, she seemed to raise her hips in an invitation to enter her so he did, sliding one finger into her tightness that was wet with bathwater and her own juices.

Her keening cry filled the tiled room and bounced off the walls, the trembling of her legs sending the water sloshing against the side of the tub as his finger pumped in and out slowly. The artist noted that it felt good to have her writhing against him and the way her ass ground back against him was making him hard all over again. Perhaps this was why she liked bubble baths so much, because the hot water lapping at his torso only added to the pleasurable sensations he was feeling.

Sakura was trying to figure out how the hell this had happened. At this rate, she'd be having sex with the artist again and it seemed there was no keeping her hands off of him. She wondered briefly if things would get awkward during their next training session or if they would really interact on a deeper level and solidify their team work like he hoped. If things went well, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to team up on Naruto and pleasure him like Sai had forcefully pleasured her. If the blonde really had a problem with being touched by another man, then they both could focus their attentions on her which opened up a whole new realm of perverted yet undeniably appealing possibilities.

Her train of though was promptly derailed however when Sai's other hand found her nipples and began pinching and pulling them alternately. She squirmed against him, causing enough commotion to nearly splash water out of the tub and onto the floor but the artist seemed much more interested in her than the mess she was making.

"Is this why you like bubble baths so much?" he asked, leaning down to press hot kisses to the side of her neck where her wet hair wasn't matted to her skin.

"No Sai, I've never really—ahhhh!"

Sakura's back arched, lifting her hips right out of the water as the shinobi slid another digit inside of her. When her pelvis came crashing down, she did splash water all over the floor. Her hands were clinging to the edge of the tub on either side of her and she could feel his erection prod her rear every time she squirmed against him. For someone who was so brain dead when it came to socializing, Sai sure knew his way around a woman's body, but maybe she had her sensei to thank for that. Then again, that was another person she didn't plan on breathing a word of this to. He was so perceptive that he would probably figure it out anyways.

Sai's fingers continued to thrust slowly, rhythmically, while his teeth grazed her shoulder and his other hand cupped her breasts and teased her nipples. She was completely lost to the world, focusing only on him, enveloped in his skin and the hot water and the smell of his shampoo as her feminine muscles contracted sharply around his invading fingers. Before her was all of Konoha spread out in a blanket of green, the sun now completely above the horizon and shining brightly. Those same rays of light seemed to burst forth from her core as she threw back her head and screamed in ecstasy as orgasm overcame her.

She was close to Sai now in a way she had never been close to anyone. He had infiltrated her life somehow and taken her to a place she hadn't thought she could go. With his fingers, his lips, his paint brush and charcoal pencil, he had made her see herself in a new and beautiful light and she supposed she had opened his eyes to a new world as well. They were together now, they were one, at last here in this moment, body and soul and Sakura thought that maybe there was some legitimacy to his seemingly ridiculous plan after all. They were a team, and they were friends, lovers; but above all, they were bonded.

Well, there you have it. This is the end of this particular story but I might do a sequel in which there is a Sai/Saku/Naru threesome. If you guys would like to see this happen, please let me know, otherwise it may be lost forever in the mass of plot bunnies in my brain. Reviews are always appreciated! Thanks for reading.

There is a corresponding piece of fan art for this chapter done by the marvelous Cynchick. The link is on my LJ and on my profile.