A/N: It never would have occured to me to write this pairing if one of my friends, Millenium Ring hadn't expressed such a liking to it and my stupid brain ended up trying to figure out a scenario in which Sakura and Orochimaru could work. Unfortunately it then wouldn't shut up and was begging to be written so here it is. Please tell me what you think! I hope I haven't made Orochimaru OOC at all.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Stolen Glances

A white puff of smoke belched from the clear conical flask suspended over a roaring blue flame, making Sakura cough as a sharp acrid smell of rancid eggs permeated the air occupying Laboratory Five. The pink-haired girl brushed a bead of sweat from her forehead tiredly, tucking a few wayward strands of rosy hair – that had somehow fallen out of her messy ponytail – behind her ears as she did so, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

Three, she counted mentally, two, on-

"What the hell just happened?!" A familiar shout echoed around the small underground room, making her wince.

Sakura shifted her vision slightly to accommodate the sight of her irate lab partner who angrily straightened his glasses as he marched towards her, eyes flashing dangerously.

To an outsider, it would seem that Kabuto's anger was exactly as it seemed but Sakura knew better. She knew that internally he was practically skipping with glee at the crisis that was now bubbling on the heavy wooden table before them, hiccupping occasionally.

"Would you mind explaining that?!" Kabuto repeated, pointing a pale finger at what had been a perfectly innocent experiment, involving the detection a particular enzyme in animal cells. Or at least it had been until Sakura had poured undiluted yeast in by mistake. As far as experiments went, this one was pretty basic and one that she would even go as far to claim that she could do it with her eyes closed on a normal day.

"It doesn't matter. I'll just get another batch" Sakura replied wearily, rubbing her eyes against the fold of her apron as she tried to rid herself of the image that had distracted her from her work.

She hadn't taken more than a few steps towards the storage room when four warm fingers fastened themselves around her wrist, halting her advance.

"Let go, Kabuto" Sakura said firmly, wrenching her arm away from his as she took a few steps backwards, a frown upon her face.

"You do realise," said Kabuto with the air of cradling an unstable bomb in his arms, "that this is the third time you have ruined an experiment this week with what would be considered elementary mistakes. Either you're doing a poor job of trying to sabotage our work or incredibly stupid. Personally, I'm inclined to believe that it's the latter." At this point Kabuto chose to indulge in a smirk which Sakura countered with a glare. His smirk became more pronounced.

"Perhaps I should inform Orochimaru-sama of your incompetence. I'm sure he would be interested to hear this." He was practically gloating by now; Sakura could hear it in his voice.

"Go ahead," she feigned indifference, internally cringing at the thought of being brought before him in such a manner. "And while you're at it, you can mention to him what it was you did to poor Niko last week."

Kabuto's eyes narrowed infinitesimally. "Fine," he replied, displeasure colouring his tone which Sakura took to mean that she had won this one.

She affixed a bright smile to her face as she swept past him towards the dusty supply room, determined not to let even the slightest hint of unease shadow her features. Before she had so much as turned the corner she heard a violent exclamation from behind which sounded suspiciously like "women!"

Within less than a minute Sakura had reached her destination. She sighed as she slammed the heavy storage door shut and ran her fingers distractedly through her hair, freeing several more strands of pink tresses from their bonds as she did so. Her vibrant green eyes cast around the room, taking in the familiar shelves crammed with stacks upon stacks of dusty jars, boxes and research folders – a perfect echo of her chaotic state of mind. It took her all of five seconds to confirm that she was indeed alone. Immediately the tension in her shoulders lessened slightly, outwardly indicating her relief. It would not do for her to have an audience for this.

She made her way slowly along the dusty shelves, pausing only to absentmindedly trail a finger across the dusty lid of a particularly large jar containing what appeared to be grey slimy rope. A faded label proclaimed "Rat's Intestines" in the spiky handwriting Sakura recognised as her lab partner's. Perhaps some people would be horrified at the sight of animal innards floating ominously inside a jar but to Sakura this was a common sight. She had never understood squeamishness anyway.

She reached the end of the row and started down another. It would be too easy to get lost in the positive labyrinth of shelves that stretched the entire length of the underground cavern but Sakura had no intention of walking very far.

She spied an old disused stool halfway down "Aisle 35" and it was upon this that she now settled taking deep steadying breaths in an attempt to bring some sense of perspective to her situation. She hated to admit it but Kabuto was right. If she kept slipping up, Orochimaru would hear about it sooner or later and that was something she was definitely keen to avoid. Even more so because she had no reasonable explanation as to why she kept making errors in her work; at least no explanation that she was willing to share.

Her excuse sounded ridiculous even to her own ears. How was she expected to carry out difficult analyses and tests when all she could think about was him? How could she when the distant slamming of a door or the sound of footsteps in the corridor outside she anticipated to be his? She was being unreasonable, she knew. She was being unreasonable, childish and naive yet for all her efforts she could not get the idea of her and Orochimaru out of her head.

She screwed up her face in concentration, attempting to pin point when she first began taking what could only be considered as more than a professional interest in Orochimaru. Perhaps just by understanding that she could rid herself of her absurd feelings for him.

She sighed. She probably held the world record for having the worst taste in guys. She had been infatuated with Sasuke, the heir of the Uchiha clan – for reasons that made her cringe now – and look at how well that turned out, she thought sarcastically. After all, it was mainly due to Sasuke that she was here to begin with.

There's no use thinking about that now, she chastised herself wearily.

Her motives for following Sasuke that night over three years ago had little bearing on her life now. True if she hadn't secretly followed the Uchiha the night he left Konoha – even now she wondered how different her life would have been had she confronted him instead of being the cowardly shinobi she was – she wouldn't be here but she had long since given up on trying to persuade Sasuke to return to Konoha.

Something in him had changed. He was not the boy she had once admired and respected. She would even go as far as to say that he was irredeemable in her eyes. Especially after what he'd done. She rubbed her side unconsciously.

Once someone became a follower of Orochimaru they couldn't just hand in their resignation whenever they felt like it so for the last three years this place had become Sakura's home. Despite what she'd originally thought, she had actually come to like living here.

It had been discovered early on that she was particularly adept at chakra control and so Kabuto had tutored her steadily for two years – something he had been quick to show his displeasure about. She had also been allowed to spar with Sasuke for the better part of two years at the hideout; something Orochimaru had been adamant on despite Sasuke's constant complaining that such training was beneath him. It was in that time that she saw truly how much her fellow ex-member of Team Seven had fallen. All his pent up emotions, the blackness concealed inside his heart, the extent to which he would go to extract his revenge; all of that had been exposed to the pink-haired kunoichi. He had gone past the point of no return and after the incident that ensured that Sakura would never have to train with him again; she found she no longer cared. He was dead to her and to the world.

It was due to the incident between her and Sasuke that she came to suspect there might be more to Orochimaru than she'd previously thought. His actions that day had led her to believe that he wasn't as heartless as he seemed and if she hadn't caught a glimpse of something in his eyes that day she would never have even believed he was capable of emotion. Indeed, sometimes she half-wondered if she'd imagined it for Orochimaru became even more distant in the months following the incident than Sakura had believed possible.

Then little over three months ago Orochimaru had entered the laboratory for an update on extending the longevity of the Living Corpse Reincarnation technique. The theory was that destroying a certain percent of white blood cells in the vessel's blood prior to the reincarnation jutsu could increase the life expectancy of the technique by up to thirty percent. That would be almost one extra year added on to the jutsu, so naturally it became a top priority.

Sakura had no reason to suspect that Orochimaru would visit the laboratory – Kabuto usually bought monthly updates to him personally – so when she bustled out of a small side room, arms laden with trays upon trays of samples she was entirely taken off guard. The last thing she'd expected was the sight of him standing casually with his back to her about halfway down the room, apparently in deep conversation with Kabuto. If he had noticed her abrupt entrance he didn't show it.

Sakura had half a mind to turn on her heel and walk out of the room again. There were certain aspects of the research that she was not privy to and above all else, she did not wish to be accused of eavesdropping.

However, this was the first time she'd seen him in six months, the first time since the incident so she hovered, torn between the desire to be watch him and the impulse to run away and never look back. She wondered if he was angry at her for being so weak. She remembered how intolerant he was of weakness.

A strange emotion settled somewhere around her midriff as an alien thought greeted her. She had missed him, she realised. She revelled in the opportunity to trace his features with her naked eyes; she had forgotten the way his lips curved into an unintentional smirk, the paleness of his skin, his beautiful ochre eyes.

She slackened her grip on the trays, forgotten for the moment in her arms. Even from this distance she could tell that his sleek ebony hair would be soft to touch and she spent a few moments imagining twisting her fingers through the soft, silky strands that framed his face.

"Sakura," Kabuto's sharp tone cut through her thoughts like a knife, making her jump.

The thin disapproving line that was his mouth angled downwards sharply and Sakura felt a rush of heat flood to her cheeks. Suddenly the sensation of sliding wood across her fingertips alerted her attention to a more pressing matter and therein she discovered her mistake. Desperately she fumbled with the wooden trays but to no avail. The resounding crash as wooden trays and plastic petri dishes collapsed to the floor and then bounced and rolled across it made her cheeks take on an entirely new shade of red. It was too much to hope that Orochimaru had missed the event entirely.

In an attempt to rectify her blunder she dived to the floor, frantically gathering the samples into a large pile before returning them to the correct tray. A harsh bark of laughter emitted from her hated lab partner. No doubt he was sneering down his nose at her, she thought as she seethed with white-hot anger. She dared not look up to confirm her theory however. She couldn't bear to meet Orochimaru's eyes, she thought as her eyes stung with humiliation.

"Leave it." The voice was cold and commanding but Sakura ignored it, intent on returning every sample to the trays. "Sakura, leave it".

The voice was more impatient now so she obeyed and raised her head towards the speaker. Jade eyes met amber.

"Follow me," he commanded, motioning for her to follow him. Despite her apprehensiveness, Sakura's spine tingled upon hearing those velvety tones.

She straightened up, dusting her apron as she did so and proceeded to follow Orochimaru down the cold, stone corridor. Looking back, she caught sight of the expression – a mixture of scorn and surprise – written all over Kabuto's features. Apparently he didn't know what to make of it either.

Sakura wondered where he was taking her. Did such a simple accident even deserve a punishment? She knew better than to ask however.

Orochimaru paused at the Record Room: quite possibly the single most important room in the whole laboratory and the only one protected by more than a single lock. Sakura had never seen the inside of this particular room and so she watched – practically bursting with curiosity – as a single milky snake detached itself from within the sleeve of his robes and slithered into the lock. A loud clicking noise emitted from the small hole and moments later Sakura allowed herself to be ushered inside the small, white room. It was perfect for a private conversation, she realised.

"I haven't seen you in the training room for a while," he began, his tawny eyes boring into hers.

"I only train at night these days" Sakura replied rather taken aback. This was certainly not what she'd been expecting.

"I see". Neither of them thought it worth mentioning the reason she refused to train during daylight anymore. She preferred training during the day of course, but by doing so she ran the risk of running into Sasuke. And that was something she was quite keen to avoid.

"Why are you here?" Sakura asked abruptly. On reflection, she had to admit that doing so was not the wisest course of action for Orochimaru's eyes had narrowed slightly, his expression unreadable.

Perhaps she had pushed him too far, she mused. Surely her rudeness would not go unchecked. She waited with baited breath. Then something quite unexpected happened: he laughed!

She watched him wide-eyed, quite unable to believe her ears. He laughed again.

"What's so funny?" The pink-haired kunoichi asked, hands on hips. She did not take well to being mocked.

"It is strange how out of everyone here, you are the only one who has never been afraid of me". A smirk played across his lips. They were now only inches apart. It struck Sakura how very tall he was. "Why is that?" he asked and she could hear genuine curiosity in his voice.

"I-" Sakura shrugged. "I don't know," she ended lamely.

"You have always intrigued me, Sakura," he continued predatorily, his gaze never wavering.

"Is that so?" Sakura quirked an eyebrow, attempting to return the situation to something she could comprehend. One never knew where they stood when it came to Orochimaru. Yet despite her own warnings, she felt her body responding to their close proximity. She clenched her teeth. It was taking all her remaining strength to resist closing the gap between them.

"Indeed," he replied quietly, almost as if to himself. He seemed disappointed though Sakura couldn't think for the life of her why.

"Do you like it here?" The question caught her unawares. She took a deep breath in an attempt to unscramble her muddled thoughts.

"I-" She began uncertainly. He was watching her unusually closely. "Yes, I suppose so. Why?"

He didn't look entirely convinced.

"No, really," she continued, unsure why she was having to explain this to Orochimaru of all people. "Yeah, I didn't to begin with but I enjoy my work and this place, it's kind of grown on me".

"And Sasuke?"

"What about him?" she replied a little sharper than she intended. She sighed and then shook her head. "You remember what happened".

The look on his face implied that he did remember. Not that what Sasuke had done had been an easy thing to forget. Sakura began to feel uncomfortable under his scrutinising gaze.

"Kabuto is probably wondering where I am," she said as she manoeuvred herself towards the exit. The subject of Sasuke had put her in a foul mood. Orochimaru looked like he was about to say something but thought better of it.

"Here, take these folders to Room Ten," he said coldly, handing her a stack of papers, his expression unreadable. She nodded in confirmation.

"Go," he commanded. Sakura couldn't leave the room fast enough.

Sakura groaned at the recollection, realising for the first time why he'd dismissed her so coldly. Instead of dwelling on it however, she chose to immerse herself in another memory which took place about a month later.

Sakura spun on the spot, executing a series of complicated attacks one after another; attacks to disembowel, paralyse, knock down and destroy the imaginary army that existed in her mind only. She performed a perfect backflip before whirling around once more, taking out more invisible enemies with a flawless round-house kick.

After flowing through a few more forms she brought her fists to a controlled standstill, breathing evenly. It was time for a short break.

She traipsed over to a small table situated between two pillars where she had left her drink. The sensation of cool, refreshing water flowing down her gullet was wonderful and she drank greedily, obeying the demands of her dehydrated body.

"I see you're just as sloppy as usual," a silky-smooth voice hissed amusedly, inches away from her left ear.

Sakura almost spat out her drink in shock.

"Orochimaru-sama!"

"I told you not to call me that," he said with no real hint of malice in his tone.

"I know you did," she replied as her heart knocked uncomfortably against her ribs. "You shouldn't sneak up on me like that!"

A reptilian smirk crossed his features and Sakura sighed, but without any real conviction.

Ever since the pink-haired kunoichi had let slip that she trained after sunset, Orochimaru had on occasion visited her in a similar manner. It was not often he came to watch but she viewed it as a rare treat when he did. She could never be sure of when he was watching however because annoyingly he was much more adept at concealing himself than she was and made a habit of revealing himself at inopportune moments.

"How long have you been watching?" she asked conversationally as she travelled around the room, lifting up the heavy apparatus with ease and setting it back in its original place. It was not out of necessity, but embarrassment that she turned her face from him, adamant that he would not see the slow blush creep across her cheeks.

"Long enough," he answered as his eyes traced the path she cut across the room.

Sakura secretly hated the cryptic one or two word answers she was used to receiving but decided – this time – to let it slide.

"Alright, though next time I have an audience it would be nice to be aware of it," Sakura grumbled. In a flash Orochimaru grabbed her arm tightly, cold fingers encasing it in an impenetrable prison.

"You forget your place," he hissed softly as his voice took on a more dangerous tone.

"Why didn't you let Sasuke finish me off then?" Sakura asked bitterly. "It would have been a whole lot easier for you to just stand by and-"

"I'm sorry, I hadn't realised you'd wanted to die," he replied coldly. "I'll make sure to remember that next time".

He strode away angrily, robes billowing in an unseen wind. Sakura stared open-mouthed. She couldn't believe she was pushing him away again. This wasn't supposed to happen!

"Wait," she called out desperately to the retreating figure. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that! Can't we just talk about this for a second?"

The figure paused and Sakura took the opportunity to run up to him, panting as she came to a standstill.

"I didn't mean-" she repeated, chest still heaving. Jade eyes stared up at him imploringly as small lithe fingers wove their way through the fabric of his sleeve. "I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm sorry," she apologised.

His expression was emotionless.

"I haven't been myself lately," she continued apologetically. Her teeth pulled on her lower lip – a clear sign of anxiety.

"You mean-?"

Orochimaru's whole countenance had changed. His eyes were dark and a slight frown crinkled his brow. There was only one other time Sakura had seen him like that and he had scared her just as much then.

"No! That hasn't bothered me in a while," Sakura replied hurriedly in an attempt to pacify him. "Honestly, I barely remember its there any more!" she babbled on. "It's not even really that n-"

"Show me," Orochimaru commanded.

"I-," she inhaled deeply, willing the tears that had sprung to her eyes away. She turned her back to him. "It- it doesn't matter. Please, can we talk about something else?" she pleaded.

After a moments pause, he agreed.

Sakura gasped and jumped up from the stool. How could she be so stupid as to think of that! She shook her head angrily, determined to hold back the flashback that hovered on the periphery of her memory. She had become better at controlling it but she was caught out at times and then there was nothing to prevent the oncoming flood of images, sounds and sensations that threatened to overwhelm her brain.

A tuft of dark hair, red eyes glinting maliciously, an explosion of pain-

She groaned adamantly refusing to relive it again. In her desperation her foot connected with the wooden stool which was sent sprawling across the room. A sharp throbbing sensation pulsed through her foot. She smiled grimly. The pain gave her something to focus on and by concentrating on taking deep steadying breaths she was able to return to her previous state.

She hated what he had done. It was unforgivable! He deserved anything that came his way tenfold!

She clenched her fists tightly, imagining smashing them into Sasuke's face. She took a moment to enjoy the imagined sound of her fist connecting with his jaw, a deep look of satisfaction played on her face as she saw the bone break with a sickening crunch. Still it was not enough. It never was.

She paced up and down in her fury, barely containing the urge to smash rows upon rows of supplies. There would never be enough jars to satisfy her anger. The cavern seemed to have shrunk several times smaller. She felt claustrophobic! She couldn't breathe!

The waves of anger rolling off her skin were almost tangible. It was imperative that she left the room before committing certain incriminating acts that would almost certainly leave her in an even worse predicament than before.

She made her way to the exit with a vague idea of venting out her frustration in the training room despite the fact that it was broad daylight and – she cracked her knuckles threateningly – if she happened to meet Sasuke; then so much better for her, so much worse for him.

There was a sharp knock on the door followed by an impatient exclamation. "Sakura! Get out h-"

Unwilling to listen to any more of Kabuto's incessant complaining, Sakura violently thrust open the heavy oak door with enough force to make a considerable dent in the wall: fortunately – in Sakura's opinion – it never made it that far.

"Ouch!" Kabuto staggered backwards clutching his nose in pain which had already begun to bleed profusely, she noted with satisfaction. "You crazy bitch!"

The sound of his enraged shouts reverberated off the walls as they followed the pink-haired kunoichi down the damp stone corridor. She was so preoccupied she barely even spared a small smirk for the welcome accident. So it was that she had another collision but this time there was no sickening crack as wood collided with flesh. The only sound to be heard was the quiet "oomph" that escaped Sakura's lips at coming into contact with the unexpected obstacle. She tripped and would have fallen if it were not for the strong, white hands that gripped her tightly.

"Sakura?" The surprised dulcet tones sounded from somewhere above her head.

Side-stepping Orochimaru's unwavering gaze, Sakura muttered "I'm going to kill Sasuke," fully intending to set off down the corridor once more.

"No you're not," he contradicted her. "He is my next vessel and I will not allow any harm to come to him". So serious was his stare that it was all she could do to nod mutely. Already her anger had begun to dissipate; it was as though his mere presence acted as a siphon for her rage.

However it was not enough to stop the formation of a new tendril of thought which her brain privately agreed with: that it was a shame the day Sasuke became his vessel wasn't sooner. Such a fate was deserving of his crimes. Unfortunately something of it must have shown on her face for Orochimaru was frowning again.

"You know it doesn't work like that," he replied irately. It was almost impossible to detect the slight hiss to his tone. Although feelings were considered almost worthless in his opinion, he couldn't help but ask "Sakura, what is the matter?"

"It's nothing," she replied, her temper fraying once more. "Just leave it".

She hadn't taken more than two steps before she came once more to an unexpected halt. A noise of irritation escaped her lips and she spun in a perfect half-circle to meet that perfectly infuriating face of his, eyes blazing.

"Sakura, tell me what's wrong," he glared. The effect being that his face appeared more snakelike than usual. It was clear that he was not particularly enamoured with the idea of having to repeat himself. Sakura gave a small nod and then sighed, fully aware of his ridiculously short fuse.

She had one condition however, "Not here".

It wasn't until she heard the lock click reassuringly that Sakura turned to face him once more. Her jade eyes – alight with emotion – watched him cautiously, unsure of how to explain what she felt. She struggled for a moment as the transition from emotion to words eluded her completely.

It struck her then of the oddity of her situation. It seemed impossible that three years ago she had been a citizen of Konoha where the name Orochimaru had held a certain amount of fear and yet appeared distant and inconsequential to her foolish, younger self despite what he'd already done to Konoha. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined herself here. In fact, Orochimaru inquiring after her was a concept she was struggling to come to terms with even now.

"Well I suppose you want to-"

"Were you planning on making me wait all-"

They both stopped; Sakura looked embarrassed, Orochimaru merely amused.

"Well, I-," she continued before halting a second time. Her eyes went hard. "Why do you care?" she asked abruptly.

"I don't," Orochimaru retorted, his eyes tightening in anger, fists clenching defensively. "But I cannot allow it when it interferes with the research".

"Well then I'll make it easy for you," Sakura laughed derisively. "I quit".

"And where will you go?" Orochimaru sneered. "Konoha won't have you unless I'm much mistaken and you have nowhere else to go".

"I'll make do," Sakura said acting braver than she felt.

"Then you're a fool," he replied scathingly. "As soon as word gets out that you're no longer here…"

"I-" she floundered, knowing perfectly well he was right. "Well, I- I thought you didn't care," she shot back at him.

"I don't," he interjected smoothly. "And this is a circular argument. Now are you going to tell me what the hell is the matter or am I going to have to force it out of you?"

They were back to that topic again. Sakura sighed. He was persistent and stubborn to a fault and there was no winning when it came to him. That was just something she was going to have to accept.

"Fine," she conceded. Her shining pink locks bounced across her shoulders as she shook her head tiredly. It was incomprehensible how she gave into him so easily. "But it'll be easier if I show you".

It was with the raising of one eyebrow and a lot of cursing on Sakura's part as she struggled to unknot the tie of her apron that eventually she was in such a position to show Orochimaru what she meant. She shifted closer to him, reducing the gap between them before she took a deep breath and murmured, "It's not as bad as it looks".

Without preamble, she slowly tugged up the fabric of her top so that it bunched around her stomach, revealing her abdomen. Orochimaru's eyes widened.

"Is that where?" he asked, tracing the pale lines that converged on a single point with amber eyes.

"Yeah," she replied a little unnecessarily, waiting for the moment he would back away with a mingled look of disgust and horror on his face.

The smooth scarred, protuberant skin was pearlescent and shiny, whiter even than Orochimaru's. It stretched across the left side of her abdomen; an angry lump in the middle with jagged lines spreading outwards. It looked horrific, she knew.

One long pale finger reached out to touch it unflinchingly, following the path of one long jagged line that had left its mark upon her skin. She winced involuntarily. Memories began to bubble towards the surface at that single touch – her skin remembered well the searing pain as lightning smote her flesh, ripping through the soft skin with ease. Crimson eyes rimmed with anger and hatred had watched satisfactorily as she collapsed to the floor in a scream of pain and anguish. Then suddenly he was gone and crimson eyes were replaced with amber – amber eyes telling her everything would be alright, filled with concern and something else. Sakura had felt herself slipping away as she tried to identify that second hidden emotion. She had awoken to clean sheets, bandages and the lingering smell of disinfectant she associated with the medical wing.

Tears unbidden sprang to her eyes at the memory. She had almost died in the "accident" and aside from having to live with the heavy scarring until the end of her days she had suffered another loss. Her womb had been damaged irreparably rendering her infertile. It saddened her – not because she wanted children but because now the opportunity would never arise. She clenched a fist tightly – hating Sasuke for taking that choice away from her.

Unable to look at it any longer, she brought her gaze unwillingly to meet his, expecting to see the look of revulsion and pity that usually crossed people's faces about now. She couldn't have been more wrong.

Two conflicting emotions were warring with themselves in those ochre depths; one was unmistakably anger, the other – was that concern? Sakura shook her head stupidly. Perhaps she was imagining things. It wouldn't be the first time.

She smoothed her top back down with a wry smile. "Not very pretty is it?" she asked sardonically.

Orochimaru's eyes slowly refocused on hers. It was almost as if he'd forgotten she was there, so convoluted were his thoughts. "Yes," he replied absently, his thoughts only just catching up to what he said. "Y- No, I mean no. No," he said firmly.

"No?" Sakura asked coyly. She had no idea what was running through his mind but he didn't seem to be running away and that was definitely a good sign. It made a nice change for once and Sakura felt suddenly emboldened.

Orochimaru glowered at her – a sure indication that he hated to repeat himself – and she smiled broadly. She felt elated, buoyed up by the fact that he hadn't scorned her or shown disgust. Perhaps he did care after all.

"You don't have to take everything so seriously, you know," Sakura shook her head, still smiling.

"How can you-," Orochimaru began, confusion knitting his brow. "Why are you so unaffected by this?"

"Am I really so unaffected?" Sakura asked, one eyebrow raised. "Orochimaru, you of all people should know I'm not. Half the days I would like nothing better than to give him what he deserves but-" she took a deep breath. "That won't solve anything. The only person it'd be hurting is me."

"But today-"

"Today I lost control," Sakura admitted. "I couldn't stand the thought of him strutting around like he owned the place, unchecked and unpunished".

"I should kill him. If I didn't need him-" Orochimaru began furiously, but she silenced him almost immediately.

"Just save it for later, okay?"

"Why?"

"Haven't we got better things to be doing than talking about Sasuke?" Sakura smiled, a hint of suggestiveness about her stance.

"Like w-" Orochimaru asked completely nonplussed.

The rest of his words were cut off by the feel of her mouth pressing against his. A swarm of butterflies erupted in her stomach as she kissed him gently. It was short and hesitant. Short and hesitant but filled with promises. It was definitely boldest move she'd ever initiated. She still wasn't completely sure whether she should be doing this.

It had only lasted a couple of seconds but when she pulled away Sakura couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. She stepped back nervously, watching him with wide, anxious jade eyes. He stared at her for a few moments longer and Sakura began to wonder if she'd made a terrible mistake.

"I'm sorry," she apologised, making ready to leave. "I shouldn't have-"

"Sakura," he said calmly. She continued to chatter on, face crimson with embarrassment. "Sakura!"

Finally she took note. "You may be sorry but I'm not and this is something I refuse to apologise for," he said with a predatory smirk as he lifted her face up gently to meet his once more.

The second kiss was nothing like the first. It was filled with unsuppressed desires and the excitement of something new. His taste was addictive, Sakura found and she reflected briefly that she'd be quite happy to repeat this act on a regular basis. She threaded her fingers through his ebony hair, pleased to discover that it was as soft as she'd imagined. She smiled into the kiss; eager to indulge in what she thought she'd waited long enough for. She had found her silver lining.