I actually can't remember when the last time i updated was but I found this unfinished on my computer and decided to just sit down and finish it. I hope you like it.

Reassurance

Sasuke waited patiently for her to dress as he drank his tea, sitting at his desk going trough old mission scrolls. It has become routine for Sakura to spend her weekends with him since they told Naruto about them. It wasn't as if they announced it to the world but it wasn't as if they were hiding it anymore, but it still felt off and awkward for him occasionally. He was never one for public displays of affection so it wasn't like much had changed. He stared into his tea and thought about their future. The exams were over and now the village had settled back to its normal routine. What was going to happen now?

His thoughts were interrupted by her entrance into the room, he couldn't help but look up as she rubbed her head with a towel, drying her hair, a smile on her face, "Sorry that took so long." She approached him and placed a chaste kiss just below his ear as she walked past him to grab a cup, "I wish I was a morning person sometimes."

He listened to her pour herself tea then come up behind him, her arms circled around his neck from behind, the slight dampness of her hair sent droplets of water sliding down his neck. They stayed like that in silence, not needing words as her lips found a pulse and rested there; he reached up with one hand and gently stroked her hair in reassurance. She pulled back but not away, resting her chin on his shoulder, "What you working on?"

"Just going over some old missions." He said, watching her out of the corner of his eyes as she brought the cup to lips to drink. A bead of liquid left behind on her lips as she placed the cup down, her tongue glided over her lips to collect and a shot of desire went through him. Her eyes so focused on the scrolls that she didn't even consider to prepare for an assault. He quickly turned his chair and in the blink of an eye she was straddled over his lap, her emerald eyes looking down at him now, their faces merely inches apart. A smile graced his stoic face at the look of surprise that overtook her features.

His hands graced up her hips and moved to the curve of her waist as her own hands braced themselves on his shoulders, digging into the fabric of his shirt. She lowered herself slowly, a smile on her teasing lips.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! "SASUKE! SAKURA! ARE YOU IN THERE? WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE IF YOU DON'T HURRY UP."

They froze in place for a moment before she sighed and placed her forehead against his for a brief moment and pushed herself off him to go answer the door. He leaned back in the chair, letting his head fall back as he exhaled a breath he didn't know he had been holding. That damn idiot, why did he have to go and interrupt them like that?

As soon as the door opened, the blonde came bounding in and eyed them suspiciously, "What were you guys doing?"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sakura hit Naruto in head, "It's none of your business. Why did you have to come here anyway? We were just on our way out when you came banging on the door."

The two argued back and forth for some moments as Sasuke simply watched, bored. He stood, his stoic mask back in place; walking past the pair, he made his way to the open door and stepped out, calling behind him, "If you're done fighting, we better get going."

They followed, but not silently.

The rest of the day was quiet and uneventful as most days had become, Sasuke walked the streets of the village, Sakura by his side. Her mother would be worried if he didn't bring her home on time. They walked in silence, listening to the sound of the busy shops and food stands, her arm brushing against his occasionally. As the neared her home the streets become quieter, leaving behind the center of town and entered the residential area of the village.

She suddenly broke the silence, "Sasuke?"

He didn't turn to look at her but gave a grunt in response.

She continued, "Do you think we made the right decision?"

"About what?" he slowed his pace and she matched it.

"About us; about telling people that we are seeing each other." She sighed, "I don't know if it was the best idea." She looked away from him, her eyes cast down.

"Why would you say that?" a feeling of anxiety filled him making the hairs on his arm stand up.

"Well, several things actually." Her voice was quiet, "I mean the reason we kept it a secret in the first place was safety and after all this time-"

He stopped in his track, cutting her off, "Do you think I can't keep you safe?

She also stopped and turned to look at him, concern filled her features, "Tha-that's not what I – what I meant was that with everyone, especially Naruto -"

"So that idiots going to protect you." he met her eyes, as an anger and fear he did not know he possessed filled his eyes.

Suddenly the anger in her eyes almost matched his own, "How can you say that!"

The pain and hurt that radiated from her was enough to stop his next words. He promised never to hurt her, and this night, he broke that promise. He had to leave before he said something to destroy their connection. "Your house is around the corner, I'm going home."

He turned and walked back the way they came not wanting to gauge her reaction or give her time to stop him. As soon as he was out of sight he jumped to the nearest roof and took the quickest way home.

Why did it have to be this way? He ran his hands through his hair and let himself fall back on the bed. After he got back all he had done was picture every different way that scenario could have gone; ways it could have gone better and ways it could have been worse. He threw his arm over his face, covering his eyes, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. All his thoughts came back to one point that tormented him.

He was weak.

She was right. He was weak when it came to her. When she was involved, his emotion took control and all rational thought left him. That was dangerous in more ways than one. That was only the mental torture she put him through, physically in a fight he could hold his own but if she was involved, all bets were off. How could she expect him to protect her and keep her safe when just the thought of seeing her injured made him irrational and careless? if she were ever hurt in front of him hw may just lose his sanity. These thoughts all circled back to that one thought. She was right. He should not have exposed their relationship yet, but he had to be a possessive asshole and stake his claim on her. That very claim could cause him to lose her.

That couldn't happen. He couldn't lose her, not like this. His mind raced with every possible step he could take next and none of them guaranteed that she could be safe with him or stay with him. There was only one option available to him and he would enact it first thing in the morning.

He had not slept at all but prepared; packing his bag with everything that he would need to last him a while. The rest of the time was used forging a letter for her, it had to be perfect. He needed to get stronger, that was the only answer.

A knocking on the door brought him out of his thoughts. He hesitated answering, knowing it was the fox on the other side. The knocking turned into a pounding causing him to finally decide to let him in. He opened the door and step back, "What do you want?"

The idiot barged in and turned to him, anger in his eyes, "What did you do to Sakura?"

His stare turned cold, "That is none of your business. If you don't mind, I'm busy." He picked up his bag and came back to the door.

Naruto's face changed from anger to confusion, "Where are you going?"

"Training. A few days in the forest. Alone."

"Does she know?"

He grabbed him by the collar and pushed him out the door and shut the door behind both of them, "I said, it was none of your business." Not wanting to deal with him anymore he turned and walked toward the nearest village exit.

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT." He heard the blonde yell as he made his way out of sight.

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Time seemed to lose all meaning. He didn't know if it had been a minute or a day since he had left. When had he last eaten? Had he even touched the water he had brought with him? It was all a blur at that moment and he had no intention of letting up. He had to get stronger, he had to protect her. That was his only thought as his fists made contact with the surface of the mountain side, again and again.

He had been keeping count but the numbers had begun to fade and jumble in his mind. It didn't matter anyway.

His body froze at the feel of something constricting around his waist. He looked down to see a pair of arms wrapped around him.

"Please, stop." an all to familiar voice whispered, "please."

Sakura.

One hand released his waist and slid up his arm, the fingers encircling his wrist, "that's enough."

He was about to protest when his eyes caught hold of the fist in her hand; blood, old and new, coated the skin, the flesh split open in several places. Even the surface of the mountain he was striking appeared to bleed. Confusion filled him; when had this happened?

Her hands moved across his body as he felt her breath on his skin, "Rest Now." The sound of her voice was peace; the weight he had been carrying seemed to lift as his vision went dark.

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The lids of his eyes slowly lifted, but everything remained dark. His eyes slowly adjusted to the moonlight that peaked in through the blinds. It took a moment for him to realize where he was, his room; he was back in the village.

A voice drifted in from the other room; her voice.

"... I made sure no one saw..."

" ...don't want anyone to know..."

"...Thanks, but I'll be ok..."

"... Naruto... thank you for trusting me..."

The click of the receiver ended of the conversation with a sigh. Her steps were silent as he heard her pause outside the door. One last breath and she opened the door, letting light in the room, "You're awake," she paused giving him a moment to sit up, "That's good."

Her eyes cast down as she made her way across the room and sat side him on the bed, dressed only in one of his old long shirts. Taking his hands in hers she traced her fingers over his skin, examining them carefully; the skin was whole and clean, as if nothing had ever happened, "Any pain?"

"No." His voice more distant than he meant it to be,

She froze and released his hands, "I'm glad." He felt her body tense as she stood, "I'll let you rest then."

Before she could move he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to sit beside him once more, "Are you not going to tell me what happened?"

Her face turned towards the door as if eyeing her escape, "you don't remember?"

He held her wrist slightly tighter, letting his free hand tilt her chin, forcing her to finally meet his eyes. His voice caught in his throat at the sight before him. Her skin was paler than he remembered; her cheeks more sunken. Tears were forming in the corner of her eyes, pain etched into her features. Had he done this to her; had he hurt her in some way he couldn't remember? He released her wrist and gently cupped her face in his hands. His thumb swiped across her cheek, wiping the forming tear from her eye before he placed his forehead on hers; her eyes slowly shut. A single breath of air escaped him, "Please tell me."

"Sasuke," she paused, her breath hitched as she fought her tears, "you were gone for more than a month."

His body froze as his mind raced. Had that much time really passed; had he really been training all that time? Pulling away slightly, he met her eyes; pools of teary emeralds stared at him telling him she spoke the truth.

"When Naruto told me that you had gone to train I thought you just needed some time to yourself, but when you hadn't come back by our usual meet time at the end of the week I was worried." She paused, taking his hands in hers, "I decided to go look for you. Naruto and Hinata covered for us, saying that we were taking a training trip together." He could feel her hands shake, "I looked everywhere. After a month I was about to give up when I found signs that you had been there; a broken trees, lighting strikes and charred earth. When I finally found you…" her shoulders trembled, tears slid down her cheek and landed upon their hands. Her voice seemed frightened to come out.

"Sakura?" his voice more of a pleading whisper than a question.
Her eyes met his, "I called for you, over and over, and you wouldn't respond. You just continued to training." She brought up his hands, her thumb sliding over the flesh, "you were bleeding horribly and you were pale. It was as if you hadn't rested or eaten in weeks." Her body collapsed on his, her forehead resting on his shoulders as her form shuddered, "I was scared I had lost you."

Sasuke brought his hand around her and pulled her closer. He wanted to reassure her that he was fine but the words refused to form. They sat there in silence for what seemed an eternity and he enjoyed every second of it. His hands wrapped tightly around her as she rested against his chest, her breathing slowly evened out. This was the only way he knew to comfort her, even if it was just for a moment.

She finally broke the silence with nothing more than a whisper, "I'm just happy you're here now."

"I'm not going anywhere." He shifted them to a laying position, "I'll be right here when you wake up." He pulled the cover over both of them, her body still curled up against his chest. In the silence they both fell asleep, holding onto each other, afraid the other could disappear at any moment.

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Sunlight hit his eyes as they slowly opened; he winced at the sudden intrusion shutting his eyes once more. His movement caused stirring beside him as he looked down to see her attempting to bury her face deeper into his chest; her hands tightly clenching the fabric of his shirt. Somehow, during the night, their position changed. He now lay on his back with Sakura pulled close to his side and partially upon him. His hand lay at her waist and traveled up her spine before taking a stand of hair and letting his fingers play with it.

She had risked much for him and still cared for him even after everything he had put her through. In his very attempt to become strong enough to protect her, she had been the one to save him again; just as she had in the forest of death. When he became all consumed in his own darkness she pulled him back into her light. He brushed his lips against the strand of hair he had been playing with, "I don't deserve you."

She pulled up away from him and stared down at him with wide eyes, "How can you say that?" panic present in her voice.

"Because it's true." his voice just above a whisper as he looked up at her, emeralds piercing daggers at him.

Never breaking eye contact, she moved her form and straddled his body, her hands moved to his chests before clutching the fabric of his shirt and pulling him up into a sitting position. Lips only inches apart, her breath hitched, "I don't ever want you to speak like that again."

A small smile graced his lips as his hands found her hips; he adjusted them slightly so that his back leaned against the backboard of the bed. Her form now loomed over him, pink locks blocking his view of anything but her. She smiled back as her hands moved from his chest to cup around his neck. His own hands traveled to find the hem of her shirt before slipping underneath, grazing the bare, heated flesh of her back, lifting the shirt up her form as he went, "After everything I've done, everything I've failed to do, how could I not."

She brushed her lips against his briefly, "you are the only one for me." Another brief kiss, "please remember that."

He scoffed, "Even if I'm not strong enough to protect you."

Her face showed shock for a second before she turned away from him. Pain filled his chest as he realized she thought the same thing. He was about to move away from her when he saw her shoulders shake and her hands move to cover her mouth. Her stifled laugh escaped through her fingers as she finally turned to look at him. A feeling of joy and humor filled her features, her emerald eyes glittered with the life and light he had come to cherish. He must have kept the same stoic look because she grabbed his shoulder, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh it's just that," she leaned forward and placed her whole body against his, "there is nowhere I feel safer than right here."

He felt her sigh and nuzzle herself against him, "If I know anything about you, it is that if I was ever in trouble, no matter how small, you would be there for me; just as I would do for you." She pulled away to look him in the eyes; taking his hands in hers she placed them over her heart, "I trust you with all of myself, body and soul."

"Sakura" her name more of a whisper.

She leaned forward, brushing her lips to his once more, "We are a team; I would hope that you trust me as well."

Sasuke immediately responded to her, his body reacting instinctively to her touch. He moved his hands back to her hip, feeling the warmth of still exposed skin. A soft moan escaped her lips exciting him to no end, forcing her hip against his, letting her feel exactly what she was doing to him. Her moan turned into gasp at the contact, her fingers grasping onto the collar of his shirt. A victorious smile came to his lips, "Are we no longer hesitant about us then?"

Her hands trailed down between them, sliding underneath the hem of his shirt, a cattish smile on her lips, "Let's get one thing straight," her fingers lifted his shirt up his form, heating his skin as they moved, "my hesitation was never about us, or about safety, or even about peoples' reaction."

She pulled at his shirt, forcing him to release his hold on her so she could pull the material over his head; tossing the shirt to the side, she met his eyes again, desire flared in her, in both of them, driving their actions. Her hands slid across his neck and made their way into his hair before she leaned in and nipped playfully by his ear, "My only hesitation was-."

BANG! BANG! BANG! "SAAASSSSUKE! SAAAAKUUURRRA!" the sounds echoing throughout the whole apartment, "ARE YOU HEEEERRRREEE?"

She slowly moved away from him and met his eyes, "that. That is exactly why it was easier to get some alone time when this," she motioned between them, "was just between us."

"SAAASSSSUKE! SAAAAKUUURRRA! COOOOMMMEEE OOUUUTTTTT. ARRRREEE YOUUUUUUU OOOOKKKKKAAAAYYYYY." The voice was louder than before.

Sakura sighed and pulled completely away from him, standing up she pulled the shirt she wore down to cover herself, "I'm going to kill him." before he could say anything she had picked up a robe and was out the door.

He could have gone out to assist but from what he could hear Sakura seemed to have it handled. The sounds included the front door opening and her fist making contact with his face, some yelling and the sound of the door slamming shut. It was over before he had even made it to the bedroom door. He opened the door and saw her standing at the front door, trying to breathe away her anger at the blonde, "That idiot, yelling outside our place like a crazy person this early in the morning. What was he thinking?"

"Our place?" he said out loud.

She quickly turned around all flustered, "Well, I know it's your place and I just stay here occasionally. It's- it's just easier to say ours sometimes." Her hands made grand gestures, eyes never making contact with his as he made his way across the room, "I didn't mean to imply anything, I know you like having your own place and –."

Taking hold of her wrist she finally paused to look at him, a smile crept across his lips, "I like the sound of it." He closed the space between them and pushed her form against the door of "their place", letting his hands pull the tie of the robe she had put on before, he slipped his hands inside and took hold of her form, trapping her between the door and him. His lips found the pulse of her neck , "I want you to stay with me, not just tonight or the next." He placed her forehead against hers, "but every night."

Her only response was the slight curve of her lips as her hands encircled his neck, pulling him closer, letting her lips meet his, connecting them. That was the only response he needed.

This was really fun to work. I do hope you like it. Please comment.