Remembrance

A/N: The final part, and the lemon. My first. I'm still blushing a bit.

The bar she and Kakashi had chosen was in full swing, and it seemed that half of Konoha was there. They ended up sitting with Kiba and some other ninjas he had on a team for a mission this week. It was always better when they had friends around.

Kakashi had already pointed out three or four girls he thought he might like to go home with; she only approved of one of them. She knew that at least two of them had reputations for being, well, nasty. The other just looked scary. Oh, her poor disillusioned senpai would never learn. Thank God he had her to help find girls.

The sake had gotten her to a happy medium. She was tipsy enough that she could relax and flirt with the men she was interested in, but not drunk enough to take Kiba’s come-get-me hints. Thank God. She was pretty sure that an encounter with Kiba, although he was supposedly very talented, would be just too much for her to handle in the morning. Her companions were few and far between. She hadn’t been with anyone in over a year, and she didn’t want Kiba to be the one to end that dry spell.

She wanted Sasuke.

She scolded herself for such thoughts and turned to observe Kakashi as he got up to stalk his prey. It never did take him too long. More than an hour of female hunting and Kakashi suddenly became a pouty little boy who thought he would never get what he wanted. He could be such a baby sometimes.

She watched as he cornered the blonde kunoichi by the bar, seducing her with some witty remark about Icha Icha being a textbook for the finer arts. Hmph. Right. The poor girl didn’t know what she was getting into, but apparently his exotic looks were enough to get him what he wanted. Less than 45 minutes in the bar and he was already making the signal that he was leaving.

Sakura made the same hand gesture and nodded at his retreating figure. At least one of them was getting laid tonight. She had a feeling her night would involve a nice long bath and a warm bed. All alone. None of these men had caught her interest; they hadn’t in quite some time. All she ever thought about was Sasuke, and every man she thought about taking home seemed to just not measure up against the Sharingan user.

“Kiba, I’m gone.” He looked over at her from his spot on the other side of the table and nodded, waving goodbye and wishing her a goodnight. She flashed a smile when he winked at her.

The walk home was cold; she was dressed in a short red dress to attract men, not to keep her body heat contained. She wrapped her arms further around herself, trying to warn off the cold air that seemed to gather around her. It seemed that her life was going down a long lonely road just like the one she was walking down. Every decision she made seemed to make her even more upset and confused; she couldn’t get where she wanted to go. All this time walking but not moving was really starting to grate on her nerves; something needed to change. Soon.
Her apartment building loomed up on the left like a waiting mother to a child. At least there she could find some comfort in her cozy bed. She didn’t think she could deal with anything else today.

But just when you think it’s all over, something else falls down.

She noticed him before she was close enough to speak. She sighed and continued the walk up the entryway. He was huddled in the alcove by the door, most likely using the walls to block the chilly wind. How long had he been sitting there? She approached slowly, stopping just before she reached the steps.

“What are you doing, Sasuke?”

He looked up from the ground, his onyx eyes boring into hers. “I was waiting for you. I wanted to talk to you.”

“I was out.”

“With Kakashi.” She nodded as she moved past him to open the door. She held the screen door open for him, letting him know he was welcome to come inside.

“Yes, with Kakashi. He apparently needed some company tonight.” He snorted as she shut the door. He most likely knew what her nights with Kakashi entailed. He probably didn’t want to think it was possible though.

“Hn. The old man can find his own company.” He moved into the kitchen, pulling out mugs and a kettle to make some hot chocolate. When had they all become so comfortable in her house? Sai did the same things.

“Well, he just likes to have a feminine opinion. It doesn’t matter anyway.” She handed him the pitcher of water to fill the kettle. “Ne, Sasuke, what was so important you waited all that time outside?”

He stilled in front of the stove, his hands grasping the counter. She crossed her arms over her chest, leaning against the sink as she waited to hear his answer. She was sure it had to be a good one.

“What’s going on, Sakura?” She stiffened, not expecting that question. She had a good idea where he was going, but she didn’t think she could handle questions about their relationship right now. Not after a failed night of clubbing.

He fiddled with the dishrag on her counter, not raising his eyes to meet hers. He was scared stiff that he would be rejected, but he couldn’t act it. He was an Uchiha. Uchiha didn’t get rejected. But he was sure that if he asked what he wanted to that the first word out of her mouth would be no. And he could understand why she was upset, but damnit, didn’t he deserve forgiveness? Just once he wanted this fucked up version of life he’d been living to turn out the way he expected it to. Was that too much to ask?

“Sakura, we’re almost 26. Do you realize how old that is in shinobi years?” She nodded. She did understand. “I have seen things… hn. I am not ashamed to admit I want a family. But the one person I could ever consider having one with can barely look at me.”

She would have slid down the cabinet to the floor if her knees hadn’t locked up. Had he really admitted he wanted a family with her? She knew he was interested in her, definitely attracted to her, but a family? Sasuke?

Was that possible?

Immediately her mind said it wasn’t. He was what her master had warned her against. But as she looked out the window at the night world of Konoha, she remembered Tsunade’s story. The man Dan had died and left her shishou a broken woman. If she persisted in holding this grudge, would she end up the same way her shishou did?

“Sakura?”

Her eyes snapped over to his, and for one moment she could see the hurt buried in him. He really did want this. It was a revelation in itself to her; Sasuke seriously wanted to start a family with her.

“Sasuke, I… I don’t know what to say. It’s not that you haven’t been forgiven. I think I forgave you the day you came through those gates.”

“Then what is it Sakura?”

He stepped in front of her, his arms on both sides of her body. She looked up at his eyes, he was still so much taller then she was, and she could smell his cologne, feel the heat radiating off of him. She knew what she wanted, but she couldn’t make herself go that one step that would take her over the edge.

“Sakura? All you have to do is say yes.” His voice was doing crazy, wobbly things to her stomach. She could see the confidence in his eyes, and she was sure she would enjoy giving in. But that last step…

“Sasuke, I… my…It would go against so many things I have learned…” she trailed off as his lips came closer to hers. “I can’t… I shouldn’t do this.”

“Will you at least admit that you have harbored the thought?” She nodded and he smirked as his lips drew nearer to hers. “Will you admit that today you wondered what it would be like for me to hold our child?” She nodded again, and his lips touched hers.

Everything she had felt for fourteen years seemed to flow out of her at once; the electric feeling rushed through her body from her mouth. Her arms grasped at his biceps, and his hands came away from the cabinet to hold her waist. She leaned against him, deepening the kiss and running her tongue along the front of his teeth. She felt his groan more than heard it, and she enjoyed feeling his hands tighten on her waist.

He led her from the kitchen down the hall to her bedroom, very rarely stopping the kiss. He had been to her house enough that he knew where each obstacle was, although he wasn’t counting on a shoe getting in his way. She giggled at his disgruntled look, but he soon silenced her.

He took his time pulling her dress off, and she did the same to him. It had taken so long for her to finally give up her resistance; she wanted to savor every minute. Her hands ran down his chest and wrapped around the waistband of his pants to pull his closer. She nipped under his ear, and she loved the way his hand tightened in her hair to pull her even closer. He kissed her shoulder and moved his hands behind her back to undo her bra, and when she was finally bare from the waist up he stood still.

“Scared, Sasuke?”

“Hn.” He chuckled before he kissed her. This time it was of passion; she leaned against him as she felt he body flare up with heat. His mouth slipped down her throat, between her breasts, down to the soft skin of her stomach before he finally pushed her panties down her legs. His face rested between her legs, and inhaled the aroma of what could only be named as Sakura. His tongue darted out to lick her thigh, and she trembled.

Before she knew it he had her across the bed with ample access to the one spot he had wanted to be for years. His finger flicked her clit, and he smiled when her hands fisted in the sheets. One long, lazy lick up the slit between her legs brought her that much closer to heaven.

His finger entered her slowly, his tongue working over the areas his finger couldn’t. He listened to every sound, every moan, every shudder and took pleasure in the way her body sang for him. He wanted to see this every night. There could be nothing more beautiful than Sakura aroused.

Her hands began to tug at his hair, and he gave one last long lick before laying over her. “What is it, Sakura?”

She smiled at him, hooking a leg over his hips and rolling them over. He lay back to let her do what she wanted. Her mouth worked at the button of his pants, and he couldn’t help but wonder what else she could do with her mouth.

She soon had him undressed as well; her hands was cupping him and pressing somewhere that made his back go rigid and his mouth make a pitiful mewing noise. He felt her tongue rolling around his head, her hands stroking his shaft, and it was all he could do to hold onto his sanity. The sight of her mouth closed around him stole his breath. She was too beautiful.

Unfortunately for Sakura, he didn’t plan on this being the activity for tonight. He had no problems taking it slow later, and there would be plenty of time for that. Right now he wanted her underneath him, writhing in pleasure as he buried himself inside her. He had dreamt of how it would feel; he was sure the real thing would be that much better.

He quickly hoisted her up by her arms and flipped them over, settling himself between her thighs. He stared into her green eyes, willing her to look at him as he entered her slowly. The feeling was unimaginable. He felt like he was surrounded by Sakura. Her scent, her body, her emotion lingered around him.

She quivered as he began to move in her, already so close because it had been so long, and this was Sasuke here, in her bed, doing things to her to make her lose her mind. One long, hard stroke left panting his name, and she felt him speed up as her nails dug deeper into his arms. He was going so fast, and she was feeling so much she didn’t think she could keep up with him if she tried. She felt her breasts rubbing against his chest, his tongue on her ear, his hands on her hips and her back, and she felt him hitting this one spot inside her—

She cried his name as she came, and he held on for a few moments afterward before biting down on her shoulder to stifle his cry of release. They lay there, panting and sweating, just holding onto each other. He finally rose up on his elbows to look at her, just look at the expression of contentment on her face, and he couldn’t help but say it.

“I love you, Sakura.”

She thought she was going to cry. Never had she imagined she would get to hear such words from him, certainly not like this. Instead she smiled, brushing back his hair from his face as he moved to lie beside her and draw her close to him. She drifted off to sleep with the thought that she could do this the rest of her life, love him the rest of her life.

“Love you, too.”


Naruto was grinning like a fool at Ichiraku the next day. They hadn’t been holding hands, and they hadn’t been kissing, but he was damn sure that was a hickey on Sakura’s shoulder. And since when did Sasuke grin at her like that? He had always said it would work out. After all, they were his best friends. He could think of no one else who deserved such happiness