Ripples

Chapter 5

                           Intentions

When Sasuke awoke, he was first bemused to realise that he'd fallen asleep, and then confused at the fact that one of his arms had gone numb. As he became more aware of his surroundings, enough to realise why that was so, he felt his breath come in sharply, ripping through his throat.

Somehow – he didn't know how, or why – he and Sakura had moved during the night. They had twisted so that they were facing each other on their sides, and his former teammate's head was pillowed against his upper arm, explaining why it had gone numb. Their legs were tangled together and his other arm was slung over her waist as though to anchor her to him, while her hands were curled against his chest, lightly fisted in his shirt.

Sasuke was surprised he'd even fallen asleep. Three years in Sound had made him wary, alert to even the suggestion of danger – he often jerked awake when approached during slumber, and found it difficult to even begin to nap while in the presence of others.

But not only had he fallen asleep with Sakura barely a few inches away...they'd also come into physical contact during the night, and his internal radar had never registered a threat. Why? Why had his carefully honed senses so blatantly dismissed Sakura as a source of danger?

For a moment, he held himself completely still, not even breathing, wondering why his first impulse had been to pull her even closer and close his eyes once more. He had never really liked people encroaching on his personal space...so why was he so eager to prolong this contact with Sakura?

He didn't dwell on the thought, but instead extricated himself from the bed as silently and unobtrusively as possible. He slowly, gently coaxed her fists open, freeing his shirt as he tried to ease his numb limb out from underneath her. Sakura sighed as his arms slipped from around her, but she didn't stir – merely rolled over and snuggled deeper into the blankets.

Sasuke didn't know why, but something compelled him to pause and take her in, to imprint her on his mind like a developer with a photograph.

Except he didn't know why he should want to remember pastel pink hair against his dark sheets, or the way her spine was just slightly curved as her knees bent and her arms folded, as though she was trying to imitate a sleepy kitten curling into a ball.

Something told him it was a bad idea to have her sleeping in the same bed as him. But it had to be done. This...this thing...was some sort of test. And Orochimaru had never let a test slide by without making some attempt at evaluation. Sasuke didn't know when it would come – maybe tomorrow, maybe months from now...but it would come.

He wasn't sure what kind of evaluation that would be, but he was fairly certain that his room was going to be subjected to impromptu checks in the weeks to come. It would be easy enough for the snake sannin to drum up an excuse to send lackeys into his room to spy, and if they reported that Sakura was still sleeping in the window seat, suspicions would be raised.

Hence, the decision to relocate her to his bed was a precautionary measure, but certainly a necessary one. That way, if one of Orochimaru's spies paid any surprise visits it would look like he was doing what he was meant to be doing.

He left the room to get his breakfast, feeling somewhat relived that she hadn't woken. If she had realised the position they'd somehow ended up in during the night...

Sasuke couldn't picture what would happen, only that it would probably be awkward and unpleasant. And he wasn't quite sure why he cared.