Snow Glare [SasuSaku]

Chapter Ten

The faint sound of the shower whistling from across the other side of the house was unnerving. Just how had she ended up in such a predicament? Sure, she technically knew how, but the prime question on her mind was why she hadn't explored other options before taking him into her home. Despite how she felt towards him, she couldn't help but feel that it was mildly inappropriate; after all, Tsunade always claimed men turned into wolves when left alone with women they fancied.

"There's no way Sasuke is anything like that," Sakura muttered under her breath, cheeks flushed as she knelt on the ground in the guest bedroom, carefully unravelling the futon on which Sasuke would be resting on for the next few weeks while in her care; her alabaster hands tracing across its surface to flatten it out entirely. Turning to her left, the medic reached for the duvet, promptly draping it over the top of the futon; "But he has apparently done those types of things before however," she whispers softly, Karin's comments days earlier ringing through her mind causing her to cringe; "But I do only have her word to go off."

Bright blue eyes flash through her mind suddenly, guilt instantly clouding her overactive mind. How could she judge Sasuke for his actions when she had made mistakes of her own? Taking a deep breath Sakura rubbed the back of her neck, her bright oculars dropping to her lap. Despite constant advances by Naruto in Sasuke's absence, the situation between the two had never advanced further than a couple of kisses; one of which Sasuke had supposedly witnessed, that thought alone made her feel ill.

Even now she couldn't truly explain her mindset back then, although those moments undoubtedly meant a lot to Naruto, to her they were simply moments of weakness, born out of complete and utter depression on her behalf; the fear of ending up alone weighed so heavily on her back then. It was embarrassing now she thought about it, why try and force feelings that were simply not there just out of fear of being alone? Having a partner isn't everything, she knew that now.

Now due to her lack of emotional stability back then Naruto was hurt. The fault was entirely hers, for years now she was well aware of how he felt, how desperately he was clinging to the hope that she would look his way. If the roles had be reversed could she forgive Naruto? It would be undoubtedly difficult. Letting loose an inward groan, the medic rose to her feet, throwing her head back as her anguish consumed her; "I really need to talk things over with Naruto, I can't avoid discussing this when he is clearly hurting."

Thoughts drifting, the medic cast her eyes down to the bed she had carefully prepared for her guest, a mischievous smile teasing at the corners of her lips as she stared at the carefully folded linen outfit she had pulled out of the far corners of her wardrobe for him so she could wash and mend his day to day attire. The sizing was slightly off, the colour was vibrant – pink to be exact, but just looking at it she knew it would be nothing short of amusing to offer it to him. There was no doubt in her mind that he would refuse to wear the garments for all the aforementioned reasons but it would be titillating to see his reaction to her suggesting for him to do so. Luckily she also had some plain black training gear her father used to wear hidden away in her cupboard to offer him as soon as he gets frustrated.

Given how tense things had been in the village since his sudden return and his sudden incarceration within her home when their relationship was filled with so many unknowns, she figured a small prank (if you could even call it that) could serve to break the ice a little. Humour was not forte of the Uchiha, but there was always time to learn, right?

Suddenly the sound of the shower vanished from the comfortable spectrum of noise that surrounded her, indicating that the Uchiha was undoubtedly preparing to exit the bathroom. Emerald orbs widen, the medic's head immediately flicking in her guest's direction as she promptly rushed into the kitchen to make a pot of tea, desperate to appear as relaxed as possible as opposed to exposing the inner workings of her mind. The last thing I need right now is for him to think I'm having second thoughts about this whole arrangement. It's a good thing he is staying here, it's better this way.