They make for strange bedfellows. Not the most romantic notion about their relationship, but definitely not an inaccurate one. First off, there was the elephant in the room, their difference in time spent on this planet. Sasuke paid no mind to the rather noticeable age gap between them, and Mei was inclined to share his feelings. 12 years may be a... significant amount of time, but wasn't love timeless? Therein, lay the next problem in their relationship, it was difficult to classify where they stood with each other. Any passerby would guess that lust played a larger part than love in any interaction between them.

A suitable title for the duo was difficult to narrow down. Boyfriend and girlfriend? Mei would've laughed, she was at marrying age for goodness sake. Plus, Sasuke did not strike her as the type to settle down, at least at his current age. Yet, he would always find his way home to her after whatever adventure he had just been through. Often with more scars that would need to be healed and an insatiable appetite. Not for food, mind you, the only thing that would quench his cravings was her soft and delicate touch, and she was only too happy to oblige him.

So that would make them, temporary companions with benefits? That wouldn't work either, that implied that neither of them expected the relationship to go anywhere or had any hopes to gain anything from it. Yet, each of them had remained true to the other. Why would they treat such a casual, non-commital relationship with such respect and upheld faithfulness?

They were an enigma to the people around them and that only piqued the public's interest further. Courting, or whatever term Sasuke dubbed it, depending on his mood, the Kage of an entire nation brought him even more attention than usual. Being a reserved person, it was at this point that he would generally shut down any gossip related to his relationship with the Mizukage. Still, it kept the common people wondering about the future of the duo, would it end in wedding bells or would they be burying all the unfortunate souls who stepped into the Mizukage's path the day she got her heart broken? Again, that is.

As for the lovely couple themselves, they too were at a loss at what to call, whatever "this" was. Neither wanted to upset the status quo, Mei had too many bad relationships to count and Sasuke's experience with the opposite sex wasn't the greatest either. Still, the uncertainty was getting to the both of them and it was only inevitable until certain questions had to be answered.

So after one of their... strenuous reunifications, answers were had.

Mei laid her head upon Sasuke's sweat-slicked chest, taking in the shallow rise and fall of it as he recouped from his exertive activities. She listened to the strong, steady beat of his heart as his torso undulated beneath her. She inspected and counted all the little nicks and scratches that were certainly not present prior to his departure. As his breathing evened out, he wrapped an arm around her and looked as if he was about to nod off. Normally she would be compassionate and in a similar enough state to him, that she would simply fall asleep in his arms. However, despite all the wonderful aches that she felt, Mei was compelled to say something that she had wanted to say since the first time they had slept together.

"You have legs that would make a woman jealous."

This caused Sasuke to open his one visible eye, the other being concealed by a few bangs of hair. She knew the power that lay under that raven hair, she had experienced it before. Knowing her lover was capable of such destruction would be enough to scare away most women, however Mei Terumi was not most women.

"Excuse me?"

"It's almost impressive, do you wax or shave them?" Mei asked, as she ran her hand down the smooth trail of his leg.

"Are you seriously asking me- neither, now please let me sleep."

"Oh, you should be full of energy, that's one of your advantages. Neither eh? Uchiha men are just naturally beautiful." She chuckled.

"Hn." He responded, not really listening to her and closing his eyes again. A silence hung in the air before he quirked an eyebrow. "What did you mean by one of your advantages?"

"Well it's a pro in this little courtship of ours, your vigour definitely reaps some benefits." She whispered in that sultry voice of hers.

"Weighing your options, are you?" Sasuke asked, a ghost of a smile forming.

"Yes." Mei replied, not a hint of humour in her tone. Sasuke's eyes once again shot open, only to find Mei's face worryingly stern.

"You're serious?"

"I'm a grown woman Sasuke, my experience with men has been... tumultuous at best. As fun as this has been, I need to start thinking about the future and that starts with figuring out where we stand. What were you expecting when we started these little rendezvous sessions?" Sasuke looked at her blankly.

"I was thinking, I saved the world, came back to my senses and decided I might enjoy life for a change."

"That's it? You were a young man fueled with a lust for life and decided to convey that lust onto me? That is not a compelling case you're making Sasuke."

Sasuke's head was whirling, why was she acting like she held all the power here? Did she not realise who he was, how many women had yearned for him, how he could have any he chose with a snap of his fingers? Yet here Mei was, deciding whether to throw him out into the cold, like he was an afterthought.

"What are you saying?" Sasuke asked cautiously. Mei rolled her eyes.

"I know you're young Sasuke, but I like to give you the benefit of the doubt for being smarter than the average man, do keep up. Why did you choose to come all the way here, surely there are plenty of women in Konoha who could fulfil your desires? Maybe even younger and better than me, unlikely as that is." Sasuke smirked, he did like her confidence, better that than someone meekly agreeing with everything he said.

"You first. You've been laying all your cards on the table, why stop now. You could have thrown me out the second I walked into town, I was the most hated ninja in all Five Nations. Yet you welcomed me with open arms or rather, open legs." Mei silently heated some saliva with her chakra, and let it spill onto Sasuke's chest causing him to yelp in pain.

"You would do well to watch your tongue Uchiha, or I might still throw you out, give or take a few appendages."

"Duly noted." He replied drily.

"I... respected your dedication to your mission. You managed to keep a certain, twisted level of honor with you, before you completely lost it at the Five Kage Summit. You were the last Uchiha alive, that exclusivity was alluring. When, I finally got a look at you, you didn't disapppoint and lived up to expectations. My own personal lust played a role, it had been a while since I felt the touch of a man, even longer since one of your calibre. Finally, saving the world is admirable beyond compare."

Sasuke took in her reasons for taking him into her bed, they were reasonable, logical even. It was only fair he indulge her in return:

"When I first saw you, you weren't threatened, intimidated, scared, anything. I don't think I even emitted a reaction from you beyond mild annoyance. Even in my haste to pursue Danzo, that gave me pause. You were the first to not show any emotion towards me, Gaara had pity, the Raikage was blazing with fury, the Tsuchikage was arrogant, Danzo trembled with fear. I knew you were not to be underestimated, yet did so anyway. If it wasn't for my allies, I would have been dead. You have amazing power at your disposal, you hold a prestigous title as Mizukage and do your position justice with your service. You are a woman to be respected and someone I could see as my equal. Also, a body such as yours certainly doesn't hurt." She laughed at his last statement before getting comfortable again, it seemed his answer had pleased her.

"Very well Sasuke Uchiha, you may continue to impress me."

"Is that so? That would make us..."

"Titles are rather limiting, don't you think?"

"And what will your adoring citizens think?"

"I didn't take you as the type to listen to gossip."

"I'm not, it's just your position as Mizukage may be in jeopardy if people knew you were associating with me in such a way. I do have a sordid past."

"The people of his village did not elect me because of my personal life, they know full well that I place their best interests to the forefront, though that's a story for another time. While your concern is rather endearing, it is unnecessary."

"If that's what you think."

"It's not what I think, it's what I know."

Sasuke chuckled at her confidence, it reminded him of the first time they had one of these little rendezvous. He had been drifting from place to place when he had been ambushed, well he used that term loosely. With his two current eyes, it was virtually impossible for anyone to ever sneak up on him. As for engaging him in combat... the good news was that he had become more merciful since Naruto had "humbled" him. The bad news for anyone trying to take him on, was that he was one of the two strongest beings to walk the earth at the moment.

His power sometimes even frightened him, the destruction he could cause. Then there was always the Naruto way of looking at it: "Just think of all the good you can do, the people you can help."

He could practically hear the idiot's voice already...

"If you're going to space out on me, can you at least try and not look like you're constipated?"

"I was just thinking of the time we first met."

"You mean when I kicked your ass and would have killed you if it wasn't for that weird plant thing."

That "weird plant thing" was responsible for so much death and misery it was almost tragically amusing.

"No, not the very first time. I mean, the time we weren't trying to kill each other and actually got acquainted."

"Ah, so the time you showed up to our doorstep, looking like you had taken on a physically challenged Genin-"

"It was seven Anbu-level ninja actually, it's just with my skill and power they barely laid a scratch on me."

"-before begging if you could take shelter in my village for the night."

"I didn't beg." Sasuke said sternly.

"That's true," she admitted, "but you were on your knees if I remember correctly."

"I'm beginning to think it's that attitude of yours why you haven't been able to keep a steady relationship."

Mei was about to raise her hand to him, when he grabbed her wrist. She saw a feral look in his eye and through his bangs of hair, she could've sworn that his purple eye was gleaming. She gave him a seductive smirk, it would have been no fun if he let her walk all over him. She had hoped he was just more than a pretty face and with each interaction between them, she was learning more about this enigmatic figure. He lived an electrifying life, taking everything a day at a time. While she was thinking about years into the future, it was clear that his mind was more focused on his base needs.

Mei wondered how long this relationship would last before stopping herself. Every other time she had been in this position, she had always moved too fast, causing most men to get out before things got too serious. She decided to take a leaf out of Sasuke's book and just take things slowly, and deal with any negatives when they came.

Leaning her face towards him, she closed her eyes and leisurely began to kiss him. He responded to her movements by nipping her bottom lip before meeting her tongue with his own. After refamiliarising themselves with the inside of each others' mouths, they parted to catch their breath. Mei settled herself again in his arms.

"Tell me, can you handle being with a Kage who spends a great deal of time tending to her people? It seems a bit... pedestrian and dull for you."

"I've spent most of my life with exhilaration. Normality," Sasuke let out a yawn and smiled, "normality is good."