Awkward

She wasn't herself today, he noticed, but decided not to say anything about it. He was a keen observer, one who observed more than spoke. She was a little like Naruto, he had found out over the past few years of knowing her. The more someone said something that she didn't believe, the more she'll try to prove them wrong.

She wasn't even focused on the spar at all. One missed punch, one wrong seal made, which led to him almost having his whole arm turned to liquid. He sighed inwardly as he made another move to stop her roundhouse kick. He had to put in extra effort not to exert too much strength, he was quite sure that if he did, Sakura would be injured rather badly, and he didn't want that.

"Sakura," he made a hand gesture, signifying the end of the spar. "Let's call it a day,"

She looked really tired, he noticed, taking in her dull emerald eyes and paler than usual skin. However, the look of tiredness on her face was quickly replaced by a pout. "Mou, Sasuke-kun, so soon? But I was just getting started!"

He snorted, "Right, and you call nearly melting my whole arm off as just the start. Am I going to be a lump of ashes by the time you are done?"

"You're mean, Sasuke-kun!" she pouted. She knew that she had no answer to that. "It was just an accident!"

"Anyway, I have a mission in the evening; I have to go prepare for it. Ja,"

"Bye Sasuke-kun!" she launched into a coughing fit then. He frowned as he turned back around. "Go see the doctor, and take the day off or something,"

"Mou, Sasuke-kun, have you forgotten? I am the doctor."

"Whatever. Just go see a doctor, maybe Shizune or Tsunade,"

"Hai hai Sasuke-kun."

It was with only the purest of intentions that Sasuke found himself slipping onto the balcony outside Sakura's window. He was concerned about her—she wasn't feeling well today. And thus, he found himself creeping onto her balcony and easing the ornate glass doors open.

Just a short visit and he would go. She was so sick, she wouldn't even notice him anyway.

His intentions were pure.

This visit was completely innocuous.

No ill will intended at all.

So why did he feel like a pervert or a peeping Tom? Mentally, he cursed Kakashi for introducing him to the world of Icha Icha Paradise. He couldn't deny that those books were wonderfully written though…

Shaking off that particular feeling, he carefully closed the doors and made his way to her bedside. She was sprawled out on top of the blankets, still in her clothes from that day. It seemed that she had merely kicked off her house-scuffs and fallen into bed with the intention of not moving again for a while. She looked so relaxed laying there, one arm thrown haphazardly up over her head, the other draped casually across her stomach.

He snorted to himself. Obviously, she had taken his advice to see the doctor to the wind again.

He didn't realize he was staring until she shifted and he jumped a mile, afraid that she was waking up and he would be caught. And then there would be hell to pay. But no, her head was just turning a bit so that one cheek rested against the pillow; now her closed eyes gazed unseeingly towards the window, rather than at the ceiling.

And then she moved, and he got a rather big surprise.

If he thought about it for a thousand years, Sasuke would never be able to figure out how in the world she managed to latch onto his arm from that distance and then roll over, pulling his arm (and coincidentally, the rest of him) along with her, curling up to it like a teddy bear. But in short order, Sasuke found himself rather…trapped.

And just as alarming, to his mind, was the strange jolt of…something that shot through him at the contact. That was equally freaky to his now-frantic mind, which was currently running in circles inside his head like panicky little squirrels. If he yanked his arm free, chances were that she would wake up, catch him in her room, and then no amount of excuses would be able to save him. She would most likely kill him, even if he had come with her best interests in mind. He would be deader than dead.

No one ever messed with Haruno Sakura and got away with it unhurt.

If he stayed put, she would have to wake up sooner or later…and then she would catch him in her room and kill him, and he would still be deader than dead. This had rather rapidly become the poster-child for the lose-lose situation.

And furthermore, he realized belatedly that he was blushing. The red color wasn't just kissing his cheeks, oh no. The colors crimson and scarlet were having a full-blown make-out session on his face. That was the only possible way for that particular shade to be achieved.

After wavering for a moment, he sighed. Could he help it if he wanted to postpone the inevitable? Resigning himself to his fate, he gingerly sat down on the bed, trying to figure out the best way to position himself so that he wasn't actually touching her. It was impossible—her grip on his arm had him too close to avoid contact. Finally, he opted for lying down on his side, keeping as much distance between them as possible with the situation being what it was. It wasn't much, but he wasn't pressed up against her or anything. Modesty and chastity were preserved.

He would stay awake. That way, the minute she woke up, he could make his escape. Uchiha Sasuke was famed for his speed throughout Konoha, and he would be damned if he didn't get through this alive. All he needed was to stay awake until she woke up right?

Just stay awake…

Sakura shifted, winced, and slowly opened her eyes. Her head hurt and her throat felt parched. Maybe she should really follow Sasuke-kun's advice and see a doctor…

As most of her surroundings came into focus, she became aware of the fact that she was clinging to something. This was odd because she did not sleep with any stuffed animals or anything, and as far as she could remember, there hadn't been anything there when she'd fallen asleep. It didn't feel like a pillow—no, her pillow was under her head.

She looked down…and nearly screamed when she realized that she was clutching someone's arm quite possessively. She was holding it right to her chest like she would never let go. Said arm was stretched around her back to the shoulder…and the owner… Sakura saw dark raven hair, and her heart stopped.

Easing out from under the weight of that arm, she slipped out of the bed to kneel on the floor, peering over the top of her comforter. Sure enough, Sasuke was sprawled on his side, right beside the indentation marking where her body had been a moment before. He was sound asleep, and was even snoring softly.

She took a moment to simply observe him sleeping. He looked so peaceful and calm lost in the realm of slumber. Almost a childlike innocence… Sakura rubbed her eyes, not believing what was before her eyes, Sasuke was so tired that he had actually let his guard totally down. It was so unlike him, someone who never seemed to let his guard down ever in the years they had been in the same genin team. Usually, when Naruto or her came just a foot away from him when he was sleeping, he would be alert and awake… this time was just different.

She smiled softly as she lifted her hand to brush away a stray lock of hair from his pale face. Unbeknownst to everyone else who had thought that she had gotten over her supposed childhood crush on Sasuke, she still held a liking for him… But that didn't change the fact that he was currently sleeping on her bed.

And that just wasn't going to fly.

Sakura stood up, took a deep breath, and let out a screech loud enough to rattle every single window in her apartment along with the wind chimes out in the balcony.

"SASUKE!"

"Oi teme! What happened to you? You look like you just had an encounter with some demon!" Naruto's cerulean blue eyes were wide as he assessed Sasuke's condition. The other members of the squad also stared at him, their eyes never leaving him.

Sasuke glared at the other members of the squad, and after making sure that all their backs were turned or were preoccupied with other things, he pulled Naruto to a corner and muttered.

"I made Sakura mad…"

"I see… you tried to get fresh with her?"

"Did not, don't be silly dobe," he was glad for the darkness the evening provided; Naruto apparently didn't notice the scarlet on his cheeks.

"Right, and she made mincemeat of you for no reason at all?"

"Shut up dobe. I did not attempt to get fresh with Sakura," he gritted out and resisted to punch the living daylights of the blonde.

"You better thank kami that you just got off with a bruised eye and a swollen lip… did you hear what she did to some pervert peeking into her bedroom? Gosh, he was literally minced." Naruto whistled.

Sasuke shuddered.

Thank kami they were teammates.

Authors notes: Just a little something to distract myself from sleeping on my Chemistry textbook :P Sorry if it isn't well written though...

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