Collaboration with writer: @ss-tyytyy (please give her a follow!!!!) and artist: Laine-O (me!)
Rating: T
Note: Thank you for taking the time to read and please let us know your thoughts! Also, thank you @ss-tyytyy for being so lovely to work with. ^_^
…
“Tch. Rain.”
Hearing the annoyed comment come from her traveling companion, Sakura looked up and to her side at him before turning her gaze to the sky. Just moments before, it had been clear, though cloudy. Now though, the clouds had become much thicker, darker and the smell of impending rain was prominent. It was a smell so natural and earthy, Sakura quite liked it.
There was something about the rain that was calming and gave her a sense of ease, but Sasuke didn’t appear happy about it in the least.
“The inn isn’t too far up ahead, Sasuke-kun.” Sakura offered him a reassuring smile and reached over to give his shoulder a soothing rub.
Sasuke hummed knowingly, cutting her a glance with his lone visible eye. “We can’t afford to have you becoming ill.” He muttered and she clamped her mouth shut as he removed his cloak and placed it over her shoulders.
The kind act warmed Sakura from the inside out and her smile remained present as they walked ahead. She didn’t say anything nor call him out, having already learned how easily flustered Sasuke was. She didn’t wish to make him uncomfortable, so she just accepted his kindness and affections silently—repaying them as often as she could.
By the time they reached the inn, the rain had picked up, coming down hard and fast upon their bodies until there was no help. Even with Sasuke’s cloak, Sakura wound up soaked from head to toe and Sasuke was just the same. The rain brought about a drop in temperature too, making their wet bodies feel chilled as well. Sakura was shivering as they stepped into the room they’d be sharing. She knew Sasuke was just as cold, but he hid it well.
“Get those wet clothes off, I’ll grab a towel.” Sakura said to him, passing him a glance on her way by him.
“Ah,” Sasuke agreed, thinking nothing of it as he turned his attention to his shirt and went about removing it.
So cold! Sakura musingly thought while entering the bathroom.There was a small shelf stocked with towels and washcloths. Before reaching for any, Sakura took off Sasuke’s cloak and hung it on the back of the bathroom door, then slowly peeled away her drenched top, hanging it over the shower. She also quickly removed her boots and was soon padding back into the open room, barefooted and wearing nothing other than her compression shorts and her chest bindings.
Sakura’s priority was Sasuke and not herself, but she knew he wouldn’t think that way, so she made sure to dry herself adequately on her way to him. He’d stripped out of his wet clothes like she told him to and was waiting on the bed. When he turned to look at her, Sasuke’s mismatched eyes widened a fraction before averting from her completely, a slight pout forming on his lips as he faced away from her.
“Sakura—you—”
“I know you’re freezing, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura commented, brow slightly furrowed as she clambered on the bed behind him, wasting no time in beginning to pat his skin dry.
Sasuke’s jaw tensed and he could feel his skin heating from his neck up, blood filling even his ears at the proximity and the vivid image of Sakura in nothing but those shorts and the bindings. They’d been traveling together for a few months at this point, but he was always careful not to view her in any such revealing instances. Sasuke always respectfully gave Sakura her privacy, but he didn’t consider until now that it was more for his own benefit than hers.
One glimpse of the not so subtle curves she possessed that were normally hidden beneath her clothes had Sasuke hot and bothered. Embarrassed. Suddenly aware of his own lack of clothing, though he was only shirtless and it was a regular occurrence. He was a man. It was only that he couldn’t believe Sakura could be so brazen around him—but she was always proving to him that she was truly a wonder.
Beautiful. Confident. Strong.
“Even you have battle scars, huh?” She murmured, green eyes taking in the scars littering his back.
Sakura had finished drying him for the most part and draped the damp towel over her shoulder, her touch still lingering on his skin, tracing the scars she found each in turn. Some were faded until they were barely noticeable while others were painfully obvious. Her medical knowledge permitted her to know how grave each injury had been for the scars to form how they had.
Sasuke was a man full of imperfections, but to Sakura, he had always seemed perfect.
Even when he made mistakes.
The question pulled Sasuke away from his wayward and unwanted thoughts—thankfully. “Scars?” He questioned, voice cracking slightly. He cleared his throat and added, “Well, I don’t think about that, but I suppose everyone does.”
She, of course, had her own. Her deeper, more noticeable scars went beyond mere blemishes of her skin, reaching to the deepest recesses of her heart and mind. Sakura’s battle with Sasori flickered through her mind, the memory one she knew she would never forget. The scar was one she could no longer feel as she carried it around proudly upon her back—but it was one she thought of on occasion. One she carried in the back of her mind at all times.
Though she wondered if Sasuke remembered the causes of his deepest scars and if they plagued him at times, Sakura didn’t question him on it. She only committed each one to memory, wanting there to be nothing of him that she didn’t know and understand so long as she was able. Sasuke was patient and kind to a fault—he felt so deeply, cared so much and Sakura was one person who understood that, while most thought him to be cold and unattached. That just wasn’t who Sasuke was. It was once who he tried to be, but he clearly regretted those days now.
“Sasuke-kun?” Sakura called, voice that of a whisper as she stared upon his shoulders, still patting his pale skin dry. He made a quiet noise to let her know he was listening, a familiar ‘hn’ that had her smiling fondly. “Thank you.”
The words of gratitude surprised him enough to have him turning to face her, but he made sure to keep his eyes on hers and nothing more. “What for?”
“For caring about me… and letting me travel with you.” She told him, smile brightening though there was a lingering, subtle shyness as she spoke.
It was Sasuke who had once again become flustered, ears burning red. He turned back around much more quickly than he had turned to face her and Sakura did her best to stifle a giggle. She felt blessed and grateful to be the one to see this side of him. To see all sides of him and love him unconditionally. Sakura had loved him for as long as she could remember and she would continue to do so—to support him wholeheartedly and care for him no matter the distance between them or the circumstances.
They both owned their own battle scars and though it was likely that they would obtain more over time, each one would have its own story and with it—more memories.
Markings (ao3 / ffn)
catflorist
Summary: After the war, Sakura steals the hearts of Team Taka. Sasuke doesn’t know how to feel about this. All about healing and friendship for Sakura and Sasuke (and Team Taka/Team Seven).
SasuSaku Month 2020, Day 14: Battle Scars
@ssmonth
1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Markings
Chapter 1
A sprawling mass of canvas tents at the edge of a plateau formed the armed forces encampment. After the final battle, shinobi returned there to rest and recover. It was a village in its own right, existing because war needed time to transition into peace.
Sakura knew her way around the encampment like she knew how to recite the bones in a human body. She could tell the urgency of a request by what kind of sound a tent flap made when a medic rustled it open. She knew which boulder at the edge of camp provided the best view of the sunset. But Sakura didn’t have time to watch sunsets anymore. The war had wounded many, and she spent most of her time tending to patients and working shifts in the infirmary.
“Medic,” Sakura called, then entered the tent housing the members of Taka, the last stop on her daily rounds.
Suigetsu looked up and smiled.
Jugo stood. Once Sakura had taken up assignment as their medic, he started bringing her the wounded animals that crossed his path. In thanks for her service, he awarded small gifts—smooth stones, curved twigs. This time he presented her a speckled blue eggshell.
“It’s beautiful!” Sakura said. “Will you keep it for me until I go?”
Jugo bowed his head. A bird landed on his shoulder—Sakura’s most recent patient.
Sakura nursed a secret curiosity for the people Sasuke had hand-picked as his teammates. There was Suigetsu, with his laidback speech and flirtatious smile. Jugo, the wild killer, the gentle giant who comforted injured animals. Karin, with her mess of red hair, whose tired eyes glazed over whenever someone mentioned Sasuke’s name.
Sasuke himself was a simple patient. They had exchanged few words since their reunion. Since his apology.
Jugo’s bird chirped, bringing Sakura back from her thoughts.
“I’m fine, thank you,” Sakura replied, bright and professional. “How are you all feeling?”
“I am well,” Jugo said. “As is my friend.”
“Suigetsu? How’s the sprain treating you?”
“Better every day.” He spun his chair around and straddled the seat backwards. His sprained ankle failed to diminish his level of swagger.
“Karin?” Sakura prompted.
Karin sighed and shifted in her cot. She had never said so, but it was clear she was less than enthusiastic about Sakura’s visits.
Today the red-haired kunoichi wore a cropped shirt, exposing the thick knot of scar tissue on her stomach. Sakura had not seen this injury since she had healed it herself.
Karin followed Sakura’s gaze and looked away.
Sakura had healed thousands of injuries in thousands of circumstances. She would never forget this one. The edges of Sakura’s vision blurred, and she slipped back to that day: a chidori aimed at her skull, electricity standing up the hair on her arms, the air red and thick with the scent of blood. Sasuke with the intent to kill in his eyes.
Sasuke had pierced clean through Karin’s body in his attack on Danzo. As if she were no more than a layer of clothing.
Sakura still had nightmares, but she did not wear Sasuke’s betrayal on her body as scar tissue.
“Everything is fine,” Karin reported, adjusting her glasses. “I don’t need you to look me over.”
Sakura pulled a chair next to Karin’s bedside. She rubbed the sleeve of her white coat. “How’s the old wound?” she asked softly.
Karin’s eyes widened, then she crossed her arms. “It’s fine.”
“If you like…” Sakura began, “I might be able to heal this scar away.”
To Sakura’s surprise, Karin’s lip trembled.
Jugo silenced a squeak from his bird. Even Suigetsu didn’t speak.
Two stubborn tears slipped down Karin’s cheeks. Sakura’s throat grew tight.
“No,” Karin said. “I don’t want to forget.”
Sakura understood Karin a little better then. “You’re strong,” she said.
Karin raised her head, not hiding her tears.
A pang of kinship struck Sakura’s heart. She squeezed Karin’s hand. Karin squeezed back.
“Has he apologized to you?” Sakura asked.
Karin sniffed. “I can tell he’s sorry. In his own way.”
Sakura could not hold back a scoff. “Idiot.”
The two kunoichi exchanged a look. They both knew him.
Karin mumbled, “Idiot.”
Smiles broke out on their faces. Karin wiped her eyes.
“You knew Sasuke. Before,” Suigetsu said. It was not a question.
Sakura thought, And you knew Sasuke. After.
Sasuke was the kind of person who split the landscape of time into before and after, leaving a deep chasm between. On one side, Sakura, before, stared at the members of Taka, after.
She sighed. “Yes. We were teammates.”
The faces in the room grew soft, contemplative. This was the first time they all acknowledged their mutual connection to Sasuke. Sakura felt a door open, a weight lift. They had slung a rope across the chasm.
“Well,” Suigetsu resolved, “you can heal my old scars.” Forgoing all modesty, he lifted his shirt over his head. A long white scar marred his stomach. “I got this a few years back. It messes with my look.”
Karin snapped, “You’re so fucking vain.”
“You’re jealous I’m prettier than you.” Suigetsu balled up his shirt and tossed it into her lap. Karin bristled like a cat.
Sakura could not fight her smile. She gestured for Suigetsu to approach. He sat on the edge of Karin’s cot.
“You’re both very pretty,” Sakura granted, and pooled healing chakra into her palms.
Both Suigetsu and Karin beamed at her.
“I like her,” Suigetsu said to Karin, bobbing his finger towards Sakura’s face.
“She’s out of your league,” Karin snorted.
Suigetsu sputtered, shifting under Sakura’s touch. Then he added, snide, “Sasuke’s really the one who needs a touch-up. He looks like a cat’s scratch-post.”
Karin smirked. “He would never want that.” She glanced at Sakura.
Sakura rolled her eyes. She confirmed, “Too much pride.”
“Can I call you Sakura-chan?” Suigetsu asked.
“Whatever helps you heal faster,” Sakura said.
Jugo chimed in from the corner. “Next time, I will bring you a bird’s nest.”
.
.
Once it was all over, and Sasuke lay bleeding on the ground next to Naruto, he felt himself floating away. The sound of skittering rocks and urgent footsteps reached him through a thick haze. Then a gentle warmth spread throughout his body. The feeling returned to his limbs in a rush. He could not help gasping in pain, everything heavy and hurting.
He concentrated on the warmth. It was soft, precious, like the first glimmer of light on a cold morning.
Sasuke blinked his eyes open and understood why the sensation felt so familiar.
“Leave me,” Sasuke mumbled.
Sakura chewed her lower lip as she worked, eyebrows drawn. The green light of her healing chakra danced across her face. She gave no sign that she had heard.
Sasuke tried to roll away. His body obeyed with the slightest twitch. At this, Sakura glared at him. “Don’t distract me,” she ordered. “I’m trying to concentrate.”
“Sakura.” Breathing was easier now. “I’m sorry.”
Her mouth curled. “For what?”
Sasuke did not have the right words. There were too many things for which he was sorry. He muttered, “For everything until now.”
“Good,” she said. “I hope you’re sorry.”
Slow tears spilled down Sakura’s cheeks, tracing the same paths over and over.
“You fucking asshole,” she added.
The flow of chakra never wavered. Sakura did not hesitate to save him yet again.
To keep himself from drifting, Sasuke watched the green glow on her face.
Afterwards, Sasuke spent his days in the medic encampment. He relearned the balance of his body, feeling the air where his left arm once existed. He discovered new patches of scar tissue on his skin. At night, he could not sleep.
Sasuke’s visitors bombarded him with questions and urgent topics of discussion.
Naruto limped in on crutches, asking Sasuke, “Aren’t you excited to finally come home?”
Kakashi touched a thoughtful finger to his masked mouth and asked, “Let’s talk about what will happen next. It’s possible you’ll be branded a criminal.”
Tsunade charged into his tent demanding, “Tell me why I should convince the council not to brand you a criminal.”
Sasuke’s answers didn’t satisfy any of them.
Sakura was his other regular visitor. She came each day to check his injuries. Only Sakura didn’t ask anything of him, though Sasuke felt she deserved his answers the most.
.
.
It started off small. Jugo fretted over an injured bird. The next day, the bird perched alert and unharmed on his shoulder.
“The medic healed him for me,” Jugo told Sasuke.
Sasuke hadn’t asked.
“The pink one,” he elaborated. Sasuke somehow already knew.
Then one day, Suigetsu could not stop smiling as he lounged in Sasuke’s tent.
“What are you so happy about?” Sasuke finally asked.
Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. “Sakura-chan is really something.”
Sakura-chan?
Sasuke’s stomach clenched.
“She’s cute,” Suigetsu said. “Tough. Nice smile. Interesting hair. And she healed up my old scar.”
With a flourish, Suigetsu pulled up his shirt to reveal his unmarred abdomen.
“What’s with the long face?” he protested. “She’d probably do the same for you if you asked.”
“I’m not interested,” Sasuke muttered.
Suigetsu’s smile transformed into a shit-eating grin. “You’re as predictable as they said,” he laughed.
Sasuke did not take the bait.
No fan of subtlety, Suigetsu elaborated on his own. “Karin and Sakura, I mean.”
Sasuke should not have been surprised, that with her warm smile and sweet disposition, Sakura had befriended his teammates.
.
.
The next time Sakura appeared at his tent, Sasuke was in a bad mood.
She paused in changing a bandage. “Are you feeling more pain than normal?”
“What?”
She frowned. “You seem upset.”
“I’m not.”
Sakura held his stare.
“You’ve been talking to my teammates,” Sasuke said.
Sakura blinked. “Well, they’re my patients. Just like you.”
Sasuke regretted speaking. “Never mind.”
“What does it matter if I’m talking to them?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
A shadow fell across her face. Sakura checked his injuries without another word, a green thundercloud of healing chakra.
She stood up the instant she finished. “I don’t know what’s bothering you today. But I suggest that instead, you should think about how you still owe Karin an apology.” Her mouth opened again, then shut.
Sasuke stared at his lap, because she was right.
Her jaw set. She stormed away.
.
.
Sasuke broke his bedrest early and apologized to Karin outside of the Taka tent. His throat was dry, and his words were too curt. He could not look her in the eye.
Karin nodded once. In a thick voice, she said, “Thank you.” After a while, she retreated inside. It was far more forgiveness than Sasuke deserved.
.
.
For the first time, Sakura did not leave right away after her next visit. She shrugged off her white coat, smoothed back her hair, and took a seat by Sasuke’s bedside. She peeled and sliced two apples, then arranged the fruit on a plate.
“Antioxidants,” she explained, dropping the plate on Sasuke’s lap. The apple slices jostled on impact.
“Thank you.” His voice was quiet.
Sakura didn’t blink. “You apologized to Karin.”
“Yes.”
“Good,” she said.
Sasuke opened his mouth, his face hot, yet another imperfect apology burning on his lips.
“I already know you’re sorry,” Sakura interrupted. “Just finish your fruit.” She hummed her approval when he lifted a slice to his lips.
Sasuke offered the plate to her. She paused, then picked a slice. They took turns until the plate was empty.
It was the best apple Sasuke had ever eaten.
.
.
Through messages relayed by Sakura, Naruto pestered Sasuke to stop by his tent. After a week of rest, Sasuke gave in one late afternoon and made his way through the lively encampment.
The encampment had grown in purpose beyond a location to house troops. Medics darted in and out of the infirmary tent, the tall landmark at the center of camp. Shinobi from each nation mixed and mingled together. They lined up for meals, called out to each other in greeting, or gathered to swap stories and spar. They transformed rows of tents into neighborhoods.
For its community of shinobi, the encampment served as a space to celebrate, mourn, and heal before returning home. For Sasuke, it was the unexpected reprieve of a clearing in the middle of a dark forest. But it only gave way to more uncharted forest.
Sasuke opened the flap to Naruto’s tent. Naruto dozed open-mouthed atop his futon. Next to him, Sakura lay coiled on her side, her loose hair strewn across a pillow, fingers curled up next to her cheek.
A gust of wind sent the entrance of the tent flapping. Sakura shot up at the noise, already reaching for her white coat.
When she saw Sasuke her shoulders dropped, and her sleepiness returned. “Naruto was supposed to wake me up,” Sakura murmured, rubbing her eyes.
Sasuke could not shake the image of their closeness. He said, “I’ll come back later.”
“You better stay. He’s been annoying me all day about you.”
Caught in her pleading gaze, Sasuke joined Sakura on the ground and crossed his legs. She gently shook Naruto’s shoulder. Naruto sat up and yawned with vigor.
“I love napping,” he announced, stretching, then grinned at Sasuke. “Look who finally showed up!”
“You’re keeping busy,” Sasuke said.
“Sleep is important, teme.”
“You were supposed to wake me up,” Sakura reminded him.
“Ah! Sorry Sakura!” Naruto offered a sheepish grin. “Do you need to run?”
Sakura waved a hand. “Shizune would have found me by now if they needed me.”
The three teammates regarded each other. They had not been alone together in a long time.
“Look at us. We’re old now.” Naruto beamed.
Sasuke scoffed under his breath.
“We aren’t old,” Sakura said. “But we are veterans.”
Her words weren’t bitter. But it was a candid acknowledgement of their reality. They were young, and already fighting so hard.
Sasuke examined the slight shock he felt at her introspection. For a long time, Sasuke had convinced himself that Sakura was nothing more than a weak and silly girl. She never had been, but Sasuke rewrote his memories of her until it became true. He did this to make leaving easier. To make being her enemy easier. It was time to let go of this falsehood.
“Only four arms between the three of us,” Naruto joked.
Sakura didn’t respond. Then she drew a shaky breath.
“You idiots,” she whispered. “You could’ve killed each other.” Her eyes shone with unshed tears.
Naruto’s face fell. He rubbed her back. “We’re sorry, Sakura-chan. We really are idiots.”
As Sakura cried, Sasuke froze. He did not know how to match the comfort Naruto so easily offered. He reached out, faltered, and withdrew his hand. After all this time, after all he had done, would his words, his touch, mean anything?
Naruto caught Sasuke’s hesitation. With the smallest movement of his chin, he gestured, get over here.
Sasuke touched a thumb to her knuckles. “Thank you, Sakura.”
He didn’t know what he was thanking her for. He only knew that he would never get to the bottom of everything he owed her.
“You saved us. Again,” Naruto said.
Sakura took a deep breath and threatened, “Next time, I’ll kill you both myself.”
She gripped Sasuke’s hand and squeezed.
“I don’t doubt it,” Naruto said with a nervous chuckle. “But it won’t happen again. Eh, Sasuke?”
“Never,” Sasuke promised, dazed by the sudden warmth of her small hand in his. Her hand was illogical to Sasuke. A rough, calloused palm met slender fingers and a graceful wrist. Her hands promised both to break bones and to mend flesh.
Sakura tilted her head back. She closed her eyes and smiled.
A thought entered Sasuke’s mind as he sat next to his old teammates, listening to Naruto coax a laugh out of Sakura.
So this is what I missed.
.
.
.
.
Note: thank you to @diwatafolk for beta-ing!
up next: Taka banter, healing lessons, sparring, and Sasuke builds a table.
prompt: ssm20d14/battle scars
note: based on this headcanon of mine
“please, sasuke-kun!” sakura whines, tugging on his sleeve. “please, i am so, so bored!”
sasuke scowls, but doesn’t pull his arm away. “sakura, it’s not that simple, it hurts my eyes, not to mention my body–”
“please,” she threads her fingers through his, and smiles at him, “i’ll heal them, i promise. it’s just you’ve been gone for so long, and i haven’t had a good fight in ages, and don’t you think it’s cool–”
“sakura, i do not think it is cool that you can break the ribs off susano’o,” he scoffs, although he admits to himself that it is maybe a little cool, because he is sure she is the only one in the world that can do it.
“yes, you do,” she insists, putting her head on his shoulder, “remember the face you made the first time i did it.”
the first time that she had accidentally destroyed the outer shell of his (level one, he emphasizes) susano’o, they were in battle and she had been aiming for the other guy that they thought they had cornered, but a last minute swerve caused sakura’s punch to land at the center of his susano’o, which he had thought would be fine, but then the ribs had cracked and crumbled all around him, leaving only the floating head, and he had been absolutely stunned.
sakura had looked pleased with herself, even though they were in the middle of a very dangerous battle, but then he had noticed the expression on the enemy and felt even worse.
“sorry about that,” she had quipped, “don’t sulk, sasuke-kun. that wasn’t meant for you.”
he rolls his eyes, looking down at her as she continues to plead, please, please please, please–
sasuke thinks that, with their fingers interlocked and her head tucked into his side, maybe it would be worth the chaos. he thinks of laying his head on her lap after an exhaustive session, the warmth of her chakra seeping through his eyes, and suddenly doesn’t mind using his mangekyo for such trivial things.
“okay, fine,” sasuke relents to the sound of her rejoicing, “for one minute. if you can’t break susano’o –”
The night is cool. The window is slightly ajar, letting the night breeze caress their skins after a love making session.
Sasuke had just been back from a long trip, and they have been apart for too long-eight months and fifteen days to be exact but who’s counting.
Feet tangled, bodies merely inches apart, they take each other’s forms in, the only light coming from the moon shining above.
“I missed you.” Sakura breathes. Sasuke brings her chin up in a kiss. Their lips fit perfectly with each other.
“I’m here.” He brings her closer and traces his hands on her petite form as she rubs circles on his chest.
His hand lands on a particularly large scar adorning her hip. He rubs it with his thumb, feeling the rough skin underneath.
“Where did you get this?” Curiously, Sasuke asks.
“Sasori. Grandma Chiyo and I were battling him when we were retrieving Gaara. He pierced a sword right through me.” Sasuke’s grip tightens on her. He knows at that time, he was still with Orochimaru. He hates, despises seeing his loved ones get hurt. He knows that a ninja’s life will always be on the brink of death. Nonetheless, he would do anything to protect her. For the woman in his arms is his home now, and he can’t afford losing it again.
Sasuke lets out a sigh before moving his hand up to her back, feeling another long strip of a different texture that spans from her lower back to her mid back.
“That one’s from a mission way back. I was retrieving a stolen scroll. The enemy managed to injure me with his sword.” Regret. The only thing that is going through his mind at that moment. If only he had been with them, he would’ve been able to protect her. He closes his eyes in deep thought.
“Sasuke-kun.” Sakura brings her hand to his cheek. Warmth spread through him and he opens his eyes to meet with a pair of shining emeralds.
“It’s okay.” As if she knows what’s on his mind, she always finds the right words to say to him.
“I’m sorry.” Sasuke looks to the side. He feels too ashamed to look at her in the eyes. Sakura hates seeing him like this. They’ve worked out all the bad in their relationship, and have taken out all the skeletons from their closet. Sakura’s thumb brushes his lower lip.
“Sasuke-kun, look at me.” Sasuke shifts his gaze towards her. “It’s okay. What’s done is done. But just know that I can protect myself too.” Sasuke snakes his arm around her. Sakura burries her face in his chest, wrapping her arm around his torso.
“I know.” Sasuke doesn’t deny the fact that Sakura is a strong kunoichi. She’s grown so much stronger since they were kids, and he can’t be prouder.
They stay that way, embraced by each other’s arms, in their safe zones, where no one can hurt them.
The night feels tranquil, and just like his mind, Sasuke can finally feel at peace. Feel at home.
They let the sound of the wind and the crickets lull them to sleep.
ssm 2k20 day 14: battle scars
Title: contrast
Rating: M
Disclaimer
Day’s Notes: another one for the blank period au series. I originally wanted this to be about their first time but in the end it became more ambiguous. I just wanted something soft for a prompt that’s kind of harsh. it’s not explicit at all but it’s lime-ish.
He remembered when her body was smooth. When he was a fourteen year old boy that didn’t avert his gaze quick enough when she removed her qipao dress to wash up what she could without removing her spats or the underwire mesh that protected the upper half of her torso. Back when bruises healed and cuts were never deep enough to scar.
Back when he carried the scars for the both of them.
Sakura had a story for every one. Every raised line on her back or her legs that would have been a waste of chakra to heal. And in every story there were details she had to close her eyes and twist her lips to try and pull, so he could have the full image of what had happened. Of what had happened in the years that he had been away and that he should have been there.
Her breath hitched when he dragged his fingers across her ribs. Calloused fingers skimming across her skin and feeling the contrast between velvet soft and the interruptions that marred it. With every one that he found he peppered kisses to them.
Sasuke inhaled sharply when Sakura twisted her hips, using the muscles of her thighs to pin him underneath her.
“I know what you’re doing,” she muttered, eyes hooded and the loveliest shade of green peering through pale pink lashes.
“What am I doing?” Sasuke hissed as Sakura shifted her hips, swiveling them in circles. She always started with them large and slow before dipping them into tighter and more precise movements and faster as she moved her core along his length.
In lieu of a verbal response, Sakura leaned down and kissed a scar on his left pectoral and then dragged her lips down right below that cut from his ribs to his sternum in a thin line.
“You have more than I do.” Sakura sat up, flattening her palms on his stomach, feeling the way the muscles tensed under her touch. Her fingertips brushed across the scattering of nicks that littered his skin.
White lines dusted his flesh at random locations, as pale as her skin against the darker tone of his own. If they wanted to pretend, they would pretend the scars weren’t from the life they were raised to live but from her body’s attempts to mold into his.
Sasuke’s cock twitched between her folds as she laid against him so that she remained straddling him but so their chests were touching. She kissed the underside of his chin, a spot they had recently discovered he was sensitive in and a spot where she had found an old knick from a kunai. Sasuke pressed his hand to the small of her back and flattened his palm, stroking lightly, feeling for the largest scar on Sakura’s body, the one that went right through and was matched on her abdomen.
He had heard the story of that scar before, multiple times. Stories from strangers during his travels, a story from their idiot friend when they were resting up in the hospital, and a story she had to tell herself the first time he removed her clothing and was faced with the scar that came from what should have been a fatal blow. A splash of alabaster on ivory skin.
Before Sakura could comment on his focus on that particular scar, Sasuke moved his hand to smooth it over a soft yet firm buttock and cupped it. He didn’t have time to mourn the loss of his other hand to hold her more balanced, when Sakura sat back up and pulled his hand to her hip.
“Again?” she smirked at him, a mischievous smile that made his mouth go dry.
“Again.”
And again and again, as much as she liked. Until they were both tired and sated, but their limbs still curled around each other not wanting for there to be a moment when they weren’t touching if they could get away with it.
“These are my favorite, by the way.” Sakura’s voice, full of sleep, murmured into his ear as she trailed a finger down the fresh marks across his shoulder blades.
“They would be, you perv,” Sasuke muttered into his pillow, pulling Sakura closer as she giggled against his skin. He fingered the red blooms on her inner thighs. “These are mine.”
“And you say I’m the perv.”
“Do you want more?”
“Absolutely.”
Sasuke snorted and pulled the duvet over their heads, before sliding down the bed, sucking hard on her skin on his way down her torso, leaving marks that celebrated the life still inside of them underneath all of the scars that attempted to steal these moments from them.
“How did you get this?” Sasuke asked her, voice calm and quiet like the nighttime breeze. Tender eyes peeked through hooded lids, enamored and devout. Their legs tangled together beneath the bunched sheets.
They were lucky to spend a few nights, for once, at a roadside inn. The nearby village was in need of medical aid and, truthfully, Sakura had begun to miss the small comforts.
Sasuke slowly circled his thumb around the scar on her stomach, his touch always so gentle with her. No matter how many days that passed in their newly formed marriage, she still felt like that giddy school girl whenever he set his attention towards her. She wished for that feeling to never change.
This intimacy was still new to them, a sweet and tentative thing. She would worry, at times, that she pushed things too far, or wanted too much. But her husband always had a habit of surprising her. Sakura welcomed every second of every moment, craving this newfound connection to him even more than she craved his flesh. She would always yearn to know more about her Sasuke-kun.
Sakura shifted closer to him, shivering at the fading heat. “That was when I fought the akatsuki,” she answered him. “When I fought Sasori. You know this.” She traced her hand up his arm, stopping at the faint pink line beneath his shoulder. “But I don’t know about this, Sasuke-kun,” she said, smiling. “Where was this from?”
Sasuke hummed, his thumb moving round and round. “Akatsuki,” he said simply. “Deidara.” His hand drifted upward to rest upon her bare hip, repeating that same caress. “What about this?” he asked of the scar there.
“A kunai during training.” She giggled then, warm and bright. “Are you going to ask me about every scar I have, then, anata?”
He stopped the movement, his lazy gaze turned sharper. Sakura grinned at his scrunched nose, toes curling at his frown, waiting for those two little words and the reluctant perk of his lips.
It used to hurt - deeply - when he called her annoying. It hurt her to think that her love for him could be a nuisance, a watery tide that he would push and pull. But she knew better now. She knew him better now. She knew the ways of his heart and the intention behind the words said and left unsaid. His heart had always been guarded, but never fully closed. Never to her. She knew.
Sakura yelped suddenly at the sharp pinch to her hip. She swatted at his chest. “Sasuke-kun!”
He huffed, a precious little laugh that she always wished to hear. Sasuke smiled at her in that beautiful way that would always be meant for her. “Annoying,” he murmured, before pressing his lips to the seal on her forehead. He tucked her in close, fitting her body perfectly against his. His eyes shut and he inhaled deeply.
