Happy New Years everyone! I wanted to get something up before the New Year came around so this is my New Year’s gift to everyone! I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto.

Chapter 8

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Sasuke’s and Sakura’s lips met in a soft kiss. He slowly applied more pressure to the kiss as if he were afraid of scaring her away. She slowly wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. He wrapped his arms around his waist before licking her bottom lip. Not quite sure what he was asking for, Sakura hesitantly opened her mouth. Sasuke plunged his tongue into her mouth and the two moaned at the feeling. The pink haired girl’s tongue shyly came out to play as well. Slowly she grew bolder and briefly dominated the kiss. This caused the Uchiha to moan as he tightened his grip on her. He soon regained control of the kiss but soon the two pulled away due to lack of air.

Sakura stared up at Sasuke’s dark eyes as she attempted to regain her breathing. While most of her enjoyed the kiss a small part of her was afraid that Sasuke would regret it and push her away. She continued staring at him, not knowing what else to do. What he did next caught her completely by surprise….he kissed her.

---

Sakura smiled as she woke up the next morning. She squealed into her pillow when she thought of her kisses with Sasuke. Part of her was sure that it was a bushin and not the real Sasuke but there was no mistaking the aura that he gave off, that proud and arrogant aura. She was even more shocked when he had offered to walk her home and had given her a good night kiss. She could not believe that this was the same Sasuke who half an hour ago was telling her that he didn’t like fan girls. She didn’t know what had happened to make Sasuke act the way he did but she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth either. She just hoped that things stayed the way they did.

---

Sasuke stood at the bridge waiting for his team mates to arrive. He had no idea what had happened to him last night. He had acted so out of character that he had even surprised himself. He couldn’t explain it either. It was just that as soon as his lips touched Sakura’s, sparks flew and it just seemed right.

He knew Sakura wanted a relationship but he also knew that they couldn’t have a normal one, not while Itachi was alive. If Itachi found out about Sakura, he would not hesitate to kill her. In order to keep that from happening, they would have to keep their relationship a secret, from everyone.

“Good morning, Sasuke-kun.”

“Hn.”

Sakura smiled at the response before leaning against the railing next to Sasuke.

“Sakura….”

She looked at Sasuke in surprise; he rarely ever spoke when they were waiting for Naruto and Kakashi to arrive.

“Yes….?”

“We have to keep this a secret from everyone.”

“Keep what a secret?”

Sasuke’s gaze met hers as he gave her a ‘stop being such an idiot’ look.

Comprehension dawned on Sakura and her face broke out into a huge smile before confusion replaced it.

“Why?”

Sasuke had to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he mentally sighed.

‘For being such an intelligent girl, she sure can be stupid.’

“Itachi is still out there and he won’t hesitate to kill you if he finds out about us. I don’t want that to happen and the safest way to ensure that is if no one knows about us.”

Sakura nodded knowing he was right but couldn’t keep the sad look off of her face.

Sasuke sighed before drawing her to him. Sakura’s head jerked up as she looked at him in confusion. After making sure no was coming, Sasuke slightly bent his head down to kiss her.

Sakura smiled against the kiss knowing he was doing this to comfort her. She quickly returned the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She was surprised when Sasuke abruptly pulled away and muttered dobe under his breath. He quickly resumed his spot next to her and gave the appearance that nothing had happened.

“Good morning, Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme!”

Sakura suddenly understood why Sasuke had pulled away and had to fight down the disappointment that was welling up inside of her. She turned around with what she hoped was a normal smile.

“Good morning, Naruto.”

The three quietly waited for their sensei until the blonde genin could stand it no longer.

“Argh! Why is he always late?! He tells us to get here at a certain time and arrives hours after that! It’s just not fair!”

“Shut up dobe.” Sasuke said.

“What did you say to me teme?!”

“Losing your hearing so soon?” Sasuke mocked with his trademark smirk.

“Why you-!”

“Yo.” Kakashi greeted as he appeared in a puff of smoke.

“You’re late!” Naruto and Sakura shouted.

“Sorry, I had to help an old lady carry her groceries home.”

Sakura and Naruto continued to glare at him as Sasuke just looked at him impassively.

“Let’s begin training.” Kakashi said.

---

Training had ended for the day and the tired genin headed home. Well, Sasuke and Sakura headed home as Naruto headed to Ichiraku. Sakura made to reach for Sasuke’s hand but stopped when she remembered that their relationship was a secret. With a small sigh she put her hand back against her side.

“We shouldn’t walk together.” Sasuke quietly said.

“I know.” Sakura softly replied back.

“It would look weird if we were without you fan girling all over me.”

“Yeah.”

“So, why are we still walking together?”

“I don’t know.” Sakura answered as she stopped walking.

Sasuke stopped walking as well as he turned to face her. He resisted the urge to hug her as he saw the sadness on her face. He couldn’t afford to give into his impulses.

“I know this hurts you.” Sasuke quietly said.

"No, Sasuke-kun-"

“You don’t have to lie,” Sasuke interrupted her. “I know this wasn’t what you imagined when you day dreamed about us getting together.” Sasuke said with a small smirk.

Sakura faintly blushed at this.

“If you don’t want to be in this kind of relationship, I understand.”

Sakura looked at Sasuke in complete shock. This was the last thing she had expected him to say and it took her several seconds before her mouth could form words.

“Sasuke-kun, how could you think that?!”

As if she realized her voice was too loud, she lowered it so only he could hear her.

“You’re right when you said that this wasn’t how I imagined we’d be together but I’m just happy that I get to be with you. It doesn’t matter if it has to be a secret; I know you’re only doing this to protect me.” She softly said.

She gently grabbed his hand and he allowed her to hold it for a few seconds before he pulled away.

“What time do you eat dinner?” Sasuke asked.

“Between 6:00 and 6:30, why?”

“Meet me in front of the forest at 7:30 tonight.”

Sakura smiled as she nodded her head.

“I’ll see you then.” Sasuke said before walking away.

---

“Did something exciting happen, sweetie?” Miyana asked her daughter.

“Not particularly.” Sakura quickly said.

“So you often have a huge smile on your face then?” Keisuke asked.

“Today was just a good training day; I really think I’m improving.”

This wasn’t a lie, she really did think she was improving but it also wasn’t the reason why she was so happy. Another smile broke out on her face as she ate her food. Miyana and Keisuke exchanged a look before shrugging and continuing to eat dinner.

---

Sasuke stood in front of the forest and even though he didn’t look it he was eager for Sakura to arrive. He leaned against a tree trunk with his arms crossed as he waited for her. Soon he saw pink and red in the distance as she quickly ran towards him. He had to react quickly as she came flying towards him. He caught her in his grasp as she quickly leaned up to kiss him. He quickly returned the kiss and the young couple stayed like that until Sasuke pulled away.

“I missed you.” Sakura breathlessly whispered.

“You saw me a few hours ago.” The ever practical Sasuke pointed out.

“I still missed you. The few hours felt like a few days.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Sakura being dramatic but he couldn’t help the smile that twitched at his lips.

“Did you miss me?” Sakura asked.

Seconds ticked by before he answered.

“Aa.”

She smiled at his answer before snuggling against him.

“Sakura, we should go further in so no one passing by will see us.”

Sakura nodded before reluctantly letting go of Sasuke. The two walked further into forest but didn’t have to go very far in. The forest was very dense, making it a perfect place for a secret couple to meet.

The pink haired girl grabbed Sasuke’s hand and pulled him toward a tree with a thick trunk. As she sat down she pulled her boyfriend with her and quickly snuggled against him. The Uchiha wasn’t used to this kind of contact and sat there in shock for several seconds before he slowly wrapped his arms around her.

“I can’t stay for very long, I told my parents I was going out for a walk.”

“Aa.”

“I wish I could stay with you longer.” Sakura softly said with a voice filled with regret.

“There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Yeah, I know.”

The couple sat in silence before Sakura spoke again.

“Sometimes I think this is all a dream.”

Sasuke stayed silent, knowing what she was talking about. Sometimes he couldn’t believe he was dating Sakura either, a girl who was such a huge fan girl during their academy days.

“I’m glad it’s not a dream though.” She softly said.

“Aa.”

She smiled again as she snuggled deeper into his embrace.

“You smell nice.”

Sasuke looked at the top of her head as he raised his eyebrow.

“Thank you.” He said not knowing what else to say.

This caused Sakura to laugh and the Uchiha closed his eyes savoring the sweet sound.

“You’re welcome.” She said with a small chuckle.

The two stayed like that, talking, kissing and enjoying each others’ company. Unfortunately for the two time passed much too quickly and soon Sakura had to go home.

“I’ll walk you home.” Sasuke offered.

“Thank you but no. We wouldn’t want anyone to get suspicious and Konoha is a busy enough village that there will be plenty of people on the streets.”

Sasuke reluctantly nodded. She grabbed his hand and the two walked out of the forest together, before they were completely out the two shared one last kiss. The kiss had a bittersweet feeling to it and neither of them wanted it to end. Unfortunately the two needed air and reluctantly pulled away from each other.

The Uchiha rested his forehead against his girlfriend’s as onyx stared into jade. Grudgingly he pulled away but not before giving her a sweet kiss on her forehead. Without a word he grabbed her hand and led her rest of the way out of the forest. Soon they came out of the clearing and Sasuke unwillingly let go of her hand.

“You go first.” Sasuke said.

Sakura nodded and gave him one last look before she walked away with heavy steps. Sasuke waited a few minutes before following her.

---

Sasuke walked down the busy street, tuning out all of the noise. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of his new relationship with Sakura. He knew he wanted to be with her yet part of him protested that it was wrong, that she would distract him from his revenge and that his selfishness could end up getting her killed. He kept on pushing that aside because he just simply wanted to be with her. He would never tell anyone but he missed the warmth of another human being. It was nice to hug, snuggle and kiss and know that you were alive.

‘I can keep Sakura safe, no one will know about us, especially Itachi.’

Whether it was right or wrong, Sasuke knew he wanted Sakura. Despite the fact that she could be annoying and talked too much, she gave him a sense of peace. He felt it was ridiculous to feel this way being only one day into their relationship but there was just no other way to explain it.

“Sasuke-kun!” An annoying voice called.

He continued walking, ignoring the voice.

“Sasuke-kun!” The voice called again.

He could hear the fan girl racing to catch up with him and groaned when he realized she was with her posse. She quickly caught up with him and stopped in front of him, forcing him to stop. Her friends surrounded her and they all looked at him. He stifled a sigh as he looked at them.

‘It should be forbidden for fan girls to travel in groups.’

“Sasuke-kun, I’m so glad that I ran into you.” Ami said.

He said nothing as he continued to look at her.

“I was wondering…I mean if you want to….”

His impassive look turned into a glare as she continued to find a way to ask him her question.

‘I don’t have time for this.’

“If you’re going to ask me out, the answer is no. It was no last time, its no this time and it will always be no. That goes for all of you.” He said as his glare swept over the three girls.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Sasuke quickly walked around the shocked girls.

‘Fan girls, I fuckin’ hate them.’

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No cliff hanger this time. It wasn’t intentional but I guess this is just subconsciously part of my New Year’s gift to you guys. lol! Please review!