Sighing, Sakura drummed her fingers against the back of her phone, A habit she had picked up after her best friend came after her about wringing her hands into the hems of her tops and skirts. She had to do something with her hands as she waited, so she drummed her fingers and listened to the way her freshly manicured nails tapped against her phone case.
She was early. She knew she should have been late, made Sasuke wait for her instead of the other way around but sitting around waiting for their meet up time made her antsy.
It had been Sakura’s idea to go out to dinner. Sasuke had suggested a movie but she wasn’t a fan of movie theaters for dates. If she was going to watch a movie it would be at home where she could be in her comfy pajamas and cuddling on her couch.
But there had been too many “dates” in her small apartment and she was starting to feel confined considering she only went out when she needed to go to school or visit her family.
So Sakura suggested dinner so that Sasuke wouldn’t feel like he had to feed her that evening and after a long week at uni, she was in no mood to cook herself.
The sun is almost all the way down…he should be here soon…
Letting out another sigh, Sakura gave up on waiting and headed inside the pub on her own to grab a table. She would just have to text Sasuke so he would know where to find her.
Sakura paid no mind to the other patrons, just requested a table toward the back of the shop if possible and followed the waitress.
Sitting down and setting her cross body bag down, Sakura looked around the room and then back at her table. Perhaps she should have chosen a seat at the bar. It was much more casual than the informal setting already was and maybe that would make her feel more relaxed. Sitting at her table that was meant for four patrons there were only two logical options. Either Sasuke sat directly in front of her or in the seat to her left right next to her.
Sitting next to him felt like something high schoolers would do. Not that she would know from personal dating experience. She had never been one for dating. Sakura had attended an all girls school and had received the occasional confession from classmates at her cram school but it never went anywhere.
When she went out for drinks with members from a circle she was a part of she observed the couples and how they interacted but when she had started dating a boy from the same circle they never got past the texting and phone calls before bed phase.
Academics had always been the priority for Sakura and now as a young adult in a relationship, her partner made everything so easy for her by being so accommodating. Sasuke never asked for much, just that she took care of herself during the day when he couldn’t be with her.
He probably would have been fine if we ordered a pizza, Sakura chuckled inwardly as she took her reading glasses out so that she could read the menu. She could order ahead and the food would be ready by the time Sasuke showed up. Ikayaki would be good…and some karaage and definitely some gyoza. I should order some cabbage for all of this fried food too.
Sakura’s drink arrived around the same time she received a text from Sasuke that he was crossing the street and would be arriving soon. She replied that she was seated toward the back of the shop and waved her hand to call for a waitress. In the middle of ordering their food a second waitress appeared.
“Excuse me, ma’am. There seems to be a bit of a mix up.”
Sakura was fuming as she and Sasuke walked toward the station. Not once in the past few years had she ever noticed that the izakaya she and her friends frequented was a segregated establishment.
“This is my fault,” Sakura sighed out, rubbing her forehead with the heels of her palms. “I’m so stupid. I should have asked first.”
Sasuke pulled her hands away from her head and interlocked his fingers of one hand with one of hers.
“It’s fine. I should have expected it.” He pulled her along, never letting go of her hand. “Besides, I wanted pizza anyway. We can just buy some beer on our way home.”
But it wasn’t fine. Sakura let herself be guided across the street and focused on the feel of Sasuke’s fingers against her own. Even in the summer heat, his touch was welcome. Despite the clamminess and sweat, Sakura felt safe being held by him.
“Isn’t that a━”
“Yeah, it is!”
The poor excuse for whispering caught Sakura’s attention. A pair of college aged girls openly gawked at Sasuke and she wouldn’t have thought anything of it━Sasuke was a beautiful person, of course they would stare━if it weren’t for the look of disgust that washed over their features when their gaze drifted down to Sakura and Sasuke’s joined hands.
“Oh.”
“Don’t stare too much.”
One of the girls noticed Sakura looking at them and grabbed her friend by the elbow and turned her around. They continued to whisper harshly to each other even as Sakura and Sasuke had long past them. A quick look over her shoulder had Sakura catching them staring at her again.
It was hypocritical of them to fawn over Sasuke, but then be disgusted with her for having a relationship with him.
Humans had a strange look but don’t touch policy when it came to vampires. It was alright to appreciate their good looks. It was alright to think about what one would do with a vampire but it wasn’t okay to actually follow through.
“Fangbanger.”
Sakura curled her arm around Sasuke’s elbow and laid her head against his upper arm. She remembered now why she preferred to meet him in the safety of her apartment no matter how suffocating it felt to be indoors day after day.
“Tired?” Sasuke nudged her slightly to get her attention. “We can grab a taxi instead.”
“No, I can deal with the train.”
Sasuke looked down at her and cocked his head slightly to the side. He must have seen something he didn’t like because he tugged her closer so they stood at the curb.
“Nah, let’s get a cab.”
“Why don’t you ever invite me to your place?”
Sasuke’s eyes widened and he almost choked on his tea. Sakura had been quiet for most of the night and while that had caused some concern, he knew she would speak up when she was ready. He just hadn’t expect her to ask him about his apartment.
Sakura has turned and propped her elbows on the back of her couch so she could face him. He set his mug on the counter and leaned over it, bracing himself for more questions.
“Do you live in a vampire only residence? Am I not allowed on the premises?”
“Yes and no.” Sasuke chewed on his lip. “I’m not hiding anything if that’s where you’re heading with your questioning.”
“I wasn’t thinking about that but now that you brought it up—“
“I’m not,” Sasuke cut her off, speaking firmly. “My friends have a habit of breaking in whenever they please and I would rather they didn’t interrupt the time I spend with you.”
“Do your friends know about me?”
“Karin does which means they all do. She wants to meet you.” Sasuke grabbed his mug and sat back down on the couch with her. “But she has no filter and will use that as a chance to embarrass me.”
“So that means if I wanted to, I could spend a night at your apartment.”
After their failed dinner plans Sakura had done some research on different establishments in the city. Over half of the restaurants and entertainment facilities were segregated and another quarter of them were human only while the remainder were vampire only. It was strange how she never took notice of that until it affected her.
“I guess you could.” Sasuke set his mug on the coffee table and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer so she was in his lap. “My leasing contract didn’t state anything about humans being forbidden. But I think that’s because humans wouldn’t typically want to live with vampires.”
“I would want to live with a vampire.”
Sakura turned so she could hook her arms around his neck. She traced the line of his throat with her nose and ghosted kisses against his jawline. She molded her lips with his as she settled herself so that she was straddling his lap.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to it. Depending on the vampire.”
“You know,” Sasuke murmured as Sakura continued to press open mouth kissed down his neck and sucked at his pulse point, “we never checked if I was allowed to be here either.”
Sakura paused and pulled away, giving him a contemplative look.
“Oh my god…you’re right, we didn’t. I should go check my contract.”
Sasuke snatched her by the waist before she could remove herself from his lap. He snuggled his face into her chest and muttered, “That can wait until later…”
“Spoiled,” Sakura teased him, running her fingers through his hair, brushing them against the pointed rounds of his ears. Sasuke hummed against her sternum when she played with his hair. He pressed his face deeper against her chest and splayed his fingers against the small of her back.
He never acted as if he cared about the fact they were technically different species anymore. After their one week fall out months prior, the two of them had been almost inseparable. There was a designated space in her dressers and closet just for Sasuke’s things. An ashtray sat on the banister of the veranda. His toothbrush sat right next to hers in the holder in the bathroom. He even had discreet pouches of blood stored in her refrigerator for the week in the month she wasn’t able to feed him.
And Sakura wouldn’t have it any other way.
Gently turning his face up to hers, Sakura pressed a kiss to his lips, ever so grateful that he was there with her in her little apartment.
“I love you,” she breathed against his mouth, pulling back for air. She cradled his head in her hands and decorated his face with kisses. “I love you Sasuke-kun.”
He made her burst out in giggles when he pushed her back on the couch and wedged apart her legs to settle in the cradle of her thighs. Sasuke kept his eyes on her face as he trailed open mouth kisses down her torso, pulling down her cotton shorts in the process to show her how much he loved her as well.
Sakura groaned, sliding her arms out in front of her on the table top. She was using the time before her lecture started to research more on integrated locations.
“What’s up with you?” Yamanaka Ino, her best friend, asked her, bringing their iced coffees to the table. “Is school really that frustrating? You should just drop out and get married like I did.”
“You didn’t drop out,” Sakura rolled her eyes, “well, not exactly. There’s nothing wrong with withdrawing to take over your parents’ shop. Still can’t believe you married that weird customer.”
“Sai-kun’s a bit eccentric but loveable.” Ino took a prim sip of her iced latte and then turned a sly smile at Sakura, blue-green eyes twinkling mischievously. “So what’s the real problem? Because you’ve been looking up date spots.”
“How—what? How did you even—“
“I used the reflection from the shop window to look at your laptop monitor. I thought you were finishing up a report for your afternoon lecture at first but that’s not like you at all.”
Sakura’s face burned with embarrassment. She covered her face with her hands to hide the redness creeping on her cheeks. Because of her school schedule and Ino’s work schedule, it had been easy to hide the fact she had been involved with someone for over a year. She had never expected Ino to find out now before she could figure out a way to confess her partner wasn’t human.
“My boyfriend’s birthday is coming up.” Sakura peeked at Ino’s face between her fingers. “And I don’t know what to do for it.”
“Take him to a love hotel,” Ino responded with a straight face.
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Sakura whispered harshly, throwing a napkin at her.
“What? If you’re stuck just give him your v-card. He must be something if you’re actually worried about his birthday.”
Sakura hid her face behind her hands again and asked God what had she done to deserve such a loud and bold friend that didn’t care about the setting when it came to topics of conversation.
She mumbled behind her hands and Ino reached over the table to pull her hands away from her face.
“Stop that! I can’t hear you when you mumble like that.”
“I said,” Sakura coughed and then lowered her voice, “I already did.”
Ino pulled back and gawked at her, eyes wide and jaw dropped ungraciously.
“Shut up.”
“It’s the truth,” Sakura muttered, making herself smaller in her seat. “We’ve been seeing each other for almost a year now…”
It wasn’t a lie technically.
In a month it would be a year since they had met although they hadn’t started an intimate relationship until much later that hadn’t gone beyond the walls of her apartment.
“And here I thought you wouldn’t have sex with anyone until your wedding night.”
“I wasn’t going to wait that long…”
“Haruno Sakura, you wouldn’t let a boy hold your hand until you had been talking to him for three months. And we were twenty.”
“I’m just selective.”
“Well,” Ino huffed, “this guy must be really special then.”
“He is,” Sakura admitted softly, chewing on her straw.
“So why haven’t I heard about him?”
Sakura choked on a sip of her coffee as Ino stared her down. Ino propped her elbows on the table top and laid her chin on her delicate fingers clasped together. It’s a familiar sight, one Sasuke uses and guilt pools in Sakura’s stomach.
Ino was her first real friend when she entered university━her first real friend ever considering she never made any effort in high school after years of being taunted for her proud, high forehead.
“I just…”
Sakura began to wring her hands in the hem of her shirt and Ino snapped her fingers in front of her face. Sakura glared at her, batting her hand away.
“You might get upset if I told you about Sasuke-kun.”
“Well at least he has a name.” Ino rolled her eyes but smiled reassuringly. She waited expectantly for Sakura to tell her more. Sakura chewed on the inside of her cheek and took a deep breath.
She told Ino an edited version of events, not wanting to let her know that she and Sasuke had slept together before they had even discussed their feelings for each other. It didn’t take long for Ino to badger her for more details and pull it out of her and the two of them almost got kicked out of the shop for causing a scene when Ino’s voice reached an inappropriate volume that had Sakura shouting back.
“So he eats you and then he eats you━”
“Really, Ino? Really?” Sakura cut her off before she could saying anything crude. “And technically he drinks my blood, so not exactly eating me.”
“He’s still consuming some part of you,” Ino stated matter of factly. “Still. Who would have guessed that you would be a bigger freak than me.”
“Don’t make me regret telling you.” Sakura snapped her laptop closed and laid her head on top of it. She still had another hour before class but she had exhausted her eyes searching from site to site.
“Huh. But that means a love hotel might really be your only option then.”
“What?” Sakura sat up and gave Ino a quizzical look.
“Sai works in these things. He’s one of the only humans at the law firm he works at. Love hotels are one of the only integrated establishments around town for obvious reasons.” Ino tapped on her chin thoughtfully and then snapped her fingers. “I’ll talk to him and see if there’s anywhere classier you guys can celebrate at.”
“Sai is a lawyer? I thought he was an artist?”
“Art is his true love but being a lawyer is what pays the bills.”
“And let me guess, you thought telling me he was an artist was more romantic?”
“Do you want my help or not?”
It was the third night that week that Sakura had fallen asleep on the couch while reading her textbook. It wasn’t until Sasuke was sorting their laundry for the wash and had asked her a question about one of her blouses that he had noticed she had fallen asleep.
He gathered her books and papers and organized them on her coffee table and shut down her laptop. Scooping her up he carried her to bed and made sure she was tucked in.
Summer break would begin in a week but she still had an exam before she could go on holiday.
She’s getting tired so easily lately…
Sasuke brushed hair away from her face and pulled up the sheets up to her chin. He had come over before his shift at work to spend time with her, even if it was just to be in the same place. It was the week in the month he wasn’t supposed to drink from her so he didn’t mind that she had fallen asleep before he left to work but it worried him how fatigued she was.
Their trip coming up would be a good way for her to relax after a busy term. One of Sakura’s friends had found a ryokan that catered to vampires that also allowed human guests. It would be a long trip but at least the two of them would be alone with no worries about work or school.
I should make a shopping list.
Sasuke went around the apartment and took note of the stock of her items. He wrote down what was needed in the kitchen and wrote down laundry detergent and fabric softener because they were almost out.
Huh. That’s odd.
Sasuke shrugged closed the medicine cabinet over the bathroom sink. The box of sanitary napkins was halfway full like it had been after last month.
It must have been a light week.
With a yawn, Sakura checked through her oversized purse one more time to make sure the tickets for the Shinkansen were still in her pocketbook.
“You okay?”
She couldn’t see his eyes through his sunglasses but she knew Sasuke had to have been looking down at her. It was sunset but the light was still too bright for his sensitive eyes.
“I’m just sleepy. I can take a nap on the train. Would you mind?”
“I have my earbuds, I can listen to music. And I might sleep too.”
Sasuke tugged her closer to him and she leaned against his arm. They waited a few more minutes and finally it was time to board.
“Sir,” an attendant called out to Sasuke, “I’m sorry but you cannot sit in this car. It’s a human only car.”
“What?” Sakura pulled out their tickets and showed them to the attendant. “But when I bought the tickets no one told me that the cars were segregated.”
“There must have been a misunderstanding.”
“I know what happened,” Sasuke sighed. “When you bought the tickets the clerk assumed your companion was human as well. Are there any integrated cars we could exchange our tickets for?”
“Unfortunately not for this line,” the attendant apologized. “I don’t believe there are integrated train cars in Japan yet.”
“I’ll go sit in a vampire car then.”
“That can be done but we only have space in the unreserved cars at this time.”
“Of course you do.”
“I’m sorry Sasuke-kun.” Sakura tugged on his sleeve, looking down at her feet.
“It’s fine. I’ll see you when we reach our destination.”
Two hours of passing LINE messages back and forth is how they spent their time until they reached the station. They then switched to the subway which gratefully had no more segregation issues they could run into. They rode in relative silence only breaking it when Sasuke took Sakura’s travel bag from her to carry it.
By the time they had reached their ryokan, Sakura was no longer in the mood to try out the hot springs available at the resort.
“I messed up again.”
Sakura had waited until the nakai had finished giving them information and left before dumping her bag on the tatami. She hid her face behind her hands to cover the tears of frustration that were welling up.
“I already knew there might be complications. We already ran into the same problem before and yet I still didn’t double check.”
No matter how much she tried to blink them away, she couldn’t keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. They pooled against her hands and slipped between the space between her fingers and her face. She was so angry with herself for being so stupid and forgetting that no matter what there would always be a barrier between her and Sasuke.
Strong arms wrapped themselves around her and pulled her into an embrace. Sasuke rest his chin on the top of her head and stood there quietly. Slowly, Sakura wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back, crying softly into his chest.
“Better?”
“Not really,” Sakura sniffed. “This isn’t how I wanted to celebrate your birthday.”
“We technically have another 2 hours until it’s officially my birthday.”
“Well if you wanna get technical then,” Sakura giggled. “What do you wanna do? I can stay up for another few hours easy.”
“We can take a bath,” Sasuke suggested, a teasing lilt to his voice, “in the private onsen the nikai so kindly pointed out.”
“Oh, can we now?” Sakura giggled some more and then sighed. “I’m tired though so can we keep it to just a bath?”
“I never mentioned anything else,” Sasuke feigned innocence.
“It was implied and you know it.”
“Don’t you think you’re overdoing it?” Sasuke raised his voice so that it could be heard over the hair dryer.
Sakura hummed in disagreement and ruffled his hair as she waved the hair dryer over his head. When she was satisfied with the dryness of his hair, she shut off the cordless hair dryer and placed it in her bag. After she had finished drying her own hair, Sasuke’s was still dripping and she needed to intervene.
Slumping against his back, Sakura draped her arms over his shoulders so they slipped down his chest. She sighed dreamily, and nuzzled her cheek against his head. The bath had done its job of relaxing her body after the long trip but what really had relieved her stress was how Sasuke let her do as she pleased in caring for him. He didn’t even argue when she had done the unnecessary task of helping him tie his yukata properly.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Huh?” Sakura’s cheeks warmed up as Sasuke pulled her arms off of him to pull her around in front of him. He sat her in his lap sideways. Of course he had figured out why she was taking any opportunity she could find to put her hands on him.
Sasuke wrapped his arms around her and tucked his head into the space between her neck and shoulder. His lashes tickled her skin with every blink.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he spoke against the crook of her neck.
Sakura gave a shaky exhale and breathed in the minty scent of Sasuke’s usual soap that still lingered on his skin.
“What do you want to do? We could go for a walk in town or we could…” Sakura’s voice trailed off as Sasuke tugged on her obi so that it became loose. “Or we could do that.”
“Why did you bother with underwear?”
“W-why wouldn’t I put underwear on?” Sakura spluttered as Sasuke slipped her yukata off of her shoulders. “Can we at least put out the futon?”
“I set it out while you were busy drying your hair.”
“Oh, so that’s why you were still wet even though you got out of the bath before I did.” Sakura giggled as he pressed hot kisses to her shoulder. The scheduling would have been different considering it was a ryokan that catered to vampire guests. “So impatient.”
“Ssshhh…” Sasuke shushed her, ghosting his fingers over her bare thighs. He slipped a hand below the waistband of her panties, skimming past the downy pink hair, and stroked lazily at her folds.
As he set to making her comfortable, Sakura focused on divesting him of his own yukata, a task he complicated by batting her hands away when they got in the way of the attention he lavished her with.
“Sasuke-kun, you’re being difficult,” Sakura accused him when he let her catch her breath. She reached for his obi again, but he shifted to trail kisses between the valley of her breasts and down her stomach. “I’m supposed to be spoiling you, remember?”
“It’s not my birthday yet, you can wait.”
“You’re being incredibly selfish right now.”
Snorting, Sasuke nudged her thighs apart with his shoulders and got to work lapping at her core. Wrapping his arms under legs and back around, he held her down by her waist.
Dragging his lips away from her folds, Sasuke sucked on her inner thigh and Sakura felt a sharp nip on the fleshier part. Sasuke gave a sure lick to the punctures before moving on to the other thigh and giving it the same treatment.
“Turn around,” Sasuke demanded even as he was already bringing her leg over to twist her body around so that she was on her stomach.
“Bossy, bossy.” Sakura wiggled her hips as she propped herself up by her knees and forearms.
“As if you don’t enjoy it.” He went back to stroking her folds, slipping his middle finger into her core and pumping it in and out.
With Sakura turned away from him, he had easy access to one of the more sensitive parts of her body, her back. Leaning over her, he inserted a second finger and thrust deeper as he pressed a kiss first to her nape and then down her back. His pace was slow as he concentrated on feeling the way she trembled beneath his lips.
Keeping her distracted with the sensation of his teeth scraping against her shoulder blades, Sasuke used a single hand to loosen his yukata and pull down on his boxer briefs. Sakura had continued to rock her hips against his hand, the walls of her core clenching around his fingers signaled how close she was to climax.
Swiftly, Sasuke pulled out his fingers and before Sakura could voice a complaint, he thrust inside of her and slowly sank in as deep as he could go. He filled her slowly and she let out a guttural groan at the feeling. Taking hold of Sakura’s hips, Sasuke grinded slowly against her. He slipped a hand around her thigh and reached between her legs for her bundle of nerves and traced lazy circles around it.
“Really?” Sakura huffed, twirling her hips to try and get his hand to shift closer to where she wanted him, but Sasuke evaded her clit. “You’re being a pain in the ass, Sasuke-kun.”
She yelped when he used his knee to spread her legs further apart and began to jackhammer into her. Her hands scrambled for purchase on the futon. Sakura clutched the material and braced herself for the combined onslaught of Sasuke pounding into her while he played with her little hardened nub.
It never came, because as soon as her hips had grown accustomed to the pace he was setting, he turned her so she was on her back. He lowered himself so that his forearms rest by her face, caging her head. Taking the opportunity in front of her, Sakura cupped his face with both hands and kissed him, grateful that he opened up to her tongue without provocation.
They continued at a steady pace until Sasuke adjusted his body so he could glide his hands down her sides and cupped her backside. He tilted her at an angle that had her crying out. Wrapping her legs around his waist, Sakura slipped her arms around his back, nails scraping down his shoulder blades as Sasuke thrust harder and faster to chase his own release.
Warmth filled her and Sasuke slowed his thrusting to a deep grind, holding onto her tight as he spilled completely inside her.
Sakura giggled as Sasuke trailed kisses over her face, still not removing himself from inside of her. She brushed his bangs away from his face and sighed dreamily.
“Happy birthday Sasuke-kun.”
Rubbing her eye with her fist, Sakura slumped into her seat at the donor center. It had been two weeks and she was still having difficulty adjusting back to her schedule after being nocturnal for a week for her trip to the onsen.
The only positive was that she was still on summer break and could use her trip back to her hometown the following week to adjust back to her day time schedule.
“Let’s get your vitals while we wait for the results of your test, Haruno-san.” The medical assistant smiled gently at her as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around Sakura’s arm.
Sakura yawned for the fifth time during her visit and the medical assistant stopped typing on her computer to give her a concerned look.
“Are you feeling fatigued, Haruno-san? We may need to give you some more supplements and possibly a month break from donor duties.”
“Oh, no! I’m just sleepy.” Sakura smiled reassuringly. “I’ve been staying up late now that I’m on vacation.”
“Well, we will know when your blood results come in if we need to make any━”
“Excuse me?” A second medical assistant knocked on the wall of the cubicle. “May I speak to you for a moment?”
Sakura’s medical assistant frowned but excused herself, stepping away from her station. Sakura swung her feet to distract herself from the low whispers from around the corner. Minutes later her medical assistant came back with a packet of documents and a folder.
“Unfortunately Haruno-san it appears that you will need to cease your donor duties effective immediately.” The assistant handed her the documents she brought in. Sakura quickly scanned the paperwork, her lower lip trembling and her heart beating faster with every word. “We can take care of it in house if you would like, but you don’t need to make any decisions now. We will contact the vampire you are assigned to and let him know that you will not be working as a donor until further notice.”
“May I tell him instead?” The question came out so softly that Sakura wasn’t sure the tech had heard her until she reached over and took her hand in her own and gently patted the top of it.
“Although this usually happens with our married donors, it’s not a rare occurrence so we do have back up plans for situations like yours. Vampires know when they sign on for a warm donor that there’s a possibility that their assignment may change so you don’t need to worry about disappointing your vampire.”
The medical assistant reached over to a drawer under her station and pulled out a few pamphlets. She looked over them and handed two of them to Sakura.
“We will make arrangements for Uchiha-san. There’s no need for him to know that you will be stepping down as his donor due to pregnancy.”
