Eat Me, Drink Me

Part One: Something

The rules were simple. No drugs, no alcohol, no extreme diets. A donor couldn’t be underweight and they had to submit themselves to bi-weekly physicals. Sexually active donors were to be screened for sexually transmitted diseases frequently.

Sakura just wanted to pay for school.

She knew there were negative connotations to being a donor. Selling blood to feed the vampiric citizens of the world was looked down upon by her fellow humans, despite the fact that blood donations were part of the peace treaty between the two species and were supposed to be anonymous.

Sometimes were anonymous.

Being a donor was supposed to be impersonal. A human went to a blood bank, got their blood drawn and they would receive a check from the government every month.

The process was advertised the same way fertility clinics advertised egg donations. The vampires only wanted young and fit donors to keep the blood of a pure quality that was safe for consumption.

Humans provided healthy blood and vampires protected them from those that would slaughter them for their meals, unnecessarily killing a human when there was no need to drink them dry to feed.

In order to supply the vampires with the blood they needed for nourishment, the human government paid citizens as an incentive to keep them donating.

And Sakura really needed the money. Med school wasn’t going to pay for itself.

It was tough to juggle school work and a job. And although donating paid well it wasn’t lucrative enough on its own.

At least not when she was a cold donor.

For a price, vampires could get their blood fresh, straight from the source. It was the preferred way to feed but not all vampires could afford it. Before the treaty they took it as they wanted it, but without knowing the source well they left themselves vulnerable to disease.

Vampires were stronger and they lived longer, but they weren’t invincible.

---

Eight o’clock on the dot there was a knock at her door. He was always punctual.

Turning down the corner of the page she was on, Sakura set her book down and gave herself one more once over in the hallway mirror.

Her guest could have entered anytime he wanted. Not only was he too strong for the lock to keep him out but Sakura had given him a key to her apartment already.

“Is it because I have to invite you in?”

“It’s because my mother raised me better than that and she would skin me alive if she knew I was coming and going as I pleased from a woman’s home.”

Sakura was learning that a lot of the myths she grew up with about vampires were false, stories made up by humans to give them a false sense of security.

“You’ve been staying up late again,” was the greeting she received. Sasuke pushed past her with two bags of groceries in hand.

First myth debunked: vampires needed an invitation to enter a home.

“What gave that away?” Sakura retorted sarcastically. She knew she had bags under her eyes from late night cramming. “I just finished exam week.”

“Which means you haven’t been eating properly of course,” Sasuke muttered, pulling out packaged meat and vegetables. A head of garlic rolled on the counter and Sasuke stopped it before it could roll onto the floor.

Second myth debunked: vampires were weak against garlic.

Instead of taking out garlic from Sakura’s diet, Sasuke had added more of it. Garlic apparently had properties that helped her maintain healthy blood circulation and reduced levels of LDL cholesterol.

The pungent odor was irritating but of course it would be considering vampires had a heightened sense of smell. But that’s all it was, just a small annoyance.

“What are we making tonight?”

“Stir-fry.”

Her favorite nights of the week were when Sasuke came over. They would cook meals and chat━her more than him━and it would feel a little like what having a boyfriend was like.

It felt even more so like that when they made their way to her lumpy couch and Sasuke trailed his fingers under her shirt and up her back.

“Sakura…” Sasuke breathed against her sternum. His fingers trailed back down her back, smoothing over her waist before settling on her hips.

She chanted his name as she rode him, his hands on her hips guiding her movements hidden under her skirt. Sakura pressed her body closer━wanting more, aching for more.

Sakura was just reaching her peak when a sharp pain stung at her neck.

Right. That’s what he’s here for…

Sasuke lapped lazily at her neck in tandem with his final thrusts as he came down from his own release.

“Enjoy yourself?” Sakura muttered as she watched Sasuke lick his lips, savoring every drop of blood.

Sasuke kissed her instead of humoring her with a response. His tongue rolled against hers and there was a coppery after taste.

“You should brush your teeth after eating.”

Sasuke only laughed through his nose and kissed her again.

---

“Fangbanger.”

Sakura dropped her hands from her task of tying her hair up and glared at the other occupants of the gym locker room. The other women whispered to each other in the corner of the locker room, an occasional snicker coming from one of them.

Ignoring them, Sakura stuffed her bag into her locker and tied her hair up as she walked past them, not caring if her bite mark showed.

Not all warm donors had the kind of relationship she had with Sasuke. Most vampires met their donors at the blood bank and had their meal. Most donors weren’t as exclusive but she and Sasuke were one of the exceptions.

.
.

“So you’re like…a cop?” Sakura eyed the uniform Uchiha Sasuke wore to their interview.

“That would be the equivalence, yes.”

Sasuke shifted in his seat. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the action not sure what to make of it.

Why would a vampire be nervous of a human?

“How old are you?”

“Not a very original question,” Sasuke scoffed. He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Twenty-three. We’re not all ancient. The oldest vampire I know is my great-great uncle Madara.”

“Oh. We’re almost the same age…” Sakura expected him to be much older than her, not only by a year.

“So you’re a student?”

“Yes. I’m studying to be a doctor.”

Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She expected a question about the color but it must have been obvious that it was natural. Donors weren’t allowed to bleach their hair.

“It’s weird trying to get to know each other like this, huh Uchiha-san?” Sakura wrung her hands in her lap. “The technicians are sitting fifteen feet away from us and it’s just kind of unnatural. I guess it’s like if I went and talked to the pig that would eventually be part of my katsudon.”

Sasuke frowned, the corners of his mouth pulling down and a wrinkle forming between his perfect eyebrows.

“My mother said to treat this as an omiai.”

One of the technicians cleared their throat and Sasuke threw a glare in their direction.

“Oh.”

“Ignore the fact that I’m a vampire.”

A very hard task when there wasn’t a human alive she knew that looked anywhere near as beautiful as the man in front of her. He was more beautiful than most vampires she had seen in passing as well.

“We are learning about each over tea, seeing if our ideals match up, and figuring out if we want to enter a commitment with one another.”

Yeah, sure. Sakura wanted to roll her eyes but held back. And we ignore the fact that you’re paying to snack on me.

But he was her age and beautiful and when he did speak he was smart and funny, although what he usually found humorous was to tease her.

“Because of my work hours it would be more suitable for me to make house calls instead of coming in at the allotted appointment times the facility schedules. Would that be an issue?”

“That would actually work better than having to swing by the blood bank.”

Sakura was relieved. The blood bank was out of the way and even though they reimbursed her for the travel expenses she was usually cutting it close when it came to her class schedule or would have to take an entire day to be two cities over.

“Then it seems our preferences match.”

Sasuke smiled at her, just wide enough for her to catch an elongated canine.

“What’s your blood type?”

.
.

After that meeting they set up a schedule for when Sasuke would meet with her for his feedings.

Sasuke would typically come early evening before his shifts but sometimes he would text her or call her to let her know he wouldn’t be coming around until late.

But on the evenings he came early he would bring groceries or hot meals.

“If vampires don’t need to eat why do you know how to cook?”

“Food is enjoyable but it doesn’t fill us or keep us healthy the way it does for humans. It’s sort of like what candy or coffee are to humans. You don’t need it but it’s something you enjoy.”

A knock on the door at nine o’clock had Sakura shuffling to her front door. It wasn’t until she opened the door did she realize that she hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

“Of course.” Sasuke looked down at her impassively.

“I have been studying for the MCAT.”

Sakura squeaked when Sasuke pressed his nose to her throat. His breath was hot but it caused a shiver to run down her spine.

“You’re becoming iron deficient,” Sasuke scolded her as he pulled away. “How many meals have you been skipping?”

“I get busy and I forget,” she mumbled, following Sasuke into the kitchen.

She cringed when he opened her fridge and turned to glare at her. He gestured to the nearly empty fridge and silently demanded an explanation.

“I’ve been really busy.”

“You’re going to collapse one of these days.”

Sasuke packed her fridge up with groceries and pulled out what he needed to prepare a pasta dish. Sakura never brought it up but Sasuke seemed to have a preference for western dishes made with tomatoes.

“How’s work?” Sakura asked. She sat on the counter swinging her feet as she watched Sasuke bustle around her kitchen. “Same old, same old?”

Sasuke nodded as he offered her a plate of food.

“I hate paperwork.”

“It can’t always be chasing down out of line vampires,” she giggled before stuffing her mouth with spaghetti.

Their evenings were quiet but Sakura enjoyed the company. Especially when he kissed her gently, just the two of them in her kitchen.

“Sasuke-kun?” Sakura questioned as Sasuke pulled away from her.

“My break is almost over. I have to head back.”

It wasn’t the first time he left without feeding. And just like the other times Sakura was confused about where they stood.

---

He didn’t sleep over often but there were times he came over really late and crawled into bed next to her. Sakura would wake up, curled against another body, and smile fondly at the sleeping face of the vampire next to her.

Her bed was too small for two but it didn’t stop Sasuke from slipping under her covers and entangling his limbs with hers.

We’re strange aren’t we?

Sakura couldn’t put an exact name to it, but their relationship while odd was something.

Not just vampire and donor. Not just friends.

But something. Right?

---

Sakura stared at the bottle the technician slid across the counter to her.

She was waiting for the results of her monthly pregnancy test, something donors with the capability had to submit to if they were sexually active. Although she was on birth control they had to make sure.

Humans couldn’t be donors if they were pregnant.

“Why do I need to take supplements?”

“Because although you are in perfect health, the vampire assigned to you has still been collecting cold donations.”

The technician flipped through the file in her hand and nodded to herself.

“Uchiha-san seems to not be getting all of the nourishment he needs from his warm donor—you, Haruno-san—which is unsettling. If the supplements do not help then there may need to be a change in assignment.”

A different technician approached them and handed a slip to the technician handling her physical.

“Results are negative. You are clear to continue your donor duties. We’ll see you at your next appointment.”

Sakura nodded and collected her appointment reminder and her supplements.

---

Her thighs were his favorite place to bite. Usually.

Sakura’s brows drew down in confusion as she tried to catch her breath. Instead of the usual nips that followed, Sasuke dragged his lips up her torso, pressing kisses on her stomach.

“Sakura,” he panted, voice breathy against her ear as he thrust inside of her.

Vampire. Donor. What did it matter when it was just them, connected, and he touched her the way he did? Said her name the way he did?

We’re something, right?

Sasuke kissed her as he came, moaning into her mouth. Sakura cupped his face in her hands and held him to her, wanting to be closer, not wanting to let go.

---

It wasn’t until rays of sunlight broke through the crack of her shutters and she woke to the steady breaths at the nape of her neck that she realized that he hadn’t bitten her at all the night before.

Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t just about that.

Part Two: Everything

He wasn’t supposed to kiss her. That was where he first fucked up.

When his father first sent him to get a warm donor to decrease the amount he needed to drink, Sasuke assumed he would meet with a plain housewife that doubled as a donor to help provide more to her family’s income. Maybe even a NEET that needed to show his parents he was doing something.

He even expected a fangbanger, a person that offered themselves as a warm donor because they fetishized vampires.

The photograph he had received was of a pretty girl in her twenties. A photograph that did no justice for the live person he met with at the blood bank. As colorful as she appeared in an image she was much more vibrant when she spoke and moved.

He wasn’t supposed to kiss her but weeks of knowing Sakura, added with the blush that bloomed on the apples of her cheeks when she was frustrated with his teasing led to the moment.

If Sakura didn’t hum, so content when he continued to press kisses to her mouth. If Sakura didn’t sigh, so pleased, when he dragged those kisses down her jaw, down her pale, slender neck.

If. If. If.

Thinking of “Ifs” couldn’t help Sasuke. It was too late for all of that and if he were honest with himself, he didn’t have a single regret.

---

Sasuke got lucky with Sakura. He could text her or call her and tell her any available time he had and she would be ready for him.

Often he would find himself in her bed during daylight hours. If he forgot to bring his sunglasses and hat he would be trapped the whole day in Sakura’s apartment.

If he was lucky he was trapped on a day that Sakura was free.

She would get up from bed to eat and do her chores but when she was done she would grab her school work and crawl back into bed. Sakura would sit up and study while Sasuke snuggled against her hip, one of his arms thrown across her lap.

“You should be sleeping,” Sakura would comment, not looking up from her laptop. She would mindlessly stroke his hair, giving him affection without putting any thought to it.

“You should take a break,” he countered. “I’m already naked. You should take advantage of that.”

Such a curious creature. Sakura had already seen him naked on countless occasions but she never failed to get flustered.

Her cheeks would flush and he could track the spread of the heat from her face down her neck and further past her shirt. Sasuke could smell the heated blood, hear the thumping of her heart and the rushing of her blood.

“Your eyes are doing that thing again. So red,” Sakura’s voice wavered as Sasuke pulled her laptop away from her and set it down on the floor. “If you’re hungry you can just say so. You didn’t eat last night.”

“If I was hungry, I would say I was.”

Sasuke loomed over her, dragging his fingers up her torso, lifting her shirt with the movement. He drummed his fingers along her ribcage.

If he wanted to, he could apply enough pressure to crack them. It wouldn’t take any effort on his part, just a press of his thumb and the bone would snap, puncturing a lung and causing it to collapse.

“Sasuke-kun…”

Her voice was always breathy when he brushed his fingers under the swell of her breast and rubbed his thumb up the line of her throat just under her jaw.

A press of his thumb and he could crush her windpipe.

But instead he stroked along her jaw and enjoyed the way her eyes became hooded as he touched her. There was so much trust in those eyes, never a worry about how dangerous a position she was in. So much adoration in them right before she took his hand in hers and turned her face to press a kiss to the inside of his wrist.

Is that all for me? Really?

Sasuke wasn’t sure what he did to deserve that look in her eyes. That look of pure happiness whenever she opened the door and he was on the other side. That look that made him forget.

Forget that the delicate woman lying underneath him would age and want more and drift away from him.

Forget that he wasn’t allowed to get attached.

---

“You should drink more.”

Sasuke watched as his older brother brushed off his mother’s hand as she reached to stroke his face.

“Izumi-chan, would you mind? After your meal of course.”

Itachi had always been sickly and needed more than just the blood of a cold donor. Blood provided by the dhampire of his two spouses improved his condition but drinking and feeling the person as he fed had always disturbed Itachi.

Due to his disgust with himself, he never drank enough.

“Damn pacifist,” their great-great uncle Madara had spat in disgust. “Pitiful.”

Their mother wouldn’t allow their father to invite Madara for their more intimate family dinners after that.

“I drink enough.”

“We usually have to, uh, distract him,” Shisui teased, tossing back his own goblet of blood. “Not that it always works but we give it our best shot.”

There was a thumping sound and he choked on his gulp. From the look Izumi was giving him it was clear that she had kicked him under the table.

“Must you be so crass in front of your in-laws?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You implied it.”

“May I be excused?”

The bickering ceased as everyone turned their attention to the youngest member of the family. Sasuke kept his eyes on his father—ignoring everyone else—who simply nodded before turning his attention back to the warm bowl in front of him.

Sasuke didn’t usually mind when his family gathered every week for dinner. But for the past few weeks there was an irritation building up whenever he sat across from his brother.

Here he was struggling with resisting drinking and his brother as always did so with ease despite the fact that he was being encouraged to drink from his wife.

“That’s a nasty habit.”

Sasuke crushed his cigarette under his foot, kicking it off the engawa and into his mother’s garden.

“She’s going to find that,” his brother warned him.

“I’ll blame Shisui.”

“This isn’t like you.”

“I always blame Shisui for things.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Sasuke sighed and took a seat on the ledge of the engawa.

“How long is this lecture going to take?”

“This is exactly what I mean.” Itachi took a seat, giving Sasuke his space. “You’re really snappy lately and you don’t really care about anything. What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing.” Sasuke cringed at how quick he was to respond, proving that he was being as snappish as his brother said he was being.

It wasn’t his family’s fault that he was feeling the way he was. None of them were to blame for his predicament.

It wasn’t their fault that they were happy while he wasn’t.

---

Sasuke chose to ignore his phone ringing in his pocket for the third time when he heard her clear her throat.

Sakura nodded toward the bottle on the counter and then looked up at him. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, drawing inward on herself. The gesture made her look even smaller than she already was.

“Is there something wrong with me?”

“Nothing’s wrong with you.”

“Then why are they giving me supplements? They said you’ve been collecting cold donations.”

Oh. The cold donations.

In an effort to curb his appetite, Sasuke had been making sure to fill up before he met with Sakura. He was testing a theory that if he were too full before sex that he wouldn’t be driven by instinct to feed. He didn’t need to feed more than three times a week but he wanted to see Sakura a lot more often.

The  problem was that his triggers for hunger were the same things that aroused him when it came to Sakura.

And how was he supposed to explain that to her?

Trying to think of an answer that would suffice was difficult enough without his phone ringing continuously. He pulled it out of his pocket and peeked at the Caller ID. “Uzumaki K.” flashed on his screen and he stared at it.

There was a chance it was work related but there was an even higher chance that it wasn’t.

“I have to take this,” Sasuke told her reluctantly sliding his finger across the screen to answer.

“First let me just say,” a haughty feminine voice broke through without greeting, “Suigetsu did it.”

So it wasn’t work related. Sasuke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“But it was your fault it happened,” Karin continued. “You haven’t been answering your phone for days and no one knows where you go apart from work and it’s not like you have a life.”

“What did you idiots do?” Sasuke hissed. From his peripheral, Sakura’s eyes widened in shock and her guarded pose dropped a bit of its tension.

“Let me reiterate that it was Suigetsu,” an angry shout came muffled through the speaker. “He may have broken the door to your apartment.”

“You’re fucking kidding,” Sasuke growled. “My door? Really?”

“You really think I would want to tell you that we broke something of yours?”

Sasuke sighed and rubbed his forehead. As snarky as she could get, Karin wasn’t stupid enough to get on his bad side.

But she wasn’t above annoying him and letting Suigetsu take the fall.

“You’re a tracker. You could have found me at any moment if you wanted.”

“You were the one that said to stop chasing you down. Not my fault your messy ass can’t answer a cell phone that’s literally always in your pocket.”

“Didn’t realize you were so clingy. I don’t get how Konan puts up with you. You would think she would be tired of babysitting.”

“Leave her out of this!”

Sasuke smirked as Karin ranted about leaving her girlfriend out of their conversations. If anything was her weak spot that was it. She always got touchy when it was brought up how much younger she was than Konan. It wasn’t the largest gap for a vampire couple but it was still a sore spot for her.

“Sasuke-kun?” Sakura brought his attention back to her and the conversation they had been having.

“Wait? Are you with a woman? You date?! Why didn’t you say anything? Sasuke? Sasuke!”

Sasuke hung up and put his phone on vibrate before he stuffed it back in his pocket. He barely removed his hand before his phone started vibrating. Karin wasn’t going to let it go.

“It was a coworker.” That didn’t sound right at all. “A friend. She and another friend were curious about my whereabouts.”

“You could have told them. I wouldn’t have minded.”

“It’s none of their business.”

The response came out too quickly and it sounded awkward to Sasuke’s own ears.

“Sakura—“

“It’s okay.” Sakura sighed and played with the supplement bottle on the counter, refusing to look at him. “You should go take care of whatever they needed to call you about.”

I should be taking care of this.

“I have stuff to take care of for school anyway. So if you’re here for blood you should just get that over with.”

Sasuke gripped her shoulder and leaned down, tracing the side of her throat with his nose. His lips brushed against her skin and she flinched under his touch.

Biting her wasn’t his intention. He kissed the junction of her neck and shoulder, trailing more kisses up her throat right under her jaw.

I don’t want blood. I want everything.

Perhaps if he had said his thoughts out loud Sakura wouldn’t have pushed against his chest and turned him around so he faced her apartment door.

He sighed and grabbed his coat off of the kitchen island when he heard the bedroom door shut with a click.

.
.

It wasn’t the first time Sasuke had been kicked out of Sakura’s apartment. Although the first time it had happened he had been kicked out for something he found far more pleasant.

As much as she had enjoyed her orgasm, Sakura didn’t enjoy finding out the source of blood that caused the smear on Sasuke’s chin.

“It’s still blood and orgasms help with cramping.”

“Get out! Out of my apartment!”

Due to her embarrassment she had pushed him out of her apartment, with his shoes in hand and his pants riding low on his hips. He was stuck outside half dressed until she opened her door again and let him back inside so he could gather the rest of his clothing.

They had sat down and discussed boundaries and that just because her period came early, it didn’t mean he could snack away as he pleased. The days of her period were usually the days he never visited because Sakura arranged their schedule around them and she preferred it that way.

She was supposed to refrain from doing her donor duties while menstruating but Sasuke saw no reason for her not to offer a different way for him to consume blood. Especially if he was more than willing to help her deal with the pesky, painful symptoms of her menstrual cycle.

“It’s not all liquid how can you consume that?!”

“How do you drink boba tea?”

“That’s not the same!”

They had argued but there was a shift in their relationship that day. Something more open about them came about because of the incident. As physically intimate as they were there was something that kept them both so closed off from each other.

“If you want you can stay,” Sakura had mumbled, averting her gaze, “I know I’m on the rag and you can’t drink from a menstruating donor for their health and safety but you don’t have to leave…”

How was it that they could be naked in front of each other but still uncomfortable with leaving their feelings bare for the other to see?

Sasuke knew Sakura wanted more than just his visits. Wanted more than just his touch. It was in the way she looked at him, eyes full of yearning even when they lay side by side waiting for their breathing to slow down. She clung to him in her sleep the same way he clung to her when they were awake.

Their words danced around in an awkward shuffle, refusing to be the one that changed their dynamic.

Although Sasuke wanted Sakura to make the first move, to voice what she wanted from him, he knew it was unfair.

She had more to lose than he did. He could walk away from her, ask for another donor if he felt uncomfortable. Sakura would be hurt and terminated as a donor. He needed her blood and she needed the money.

What they needed not what they wanted because Sasuke was sure that what they had wasn’t out of convenience. Everything could change if one of them would just take the plunge and say it out loud.

I want you.

---

Sakura would love to meet Karin.

That was all that went through Sasuke’s mind as he watched the redhead socialize and introduce her lover to their coworkers. No one would ever doubt that Karin was a vampire. Karin dressed and carried herself in the exact way Sakura had once assumed all vampires did. Clad in leather and revealing just enough skin to be just short of scandalous, Karin and Konan made a vision of seductresses of the night.

Sakura would probably go nuts over my formal uniform.

Sasuke clutched at the fabric of his cape. Darker than the police uniform, the vampiric military force had a flare for the dramatic. The formal uniforms were for aesthetic purposes not for practical use.

He could almost hear Sakura’s cheerful voice mocking him.

“So you do own a cape!”

Sasuke hid a smile behind his goblet. He had been avoiding socializing as much as he could but someone was sure to ask if they noticed even the slightest tick of his facial muscles.

Sakura could usually tell what he was thinking just from the slightest shift.

.
.

“You’re laughing at me!” Sakura pouted, pulling her phone to her chest and shielding it with her hand.

“I’m not even smiling how am I laughing at you?” Sasuke scoffed but turned his mouth into the back of his hand to hide his face just in case he broke through his facade. He had been busy chopping vegetables which was probably why Sakura thought she could sneak up on him.

There was a chance she would be unhappy to know that he was aware of her creeping around him the whole time.

“I just wanted one picture,” Sakura pleaded. “You said it was a myth that vampires don’t show up in photographs. Looks like I have proof now that you were telling the truth.”

“I think what I said was that my great-great uncle Madara was the only one that didn’t show up in photographs. Something about cameras stealing your soul.”

“You’re kidding.”

“No I’m serious. We really do have souls.”

“Not that part!”

Sakura burst into a peal of laughter and there was no more hiding his forming smile.

“He avoids mirrors too. It’s why his hair always looks a mess. The older generation has an aversion for a lot of things because of superstitions and that’s probably what led to all of the vampire myths.”

Sakura laughed harder and the sound caused a fluttering sensation to fill his stomach. It was doing that a lot lately.

Taking his mother’s lead about treating the process like an omiai, Sasuke spent more time with Sakura than necessary. There was no awkwardness about how he would sink his fangs into her slender neck.

The only awkwardness came from how he wanted to drag his lips lower down the line of her throat and suck on something other than her blood.

Her company was enjoyable and she was pretty and his mother really messed him up with her comment.

Treating her like a person and not like his food made Sakura more comfortable with him touching her, putting his mouth on her, but it also made Sasuke more comfortable in her presence.

She wasn’t just something he had scheduled during the week. She was someone he looked forward to seeing. This was more than just blood.

And that was terrifying.

“A candid photo and you still look good,” Sakura grumbled as she looked at her phone’s screen. Her voice was low but Sasuke caught her words easily with his superior hearing.

His tracker hearing.

Hunter hearing.

Hearing of a predator.

“What was that?” He asked her, leaning over so that they were at eye level with each other. “Didn’t catch that.”

“It was nothing.”

Sakura’s face bloomed a pretty blush that dusted the apples of her cheeks.

“I could have sworn you said something,” he continued to bug her, watching the heated color intensify to a deep red.

A pretty, pretty red of blood rushing to her face.

“Something about my good looks, maybe?”

Sakura glared at him, and the blush spread down her neck.

“Yeah I said that. It’s not like you aren’t aware of how good looking you are!” Sakura retorted hotly. Her heart was pumping fast beats that drummed in Sasuke’s ears.

“True.”

He slid his hands on the countertop, trapping her within his arms. She gulped and it was humorously audible now that Sasuke was focused on every little thing Sakura was doing.

Focused on the way her eyes shifted from his mouth to the side and back. On the way her chest was rapidly rising and falling. On the sound of her staggered breathing.

All signs her blood was rushing, swirling around and perfect for the taking.

So Sasuke took what he wanted.

Sakura’s breath hitched against his mouth, soft lips trembling as they parted from the pressure of Sasuke’s kiss. Sasuke sucked her lower lip into his mouth as he cradled her closer to his body. Slipping his tongue inside her mouth, he coaxed a content sigh of hers to roll against his tongue.

Not enough. Sasuke moaned softly as Sakura’s fingers brushed the points of his ears to grip his hair.

“Your ears…?” Sakura pulled back slightly, a wrinkle forming between her eyebrows. “They’re—“

“Yeah, they’re pointed, don’t worry about them,” Sasuke huffed, frustrated that she had stopped moving her lips against his.

My neck hurts, he griped inwardly.

He gripped her hips and lifted her up so she was seated on her island. Sakura squeaked and dragged her hands down from his hair and cupped his neck.

“You’re too short,” Sasuke explained. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and opened her mouth to retort but Sasuke didn’t give her the chance.

He pulled her closer to the edge of the counter and stood between her legs. He drummed his fingers on her thighs and slid them up before taking hold of her waist.

Sakura moaned against his mouth as he rocked against her. The more he rubbed himself against her and she scratched lightly at his back through his open flannel and t-shirt the harder he got. She dragged her nails down and with some fumbling she slid her hands under the hem and raked her nails up his torso.

Sasuke was tugging on the waistband of her shorts when Sakura stilled in his hold. She pulled away from him and wrapped her hand around his wrist. She didn’t have the strength to push him away━she was only human of course━but that one movement froze him in place.

“I,” Sakura licked her lips, “don’t have any condoms here. I never have them.”

Sasuke sighed and dropped his forehead on hers. He hadn’t meant to take it as far as they did but he couldn’t deny being hopeful as he stood there with a throbbing ache in between his legs.

“Next time…I’ll bring some, hm?”

“Okay.” Sakura nodded, cheeks flushed and clothes rumpled. “That…that sounds good.”

“You know,” Sasuke smoothed his palms flat on her thighs, “there’s a lot we can still do.”

“You’re laughing at me again,” Sakura grumbled but she slid her hands up his torso and looped her arms around his neck. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re just going to keep teasing me from now on?”

.
.

“Are you really hiding in the shadows at a vampire function?”

Sasuke peered through his peripheral at the person disrupting his moment of recollection. Karin sidled up next to him against the wall. Besides being an excellent tracker she was able to mask her presence the best. Not the muscle of their department but without her finding rogue vampires would be difficult.

But her habit of sneaking up on people was irritating to no end.

“You’re so creepy even by vampire standards.” Karin exaggerated a shiver and fished a cherry out of her drink. “You’ve got enough gloom for the whole ball.”

“What do you want Karin?”

“You don’t smell like you usually do.” Karin side eyed him, smile toothy and flashing her fangs. “Cleaned up the reek of human I see.”

Sasuke loomed over her small form. Even slimmer, more lithe than Sakura, and yet his overwhelming height didn’t faze her. Karin just scoffed and took a prim sip of her fruity drink.

“You’re bringing down the party.” Karin adjusted the clasp holding his cloak together. “Just go home. Or wherever it is you would rather be.”

Sasuke glanced over at the rest of the ball room. Everyone was still in the midst of the military force’s festivities.

“No one is going to miss your antisocial ass.” Karin pushed on his shoulder and then waved him away with shooing motions of her hand. “Now go before anyone notices I’m gone because I had to check on your morose self.”

Karin adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose and gave him one of her looks that was a cross between disappointment and haughtiness that she had perfected over the years. Usually it was given to Suigetsu but occasionally Sasuke was on the receiving end. It never really affected him until now.

If there was every a time he deserved that look, it was in this moment.

“You’re less depressing to hang around when you stink of human.”

Karin didn’t wait to see what decision he made. She chose to find Konan and link her arm with hers, happily escorting her around the ballroom to be introduced to any of Karin’s coworkers and friends. She beamed at her taller girlfriend and was openly affectionate whenever she got the chance.

She was content and nothing else mattered.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned to leave the ballroom. The ball was getting duller by the second and there was somewhere much more appealing to be.

---

It was two in the morning and he hadn’t called ahead but Sasuke had no qualms over his late night appearance at Sakura’s apartment.

A normal human would have been sleeping or trying to sleep.

Not Sakura. Sakura would be up late and studying. Sasuke knew enough about her habits to know she wouldn’t be sleeping like she should have been.

And sure enough when she opened the door she was in a pair of shorts and camisole to sleep in but was wearing her reading glasses, a sign that she had been in the middle of working on an assignment or reading a medical journal.

“I wasn’t expecting you.”

Sakura slipped her glasses off and folded up the frames. She shifted on the balls of her feet and she hid her hands behind her back.

“I didn’t plan to come.”

Sakura jutted out her lower lip and narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. He knew it was out of character for him to come over on a whim.

On his way over to Sakura’s apartment he kept arguing with himself, going back and forth on what he should do.

His mind kept telling him to go home, to forget his urges and stay in control, but his body as if moving on its own had him finding himself at her door and his fist raised, ready to knock.

Sakura took note of his cape and there was a glimmer in her eye. The muscles on her face twitched but remained as impassive as she could muster.

But her eyes always gave her away. Despite herself they had gleamed the way they always did when she opened her door and he was standing outside of it.

She stepped aside and let him into her apartment.

“Before you ask, no I didn’t come for━”

He didn’t get a chance to finish when Sakura pulled him by the flaps of his cloak and stood on her toes, pressing her mouth against his. Without hesitation he molded his lips over hers and slid his arms around her torso, pulling her closer. Sasuke held her tight and prayed she wouldn’t pull away.

Sasuke backed her away from the entry way and into the kitchen area. He wasn’t patient enough to get her to even the couch of the section that made up the living room let alone her bedroom. He lifted her up on top of the island that divided the kitchen and the living room, sucking her lower lip into his mouth.

“I missed you,” Sakura moaned when he released her lip in favor of pressing hot open mouthed kisses along her jaw and down her throat.

It had only been a week but Sasuke was used to seeing Sakura almost everyday with his habit of sleeping over and spending whole days in her apartment. He had only ever gone one day away from her at a time after they had first became physically involved.

So he missed her too.

He missed listening to her stories about her professors and classmates. Missed berating her about her eating and sleep habits. Missed how she would always be so cold and still only wear shorts and a camisole in her apartment choosing instead to bundle up with a blanket.

Sasuke also missed the way they moved together.

He missed the way she breathed. Missed the way her thighs trembled when he glided his hands on them, stroking them. Missed the way his name got caught in her throat.

Sasuke tugged at her shorts, roughly pulling them down. He missed being inside her as well and he knew they would both be happier if she had far less clothing. Sakura yanked off her cami and tossed it aside without a care for where it had gone and Sasuke moved his kisses further down her chest, wrapping his lips around a hardened nipple.

He could feel her fingers fumbling at the clasp of his cloak and he brushed her fingers away. She protested but then squealed when he picked her back up and moved her to the couch. He went for the clasp himself and Sakura busied herself with unbuckling his belt.

“Now. Please,” Sakura pleaded as she unbuttoned his suit jacket. He shimmied out of it as Sakura assisted him in undressing by untucking his dress shirt. She attempted to undo the buttons but her fumbling fingers kept slipping.

“Forget the damn buttons!” Sasuke hissed. He licked his fingers and rubbed them over the tip of his cock before taking himself in hand and guiding himself into Sakura’s tight, wet heat. “Ffuuck…”

Sakura moaned her approval and grinded her hips down, moving without him, not caring to adjust to his intrusion. She squeezed her breasts in both of her hands and bit down on her lower lip.

Fuck…

Sasuke pulled her legs over his lap and gripped her hips as he drilled into her, thrusting deeply causing her to gasp out in staccato beats.

His thrusting got sloppier as he moved his focus on kissing her deeply. Sakura whined in frustration and Sasuke felt the vibrations roll against his tongue.

Sakura rolled them so that Sasuke landed on the ground with a groan.

“You okay?” She asked as she straddled his lap, knees at the sides of his hips. He growled at her but gripped her hips tightly. “Good.”

She sank back down on his length and using her hands on his chest as an anchor she bounced up and down on his lap, throwing her head back as Sasuke matched her bouncing with upwards thrusts. He slid his thumb over her clit and rubbed in circles at the same pace Sakura was setting.

“Shit!” He could feel himself slipping over the edge as the muscles of Sakura’s core fluttered around his cock. Sasuke pumped upwards hard, holding Sakura down, no longer letting her move.

Sakura came, crying out as she collapsed against his chest. Sasuke followed after her still holding onto her hips. He gripped tightly and spilled inside of her, finishing with slow lazy thrusts.

They laid there on the ground chest to chest waiting for their breathing to slow down.

“Yeah, so I missed you too.”

Sakura snorted, pressing her face into the crook of his neck. Sasuke felt her sigh, warm breath puffing out onto his flesh.

He listened to her heart slow down it’s beating until she drifted off to sleep.

---

Sasuke blinked and stretched out his limbs. He huffed out a breath and turned his head to the empty gap Sakura usually took up in bed. He sat up and scanned the bedroom floor for his boxer briefs. Sasuke had finally removed all of his clothing after carrying Sakura to bed.

Everything was rumpled but luckily he had some clothing in the bottom of Sakura’s closet and he could always borrow her iron.

No idea how I’m going to explain some of those stains to the cleaners…

Not bothering with anything but his underwear he rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand. Heading out to Sakura’s kitchen he paused outside of the bedroom door at the sight of Sakura sitting on her living room floor in nothing but his cape.

“Um, I…”

Her face flushed red and she wrapped the oversized cloak around her small form. Sasuke exhaled through his nose and

“It’s a good look for you,” he teased her and took a seat on the couch.

Sakura buried her glowing red face into the flaps of his cloak. It was a really good look for her. Sasuke could look at her face forever and never get bored. It was a while before she poked her head back out from his cape.

“You didn’t drink last night.”

“I didn’t come here for blood.”

Sakura cocked her head and her brows furrowed in confusion.

“I don’t come here just for blood. Your blood isn’t what I want when I come over.”

Sakura inhaled sharply and kept her gaze steady on him. Eyes that always glimmered with everything she felt for him. Everything he wanted to keep glimmering for him. Always for him.

Because she━she was everything.