![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Teamwork -- the end scene from chapter 4
I know i haven't written the middle yet, but you don't really need to know what happens before that to enjoy TEH KISSIES. huhuhuhuhu. Just assume that sakura asked to use Sasuke's washing machine and he said yes and she sat down to meditate while she waited. that's all the set up you need. :p
There were two steps to her way of meditating. The first step was obtaining calm into her mind, by looking at the issues of the day objectively, reflecting on their real gravity and possible ways to solve them, and then pushing them away to worry about later.
The second step was envisioning, feeling, her entire body -- relaxing as completely as possible, then concentrating on the sensations she received from one finger after the other -- then her palm, her forearm, her elbow -- traveling from shoulder to shoulder, down one arm, then up again -- then down her spine, exploring her legs the same way -- then up, belly, stomach -- navel. Then sinking past the physical, past the little aches and the weight of her clothes and the way her collar ruffled the little hairs at the back of her neck and everything else, sinking until she could feel the ebb and flow of the vital energy in her body -- following it along, to where it hit a snag, to where it went too fast, too strong, tiring her out and damaging her body -- recalibrating, rebalancing her energies, and all along, gently blowing on the glow in her belly that was the source of her chakra.
There was a spark there, a tiny tiny one that she could almost swear she was imagining, so weak it was. She stroked it in passing, and kept going, smoothing out the wrinkles in her chakra system.
She was aware of the outside world, the voices and the noises out of the window, a clock ticking in a corner, Sasuke putting away the dishes with a faint clinking noise, Naruto walking in and dropping something on the couch.
Sakura let the sound of their voices rock her, providing a familiar background as she sank deeper into her trance. They were bantering as they moved around the small apartment, Naruto's voice boisterous and friendly, Sasuke's voice sarcastic and subtly amused. The exact words escaped her, but it didn't --
"--those panties?"
Well, almost.
"Oi, Sasuke, you didn't tell me you had that sorta kink," Naruto hollered from the laundry room, bemused and amused at once.
Sakura opened her eyes to see Sasuke stalk by to join Naruto. She jumped on her feet and hurried after him, her serenity totally dissipated under the knowledge of what she was going to see.
Naruto, as she saw over Sasuke's shoulder, was standing by the opened machine, half the laundry already hung up -- /what a fucking day for him to decide to be thoughtful/ -- holding her pale blue panties out for all to see.
"They're Sakura's, you idiot!!" Sasuke yelped, tearing them out of Naruto's hands.
"Whoa, any reason why you needed to wash her panties?"
Snarling, Sasuke executed a high kick that sent Naruto flying through the open window, then turned around and froze as he noticed her standing behind him. Blushing both, they avoided each other's eyes as the panties changed hands.
Naruto was climbing back over the windowsill when he saw her, and immediately attempted to protect his head. Sakura had been all ready to hit him, but, seeing him lose his balance, grabbed his collar and pulled him up, helping him through the window inside.
Of course he managed to "accidentally" trip, and stumbled right into her, forcing her to lean back on her hands as her butt bumped into the open washing machine.
"Um. Hi, babe," he attempted, a sheepish grin on his face.
Sakura growled, and would have yelled at him by pure instinct, if he hadn't chosen that moment to lean in and kiss her, managing to make it bold and slightly clumsy at the same time.
He kissed, she reflected, like he did everything else. Enthusiastically, without reserve. She was left out of breath and flushed, staring at him still leaning in with his hands on the machine around her, her lips damp and still feeling the phantom caress of his tongue between them.
"Eh. Hehe. So, um. Am I forgiven?" he asked her, grinning again, a bit more cockily this time.
She whapped him over the head, just because she didn't want him to think that kissing her like that would make her forget to be annoyed -- even though it did. And then she felt bad; hitting him had been okay before, when they were just friends and teammates, but now, she didn't know why, it felt like it should be wrong. /Domestic abuse, anyone?/ But she wasn't beating him for real, he could take it easily, he -- argh. Okay, maybe she should try to stop that, and now she felt too guilty to still be annoyed.
"... I guess you're forgiven," she sighed, "just don't--"
"Fondle your panties when you're not inside?"
"Naruto!!" she growled. Oh, he hadn't just -- grr!
Well, that was a resolution that hadn't lasted long.
"Ow!" Naruto yelped, rubbing his head, and then grinned as he danced out of reach. "Hehe. Or did you just mean, don't wave them under Saaasuke-kun's nose?"
"Naruto, I'm going to kill you!!" she yelled as she chased him down the corridor. He was too quick, though -- she always missed him by barely a few inches. "Sasuke-kun, stop him!!"
Sasuke exited the kitchen, watched them run a few circles around the couch, expressionless, then casually stuck out his foot in Naruto's path. She smiled grimly, expressing her gratefulness, and stalked toward the blond, who was busy ranting at Sasuke.
Sasuke wasn't even listening to him. He was staring at her instead, still expressionless. She paused in her tracks, confused. The black-haired boy arched an eyebrow and gave her hand a pointed look.
She was still holding her panties. She blushed explosively and shoved them in her pocket hastily, mortified.
She saw his feet first, as he stepped toward her, and had to put all her strength of will into looking up at him. He reached for her pocket slowly, pushing a strap inside before zipping it closed, and her eyes still hadn't reached higher than his chin when he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.
It was amazing how differently they kissed, she thought, and then wondered why she was still thinking a hundred miles a minute while Sasuke kissed her. The nerves probably. She hadn't thought so much when Naruto had kissed her earlier, but with Sasuke, she just couldn't stop. His lips weren't as full as Naruto's, and he wasn't as bold and invasive -- she had yet to feel his tongue, but there was something in that soft, cautious touch that was just -- just more... that made her heart jump and made her feel dizzy and fluttery and -- and why was she still comparing them instead of enjoying it anyway?
'... where is the idiot?' she wondered suddenly, and opened her eyes, guilt filling her as she realized how totally she'd stopped caring the second Sasuke had leaned in.
He was watching them, a soft, almost wistful smile on his face. She reached out over Sasuke's shoulder, feeling like she'd excluded him -- and then gave Sasuke an alarmed look as she wondered if he'd felt excluded earlier. He'd been gone when Naruto had ended their kiss, after all.
Naruto took her hand and let her reel him in. Sasuke glanced back at him, expression unreadable again. She leaned against Sasuke hesitantly, not wanting him to think that she considered the both of them interchangeable, and squeezed Naruto's hand; 'I don't want you to leave.' He smiled, a soft, unguarded expression that caught her by surprise, made her tighten her hold on the two of them. Sasuke could make her heart jump anytime just by being himself, but she'd just discovered that under certain circumstances, Naruto could, too.
She rested her head on Sasuke's shoulder hesitantly, not knowing how far she could push before he started feeling invaded. Naruto stepped around him and slipped an arm around her waist, leaning against her side, his cheek against her hair. She wondered if they were looking at each other over her head, or ignoring each other, and wondered with sudden fear if she would always be the focus in their relationship, if everything would always rest on her shoulders. The responsibility scared her.
"Hey..." she started softly, nervously. "Do you guys ever... you know, kiss or anything, when I'm not here?"
She straightened up a little to look at Sasuke -- blinking, caught off guard -- and Naruto, eyebrows up to his forehead protector.
"Uh. No." Naruto gave Sasuke a cautiously curious look. Sasuke scowled and looked away.
"Why?" she asked, more casually than she felt like.
"Well, no. Just hasn't happened. Why d'you ask, wanna watch?" he replied, snickering.
"No! it's not like that. I just ... I was wondering, if you wanted to, that's all. I mean..."
She didn't know how to explain her dilemma without sounding egoistical, or how to tell them that she was scared to end up the prize in another one of their eternal competitions, without insulting them.
"I thought, that is, I assumed, that you... didn't mind each other like that," she mumbled into Sasuke's shoulder.
"I don't," Naruto replied after a little pause. "Sex is sex. Besides Sasuke's pretty."
"I'm not pretty, moron," Sasuke grumbled back, but looked away before answering her. "I... don't mind either."
Sakura had the feeling that where Naruto had honestly meant "I don't mind", Sasuke meant something closer to "I really don't mind."
"Then, um..."
Sasuke squirmed, as if he wanted to pull away from them. Naruto shrugged.
"She wants to see us kiss."
"I don't--!" she protested, blushing.
"Hey, it's only fair. So, bastard?"
"It's not the same," Sasuke grumbled back.
"Ah... sorry," she whispered. "How exactly? I don't want to pry, but I'm -- wondering, and..."
"... It just is," he muttered.
"Oh, what's the matter?" Naruto intervened, but he looked like he knew exactly what Sasuke meant. When the blond leaned closer, he was looking more nervous and embarrassed than he'd ever looked with her.
"You don't have to..."
Her voice trailed off into stunned silence as she watched them kiss. It was awkward and stiff, and they were avoiding each other's eyes -- a feat considering how close they were. She cringed, and was about to push them apart, but they separated before she could.
"That," sneered Sasuke," was pathetic."
Naruto gave a cry of protest, and grabbed his shirt to reel him in, trapping Sakura between them. Their lips mashed together with a force that made her wince. Naruto appeared to be trying to bite Sasuke's sneer off his face; Sasuke was kissing back just as aggressively, his hand closed in a white-knuckled grip on the back of Naruto's neck. She watched, stunned, feeling their bodies tense and push against her, their muscles bulge and stiffen as if they were about to fight again.
"H-hey," she protested weakly, astonished.
They broke apart, lips puffy and bruised, tongues retreating into their respective mouths, and stood there glaring at each other, her still caught between them.
"... I... wonder why I'm so surprised that you kiss like you want to beat each other up instead," she sighed, shaken. "That's the way you do everything else."
Naruto laughed, though it still sounded a bit edgy. "See, that's the difference. It's like -- I'd make love with you, but I'd fuck him."
She stared at him, then at Sasuke who didn't look like he disagreed with that assessment. So they didn't feel -- they didn't ... like each other like that? They were just ... just fuckbuddies then? She didn't know if she should feel relief or worry. In the one hand they weren't about to decide that they were gay and didn't need her, but in the other hand, if she loved them and they loved her but not each other -- but the team bond and the friendship were stronger than that; it didn't matter, did it? She was so confused.
"We're guys, Sakura," Sasuke finally said, frowning a little. "Just because you want cuddling and romance, don't assume we do."
She opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn't find her words.
"Hey, I like cuddling, and I'm manly enough to admit it," Naruto replied, pulling her close and petting her hair possessively as he stuck out his tongue at Sasuke.
Sasuke looked away. "I don't mind... with you, Sakura. With you it's okay. With Naruto, it would bother me. I can't do casual hand-holding or caresses or things like that with him."
Sakura was still confused, but Naruto was nodding in agreement, so she concluded, still befuddled, that it was a macho men thing, and resolved to talk it out with Ino. Maybe she would have a better insight.
"And, uhm, when I'm here? Does it bother you then? I didn't notice..."
"No, not when you're here," Sasuke sighed. "It's fine then. But --" he gave her a stern little frown -- not an angry one, but a 'you better not take it badly, because I'm being serious' one. "But you don't need to drag the second one into it every time." He hesitated, then finished quickly. "It's enough to know that I'd be welcome if I wanted to."
Naruto grinned. "Someone's getting fed up with all that talking about his feeling, I see!"
The blond boy hugged her a last time, kissed her hair, then let her go. Apparently Sasuke wasn't the only one who had humored her long enough. She made a note to keep extending invitations to Naruto, though; she couldn't say that he was as sure of his welcome as Sasuke was and she was a little afraid that he would assume a lack of invitation meant a lack of welcome. Sometimes she would probably want alone time with Sasuke, but she couldn't let Naruto think that it happened more often than it did. It was going to be hard enough to keep things balanced.
One of the issues that will crop up to poison sakura's life is that everyone's sexuality isn't clear-cut -- either gay/straight/bi. And while they're both varying degrees of bi, Sasuke pings the olde gaydar rather badly, compared to Naruto.
That's mostly because Naruto likes girls who work hard to be pretty and cute and whatnot -- Sasuke finds make-up and frilly clothes frivolous, pointless and a total loss of time. He also has a problem with people who could stand on their own but don't do it, and gossip gets on his nerves. Basically he doesn't mind all girls, just girly girls.
Sadly Sakura is a rather girly girl, even though she tries not to be one so much that it interferes with her being a good ninja. Sasuke likes Sakura, and she's grown on him after so long as a team, but the fact is that she doesn't challenge him at all. She's not a threat or a rival, and while it makes her safe to be around and to cuddle and pet and to open up to -- he knows she'd never hurt him -- it also means that he takes notice of her a lot less than he takes notice of Naruto and his "pay attention to me or i'll break your face" attitude.
Besides he can top in bed, but he'd rather fight for dominance, (and lose, so he has a good reason not to be in control all the time. "see? I fought him. I didn't submit. It's not my fault if i'm enjoying being taken care of for once"). and sakura ain't gonna top him without losing a lot of her shyness and uncertainties. It's not going to make him very passionate with her, though it will make him tender since he feels like he has to be careful.
so yeah. for now, sasuke can't have an equal relationship with sakura, what with everything plus the "wahh mother of my children" *protective overload* issue. Makes it hard for them to relate to each other. Meaning that if physically, sakura is the center of the relationship for now, emotionally it's Naruto who keeps them together. That will evolve into a more harmonious relationship with time, but it's not going to happen in a day.
There were two steps to her way of meditating. The first step was obtaining calm into her mind, by looking at the issues of the day objectively, reflecting on their real gravity and possible ways to solve them, and then pushing them away to worry about later.
The second step was envisioning, feeling, her entire body -- relaxing as completely as possible, then concentrating on the sensations she received from one finger after the other -- then her palm, her forearm, her elbow -- traveling from shoulder to shoulder, down one arm, then up again -- then down her spine, exploring her legs the same way -- then up, belly, stomach -- navel. Then sinking past the physical, past the little aches and the weight of her clothes and the way her collar ruffled the little hairs at the back of her neck and everything else, sinking until she could feel the ebb and flow of the vital energy in her body -- following it along, to where it hit a snag, to where it went too fast, too strong, tiring her out and damaging her body -- recalibrating, rebalancing her energies, and all along, gently blowing on the glow in her belly that was the source of her chakra.
There was a spark there, a tiny tiny one that she could almost swear she was imagining, so weak it was. She stroked it in passing, and kept going, smoothing out the wrinkles in her chakra system.
She was aware of the outside world, the voices and the noises out of the window, a clock ticking in a corner, Sasuke putting away the dishes with a faint clinking noise, Naruto walking in and dropping something on the couch.
Sakura let the sound of their voices rock her, providing a familiar background as she sank deeper into her trance. They were bantering as they moved around the small apartment, Naruto's voice boisterous and friendly, Sasuke's voice sarcastic and subtly amused. The exact words escaped her, but it didn't --
"--those panties?"
Well, almost.
"Oi, Sasuke, you didn't tell me you had that sorta kink," Naruto hollered from the laundry room, bemused and amused at once.
Sakura opened her eyes to see Sasuke stalk by to join Naruto. She jumped on her feet and hurried after him, her serenity totally dissipated under the knowledge of what she was going to see.
Naruto, as she saw over Sasuke's shoulder, was standing by the opened machine, half the laundry already hung up -- /what a fucking day for him to decide to be thoughtful/ -- holding her pale blue panties out for all to see.
"They're Sakura's, you idiot!!" Sasuke yelped, tearing them out of Naruto's hands.
"Whoa, any reason why you needed to wash her panties?"
Snarling, Sasuke executed a high kick that sent Naruto flying through the open window, then turned around and froze as he noticed her standing behind him. Blushing both, they avoided each other's eyes as the panties changed hands.
Naruto was climbing back over the windowsill when he saw her, and immediately attempted to protect his head. Sakura had been all ready to hit him, but, seeing him lose his balance, grabbed his collar and pulled him up, helping him through the window inside.
Of course he managed to "accidentally" trip, and stumbled right into her, forcing her to lean back on her hands as her butt bumped into the open washing machine.
"Um. Hi, babe," he attempted, a sheepish grin on his face.
Sakura growled, and would have yelled at him by pure instinct, if he hadn't chosen that moment to lean in and kiss her, managing to make it bold and slightly clumsy at the same time.
He kissed, she reflected, like he did everything else. Enthusiastically, without reserve. She was left out of breath and flushed, staring at him still leaning in with his hands on the machine around her, her lips damp and still feeling the phantom caress of his tongue between them.
"Eh. Hehe. So, um. Am I forgiven?" he asked her, grinning again, a bit more cockily this time.
She whapped him over the head, just because she didn't want him to think that kissing her like that would make her forget to be annoyed -- even though it did. And then she felt bad; hitting him had been okay before, when they were just friends and teammates, but now, she didn't know why, it felt like it should be wrong. /Domestic abuse, anyone?/ But she wasn't beating him for real, he could take it easily, he -- argh. Okay, maybe she should try to stop that, and now she felt too guilty to still be annoyed.
"... I guess you're forgiven," she sighed, "just don't--"
"Fondle your panties when you're not inside?"
"Naruto!!" she growled. Oh, he hadn't just -- grr!
Well, that was a resolution that hadn't lasted long.
"Ow!" Naruto yelped, rubbing his head, and then grinned as he danced out of reach. "Hehe. Or did you just mean, don't wave them under Saaasuke-kun's nose?"
"Naruto, I'm going to kill you!!" she yelled as she chased him down the corridor. He was too quick, though -- she always missed him by barely a few inches. "Sasuke-kun, stop him!!"
Sasuke exited the kitchen, watched them run a few circles around the couch, expressionless, then casually stuck out his foot in Naruto's path. She smiled grimly, expressing her gratefulness, and stalked toward the blond, who was busy ranting at Sasuke.
Sasuke wasn't even listening to him. He was staring at her instead, still expressionless. She paused in her tracks, confused. The black-haired boy arched an eyebrow and gave her hand a pointed look.
She was still holding her panties. She blushed explosively and shoved them in her pocket hastily, mortified.
She saw his feet first, as he stepped toward her, and had to put all her strength of will into looking up at him. He reached for her pocket slowly, pushing a strap inside before zipping it closed, and her eyes still hadn't reached higher than his chin when he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers.
It was amazing how differently they kissed, she thought, and then wondered why she was still thinking a hundred miles a minute while Sasuke kissed her. The nerves probably. She hadn't thought so much when Naruto had kissed her earlier, but with Sasuke, she just couldn't stop. His lips weren't as full as Naruto's, and he wasn't as bold and invasive -- she had yet to feel his tongue, but there was something in that soft, cautious touch that was just -- just more... that made her heart jump and made her feel dizzy and fluttery and -- and why was she still comparing them instead of enjoying it anyway?
'... where is the idiot?' she wondered suddenly, and opened her eyes, guilt filling her as she realized how totally she'd stopped caring the second Sasuke had leaned in.
He was watching them, a soft, almost wistful smile on his face. She reached out over Sasuke's shoulder, feeling like she'd excluded him -- and then gave Sasuke an alarmed look as she wondered if he'd felt excluded earlier. He'd been gone when Naruto had ended their kiss, after all.
Naruto took her hand and let her reel him in. Sasuke glanced back at him, expression unreadable again. She leaned against Sasuke hesitantly, not wanting him to think that she considered the both of them interchangeable, and squeezed Naruto's hand; 'I don't want you to leave.' He smiled, a soft, unguarded expression that caught her by surprise, made her tighten her hold on the two of them. Sasuke could make her heart jump anytime just by being himself, but she'd just discovered that under certain circumstances, Naruto could, too.
She rested her head on Sasuke's shoulder hesitantly, not knowing how far she could push before he started feeling invaded. Naruto stepped around him and slipped an arm around her waist, leaning against her side, his cheek against her hair. She wondered if they were looking at each other over her head, or ignoring each other, and wondered with sudden fear if she would always be the focus in their relationship, if everything would always rest on her shoulders. The responsibility scared her.
"Hey..." she started softly, nervously. "Do you guys ever... you know, kiss or anything, when I'm not here?"
She straightened up a little to look at Sasuke -- blinking, caught off guard -- and Naruto, eyebrows up to his forehead protector.
"Uh. No." Naruto gave Sasuke a cautiously curious look. Sasuke scowled and looked away.
"Why?" she asked, more casually than she felt like.
"Well, no. Just hasn't happened. Why d'you ask, wanna watch?" he replied, snickering.
"No! it's not like that. I just ... I was wondering, if you wanted to, that's all. I mean..."
She didn't know how to explain her dilemma without sounding egoistical, or how to tell them that she was scared to end up the prize in another one of their eternal competitions, without insulting them.
"I thought, that is, I assumed, that you... didn't mind each other like that," she mumbled into Sasuke's shoulder.
"I don't," Naruto replied after a little pause. "Sex is sex. Besides Sasuke's pretty."
"I'm not pretty, moron," Sasuke grumbled back, but looked away before answering her. "I... don't mind either."
Sakura had the feeling that where Naruto had honestly meant "I don't mind", Sasuke meant something closer to "I really don't mind."
"Then, um..."
Sasuke squirmed, as if he wanted to pull away from them. Naruto shrugged.
"She wants to see us kiss."
"I don't--!" she protested, blushing.
"Hey, it's only fair. So, bastard?"
"It's not the same," Sasuke grumbled back.
"Ah... sorry," she whispered. "How exactly? I don't want to pry, but I'm -- wondering, and..."
"... It just is," he muttered.
"Oh, what's the matter?" Naruto intervened, but he looked like he knew exactly what Sasuke meant. When the blond leaned closer, he was looking more nervous and embarrassed than he'd ever looked with her.
"You don't have to..."
Her voice trailed off into stunned silence as she watched them kiss. It was awkward and stiff, and they were avoiding each other's eyes -- a feat considering how close they were. She cringed, and was about to push them apart, but they separated before she could.
"That," sneered Sasuke," was pathetic."
Naruto gave a cry of protest, and grabbed his shirt to reel him in, trapping Sakura between them. Their lips mashed together with a force that made her wince. Naruto appeared to be trying to bite Sasuke's sneer off his face; Sasuke was kissing back just as aggressively, his hand closed in a white-knuckled grip on the back of Naruto's neck. She watched, stunned, feeling their bodies tense and push against her, their muscles bulge and stiffen as if they were about to fight again.
"H-hey," she protested weakly, astonished.
They broke apart, lips puffy and bruised, tongues retreating into their respective mouths, and stood there glaring at each other, her still caught between them.
"... I... wonder why I'm so surprised that you kiss like you want to beat each other up instead," she sighed, shaken. "That's the way you do everything else."
Naruto laughed, though it still sounded a bit edgy. "See, that's the difference. It's like -- I'd make love with you, but I'd fuck him."
She stared at him, then at Sasuke who didn't look like he disagreed with that assessment. So they didn't feel -- they didn't ... like each other like that? They were just ... just fuckbuddies then? She didn't know if she should feel relief or worry. In the one hand they weren't about to decide that they were gay and didn't need her, but in the other hand, if she loved them and they loved her but not each other -- but the team bond and the friendship were stronger than that; it didn't matter, did it? She was so confused.
"We're guys, Sakura," Sasuke finally said, frowning a little. "Just because you want cuddling and romance, don't assume we do."
She opened her mouth to reply, but she couldn't find her words.
"Hey, I like cuddling, and I'm manly enough to admit it," Naruto replied, pulling her close and petting her hair possessively as he stuck out his tongue at Sasuke.
Sasuke looked away. "I don't mind... with you, Sakura. With you it's okay. With Naruto, it would bother me. I can't do casual hand-holding or caresses or things like that with him."
Sakura was still confused, but Naruto was nodding in agreement, so she concluded, still befuddled, that it was a macho men thing, and resolved to talk it out with Ino. Maybe she would have a better insight.
"And, uhm, when I'm here? Does it bother you then? I didn't notice..."
"No, not when you're here," Sasuke sighed. "It's fine then. But --" he gave her a stern little frown -- not an angry one, but a 'you better not take it badly, because I'm being serious' one. "But you don't need to drag the second one into it every time." He hesitated, then finished quickly. "It's enough to know that I'd be welcome if I wanted to."
Naruto grinned. "Someone's getting fed up with all that talking about his feeling, I see!"
The blond boy hugged her a last time, kissed her hair, then let her go. Apparently Sasuke wasn't the only one who had humored her long enough. She made a note to keep extending invitations to Naruto, though; she couldn't say that he was as sure of his welcome as Sasuke was and she was a little afraid that he would assume a lack of invitation meant a lack of welcome. Sometimes she would probably want alone time with Sasuke, but she couldn't let Naruto think that it happened more often than it did. It was going to be hard enough to keep things balanced.
One of the issues that will crop up to poison sakura's life is that everyone's sexuality isn't clear-cut -- either gay/straight/bi. And while they're both varying degrees of bi, Sasuke pings the olde gaydar rather badly, compared to Naruto.
That's mostly because Naruto likes girls who work hard to be pretty and cute and whatnot -- Sasuke finds make-up and frilly clothes frivolous, pointless and a total loss of time. He also has a problem with people who could stand on their own but don't do it, and gossip gets on his nerves. Basically he doesn't mind all girls, just girly girls.
Sadly Sakura is a rather girly girl, even though she tries not to be one so much that it interferes with her being a good ninja. Sasuke likes Sakura, and she's grown on him after so long as a team, but the fact is that she doesn't challenge him at all. She's not a threat or a rival, and while it makes her safe to be around and to cuddle and pet and to open up to -- he knows she'd never hurt him -- it also means that he takes notice of her a lot less than he takes notice of Naruto and his "pay attention to me or i'll break your face" attitude.
Besides he can top in bed, but he'd rather fight for dominance, (and lose, so he has a good reason not to be in control all the time. "see? I fought him. I didn't submit. It's not my fault if i'm enjoying being taken care of for once"). and sakura ain't gonna top him without losing a lot of her shyness and uncertainties. It's not going to make him very passionate with her, though it will make him tender since he feels like he has to be careful.
so yeah. for now, sasuke can't have an equal relationship with sakura, what with everything plus the "wahh mother of my children" *protective overload* issue. Makes it hard for them to relate to each other. Meaning that if physically, sakura is the center of the relationship for now, emotionally it's Naruto who keeps them together. That will evolve into a more harmonious relationship with time, but it's not going to happen in a day.