Notes: This is the beginning of my contribution to sasusaku month 2014. Hopefully this year will be great and a lot of great stuff will be produced!

Wiping the sweat from his forehead before it could trickle into his eye, Sasuke eyed the long staircase in front of him, a frown deeply etched into his face. Readjusting the large box full of books, he made his way up to the top floor and stopped in front of the last door in the hallway. Toeing open the cracked door, he grunted as he hoisted the heavy box into the apartment and onto his new and very heavy kitchen table.

The sharp smell of paint hit Sasuke as he looked through the box, shuffling the contents around to see if Naruto took any of his stuff when he wasn't looking. Looking up from his work at the table, he could hear Sakura lightly humming in the bedroom down the hallway and made his way over to her.

"It's really starting to look great in here, right?" Sakura took a step back to admire the half-painted wall. "I feel like this color brightens up everything in the house."

"It's just beige."

"It is not beige, Sasuke. This color is a totally warmer color than that other one you were looking at. This color is more sandy, whereas the first one you chose was a depressing greyish beige."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow up at her. "You're crazy. They were the same color but with different names."

Sakura leaned over to pinch Sasuke's cheek. "What would you do without me? You're so lucky I was there to help you pick out paint."

"I would've picked out one of the many beige colors and it would've looked just like this." Sasuke gently pushed her hand away, lips tilted in a smirk.

"Okay, we'll see how you feel when you realize your home renovation skills completely suck and you need me to help you with everything." She pointed her paintbrush at the door, stern look adorning her face. "Now go get the rest of your shit so we can start moving it in here when I'm done."

"Heeeeeeey, where is everyone at?" Naruto's deep voice bellowed from the front door. "You guys better not be doing anything nasty or I'll whoop your asses. I swear I'll do it!"

"We're in here, Naruto! Please tell me you brought some of Sasuke's shit up here with you." Sakura poked her head in the hallway to stare at Naruto and groaned. "Of course you didn't. Sai, how about you?"

"Yes I did, Ugly. There's a giant pile of boxes down there."

"Well, you guys should be very busy while I'm finishing this room up. Get your asses down there!" Sakura turned back to the wall with a flourish of her paintbrush.

"I'll race you both! Let's see who the strongest and fastest person on the team is," Naruto bellowed as he rushed out of the room. "Oh, by the way, it's totally me."

Sasuke followed him out of the bedroom, muttering under his breath the entire way.

—

It turned out that Naruto not only made carrying boxes into a competition, but dusting Sasuke's things and washing the floors were two more of his games to crown the best shinobi of the team.

The first game of box carrying resulted in Naruto toppling halfway up the second flight of steps, knocking Sasuke down with him, and the two of them sprawled out on the floor, the boxes' contents strewn all over. Sai continued his way up the steps, stepping over Sasuke and Naruto's bodies and succefully winning the first round.

Naruto's second brilliant idea of a dusting contest had the three men all hunched over a whole bunch of various knick-knacks and books, their hands quickly skimming the items with a rag before moving on to the next one. Sasuke glared down at his pile, his eyes narrowed in concentration. He was so close to finishing his section, just two more…

And then Sakura came in and fell onto the floor with a burst of laughter, her hands clutching her sides.

All three heads shot up, startled out of their quiet contest by her giggling. Sasuke could feel his neck heat up as he realized how serious he was getting about winning the stupid "Cleaning Olympics", as Naruto called it. All three boys dropped their rags and walked away from the table covered in Sasuke's things.

"I can't believe you guys were dusting with that much intensity!" Sakura managed to gasp out between laughs. "I thought you were performing surgery."

Throwing his dirty towel at her, Sasuke glared at her pink face before going into the kitchen for a glass of water, his hand running over his neck in hopes of getting rid of the blush.

As he was gulping down the rest of his water, he felt Sakura come up behind him and slip one arm around his middle. Letting his arm fall back down to his side as he placed the cup on the counter, he could feel her press her face to his back.

"Aw, don't be embarrassed, Sasuke. I think it's cute that you're getting all excited about moving in."

Turning around to face her, Sasuke leaned in so that there were only a couple of inches between their faces. "Who says that I was embarrassed?"

Sakura's cheeks turned pink as she averted her eyes and attempted to take a step back.

"Who's getting embarrassed now, Sakura?" Sasuke slid his hand down her right arm.

"Sasuke, c'mon! We're gonna do the last round of the competition."

Pulling away at the sound of Naruto's voice, Sasuke made his way back into the living room, grabbing his towel off the floor where he threw it at Sakura.

"What's the last contest, Naruto?" Sakura asked while walking to the dining room table and taking a seat, hands busily braiding her hair and feet swinging.

"We're gonna see who can clean the biggest section of the floor! You can be the judge, Sakura-chan!"

"Oh, what an honor."

"Alright, get ready, you losers! It's time for me to whoop your asses."

Naruto began crawling on his hands and knees as fast as he could, his hands frantically scrubbing the wooden floor. Sasuke stared at Naruto as he whizzed around the room, his towel thrown over his shoulder and his bangs messily splayed on his forehead. Sai watched with interest, occasionally throwing out an inappropriate remark about Naruto.

After minutes of frantically cleaning, Naruto collapsed in the middle of the floor, his arms and legs splayed out and his chest heaving. Through pants, he managed to say, "I win, suckers."

—

As the last light of the sun slowly crept its way out of the living room, Sasuke and Sakura rested in the middle of the polished wooden floor, watching as the shadows darkened in the corners. Sai and Naruto had left a long time ago with the excuse that they had to get food soon or Naruto was going to die.

Feeling his back starting to get sore, Sasuke shifted a bit, his arm brushing against the soft skin of Sakura's own upper arm.

"It looks really nice in here, Sasuke. Good job," Sakura sleepily mumbled from her spot to Sasuke's left. Scooting in closer, she leaned her head against his bicep, letting out a warm sigh. "I can't believe you guys got through all that stuff today."

Angling his body toward her, Sasuke draped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Pressing a light kiss to her hairline, Sasuke tiredly grunted before burying his face in her hair.

Letting out a soft giggle, Sakura placed her hand on his chest and tilted her head to peer up at him. "Someone's being really nice today. What's gotten into you?" She poked his side.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not acting any different."

Her body shaking with a quiet laugh, Sakura made to pinch his cheek. "Okay, you always kiss me while we lay on the floor."

Intercepting her hand, he brought it down to his mouth, lightly brushing the back of her hand with his lips. "Of course I do."

Silence fell between the two, only their breaths filling the room with the rise and fall of their chests.

"I'm really glad that I got to help you today, Sasuke." A small smile graced her face.

Leaning in, Sasuke lightly brushed his lips over hers before he buried his face back in her hair, the smell of lavender, Sakura, and fresh paint filling his nostrils.