SS, modern AU
note: Sasuke reads a booklet about picking locks, maybe, and this has been in my drafts since the start of last year and enough is enough le version
note.0: sorry not sorry
Sasuke tossed the keys in the bowl without a sideward glance as he entered the house. If it was the usual, he would be greeted by the warmed fire glowing in the artificial hearth in their lamp-lit living room and he would make his way towards the kitchen where Sakura would be preparing dinner.
She would greet him with a slight peck on the cheek after he had nuzzled her smooth skin and then he would make his way upstairs to change.
Glancing at the cold stone hearth and the empty smell in the air, however, made the Uchiha frown in curiosity. No dinner-being-made smell. The small light coming from the kitchen was the only indication that Sakura was home. Without bothering to do the usual, he stalked towards the light.
Sakura was neither cooking nor humming. The TV wasn't on and the blaring of that fat chef with a cravat didn't annoy his nerves. His pink-haired wife was simply leaning on the counter, her back on the linoleum edge, arms across her chest. She was in deep-thought.
He noticed a white plastic bag on the table that Sakura was absent-mindedly staring at with those beguiling emeralds.
Takeaway. And he didn't know about it.
Sasuke frowned as he approached his wife, still in whatever trance she was in. He kissed her cheek this time, opting for her to look at him in his own way. The young doctor seemed to have picked up his signals, shaking her head quickly to the side and looking up at him with surprise.
"S-Sasuke-kun!" She immediately straightened, pushing herself up and giving her husband a greet on the lips. "A-ano, sorry about the mess."
Sasuke looked around the clean kitchen and turned a brow at her.
"I-I mean, for the cold and the takeaway and… yeah…" he could've sworn he saw a sweat drop from her temple.
"Hn."
He opened the bag and laid the contents out on the table. He would glance at the young woman behind him as he grabbed the plates and cutlery, and fuelled his curiosity when she didn't stop him with her fists to tell him that she can do it by herself and that he should go and change.
After setting the jug of juice down, he ushered her towards the table. She followed robotically, thanking him in response to his filling her plate with food.
He took a bite.
The punch of pre-made teriyaki sauce hit his pallet with a pleasurable zing on the tongue. Surely Sakura would make a comment on it or moan in response to its deliciousness, if it was the usual.
But Sakura simply took a bite, mimicking his standard stoic response to pretty much everything. She didn't utter a compliment to whichever chef or culinary wiz who was behind the cheap cuisine nor did her eyes sparkle at him even at such baseness and commonality of take-away (and she was good at that). Sasuke's nerves were beginning to be stretched taught.
"Sakura," his probing tone was met by her innocent orbs. "What happened?"
His voice was much softer and he hated his sudden turn to weakness.
"What do you mean, Sasuke-kun?" Oh, but she was pushing it, alright.
"Sakura," he repeated, trying to control his volume. "You're not yourself. Tell me, what happened?"
The fork clanged quietly as it was gently placed down by its owner. Onyx orbs watched as soft hands who have the power of life and death over them, lifted the jug of juice and poured a generous amount on the then empty glass.
She gulped it down at one go before turning her attention to him.
"I found out something today that I wish I didn't, Sasuke-kun," she said, her eyes bearing conflict and frustration. She looked up at her husband who silently munched away, as patient as ever for her to continue.
"I met up with Hinata for lunch this afternoon," Sakura shook her head when her husband tried to spoon feed her. "It was casual, you know, a friendly catch-up and I was quite disappointed that it had to end so suddenly when I got a call from the hospital. I mean seriously, can't a woman get a break some time? I mean, Hinata and I haven't exactly bee-"
"Sakura," he cut her off. She was wavering off topic again and Sakura was only prone to doing so if she was trying to either avoid something or if she was utterly embarrassed. By her continuous fidgeting of the serviette though, the former was his best bet.
Sakura looked up at him solemnly.
"Dan-sama's cheating on Tsunade-sama."
The couple cleared the table quite swiftly, Sasuke ducking out the back to throw the rubbish bags away after the plates were dried.
He came back with Sakura in her original position when he arrived that evening. This time, though, she caught his eye.
He walked over to the pink-haired doctor and frowned as she tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ears.
"What do I do, Sasuke-kun?" she asked in slight exasperation.
He lifted her chin up so as to look at him. Her eyes were glistening.
He leaned down and kissed her tears away. A little surprised, Sakura bent a little way from him but Sasuke caught her elbow with a firm grip. He wrapped his arms around her and she did the same, wounding both around his neck, nuzzling his shoulder with a sigh.
"I don't think I can tell her, Sasuke-kun. She loves Dan-sama with all her heart and this… this'll just break her!
Sasuke tightened his hold around his wife and frowned. Lifting her legs up suddenly - her innate response having them wrap around his middle - he gently carried her towards their living room.
She sighed on his shoulder, absolutely relaxed yet at the same time itching for an answer to fall from heaven right on her lap. Then maybe she could take full advantage of her super affectionate husband.
"You could talk to him."
Sakura snorted.
"Sasuke-kun, I'm not just talking about Naruto here or you or any of our peers. This is Dan-sama, my own superior!"
She rested her chin on his shoulder while she fiddled with the hair on the nape of his neck.
"Why did he even cheat on her in the first place?" she whispered angrily. "Doesn't he love her at all?"
Sasuke kissed her exposed shoulder.
"We could spy on them."
Sakura's head shot up, her eyes bulging.
"Excuse me, what?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Since you're so worried, and you don't want to confront him or your sama, I see no other way."
Sakura looked him straight in the eyes and he was unflinching. There was a hint of mischief in his eyes too, as if he's mocking her, but he was dead serious.
He lifted her up for a second as he tried to grab something from his back pocket. A booklet. 101 ways to-
"I learnt how to pick a lock."