"Sai, you bastard!" came Naruto's obnoxiously loud shout from upstairs. There was a loud thump followed by several more shouts.
Sakura sighed and shook her head, her long pink locks swinging from side to side. How had a girl like Sakura come to be living with three troublesome ninjas, one may ask. It had taken quite a bit of persuading, really. Naruto, Sai, and Sasuke had approached her just as she had been leaving the hospital and begged her to move in with them. Well, Naruto had done most of the begging. Sasuke stood there, nodding at every point Naruto made, and Sai had remained quiet, looking quite bored.
After nearly half an hour of pleading and tears- both were Naruto's- she had reluctantly agreed, and by the next day they had her stuff moved into the small house they shared.
Sakura, at first, had hardly been around the house, busy with work at the hospital. Then, Tsunade had ordered her to take off, saying she worked harder than anybody else and needed a vacation to relax. The rosette had objected, but the older woman had been adamant and won out in the end.
Though she had been sure she would be bored to death, Sakura realized that the boys were quite a handful. Naruto and Sai constantly needed healing after their brawls and violent arguments. Sasuke never got into the fights, instead choosing to instigate them. She didn't mind the boys much, except Sai. His comments about her being a "hag" and a "bitch" angered her to no end. Naruto may have received a few bruises after irritating her a bit too much, and Sasuke's brooding attitude annoyed her, but she actually liked feeling useful and taking care of her boys. Except Sai.
Naruto and Sai finally clambered down the stairs, Naruto glancing about nervously and Sai looking rather bored.
"Hey, Sakura-chan, you didn't happen to like that vase in the hall, did you?" Naruto asked with a short, nervous laugh.
Sakura sighed. 'There goes another one.'
"It's fine," she answered with a sigh. "I'm going to the grocery store. Was there anything you wanted?"
The hyperactive blonde immediately began naming about every food item in the world, and Sakura tried to catch each one.
"How about something you don't have to cook," Sai said, and Sakura glared at the pale skinned young man.
"There is nothing wrong with my cooking," she stated, placing her hands on her small hips. Now, she knew he was trying to push her buttons because he usually ate every scrap of food just as quickly as Naruto did. "Why don't the two of you just go with me?"
"Okay, but we can't leave Teme all alone. TEME!"
Naruto's loud bellow made her flinch, and the handsome Uchiha appeared at the top of the stairs.
"Hn?" came his unintelligible grunt.
"We're going to the store, and you've gotta come too," Naruto declared, and Sasuke sighed and trudged down the stairs
"Okay," Sakura grumbled. "Let's go."
It took quite a while for them to get to the grocery store, having to stop every few minutes to separate Naruto and Sai while Sasuke smirked at his work.
Sakura was exhausted by the time she had grabbed a cart and was trudging down the fruit and vegetable aisle. Naruto had bounded off a while ago in search for the food he wanted, and Sai simply
wandered. Sakura really didn't care where he went. Sasuke was the only one who stayed by her side, no doubt to make sure she got the perfect tomatoes, not that she minded.
"You can't get that one," Sasuke said as she reached for a tomato.
"Why not?" she questioned.
"Because," Sasuke replied, as if explaining to a child. "That one isn't red. It's more of an orangeish color, and I like the red ones."
He took the tomato from Sakura's palm and replaced it with a deep red one. She regarded him through narrowed green eyes. He was quite strange.
"You can't get that one either," he announced when she reached for another, and she gritted her teeth.
"Dammit, Sasuke!" she shouted. "Then you pick them!"
A woman with a four year old boy in tow eyed Sakura disapprovingly, and Sasuke smirked.
"Smooth one, Sakura," he said, and she growled at him.
They continued on into the pasta aisle, and Sakura stopped suddenly, causing Sasuke to ram into the cart. He glared at her, and she smiled smugly before standing on the tips of her toes to grab a box of spaghetti noodles. They were a bit out of reach, and Sasuke watched in amusement as she cursed and jumped to reach the box.
He finally decided to intervene and placed his hand at the small of her back and reached up easily and grabbed the box.
"Thanks," she mumbled, a soft pink blush tainting her cheeks. Sasuke actually touched her! Keep cool. Keep cool.
"Hn."
Naruto finally came bounding up to them, arms loaded with dozens of boxes of ramen and several other junk foods, but mostly ramen.
"Naruto, we've been through this before," Sakura said. "You can't eat that munch ramen. It's unhealthy."
"Sakura," he whined. "That's not fair. What about Teme? How come you're letting him get tomatoes?"
"I'm not. I need those tomatoes to make the spaghetti tonight," Sakura answered, pushing the cart toward the check out line.
Sai came strolling up casually, and the group walked up to the register.
A bored looking man of about twenty immediately brightened when he saw Sakura. "Hey, I've seen you around," he said, flashing her a charming smile.
Sasuke frowned. What the hell did this guy think he was doing?
Sakura grinned. "Yeah, I practically live here now," she answered, gesturing toward the boys, whom the guy ignored.
Naruto glared at the guy as he flirted with Sakura very noticeably, and Sasuke's frown deepened. Sai flipped through a magazine, uncaring about the situation. Sasuke couldn't help but notice the way she flirted back. They practically rushed her out of the grocery store and back home.
Sasuke grabbed another slice of the tomato Sakura had just cut, and she grimaced when he bit into it.
"I don't know how you eat those things," she said, and he looked at her, dumbfounded for a second.
"You don't like tomatoes?" he asked, needing clarification.
She shook her head. "Don't like isn't exactly the way I'd put it," she said. "Detest is more like it. They are so disgusting."
She shuddered and continued chopping the red fruit. He stared at her for a moment. How could someone not like tomatoes? It was unheard of.
There was another roar from upstairs, and Sasuke got an idea.
"I'll make a bet with you," he said, and she put down the knife, signaling she was interested. It wasn't everyday Sasuke wanted to make a bet. "If Sai wins this fight, you have to eat a tomato."
"Okay," she replied. "But when Naruto wins, you can't eat a tomato for a whole week."
Sasuke smirked, feeling confident. Naruto never won. Sakura just refused to pick Sai. The pair listened for a while before a high pitched scream sounded, definitely Naruto's.
"Damn," Sakura mumbled, reluctantly taking the luscious red tomato Sasuke handed her.
"Well," he said, tapping his foot impatiently as she stared at it.
Very slowly, the young medic raised the tomato to her lips and bit into it. She made a sour face, and Sasuke's smirk widened. He wasn't sure what was more interesting, watching her eat the tomato or her lips.
He never realized how wonderfully full they were, soft and alluring. The pale pinkness of them against the red of the tomato made his mouth water, and before he knew it, he was kissing them.
The tomato fell to the floor, making an odd squelching noise, but the two of them ignored it. Sakura blinked several times, making sure she wasn't hallucinating before letting her eyes flutter closed and kissing him back.
Sasuke felt her loosen up, and slid his tongue across her lip. She parted them, and she shuddered when his hot tongue touched her own. An odd tingling sensation rose into their stomachs, and he cupped her elbows, pulling her closer. Her thin fingers tangled themselves into his silken locks, and she had to stand on her toes to reach him better.
Realizing her struggle, he slid his arm around her waist and lifted her onto the kitchen counter with ease. Lack of oxygen caused them to part, and they stiffened when they heard a noise behind them.
Sai had watched the whole thing unfold and was now looking at them in disgust. He turned sharply on his heel and marched back up the stairs.
Sasuke turned back to Sakura and rested his forehead against hers. "So what do you think of tomatoes now?"
Sakura thought for a moment. "Hmm. They're not so bad, but I think I need more convincing."
Sasuke smirked. "I can help with that."
A/N: Finally, I'm done. I know Sasuke's out of character, but he's so hard to keep in character. Lol. Hope you liked it.