The L Word
By:
Michiko Kaori
Summary: There is a saying, "Love comes when you least expect it." Sakura Haruno believed in that motto. But she never expected it to be so literal. Especially not when she accidentally went to the bathroom while her boss, Sasuke Uchiha, was showering. AU. SS.
Prologue:
Job Hunt
"Bills… bills… bills…" A woman of about the age of twenty-five muttered under her breath as she scanned the handful of envelopes in her hands. She sighed as she took them in with her inside her apartment, slamming the door in frustration. She ran a hand in her unruly bubble-gum pink hair and sat exasperatedly in one of her beige couches.
Sakura sighed. She glared at the bills in her hands, hoping that if she glared hard enough they would burn to a crisp; crispier than breakfast bacon.
Mmm… Bacon.
Now that sounds good.
But alas, her budget only allowed her to purchase cheap looking instant ramen. I mean, who eats these things?! Why would they even manufacture an imitation of instant noodles? A better question would be who.
And Sakura did just that. Attempting to forget her bills for a momentary time, she rose from her couch and walked to her kitchen. She approached a cabinet where she stocked her food and took out a random ramen. She brought it to eye level and searched for the trademark of the maker of said food.
'Uzumaki Corp.' It read.
Sakura nodded to herself, no wonder it was so famous. Even though she loathed these things to the core of the earth, it was the only thing she could afford. And frankly, they really didn't taste as cheap as the first thought it was. Uzumaki Corp. would always set a trend in the food industry, rumor has it that the business started when their oh so bubbly founder, Naruto Uzumaki had come across a humble ramen stand and suddenly decided that he wanted to sell instant ramen.
And it became such a hit, who knew?
She giggled to herself, that Naruto Uzumaki had a very different character. She could tell by the trademark of his company. The symbol for their company was an orange little fox that had nine tails; odd but cute. It was quite an anomalous choice but she was very convinced that this Naruto Uzumaki guy wasn't a greedy old pig. Sakura giggled more when she read their slogan.
'It tastes so good it feels like you went to Heaven. Believe it!' She read. That always made her laugh; his choices were quite distinct, which was a good thing so that people would remember him. She laid the plastic cup of instant ramen on her counter and searched for her Jurassic kettle. Once she had, she filled it with enough water that the instant ramen needed and ignited the flame on the stove then settled the kettle.
She sighed when she caught a glimpse of the damned bills contained in white envelopes of doom. Sakura wasn't in labor as of now, and just yesterday her résumé was rejected for the nth time that week. What was wrong with her? Was there something in her work history that drove them into shoving the door in her face each and every single time she had tried? Was it her pink hair? Did they think she was a prostitute for having that shade of hair?
Ugh.
It's so frustrating that it affected her life; physically, emotionally and mentally.
Kami, mentally!
And not just the normal definition, as in mental! Whacked! Psycho!
Ino even told her she looked twice her age.
Any more of that she'd really be someone having their mid-life crisis in her twenties.
That was a major insult, even for Ino.
Usually, she would just tell her to chillax and stay away from the newspapers for a while.
Hmph. Easy for you to say Ms. Yamanaka Flower Shop.
Yes, even Ino had a more financially safe life than her.
Sigh.
'My life sucks.' Sakura thought dejectedly while a gloomy mask was plastered on her face.
'Tell me about it. You're twenty-five, you live in your apartment alone, your debts are piling up and you are love-life-less!' Her inner screamed and ran around as though she was having a mid-life crisis. Outer sighed.
Ino was right.
She was starting to be someone twice her age.
And never had Sakura been so degraded in her life.
'If only I didn't quit my job in that Hospital then maybe I wouldn't be the protagonist in this twisted fairytale.' Sakura thought to herself. The emerald-eyed woman snapped from her reverie when the kettle began to whistle. She took a mitten and held the kettle on its holder and then poured the steaming hot water in the half torn cup.
Once finished, Sakura set aside the kettle on the stove top and closed the lid of the instant ramen; having to wait for three minutes. Or in Naruto Uzumaki's words, the three agonizing minutes before you taste heaven. Sakura sighed again as she brought the cup with her utensils to her living room/dining room.
She set it down on the table and regained her position in her previous seat. She reached for the grey array of papers also present in the wooden surface and began to search for the section she was well familiar with. The Job Bulletin. She then started to scan it for a new career opening.
"Waitress…Look for Tsukamoto Asahi…" She muttered then encircled it with a red pen that always was present on her table; for emergency—encircling the jobs she would like to take up. Or rather, she considers. Yes, though she was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy, Sakura was still a picky. While scanning, that's when Sakura saw a job that really intrigued her.
"Maid…Look for Mikoto Uchiha." She muttered. She was clearly bemused. Sakura lifted her legs and let them hang from the arm of her chair. She bit the cap of her pen and continued to stare at the paper.
'Isn't she the mother of that Sasuke Uchiha person? Maybe she's looking for a maid for her son. Hmm… Now why would Konoha's most notorious womanizer need his mother to pay for a newspaper ad? Not only that, he's the CEO of the Uchiha Enterprises… He doesn't need one, right? Surely he's got a lot of maids already of his service… So then, why?' Sakura pondered. But deciding that he's got more than enough money to pay her, she finds that she couldn't complain. 'Well, maybe the maid isn't for him anyway.'
If Sakura knew something about the Uchihas, it was that they were filthy rich. So rich they put Bill Gates to shame. Well—maybe not. But then, she never expected them to be this wealthy! The gates of their house was so enormous she couldn't even see how high it reached, seeing as the sun would pretty much blind her vision for that matter. From the gates, she saw a house that looked as though it was a mile away, but even so, Sakura could tell that it was very large.
She turned to the side and saw that there was a screen with a panel on the wall. Beside it was the name, Uchiha in expensive looking stones. She gulped and approached the screen, smoothening her hair before pressing the button that she assumed to be the—erm—thing that would tell them of her presence. Once she did, moments later, the blank screen now presented a woman who had long black hair and equally black eyes. She had a pale white complexion and that high and mighty appearance that practically screamed aristocracy.
"Hello, uhm—I'm Sakura Haruno, the woman who called Mrs. Mikoto Uchiha earlier on? I'm here for a job interview." Sakura said almost erratically, she was nervous—hell yeah. If she screwed this interview—which was the last in her list—she'd die.
The woman leaned a little towards the screen; squinting her eyes slightly before giving Sakura a pleasant smile that surprised her—a lot.
"I see, please wait for a few moments and the chauffer will take you to the house." She said before the screen went black once more. Sakura blinked at what she just heard. They were going to send a car just to take her to the main house? Well, she couldn't blame them; the house was very far from the gate. But then again, they could've just built the house closer.
Her trance was concluded when a glossy black car had stopped a few feet before the gate. A man walked out when he opened the driver's door. Once he started approaching the gate, Sakura saw him pull something out of his pocket and instantaneously, Sakura saw the gates open.
"Right this way miss." She heard the man say before bowing respectfully and motion towards the car. Sakura gratefully nodded and went inside the car, the man opening and closing her door for her before he went back to driver's seat and drove to the mansion.
"So, Sakura, is it?" The woman from the screen earlier on asked; bringing a teacup to her lips and sipping it silently. She had her legs crossed and she sat in a very lady-like manner; her other hand on her knee, chin up and her spine straight. Sakura nodded as she tried to imitate that of the lady's position; but to no avail. She just started looking like a fool; like a caterpillar having its metamorphosis stage.
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Mikoto Uchiha." She said; the same smile she gave Sakura earlier on masked in her face. Sakura gave one of her own.
"You too Mrs. Uchiha." She said and watched Mikoto open her vitae and scan it thoroughly yet swiftly. After moments, Sakura felt the need to quench her thirst hence she reached for the cup that was long offered to her. Her hands shook terribly and her insides churned. She had to ace this interview, or else she would be forced to live in the streets…
Tattered clothes…
Having barely enough food to satisfy her hunger…
Begging for money…
Oh the horror!
Sakura's dreadful thought was interrupted when Mikoto closed her folder and laid it on the glass table.
"Why do you want this job Sakura?" Mikoto asked. "Surely it's not some way of getting into my son's pants now is it?"
Sakura almost choked on the tea she was drinking and coughed quite loudly.
"Oh Sakura dear, are you alright?" Mikoto asked with concern in her voice. Sakura smiled weakly at her. She didn't mean it; she could tell Mikoto wasn't that of a bad parent.
"Yes Mrs. Uchiha, I'm alright." She started and gave a deep breath before she continued. "I wanted this because I am in dire need of a stable job. My debts are piling, growing as we speak and I need a way to financially secure myself or else I may very well end up in the streets. I didn't take this job because of Mr. Sasuke Uchiha, trust me ma'am. I'm not one of those girls who apply for jobs like this just to get close to their idols; I apply because I need the job."
Mikoto scanned her for a moment, she seemed very sincere and she didn't squeal at the mention of her son's name earlier in the phone so she mustn't be lying. And either way, Sakura seemed very caring and attentive; she may just be one of the best maids they ever hired. It's not that Mikoto hadn't hired good maids before, but she had a feeling—seeing as Sakura had quite an impressive résumé—she would be the best yet. With an inaudible sigh, Mikoto smiled at Sakura.
"Well then Sakura, you may start tomorrow morning; Ten A.M. sharp." She said and smiled wider when Sakura's eyes glazed over slightly and a gasp from her mouth was heard. She smiled at the raven-haired woman with more happiness than she ever showed.
"T-That's very, very nice to hear Mrs. Uchiha. Thank you so much!" Sakura said thankfully. Mikoto smiled at the girl and handed her back her work history. Sakura took it gratefully but her smile faded when she felt—erm—a feeling.
"Uhm, Mrs. Uchiha, where is your bathroom?" She asked somewhat awkwardly, her cheeks glowing. Mikoto giggled softly at her bashfulness and answered.
"Just down the hall dear, open the one to the right. Be careful not to open the door to the left." She instructed as Sakura left off, in search for the lavatory.
On the way there, Sakura had passed so many beautiful portraits of the elite Uchiha family. Portraits that had Fugaku—the man of the house, Mikoto—the lady of the house and Sasuke—the child who's not so much of a child. She wondered however, where the eldest Uchiha offspring was, Itachi. She heard that he was in bad terms with the clan and so he had left.
Needless to say, while wandering down the extremely large halls, Sakura had forgotten what Mikoto had instructed her.
"I remember her saying something that fell along the lines of "down the hall" and "door to the left" but I just can't remember what else." She said when she reached the turning point. She faced a wall and there were two unlabeled doors that could have the bathroom she searched for behind it. She shrugged and went with what her mind told her.
'She said something about the door to the left so then it must be it.' Sakura thought as she reached for the knob and pushed the door open. She was about to step in but when her gaze fell to an unusual view, she stopped agape. There she saw a man shirtless, his upper body present but lower was covered by a non-transparent shower glass opened slightly, his chest having the beads of water, his black hair damp—clinging to his exposed neck while his onyx orbs looked at her in shock.
Oh. My. Kami.
This must be Sasuke Uchiha!
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Who I just ran into while he was showering…
Who is practically naked in front of me…
Who is the son of my boss…
Which makes him my boss too…
And I'm here, looking at him—while he was showering—naked…
Oh God.
HELP!
A/N: There, just a short pilot chapter of a story I have in mind. I know I've been deleting a number of fics but I just couldn't decide which other AU fic I wanted to continue. I really beg for you forgiveness and for the rush-ness in this fic... If I do continue though, it will be better. I promise.
Please drop a review!
Flames are accepted whereas con-crits and reviews are loved. :)
-- M. Kaori