A/N: Again, I'm updating early. I'm seriously spoiling you guys so much. I planned to post this after 2 weeks, but I guess I just can't. ^_^ I'm trying to not make this story lean into more of drama, Sasuke's character is very hard to associate with light-hearted-ness. It's difficult, very difficult. Okay, I'll answer reviews later on. Enjoy Chapter 4. Oh, and I'll probably continue on with the story, I find it really interesting to continue. I hope you guys want me to continue as well. ^_^

Disclaimer: Uhm. Is this still needed? :P

Choice # 4: Dining Out

Sasuke woke up the next day, with a sleeping Ino on his right arm. He sighed as he closed his eyes again. He had been dreaming a lot about Sakura and it was not good to do so, but he knew that he'll still lose himself when Sakura is around. He curled his right arm, pulling Ino into a hug. It was unusual for him to cuddle, but since he's at that position, he might as well do it.

"Good morning." She said, kissing Sasuke's neck. Sasuke grunted, not really thinking that it was a good morning. Ino laughed a bit. "Bad morning, is it?" Ino asked.

"Hn." Sasuke replied. He pulled away from her, having enough of the cuddling for a day because it made him sick. Ino frowned, but she didn't try to cuddle with him again, she doesn't want to ruin a good morning she just had. Sasuke stood up and stretched.

"Sexy." Ino said, staring at Sasuke's body. He's not the type who wears a shirt at night, so every morning, Ino is graced with his amazing body. Sasuke smirked.

"Don't need to remind me." He said nonchalantly, knowing his own body. Ino laughed.

"You're so full of yourself." She said, throwing a pillow at him. He caught it just in time and threw it back at her, purposely hitting her face. "Ow!" Ino whined. Sasuke shook his head.

"Get up. We have to go to work." Sasuke said, grabbing Ino's hand to help her get up. Ino did as she was told.

They quietly ate the breakfast that the Yamanaka family's kitchen crew whipped up. Ino was happily eating her pudding while Sasuke was just eating a lot of raw tomatoes. Ino eyed him while he was reading a lot of papers from work.

"What's that?" Ino asked pointing at Sasuke's paper works. Sasuke looked at it and then to her, he held it up for her to see.

"Papers." He said, not adding 'obviously' at the end of the word, but clearly heard in his voice. Ino frowned.

"I can see that. I meant, what about it?" Ino asked. Sasuke shrugged, taking another bite of his raw tomato.

"For work." He said, reading a lot of analysis about the company's marketing strategy. Ino looked at him, amazed.

"Workaholic." She commented as she took a bite of her toast. "Can you drop me off later at the subway? I'm supposed to be at Kofu today, dad is already waiting there." Ino said with a sigh, it was a pain that she's the daughter of the president, she's entitled to do a lot of things against her will and she was never in one place.

"Why don't you just let Hiro-san drive you there then?" Sasuke asked, recommending her driver and quite surprised that Ino wanted to ride public transport to Kofu.

"Dad said that I need to learn." She sighed again. Sasuke nodded, agreeing to his father-in-law. Ino was so spoiled that she knows little about her surroundings, even when they were in New York.

"Okay then." Sasuke replied, saying yes to Ino's request. Ino smiled.

"Let's eat out again later? Like yesterday?" Ino asked again. Sasuke sighed. 'Stupid dinner, I could've offered Sakura a ride home.' He thought.

"I'll think about it." Sasuke said. Ino pouted, but decided to let it go.

They got dressed in their winter clothes because the cold breeze outside was unbearable. Ino stared at Sasuke and noticed that something was missing.

"Where's your scarf?" Ino asked. Sasuke looked at her, puzzled. Then, he remembered that he lent his scarf to Sakura last night.

"Must've left it in the office." He said, shrugging it off. Ino continued to look at him curiously. She knew that Sasuke was not forgetful. Her heart started beating fast, as if doubting her husband. She took a deep breath and let it out.

"Okay. Don't forget next time." Ino tried to smile and was successful in doing so.

Sasuke drove his car and as promised, dropped Ino off at the train station. She kissed him goodbye and he sped off.

He arrived at Shibuya on time and immediately went up to the marketing department. A lot of people greeted him, but he just ignored them and walked straight, not looking at anybody.

"Good morning, Uchiha-san." The employees in his department greeted him. He let his eyes roam around, looking for the pink-haired woman, but failing to do so. He nodded at everyone, acknowledging them.

He walked straight to his office and was surprised to see Sakura pacing around inside. He closed the door behind him, startling Sakura as she looked at him, surprised. She sighed, but Sasuke ignored her and walked towards his desk.

"Good morning Sasuke." Sakura said, greeting him nicely but her voice sounding awkward. Sasuke sat down, looked at her and waited.

"Do you have anything to say?" Sasuke asked as Sakura started pacing again. She sighed.

"I was going to return this." Sakura said, handing him his scarf that was from last night. "Thank you." She said. Sasuke still stared at her, reaching out to get his scarf.

"You're making a big deal out of it." Sasuke said, getting his scarf. 'I thought there was something wrong. This idiot.' He thought. Sakura sat down in one of the chairs in front of Sasuke's desk, making her feel like a customer.

"I want to quit." Sakura said, looking down at her hands. 'Please say okay. Please say okay.' Sakura chanted in her mind. Sasuke frowned.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, now interested in their conversation. Sakura looked at him, struggling to find an excuse. 'Of course. He's nosy.' She thought.

"I..don't like you." Sakura blurted out, not smart enough to think of anything else. Sasuke gave her a smirk, stood up and walked over to her. She instinctively backed away.

"I doubt that." Sasuke said with his smirk. "Why?" He asked again, returning to his serious tone. Sakura's brows met.

"I'm not a good secretary." Sakura tried again. Sasuke still did not believe her, he still took a step forward towards her.

"I still don't believe that." Sasuke said. Sakura suddenly hit the wall.

'Again with the wall! How I wish this place doesn't have a wall!' Sakura thought, mentally hitting herself. Sasuke was now he leaning forward, his hands on his pocket as he tried to make Sakura look at him.

"I'll ask one last time. Why?" He asked firmly. Sakura gulped and she looked straight into Sasuke's eyes.

"I just..can't." Sakura said, her eyes looking deeply into his.

Sasuke's brows twitched for a moment as he stared at Sakura's. He reached out to touch her face; he was now at such close proximity that Sakura's head was beginning to spin. Sakura heard both of their breaths in the silence of the room and it was, as much as she hated it, exciting her and she blushed. Surprisingly, he withdrew and walked back, relaxing into his chair, earning him a confused look from Sakura.

"Naruto, huh?" Sasuke said, figuring out her dilemma. Sakura's eyes widened. 'Damn cat.' He thought.

'God, I thought he's going to kiss me again.' Sakura thought to herself. 'Wait, he can still figure it out?'

She knew that before, all it took him was to look at her and he'll figure out what was wrong. Even though they haven't seen each other for years, he can still do that to her which surprised her a lot. "I'm sorry." Sakura blurted out when she regained her power to speak again.

"You can't." Sasuke said in his business tone. "This became your permanent job since yesterday, if you quit, you'll end up having no job at all." He said. "You wouldn't want that, would you?" He added. Sakura stared at him. He's got a point and she knew that, she had been working at the company for 4 straight years already.

"This is ridiculous." She hissed, getting pissed off at what was happening.

"It is. Tell that cat to live with it." Sasuke rudely said. He grabbed a bunch of papers at his desk and started looking through them. "If there's nothing else, please do your work." Sasuke said, not looking up. Sakura sighed.

"Yes sir." She said and Sasuke knew that Naruto was defeated. He thought about what just happened.

'Second time this week. You don't know how much I want to kiss you.' Sasuke thought, looking at Sakura's retreating back. He grunted and then went back to the papers he was reading.

Sakura sighed, she grabbed her phone and clicked it open. She dialed Naruto's number, unsure of what to say to him. She heard it ring, then again and again. She was going to give up when she heard his voice.

"Hey." Sakura started in her 'I'm sorry' voice. Naruto sighed on the other line.

"You couldn't, could you?" Naruto said, Sakura nodded and then remembered that he couldn't see her.

"Yes. I'm sorry. He said that's my permanent job now." Sakura said, it was difficult to deal with these things for her. She lived independently and raised a child by herself before Naruto came and she couldn't just let her job go, it became part of her already.

"Are you sure you can't quit?" Naruto said still egging her on. Sakura sighed, now fed up.

"Yes. Live with it." Sakura said, her mind burning with lots of thoughts and she just have to shut him up because she already tried.

It pissed her off. This day isn't turning out to be great for her at all. She was pissed off at herself last night when she thought about Sasuke while being kissed by Naruto. She was pissed off that morning when Naruto told her to quit her job as Sasuke's secretary upon knowing it. She was pissed off that Naruto kept pissing her off and lastly, she was pissed off at herself because she definitely wanted Sasuke to kiss her right at that moment.

'I lost it back there.' She thought truthfully to herself. She shook it off and got back to work, praying that she'll survive work from now on.

Sakura buried herself in her work after that and Sasuke noticed this. It was way past lunch and Sakura haven't eaten yet. She heard her stomach growling and she sighed. At that moment, she felt something on her head and she looked up. Sasuke was holding a tupperware full of umeboshi on her head. Sasuke saw her eyes glimmer with delight and he sighed.

"Eat." He said simply. The employees were looking at the scene in front of them, wondering what kind of relationship Sakura and Sasuke had.

"Umeboshi." Sakura said in a kind of trance, completely forgetting what just happened earlier. She was looking at the food on Sasuke's hand and Sasuke couldn't help but smile a little. He handed it over to her and Sakura accepted it gladly. "Umeboshi." She said again. She looked up at a now walking away Sasuke. "Thank you!" She said happily. Sasuke just continued walking, smiling in his mind.

Without knowing it, darkness came and soon it was time for them to go home. Sakura was still buried in her work and was not paying attention. She was releasing her stress by doing a more stressful work. Sasuke emerged out of his office door and saw that most of the employees were going home, except Sakura.

"It's 7 p.m." Sasuke said, walking over to Sakura's cubicle. Sakura looked up at Sasuke for the second time that day. She frowned.

"What? Were you talking to me?" Sakura asked, not really paying attention. Sasuke rolled his eyes in a very un-Sasuke-ish way.

"No. I was talking to the desk." Sasuke said sarcastically. "Of course I was talking to you." Sasuke said in his normal tone.

"Oh. Funny." Sakura said, standing up. "I wonder what happened to the Sasuke who doesn't talk much." Sakura commented, fixing all her things. Sasuke made an undistinguishable sound.

"So you don't like me talking?" Sasuke said. Sakura snorted. 'Habits never change.' He thought as he heard her snort.

"Yes." She replied. "Kidding. I'm just not used to it." Sakura said with a sigh as she sensed his glare. Sasuke nodded in agreement, he too, was not used to him talking too much. He started walking away, Sakura looked at him. "Going home already?" Sakura asked. Sasuke's left eyebrow shot up, sensing interest in Sakura's voice, he turned back.

"No, if you want me to stay." He said in his low voice. Sakura's eye widened and she realized the tone of what she just asked, but she immediately recovered. Sasuke just stared at her, amused.

"No. Go home." Sakura said. "Stop flirting." She reminded him straightforwardly, although, she liked the attention, she always did.

"How would you know if I am?" Sasuke retorted. She had to turn around to conceal the smile forming on her face. Her phone started ringing and she looked at the caller's name, emotions mixed as it showed Naruto's name on it. Sasuke grunted and walked away, leaving Sakura alone. She picked up her phone and answered.

"Let's dine out." Naruto said once Sakura answered. Sakura frowned, wondering what it was about.

"If it's about the job, everything's all right now. I'm sorry I snapped at you." Sakura said. Also, she couldn't leave Ayaka alone and eat out with Naruto.

"No. We'll dine out, whether you like it or not." Naruto said in his commanding voice which is not normally heard. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Ayaka?" She asked simply. Naruto laughed at the other side of the line.

"Thankfully, Kakashi missed her so much that he's taking her to his place." Naruto said but still, Sakura wasn't convinced and Naruto felt this after the long pause. "Come on. We rarely have time alone." Naruto said. Sakura sighed.

"Fine. Where are we eating?" Sakura asked.

"We've always been eating steak." Naruto sighed. "The usual place." He added. "See you there?" He asked.

"Okay. I'm about to go. Bye." Sakura said. She clicked her phone off and headed out.

Sakura entered the perfectly middle class restaurant and saw Naruto waving at her with a big, goofy smile on his face. Oh what perfect way to end the day, but she's glad that they're not fighting. She walked over to where he was and was greeted with a kiss. She sat down.

"So, what are we eating?" Sakura asked. Naruto showed her the menu and she saw that it was opened on the ramen page. She laughed. "I kind of figured that out on my own." Sakura said.

"Well, I haven't had ramen for a long time. We can also order dumplings and umeboshi. Also amnitsu for dessert." Naruto said, indicating Sakura's favorite food. Sakura bit her lower lip, excited for the food.

"Okay then." She smiled, her favorite food never seizes to amaze and excite her. They were talking peacefully and were preparing to order when they heard a familiar, loud voice.

"Naruto?"

The couple looked around and saw Ino, tugging a very bored looking Sasuke along. Sasuke just looked coldly at the two while Naruto tried to give a sincere smile. Sakura looked sharply at Naruto, nudging him a little.

"You know her?" She hissed. Naruto nodded. Ino pulled Sasuke along with her as she grabbed a seat and sat down with Naruto and Sakura. Ino stared at Sakura.

"Eh? Haruno-san?" Ino asked, confused about why Sakura and Naruto were together. "You're acquainted." She said nicely, still clinging onto Sasuke's arm. Sasuke pulled his arm away, staring at Naruto and Sakura.

"Uhm. She's my wife." Naruto said, Ino's eyes widened in surprise.

"Really? How come I didn't know?" Ino asked, letting Sasuke go and squinting over to Naruto, interested in his story.

"Well, we were not really together when you met me." Naruto explained, giving Sasuke a quick glance.

"I see. Been a long time. It's been..what? Five years?" Ino saod. Naruto nodded. "Let's order then, my treat!" Ino declared. The three just stared at her in amazement.

"So much for our alone time." Naruto whispered in Sakura's ear that made her smile.

"Let it go." She whispered back, patting Naruto's hand. This earned them a glare from Sasuke.

He did not like the idea of going out to dinner, again, that night and he definitely didn't like the idea of sitting there in front of Naruto and Sakura and watching them flirt with each other.

"So, what are we eating?" Ino asked. She looked at the menu and after a while, rolled her eyes. She called a waiter and ordered. "We'll have your most diverse meal please." Ino said.

"Uhm. That's a bit…expensive." Sakura spoke at last. Ino looked at her and shook her head.

"No, it's fine. I don't know what to order you guys so I'll just give it a go." Ino said. She looked at Sasuke. "Hey, you haven't said anything since we arrived." She said. Sakura looked at Sasuke expectantly and he looked back at her.

"Hi." He said simply, making it awkward for anyone else to speak.

They stayed silent for a long time until the food arrived. It had ramen in it and that distracted Naruto from anything else that is happening inside the room. It also had a lot of different stuff and they started eating.

"Here." Ino said, handing out a plate to Sasuke filled with different kinds of foods that she picked out herself.

"Thanks." Sasuke said simply. Sakura stared at him, amused. 'So he knows how to say thank you.' She thought. He started eating and Sakura noticed that he was ignoring the natto beans that Ino carefully placed on his plate. She frowned.

"Eat that." Sakura told him. Sasuke looked up at her and so did Ino.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about." Sakura said, she never tolerated waste of food and she would just love to see Sasuke's face while eating it. Sasuke looked at the beans on his plate.

"No." Sasuke said simply. Sakura's eyes twitched and in one quick motion, she flicked her chopsticks full of beans that have strung together and they flew straight into Sasuke's mouth as he was going to bite another one of his onigiri.

"I don't tolerate waste of food." Sakura said triumphantly, with a big smile on her face. "Look at your face! HAHAHAHAHA!" Sakura laughed loudly, embarrassing Sasuke to the extremes. Sasuke choked a bit, quite coolly than most choking people do.

"How dare you." Sasuke said as he successfully manage to swallow the food he hates the most.

He got a sushi and dipped it into a dish of wasabi and looked straight into Sakura's eyes. He smirked. Sakura's eyes widened.

"I was….kidding." Sakura said, slowly moving backwards, away from the table. Sasuke shook his head.

"You made me eat it." Sasuke said with a smirk. He grabbed Sakura's hand that was on the table and pulled her back, at the same time, shoving the wasabi-filled sushi inside her mouth.

Sakura's face reddened as the wasabi took its effect. Her eyes watered and she instantly had a runny nose. Sasuke, on the other hand, now had the triumphant look plastered on his face. Ino frowned at what she was seeing, it made her uncomfortable to see Sasuke so calm with another woman. Naruto just stared at them. Sakura grabbed the nearest water glass and drowned herself with it.

"You two are awfully close, aren't you?" Ino managed to say, unsure of what was happening but her heart was beating madly, as if telling her that something was wrong. Naruto's face twitched.

"Awfully close indeed." Naruto repeated. In that instant, Naruto stood up and grabbed Sakura's hand, startling Sasuke and Ino.

"HEY! That hurts!" Sakura whined. Indeed, Naruto's trembling hand and tight grip was hurting her, but he wasn't listening. Sasuke stood up, staring straight into Naruto's eyes.

"Loosen your grip." Sasuke hissed, clearly affected by Sakura's expression and forgetting that he's now showing something he doesn't dare to show in front of Ino. Naruto ignored him and looked at Ino.

"I'm sorry Ino, we have to go. We'll see you next time." Naruto said, pulling Sakura with him outside the restaurant, leaving Ino and Sasuke alone.

It didn't turn out to be a great night after all. There was a lot of explaining to do on Sasuke and Sakura's part and they'll have to deal with it immediately.

A/N: I don't know if this was a good chapter or something..but..yeah..I have nothing to say. haha. ^_^

x-Sasu-Saku-x - Okay, your pen name is something else, it keeps vanishing once I save the document. LOL. I give up, I just did a dash instead of a 'dot'. You're right, everyone's probably miserable in this story. LOL. And again, Sasuke's always a 'horrid bastard', is that it? Haha. That's why I don't know what I should do with him, I thought I'll make him a bit kind, but that's OOC. HAHA. ^_^

jsunshine - Yes, I'm working on it, their interactions I mean. :) It's quite hard because of Sasuke's cold personality and Sakura here is very controlled and not the usual Sakura that's head over heels in love with Sasuke. LOL. ^_^ We'll get there, eventually. :)

Thank you for the reviews Cutiedust and jsunshine! Also, for adding this to your favorite stories! ^_^ Very grateful. :)

Chapter 5 is next. :) Please hit the review button. Thank you!

January 11, 2011 [Tuesday;10:37 P.M.]

Philippines