School's just started so most probably I'll only be adding chapters on weekends from now on. Yeah…school just sucks…
Oh and let me just warn you…this chapter may not be that good 'cause I'm on writer's block
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.
Ring ring.
Ring ring.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Sakura called out while hurrying through the hallway to reach the telephone that was just impatiently ringing to be picked up. She plopped herself on the couch beside the small table on which the source of the buzzing was placed. "Hello?" She said into the phone.
"Hey Sakura, Ino here!" The voice at the other end chirped excitedly.
"Oh hi, Ino! So, anything new going on?" She said, only half-surprised. Ino sure did call her ever so often and considering that, she should have already phoned Sakura about everyday of the week especially since the sudden turn of events.
"There you go again! You're the one who just became a week ago and you're asking me if there's 'anything new going on'? Sheesh forehead!"
"Ok, ok…sigh; what did you really call me for? Who broke up with who or…."
"Forget that, you just GOT HITCHED! THAT is big news! I want to know everything…what you ate, how he treats you, loves you and you get it! And you've even obviously lost your virginity and oh, how many times a week do you have it?"
Sakura jumped a little. She really didn't know what to reply. She wasn't sure whether she should tell everyone about the reality of her relationship. Actually, she wasn't even sure if she was ever going to tell anyone at all or not. The thing is, she just felt that people may start judging her—him-- or even more, them. What also bothered her was about how people may feel sympathetic for her, advice her and basically, people may just over-react especially if it is Naruto or even Kakashi.
Sasuke had just recently got the freedom to roam around the village, trusted by the majority of the civilians. If people were to get the hint, added with a pinch of salt, that he was just using her or something and that she was forced recklessly into this, she feared he may be tagged as a traitor once again. She, after all, still held some love for him and it would hurt the both of them if he were to be denied it right all over again. Naruto and her efforts and hard-work of retrieving him would also go to waste.
It was a difficult decision with little choices to pick from- either she revealed the harsh truth about their relationship, hide it forever and pretend to be well off and happy or simply keep the truth locked inside to expose as the right opportunities come by, taking its own, sweet time.
The thought also occurred to her that her imagination may just be going too wild which made every decision seem like it could turn into a nightmare. Perhaps telling or not, is not that much of a big deal that she thought it could turn out to be. It could also be that people may just end up saying things like- "oh, it's just too bad you both are not that much in love." It could happen…
…right? It was all too blurred and time just kept ticking and she didn't even notice that she had kept Ino waiting on the other line for several seconds now, wondering where she was gone. Conclusion still didn't strike her being.
Sakura took in quiet deep breath. She had come to a verdict; it may be wrong or whatever, but she wanted it like this, "Well, we're okay and all. Everything is…yeah." She said quietly. "I mean, Sasuke-kun gets missions oh so often and I'm always stuck at the hospital, sven days a week…" Sakura lied on, trying to sound extremely casual,
"Liar. Just yesterday I asked Tsunade-sama why you hadn't come for work and she said she had given you off for about a week which means that your holiday is on till next week! Sakura…" Ino warned, the blonde clearly not understanding why her best-friend had just pointlessly lied to her.
Uh-oh.
Sakura was caught. It was definitely true that she had gotten an off for a week. She started panicking and her mind raced at full-speed to cook up a lie, but no avail. She had always been bad at lying and that proved to be very crucial for her now.
Her lips previously pursed in concentration, parted very slightly to give a well-thought out, or not, explanation but thankfully, Ino spared her and spoke in an all too normal tone, reflecting the situation, "Anyway, forehead, I need to go soon so I'll just wrap this conversation up," Sakura sighed out of relief, "Look, I've prepared a perfect honeymoon for you lucky birds- stop interrupting me Sakura and no, you cannot refuse- everything is booked and ready. I'll tell you the details tomorrow and sorry I've got to go now, so convince Sasuke, go shopping yourself and get ready to leave soon! Bye!"
Beep. Beep.
This was probably the third time Sakura had just sighed in this very hour. Ino did not just do that, she thought.
So here she was, newly wedded and turned Uchiha Sakura, married to her childhood sweetheart who left her and set off for revenge and power. Years later, he comes by, fits in once again in her heart and one fine day, out of pure drive to complete his ambition, he casually proposes to her to revive his clan. She just said yes. Period.
Her heart had given that verdict the very instant the word 'marry me' had slipped out through his deep, velvet voice. Maybe it was stupidity or just a flicker of hope that things may change someday. Now, the table remained unmoved and on both courts equally. Sakura asked for two months time, which he gave, and he has Sakura and the chance of her failure.
Sakura thought over the whole honeymoon idea once. Maybe…just maybe, Ino had finally come up with a good idea. This trip can be manipulated into her very own hands if she played her cards well enough. If they went to another location, it would just mean they would have to spend the whole day with each other; no work to interrupt them, friends to intervene, orders to take, cleaning and cooking to do. A whole week or so just to get to know each other, close up, understand one another, trust, and if she got lucky, he may start noticing her, appreciating her presence and-
-liking her, if even a bit. They would be at close proximity for the most part and for the first time, travel together and get recognized as a couple, not just comrades or friends as they primarily were. She smiled at her pleasant trail of thoughts. The click of the door vibrating through the silence is what woke her. She saw her beloved walk through it looking tired and worn out after a long day of training with Naruto.
She threw him an extra bright smile and walked right towards him and greeted him silently. His fatigued eyes just glanced at her shining green orbs and mouthed an 'Aa' in acknowledgement. He trudged heavily through the hallway to head upstairs and freshen up. Sakura knew what she had to do later this night. With a little skip at each step, she walked to the kitchen to lay the hand-cooked dinner on the table.
Sasuke and Sakura had just finished eating their dinner. The sky was a midnight blue with a few stars sparkling and a few hidden behind the cloud silhouettes. It had become pretty late and Sasuke was just relaxing on the couch, flipping through channels. It had been a very tiresome day for him what with the training and the lunch he just ate too often- ramen and certainly his noisy best friend with whom who had just spent the long day with.
On top of all that, he also sparred with the member for whom he sported almost no like at all. So called his "replacement", Sai never got on Sasuke's good side from the very first time that they had ever laid eyes on each other, till date.
So now he just calmly rested on the sofa, ate some light dinner cooked by his wife, Sakura, and had all the intention of heading back to the bedroom to get some goodnight sleep any moment now.
Sakura, on the other hand, spent a pretty peaceful day though she did get annoyed a bit by that fact. She usually started working and training right from morning and ends up returning only at night, but that was how it was before marriage. Nowadays, she balances the hours of the day so that she gets sometime at home too mainly for all the housework and Sasuke.
Since she was unwillingly given a holiday, she spent the whole day at home just lazing around and doing some daily chores.
Sakura put the last washed and dried plate on the kitchen shelf. She wiped her hands dry too and headed off towards the man on the couch. She had already planned on telling him about Ino's offer. She was pretty excited on telling him rather than being nervous. She saw this as a really good sign as she thought that it may mean that she's getting used to his company which is a big step for her.
At reaching her destination, she plopped herself casually on the couch beside the Sasuke who had finally decided on watching a particular channel. She just tapped her foot quietly and impatiently on the floor finding the right moment to tell him. She bit her lip in concentration and thought that there was really no need to wait since the opportunity was right there-
-there was silence, the man wasn't really watching the show in full observation and she herself had nothing better to do.
"Sasuke-kun? Can I talk you?" She questioned with a curious smile. The said raven-haired man turned his head to look at her and simply gave a short nod, being the man of little words. "Great," she continued, "You see, I was thinking we could go on a..honeymoon…well?" She questioned.
Sasuke grunted in a tone of disbelief and amusement with a smirk appearing on his face. Why would she want to go in a honeymoon? That's just troublesome, he thought. "No." He said frankly.
Sakura'a eyebrows crunched up a bit and she pouted, "But you didn't even think about it! It will be a damn break for both of us!" She said in desperation and then raised a voice a little, "Ino's already planned it for us and all and I think it is a very good idea, thank you very much. C'mon, please! Think about it at least." She said while crossing her arms.
"Why would you want to go on a honeymoon with me at all, I mean, after you put your stupid condition?" He said knowingly. Sasuke definitely never agreed to her "two months apart" condition since he still did want his clan and did not want to take orders from Sakura or anyone. So now, he thought by saying such a thing, he could hope of somehow manipulating her so she could lift off the condition.
"That's beside the point," Sakura said coldly, "Look, I know exactly what you're trying to say, like, I do know what couples really do on honeymoons but so what if we're not like the others! We can just go for the fun and it will be a new experience! Our first time venture as a married couple! I will not take no for an answer, Sasuke-kun!" She said in desperation, rising from her seat a little.
"Sakura," He said, raising his voice a little to make it sound more demanding, "You very well know that I care least about having some fun. Just take 'no' for an answer, ok?"
"Oh please!" She said, now getting annoyed. No matter how much time it takes in convincing his stubbornness to go along with her, she wasn't going to leave it be. "I haven't asked anything much of you and don't you mention the damn two months thing again! Look, I'm being nice to you, trying to be a good wife, and when I make special meals for you, I don't even force you to review it or throw tantrums! So why can't you just go a honeymoon with me! And, you know what? You must be the first man to refuse going on a honeymoon with his own young wife! You've really got issues!" She breathed out.
There was a moment of silence except for the light breathing of the two. They were just glancing at each other for a while and Sasuke was engaged in his own thinking session figuring out whether he should just go on the annoying honeymoon and get it over with or not and have Sakura screaming loudly all the time. Yeah, he had just forgotten how annoying Sakura could get…..
"Fine." He said, letting out a breath. "But, I'll remind you again that you must not expect anything from me as that will only let you down and-"
"-Thank you so much Sasuke-kun! You're the best!" Sakura exclaimed, interrupting his serious tone of voice. She was radiating off a very wide and bright smile and lunged at Sasuke out of pure job. For a moment, she held on to him, her hands wrapped around his neck while his hands were kept still on the smooth texture of the couch.
This time, it was his mind that was sort of stuck, since Sasuke Uchiha couldn't ever be jammed to a tight spot completely. He didn't know what to do about the fact that Sakura was just hugging him out of excitement similar to that of a child. But he did know what not to do; Not return it, which, for, him, was a given.
He simply put his large hands on her petite waist, Sakura jumped slightly due to his touch, and then with those very same hands he placed on her waist, he used them to remove her form from his muscular one. Sakura just looked at him for a moment, a little confused as everything happened very quickly and automatically.
She had just instinctively hugged him and he kept his hands on her waist, which she thought was a sign, but when he pulled away she had returned to earth and realized that he was just trying to remove her from him. But all this, did not for the slightest falter her ever-cheery smile.
"Sorry, my mistake! It just…came…" Sakura said sheepishly rubbing her hand on her forearm in a vertical movement.
"Hn. Just…don't do that again. It was precisely what I was warning you about it, Sakura." He said in a lighter voice, contrary to his earlier serious and demanding tone.
"Yeah…anyway, so it's a yes then?"
"Hn."
"Thank you!" She replied and it was soon followed by a big yawn indicating that she was pretty sleepy even if she worked a little lesser than usual today. "I think I'll go to bed now, ok? You coming?"
"Hn, I'll go after a few minutes."
"Right. OK, goodnight Sasuke-kun…" She said in soft and fatigued tone and stood up and walked upstairs and disappeared behind the bedroom door.
Sasuke just saw her form pace off to the room. He was pretty tired too and decided to go to bed just in a few minutes though it didn't seem tempting at all to him. True that he had only shifted into this house about a few years ago, but he had really gotten used to the bed that Sakura was currently snuggled in and wished that he had sent her to the duller guest room. Thinking about the thought that he was just getting almost jealous that Sakura was sleeping in the master bed instead of him, was very amusing to him and got out a smirk out of him.
He lazily got up from the couch, stretched, and headed off to his new bedroom.
The Uchiha home was still unmoving. The sky outside was painted a nice shade of orange and pink and the sun was taking its own time in rising. Sasuke was still in a deep slumber, his rhythmic deep breathing travelling through the quiet room. He was comfortably wrapped in the blanket. Upon hearing the sudden doorbell ringing through the whole silent house, shaking it, Sasuke stirred not even a little, perhaps because he was in a too deep sleep.
The doorbell rang two more times and the visitor outside started banging the door frantically. This time, rudely disturbed and awoken, Sasuke not only stirred but also tried to cover his ears with his pillows out of irritation. Seeing that the ringing and banging continued, he knew he couldn't' ignore it so out of pure annoyance and anger he jerked up from his bed angrily as he never liked being disturbed while asleep.
He stomped through the house and reached the front door forcing it open harshly. He gave the visitor, who surprisingly turned out to be Ino, a deathly glare and he spat out icily, "What the heck do you think you're doing this early in the morning? Sakura's probably asleep, come back later!" Finishing on an edgy tone, he reached out his hand for the cold doorknob but was stopped by the blonde coming in the way, and walking uninvited into the house.
"Geez Sasuke, relax! You don't have to wake Sakura up…I could tell you instead." Ino said shrugging her shoulders innocently and casually taking a seat on the couch. Sasuke closed the door and sat down on the side couch, gritting his teeth, still annoyed at the blonde for interrupting his sleep.
"Hurry up. Say what you need to." He said coldly through his gritted teeth.
"I'm not gonna stay for long. I just wanted to tell you that I had to book your honeymoon for today itself. The resort just outside Konoha is booked for everyday except today. Ok?" Ino instructed. Sasuke just quirked his brow as an order for her to continue and give him the other stupid details for the honeymoon.
"Thank god Sakura did remembered to tell you…anyway, The resort is just a little outside Konoha and takes half a day to reach by foot. Your reservation is six so you'll have to leave as soon as possible. I've booked it for a week, that's the best I could do. Hope that's enough for you animals…" Sasuke just remained impassive at that last comment and replied,
"Hn, whatever. If you have nothing else to say…" He trailed off.
"Fine, fine. I'll have to leave now anyway. Talk about treating your guests nicely…yeah and don't forget to tell forehead. Oh, and I almost forgot…" She took out a small piece of paper to a curious Sasuke. He took it and scanned it quickly and waited for Ino's instructions, "The address of the resort is written here." Ino said while propping herself off of the couch. She led herself to the door and bid him a 'goodbye' and 'have fun' and left.
The house was once again quiet. He checked the clock and decided that if took about half a day to reach and that if the reservation was at 6:00pm, they better leave as soon as possible. Keeping that in mind, he headed off towards the master bedroom to give Sakura the wake up call and news about leaving today for their honeymoon on which she wanted to go so much for.
On reaching the master bedroom, Sasuke noticed the little lump lying comfortably on the bed and he knew it to be Sakura. Only her face and part of her hands were revealed from underneath the blanket.
Her silky pink tresses were sprawled messily on the fluffy pillow.
The curtains of the room were pulled back, letting in the warm silver rays of the sun. It enlightened the entire room. Sasuke observed that her eyes were still lidded and her breathing was even and peaceful. He closed the door behind him noiselessly, not wanting to wake her up by that noise. He strolled gingerly towards the bed. He got a clear view of her bright and peaceful face from where he was standing. He had to wake her up and break the news her friend had delivered to him, but for some reason, he didn't want to rid her of her sleep yet.
He wanted her to keep dreaming her sweet dreams and wanted her calm breathing to continue. All this without any reason whatsoever. So he just stood there, watching her breathe with her eyes shut, her face shining due to the sunlight, yet her features showed no irritation. But then, he just shook off whatever the heck he was feeling…as a matter of fact, he knew what had just happened; He actually for the first time looked at her closely to see just how pretty she was. But he just overlooked that fact. Again. Right now, just when he had noticed it…
He kept his gaze averted at the girl for a little longer and then saw her stir in her sleep a little. He took this as the perfect opportunity to wake her up. He inched closer to the bed and positioned his head a little away from hers and called out, "Sakura." Having got just silence as a response, he called her name out again, "Sakura, wake up. It's already morning."
She still didn't wake up. He then reached out his hand and placed it on her body and shook it while calling out her name again. She still wouldn't wake, so he just sat down beside her on the bed, his hand still on her body, occasionally shaking her. After a while, the pinkette's lidded eyes fluttered half-way open to reveal dazzling emerald orbs.
She blinked her eyes to clear the hazy vision and to get used to the sudden bright atmosphere. She felt a light weight placed just above her waist and instinctively, snapped her eyes open and got up fully aware. Sasuke was pretty surprised by her sudden movement and wondered what happened, perhaps a nightmare.
In a split second after jerking up from her sleep, Sakura swiftly turned her head to Sasuke, with a punch ready to land on his chest. All this, due to her ninja instincts and lessons of being alert and cautious always. But Sasuke caught her fist right in time and that's when Sakura realized that it was only Sasuke and not an intruder who was innocently sitting beside her.
"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here so early?" Said a surprised Sakura, as soon as she laid her eyes on Sasuke, the supposed intruder. Sasuke let go of her fist, understanding that Sakura had thought of him as an enemy.
"I was trying to wake you up. Yamanka, your friend, came by early in the morning today. Told me the details of the honeymoon. We are to reach the resort by six in the evening. Here are the rest of the details." Sasuke said this and reached out inside his pocket to pick out the note Ino had given him.
Sakura took it from him curiously and read it. Sasuke went on, "We have to leave in two three hours or something according to her."
"What?! But that's just im-" Sakura started.
"-Impossible, I know. But she says that it was the only slot the resort had left." He explained. Sakura just sighed. "Well, Sakura, you're the one who wanted to go that badly…"
"You're right. I think it's just great! Sooner we leave the better. Let's start getting ready then, shall we?" She asked with a smile. She changed her mind so quickly because she knew that Sasuke was basically trying to manipulate her into saying that they didn't have to go. Sakura knew better and so she just couldn't give in.
She enthusiastically got up from her bed, stretched slightly, smiled back at an annoyed Sasuke and left him alone in the room and disappeared into the bathroom.
Sasuke just balled his fist lightly, knowing that he couldn't get Sakura into refusing to go. He inwardly sighed, accepting the fact that there was no backing out of this. It couldn't be that bad after all, could it?
There, a slightly long chapter as an apology for updating this late! Hope it's good enough…there might be a few grammatical errors here and there as I haven't proof read this one yet…
So, they're going on a honeymoon and I have no idea what's going to happen! I have absolutely nothing of that planned, just came automatically. xD