Fighting for You-
Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto!
Chapter Nineteen
Trying
The living and dining room lights were on, and the music played loudly. Her father's favorite selection from Neil Diamond playing. Usually, Sakura would be singing along with her parents as they prepared dinner. But not this time. She was a nervous mess. For some reason, Ino and her friends decided it was a good idea to agree to her mother's invitation. She took a deep breath before pulling the cookies out of the oven and setting them on the cooling rack.
"Darling, sing with me!" Her father placed his arm over her shoulders and belted out, "SWEEET CAROLIIIIINE!" Sakura could only laugh nervously.
"Sorry, dad. Kinda busy with the cookies. Don't want to burn myself, you know?"
He blinked and scratched the back of his neck. "Oh right! Sorry, I'm just so excited. And those cookies look good. Can I help?"
She grinned. "Thanks! Can you help with the table? Mom is still getting ready."
"Oh sure." Before her dad could even pick up a plate, the doorbell rang.
Kizashi grinned and announced that he would get it before sauntering out of the kitchen. He opened the door, surprised to find the Uchiha boy as their first arrival. Sasuke offered him a warm smile and his hand.
"Good evening, Mr, Haruno. Thank you for having me," Sasuke said as they shook hands and then he blinked. "Is that… Niel Diamond?"
Kizashi blinked before a face splitting grin formed on his face. "The one and only. You listen to him?"
"I do." Sasuke nodded. "Often when I'm working out alone."
He nodded, a hand on his chin. "Sweet Caroline while working out. I should try that next time," he muttered. He let Sasuke in and then a clatter came from the kitchen. "Sweetheart, do you—oh! Right. Let me set the table. Sasuke, have a seat. Dinner will be ready soon."
"Oh, no sir. Please allow me to set the table. I'd like to help after you guys went through the trouble of inviting me." Sasuke told him, still smiling a flawless smile that was genuine. "I brought a few things as well. I hope that's okay." He explained as he held up the basket in his other hand.
Kizashi looked at him thoughtfully before smiling. "Oh, you shouldn't have! Sakura and my wife have been cooking all afternoon. But thank you. Come this way." He led the way to the kitchen, where Sakura was garnishing the chicken. Her hair was still up in a bun, and she was looking flustered. "Darling, Sasuke's here. He beat Ino to it!"
Sakura straightened up and waved at him nervously, the brush splattering oil on the counter. "Hey!" She laughed anxiously. Why was she laughing? Nothing was funny. "Umm… I'm not done yet. Maybe you can sit in the living room?"
"Your friend offered to help!" Her father beamed. "Such a polite young man. Here, I'll get the plates and you can set them on the table."
"You're… setting the table?" Sakura whispered. Memories of the first time he did that here came flooding back and her cheeks were tinted pink.
"I want to help." Sasuke smirked at her as he moved to set the basket he brought on the counter next to where she was working and then stood by her father, waiting for the plates.
Kizashi dug in for the good China and also pulled out the silverware they used for special occasions. Sakura's eyebrows rose. Why those?
"It's so nice to have youngsters over at the house." Kizashi hummed. "Makes me feel so young again. And we love meeting Sakura's friends." He handed a box over to Sasuke and piled some plates on it. Sasuke didn't even bend from the weight by an inch.
"I'm just glad to be here, sir. I'd like to do whatever I can to help," Sasuke told him and then made his way to the table to get started.
"Goodie." Kizashi was positively glowing. Sakura was glad her father was so easy to please. But smiled to herself when he whispered to her that Sasuke likes Neil Diamond. Music was important to her father, and to Sakura.
"Darling, are they here?" Mebuki walked into the kitchen. Her eyebrows rose when she saw the young man holding her fine china, setting their table.
Kizashi put his hand on the small of her back and ushered her to the dining room. "Darling, this is Sasuke. Sasuke, my wife. Mebuki."
Sasuke smiled at Mebuki and paused in setting the table to walk over to her and offer his hand. "It's nice to see you again, Mrs. Haruno. You look lovely."
Mebuki offered him a smile and took his hand for a firm shake. "Charmed to see you again, Sasuke." She held on to his hand and pulled him closer to her by a bit. "I'm sorry you're setting the table. I should have been here. I didn't expect you so early."
"Oh, no ma'am." Sasuke shook his head and laughed quietly. "I asked if I could help. I hope you don't mind."
She let go of his hand and looked at her husband. "You should have been helping Sakura, dear. Oh, really. Once Neil starts singing you just play around!" She walked into the kitchen to help Sakura.
Kizashi only laughed. "I don't get to listen to him enough!"
"He's really enjoyable." Sasuke commented, finding that he really liked Sakura's father and knew he would have to work hard to gain her mother's approval.
Kizashi was agreeing when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" He announced. As soon as the door opened, two blonde with bright blue eyes grinned at him. "Ino!"
"Hello!" Ino beamed at him and gave him a warm hug. "This is Naruto. I believe you met before."
He grinned and gave Naruto a warm handshake. "Of course! My hitter in the Golden Glove."
Naruto laughed and shook his hand, too. "Hi, sir. We brought cake!"
"Oh my! More food. I didn't know this was a potluck," he laughed. "Come in, come in. Sasuke is already here."
Ino and Naruto exchanged a look before stepping inside. Ino took the food and brought it over to the kitchen to heat up, and she started helping Mebuki out with the other dishes. Naruto on the other hand, walked right up to Sasuke with a shit eating grin on his face.
"You're early, Teme."
Sasuke scoffed quietly, obsidian eyes narrowing on his friend. "You're just late, Dobe."
Naruto laughed. "Or maybe you're just excited!"
"Excited for dinner?" Kizashi came up, holding the plates. "Well, who wouldn't be? My girls cook great food."
"Yeah, please let me take those," Sasuke said, averting his eyes and reaching for the plates.
Kizashi handed them over to him, a smile on his face. "Thanks, son. So helpful. Your mother must be proud." He then turned to Naruto, still smiling. "How are the fights going? Got anything new?"
"Oh, just training," Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "No new fights coming yet, but Teme here has some. Moved to another class and stuff. I'm still asking my manager if I can do the same."
"You don't say," Kizashi nodded and then looked at Sasuke. "Sounds good."
"Boys," Mebuki called. "Dinner is almost ready but Sakura will go get changed first."
Sakura scurried up the stairs, Ino following suit, but not without her giving Sasuke a pointed stare and then pointed at Mebuki.
Sasuke didn't understand how he could feel so pressured over dinner and yet stand in the octagon with a very skilled opponent and not feel anything. Sakura's mother was not like any ordinary obstacle for him to overcome. He would have to be patient and respectful. However, he was capable of those things and his own mother adored him. Surely Mebuki couldn't be too different.
After the plates were set, Sasuke slowly walked over to the woman whose approval he wanted so badly and he cleared his throat. "Is there anything else I can do?" He'd never done anything like this before and truly, he had no idea what he was doing. All he could do was try his best—prove to them that he was a good guy, more than deserving of their daughter's affections.
Mebuki turned around, mits on her hands and holding a glass container, holding what looked like lasagna. "Oh, I'm good here, dear. Thank you for the offer, though." She smiled, and then looked at the table. "You set up fast, too."
"Oh… it was nothing. I was always the one who set the table for dinner because… well, I can't do much when it comes to cooking." Or anything for that matter.
Mebuki nodded as she placed the tray down on the counter to cool. "Do you cook, too?"
Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and he wondered if his inability to cook would lessen his chances of approval. "No, sadly. I don't have much time to learn and my mom is always stopping by my place and leaving dinner for me. So, I suppose I've never really worried about it before." Now might be a good time to start worrying.
"You don't live with your family?" The surprise in her voice was clear, but she stopped herself from asking anything else.
Internally panicking, Sasuke wondered if he'd said too much, if he should back track, lie, or just give it to her straight. Sakura's parents were very reserved and traditional and they had a daughter. Sasuke's parents never expected him to stay home when they knew how he was. However, he truly respected how things were with Sakura and that's why he was willing to go so far—to try so hard and do everything the right way.
"No, I have my own home," He admitted after forcing his raging thoughts to settle. "I'm very close with my family though."
"Oh." Was all she said before closing the oven and giving him a sweet smile. It looked too sweet. "I'm sure they miss you, though. How often do you see them?"
"As much as I can. Sometimes only once each week. Our schedules are all a little hectic, but mine is worse than theirs."
She laughed, and for a moment, Sasuke wasn't sure if he should be even more nervous or relieved she laughed… what was so funny, though?
"My husband and I still work full time, and we're also very busy. Sakura is in Med school, and we want her to focus as much as we can, but we do miss her often when she's busy. Other times, my husband and I are the ones who don't have time for her." Mebuki picked up the pan and walked over to the table to place it down, as she passed Sasuke, she said, "We all do the best we can to make time for the people we love, right?"
"We do," Sasuke agreed, deciding that no matter how nice she was being, Mebuki terrified him.
"Darling! Oh, you look beautiful!" Kizashi left Naruto on the couch and stood to walk over to his daughter.
Sakura blushed, and playfully chided him. "Dad, please. I've worn this a thousand times." She rolled her eyes, but laughed when her dad poked her tummy.
"Old but gold," Ino winked at Sasuke.
Sakura was wearing a red sleeveless dress that fell right above her knees. He did recall seeing her wear that in one of her photos before.
"Dinner is ready!" Mebuki called them.
Kizashi kept chatting with Naruto and Ino joined them. Sakura lagged behind and fell in step with Sasuke.
"How're you, Sasuke-kun?" She grinned cheekily. "Have mom and dad got you running for the hills yet?"
"Not a chance." Sasuke shot back with a smile.
Sakura giggled and bumped him lightly with her hip. "They're going to love you… I hope." She then stuck her tongue out at him before walking over to the table and taking a seat.
Sasuke nervously eyed the open seat next to her, unsure if he should actually sit there. His hesitance only ended once he realized all the other seats were occupied and he sat down quietly.
There was a feast before them. The lasagna that Mebuki made, roast chicken, salad, pasta that Ino proudly said she made, and the stir fried vegetables that Sasuke made Itachi cook for him to bring.
The two blonds wasted no time, chatting up a storm and passing the food around for people to get. Ino looked right at home, as if she had done this a million times. She probably has. Naruto looked a little lost but as soon as he had food on his plate, he dug in, eating with an appetite as big as Sasuke's.
Sakura kept passing food to Sasuke, telling him to take more, knowing full well he must have been famished. "Just one? Are you sure? There's plenty."
Sasuke hesitated for a while, not wanting to stuff his face in front of her parents. But that lasagna did look good, and the portion he took was far too modest. What was he? A chick on a diet? Absolutely not. "Alright. Thank you. This does look really good." He took the tray from Sakura's hand, fingers brushing lightly. He kept his face impassive, and cut up another slice for himself.
Mebuki watched the two, a small smile on her face. She waited for Sasuke to take a bite before asking, "How is the lasagna, Sasuke?"
Naruto was about to answer but stopped himself when he heard who it was addressed to. Even with his mouth and cheeks full, he looked over at his friend nervously.
Sasuke swallowed to clear his mouth properly before saying, "delicious." There was something about moms being able to cook exceptionally well.
Mebuki grinned and picked up her fork. "Eat, there's a lot more."
"Thank you." Sasuke smiled and then had another bite, happy to help himself.
"Ino, dear, how is your family business going?" Mebuki asked, followed by her husband's question.
"And your father? Is he in the country at the moment? I haven't seen him at golf lately."
Ino took a sip of water before replying. "Business is doing well! Summer is a good time for flowers." She then turned to face Kizashi, "Dad is checking out another farm to purchase. He should be back next week."
"Oh yeah, aren't you opening another flower shop?" Sakura came in.
"Yeah," Ino responded. "Dad has plans to open up around three more, and hopefully another two before Valentine's next year. It's going to be busy, and I'll be helping a lot more now."
"Not too busy for me, I hope," Naruto mumbled.
"I'd never miss a fight." Ino winked.
Sakura looked at her food, wishing she could say the same for Sasuke. Med School hadn't been half as busy for her, but she still didn't get to spend as much time with Sasuke as she would like.
Mebuki smiled at Ino and Naruto, and then turned to face Sakura, who was now pushing her food around her plate. "Something wrong with your lasagna, dear?"
"N-nothing," Sakura stuttered and picked up her glass. "I just… I'm excited for dessert, I want to leave some room."
"There is always room for dessert!" Kizashi beamed. "If anyone else wants, let me go fetch that beautiful looking cake Ino brought.
"Oh, no, let me help!" Ino stood from her chair but Sakura was already walking towards the kitchen, wanting to be busy.
"Excuse me," Sasuke called softly from the table and then got up to follow her. When they were inside the kitchen, alone together, he walked over to her. "Hey, everything okay?"
Sakura didn't even want to look at Sasuke, she felt far too embarrassed. "I'm fine," she whispered, struggling to pick up the dessert forks and place them on the tray quietly. "I'm sorry I'm being weird, I feel so nervous." Once she finished with the forks, Sakura opened up a drawer to get small plates for the cake, piling them up neatly next to the forks on the tray.
"I'm nervous too." Sasuke grumbled, moving closer to her once again. "And I'm never nervous. But it's okay, as long as we're in it together. Right?" He smiled at her and raised his hand to brush the backs of his fingers against her cheek.
That cheered Sakura up, and made her feel a little braver. At least Sasuke wasn't running away from her mother yet. That was definitely a good sign, and they were already at dessert. Sweets always lessened the chances of anyone being grumpy. Sakura carried the cake while Sasuke carried the tray out back to the dining area. There were some talks about moving to the living room for dessert, but Mebuki insisted they stay seated and finish their food first.
Sakura carefully placed the cake down on the stand, and asked, "Who wants cake?"
Naturally, Ino and Naruto raised their hands, and her parents wanted some, too. She looked at Sasuke, "Do you want some cake, too?" She remembered too late that Sasuke didn't like sweets.
"Yes, please." Sasuke nodded even though he hesitated for several seconds before responding.
She blinked a few times, and then forced a smile before cutting him a small slice, knowing that this was probably more than enough for him. But her mother tutted her, and chided, "Sakura, dear. That's so small. Don't be stingy for our guests."
Sakura froze and cut up a bigger slice, apologetically smiling at Sasuke.
Naruto wasn't as subtle, snickering and whispering loudly to Ino how Sasuke hated sweets. Ino didn't comment on it, just poked Sakura to make the slice for her not too big.
She handed it to Sasuke, and then continued on to slice for Ino, Naruto, and her parents. Sakura cut herself a small piece, thinking she should help Sasuke finish that slice instead of getting too much for herself.
"That's all you're getting, darling?" Kizashi asked, shocked to see how small the slice was on her plate.
Sakura sat down and nodded. "This is fine."
"You said you were excited for this, you barely had any dinner." Her father blinked.
Mebuki didn't comment, only ate her cake but looked at Sakura pointedly.
"I'll get more later, I just don't want to overeat, it's bad to eat so much before you sleep, you know?"
"Don't remind me," Ino muttered, but still had a big slice of cake. Naruto was too busy eating this cake to comment.
Sakura looked over at Sasuke, who was barely touching his slice. "Do you need help with that?" She asked quietly.
Sasuke gave her a look of appreciation and smiled softly at her. "Thank you."
She smiled warmly at him and took a portion of his cake, discreetly transferring it to her own plate. Sakura pushed her plate away and took a large bite, appreciating that she was finally eating something sweet. After another bite, she took more cake from Sasuke's plate, leaving him the small slice she got him earlier. "You'll have to finish that on your own," she teased.
"I can handle it." Sasuke said surely, even if he wasn't so sure. He began by taking small bites and chewing fast.
Sakura giggled and proceeded to eat her cake, listening to Ino's chatter about her mother's trip.
"How's the cake, son?" Kizashi asked Sasuke, a wide grin on his face.
"Best I ever had." Sasuke answered easily as swallowing a large mouthful of cake—trying to finish it so he would be done for good and not have to go through anymore cake eating. He really did hate sweets.
Kizashi seemed pleased with his answer, taking a piece of cake and biting into it himself. He then told Ino to send him the location for this cake shop, as he would have wanted to bring some for his colleagues the following week. Ino was quick to pull out her phone to send him the map.
As soon as all the cake was done, Kizashi had to excuse himself to answer a work related call, and Mebuki also had a text message to attend to, that became a call, too.
Ino, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were left to clean up, and this gave Sakura such a huge breath of relief. At least now, she could relax. Sakura was picking up the small plates while Sasuke and Naruto brought the bigger plates and food back into the kitchen.
Ino walked over to her, picking up the used utensils. "Forehead, I think that went well."
"It's not over yet," Sakura replied. "When they finish that call, they'll probably ask us to sit around for tea or wine."
"And that isn't a bad thing, look," Ino stopped working and gave Sakura a pointed stare. "Sasuke is still alive and cleaning up around here. Your mother didn't scare him off! That's a good thing, right?"
"Yes, it is," Sakura sighed. "I'm relieved my mother didn't say anything too scary, to be honest. Dad seems to like him, though."
"See! Already one down," Ino laughed. "But yeah, your mom needs to be won over. Like, so bad. Do you think Sasuke sending her flowers will work?"
"Pig!" Sakura laughed. "Stop being so silly."
"Whaaaat?" Ino giggled. "A woman can't refuse flowers." She picked up the last of the utensils and walked to the kitchen. "Don't say it isn't truuue!" She sing-songed before skipping into the kitchen.
Sakua shook her head and smiled, cleaning up the rest of the plates before walking over to the kitchen. Naruto was leaning on the counter, chatting while Sasuke was moving the lasagna to another container. Ino placed the utensils in the sink along with the plates and Sakura walked over to join her.
"I'll wash, you rinse?" She asked Ino.
"I'll help you," Sasuke interjected, coming to take a place next to her at the sink. "If that's okay…"
"Sure," Sakura smiled.
"Thank you!" Ino gushed, and looked at her manicure nails. "I thought I was going to risk having these babies ruined. "I'll take care of wiping the table down instead," she grinned and then pulled Naruto. "Come help me over here."
Only Sakura and Sasuke were left alone in the kitchen to wash. Sakura picked up a pink apron with Cherry Blossoms on it and slipped it on before tying a ribbon at the back. "Do you want an apron too, Sasuke-kun?" She giggled, showing off the Kiss the Cook apron her dad liked to use.
"N-no." Sasuke shook his head quickly, ears turning red while he refused to look at her. "I'll be fine like this."
She hummed and then hung the apron back. "Alright, if you say so." Sakura took her place in front of the sink and proceeded to wash the plates, handing it to Sasuke when it was thoroughly soaped. "How was dinner, Sasuke-kun?" she kept her voice low, not wanting to be overheard.
"It was great… the food was really good and well, I made it." He chuckled quietly and nudged very hip with his. "I don't think they hate me at least."
"I'm surprised you didn't run." Sakura giggled. "I think dad likes you a lot."
"I hope he does… I want them both to like me, since I like you so much." Sasuke smiled and her, wanting to lean closer but not allowing himself to. He had a task to do and he didn't want to be caught red handed all close and personal to Sakura.
Her cheeks burned. A plate slipped in her hold and it clattered loudly. "Oh, I'm so sorry." She picked it up and scrubbed a little harder, her heart fluttering in her chest. Did he really just say that? Sasuke-kun just said he likes her a lot. It was getting a little too hot in the kitchen.
"I-I don't think it'll be hard for you to get mom to like you." Because I already do. "But she's just really hard to please and scary, you know? Sometimes I don't know how dad ever managed to win her over."
"That's easy." Sasuke smirked. "He never gave up. And neither will I."
Sakura chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I recall he said something like that." She smiled warmly at him, wanting to give Sasuke a quick kiss for being so sweet, but stopped herself, not wanting to risk anyone seeing them. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."
It's no secret that being with her was an ordeal. Perhaps not because of her personality but because of her circumstance. Other than being busy with school and work at the hospital, her parents were also a hard obstacle to conquer. Sakura lived in a little upperclass bubble, and people would think that it was easy to be friends or do what you liked with that much financial freedom at her disposal but if anything, it made it harder for her to make real friends, who didn't want her for her money. Or date boys who just thought if they wifed her, she would be a trophy wife.
Sasuke never made her feel that way. Whenever she was with him, she felt like she could be herself, and that he genuinely enjoyed her company, for being the real her.
After a quick glance around the kitchen, Sasuke leaned over and kissed her temple. It was chaste, but soft. The kiss lingered for a couple seconds and he smiled so sincerely at her as he went back to rinsing the dishes.
She sighed and leaned on his shoulder for a bit before going back to soaping the plates. They continued to wash in a comfortable silence for a few minutes more and Sakura briefly wondered what it would be like to spend the rest of her life with Sasuke like this. Doing mundane house work, but still feeling over the moon, heart fluttering and cheeks blushing, forever feeling like a love struck teenager.
A/N:
Hello, thank you guys for reading!
ahhh, dinner with the parents... how scary~
Sasuke made it though. Sakura seemed to struggle even more than he did haha, poor girl!
What are you guys expecting to happen from here? Kairi and I will be looking forward to hearing your thoughts. XD
