Chapter 4
She slowly sits up in her bed. Stretching her arms above her head. She woke up to the sound of something falling and Sasuke cussing loudly from his bedroom. Their rooms were separated by a wall. It had been two months since she started working for Sasuke.
Over the past two months they had grown more comfortable with each other around his home. He was actually tending to the plants they planted in his backyard. She was actually shocked he liked gardening and took to it so well. It was a hunch at best that he would enjoy it. They also walked or jogged together about four times a week now. Whenever it worked for him.
She noticed he had not drank once since that one night Naruto brought him over. She had heard him some nights looking in cupboards though for his alcohol. Whenever she heard him searching the house she would go sit with him and watch a show on TV, no matter the hour.
They also ate breakfast and dinner together most days. Unless he stayed late at work or had to leave early in the morning to beat traffic. Granted he did not talk much to her at meals he still took the time to sit with her. She thinks he likes the company, oddly enough considering how gruff he is.
She also notices he appreciates her being there. Granted she is being paid to be there but he mentions things on the sly. For example she cleans, cooks and does laundry. He will say after he eats a meal he particularly likes, "that was good." Or if she cleans something he never noticed needed cleaning he will ask if she did that and give a face that shows he is thankful.
She also, as much as she tries not to, notices how attractive he is. His raven locks frame his face so beautifully. His eyes are the darkest shade of brown, nearly black. She wants to fall into them sometimes and never come out. His body was also quite the specimen. He woke up one morning and sat at the kitchen table in dark gray sweatpants and only sweatpants. When he stood up to put his plate by the sink she saw quite an outline. Whenever he wore his nicer suits for days he had meetings with clients she was secretly happy. He looked exquisite.
Besides his looks she is slowly realizing he is gentle, kind and smart. Also quite a bit snarky some days. She knew he had more of an affinity for tomatoes than just liking them. He did not like sweets, and had made fun of her once when she was eating a strawberry mochi from the freezer she had bought for herself. She slowly was putting a timeline together of what happened to make him the way he was. From what she remembers Itachi telling her, Sasuke was a stunted adult. He had essentially worked hard the better portion of his adult life, on top of dealing with family issues, Itachi's illness and this slimy mentor of his. She wanted to know more about Sasuke, about more of his likes and dislikes. About his favorite memories and what makes him truly happy.
She knew she should not be feeling this way about her client, that was paying her to work for him. It was against so many ethical codes her own mentor Tsunade instilled in her.
It was a Saturday today. She finished stretching and went to the kitchen to start breakfast, only to find Sasuke cooking food already. "Eggs over rice ok?" He asked.
She nodded. "Isn't this supposed to be the other way around?" Sakura asked.
He shrugged. "I sometimes like to cook. You have to remember I lived by myself before you came along." He said looking over his shoulder while his body faced the stove top.
He finished and plated their breakfast. They ate most of their food in a comfortable quiet. She would glance at him every so often and noticed from his body language that he was fidgety.
"Are you ok?" She asked.
He glanced up to look at her.
"I'm fine. I just…, I have a work trip next week. It's five days long. It's just some of the executives at the firm." He said looking back down at his now empty plate. He looked like he was internally debating something.
"We…we can bring a plus one." He added. She looked up at him waiting to see what he was going to say.
"Would you be interested in going? I would do better if you went. It's kind of a loose group when it comes to… recreational activities." This was the most awkward she had seen him. She almost wanted to giggle at his boyish awkwardness.
"I'd like to go." She said fighting not to blush. "I do not expect to be paid though. It technically is a vacation."
He nodded. "If you say so. I do have to go to a few meetings while I'm there though so you may be on your own a bit while we are there."
—-
He failed to mention until the day of, that they were heading to a beach resort. Luckily she packed for warmer weather. They made it to the airport without trouble. Naruto was also apparently going on this trip too. Sasuke and Naruto had become executives in their respective departments at the firm around the same time. It seemed Naruto's plus one was a man with deep red hair, introduced as Gaara, his boyfriend.
The flight was short, they were going to the desert state, Suna, a couple hours away by plane. On the plane ride Naruto mentioned from the seat in front of herself and Sasuke that Gaara was from Suna. Gaara nodded and added, "I know some places to check out if you are interested." Sakura nodded, eager to learn more about Gaara and Suna.
Over the past two months Naruto had also been over quite a few times. He would come over for a free meal most times. Sakura quickly realized she enjoyed Naruto's bright disposition and that Naruto was a very good friend to Sasuke. They had grown up together and shared embarrassing stories of each other because Naruto had an audience to listen to him (Sakura.) Naruto brought up how when Sasuke was 7 or 8 he had gotten lost at the firm visiting his father who apparently used to work there before Itachi started there. Sasuke was apparently crying bloody murder in the lobby of the new building for Itachi because he couldn't find anyone. Of course Sasuke had to one up Naruto by outing that Naruto had pissed himself once when they were 10 in Naruto's father's office, from laughing at a video. She laughed trying to picture these two executives being kids doing normal kid things. It made her happy to learn more about the two friends.
Once when Sasuke stepped away to grab a clean dish towel from the laundry closet Naruto told Sakura how thankful he was for her presence in Sasuke's life. He noticed a difference in his friend's demeanor since she had come along. "Keep calling him on his shit. He needs that." He had said once he heard Sasuke padding back to the kitchen.
—
They arrived at the resort around midday Suna time, surrounded by palm trees and beautiful desert foliage. Sakura was already sweating from the heat. The taxi to the resort had no air conditioning in it. The half hour drive was brutal. Once they exited the taxi she noticed the Uchiha had a gleam of sweat across his brow and he looked grumpy.
Sakura elbowed him in the side as they walked into the lobby. He gave her a questioning look. "Hey at least there is air conditioning here!" She cringed at her own awkwardness.
His lips turned up slightly at her comment. She took it as a win.
They waited for Naruto and Gaara to finish checking in, and then Sasuke approached the front desk.
"Reservation under Uchiha." Sasuke said.
The front desk clerk nodded and typed into her computer. She made a face after she pulled something up on her screen.
"I am terribly sorry Mr. Uchiha. We were not able to accommodate your request for two single bed rooms. The resort is booked solid this weekend. We still have your original reservation for the single queen size bed. If it helps there is also a couch in each room that pulls out." The clerk said in her best customer service voice.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes in irritation.
"I called a couple days ago and they had confirmed that two rooms would be available. Please check again." He demanded, visibly annoyed.
She tapped his arm slightly. "Sasuke, I don't mind sleeping on the pull out. I would really just enjoy putting my luggage somewhere."
He looked into her eyes and it seemed he was contemplating something earnestly. He sighed and looked back to the concierge.
"Forget it. I don't want to see two rooms on my bill though." He said to the concierge.
"Of course Mr. Uchiha. Here are your key cards." She handed two cards to Sasuke and they went up the elevator to their floor.
—-
The resort was packed. They made it to their room after stopping at nearly every floor until they hit the twentieth floor. They entered their room. It was a nice resort so it made up for the foot traffic. By the time they hit their floor Sasuke was pissed.
He meddled with the key card angrily missing the slot to put it in a few times. "Fucking card." He said under his breath.
She gave a little grin from his anger. He glanced back at her and rolled his eyes. Once they were comfortably in their shared room. He asked, "Are you sure you are ok with this? I'll take the pull out. And you can take half the closet for your things."
She waved her hands in front of her. "Absolutely not. You're paying for the room and you have to work on this trip. You take the bed. End of discussion. I will take half the closet though-no problem."
He shrugged, and started unzipping his suitcase. They unpacked in an amicable quiet. Once she was done she sat on the couch and browsed her phone.
Bzzz Bzzz
She looked up to Sasuke who was still unpacking his things. He glanced at his phone and read a message that came in.
"Naruto says he's at the resort's restaurant. Did you want to go?" Sasuke asked her.
She wanted to go. It was past her dinner time. She wanted Sasuke to make the call. "I'm fine either way!" She chirped.
He sighed and grabbed his wallet from the nightstand next to the bed.
"We have to eat anyway. Come on." He said getting his shoes on.
Sakura nodded and they headed down to the restaurant. They found Naruto and Gaara at a table for four.
"We were lucky we got this table. The resort is packed!" Naruto exclaimed, sipping on some drink in a tiki themed cup.
Sakura glanced at Sasuke making sure he was alright. She hadn't been around him yet when he was around other people drinking. She was on 'vacation' but she was not about to have a glass of wine in front of him.
He was looking at the menu when Naruto gave Sakura a look while sipping his drink. He seemed to be saying with his eyes I'm testing him. Sakura could not figure out if this was cruel or a good thing. She would just watch and see what happened, and aid if she needed to.
They ordered and ate their respective plates. Naruto had a couple drinks during dinner. Sasuke seemed fine throughout dinner, she wasn't so worried now. They finished up and waved goodbye to Naruto and Gaara.
As Sasuke and Sakura were heading to the elevators, Sakura saw a familiar long black haired man who looked as sleazy as ever. She quickly hid behind a decorative plant. She pulled Sasuke along with her.
"Be cool. One of my teacher slash second mothers old creep friends is here. Don't move till he's gone." She mumbled out.
Sasuke stood behind the plant with her and looked in the direction she was looking. His eyes went wide and he looked back to her.
"How the fuck do you know Orochimaru?" He asked.
"How do you?" She retorted, they watched as he went into the elevator. They managed to remain unseen by him. They both went back by the elevators to wait for one.
The elevator ride was quiet and once they made it to their room. He started talking first.
"He was my old mentor, that mentor."
Sakura connected the dots. Then felt she needed to explain her connection.
"He was my teacher's friend. The woman who taught me about medicine and healing. They used to be close and I had met him a few times. Each interaction was worse than the last…I'm sorry you had to deal with him." She said looking down at her feet stepping out of her shoes.
Sasuke's eyes looked wild for a moment and then he calmed. He seemed to be connecting dots as well.
"His firm was probably invited to this event too. Go figure." He said sardonically.
He then began taking his shoes off and placing his wallet and phone on the nightstand by the bed.
"Whatever. It's been a long day. I'll deal with that tomorrow." He sat on the bed with his head in his hands. He then got up and grabbed his pajamas and got ready for bed in the bathroom next to the door of their room.
He got out and Sakura had her turn to get ready for bed. She observed all his little soaps and bathroom essentials on his side of the bathroom counter. This feels way too comfortable. Well duh, you have been living with him for two months. She finished up and grabbed the TV remote next to the couch.
"Hey…did you want to watch bad hotel TV for a bit?" She asked, holding onto the remote.
He shrugged while browsing his phone, "I don't care. Do what you want."
She turned on the TV and began flipping through channels. With the way the room was set up, the bed was the best place to watch TV. She was turning her neck awkwardly to watch the screen.
He glanced at her trying to watch the screen.
"Tch. You can sit on the bed…if you want." He offered.
For the first time in a long time, she felt shy.
"Uh, are you sure? I don't want to impose."
"It's fine." He then proceeded to scoot over giving her a space of her own on the bed.
She technically wasn't on the clock right now. She would enjoy the stupid cooking show she decided on, at the proper angle. He put down his phone he was browsing and began watching as well.
They had been watching whatever food TV network it was for a half hour now. She glanced at Sasuke and he looked engrossed in the program now.
"I'm sorry, are you actually invested in this?" She asked sarcastically.
He looked at her, breaking his gaze from the TV.
"So what if I am. They are working hard on these dishes with the ingredients they have."
She laughed out loud. For the first time all day he seemed relaxed. She laid back on the bed a bit more to get more comfy. I can't fall asleep here, that would be a no no. He also leaned back more with his head resting on his hand.
"Would you eat that dish? What would you rate it?" She asked after another fifteen minutes passed, and the show progressed.
"Hell yes I would. That looks delicious. Fish and tomatoes? They would balance out against the liver." He blew air out of his nose as his sign of a laugh.
She laughed again at his strange humor. He countered her.
"Would you eat that dish?" He asked when a new dish was shown, while poking her in the side.
"Hmm. The pig's blood may balance out the lime flavor right? But no way." She responded giggling.
Was he flirting? Oh god, am I flirting?
The lamp was turned off long ago. The only light in the room was from the TV. It was now midnight in Suna, and they were still watching garbage TV. She was still in the bed next to him. She had either gotten closer to him or he had gotten closer to her. She was happy though. He was warm, but not warm enough.
She rubbed her arms, the air conditioning in the resort blew hard due to the heat outside. He noticed her, and motioned her to move to unroll the covers. They both slid under the covers, together. He didn't say anything about her going to the couch. Should I move? Is he just being nice? But it's so warm and comfy now.
She yawned and asked him what the plan was for tomorrow. He pulled his phone out and looked at something on it.
"Well, I have a lunch meeting. And a tour of the resort following lunch. We were called here because the resort reached out to a few Konoha ad firms to make a campaign. It seems they have called Orochimaru's firm too, as well as a smaller firm. Then I have a dinner party in the resort's ballroom, guests are allowed to come." He replied to her.
"Hmm, well I hope your firm gets the business. I've seen some of the ads your firm has put out and they are all pretty good. Definitely makes me consider buying some of the products and services!"
He chuckled at her enthusiasm. She nudged him with her elbow.
"Don't laugh, I mean it!" She said playfully.
Even though it was dark she could see he had rolled his eyes. They sat back in a comfortable quiet watching the new show that had turned on.
Sakura felt her eyelids becoming heavy, and succumbed to the warmth of the covers but more from Sasuke. She failed to notice the way he watched her slowly doze into a comfortable slumber. Or how his arm twitched wanting to reach out to hold her.
Sorry Tsunade. I'm breaking a rule. I'm falling for a client.