Welcome back guys, this chapter is focused more on Sakura getting to know her in laws, enjoy!!
Chapter 7- Uchihas
Sakura knew she should get used to all the Uchiha properties by now, but she couldn't help but stare with wide eyes at the view in front of her as soon as she stepped out of the limo. This is the Uchiha Residence? She will be living here from now onwards? This was no less than a palace.
"Sakura dear? Are you doing fine now? Oh I'm so sorry, I wish I could take all your sadness away!" Mikoto said sadly. Sakura only gave a warm smile at her mother in law and nodded assuringly. "It's good to see you're doing better. Let's get inside dear, I've decorated the house myself especially for your arrival!" Mikoto took Sakura along, with Sasuke beside her and the rest of the Uchihas behind the trio.
As if the outlook wasn't enough, the interior made Sakura gasp visibly. The mansion was illuminated with both dim and spotlights beautifully adorning the place, reflecting the beautiful decorations which Sakura realized were Mikoto's doings that she was talking about. "It's beautiful.." Sakura murmured to which Mikoto giggled.
"I'm glad you like it Sakura-Chan. I believe you two would want to take rest now? You had a long day. We won't take much of your time, come on Sasu-chan, take her to the room."
"I think I'll need to drink some water first okaa-san, I'm going to the kitchen." Sasuke responded nonchalantly, already walking away from the entrance.
"Ah okay Sasu-chan, don't take too long. I'll take Sakura to the room then." Mikoto said to Sasuke, slightly pouting, until turning back to Sakura again. "Come on Saku-chan, I'll show you your bedroom, I decorated the room myself as well!" Mikoto squealed, leading the way upstairs already.
Mikoto couldn't stop giggling at Sakura's reaction. Sakura never came across a room as beautiful as this. It was organized, well decorated, and was extremely big. She always lived in a room much smaller than this, adjusting to such a lavish place was sure going to take a while. Mikoto took Sakura towards the king-sized bed in the room, where she made Sakura sit as she began speaking.
"You'll be even more surprised to know that apart from the decorations this is exactly how the room stays all the time, Sasu-chan is an extremely organized person and totally hates being messy, he doesn't even let me organize his things!" Mikoto couldn't stop giggling while she spoke. "Anyways, I'll be giving you the space to rest now dear. Don't worry, Sasu-chan will be here in a while. The closet is right there." Mikoto said pointing towards where the closet was. "I've bought you a few sets of clothing already so you don't have to go through your belongings right now, I hope you'll like them! And I've kept all your bags in the closet, you can organize them anytime later. I'll see you tomorrow dear, goodnight!" Mikoto said as she gave her a warm smile and left the room upon hearing Sakura thank her in response. Sakura sat quietly on one corner of the bed. Even though Mikoto directed where the closet was, she wasn't sure exactly where it would be and she didn't dare to explore herself in the new environment she was in, Sakura realized that she must not forget this was Sasuke's room too and she'd rather not do anything to create a mess, which she now knew that Sasuke hated.
Meanwhile
"Ready for the night, otouto?"
"Shut up."
Itachi was having the time of his life teasing his now married little brother. Sasuke really didn't need to drink water, he just felt like it was a good excuse to delay being in the same room as Sakura but after Itachi's constant teasing, he was totally regretting being here. After a few minutes of dragging his 'water drinking' session which could be done in seconds, he realized that there's no use being in the kitchen and it's high time to head to his room, plus if he spent another moment with the prick of a brother that Itachi was currently being, he'd surely lose it. Without another word he walked out towards the stairs, leaving a chuckling Itachi. 'Foolish little brother...'
After what seemed like 5 minutes or so of waiting, suddenly the door clicked open. Sakura stiffened right there, looking at the door with wide eyes. She saw Sasuke lazily entering the room, stopping to look at the sitting Sakura for a while then proceeding to walk forward upon locking the door. Sakura's eyes were fixed on him, observing his actions. He stopped at the desk nearby and began taking off some of his accessories in a disciplined manner. Sakura didn't want to seem impolite by just sitting there and stare at what he was doing, for which she finally stood up and faced her husband waiting for him to turn his back once he was done with his work. Within the next few seconds, Sasuke turned, done with his removal of all the extra accessories he had on, only to face his wife looking up at him. He stood there, looking at her intently understanding that she wanted to say something. Sakura's heart started pounding even more the moment his gaze fell on her, but despite her fear she decided to speak as she realized Sasuke was only looking at her questioningly.
"Uh.." She didn't utter a word and she already felt stupid as the sudden realization hit her that she didn't even know what to call him. Her gaze shifted from him to the floor when she no longer could maintain eye contact. "Um.. Mr.Uchiha- I-I mean.. S-Sasuke-sama.. uh s-sorry Uchiha-sama-"
"Sasuke."
Sakura looked up at him with a confused look at his sudden interruption. "Call me Sasuke." He clarified noticing her visible confusion.
"Oh.. Sasuke-kun?.." Sakura asked, not sure whether to call him just by his first name. She took Sasuke's 'hn.' as a yes.
"Get changed first, I'll go in later. The closet is far to your left." Sasuke said maintaining his toneless voice.
"A-alright... uh.." Sakura's voice trailed off, too afraid that her constant confusion about things will anger Sasuke, considering his already stoic composure. Sasuke however seemed to understand where her confusion was coming from, for which he answered her before she could question him again.
"You'll find your clothes in a cabinet to your right, in the middle. Slide it open and you'll know where they are. The restroom is along where the closet is, just at the right." Sakura nodded in understanding, thankful that Sasuke himself made things clear for her before her heart could burst pounding. She relaxed and immediately walked towards the closet.
Sakura was convinced that this was some sort of royal palace, even the closet seemed bigger than the room she lived in back in her house. Sakura released her bridal attire, relieved to finally being able to let go of the extra weight she was carrying all day. Mikoto really got her more than just 'a few' clothing items. It was a whole collection right before her eyes ranging from sleeping suits to party gowns. She really wondered if she needed to bring all the clothes along with her from home after what her mother in law had gotten her, not to mention all of them were absolutely gorgeous. Sakura chose a navy night suit and quickly changed into that, safely keeping her bridal attire and jewellery in the cabinet, making sure she left no mess for Sasuke to come across. After freshening up, removing all her makeup and letting her hair loose from all the pins used for the updo, she went back to the room again.
Sasuke was sitting on the couch, now with only his shirt and pants on. As soon as he saw Sakura stepping out of the closet he got up, picked all his belongings and headed towards the closet. His eyes fell on Sakura as he moved forward, seeing her wearing only a loose top and trousers now. She looks good even in a night suit.. Sasuke immediately looked away, hating how his mind was playing with him. They were married to fulfill a responsibility only, no feelings must be involved in the marriage, not even the slightest, he reminded himself and entered into the closet.
Sakura walked to the bed, sitting on the same position that she did earlier, not sure what to do and thus decided for Sasuke to arrive. After waiting for a few minutes she saw him stepping out in a plain t-shirt and loose trousers. Sakura couldn't help but notice his muscular arms which were covered with shirts and blazers in all their previous encounters. His defined features made Sakura stare at him almost dreamily, until a few seconds later when she realized what she was doing and immediately looked away, now standing up from where she was sitting. Still facing slightly away, she hesitantly shifted her eyes towards him, hoping that he didn't catch her staring.
"You can take the bed, I'll shift to the couch." Sakura stared at him in shock as she saw him taking a pillow and heading towards the couch nearby. He wouldn't even prefer staying around me.. she thought, now looking at the very large bed which could easily make room for two and still be spacious. Even though the idea of sharing a bed with Sasuke wasn't very comfortable considering the terms they were in, she would never let him take the couch in his own room while she took the whole bed for herself.
"S-Sasuke-kun..." Sasuke stopped midway and turned back to look at her. "Y-you can take the bed.. I'll shift to the couch.." She said, already prepared to move.
"I can't let you do that. Go to sleep." Sasuke said in the same stoic tone. Sure he preferred the bed over the couch, but he had his morals too. He'd never let her sleep on the couch while he himself slept on the bed, and his family would never approve of him staying in another room even though they had plenty of them.
"B-but.. I can't sleep in bed w-when you're in the c-couch Sasuke-kun.. d-don't worry.. and..." She shifted her gaze away from him, not sure what his reaction to what she was about to say might be. "..The bed is big enough.. I-I will stay in a corner, I won't move, I-I mean.. just don't s-sleep on the couch.. please.." She pleaded, still avoiding his gaze.
His eyes slightly softened at her desperate pleas which went unnoticed by Sakura. He did not want to share a bed with her for two contradicting possibilities that he still had in his mind. Firstly, he did not want her to be uncomfortable for his presence, he wanted to give her the assurance that he did not have any intentions to go near her just because they were married now and nor he would. Secondly, he did not want them to fall into any awkward situation. He was not a restless one, he was certain he wouldn't move an inch from his own position but he didn't know her. What if she shifted her position in her sleep and landed then into a position he didn't want himself to be in? However, a sense of relief washed over him at Sakura's pleading and assurance. At least she didn't hate the idea about sharing a bed... or else he might have ended up on the couch once and for all. Did she actually care whether he slept on a bed or suffered on the couch? What made her request so desperately? Tch. She was probably trying to be polite. He turned back now completely facing her and she looked up noticing his movements, he nodded in agreement, causing Sakura's stiff figure to finally relax a bit.
"Choose your side." Sasuke said, putting back the pillows he took from the bed.
"I-I'm okay with either one Sasuke-Kun, y-you can take your preferred side. And.. thank you.." Sakura shyly said, still avoiding looking at her husband.
Sasuke didn't respond, rather he moved to his regular side to the right and slipped in, turning his side of the lights off. Sakura understanding his gesture moved to the other side and slipped at the very corner, close enough to fall if she made the slightest movement to her left in her sleep but still didn't dare move towards where Sasuke was, even though there was plenty of space dividing them that could fit like three more people. She turned her side of the lights off and the room went completely dark. Without thinking anything more, she shut her eyes, tired enough to drift off to sleep quite fast despite the very new environment and the awkward situation she was in.
Sasuke on the other hand was still awake, shifting slowly in the darkness making sure Sakura doesn't notice to take a look at the side of his wife. Her back was facing him, he was quite amused and felt slightly guilty when he saw her far at the corner. True to her words, she positioned herself as far as possible despite the amount of space between them. His eyes softened again seeing his wife like that, but he quickly shifted his attention from her to turn back and go to sleep, their backs now facing each other as they both slept now, too far to be within each other's reach, only moonlight illuminating the dark room softly.
Next morning
Sasuke didn't have an alarm set to wake up to since it was a weekend and he had no office to attend. Moreover, the last day was indeed tiring, which led to him sleeping more than he normally does. Sakura woke up first for she was the one facing the window, the sunlight fell directly on her sleeping face at which her eyes fluttered open. It took a while for her to get over the sudden shock she got seeing the new environment she was in, until yesterday's events ran through her memory. Right.. I'm married now.. her eyes fell on her sleeping husband, not understanding what to do, she decided not to wake him up and get ready instead, realizing it was already nine in the morning and it wouldn't be right to lay there on the bed or stay in the room without meeting the others any longer. She walked into the closet, yet again amused at the collection Mikoto prepared for her and thankful for saving her from the trouble of going through all her belongings to find the right clothing just yet. She chose a comfortable mint coloured dress fitting her perfectly, then headed to freshen herself up.
The clicking of the closet door opening woke Sasuke up, after which he realized his wife was already awake. His eyes fell on the clock, 9:12.. everyone must be at the breakfast table by now..
Sakura got out shortly only to encounter an already awake Sasuke sitting at the edge of the bed, their eyes locked on each other for a fraction of seconds until they both looked away. "G-good morning Sa-Sasuke-kun." Sakura greeted hesitantly, still shocked at the sudden encounter.
"Hn. Everyone's probably at the breakfast table already. I'll be joining in a while." Sasuke got up, making his way towards the closet.
"Oh.. I'll wait for you then.." Sakura said. Even though she understood Sasuke indicated her to leave for breakfast already, she didn't want to get lost on the very first day looking for a place without knowing its whereabouts, moreover leaving him alone just like that wouldn't look too polite either.
Sasuke expected her to leave right there and then, for which he was a little taken aback when she declared she'll be waiting for him. He didn't bother pushing it much and only nodded in agreement as he went into the closet. Sakura waited for few minutes in silence till Sasuke stepped out in a new pair of t-shirts And sweatpants. She followed Sasuke as he quietly led the way towards the dining room.
Sakura could only wonder how she will remember where which room is, as they passed corridors after corridors and the hallway to another room where she saw the rest of the family members sitting already.
"Oh there you are! Good morning Sasu-chan, Sakura-chan! We were thinking of calling you earlier but then thought of giving you two some more time!" Mikoto said winking. "Come on, have your breakfasts, it's been only a while since the three of us gathered, we'd call you in a while, couldn't miss having the first breakfast with Saku-chan together after all!" Mikoto invited them as the couple stepped towards the breakfast table.
"Good morning Fugaku-sama, Mikoto-sama. Good morning Itachi-san.. S-sorry for making you wait.." Sakura said apologetically, already guilty for waking up late. Sasuke mumbled a good morning and proceeded towards one of the twelve chairs, opposite to where Itachi sat. Sakura following her instincts decided to take a seat beside him.
"Oh no you didn't dear. And why'd you call us that eh? You're the daughter in law of the family now, please call us tou-san and okaa-san!" Mikoto pleaded.
"A-alright.. tou-sama.. okaa-sama..." Sakura mumbled lowly, as much touched she was by her in laws' gestures towards her, she still wasn't very open with them to call them using 'san' as the suffix like Mikoto suggested just yet and chose to stick to 'sama' for her own comfort. Itachi and Fugaku then greeted the couple and they began having breakfast in silence until Itachi began with his way to meddle with Sasuke.
"You look tired otouto, you sure you had proper sleep? Not like I expect either of you to though." Itachi said smirking. Sasuke almost choked on whatever he was eating and Sakura hitched, already blushing furiously. Mikoto giggled a little too hard and Fugaku as usual completed his breakfast early and left long before he could face this scene.
"Shut up." Sasuke shot sternly, accompanied by a deadly glare.
"Alright, alright otouto, I was just joking. You don't have to be that triggered you know, I respect your pri-va-cy."
"I'm done eating. I'm leaving." Sasuke stood up and began walking out of the room, glaring at Itachi until he turned his back.
"Wait, Sasu-chan! Sakura is still unfamiliar with the house, she needs a house tour and I want you to be the one to do it! Make sure you don't forget!" Mikoto called out to Sasuke which made him stop and stand in his position for few seconds until finally speaking.
"Aa. After your breakfast." He commanded, turning back a little to eye Sakura and left as soon as he was done doing so.
Mikoto took her leave seconds later and by that time Sakura was done with her breakfast as well, for which she took stood up from her position and began following Mikoto as she walked out, ready to head to her room.
"Sakura." The pinkette stiffened in her position upon Itachi, the person she didn't expect at all, called her. She turned back to look at him, seeing he stood up from his position already, walking towards her. Noticing her confused and slightly fearful eyes, Itachi gave a warm smile hoping it would relax her from the shock of such sudden interaction. "Relax Sakura, we really didn't get much time to talk before the wedding and I felt like it's high time we do so. Is otouto treating you well? I hope he didn't keep you up too late at night?" Itachi asked smirking.
This was it. Sakura was familiar with Itachi's teasing but this was the first time he did something like this to her directly, the rest of the times Sasuke was always around to handle the situation and it was always directed towards Sasuke too. But now that she was alone and flabbergasted at Itachi's words, she had no idea how to react. She felt herself blushing way harder than the last time back at the breakfast table, if that was even possible.
"I-I-I.. I'm.. uh- I-Itachi-san..." I'm definitely making a bad impression of myself here.. her speechless self thought.
"Hey, calm down, I was just playing around you know." Itachi assured, now smiling warmly again. "And by the way, just like you're no less than a daughter to tou-san and okaa-san, you're nothing lesser than that to me either. Bear with me, I've accepted you as my sister the day your marriage was fixed with Sasuke, so you can call me nii-san. And no, I'm not taking your 'sama'. I know it's still too early for you but if you're considering me your elder brother I wish you to be comfortable around me as well, which I assure you can be." She knew Itachi was a gentleman, but this approach of him was too unexpected for Sakura to react in a composed manner. Her eyes were widened, lips slightly parted looking at him in shock. He sure was smart to catch her behaviour right away, like how she addressed Fugaku and Mikoto. Itachi continued once again noticing her speechlessness. "And I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable with all the teasing, I really can't help it, the reactions from both of you are quite a sight to see after all. However, regardless of how much I joke around, I know otouto can get harsh sometimes. And I want you to let me know when he does, or anytime he hurts you. As your big brother taking care of that will be my responsibility too. Moreover, I exactly know how to handle that little ice cube." Itachi chuckled, looking up at Sakura who was sure she'd be in tears if she received any more of this treatment.
"Arigatou.. I really needed it, n-nii-san..." Sakura hesitantly replied, but she was grateful. "You're welcome, imouto." A genuine smile formed across Sakura's lips hearing how he addressed her.
"Now for a serious question, Sasuke is treating you right isn't he?" Sakura didn't know what to say to that, after all she herself didn't understand how he was treating her. Nonetheless, she decided to trust him and explain how it was exactly going.
"I-I really don't know what to say Itachi nii-san.. I mean we only talked yesterday, that too only a-about the things that were necessary. You know we r-really didn't get married being on the best terms.." Sakura explained, with her gaze down. It wasn't hard for Itachi to catch what she meant, after all, he saw his own brother's condition before the wedding too.
"I understand what you mean Sakura. It was too sudden for both of you. But let me tell you, as cold as Sasuke seems right now, I assure you he's not. I'm not saying it because he's my brother and I want you to adjust with his nature, I'm saying this because I know him. For some reason he does like to act like he is unbothered about everything but trust me, he does care about his close ones. He's yet to develop any feelings towards you but when he'll do, you'll know how soft Sasuke really can get. He has his own way of showing affection, and I must say it's a bit different." Itachi explained. This relaxed Sakura a little about whatever terms she and Sasuke were in, she didn't know whether what Itachi said was actually true or not, or even if it was will Sasuke even come to develop any emotions towards her or not, but for now she really felt like she had someone in the family to look up to and ask for help. She herself did not have any particular feelings towards Sasuke either and she knew she will be needing a lot of Itachi's assistance to adjust while being in this situation. Right now, she could only hope that Itachi's words are right and Sasuke isn't really as cold as he seems, his current nature really scared her more than she already was in this new environment.
"I see.. I think it will take me some time too.. to adjust with things.. and Sasuke-Kun.." Sakura muttered slowly.
"I understand, please take your time. I'm glad we had this talk. I'll have to get going now, you should get started with the house tour too, otouto must be waiting for you. Have fun, I'll see you later, imouto." Itachi winked and left the room, leaving a blushing Sakura behind.
Sakura soon headed towards her room, as uncomfortable as she felt yesterday, all of it was seeming to reduce thanks to her in laws' treatment. Sasuke's view on her was still uncertain but she was grateful that she had such loving in laws who treated her like their own daughter and sister since the moment she became a part of this family. She felt much more comfortable and was genuinely looking forward to spending a lot more time with them. I guess I'm really lucky from this aspect... She couldn't help but think as a warm smile formed on her lips.
Author's note- Sasuke and Sakura interacted finally!!! The Uchihas are too sweet, even though Sakura is yet to see whether the youngest Uchiha is as sweet as the rest or not xD there will be more Sasusaku moments from here onwards! Stay tuned!
Important- In my last update, I saw a guest review who dropped some tips. Firstly, thank you so much for being so thorough and explaining all the points in detail :) Now for the correction, I'll surely look into it and fix those issues in the future chapters. However, I already have quite a few of the chapters written beforehand so that I can easily update on time. While I can thoroughly follow your advices from where I'll continue writing, I'd like to apologize in advance for the flaws in the chapters that I've already written before getting this review. Although I'll surely keep what you said in mind and fix the already written chapters as much as possible like the speech, making paragraphs, or the pov section, I might not be able to cut much from the descriptions, but I'll try my best!
As for Sakura's character, or any other character in general, I understand that sticking to their nature makes it more realistic but then again, it's a fanfiction(and thus a story of how I personally wanted my dream ship to be in this situation), and even for me it's a bit tough to stick to their original character at times when writing a story with an entirely different plot, especially in case of Sakura given that she's normally bold/outgoing but not much around Sasuke (and the story involves him a lot). However, there's still a long way to go and you'll get to see more of her :)
Lastly, thank you to everyone for the support you give me! It warms my heart to see some of you are actually following my story and dropping reviews every now and then!
Next chapter release date- 22nd May, 2021.
