Recipe for Success
Sheek was more crowded than ever that night. The waiters were rushing back and forth between tables and the chefs in the kitchen were sweating as they hurried to finish all the courses. Sasuke stood in the corner, watching over the operation and offering help when it was needed. He would've done more work than that, but he was in a very thoughtful mood and, truthfully, he didn't want to be disturbed. Tonight he was going to choose: Shizuka or Naruto.
Sasuke leaned against the dishwasher and grimaced as a plate smashed to the floor on the other side of the kitchen. God, it was just some lady who said lines to a camera. Who cares? How much talent did that take? At least she didn't have to make difficult decisions, like who you wanted to spend the rest of your life with and who you really loved. Her managers probably did the decision making for her, that lucky bitch.
Sasuke turned away from the rest of the kitchen staff and banged his head on the wall three times. Damn, damn, damn! No matter who he chose, someone was going to end up with a broken heart. Maybe Naruto was right: he did like playing with peoples' emotions.
"Sensei?"
Sasuke turned away from the wall and to the sous chef behind him, his head throbbing. "Yeah, what?"
The sous chef cleared her throat and bowed. "Sensei, is everything okay? You don't seem to be concentrating all that much on this dinner for Yuki-san."
Sasuke raised his brow. "Who?"
The sous chef looked surprised. "Sensei, Yuki-san is the actress here tonight! Ya know, she starred in 'Two Stupid, Stupid People' and 'The Pointless Murder with Chainsaws ' and-"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, whatever." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "But I'm fine. Now get back to work."
The sous chef bowed once again and ran back to the stove she was working at. Sasuke groaned and rubbed his temples, closing his eyes tightly.
"God, when can this night be over?"
"How can you complain? You're not doing anything."
Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. Shizuka was standing in front of him, whisk in hand and a small droplet of sweat running down her forehead. Her eyes turned to slits and she cocked her head.
"You don't look so hot."
Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest. "So?"
Shizuka sighed and set the whisk on a nearby counter. She grabbed her husband's upper arm and looked at him with concerned eyes. Sasuke was taken aback.
"Shi-Shizuka?"
Shizuka squeezed his arm. "Let's talk," she whispered, leading him out the back door of the kitchen and into the small alley behind the restaurant.
Sasuke blinked. "Shizuka, shouldn't we-"
Shizuka shut the door behind them. "No, they won't miss us if we're gone for a minute."
She let go of his arm and leaned against the brick wall of the restaurant. She sighed once again and looked at the star-ridden sky, a small smile on her face.
"Sasuke, remember our first date?"
Sasuke didn't respond for a moment. He leaned against the wall next to his wife and also stared at the night sky. He grinned.
"I do."
Shizuka leaned against him. "It was on a night sort of like this."
Sasuke nodded. "Yeah."
Shizuka grabbed Sasuke's arm again and looked at him in the face. "Sasuke, I know I haven't been a good wife and that I haven't given you the respect you deserved as the wonderful husband you are."
Sasuke blinked some more, in shock. This was so unexpected. Was she finally apologizing? If she was…oh man, she was making the decision between her and Naruto all the more tougher.
Shizuka continued. "Remember how I would cry every morning?"
Sasuke found his voice and nodded. "I do. There was nothing I could do about it. I tried kissing you, hugging you, holding you…but you just kept crying. I felt terrible because there was nothing I could do. And…our relationship kinda fell apart."
Shizuka nodded sadly and sniffled. "It was because…I never thought I was good enough for you." She crossed her arms and held herself. "I know so many girls like you and I didn't want to get close to you. That's why I treated you like shit and…that's why I would cry. I was scared that you would leave."
Shizuka buried her face in Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke couldn't move. His body was in complete shock and he felt his heart thump against his chest. Oh…so Shizuka really did care. And he had cheated on her.
Sasuke bit his lip, wrapped his arm around his trembling wife, and said the only thing that came to his mind. "I…I love you. But-"
Shizuka sniffled. "But what?"
Sasuke hesitated. What he really wanted to say was 'But I love someone else, too', but given the situation and how emotional Shizuka was, how could he tell her that, unless he was a heartless bastard? But then there was Naruto, too. He loved him as well, and it probably hurt him that Sasuke kept running back to his wife after he declared that he loved him. Ugh…
Sasuke shook his aching head and held Shizuka closer to him. Though it literally hurt him to think about it, he was going to come to a decision tonight. But maybe…just for now he'd savor the moment. He had time. He hadn't been with his life partner like this for a very, very long while. Some lame, mediocre actress who starred in C+ movies could wait.
"I love you."
Sasuke looked down at his wife, startled. What? It had been two years since she had said that! It had seemed like eternity since she had said those three electrifying words! But…Naruto had just told him that same phrase twenty-four hours ago.
'Oh, jeeze, I gotta stop thinking for a moment.'
Shizuka placed a hand on Sasuke's cheek and pulled his face towards hers'. "I love you, and I'm a very lucky woman to have you."
Before Sasuke knew it, he was passionately kissing his wife in that dark alley, something he hadn't experienced since their wedding night. And before he knew it, it was over. Shizuka pulled away, smiling that same smile that Sasuke had used to see when that blonde little girl would come charging into the restaurant years before.
"I should probably go start, err, dessert, ya know."
Sasuke nodded, his breath taken away. Shizuka slid past him, opened the door, and walked back into the kitchen. Making sure that she was out of sight, Sasuke turned to the wall and banged his head ten times, which did nothing to help his headache.
"Damn, damn, damn! Shizuka, thanks! You just made the decision even harder!"
Sasuke took calming breaths before opening the door slowly and entering back into the noisy, bright kitchen. He took his position next to the dishwasher and leaned up against it, hoping that he hadn't caused any serious brain damage to himself.
'Those guys got it covered. They don't need me at the moment.'
Sasuke lazily watched the rest of the kitchen staff for an hour, yawning and rubbing his vigorously. After dessert was finished, Shizuka came running back to Sasuke and skidded to a halt in front of him, her face glowing.
"Yuki-san really liked my dessert," she said breathlessly and not bothering to hide the huge grin on her face.
Sasuke nodded. "Well, you do make the world's best chocolate mousse."
Shizuka blushed. "Thanks. Uh…" She pointed at the door leading to the dining room. "Yuki-san would like to meet the head chef."
Sasuke's shoulders dropped. "Ugh, do I have to?"
Shizuka stepped behind him and elbowed him between the shoulder blades. "Just be a man and do it. I'll even come with you so you don't wet your pants."
Sasuke groaned in frustration and dragged his feet out of the kitchen and into the less noisy and laid back dining room. The tables were all full and the people started to look up as Shizuka led him between the tables to the very back of the dining room, where there was a large crowd standing around the end of the table. Shizuka pushed her way through the crowd.
"Yuki-san, this is my husband and head chef of Sheek, Sasuke."
She pulled Sasuke through the gathered people and stood him right in front of an elegantly dress woman with flowing red hair and an extremely pretty face. Sasuke bowed down to the woman, who smiled at him serenely.
Sasuke cleared his throat and stood up. "How do you like my restaurant, Miss…uh…Yuni-san?"
Shizuka smacked her forehead as the crowd chuckled and whispered to each other. "Yuki-san, Sasuke, it's Yuki-san," she grumbled.
"Oh, yes, Yuki-san."
The actress kept that same rather cheesy smile on her face. "Oh, it's very nice, Sasuke-san," she said, putting more emphasis on his name as though to say 'Yeah, I'm not an idiot. I actually remember peoples' names.'
Sasuke nodded and felt heat rise to his face. "Th-thank you." He strained a smile.
She gestured towards Shizuka. "Your wife is a very fine cook. Her mousse was excellent. You must be very happy to have a talented woman like her in your life."
Sasuke felt his smile falter. Happy…well, yes, he had been happy with her for the last hour or so, but for the years before that, it had been hell. No romance and no passion, and yet she was going to bring a child into a loveless family. The one who had made him happy was…
Shizuka touched Sasuke's arm. "Honey?"
Sasuke shut his eyes and took in a great intake of air. He had made his decision. He was going to tell everyone what he had come to. No more secrets and no more lies.
He cleared his throat loudly. "Everyone, I have an announcement!"
The talking in the restaurant suddenly stopped and an almost unearthly silence replaced the noise and chatter. Sasuke was very aware that every single pair of eyes was on him, including the glaring ones of Shizuka.
"Sasuke, what the hell-"
Sasuke held up his hand and continued. "Everyone…two years ago, I met a young woman. I fell head over heels for her. We got married, and now our first child is on its' way."
The talking started up again and there was some scattered applause. Shizuka was grinning and her cheeks were rather pink. Sasuke waited patiently until the noise died down once again.
"Um…that's actually not the announcement."
Shizuka stopped smiling and once again the awkward silence filled the huge room. Sasuke felt his heart hammer and started his speech up again.
"When I was a child, I met a person…a boy." He glanced at Shizuka then glued his eyes to the floor. "I hadn't seen this boy for years, but just a few weeks ago we met up again. I thought I hated this boy with every fiber of my being, he was just so goddamn annoying, but something happened."
He gulped and lifted his head, looking around at every single customer who was hanging on to his every word. Here it goes…
"I fell in love…with this boy. I fell in love with Uzumaki Naruto. I love my wife…yet I love Naruto too."
And so that was his decision: both of them
The restaurant remained silent. Sasuke heard a gasp to his left and quickly spun around. Shizuka had fainted on the floor.
A/N: One chapter to go after this one!