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Chapter 3: Week Two
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Sense of Humor
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''How about a hot chocolate before bed? It always makes me sleep better'' she suggested
''I'm not too fond of sweets, you know that''
''Hot coffee then?''
''Sounds better''
Sakura put some water inside the kettle and waited for it to boil
''How did you two meet, by the way?''
Sasuke crossed his arms and leaned against the counter, his back to it.
''It's not a very interesting story, I'll save it''
''Oh C'mon'' she pressed it ''can't be that bad''
The Uchiha sighed
''We met in one of my company's reunions with other companies. She had come with her father, a great investor, for whatever reason beyond me. It was love at first sight, at least on her part. She wanted me so badly her father decided he would withdraw his investments on my company unless I gave her a chance. That's how we met''
''Not much of a love story, I must agree'' Sakura was shocked, she definitely expected something else ''But it ended up well in the end, you said you're bound to marry within a few months''
Sasuke cleared his throat and looked to the other side, and Sakura understood he wouldn't speak of that subject anymore.
The sound of water boiling took her away from her thoughts.
''Great! Where's the coffee strainer?'' she said while she turned off the oven
''I'm afraid we don't have one''
Sakura blinked and looked at him
''How exactly do you expect us to make coffee without one?''
''I thought you could put the powder with the water and mix it'' he raised an eyebrow
Sakura sighed
''Well, it can't go that wrong, I suppose''
When they tasted the coffee after it was ready, they found out it could.
Sakura raised her eyes to look at Sasuke and saw he was doing his best not to let it show how much he disgusted the coffee.
''Perhaps if we add up some milk?'' she ran to the kitchen and brought some milk to be mixed with the coffee.
''And here I thought it couldn't get any worse'' Sasuke commented after tasting it
''…''
Sasuke looked at her
''You know what, let's go with the hot chocolate'' he suggested
''Do you know how to prepare hot chocolate?''
''Hot milk, chocolate powder and then shake it, there's really no secret'' he explained, heating the milk and then adding the chocolate powder
''Shake hot milk? Are you sure?''
''Please, Sakura, what do you take me f-'' The hot chocolate exploded in his hand as he shook it, spilling everything all around the kitchen ''…for''
Sakura brought one hand to her mouth, but she couldn't help but to burst into laughter.
Sasuke was still astonished, but he had to admit it: it felt nice to hear laughter in that place after so long.
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Trust
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When Sasuke woke up that morning, there was a letter on his nightstand
I'm off to work, pick me up at 7pm sharp at the hospital!
Sakura
Sasuke grunted, now she wanted him to be her driver too?
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At 6:58pm he was parking in front of the hospital. He was about to call her when he saw the pink haired woman run in the car's direction.
''Sup! Give me the car keys and move to the passenger's side'' she commanded
Sasuke looked at her skeptically
''Not happening''
''Oh c'mon, can't you trust me?''
He stared at her for a moment, then sighed and did as he was told.
Sakura eagerly took the car keys he so reluctantly handed her and started the car.
''Where are we going?'' he asked
''To the bakery, and we must be quick!''
She didn't let him come out of the car to see what she was buying, she only used him to carry things once she brought five bags of food and drinks to the car.
''What the hell?'' he said once she dropped everything on his lap and closed the passenger's door to go back to the driver's side.
''It's almost time!'' she said with excitement
It wasn't until she parked close to the big park and took a picnic blanket from the trunk that he realized what she was up to.
''How did this end up inside my trunk?'' he looked at her as she took some of the bags from his hands.
''I put it there in the morning''
Sasuke rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
In the end, he had been right to trust her and not make a scene over her short commands that day.
''The sun will set at any moment now'' she promised like someone did to a child, both sitting down on the blanket.
But Sasuke wasn't paying attention to the sunset, he couldn't take his eyes from the woman right in front of him, looking amazed at the horizon.
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Maturity
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''Sasuke! You WON'T BELIEVE what I just found out will be going on this afternoon in the neighbor town!'' she slammed his room's door and rushed inside
''Lady Gaga's show''
''No'' she chuckled ''a TOMATO FESTIVAL!'' she exclaimed, releasing a short fangirl scream
He blinked in confusion
''Is there such a thing?'' he took the magazine she was holding from her hands and read the article carefully.
''There is! And it will only be happening today, we've gotta go!''
Sasuke giggled himself. A Tomato Festival, huh?
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Sasuke didn't know what he was expecting from that festival, but it surely lived up to any inner expectations he might have had. Everything about the festival was about tomatoes, period.
''Look, a competition to see who eats more tomatoes in one minute!'' Sakura exclaimed, pulling him by his shirt ''we've got to subscribe you!''
Sasuke wasn't sure about that idea - his reputation spoke loud -, but Sakura's excited tone made him forget everything else and just allow himself to be pulled by her.
He won, of course, and the prize was, guess what? A year of endless supply of tomatoes delivered right at his door. He couldn't feel luckier!
There was a tomato war too, in which rotten tomatoes were used as weapons against each other. Sasuke left the game with two or three marks of tomatoes on his shirt, whereas Sakura was completely covered in tomatoes' juice.
''Now this was fun!'' she declared once the game was over and her team lost
Sasuke smiled, cleaning some tomato from her cheek
''You want to eat something?'' she asked ''tomato something?'' she laughed at her own bad joke
''Why are you doing this?'' he asked her, half curious and half impressed
''Doing what?''
''You hate tomatoes''
Sakura smiled at him and put a lock of long pink hair - now completely dirty - behind her ear.
''But you love them'' she said ''sometimes you just have to do something your partner loves, even if you don't like it as much'' she then winked at him ''that's lesson number… Uh… six? I forgot to count'' she admitted, laughing at herself.
Sasuke nodded, watching her move awkwardly as she said she thought some tomato juice might have made its way inside her bra and tried to remove it without making it look too weird.
He lowered his head, shaking it, and smiled to himself. Wasn't she a figure?
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Openness
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Sakura was reading a romance on the couch that morning - she had woken up early despite having worked from 7pm to 7am the night before - when the front door flung open and a pale - as pale as someone of his skin color could get - Sasuke stepped inside.
''What's wrong?'' she lowered her book and scanned him to see if she could spot anything that would help her understand what happened.
Sasuke shook his head and walked past her to his room, taking a bag and throwing two shirts and a pair of pants inside it.
''What happened?''
''I won't be home for the next two or three days'' he informed her
Sakura grunted, she hated being ignored
''Can you stop behaving like this and tell me what the hell is wrong?''
He didn't even look at her
''It doesn't concern you''
She gaped at him, then frowned and held him by the arm. He had forgotten how strong she was.
''Well until the end of this damn month, it does. Tell me what's wrong and let's work this out together''
He glowered at her
''Sakura'' he threatened
''Sasuke'' she held his gaze
They kept staring at each other with fierce eyes for almost a whole minute until finally Sasuke sighed and looked away.
''It's a family business'' he said, finally ''My grandma didn't feel well this morning''
Sakura didn't need to hear another word. She nodded, took her purse and a few clothes herself and followed him
''What are you doing?''
''What do you think I'm doing, I'm coming with you''
Sasuke wasn't sure he was pleased with that idea, but he didn't want to waste any more time arguing, so with a nod he allowed her to come along.
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They were silent while Sasuke drove to the countryside, the only interruption being when Sakura made a phone call to the hospital saying she would need to take a few days off.
It took them almost 6 hours of driving until finally Sakura was able to see a huge, huge land become visible in the horizon. Sasuke's grandma's farm was one of the biggest pieces of land she'd ever seen, and it looked even bigger now than it did when she was younger. Some horses were running on the field on her right, and Sakura leaned over the car's window to feel the sweet breeze coming from the large trees.
When finally he parked, a butler came to take their two bags. He looked twice at Sakura, curious, then when she gave him a playful smile he returned it. Yes, he remembered her too.
''Where is she?'' Sasuke asked, already stepping inside of the house
''In the inner garden, watching the flowers'' the butler said, and Sasuke hurried through some doors, Sakura following him.
The Uchiha Matriarch sat on a wheelchair in the middle of the inner garden, facing the daisies and humming a lullaby.
''Grandma'' Sasuke greeted her, kneeling in front of the wheelchair and holding her hand.
The old woman looked at their hands and then back at him with vague eyes.
''It's me, Sasuke'' he said
She continued to look at him strangely, as if trying hard to figure who that was supposed to be, until finally Sasuke sighed and stood up, turning his back to her so neither women would see his bitter expression.
Sakura stood still for a moment, wondering what she should do, then finally she decided to approach the older Uchiha:
''Good afternoon, Mrs. Uchiha'' she began ''Thank you for receiving us, it's great to see you strong and healthy'' she took off the cap she'd been wearing to protect her from the sun in respect for the old woman.
Pink hair fell down in a cascade over Sakura's shoulders and suddenly the old woman's eyes sparkled.
''Sakura, dear'' she said, smiling at her
Sasuke quickly turned around and looked at them, his jaw dropping
Mrs. Uchiha looked back at her grandson and seemed to finally recognize him
''Sasuke, my child, it's been so long since you two have visited me'' she laughed quietly ''I was beginning to worry you had forgotten this poor old lady''
Sasuke took two steps forward and he was in front of her again, kneeling and kissing the back of her hand
''I've been here many times, grandma, don't you remember?''
She frowned ''I remember everything, my darling, you last came here last winter, on Christmas''
That had been 11 years ago, Sasuke thought to himself, sighing.
''I heard you were trying to tend to the garden by yourself again and fell from the stairs, Grandma'' he started, looking at her with disapproval ''you know you can't walk too much and neither climb down the stairs by yourself, look at these wounds'' he pointed to the bruises on her arms and the small cut, already stitched, on her forehead. Thank God she hadn't broken a bone in her adventure at the garden.
''These are nothing'' she replied ''I fair well'' she then tilted her head to look at Sakura ''But how are you, my dear? I missed you a lot since last Christmas''
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''I come to visit her every two months and the only one she remembers is you? From 11 years ago?'' Sasuke said, clearly displeased, coming near Sakura while she watched the horses running on the field. She had had her hair braided - his grandma's doing, no doubt.
''She's losing memories of things that happened not long ago, but her long-term memory is preserved'' Sakura said, not averting her eyes from the horses
''That still doesn't explain why she can't remember me, but she can remember you'' he pointed out ''she's known me longer''
''Well, you don't have bright pink hair'' she smirked at him ''this kind of features makes it easier for our brain to make connections. You have dark hair and dark eyes, and although you're devilishly handsome you don't have any striking feature to make it easier for her brain to remember who you are. She associated pink hair to me, and a dark-haired man close to me to you''
''So in the end, I'm just 'Sakura's boyfriend' to her?'' his voice made it evident he was rather insulted
''Hey, I didn't say that'' she tried to defend herself ''it's just that when her brain recognized me because of my hair, it was easier to link you, so she was able to remember you too''
Sasuke grunted, but said nothing. They stood there silent for a while, a few steps away from each other, both facing the horses playing on the field.
''How is she?'' Sakura asked after a while
''You just saw her''
''You know what I mean''
Sasuke sighed, leaning over the fence
''Her memory has been getting worse. She wants to be autonomous and do things by herself, but she can't, she needs help'' his voice was fast, as if he was feeling really frustrated ''She's… She's basically the only family I've got left. Father only speaks to me when it concerns business, and so does my brother. She's all the real family I have''
Sakura didn't say anything, but the look she gave him was enough. She didn't judge him, she didn't even say a word. She simply stood there, quiet, and that was all he needed. Someone to listen, to understand. Sakura had been there when everything was fine, and she was there again when everything started to fall apart. For some reason, he felt like she was the only strong wall in his life, someone to give him support and someone he could rely on, because she would never let him fall.
''Thank you'' he said, the words feeling a little odd when they reached his tongue
She wanted to ask what for, but she knew it had been hard enough for him to utter those words. Deep down, she knew what he'd meant.
''You're welcome''
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Optimism
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''Why don't you two go tour the town like you usually do?'' Mrs. Uchiha suggested ''You come here so little, you must make the most of your time''
Sasuke took his eyes from his notebook and looked at his grandma, then at Sakura and then back at his grandmother.
''We're here only for a couple more days, grandmother, we would rather enjoy your company during this time'' he replied.
Mrs. Uchiha frowned, displeased
''Sakura, make this old lady here a favor and show this boy how to have some fun''
Sakura smiled mischievously at her and nodded
''Will do!'' she stood up and took Sasuke by the arm ''let's go tour the town!''
Sasuke resisted her and raised an eyebrow
''I'm not leaving this house''
Both Sakura and Mrs. Uchiha gave him a deadly look
''This is my house and I don't want you back in it before 8 pm'' the older Uchiha said, defiantly.
Sasuke was flabbergasted: he was being expelled. Was this a complot?
Defeated, he finally let Sakura drag him outside of the house
''I'll drive!'' she exclaimed
Sasuke grunted
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''How many more for you?''
''3'' Sasuke replied
''Damnnnn! I still need 6'' Sakura bit her lower lip
''Number 8!''
She quickly scanned her card. Yes! She had one 8! She was so going to win this
''Number 44!''
''BINGO!''
''NOOOOOO!'' Sakura shouted, drawing everyone's attention to her. Quietly, she sat back down, apologizing to the people near her
''Gross'' Sasuke murmured
''Well there's still the second prize'' she told herself, breathing in deeply and nodding twice, as if trying to convince herself it was not the end of the world.
Sasuke lowered his head and smirked, but said nothing.
''For the second prize, number 32!''
There was silence
''Number 13!''
Silence again
''Number 37!''
''BINGO!''
Sakura's hand landed so hard on the table and she made such a displeased face to the second winner that he almost sat down again, scared. But she said nothing, breathing in deeply and concentrating on her card again
''The third prize is the best prize anyway'' she murmured.
After a short pause, they resumed the game:
''Number 39!''
Silence
''Number 1!''
Sasuke turned his card face down and looked at Sakura, but she didn't notice it.
''Number 50!''
''HOLY YES! BINGO!'' she screamed, raising her arms up high and then lowering the right one only to kiss the card. She skipped her way to where an old man was handing the prizes and gave him her card ''What's my prize?''
Sasuke stood behind her, the other people who had been playing already leaving the place while the man on the microphone promised there would be more prizes on the following day.
''A 5 dollars gift card in any movie theater!''
Sasuke looked at them skeptically as they handed her the gift card. She took it in her small hands and looked at it for a long while, her head lowered.
Sasuke sighed
''I'm sor-''
''SASUKE, I WON FIVE DOLLARS I CAN SPEND IN ANY MOVIE THEATER I WANT! IT WORKS EVEN BACK IN KONOHA IT SAYS!'' she shoved the small piece of paper in front of him ''Didn't I say I would win something today? I'm just so lucky!''
Sasuke was rather surprised by her excitement, but he decided against pointing out she would probably not buy anything with 5 dollars in any movie theater. Instead, he smiled
''Congratulations''
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Compassion
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''Are you sure you want to use your gift card here? The movie theater here isn't the best, you can find something better back in Konoha'' he suggested, but Sakura shook her head
''I'm sure!''
Nodding in agreement, Sasuke started to walk inside the only movie theater in town. Sasuke had only been there once, with his older brother and his friends, when his grandmother obliged Itachi to take his little brother with him. It was an old place, and the people working there were mostly the same ones from when Sasuke was younger, most 60 years old or older. Surprisingly, the place was rather crowded.
''Any preference for the movie?'' she asked
Sasuke shook his head
''Hmmm let me see, then'' she pretended to be thinking hard, but in fact, there were only two options of movies to watch and one was only displayed on even days and the other on odd days during that week ''I think we'll go with this one!''
Sasuke smirked
''Then let's head to the Box Office and buy two tickets''
Sasuke was on the queue to buy the popcorn and Sakura was taking a look at the next week's movie's posters when she saw from the corner of her eye a father and his son poorly dressed staring at the movie they were going to watch's poster, chatting to each other and laughing. It didn't take a whole minute until an old man wearing a jacket that said ''security'' came and sent them out.
Sakura looked back where Sasuke stood, then down at the two tickets in her hand for a moment. She then closed her hand tight around them and walked in the man and the boy's direction.
She fastened her pace and stopped right in front of them.
''Hey! I'm sorry, I saw what just happened. Would you please accept these two tickets to watch that movie? I'm sure you will enjoy it much more than me and my friend would'' she gave the young boy a warm smile and he returned it, hiding behind his father.
''Oh, it's fine, young lady!'' the man said, a little embarrassed ''You don't need to! Hauru and I will find another way to have fun today. Right, boy?''
Sakura took his hand and laid the two tickets on it
''I insist'' she closed his hand around the tickets and held it for a moment closed.
The man looked at their hands surprised, then looked up and gave Sakura his best smile, bringing his other hand on top of hers
''Thank you so much!''
Sakura watched as they tried once more to enter the movie theater. The security guard tried to stop them again, but had to let them in once he saw the two tickets in the man's hand.
''There you are'' Sasuke said from behind her after a couple of minutes ''are you ready?''
''You know what? The day is so beautiful today, I would hate to waste it inside the movie theater! How about we go tour the town instead?'' she proposed, taking the popcorn from his hands and starting to eat it
Sasuke nodded
''Sounds good to me''
When she started to walk down the streets again, Sasuke looked back to see the boy and his father enter the room where the movie would be displayed. He looked at Sakura's back and smiled, proudly.
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Happiness
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''This is a beautiful painting, Mrs. Uchiha'' Sakura said, looking from behind the old woman while she worked on a painting of a couple sitting on a bench, watching the sunset.
''Do you like it?'' she smiled
They were at the house's balcony, and the Uchiha Matriarch painted the same landscape they could see from there, the same trees, mountains and field of flowers, the same bench. The only thing missing was the young couple, still a sketch on the painting.
''Is this oil paint?''
''Not this one, dear, this is acrylic paint'' she corrected ''It dries quickly and I want this painting to be finished soon''
Sakura nodded
''You should teach me how to paint too, I'd love to learn from you!''
Mrs. Uchiha was swinging her brush in soft moves, as if painting was the most natural thing in the world for her.
''You could stay here, I would love to teach you'' she gave Sakura a warm smile
Sakura smiled faintly, if only it was that simple. Once that month was over, she probably would never see Sasuke or Mrs. Uchiha back again.
''I will definitely come back to stay with you once I get a month off at work'' she managed to say
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Sakura looked at Sasuke with an upset look on her face
''And why not?''
Sasuke glimpsed at her and then looked back at the newspaper
''Because I don't feel like doing it''
''The man on the radio made it sound like the view from there is like looking at the paradise itself''
''He is paid to say that, Sakura''
''We'll never know until we go there and see it for ourselves!'' she said, stubbornly
''You're free to go, I'm not stopping you'' he didn't take his eyes from the news.
Sakura pouted
''Mrs. Uchiha!'' she shouted
Sasuke rolled his eyes
''Fine, let's go''
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''I'm tired, Sasukeeeeeee'' she complained, her legs hurting as she walked behind him, the backpack feeling heavier by the second.
Sasuke gave him that look
''I told you it was 8 kilometers to reach the top of the mountain'' he retorted ''and what did you say? 'Nah this is nothing, we will climb it in less than one hour!' ''
''I was wrong okay!'' she defended herself, trying to catch her breath ''people make mistakes''
Sasuke rolled his eyes
''We're already halfway to the top, let's go on''
''Well, we're halfway to the car down there too, don't you wanna go back?'' she gave him a nervous smile
''No, this is for you to learn to listen to me'' he continued to walk, so Sakura had to go after him not to be left behind
He pretended not to hear her cursing him
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After three hours and twenty minutes of climbing - which should have taken much less time had Sakura not insisted on stopping every 15 minutes to rest - they finally made it to the top.
''Oh finally! I'm literally dying here!'' she declared, sitting on the first rock she saw and getting her water.
It was almost sunset, and they would be able to see the most marvelous view from there.
''Good thing there's a van every 20 minutes to take us down the mountain because otherwise I'd have to come to terms with living here forever'' she joked, but Sasuke wasn't paying attention. He was looking at the view down there with an amazed look ''hey, anything specific you're looking at? Wow!''
From where they stood, on top of a large rock on the top of the mountain, they could see the entire town and much more.
''I feel like the Lion King watching everything from the Pride Rock'' she said
Sasuke gave her a strange look
''You make weird comparisons'' he pointed out, smirking
''And you're gonna love me now, see what I brought'' she opened her backpack and took from it a thermal bag. Inside it, there was Sasuke's favorite wine.
He looked at her surprised
''I thought you'd like it if we celebrated this moment'' she smiled ''The moment Sakura made it to the top of the mountain!'' she joked
He released a short laughter
''You remember what my favorite wine is''
''Of course'' she made no big deal of it ''now let's drink to this moment!'' she took two plastic goblets from the backpack and set them on the floor between them, sitting down. Sasuke sat next to her
''No wonder you were complaining so much, carrying this all the way up here'' he mentioned ''what else have you got in that backpack? Candles and an old music player?''
She giggled
''Nope, but I do have some cookies if you feel hungry''
He smiled
They stood there for a long time chatting, Sakura laughing hard at the things he would tell her.
Sasuke hadn't felt this happy for a very long time.
''To more moments like this'' she raised her goblet and he raised his.
Yes, that had been a happy day.
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Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you like it!
I'll post the next one as soon as I can!
Big hugs, everyone!
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Blackfan Diamond