This one took a while for some reason, even though I had a whole weekend. . .
My mind is reeling. Sasuke just shared. It has to be the poison still leaving his system; he's obviously delirious. I turn over on my side to face the window. Dawn is breaking over the trees. I don't know how long I was with Sasuke, or how long I've been laying awake. I don't know anything anymore.
Maybe I'm overreacting. But what was Itachi really doing? Is it true he was saving the village? Sasuke must hate himself for loathing Itachi all these years.
He's been through too much already. Is he - Are we never going to catch a break?
Eventually I manage to catch a few hours of sleep. When I wake, I can smell food coming from the kitchen. I pull on a pair of shorts and slip a bra on under my shirt then head downstairs. Sasuke is over the stove, stir frying rice and vegetables. Guards are crowded at either side of the kitchen, watching him. Beside him is a variety of spices sectioned off on a cutting board. In the saucepan beside the skillet is a dark amber liquid. It all smells incredible.
"Hm," I peer around Sasuke as I enter the kitchen, surveying everything, "You'd make a great housewife. What's the occasion?"
He chuckles and tosses some cabbage in the pan.
"I got tired of your cooking," he glances briefly at me with a smirk.
"It's not that bad - "
"It is," he affirms, returning his attention to the stove. I hop onto the counter to get a better glaring angle.
"Well, what makes yours so special?"
"Taste it and you'll see," he scoops a portion onto the spatula and holds it out to me. Dramatically, I gingerly take it into my mouth and chew.
"I'm impressed," I say through my mouthful, trying to savor the flavor as much as possible, "It's almost like eating at a five star restaurant."
"Almost?" he jokingly looks offended.
"One star table service," I gesture around the kitchen with a laugh, "Can I help you with anything?"
"You can chop the vegetables over there," he gestures to the other counter with a spoon, "They wouldn't let me use a knife."
"Fair enough. I'm scared to even let you have a spatula," I say lightheartedly, not wanting to give too much power to the darker side of his statement. As I move away, I hear him chuckle and it warms my heart to see him this way.
I hear the door open and shut, then Naruto comes around the corner.
"Hinata went to breakfast with TenTen so I figure I've got about three hours if they decide to go shopping afterwards," his words are rushed and breathless like he's been running here.
"Well, take a seat, apparently Sasuke's making us breakfast."
"Is it gonna be better than what you made last night?" Naruto grins and I whip around at the same time Sasuke does, pointing the knife threateningly at him.
"Don't. You. Dare," I say to Sasuke.
He smirks and turns to Naruto.
"Yes, it will be."
"Toshiki never complained about my cooking," I say haughtily, feeling a little slighted.
"Who?"
"One of her many boyfriends," Naruto says as a side note, then adds, "And that's because he was too nice."
"You had a boyfriend?" Sasuke asks curiously.
"Of course I did," I state defensively, "I'm not completely useless!"
"Could've fooled me with your cooking," Sasuke jabs with a smirk.
"I will stab you both," I threaten. Naruto has the decency to look scared, but Sasuke barely bats an eye. A couple guards are watching us bemused and as soon as I notice, it seems to pull me out of the repertoire. It kind of disrupts our little bubble. Naruto chatters in the background, but I fall silent.
"Holy crap, teme, this is actually really good," Naruto can barely speak as he shovels scoop after scoop into his mouth faster than usual.
Sasuke looks over at me expectantly. I scowl at him as I struggle to politely spoon the succulent meal. He smirks and looks away. If I were still my twelve year old self, I might be jealous. Why does he have to be good at everything? Maybe I am jealous.
"Sakura-chan, you should take lessons from him," Naruto's words are distorted by the mouthfuls of rice.
"Why? He seems to be the perfect housewife," I grin, "Why don't you cook from now on?"
"Do you understand the meaning of the word caretaker?" Naruto throws in.
"Not if I have to use the same ingredients all the time," Sasuke scowls, "Do you realize she's sent us rice and vegetables every week we've been here?"
"All right, make a list and I'll see if she permits it," I shrug. Naruto shakes his head.
"You'll be eating nothing but tomatoes, Sakura-chan."
"You smell, really bad; I meant to tell you that earlier," Naruto grins as he and Sasuke pull away.
"Feel free to bathe him," I smirk, all the while secretly hoping against all odds that Naruto will volunteer out of the sheer goodness of his heart.
"Ew, gross! Wait, did you have to do that? Is that part of your job? Ew, you saw Teme naked! Nasty," Naruto shudders.
"Obviously she's been slacking," Sasuke chimes in, smirking at me.
"Shame on you, Sakura-chan," Naruto teasingly berates me.
"Bakas," I glare at both of them.
"Well, I better go before my wife starts wondering where I am," he smiles proudly as he says it and gives me a hug.
"Come back, soon," I almost plead. We wave him off as he's escorted off the compound. I shut the door behind him and move towards the kitchen. A mountain of dirty dishes greets me.
"I'll wash, you dry," Sasuke moves toward the sink and starts cleaning.
"Sakura," Sasuke calls to me before I reach my room. He comes up to me and whispers low, as though he's ashamed, "I really do need to shower, and it's not so easy with my cut still healing."
I give him a stern look.
"As long as you aren't doing it to punish me."
"Why else would I be asking you?" he gives me a small smirk. I roll my eyes.
"All right, get in there and strip," I try to return the coy smile, but I can feel my stomach coil like a spring.
"Kami, Naruto was right, you do smell."
"Whose fault is that?"
"Sasuke," I lather the soap throughout his hair, scrubbing deeper to remove the extra layers of grime, "Thank you for breakfast this morning. It meant a lot to me that you did that despite everything. I'm sorry I've been neglecting you."
He's silent for a moment, eyes closed.
"I'll try to stop pissing you off."
"Me, too," I smile to myself as I rinse out his hair. I move the shower head down over his back, scrubbing soap over his skin with a washcloth. I can feel my cheeks flush as I move over every incline of muscle. I'll never get used to this. When I reach his front, the only thing that stops me from admiring his hard-earned abdominals is the laceration running through them. At least it seems to be healing nicely - some of the stitches have already started to come out - but the scar it leaves will be hard to ignore.
"Your cheeks are red."
My eyes snap up to meet his. Sasuke doesn't seem to be making fun of me, just stating a fact. I return my gaze to the task at hand.
"It's too hot in here."
"Try taking your clothes off, that worked for me."
His response unnerves me and I almost loose my footing crouched on the floor. The thought of getting naked in front of Sasuke is - well, it's titillating, but wrong. Although, I did kind of flash him when I showed him my scar. Still, wrong.
"That's a more pathetic tactic to get me naked than even Jiraiya would use," I joke, refusing to look, now, anywhere but his chest, as if I'm so professional that this is my only focus.
"I don't need tactics with you."
"Well aren't you sure," I let the joke run, thinking the more I make light of my former feelings the more they'll fade into nonexistence.
"You gave me good reason to be."
"A lot of girls did," I scoff, "We were fawning all over you at school."
"I never understood that," he says as I shut off the water, "What was the appeal? I never talked to anyone but you guys."
"Girls like the brooding, mysterious, emotionally damaged guys, most of the time anyway; we think we can change them, bring them out of that dark place. It comes from this place inside of us that needs to nurture; maternal instincts or something," I hand him a towel and turn my back.
"Is that why you liked me, because my family died?" he can't hide the disgust in his voice, or maybe he doesn't want to. I don't need to think before I speak, it's a question I've asked myself many times.
"I liked you because you were mysterious," I turn slowly, unsure as to whether he would want to hear my elaboration. He watches me astutely as he grabs another towel to dry his hair, "But I loved you because you were smart, courageous, ambitious and even though you were fueled by so much hate, you were still caring," I dip my head and laugh, "I mean, you left me on a bench in the middle of the night, that doesn't exactly work in your favor, but - "
"Sakura," I look up and he's standing right in front of me. His pruned, slightly damp fingers brush aside my hair, caressing my cheek. For a moment it feels as though he does it to tease me, "Do you still love me?"
I open my mouth, forming the negation, but no sound comes out. His face, at first impassive, grows curious.
No. I try it again and still nothing comes out. I try to shake my head but my muscles seem to have locked up. As the seconds pass, the heat rushes to meet his palm and I see the hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. My knees start to shake the longer I'm under his gaze and just when I think they'll give, there's a knock at the door.
"Haruno-san, there's a message for you from Tsunade-sama," a voice on the other side of the door delivers my escape; if only it had been sooner. I tear away from Sasuke, flinging the door open and taking the letter from the guard. I run for my room and shut the door.
I may as well have just told Sasuke yes.
Sakura,
Since you have been most cooperative in recent weeks, it seems, and consistent in your reports, I thought you deserved a reward. I'll permit you to leave the compound for one day to visit your friends and family. Notify me which date you would like to have off and I will make the arrangements.
- Tsunade
I clutch the note desperately, a smile spreading across my face.
