The Uchiha Fraud
Chapter Five
"Sakura-san…"
"Saaakuuraaa-saaaan…"
.
The timid maid stood there silently, glancing at the sleeping lump on the bed and to the door, alternating between the two every few seconds. Uchiha Sasuke had requested that she wake up his wife before he left for his meeting, but after five minutes of waiting and no signs of consciousness—the task itself seemed utterly impossible. Boldly, the young helper stepped closer to the king-sized bed and tapped softly.
No response.
"Sakura-san?" she tried again, poking the lump with a little more force. "Mikoto-sama is having breakfast downstairs if you'd like to join her."
.
Unbeknownst to her, Sakura stayed still under the covers, holding back a string of curses at having her sleep disturbed. Being the light sleeper she was, Sakura's eyes snapped open the moment Sasuke carefully got up and proceeded to carry out his morning routine. Though she appreciated the fact that he tried to be as silent as possible when rummaging through his dresser, every single noise was like a nail on the chalkboard. Not to mention that after he left the room, a persistent bird outside couldn't find it in themselves to be polite and shut up.
And finally, FINALLY when Sakura was ready to relax once more… her husband decides to send one of the workers her way. What was her name again? Mizu? Mi…Mizuho? Yeah, Mizuho.
.
Distracted, Sakura was caught completely off-guard when a particularly rough poke sent a jolt of pain through her side—causing her to let out a low "MMF!" Rubbing the sore spot, she threw off the covers in defeat and came face to face with the rather persistent brunette. Mizuho opened her mouth—ready to relay the instructions no doubt—but Sakura raised a hand up to silence her.
"I know," she sighed, tiredly blinking a few times—eyes adjusting to the sunlight. "Tell Uchih—Mikoto-san that I'll be down in about ten minutes."
"Hai," Mizuho replied, instantly sighing with relief. "And good morning, Sakura-sama!"
"Yeah," Sakura yawned, dismissing Mizuho with a small wave. Glancing over at the clock, she let out a rather loud groan and trudged towards the bathroom.
9:00am.
.
How she hated waking up early.
Breakfast went by smoothly, though Sakura was forced to make a large mug of coffee—extra cream—to get her mind kicking into gear. Her movements were still sluggish and she caught herself yawning every few minutes, but Sakura was grateful that she was even able to stay awake much less hold a decent conversation with her mother-in-law.
And here Sakura thought that having to cut down on her sleep was the worst that could happen. It was too bad for her that what the Uchiha matriarch considered "quality time" was taking a cruise on one of the many yachts that the family owned.
.
"How are you holding up, dear?" Mikoto asked, adjusting the beach chair before comfortably leaning back.
Sakura forced herself to smile, though her whole body was fighting a wave of nausea and the urge to vomit. "Good," she gasped, coughing to hide her discomfort. "This is nice."
"I used to take Itachi-kun on these cruises all the time," the older Uchiha explained. "Sasuke-kun got seasick the first time he came; the poor thing didn't even manage to get on the boat yet before he vomited."
"That's hard to imagine." Sakura thought back to the stoic Uchiha, so composed and formal—the image of him throwing up all over the place seemed so absurd and unnatural.
"Ah yes," Mikoto quickly agreed, smiling. "But Sasuke-kun, he's a good person—" She paused. "Well, he should be… I gave birth to him, after all. He's very caring underneath that mask of his, and I'm sure Naruto-kun knows that too—they've been friends for so long."
Sakura listened intently as Mikoto continued talking about her son—mostly to herself—though judging from her expression, she could tell that his mother really loved her family. For a moment, Sakura felt envious of her husband… to have a mother like Mikoto who loved them unconditionally despite their bad quirks and habits—watching over them despite the distance.
"I'm very proud of him…" Mikoto suddenly chuckled in embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head. "Oh what am I talking about? Of course you know this already! I'm glad that he has someone like you to confide in now, I know he's difficult but once you get past those walls… he really is something."
"Yeah…" Sakura echoed, feeling a pang of guilt—though it dissipated within a second and the rush of dizziness clouded her senses. She felt herself grimace, taking deep and slow breaths to hold the queasiness down… but then the yacht hit a particularly rough wave—
.
"Sakura, dear! Are you okay?"
.
And she found herself emptying the contents in her stomach onto the spotless deck.
When she came to, Sakura felt someone place a damp cloth on her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open, noticing her husband standing to the side—a look of irritation across his features. It took a few minutes to realize that she was in their shared bedroom, and then suddenly everything that happened earlier bombarded her mind—causing her to remember exactly why she was here in the first place.
The first day she spends time with her new mother-in-law, and she manages to completely humiliate herself by reminding Uchiha Mikoto what she had for breakfast. If there was a way to self-destruct on the spot—it would be really useful right about now.
.
.
"Who—"
"You're really an idiot," Sasuke remarked, reaching for a cup on the bedside table. "My mother said you refused the pills for seasickness."
"I don't get seasick," Sakura croaked, taking the water with a nod of thanks.
"Right," he commented dryly, handing her a small plastic cup that held two Tylenol pills. "For your headache."
"Did you bring all the stuff here?" Sakura asked, motioning towards the bucket of water along with the tray of supplies. "And where's your mother? I want to apolog—"
"No need," he cut in, sitting down at the edge of the bed. "And my mother brought all this stuff here, specifically telling me to sit here until you wake up so I can watch over you." He snorted, handing her a cup to swallow the pills. "And what kind of doctor doesn't know about taking precautions when going on boats?"
"I've gone on boats before," Sakura interjected, shooting a glare at Sasuke. "It just so happens that today was the day I got seasick." She snatched the cup out of his hand, taking a sip. "I can take care of myself, you know—I'm studying to become a doctor. And why are you still here?"
"A careless doctor," he jabbed, quickly glancing out the door. "And one of the maids is watching us."
"Shouldn't you be at work?" she asked suspiciously, eyeing him.
"Hn."
.
.
After receiving a call in the middle of his meeting, Sasuke had two choices: One, completely disregard the fact that his 'wife' was at home after throwing up on a boat while looking like an ass. Or two, he could go home—basically taking the day off, and look like a thoughtful husband while he was at it. Of course he chose the latter, it was like hitting two birds with one stone. And it was an added bonus that his mother would go off to visit her old friends in order to give the couple some time alone.
"Are you just going to sit here with me all day?"
"No," Sasuke answered.
Waiting a few minutes for him to explain further, Sakura gave up and proceeded to pull the blanket up to her chin—snuggling into the sheets. Her head was still occasionally throbbing, so she hoped the pills would kick in soon. Her body was still exhausted after the onslaught of stress and nausea, and though she wanted to stay awake, Sakura felt her eyes drifting to a close.
Sasuke stood there for a few more minutes, watching her sleeping form move as she took deep, languid breaths. He had to admit that it was odd, adjusting his life and daily routine to fit her into it—although it was only the first day since they made the agreement. It took a little getting used to, because for the majority of his life all he cared about protecting was himself.
It was... annoying, for the most part.
.
But Sasuke was always known for doing what was necessary, his own distaste or like for it hardly mattered—as long as he succeeded in the end.