The Uchiha Fraud
Chapter Ten

Though a couple days have passed since the whole emotional breakdown in the living room, it was slowly starting to sink in how kind Sasuke had been and how humiliating it was for her to cling onto him like some … child. The first few days were difficult, having to cope and finally coming to terms with Akira's death and just putting one foot in front of the other. It was difficult to get up in the morning at times, and a part of her was still hurting even now, but having Sasuke and Mikoto there made it all a bit more bearable.

And she could finally, finally sleep easier now.

But things were just a little - okay, really - awkward around Sasuke.

It had been about four days and it was a challenge to even look at the man, much less sleep at night without feeling totally weird.

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"It would've been nice if you gave me a heads-up before crying like a madwoman on the phone."

"Sorry," Sakura replied, her face flushing. "I didn't mean to... uh, you know."

"She's human!" Ino joked, earning a laugh from Sakura. "But are you okay now? I was really worried."

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just needed a little time," she replied, walking around the shared bedroom, lightly running her hands over the furniture absentmindedly. "But Sasuke-kun, he was oddly comforting..."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Run that by me again?"

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura repeated, this time more quietly. "He comforted me. Well, it's hard to just leave a hysterical girl alone but still. It was... nice of him."

"And?"

"And... what?"

"Well?" Ino prodded. "Are you guys..."

"No!" she denied a little too quickly. "It's just weird. And er, uncomfortable."

"Because you broke down in his living room and he gave you a pat on the back?"

Silence.

"A hug?" Even more silence. "Did you fall asleep... in his arms?"

"It sounds really fruity when you put it like that," Sakura hissed into the receiver, picking up a small card from the dresser, balancing her cellphone between her shoulder and ear while she opened it.

"Aw! My little baby is growing up!" Ino faked a sniff, though it sounded more like a snort as the blonde tried to keep her laugh in.

"Funny." Sakura scanned the contents, her brows furrowing when she realized what the card - or rather, the invitation - was about. "Hey, I'll call you later?"

"Something came up?"

"It's nothing. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Okay, don't forget! Bye Forehead!"

She tossed her cellphone onto the bed, making her way downstairs where she knew Sasuke would be, the invitation tucked safely under her arm.

"I heard," Naruto said as quietly as he could, stirring his bowl of ramen. "Is she... uh, okay?"

"Ask her yourself," Sasuke replied, his eyes remaining glued to his laptop. "And how the hell did you find out?"

"Ino," Naruto answered, followed by a 'Duh, teme.' "Sakura called her, crying. Ino thought it had something to do with me because I am, and I quote, 'An insensitive jackass who needs to back off of Sakura because society already puts too much pressure on us women.'"

When the blonde didn't elicit so much as a grunt of acknowledgement, he began to ramble some more, taking it as a sign to continue.

"And she did threaten to end me if I so much has hurt Sakura, so I ran straight here the morning after to dropkick you and... surprise, surprise. The teme and his pretend wife is snuggling on the couch like an old married couple," Naruto said accusingly, feigning hurt. "You didn't tell me you had the hots for her! Right on! Making your move when they're vulnerable. Nice."

"What are you on?" Sasuke snapped, his eyes flickering towards the door, making sure that Sakura wasn't around.

"It's not the approach I would've personally used," he continued, slurping his ramen with more vigor. He stopped mid-slurp, gulping down a quick bite before adding, "Does she know?"

God, why was he friends with this idiot?

"Know what?"

"That you like her," Naruto said, rolling his eyes.

"I don't like her," he replied, trying to ignore the dumb looks that the blonde was throwing at him.

"She invaded your personal space," Naruto pointed out. "and you didn't stop her."

"It's called comforting someone, you pest."

"So you DO like her."

"Are you deaf?" Sasuke said angrily, "I don't like her."

"That's so mean..."

"Well, maybe if you learned to shut the fu—"

"—don't you think so, Sakura-chan?"

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Sasuke stiffened, glancing over at the doorway and - sure enough - there was Sakura, who looked guilty for walking in on their conversation.

"Um, hi," she said rather lamely, hiding the invitation behind her back.

"Afternoon!" Naruto greeted cheerfully, pulling out the chair beside him while giving her a quick onceover. "Want some ramen? And uh, nice pajamas."

"It's okay... and thanks," she answered slowly, drifting towards the counter in an attempt to cover her purple pajamas. Originally she was going to change - and now she wished she had - but it would've been an absolute waste since Mikoto was gone with her friends and she never went anywhere with Sasuke anyway—

"There's food in the fridge," Sasuke said, turning back to his work, not realizing that he was typing uncharacteristically fast.

"I'll just... grab an apple," Sakura replied, opening her mouth to ask about the peanut butter when Sasuke pointed at the cupboard above the stove. "Er, thanks."

"Hn."

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"I don't know how you managed to do it," Naruto muttered under his breath. "But I feel super awkward now."

"Shut up."

"So..."

"You didn't tell me that there was an event tomorrow," Sakura said suddenly, spreading peanut butter onto her slices.

"What event?" Sasuke looked up, raising a brow.

"The Hyuugas?"

Naruto choked on the ice he was chewing, spluttering a bit before swallowing it.

"You didn't tell her?"

"Apparently not," Sasuke said sarcastically. "Why do you have that?"

"It was on the dresser..." Sakura said, then, "I wasn't snooping! I was just talking to Ino on the phone and it was there, so I just kind of... picked it up."

"Sounds like snooping to me," Naruto butted in, earning a kick in the shin from his friend. "Ouch! What the hell?"

"Were you planning on going?" she probed, taking a bite and chewing slowly.

Sasuke didn't answer, waiting for a while until, "No."

"Princess won't take this well," Naruto half-sang. "And I'm not talking about Tenten."

"He'll get over it," Sasuke grumbled, closing his laptop with a sigh.

"Why not?" Sakura asked, persistent. What was the big deal? A gala didn't seem like such a bad thing to attend, especially since his company seemed to be the one sponsoring it. But she guessed that with her being so vulnerable the past few days with the whole—

"You weren't going to attend in the first place," she stated, narrowing her eyes. "Because of me."

"I hate going to parties," he retorted, ignoring Sakura's gaze.

"No, you don't," Naruto said. "Especially not something like this where the princess needed your help." He looked over at Sakura and added, "They're always at each other's throats."

"I'm okay," Sakura reassured, wiping a spot off the table with her finger. "I wouldn't mind going."

Their eyes met for a moment before he turned back to his paperwork.

"Pass."

"You know, this whole compromise thing isn't going to work if only one person benefits."

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As much as she was touched that Sasuke would take her feelings into account, she signed up for the whole Uchiha wife business determined to do her part and do it well. Sakura didn't believe in having everything handed to her on a silver platter, and as much as she knew that the money Sasuke would be giving her in return would do little to phase him, she still wanted to stay committed to her task.

And it was the least she could do for him after all he had done for her.

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"Are you really complaining about me not receiving anything in return?" Sasuke snorted.

"Of course I am," Sakura snapped. "So I had a small lapse in judgement a few days ago, but I'm perfectly capable of attending this little gala now. More than capable."

"And this is coming from the girl in cupcake pajamas?" Sasuke drolled. "Tacky."

"That's not what you said last night!"

Naruto's eyes almost bugged out of its sockets.

"What about last night?"

"I don't recall commenting on them."

"You said they were 'nice.'"

"No, you asked me if they were nice."

"And you said 'hn!' which means you agreed."

"I was tired."

"But you were still awake enough to respond!"

"Hn."

"See?" Sakura said, triumphant. "So tomorrow?"

"Whatever."

"Thought so."

Sakura dumped her empty plate into the sink, then headed out of the kitchen, determined to get a head start on her wardrobe.

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"Teme, what the hell just happened?"

"Shut up."

Author's Note: Thank you everyone, for the kind words! I truly appreciated it. I know this chapter seemed like such a huge jump in terms of mood, but I wanted things to be more lighthearted although I feel like the transition could've been done more smoothly? And the chapter less... choppy. I've been sick at home and finally found the inspiration to write so, here we are.

Also, I'm working on a new fic though it'll be KibaSaku (gasp!) so hopefully I can pull it off. It'll be my first, so keep an eye out for that!