Friends & Family

Step 20 - First Date

The first date is always something special. We can never wait long enough to finally get asked out on the first date and doubts don’t arise just once, during the time in which one does need to be patient. After being asked out, the date is eagerly awaited. Questions like, what did the male come up with? Has he planned something special, or does he just plan to go to a movie and have some pizza to get the loveless first date over with? The most important thing on the first date is that both sides feel comfortable and have fun. That's why the girls should always wear clothes in which they feel more comfortable. After all, the first date is mainly there to get to know each other better and does not serve as a kind of foreplay that ends in a hotel room.

A morning rain shower pours over Tokyo, covering the streets with a thin layer of water and turning some spots into puddles. The sun rises slightly on the horizon and shows away the darkness of the night, even if it’s covered by the clouds. The darkness still predominates in their room, the weak daylight only slightly coming through the edges of the curtain. There is a pleasant silence and peace in the room, only the bed covers rustle softly as a foot moves under the blanket. The young woman lies on her right side, one of her legs on the blanket and the other buried underneath it. She sleeps peacefully on her pillow and even a small smile is laying on her lips. The young man sleeps just as calmly next to her, while laying on his back, with one hand on his chest and the other hidden under his pillow. This idyll doesn’t seem to be able to destroy.

However, a sudden loud beeping sound sounds in the bedroom and destroys the silence between the two. A murmur can be heard from the side of the woman, who now turns on her stomach and hides her face in her pillow. He in the other hand doesn't seem to take notice of the annoying beeping, or is just deliberately ignoring it. "Sasuke. Turn off the damn alarm clock. I still want to sleep!“ Sakura complains with a grumble. She definitely has enough of it already. Another grumble can be heard in the room, just that this time it comes from her husband instead, before he sticks his hand out from under his pillow and towards the bedside table, where he searches for the peace-breaker until he gets a hold of it. With the push of a button, he turns it off and rolls over to his wife, around whom he puts an arm and pulls her closer to his chest, while still half asleep. The idyll returns and the two continue to sleep, completely cuddled up to each other.
 

Not even five minutes later, however, this annoying beeping destroys their peace again. "Sasuke!" The Haruno whines against his chest and pulls his name out more and more towards the end. He lets go of her with a sigh, opening his dark grey eyes. Grumbling, the young woman lies back on her stomach and pulls one of her pillows over her head to muffle the noise around her. The Uchiha turns off the alarm clock with a sigh and sinks back into his pillow, where he closes his eyes, even if only for a few minutes. He really hates to get up early. He really could care less about work in a whole, if he wasn’t damned to be the boss of the creative departments. A loud sneeze makes him straighten up in his bed with a groan. Especially with that stupid cold he doesn’t want to go anywhere. Except for one place, but that’s only for later. "Bless you." He can hear his wife mumble underneath her pillow, while he grabs the box of handkerchiefs on his bedside table and pulls out one of the paper handkerchiefs. After blowing his nose, Sasuke puts his bare feet on the floor and reluctantly gets up from the bed. Yawning, he approaches the bathroom, behind which’s door he disappears. For a brief moment the rushing of water can be heard, before it falls silent again for a few minutes and only the gentle patter of the rain outside the windows resound in the room. The pink haired woman has completely disappeared under her pillows and the bed covers again, making only a few strands of her hair testify to her presence under all the fabric. Again the sound of water rushing can be heard briefly before the bathroom door opens again. Sasuke then approaches the dresser as quietly as possible in order to get some fresh clothes for the day. Then the drawer closes again silently.
 

Sakura doesn't notice anything and is still dreaming in her warm, cozy bed, until she gets woken up by another muffled sneeze. "Bless you." She then mumbles softly, while she turns around and rolls out from under her pillow, the cool room air immediately hitting her warm skin. Grumbling because of its unpleasant feeling, she pulls the blanket further up. Her husband watches her a moment through his dark grey eyes, a gentle smile forming on his lips at her reaction, before he disappears back into the bathroom and she can hear the shower just a minute later. The sleeping beauty makes brief, soft smacking noises, before the bedroom becomes silent once again. The first birds begin to sing their songs. The chirping of these are silently penetrating into the room, together with the steady dropping sounds of rain and the pattering water of the shower, though it doesn’t bother her since in the contrary, the sounds are quite relaxing her.

After a while a double beep sounds and destroys the peace in the bedroom once again, which is quickly replaced by the music on the radio, which automatically turns on when the bell rings. The Haruno grumbles softly and squeezes her eyes before she opens them and looks at the ceiling. Tired, she lets out a yawn and then turns on her side, her eyes fixating on her alarm clock, which shows the time with luminous digits. "Oh man..." The green eyed woman murmurs softly and reluctantly knocks her blanket aside. The cool air that immediately surrounds her gives her goose bumps and lets her stay in that position for a moment. Grumbling, she rubs her upper arms and then taps towards the balcony door, which Sasuke had tilted before, in order to close it. Barefooted, she carries herself to the bathroom, whose door just opens again and warm steam meets her. Standing right in front of each other, Sasuke looks directly at her through the steam, but somehow it also seems as if he doesn't take notice of her at all. For a moment she even worries that the sudden change in temperature might have made him feel dizzy and forgets the goose bumps on her own arms and legs. But then his hand takes hers and pulls her into the warm room and against his chest. His arms wrap around her and he lowers his head to her shoulder with a deep sigh. "So nice and cool." The black haired man mumbles and lays his mouth on the fabric of her shirt, which covers her shoulder. "Are you okay?" She inquires, a little concerned and worried about his behavior. "Mhm." He just hums back and lets go of her, in order to get out and leave the bathroom to her.

For a moment she looks after him over her shoulder, truly concerned about his weird behaviour, but then turns to the sink. She looks at the toothbrush holder, which actually looks like a vase or a mug, in black and with a silver metal ring in the middle as an ornament. There are two toothbrushes in it, one with a pink pattern and one with a blue pattern. Still tired, she starts her morning routine, washing her sleepy face with warm water and brushing her teeth. Every morning is the same. Because Sasuke goes to work half an hour earlier than her, he gets up half an hour earlier and occupies the bathroom during that time. Her eyes are on the open bathroom door, which she approaches and peeks slightly into the room, where her husband is getting dressed. But not without sneezing again.

After rinsing her mouth, she slips into her bathrobe and leaves the bathroom to go to the kitchen and prepare breakfast. While passing through she grabs a pair of socks from one of the dresser drawers and puts them on so that she doesn't have to walk barefoot across the cold floor. "Do you want to eat something?" She asks, while stopping in front of the door and looks back at him. He looks at her briefly and shakes his head before turning back to his green shirt. Yawning, she leaves the bedroom and goes down the stairs to the kitchen, makes 2 different teas and looks for a thermos from the cupboard in order to put it next to her husband's Bento, which she immediately fills with the leftovers from the previous day. A large portion of rice, as it is the main food in Japan, she puts the chicken curry in one of the separate boxes, some tomatoes and greens, chicken nuggets and croquettes. The usual Japanese Bento box, just with Sasuke's favorite dishes. She fills the hot herbal tea into the set thermos and looks for a small box in which she puts a few biscuits for him. She pours some of the other tea into his teacup and then turns towards her own Bento, which she fills almost the same way, and then starts eating her breakfast. A bread roll with ham and vegetables. As she puts the finished pastry on the plate, she hears footsteps coming down the stairs and towards the kitchen.
 

Smiling, she takes his Bento and the small box of biscuits and places them next to his steaming teacup. "Morning." The black haired man grumbles, still sounding quite tired, as he enters the kitchen and puts his work bag on the counter next to his lunch and cookies. "Good morning." The pink haired woman responds with a smile and turns to him with the thermos in hand, interrupting him while he was about to stow away his cookie and bento boxes. "Here, I made you some tea for work.” She explains and hands him the bottle with the tea. "Thank you." The Uchiha mumbles and puts it next to his bag before reaching for the teacup. Only now Sakura notices the slight scratchy sound in his voice. "It’s almost been two weeks ever since you got that cold. You really should take a day off and recover from your cold, before it gets even worse." She says with a sigh and examines him carefully. "Not possible today. I have a meeting with Itachi and the department heads all morning and besides, we have a date that I’m not willing to postpone. Weekend is coming now anyway." He replies between sips, glancing at her through his dark grey eyes. With a sigh the young woman nods and sips from her tea, briefly glancing at the clock, only to notice that she still has enough time to shower, blow-dry her hair and fix it for work.

"I'll be going then." The black haired man says, puts down his emptied tea cup and reaches for his bag and the thermos bottle. "Okay. Be careful." He hears Sakura's voice as he turns around to leave the room, takes his car keys from the dresser, gets into his shoes and leaves the house through the door into the garage. Cool air hits him immediately and goose bumps form on his skin. He sighs slightly. All he really wants to do is go back to bed and sleep. The night was so restless again, just like it had been for the past two weeks. These dreams, no, these nightmares keep haunting him every single night again and again. Today he doesn't even have to think about his nose, nothing comes in or out of it anyway, so that he has to breathe through his mouth ever since he woke up. He also feels cold all the time, except in the shower and afterwards. That moment he felt so incredibly hot, to the extent that he thought he was starting to evaporate. In addition, he now also has this scratchy voice. He should really take a day off, otherwise he'll get really sick and he really can't afford that. He really hates helplessly lying in bed for days.

His legs carry him to his car, which he unlocks with the remote control and then slumps down onto the driver's seat, which is just as cold as everything else. He puts his work bag and thermos bottle on the passenger seat and then immediately starts the engine so that it can warm up the heater and the car faster. Sasuke fastens his belt and lets the garage door open. He lets his fingers tap up and down on the steering wheel because it is far too cold to hold onto it permanently. When the gate is open, he puts the gear into its proper place and drives off, down the longer driveway and through the gate, down from his property. Slowly the heat kicks in and the seat under him warms up. When he feels the warmth around him, his muscles relax and he drives calmly into the city center and towards work. Again a lot of work will be waiting for him on his desk. At least today there will be no drawings that he needs to take care off. But all these reports and more are waiting for him together with this long meeting, which they hold every three months and discuss various things in it.

He lets out a deep sigh. Somehow he can't get rid of the fact that Sakura just wants to let the Kaseguchi get away with everything. After all, the redhead should have expected Sakura to fall over board if she pushes her at such a place. It was simply irresponsible of the Kaseguchi and he’s definitely not going to close an eye on that. Especially not since she was so drunk at such an occasion too. That's exactly why he decided to give her her first warning. They have this system, that an employee gets fired after the third warning and he thinks that it is time for Kaseguchi’s first warning. Maybe this will shake the redhead awake and make her notice how wrong she is acting. Maybe, but he still has his doubts about it. Especially since he already heard and saw enough of her ridiculous and unhealthy obsession for him. In that case he will just keep giving her warnings until it reaches her third and drop her out. That woman should be happy though that Sakura was so selfless and hasn’t just reported her in to the police. He doesn’t get how someone can be so stupid to do such a thing, especially in public with hundreds of witnesses around.

When he stops at the red light, the tickling in his nose comes back, making him sneeze twice. Grumbling, he looks for a handkerchief. His gaze falls on the thermos with the tea that his wife made for him. She's right. He really needs a break from work. He always tries to treat himself to one and to do something else for at least half an hour during work. He even has a game loaded onto his tablet, but whenever he plays it, there is suddenly twice as much work on his desk and he works late into the evening. Not only once, in the last two weeks, he had to work late into the night just because of the breaks he took. Sighing, he shifts the gear when the lights turn back to green and continues to drive towards work.

A light fog hangs over the city and a drizzle pours down from the clouds, forcing people to take an umbrella with them. He just hopes that it'll get better by evening. Although the date between Sakura and him won’t be endangered because of the rain, it would still be so much nicer without it. She wanted it to be romantic, but he doesn't think it will be so romantic with rain. He sighs again and finally turns into the company’s parking lot, after half an hour's drive. As usual, there are almost no cars in the garage. Sasuke parks the car on the spot that belongs to him and then takes his bag and thermos bottle, to get out of the vehicle and lock it. Stowing the keys in his work bag, he enters the elevator, which immediately takes him up to the top floor.
 

Next month he and Sakura will be already married for six months and so much has happened ever since that day. Tomorrow, it will be exactly a month since his mother died. Already a month. Time goes by so quickly and it feels like he's not moving. He and Sakura are now in some kind of relationship, but they still have a long way to go. If the day when they fall in love with each other should ever come, that is. It doesn't just happen all of a sudden and he knows that. Both he and her are two strangers when it comes to love. He doesn’t even know what it feels like to be in love. And still sometimes he asks himself, if he and Sakura aren’t trying hard enough. Time flies so fast. In two months it’s already Christmas again. He wonders what he should get for his wife as a present, but then he shakes his head with a somewhat amused smile. What are those thoughts all of a sudden? It’s not like he needs to think about that already, or? After all, stores are already starting to sell Christmas cookies again as well.

The elevator doors open and he looks ahead at the long empty hallway. With a sigh, he pushes his thoughts aside and gets out of the elevator, goes down the hallway and to the other end to his office. He looks around sullenly. Company bosses are always so well represented in books and stories. They have so much free time, they are even able to play golf, meet other business partners for lunch, come and go as they please and still their business is running so perfectly. He, on the other hand, is one of the first to come and usually one of the last to leave. Even Itachi seems to have more free time than he does, despite both of them being in the same position. His brother used to tell him how things would change if he got himself a woman too, because she will become more important to him than work, but look at him. He’s married now and she has become so incredibly important to him already and still he gets loads of work to do. In the end, Sasuke never believed that having someone at home would automatically lessen the amount of work on his desk. It was never like he saw work as more important than his loved ones either. After all, he hates work and would rather go home than stay in the office till late at night. He has to smile sadly at that thought. They all keep looking at him like he enjoys being this way. But he doesn’t. Rather than that, he feels forced to grave himself into work, in order to keep the company running. They all keep judging him. The thing is, he never corrects their complaints about him, because he knows that as the boss of the creative departments section, people have a lot of expectations of him. How would it sound or look if he would complain to others about his work all the time, while everyone else seems to have no problems at all with their high positions? Probably he would be just told that compared to his father, who had to lead the whole company all by himself, his work shouldn’t be that hard to bear. One more point as to why he never complains out loud.
 

The Uchiha opens the door to his secretary's office, who immediately looks up and greets him warmly. "Morning Ayame." He responds shortly after her and wants to walk past her, but stops again when he remembers something. He turns back to his secretary, who immediately looks up at him with a certain expectation in her eyes. "Please prepare everything for a first warning to Ms. Kaseguchi. I want this to go out today. I'll give you the reason right before I go to the meeting.” He explains briefly and he can immediately see the satisfaction glinting in her eyes as she nods. It doesn’t surprise him that she reacts so positive about it. After all that woman has already done enough trouble to the extend, that barely anyone can stand her. He won’t forget the employees which came to him, exhausted, that they aren’t able to keep up with her any longer and therefore either wanted to switch departments, or even went as far as to quit their job here. "Thank you." The black haired man then says and turns away from her, disappearing into his office, where he sits down on his armchair and activates his computer. A sigh comes over his lips. Maybe he has had a little too much patience with that obsessive woman over the years, hoping that she could ever change into a good employee and co-worker. But now he has had it. She’s going to get her first warning, in hope that it will slap her awake. He then pushes those thoughts away for a while, unpacking his tablet and the small box with the cookies.
 

Letting out a groan, he lets his head fall back, when he notices that he has left his Bento box on the kitchen counter. Grumbling, he just opens the thermos and fills the hot liquid in its lid, which also serves as a mug. His eyes are on the screen of his tablet and he examines the titles of the incoming mails as well as the senders, while he takes a few swallows from his tea. He goes through the most important mails quickly and then collects all the things he needs for the meeting. The tablet, some documents, a pad with a pen, his smartphone. Sighing, he screws the cap back on the thermos flask and puts it next to the documents before he looks for a piece of paper and a pen, writing for Ayame down the exact wording and reason for the warning, so that she only needs to type it down and adapt it and he can have it laying prepared on his desk when he comes back from the meeting.
 

After a quick look at the clock, the Uchiha gets up and takes the documents in his left hand, supporting them on his side, while he takes the thermos bottle and the note for Ayame with his right hand. Sighing because of the stress, Sasuke hands his secretary the piece of paper and leaves her office to go to one of the larger conference rooms on the 64th floor. It is exactly 8am now. Many of the employees and co-workers are now coming to work, including Sakura, who always starts working at this time. Many of the employees come towards him when he goes into the conference room, to which a few department heads like Kakashi, are already heading. The dark grey eyed man escapes the hustle and bustle and enters the conference room, in which he goes straight to his seat and greets the department heads which are already present. Most of them are already there and only a few are missing, which will also arrive within the next few minutes and finally Itachi. Somewhat amazed, said man looks at the thermos in front of Sasuke. “A thermos bottle?” The older one explores and sinks down next to him. "I’ve caught a cold, so she decided to make me some tea." The younger of the Uchihas explains, spreading his documents a bit and puts the tablet in its case. "How is she?" Itachi then asks and also puts some order in his documents. "Well... Unlike me, she doesn't have a cold.” Sasuke answers a little stubborn and one could almost tell that he doesn't want to be here. "That's what happens when you jump after your beloved wife so selflessly." Itachi notes with a grin, glancing teasingly with his brown eyes towards his younger brother. "Would you please? Everything’s waiting for you." Sasuke just asks with a grumble and points to the department heads who have gathered around the table by now.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." Itachi then greets all those present without delving more into his brother's question. The department heads return the greeting and then the older Uchiha opens the meeting. The performance of the departments is discussed. Actually, this meeting only serves to discuss the services, where something can be improved or utilized, what possibilities there are and how the further development on the market should look. How to increase market share and more. The further procedure is also discussed, as some products are bought less over the winter, while others are bought more. There is also a separate department for marketing and opinion research. This department is always one of the most important in these meetings, as they are crucial whether a product is redesigned or even discontinued, which products are required, everything comes from this department. This department falls under Itachi's domain and although it is actually none of Sasuke’s business and not really interested in it either, he has to sit here every time. After all, his section is the creative one. Of course the finances also interest him, since it also affects his private life and his departments. “The marketing budget remains at 3% of sales. Does everyone agree?” Itachi inquires, who has clearly taken over the leadership and chairmanship of this meeting. The department heads unanimously agree. "I would strive for a collaboration with the Haruno Empire here." Sasuke interjects, drawing everyone's attention to himself. Sighing, he sits up straight, since he has made himself comfortable in his armchair and supports his elbows on the table. “The Haruno Imperium is specialized in advertising, has more and above all better implementation options and the right contacts. I thought that we intertwine the marketing department of the Uchiha Corporation with the Haruno empire. We could possibly market ourselves much better. The ideas continue to come from us, but will be transposed in cooperation with the Haruno Empire.” He explains to the somewhat surprised department heads. For a moment, the room gets a little louder as the department heads start discussing it with each other. “I think it's a really good idea. I would suggest to start working together with them from the beginning of the new year, the first six months being on a trial basis." Itachi breaks the murmur and draws everyone’s attention back to himself. Again the mumbling continues before the department heads agree. Sasuke laughs inwardly. As if they had something to report here. With a smile, Sasuke turns his attention to his tablet, picks it up, leans back in his chair and goes through his mails. Busying himself with the, in his opinion, more important work until everything in the technical area has been discussed. Of course he keeps looking up to pretend that he listens in properly, while in reality he's only doing it with half an ear, as it still doesn't have anything to do with him or any of his departments. Kakashi, for example, is always half bored during these meetings because the design issues are resolved within 10 minutes.
 

Sasuke briefly looks at the gray haired man who is scribbling on his pad. Just as the younger Uchiha tries to suppress a tired yawn, his attention is diverted to the head of the market and opinion research department. “We discovered a niche in the marketing. An unsaturated market, which up to now has either not been taken into account or has been ignored.“ Reports the woman and looks at her documents. Almost all department heads check it out. She looks briefly at the two Uchihas before continuing. “This niche in marketing affects housewives and mothers. During maternity leave, mothers are also housewives, they take care of the baby and at the same time try to keep the house clean, where there is usually not enough time. There is not a single product which children can play with and thus help around the house at the same time, such as dusting or the like.” She explains and is viewed by almost everyone with wide eyes. "Well, if we want to open up this market, we need a new and unique product," Itachi says. “We're going to call a meeting next week and explain it to the industrial designers. That won't be a problem, but what about the technology? After all, we are entering new territory with toys." Sasuke replies after a quick look at Kakashi on his right side. "That will hardly be a problem either." Itachi just waves off optimistically.
 

The meeting goes on for two more hours before Itachi says goodbye and the conference ends. Gossiping, the department heads leave the room, leaving their bosses alone. "Mr. Hatake, come to my office right away, so that we can discuss more about the new product." The younger Uchiha calls out before the gray haired man leaves the room. He only nods briefly in response and then disappears from the room.

Itachi on his left sighs. "You really don't look good, little brother." the long haired man notes worried. "Yeah, I drank up my tea and my cookies are in my office." Sasuke merely grumbles and shakes his empty thermos. "What? You also have cookies? Sakura is spoiling you." It comes almost appreciatively from the brown eyed man. “I haven't eaten much lately, since I'm not hungry because of the cold, but at least I eat cookies. Ever since the company party, I have nightmares every night and it makes me so restless. I don’t wake up in shock or something, but it seems to me that I have nightmares of ten minutes which replay over and over again in just one night. I try to take breaks between work, but because of that I always come home later and the cold doesn't make things any easier either. At least I can breath through my nose again. In the morning that was impossible.”

“You need a break Sasuke and you have to share your work with someone. Not everything needs to go through the boss, you're overworking yourself. Take your vacation, fly away with Sakura.” Itachi says, worried. “That's what Sakura said too, but I can't. Not now, just when we agreed to bring out a new product." Says the younger one with a shake of his head, while he starts to put his things together. He gets up and takes his things in his left hand as before and supports it on his side. "A whole month has passed already." He says quietly and walks towards the door. “How are you coping with that?” The brown eyed man asks after he heard his brothers words. Sasuke stops at the door and turns his face to his big brother. "She dies in my dreams every single night." He confesses with a hard swallow. "And shortly after Sakura dies too." He then adds before pushing the door open, leaving his brother behind and makes his way back to his office. He hadn't planned on telling Itachi this, but it just blurted over his lips. He shakes his head with a sigh. Talking about it only made him sad again and it will distract him from his work. The youngest Uchiha walks past all the employees in silence and heads for the elevator, which stops right next to his office.

Ayame greets him warmly when he re-enters the office and goes through to his own, on which’s desk the warning for the Kaseguchi immediately laughs at him. Neatly laying on top of a pile of documents. Sighing, he puts down his meeting documents, pushes the pile on his table aside, plugs in the tablet to recharge and puts the countless things from the meeting back in their places. It's kind of strange that he always has such a neat office but such a messy bedroom. Just as he is about to turn to the warning, a knock sounds from his door. "Come in." He exclaims while looking through the folders, only to notice that the pile consists out of only four large topics and that several folders always belong together. The door opens and then closes again immediately. "Ah Kakashi, take a seat.” The black haired man exclaims and points towards the armchairs in front of his desk.

“So, the new product. I would say we dare a shot in the dark.” The Uchiha reveals his suggestion. "What do you mean?" Kakashi asks in surprise. “I mean, we give exactly two specifications for the design. A child must be able and willing to play with it and at the same time help in the household.” Sasuke explains briefly, pointing his two fingers in the air. “I understand and which industrial designers should I commission with the drafts?” The head of his department continues. Sasuke shrugs his shoulders calmly. “Who would you suggest?” The black haired man asks a counter question. “Mrs. Haruno, Ms. Hondo, actually all industrial designers are pretty good and full of ideas.” The gray haired man thinks out loud. “I would say we'll take them all. Every industrial designer can put their idea on paper and we will set a date, by then everyone must have submitted their drawing. When that’s done everyone models their design and all designs will be voted in a large conference. In this way, all designers will have equal rights and the same task. I would schedule a meeting for Monday and then explain everything to the co-workers there. If you agree with the procedure.” Sasuke explains while he looks questioningly at the Hatake. "Of course." The gray haired man smiles and nods. "Well then, thanks." The Uchiha nods back and looks down at his table, where the warning catches his eye. "Oh yes. So that you know, Mr. Hatake. I have the first warning for the Kaseguchi here, for her irresponsible behavior at the company party.“ The Uchiha picks up the letter and Kakashi nods before leaving the room. With a quiet sigh, Sasuke signs the letter and then puts it in the envelope, which he closes and puts on the shelf.
 

Sighing, he lets himself fall and lay back into his armchair and puts the bottle of iced tea, which he has just fetched from his secret fridge, on the table. He looks at his computer and tablet for a moment before straightening up again and pouring some iced tea into a glass. He places the bottle on the floor next to his desk and then looks around for his cookie box. Just as he is about to bring the first biscuit to his mouth, there is another knock on his door. A deep and annoyed sigh escapes his lips, forcing him to put the cookie back. "Come in!" He calls out with a grumble, because his time is already being taken up again. His gaze is fixed on the screen of his computer as steps approach and stop in front of his table. "Hey." His wife’s voice makes him look up at her a little surprised. "Hey." He replies briefly, watching her curious as to why she came to him. "Here's your Bento, you forgot it at home." She explains his inner question briefly, almost looking shy while she puts the box on his table. "Thank you." The Uchiha says lightly and rubs over his forehead and eyes. Already tired from the mornings events. “Are you okay?” She asks carefully and walks around the table. Stopping right next to his chair, her fingers gently caress through his hair. With a sigh of satisfaction, Sasuke leans his head on her stomach and cuddles up to her while he feels her hand on his forehead. "Yeah, the meeting was just boring and tiring.” It comes in a soft grumble over his lips.
 

Her fingers keep playing with his hair, while she looks down at him concerned. "If you aren’t doing well, we can postpone the date tonight if you want." The pink haired woman tries again, but shakes his head. "No no. We're both going on our first date today." The black haired man exclaims and the stubbornness in his voice shows her once more, that she won’t stop him from enjoying their first night out just because of a cold. "What should I even wear anyway?" She asks amused and lets her hands drop as he stands up. "You can dress nicely, but I think you won't find it so easy with high heels." He explains to her and begins to spread out his documents. "Okay." The Haruno just mumbles and walks towards the door to leave the office, but pauses again for a moment. "When should I be ready?" She then explores, remembering that she hasn’t asked yet and looks back around at him. But to her dismay he is already absorbed in his work, holds some documents in his hands and slightly up while he seems to be looking for something. "At 7pm.” Sasuke then replies without looking up. Understanding, the young woman nods and then lowers her gaze to the floor before she leaves the room and Ayame's office, who probably walked out to get herself some coffee.

Sighing softly, she goes back to her own office. She doesn't understand what's going on lately. Sure, he has a cold and that explains his tiredness and lack of appetite, but it doesn’t explain his behavior towards her lately. She passes a couple of her colleagues who hang around the corridor and talk to some co-workers, or go to the kitchen, warm up their lunch, or get new materials from the warehouse. Sakura turns left into the side corridor and heads for her office. She quietly opens and closes the door back behind herself and sinks into her chair. Confused, Natsuki watches and examines her carefully from her own place. "Are you okay?" The Hondo asks and looks at her with concern. "Yes, yes. Everything is fine.“ The Haruno exclaims with a sigh and turns her face to her screen. "Sakura, I mean it. What's happening? You were in a good mood just a moment ago. Did Sasuke say anything?“ The brunette questions the behavior of her pink haired colleague. She just looks at her for a while before she sighs once more. "He's been acting weird lately. For the last two weeks, to be exact." Sakura explains silently and picks up her pencil. “But you said he has a cold.” The blue eyed woman notes a little surprised. "Yes, but that doesn't explain why he's behaving so strangely." The Haruno replies and turns the pen between her fingers. "How does he behave strangely?" The Hondo keeps asking, feeling a little like she has to force her to get every small detail out of her, or otherwise Sakura will just bottle it all up inside of her and therefore awaits her next words. “In one hand, it seems to me that he's keeping distance from me. He works much longer than usual, but Ayame insists that there is not necessarily more work than usual at the moment. When he comes home in the evening, he either goes back to his office like he did two months ago, or he sits down next to me on the couch, but then only at the other end." Sakura reports obviously down and Natsuki nods to indicate that she should continue. "On the other hand, he sometimes seeks my closeness, cuddles a little, or pulls me into his arms, but that rarely happens." The Haruno finishes her explanations.

Sighing thoughtfully, Natsuki leans back in her chair. “It's really weird. But that's definitely just a phase." The Hondo tries to cheer her up, but Sakura just smiles ruefully. “When I went to bring him his bento, he was so distant again. He talked to me like any other employee. I haven't seen him so cold towards me in a long time. He didn't even look at me when I was talking to him.” "What? But you're the only one he's always so nice and warm to. You are the big exception!“ Natsuki exclaims aloud and stares at her in disbelief. "I know. But he still wants to go on the date tonight. It will be a complete mess if he behaves like that on our date too." Somewhat desperate, she props her elbows on the table. “Come on, it won't be that bad. Maybe there’s just something that keeps him thinking. And if it does turn out bad, which I highly doubt, just talk to Itachi or his father." The brunette tries to cheer her up and takes a pen to hand. "Yes, you are probably right." Sakura agrees with her colleague and then looks at the pen in her hand, which is no longer than 2 centimetres. A little dejected, the Haruno sighs out again and then begins to look through her things for her other pencils.

Ever since their wedding, Sasuke hasn’t been this cold and distant towards her. It can't be that it's all because of the cold, right? Because the moments when he is normal and nice to her again is mostly in the morning when they get up, or in the evening just before they both go to bed. In between he’s just like back in the office when he leaned his forehead against her belly, but these moments are also rather rare. Somehow they have regressed back to the status of two unknown roommates and she doesn't know why. Grumbling, she gets up from her chair. "I'm going to get some new pens. Do you need something too?” She explains to her colleague. "Erasers, if you could be so nice." The brunette replies and watches her leave shortly after with a silent, "Sure, no problem."

Sasuke sleeps restlessly at night and also only little, which she guesses is just due to him having a cold, but it can't be that he's so upset because of that. She sighs inwardly and looks at her working colleagues. She urgently needs some distraction from this topic and some encouragement, otherwise she doesn't even need to carry out her planned prank on Karin. She doesn't want to let the Kaseguchi get away with everything that unscathed, she also annoys with her constant controlling of what Sakura is doing and about how often she leaves her office.

“Ms. Kaseguchi, I've had enough. For two weeks straight you've been sitting around here, just staring out into the hallway and doing absolutely nothing. You get paid to work, not to sit and stare around. I will contact the HR department and inform them about it. And you are packing up your things now." She hears Kakashi’s serious voice coming from said woman’s office. "Yes, but Mrs. Haruno..." The redhead begins. "Mrs. Haruno?" Kakashi interrupts her and at this very moment Sakura passes the door. “Yes?” She asks, somewhat surprised, and stops to look at her boss. "Uh, nothing. Ms. Kaseguchi is apparently only looking for excuses and a scapegoat. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you with…“ The Hatake explains, leaving the end of the sentence open. "Oh, no problem. I'm just getting new material." The pink haired woman smiles friendly and then continues, if only a few steps, in order to hide behind the wall. Kakashi in the other hand nods and looks back to Karin. “Unlike you, mrs. Haruno does her job flawlessly. As far as I know, you have only submitted two drawings in the past two weeks and one of them is incomplete. If you love to stare into air like that so much, you can do that on the place over there too. Maybe the surroundings will be a little inspirational for your work. So now pack your things and clear this table here. It’s is no longer available for you." The man preaches in a firm and serious voice that doesn’t tolerate any contradictions. "It’s none of your business who walks down this corridor, neither when and how often and to whom they go. You aren’t getting paid for such ridiculous things." He then adds with a serious look.
 

A grin creeps onto the pink haired woman’s lips. Of course she knows the reason as why Karin kept an eye on the hallway. From her now former place, right next to the door, she could always see through it and almost way to the back of Sasuke's office and since she told her at the company party that his wife goes in and out of his office almost every day, she never left the hallway. Either way, it was time that she finally gets consequences for her obsessive stalking towards her and Sasuke’s doings. It’s unbearable how the Kaseguchi paid attention to Sakura and kept dictating to her what to do like she’s the queen on top. The boss of all bosses here. Probably all just out of undying jealousy, because of the relationship between the Haruno and the younger company boss. At least in that point, Sakura is finally going to have her peace from that red head. Smiling, she goes into the material chamber and searches for a new package of pencils, just as a few different erasers. Satisfied, she makes her way back and walks past the big office in which Kakashi and Karin are located, but not without stealing a quick glance at the redheads new workplace.
 

Satisfied with how things are going, she returns to her own office to go back to work. She enters the room with a small grin on her lips and is immediately eyed suspiciously by the Hondo. “Every time you come back, your mood changes. What happened that you seem so satisfied now? You only left to get some pens." The brunette asks with skepticism. "Yes, that, and then there’s also the fact that i walked past Kakashi’s and Karin’s office, who just got lectured by him because she only kept an eye on the hallway and Sasuke's office, for the past two weeks now and only handed in a single drawing which wasn’t even acceptable. Kakashi has just moved her to another table, because he got enough of her daydreaming and scapegoating.” The pink haired woman explains with an amused laugh. "That explains everything, of course, and it serves her right." A satisfied grin steals on Natsuki's lips and nods once in addition to stress her words a little more. Sakura then hands her the erasers with a giggle and sits back down on her seat. "Tell me…" Sakura then begins once more after a quick look at her handbag. "Yes?" The Hondo looks up from her screen. "Do you feel like, after work is over..." The pink haired woman bends down to her handbag and lifts it onto her lap, before she continues in her question. "To help me with a little prank?" She continues grinning, holding a pack of cress seeds and cotton wool in her hand. “What do you have in mind?” The brunette immediately explores enthusiastically. Of course she is there when it comes to mess with Karin, kidding or playing a prank on her. The brunette woman already feels so excited to see how Karin’s hair will be not the only red thing on her any more. Everyone here would love to see her turn all red in frustration and it would be more than satisfying to watch.
 

"I thought we'd plant a couple of cress plantations on Kakashi's table." The Haruno begins. "Wait. Why Kakashi?“ Natsuki interrupts her immediately in confusion. Not having expected such a turn in the plot. "And put a little trail to Karin, where we also deposit the remains of the cotton wool and cress seeds." The pink haired woman ends with a sneaky grin. The Hondo finally nods in understanding, trying to stop herself from giggling. Kakashi will definitely explode on her. The idea is just too perfect. “Kakashi is leaving now and the office empties anyway at 3pm, especially Karin. So I would say we start half an hour after the end of work.” Explains the green eyed woman. Natsuki nods in agreement. "Until then we will continue to work well, like the good co-workers we are." The Haruno says lastly and winks before she hides the things back in her handbag again and turns back to her screen and the construction program.

Two hours later, they can hear the general atmosphere of the happy chatter and steps of the employees making their ways home. Nobody stays in the office longer than necessary on a Friday anyway. Except, of course, for a certain Uchiha. That’s what Sakura thinks to herself, while she saves the data on her computer and completes the part of the drawing before she stows it away and tidies her desk. Natsuki also starts tidying up her desk. "I'm bringing our mugs back to the kitchen." The brunette woman says briefly and picks up the mentioned items to leave the office. Sighing softly, the pink haired woman looks out through the window. It is still drizzling outside, in between there were really heavy showers, but at least the light fog has cleared. “Will the weather get any better by tonight? How will the date end up? What will Sasuke be like and why is he like that at the moment? I just don't get it.” The pink haired woman mumbles to herself and looks at the small drops on her window pane.

"The office is almost completely empty." It comes from the brunette when she walks back in, to inform her colleague. "Well, then we can start soon." The green eyed woman notes with a smile and looks at the time display on her screen before she looks at her schedule for the next week again. On Monday, a meeting was suddenly planned and announced, which is meant for the entire design department. Other than that, their schedule is actually quite empty, as usual, only deadlines are noted in it. “I wonder what kind of meeting will be awaiting us on Monday.” The Hondo mumbles thoughtfully. "I don't know." Sakura responds truthfully and shuts down her computer and pushes the power button to get up. “So, ready?" She grins and looks at her colleague who also stands up. “To mess with Karin? Always.” Natsuki exclaims with a giggle and takes her jacket from the back of her chair. Sakura also takes her jacket, her handbag and the bag with her empty lunch box. "Then let’s go." They carefully open the door and peek into the corridor to make sure that no one takes notice of them, even though half of the department would probably even help them with their prank anyway. Silence hits them and the hallway seems empty. The steps of the two women are muffled by the carpet in the middle of the hallway and after a few steps the two enter the big office. They quietly put their things down and then fetch the cotton wool and cress seeds from Sakura’s handbag. Natsuki then fetches a spray bottle which is standing on the office’s windowsill, which is meant to water the plants
 

The Haruno tears down a large, wide strip of cotton wool, which is rolled up and places it in the middle of Kakashi’s work table, splitting individual smaller ones between the shelves and the like, which are immediately sprayed with water by the Hondo. Then Haruno sprinkles the cress seeds on it and then goes to Karin's table, opens a drawer and stuffs the cotton wool into it, lets a corner peek out of it and watches her colleague as she also sprays the cotton wool before she sprinkles the seeds on it. From the large piece she plucks some cotton wool off and lays them on the floor in front of the drawer and sprinkles a small trail of seeds to the grey haired mans table. "We'll leave the drawer open and close it quickly on Monday morning before Karin comes, because she comes an hour later which is exact to the time of the meeting.” The pink haired woman explains quietly, although there are only the two of them in the room. The Hondo nods and puts the spray bottle back to its place, while Sakura simply sprinkles the box of cress seeds on the cotton wool in the drawer and the whole thing looks as if it was done in a hurry.
 

With a grin on their lips, but still quietly, the two of them leave the office and finally walk calmly down the path to the elevator. "Hopefully we won't miss out on all the fun on Monday." The brunette giggles in anticipation as they get into the elevator and leave their work behind. "If so, we have to film it for each other." Smiles the pink haired woman. "And what are you doing on weekend?" She then asks to have a little conversation while going down. “I'm going to my parents in Gotenba. And you?” The Hondo asks a counter question. “I'll tie Sasuke to the bed. So that he will finally recover." The pink haired woman explains her plans and looks at the floor display. "I'd love to see that." Natsuki says with a grin. Sakura giggles and the doors open. The two women walk silently through the hallway to the garage and finally enter it through the door. "I wish you a nice weekend." Sakura exclaims and stops by her car. "Thank you, you too and have fun on the date tonight." The brunette replies in a friendly manner and raises her hand in goodbye. "Thank you. Bye, Natsuki. See you on Monday." With a sigh and a big smile on her lips, she then gets into her car.
 

Sighing softly, the pink haired woman looks at her steering wheel. The date tonight still worries her, as well as Sasuke's behaviour. She fastens her seatbelt and then starts the engine, parks out and leaves the almost empty garage. A heavy rain shower pours over Tokyo. The streets are covered with a millimeter high layer of water. Sakura turns on the turn signal and smiles when she sees her colleague behind her in her respective car. She looks to the left for a moment and then turns right onto the street. The windshield wipers are working at full speed and Sakura is already thinking of pulling to the side to be on the safe side and waiting for the rain shower to end. But then she shakes her head with a smile. It’s not like she never drove through the streets in a weather that was even worse than this. Besides, who said the rain will stop or get better in a little while? Nevertheless, she should make sure that she comes home as soon as possible, or she could end up being the one messing up the date. The rain makes it take some time, but shortly afterwards she is already only a few streets away from home.

She turns right off the main streets and into the residential area of Setagaya. Following the course of the road, she turns twice right and once left and then one last time right to get into the driveway. She drives up the driveway and then gallantly backs up into the garage. The gate closes again and she sighs in relief when she gets out of the car. She has finally arrived at home. Shutting the door of her car, she then locks it before going to the front door and unlocks it.

A pleasant warmth meets her as soon as she steps in and recognizes the familiar smell of home. She follows the corridor into the foyer and takes off her jacket there, which she puts together with the handbag on the dresser and puts the keys next to it, before finally getting out of her shoes with a satisfied moan. Silence hits her as she turns and looks through the empty hallway. That's something she doesn't like at all, but Sasuke doesn't know. She doesn't like it when she is alone in a quiet and empty house or apartment. She sighs again and brings her food box into the kitchen, before she goes into the living room and lets herself fall on the couch. She has at least two hours until her husband comes and then another hour before she has to be ready.
 

She takes one of these throw blankets and covers her legs with it, immediately snuggling deeper into the couch and turns on the television. Searching, she zaps through the channels and finally gets stuck at one. An older season of Grey's Anatomy is currently running there, the season finale as she immediately recognizes, when she hears the introduction text from Meredith Gray. It’s the episode with the rampage in which Derek was shot.
 

She sighs softly and her thoughts drift away, like it happened today so often already. She just doesn't know what to do with Sasuke. Normally she would ask Mikoto or her parents now, but they are all no longer there. None of them are there. Who should she ask now? She doesn't want to burden Fugaku with it. He lost his wife, whom he loved more than anything, he has been living without her for almost a month now and Itachi is also so busy and married. They both have their own problems. Nobody is there anymore. Mikoto was like a guidance for her, she was like a manual instruction on how Sakura could deal with Sasuke, but she’s no longer there either. She died almost exactly a month ago. Suddenly, just like that, an hour after Sasuke arrived with her at the hospital to visit his mother. Tomorrow it will be exactly a month that she has lost someone important to her again. But Sasuke lost a much more important person with Mikoto. For him she was the woman who gave birth to him, raised him, taught him what’s wrong and what’s right, loved him, cared for and protected him, she was there for him and cheered him up again when he felt down. Without Mikoto he wouldn't be the person he is now. He's had to live without her for a whole month. He's definitely must have some questions he'd want to ask her too. But Sakura knows that Sasuke is not the type of person who says everything openly and just comes up to someone like that to talk to them about his feelings and problems. His mother has been dead for a month. She was the only one who could read him like an open book. He tries to come to terms with his own problems and handle everything on his own.

She just doesn't understand what happened, that he's suddenly so different towards her again. So cold and aloof. She would like to be able to read him like a book, like his mother could, but she can't and she doesn't understand either. Suddenly a shot sounds and the Haruno shrieks out of her deep thoughts. Looking around a little startled, her gaze falls back on the television, where Derek is lying on the floor with the bullet hole in his chest. Annoyed, the pink haired woman sighs out and turns off the television. She has to think of something else. Today she has her first real date with Sasuke. She should be overjoyed and actually be nervous. She should be panicked about what to wear and here she is thinking about death. Only now she realizes the traces of tears on her face. Grumbling, she wipes them away with her sleeve and gets up from the couch.
 

Sakura slowly leaves the living room and goes up the stairs to the bedroom, straight into the bathroom, where she immediately bends over the bathtub to let hot water in and take a bubble bath. Then she turns on the little radio and looks for fresh underwear from the dresser in the bedroom, before undressing and going back into the bathroom. With one last sigh, she tries to put aside all her thoughts and worries. This weather and these thoughts are making her only brittle and sad. On the radio she is currently listening to the mood-maker song "Happy" which is loved by everyone and hums along with it. With a sigh she lets herself slide into the warm water and hides her body under the foam, while tying her hair into a high bun and then turns off the water.

A sigh of pleasure comes over her lips and she can feel how all her muscles start to relax. She has placed her neck on a towel on the edge of the tub and closes her eyes contentedly. Just enjoying the feeling of the warm water around her body. After a while, however, she loosens the bun and dips under water to wet her hair and then wash it with her cherry-scented shampoo. She lets the water sink and flow out of the tub and steps into the shower for a moment to wash off all the particles, which were floating in the water, from her skin. Then she wraps herself in one of her large and soft towels and dries herself off. In order to support her skin in the coming cold time, she creams herself with a body lotion and then slips into her underwear. Dressed in a bathrobe, she leaves the bathroom and at the same time hears the front door being opened. A smile forms on her lips as she wraps her hair in a turban, a skill every woman possesses.
 

The door to the room opens carefully and the Uchiha peeps in. “Hey.” It comes from his wife, watches her straightening up and smile at him. "Hi." The newcomer replies and comes up to her to press his lips on her cheek. A slight shimmer of red makes itself visible on her cheeks and her eyes slightly widen at his sudden action. He has never greeted her like this before. Not after any long day at work. He also seems to be warmer again than he had been at noon. "I will get myself ready in my old room.” He says briefly and walks towards the closet, to get himself out some fresh clothes, indicating that he will be out in a minute again so that she can prepare peacefully. She nods and disappears back into the bathroom. Sasuke meanwhile takes his clothes and gets his shampoo from their shared bathroom, only to make his way to his former bedroom. A few minutes pass. The young Haruno puts on her make-up and does her hair while Sasuke takes his shower in his former room. Slowly the nervousness starts to finally kick in, as Sakura quickly taps back barefooted to their wardrobe and searches for a nice outfit. Nice, but no high heels. She looks critically at the clothes and then finally reaches for a few pieces before going back into the bathroom and then back to the bed with the clothes in hand. Sasuke has dressed in the meantime and slips into his jacket before he leaves the room and goes downstairs and into the living room to sit down on the couch and wait. It is well known that women need longer after all.
 

After a little while Sakura then finally comes down the stairs, a little unsure, and immediately grabs the handle of her handbag. Unsure whether the outfit fits. Unsure how the date will go, whether he'll be cold or loving towards her again. A touch of shyness accompanies her demeanor as she steps down on the ground floor and looks around, searching for her husband. He is just stepping out of the living room and looks at her in surprise for a moment before smiling gently. She looks up at him, a slight blush on her cheeks. "You look pretty." He comments truthfully. "Thank you." The pink haired woman mumbles and looks down at her feet. "Shall we go then?" He asks and makes an inviting gesture towards the front door. She nods and follows him to the door, where they wear their shoes, while he takes his jacket off the hook and slips into it, before helping his wife into her coat as well. He quickly takes the umbrella from the cloakroom and all his keys and then opens the door, letting her go ahead. Waiting, the green eyed woman looks up at the sky, from which the rain is still falling. Sasuke stands next to her for a moment and also looks up at the cloudy sky. The balcony on the upper floor protecting them both from getting wet. He then unlocks his car and steps down the three steps into the rain to open the door for Sakura. She smiles gently towards him and quickly gets into the car so that Sasuke can quickly get in too.
 

"I hope the rain will stop soon." He grumbles with a slight pout, as he sits down into the driver's seat and closes the door. "I don't think it's that bad." The Haruno confesses and fastens up just like him. He looks around briefly before he starts the engine and drives down the driveway, from their property down the street. They sit side by side in silence. A silence, which the pink haired one is uncomfortable with. "How was work?" She finally asks carefully and looks out of the window. “There was a lot to do, which is why I was bound to the office for so long again. And with you?” He utters briefly, more interested into her story, since with him never anything interesting happens in that boring office all on his own anyway. “Just the usual. Drawing, erasing, constructing. Making few little jokes once in a while.” She shrugs her shoulders calmly and grins inwardly as she thinks of her little prank. "So you are free on the weekend and have nothing to do for work?" She tries to keep the conversation going, looking at her side, into his dark orbs. Even if just from what she can see from the side. "Not even a signature. Why?" He smiles at her, relieved himself about that fact. Finally he can relax a little. Sakura nods at his words and then smiles slightly just to respond to his slightly added question in the end. "Then you can stay in bed and cure yourself so that your cold will go away quickly." She shrugs her shoulders again and looks at the windshield wipers, which are working at full speed. He smiles wryly. “It's gotten better anyway. I don't even have to sneeze anymore.” He explains to her in a silent tone. “That means nothing. Where are we going anyway?” Her gaze wanders through the dark and wet surroundings, while she asks her question with high curiosity. "Let yourself be surprised. I hope you like it. I got the idea when Naruto told me that you forced him to ask Hinata out on a date.” He explains briefly, genuinely hoping that his plans will turn out just right. "I didn't force Naruto to do it!" The green eyed woman says unbelieving at what he just said. Sasuke gives a short laugh. "He said that you stood by during the call, until they hung up." He replies with amusement. "I still didn't force him." She mumbles with a soft pout and somewhat insulted, crossing her arms over her chest and looking back out. He laughs again briefly and silently, only to concentrate back on the road.

The last minutes of the drive pass quietly. Sasuke has turned his attention to the path and the pink haired woman keeps looking offended out of the window. He drives into a larger parking lot and stops the car and engine. "We have arrived." He briefly explains the obvious, but his wife doesn’t respond. He gets out of the car and goes around it, a large tree standing in front of the car and the dense crown catches the raindrops, shielding him except for some drops. Gentleman like, he opens his wife's door. However, when she still doesn't respond, he smiles slightly amused. She acts like a little girl. He leans down and looks into her eyes, his lips still curled up. She too looks stubbornly into his. “Even if you did force him. In the end of the day you helped him use his head a little." He whispers and sees how she turns red again. "He even wants to ask her on a second date.” The black haired man gives his wife the informations, which he personally got from his friend only two days ago. And see there, she’s smiling again. Sasuke closes the gap between them and kisses her gently on her lips. "And now I want to get the first date over with, so that I can ask you for a second one." He whispers softly as he breaks away from her. A blush settles on the green eyed woman's cheeks as she smiles sheepishly. The Uchiha backs away and holds out his hand to his wife, who accepts it and gets out of the car. He takes the umbrella, closes the door and then locks the car.
 

The Haruno looks around the place. A large center catches her eyes. A tennis club. "I don't want to mess up your make-up, that's why I'm not going to hold your eyes, but you have to close them and promise me that you won't open them until I've brought you to our destination." His hand is still holding hers as he explains her his plan. After a moment's hesitation, she nods and closes her eyes. "So, to confuse you a bit now, I'll turn you a few times." He then says with a grin on his lips and then turns her a few times before he stops her again, opens the umbrella and takes her hand. Smiling, he makes her hold onto his arm, so that he can hold the umbrella over the both of them. "Now, lets go." He says briefly and then starts moving. He walks her towards the center, which is divided into two buildings and a wide path leads through between them. Sasuke walks along this path and keeps looking at his wife, making sure that she won’t cheat. But she keeps her eyes closed, clings to his arm and has leaned her head on his shoulder, walking cautiously forward while she lets herself lead by him. He smiles slightly, walking further towards the end of the path to the right, where there is a small hall. With a soft squeak she hears the door opening and gets lead inside by her husband. "Well, now you can open up your eyes again." He utters after taking off the umbrella and shaking off the raindrops from its surface.
 

Sakura opens her eyes, blinks a few times and then looks around the hall. First she detects the entrance, to which a fence leads and above which a sign hangs with the inscription "Mini Golf". "Come on." It comes over his lips, as he is already taking her hand and pulls her to the entrance, where he pays for both of them and takes the golf bats and balls. He gently pulls her through the arch that represents the entrance. Still surprised, she looks around and sees the lanes, which are partly used. The walls are painted in a soft beige and a chain of lights hangs on the edge of the ceiling. The ceiling itself consists of a glass cupola which stretches across the long hall, the cross bars are also decorated with chains of lights. "Give me your jacket." It sounds behind her and she looks around at her husband, which stands in front of a locker. Immediately she turns to her jacket and unbuttons it to let it slip off her shoulders. Sasuke pulls the jacket from her arms and also takes her handbag, which she hands over to him. While she continues to admire the beautifully furnished hall, he hangs the jackets up into the locker that is available for visitors and fetches the recording table from the entrance to be able to determine a winner at the end.

"Mini golf?" The Haruno then finally explores out loud, smiling as he stands next to her again. "Yeah, real golf would be a little weird for a date, don't you think?" He shrugs with an amused smile on his lips. "With a clear starry sky, I think it would be even nicer, but unfortunately the weather doesn't want to play along." The black haired man then admits quietly. Before he could react to anything, she rises on her toes and presses her lips on his cheek, just like he had done back at home. "It's nice that way too." It comes from her, happy that he thought about the day they met for the first time, which makes him look into her happy face. "Well then, let's see which of us is better at golfing." A small, teasing grin lies on his lips as he lifts up the note on the small clipboard, which is no bigger than his hand. She nods and looks around. “There are 18 lanes.” He says briefly. “The first is over there.” Sasuke points to one, further to the right in the hall, where a big 1 can be seen next to it. "Ladies first." He smiles and hands her one bat. Immediately she gets into position and places one of the balls on the floor. She is about to start the first blow when he interrupts her again. "Wait." She hears his voice and looks at him questioningly. He quickly takes two steps to the side and three steps back. "Okay, go." He then gives her his consent, giving her an innocent glance.
 

The Haruno puffs up her cheeks into a pout when she realizes what he tries to allude with the safety distance. "Tsk. Idiot.” It comes silently over her lips, before she looks at the ball with an evil look and gives it a hit with the bat. Her eyes are glued to the ball while Sasuke gazed at her. She wears a strapless white dress with a flower pattern on her chest, which reaches just above her knees. Above that, she wears a green and long sleeved vest and a wide black belt, which is placed right under her breast. Her legs are covered in light-skin-colored tights and her shoes are black ballerinas. Her curly hair falls loose over her shoulder, she has only gathered the hair around her face back with a black hair clip. "Sasuke!" Said man hears his wife grumble and therefore gets pulled back into reality. "Hm?" He asks, a little confused. "It's your turn." She answers a little sceptical. "Oh, okay. How many blows did you need?” He explores and looks into her green eyes. "One. Weren't you paying attention?" It comes with a grumble over her lips, obviously not so thrilled about the fact that he just spaced out. "No, but it’s kind of your fault. I was completely distracted by my beautiful wife in her pretty outfit.” He smiles and enters the number in the chart for the first. Then he gets into position and looks up at her. He can't help but smile again. She is standing there staring at him all flustered, only to lower her gaze down and to the side, biting onto her lower lip.
 

Sasuke hits the ball and lets it fall right into the hole, which is not surprising as it only becomes more difficult towards the end. He quickly enters his own score into the first chart and then takes the ball out of the hole. He gently pulls the Haruno on as the next guests are already entering the hall. Still fighting with the blush on her cheeks, she looks shyly up at him and immediately back to the side. He gently puts his arm around her back and his hand on her right waist, where he tickles her. She giggles and automatically pushes away from his hand and to his side. "From now on I'll be careful, I promise." He whispers to her and lets go of her again. "We don't want you to win just because I'm careless." He then adds a little louder. “You will see who will win here. Certainly not you." She grumbles in a huff and makes him laugh at her cute and childish reaction. “You have to prove yourself to me first.” He challenges her and positions himself one step away from her. The ball rolls straight into the hole and Sasuke writes it down again. He also makes his hit and then follows her to the next lane. "Two to two, you are really a worthy opponent." Sasuke comments, playing a little surprised when she looks at the little piece of paper. "We're only at the third hole." The pink haired woman notes and tries to ignore his teasing. Again she takes her turn and gets it in with just one try. The Uchiha then does the same. “Three to three” "Wow, you can count really well." He grins crookedly at her while she puffs up her cheeks into a pout. “You will be ignored from now on.“ She just comments on his teasing and takes her turn again. The ball bounces off the board twice and rolls into the hole. The same thing happens to him and they move on to the next.

"You're actually really cute right now.” He comments when she hits the ball. Sakura blushes but doesn't respond and takes her ball out of the hole. He does the same too and immediately follows her to the next train. "I really have to be careful that no one takes you away from me." The black haired man grins slightly, while he says those words and hits the ball in the hole. They continue with the 8th hole and Sakura positions herself. She’s already waiting for her husband to tease her again, which comes as soon as she touches the ball with her bat. "I would even dare to give up my safety distance just to kiss you." He suddenly whispers right next to her ear and makes her startle. The ball hits the board three times and then goes into the hole. She is sure that her face is as red as a tomato while she watches how Sasuke takes two hits for the track. As soon as she sees this she goes to the next one. She just doesn't know exactly what to think. On one hand what he says is sweet but on the other hand he teases her at the same time. When he stands next to her at his safe distance again, she is already waiting for him to tease her again, but this time nothing comes. Smiling, he just watches her and is silent, plays himself and then enters everything into the chart in silence. He is also calm on the next two lanes, so that she is almost surprised, but at the same time enjoys it for the moment.
 

The color of her face has turned back to normal when she positions herself on the 12th lane. Briefly she throws a scrutinizing look at Sasuke, because she doesn't quite trust his silence, but also has the fear that he is not feeling well. He stands calmly next to the lane with his safety distance and watches her. Sakura turns her attention back to her bat and golf ball, then takes her hit. The ball bounces twice on the side boards and then again on the board above the hole. Smiling, she straightens up, when the ball has landed in the hole again. “You practiced a lot for this shot, didn't you?” She hears her husband ask. Immediately, she grimaces again and looks slightly grimly into his smiling face before she goes to the hole and takes out her ball. With crossed arms she stands next to the lane and watches the black haired man in his light blue shirt, black jacket and jeans. He does his shot and then another before getting it in.

"Why are you so eager to annoy me today?" She asks and looks a little annoyed up and into his eyes. "I think it's actually very funny right now." He confesses to her with a slight smile. "I actually don't think that's funny anymore." She says back immediately. "And I know that you are only doing this to distract me and win." She then adds and looks up at him, offended, and then looks around because they have finished the last lanes pretty quickly. "On a date, both should have fun and not just one because he's making fun of the other." She says quietly and walks towards the next lane. Sasuke stops next to her, wants to say something, but then lets it go. "I should go back to a safe distance, not that you hurt me again in order to win." He says more to himself. "Sasuke!" The pink haired girl grumbles and looks around at him. "Another line like that and you will stand here by yourself."

"No. No.“ In the next moment he is already standing in front of her and has put his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. “I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that either. Your reactions are just so cute. I'm screwing up our whole date.” He mumbles softly into her ear. "Do you have a fever?" She suddenly asks him, which makes him look back into her emerald eyes in surprise. She gently puts her hand on his cheek, which is almost cold. “No, you don't have a fever. Then it is definitely something else, much worse, which is difficult or even impossible to treat." She ponders and lets her hand drop back down to her side, but looks straight into his dark eyes. "What should that be?" He explores, completely confused. "You're an idiot and that is definitely incurable.” She replies with an amused smile. His eyes widen a bit as he realizes what she has just said and above all done. "When you say that I'm cute it just embarrasses me, but if you say that I have to make an effort for a punch or something like that, you just want to distract from your inability to play a fair game and win.” She explains and turns around. "Oh yeah?" It comes from him and in the next moment she feels his fingers on her stomach and sides, tickling her. She tries hard to suppress her laughter, but doesn’t last long before she’s already writhing in his arms. Laughing, she leans her back against his chest and leans her head on his shoulder, while he bends his head slightly forward and brushes her neck with his breath. There’s a smile on his lips too.
 

Suddenly there is a flash and they pause, confused. Sakura looks around and then looks at the floor, embarrassed. Everyone in the hall looks over at them, they all smile at the sweet picture that is shown to them, but still everyone's attention is only on them. The green eyed girl looks at her vest and then softly clears her throat. “Do we want to continue playing?” She asks, just as quietly. "Go on." The black haired man replies with a grin while still holding her. "Wh-what?" The confusion visible in her eyes. "In any case, I won't let go of you." He then whispers next to her ear, which immediately makes her cheeks flush again. She leans forward slightly and uses the bat to bring the ball into position. Briefly she looks up and down the track and then gives her ball a push, following it with her eyes until it rolls into the hole. "Very nice." Sasuke takes his ball out of his jacket pocket and lets go of the pink haired girl to put the ball on the starting point. Sakura immediately takes two steps to the side to make room for him to play, but he just pulls her back against his chest. "Hey, hey. Stay here.“ His arms wrap around her waist and clasp the bat in front of her waist. He gently bends over to her and then hits the ball. It bounces against the boards and rolls a bit on the felt surface before it stays there. "We have to go there." He notes and pushes her a little forward so that she starts moving. A laugh comes over her lips and then walks with him towards the ball and he hits it again, all while she’s still leaning in his arms. He lets go of her for a moment in order to takes his ball, write down his rate and goes with her to the next lane.

After two more, they are finally standing in front of the 18th and last lane. A loop and a house stand on it. After the loop, the ball has to roll straight into the house, bounce off the inside and roll out to the right, straight into the hole. The young Haruno is just getting back into position when her husband puts his arms around her again from behind and puts his hands around hers. “What are you doing?” She asks, surprised. "I don't want to wait anymore." He smiles and then hits the ball together with her. The ball rolls towards the loop, through it and into the house, where it bounces off the sloping wall inside. It rolls towards the dent in the floor and finally falls into the hole. Smiling, she turns her head to the right to Sasukes. "Do you really want to do this disgrace to yourself and count which of the two of us won?" she explores with a grin. "Of course." He answers and lets go of her. "But it will be a shame for you." Smiling, he takes the small clipboard out of his pocket and enters a 1 for the both of them on the last chart. "But please don't sulk." The Haruno grins at him, watching him shake his head with a smile and adds up the points. "That's 20 points for you and 21 points for me.” He reports the result. "You see, I told you, you just want to cover up that you have no chance against me." She comments cheekily at the result. "Hmm." The Uchiha barely puts his arms around his wife again, his fingers tickling her sides.
 

The pink haired woman giggles softly and lays her head back on his left shoulder, but before that she wipes her hair over her right. He gently caresses the left side of her neck with the tip of his nose. "Should I be mean?" He asks softly against her neck. “What do you mean?” She explores with a smile. "A hickey." His breath hits her skin again, causing her fine, short hairs on the back of her neck to rise up, goose bumps starting to form on her arms. "Oh you know how that works?" She asks with a grin and looks up into the cloudy sky. "Yes, I checked that on WikiHow." Obviously, he was just joking, but she doesn’t mind that. His breath brushes her neck and his lips touch her skin, about five centimeters to the right of her spine. She feels how he begins to suck and giggles at his actions. “I didn't agree, did I?” She laughs softly. He loosens his lips from her skin. "Too late." He just whispers into her ear and then puts his lips back onto the same spot and sucks on it a little more. “Sasuke!” The pink haired woman lets out a laugh again. Smiling, he breaks away from her skin and breathes another kiss on the spot. "Shall we have dinner then?" He asks, leaning his cheek against her hair. "Sure." She responds with a smile and feels him letting go of her. With one hand he takes the golf balls and bats and with the other, he encloses her smaller hand and crosses their fingers.
 

Holding hands, they go back to the entrance. "The only question is, will I be the only one to eat something, or will you give me the honour to eat with me?" "Let's see." He replies with a slight smile and opens the locker to take her coat out. He holds it open for her and lets her slip her arms into its sleeves before he puts it on her shoulders. Sasuke hands her her handbag and the umbrella before he takes his jacket out of the locker as well, but still holds it in his hand. The two of them go to the entrance which is also the exit and hand over the golf balls and bats. On the small free space outside the fence, the Uchiha quickly slips into his jacket and takes the umbrella from his wife. He opens the door and looks outside briefly, before he goes out with the umbrella first and immediately opens it to protect her from the rain that is still pouring down. She smiles thankfully at him as she steps out of the door into the open. The door slams close behind her and she doesn’t hesitate to cuddle up against her husband's arm again as they walk to their car. "That was a really nice idea of yours." She then admits with a smile and looks up at him. "Glad to hear that. I was really hoping so." He replies and glances briefly at her. A pleasant silence settles between the two of them.
 

After about five minutes they have returned to the parking lot and stand in front of the car. Sasuke opens the door for her again and holds the umbrella over for her, so that she doesn't get wet either, before he closes the door and walks around the car, taking off the umbrella and quickly getting into the vehicle. “Now the rain can really stop.” He mumbles underneath his breath and looks around through his dark grey eyes. Sakura giggles quietly at his remark. "How so? Then the air will at least be nice and fresh in the morning.” She replies to his complaint. "Yes, but it would be enough if it rains at night." He responds while he starts the car. He runs his fingers through his hair and banishes the few rain drops from his head. The worries from the afternoon have already been pushed aside and almost completely forgotten. "Where are we going?" She starts to ask after a few minutes of driving, though, Sasuke just has a mysterious smile on his lips. "Who knows, who knows." "You should actually know that." She says while she playfully punches his shoulder. "Hm. Yes, but I'm not going to tell you." He plays the thoughtful for a moment.
 

The pink haired woman rolls her emerald green eyes. One secret chases the other on this date. She smiles softly and looks out of the window again into the darkness. The street hardly able to be seen without the lights. "We'll have to walk a bit after we arrived." He explains right before they arrive and turns around a corner. "No problem." The Haruno replies and watches the rain fall again. A moment later the car stops and she looks around. Lanterns are on the roadside and illuminate the area, which turns out to be a parking lot, just as before. Only a few cars are parked here. If she looks ahead through the windshield, she can see trees again as well. A park extends there. Just like it was at mini golf, the Uchiha gets out and walks around the car to immediately protect Sakura with the umbrella. The door closed and he locks the car once again. "Always just follow the path." Her husband explains and points to the sidewalk that separates the park from the parking lot. They walk side by side in silence and the further they go the more cars line up. They turn left and then the pink haired woman can already see where they are going to have dinner. “The Alessio? You really want to eat at the Alessio?” It comes over her lips, unable to believe what she’s seeing. "A woman as special as you belongs in a special restaurant." He replies to her question with a nod and continues along the sidewalk, which leads to the place in front of the restaurant. A large, European restaurant, which is known for its great popularity.

They overcome the three steps to the entrance and Sasuke opens the large, massive wooden door. "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha, we have been expecting you." The receptionist welcomes the couple with a friendly smile. "Good evening." The Haruno replies politely. "May I take your jackets off?" The man immediately inquires. Sasuke immediately slips out of his jacket and hands it to the employee before he also helps his wife out off her coat and hands it to the receptionist, who immediately hangs them up. "Our head waiter will personally take care of you tonight." The man explains briefly and points to the man who is standing next to him. "Good evening." Said man welcomes the two with a slight bow. "Good evening." The Haruno too bows slightly. "If you would follow me to your table, please." The man says and leads them to a table for two. When Sakura is about to sit down, he pushes the chair a little closer to her, as was learned in the old school, and then lights the candles on the table. "Oh. So that's what you planned. A candlelight dinner.” Sakura exclaims with a bright smile at her husband when the waiter is at their table again. "The menu cards." He says politely while handing each of them a slim folder. "Which wine can I pour?" The man turns to Sasuke, who takes care of that briefly and then searches the menu for his dinner.
 

The waiter comes back and pours the married couple some of the red wine. “Have you already made up your mind?” He then carefully explores. "Yes, I would like menu 5, please." The pink haired woman explains with a smile and hands the menu card to the waiter. “I'll take menu 3.” Sasuke then adds before he too closes the card and hands it to him. "Very well." The man notes everything down and then moves away from the table. "You could dig yourself into croquettes, couldn't you?" The young woman asks with an amused smile while resting her two elbows on the table, crosses her fingers and rests her chin on it. The black haired man grins crookedly at her question. "Should I pack only croquettes into your bento from now on?" She then asks, making him laugh quietly and put his crossed arms on the table. "No, but I definitely won’t complain if you put in a few more tomatoes, too.”

He replies, the grin still pulling on his lips.

Sakura averts her gaze from her husband and lets them wander around the room. Melancholy overcomes her and makes itself visible on her in the form of a smile. She lowers her eyes and turns her face towards the table. "Are you okay?" The question comes from her husband and gains her attention. "Yes, I just remembered my first time here. Everything looks just like it did back then...” She explains quietly and then looks to her left, through the window. “I was little, five years or so, I think. I thought European was some strange fish. Ryosuke laughed at me when my parents wanted to pull me into the restaurant. I whined around so much that in the end my father had to carry me inside.” Sasuke can’t but laugh softly just by imagining the scene, while she explains her first experience at this place. "You were so cute back then, huh?" His question makes her turn all red and form her lips into a soft pout. “The first time I came here had been four years ago. My parents celebrated their wedding anniversary here and my mother once told me how suitable this place is for a date. That's why I brought you here." He then confesses his own experience to her quietly, making her smile again.

The waiter comes back to them and serves the first course. A pleasant silence settles over them during the meal, nobody speaks a word and still enjoys the togetherness. Even if the restaurant is full down to the last corner, every table somehow has its own privacy. Soft violin and piano music emerge from the speakers and underline the romantic atmosphere. As soon as the two have put the silverware aside and emptied their plates, the waiter is already serving again. Sasuke looks at his wife in silence, wondering whether he should dare to bring up this topic or not. “My mother… told me that two weeks after that golf tournament, your parents died. I'm sorry.“ He then begins silently, suddenly feeling so cold. "Thank you, but your mother has been dead for a month too. How are you doing?” She explores carefully, watching him swallow hard. "I just can't change it." He says afterwards and even shrugs his shoulders, trying to appear as relaxed as possible. She could tell so, but she doesn’t want to dig deeper either. It’s the wrong place for that. "I keep asking myself, after your parents died, Ryosuke was still at the boarding school with us. So who took care of you at that time?" He looks at her questioningly. “Ino's parents took me in. When school was over, Ryosuke's high school was over too and we both continued to live in the house until he moved in with Honoka. After that we sold the house with a heavy heart and I moved into my own apartment. Only one year later Ryosuke told me about the engagement." Sakura explains and smiles once in a while. Understanding, the Uchiha nods and then watches the waiter who is serving the next course.

With the second course, this topic is closed and they turn back to their food. Whereby Sasuke is caught in a rollercoaster of temperatures. One moment so unbearably hot and the next moment so cold. All until his body has made up its mind and makes him sweat. The green eyed woman puts her spoon in the empty soup plate and then looks at the Uchiha, while she thinks about what to talk about next. Only after a while she notices the unusual blush on his cheeks. He too lets the spoon sink and then takes a long sip of his wine, which still worries her as he normally doesn’t even like to drink. The plates are immediately covered again. “Is everything okay? Your face is all red. Do you have a fever?" It comes concerned over her lips and stretches her hand over the table to touch his forehead, but he catches his hand out of the air and stares at her through his dark grey eyes. "Nonsense. It's just warm in here. That's all." He denies her suspicions with a smile and places his hand, with which he is still holding hers, on the table. "Are you sure? If you aren’t feeling well we can-“ She watches him with uncertainty, but he doesn’t let her finish her sentence and interrupts her. "Yes everything is okay, don’t worry.” He smiles at her and rubs his thumb over the back of her hand soothingly.

The head waiter comes to the table with two plates. “One chicken medallions with croquettes for the lady and a roast beef with herbs and croquettes for the gentleman. Enjoy it." The man puts the mentioned items on the table with a smile. "Thank you." Sakura exclaims at the waiter and throws another examining look at Sasuke, who is already cutting off the first piece of his meat. Inwardly she sighs and then turns to her food. Once in a while she peeks at her husband to check on him, while he fixates himself on his food. In one hand he curses his condition and in the other he tries hard to make everything look okay. He just doesn’t want to destroy their first date because of a stupid cold. It just not worth it. With a quiet grumble and rather unwillingly, she accepts that Sasuke doesn't want to end the date no matter how bad he feels. Though, the silence feels more tense now.

The green eyed woman exhales with relief as she puts her silverware on her plate. The Uchiha also finishes right after her. Just like before, she lets her gaze wander around the room when she suddenly remembers something. "I had a dream back then. I mean after the golf tournament.” She begins to tell and looks around at him. He returns her gaze a little surprised. “A dream?” He asks back after analyzing her statement and assigned it correctly. The waiter takes the plates with himself quickly and almost unnoticed and leaves them alone again. "Yes. Back then I dreamed that I would play fetching sticks with my dog in the garden. The garden was surrounded by a shoulder-high wooden fence and at some point I threw the stick over the fence and heard a thud and a curse. Then it rustled for a moment and you appeared on the other side of the fence with your forearms resting on them. You looked over at me with the stick in your hand and a small laceration on your temple.” The green eyed woman then tells with amusement. "So you actually had dreams of me back then?" He asks with a grin, supporting his crossed arms on the table with interest. “Yes, and then my bernese mountain dog jumped over the fence, buried you under himself and licked over your whole face.” She replies with an equal grin to his somewhat smug question. The Uchiha grimaces in disgust and leans back in his chair. He doesn't need to know that she just thought up that part, especially since it wasn't even a bernese mountain dog.
 

Giggling, she leans back against the backrest, but straightens up again and looks out of the window. "Tell me... Would you want to have one?" The Uchiha draws her attention back to himself with his question, while the head waiter serves their desserts. A Sachertorte for Sakura and a raspberry parfait for Sasuke. “What?” She asks, a little confused. "A dog." He then says briefly and puts a small spoon full of his desert into his mouth. She pauses, thinking and pressing the cake fork against her lower lip. "I'm not sure. I used to have one. A cocker spaniel, her name was Sparkle. I loved her and she loved me. She really liked to annoy Ryosuke. When going on walks she was always a very good girl around me, but with Ryosuke she always suddenly started tugging. He fell and scraped himself up because of her so many times. She also peed on his things several times, although we trained her properly and she never did it anywhere else. It always made him go super mad. My father just laughed and said that she was marking her territory because she was in love with Ryosuke and that she claims ownership of him.” She giggles at the fond memories of her childhood and this story makes him chuckle as well. She puts the next piece of chocolate cake into her mouth before she continues. "But Sparkle was only 8 years old when I was 13, she got cancer and eventually died." She smiles sadly for a brief moment before looking up at her husband again. “I don't know if I want a dog. It used to be always my plan to get married and then when I have a child i would adopt a dog. Like that the baby will always have a friend and protector that will play with it and the dog too, will have a friend for life.”

"And then my mother came and thwarted this plan.” The black haired man continues silently, making her look up with widened eyes. "No, no! That-“ She starts, wanting to fend off his statement immediately, but he just shakes his head. "It’s okay. That's the truth after all. It was her idea and Ryosuke eventually agreed, even though I don’t know his reasons for doing so. Besides, I already understand what you meant. You should only have a child with someone you love.” For a moment she looks a little perplexed at him, before trying to cover up with a smile, how uncomfortable this makes her feel at the moment.
 

“Can we talk about something else?” She explores and scratches her temple. "Sure." The dark grey eyed man nods apologetically. "Do you want anything else?" He asks after a quick glance at her empty plate. “The cake was tasty, but I'll seriously get fat if I eat any more. So no thanks.” She exclaims a little ashamed. "Nonsense. You will only get cuter.” He just replies, which makes her turn all red again. "I need to bake this cake someday too anyway, so it’s fine." A little smile pulls on the corner of his lips, at her confession. "Then I will pay?" It is more of a question than a statement, making sure that she really doesn’t want anything else. His wife nods positive and watches how he gets the waiter over, briefly tells him what he wants and then hands out a card. The waiter nods in understanding and then disappears again. Sasuke then gets up and walks around the table, carefully pulling the chair back while his wife gets up. Only now does she notices that compared to before, relatively few guests are still sitting at the tables. Quietly they go back to the reception counter, where the receptionist is holding out her coat. Sasuke takes it and helps her into it, before he slips into his own jacket. The waiter comes back with the card and the bill and gives them to the Uchiha. "Thank you for your visit, we hope for you to honor us again soon!" The two employees say their goodbyes and the couple leaves the restaurant and steps out into the rain.
 

Sasuke opens the umbrella, watching his wife clutching back onto his arm again. “Do you want to take a walk through the park?” He asks quietly and looks at the path through the park, which extends in front of them and leads towards their car. "But it's raining!” She exclaims rather surprised. "So what? Do you mind having a little walk with me under the umbrella, while you keep cuddling onto my arm?” He explores with a slight grin. "N-no." She then mumbles back with a blush. "There you go." He then says with a smile and steps towards the path. The gravel crunches softly as they step over it and the trees to the left and right of the path catch some of the drops. It is quiet between them. Too calm as she finds and therefore cuddles even closer to her husband. He smiles slightly and then looks up at the sky, a spot can be seen that seems lighter than the dark clouds around. "Did you have a pet?" She then explores to break the silence. "No." He answers shortly and they arrive to a place with an illuminated fountain. They keep following the path which leads to the left and to the parking lot. "Hm. No pets and hardly any friends. Could it be that you were such an unpopular nerd?” She then asks with a giggle. "What?" It comes perplexed over his lips and turns his face to her. "At school. Were you one of those unsportive nerds with fat glasses and a fable for comics and computers?” She then explains her statement in more detail. “No, not really. I was pretty sportive and one of the most popular students.” He denies after a moment of thinking, but she doesn’t seem to believe it. “Sure." Sakura then replies and stretches her exclaim a little out, in order to express her disbelief. "You don’t believe me? Do you want me to prove it to you? Shall we play squash next weekend?” “Is that you asking me out on a second date?” She explores skeptically. "No. A challenge.” He corrects and shakes his head with a smile. "Fine, if you want to lose. You won’t hold a candle to me." She grins thoughtfully as she loosens her arm from him.

"Are you sure? After all, I only lost one point at mini golf.” He replies with an equally grinning smile. "Yes, but only because you cheated." It comes from her, before she sticks her tongue out at him. "As I said before, in a fair game you would never win against me." Confidently, she looks forward and puts her hands behind her back to entangle them, but he just smiles at her claim. "Ah yeah. I am playing unfair? Then what was that at the tournament 8 years ago?” He asks further and stops to look at her. “That was an accident. But one thing is certain. You played better after the blow on your head, than you did before. That was such a catastrophe. That showed that you are totally unsportive and incompetent.” She laughs and then starts walking down the path on her own. It takes a second for it to get through to the Uchiha. "Just you wait, you!" He then exclaims and runs after her, the umbrella tightly gripped in his hand. They come out of the park, he a few meters behind her. "Catch me if you can!” It comes from her with a laugh. Sasuke doesn't have to be told twice and just throws the umbrella to the ground. Laughing, the pink haired woman runs across the empty parking lot, her hair already wet and sticking to her face, but she doesn't seem to mind. He chases after her. She runs in circles and sinuous lines while the rain falls unceasingly down on them. A couple of lanterns illuminate the parking lot and the moon breaks through the cloud cover.
 

The black haired man extends his arms and grabs his wife. She stops laughing and turns to him. “That should have been much faster. But I attribute that to your cold." It comes from her slightly out of breath. Sasuke swallows and tries hard not to show her how exhausted this bit of running has been for him. "Are you okay?" It comes from her with concern when she realizes that he just keeps staring into her eyes. He just nods slightly, unable to say anything. That small crack of moonlight is reflected in their eyes and makes them shine. He just can't break away from the sight, not even noticing how the rain is soaking their coats and hair. Sakura smiles softly and brushes through his wet hair. His hand lies on her cheek and gently strokes it, while he slowly draws her face closer to meet her in the middle. A blush adorns her cheek, letting him do as he pleased and when he's only a short distance away, her eyes close like on their own. His slightly cold lips settle on hers, kissing her with gentle pressure and sucks lightly on them, before his mouth opens a crack to let his tongue run over her lips. Reluctantly, she too opens her lips, letting her tongue met his.
 

His arms wrap around her waist and press her against his chest while hers wander around his neck. Carefully he advances his way into her mouth with his tongue and nudges hers once more and lets their lips mold together. Suddenly she feels a passion flare up in her and pulls herself up in order to be even closer to him. A little out of breath, he breaks away from her, watching her red cheeks, as she looks shyly up at him. “Why so shy today?” He asks and grins crookedly, making her go even redder, but says nothing about it. He laughs softly and presses another kiss on her lips. "We should get out of the rain." He then notes and looks up into the dark and cloudy sky, releasing the hug and taking her hand into his. They quickly overcome the few meters to the car, where he picks up the umbrella and closes it. While he did so Sakura has already escaped into the car, so he quickly walks to the drivers door and gets in as well.

The drive back home goes smooth. Sasuke concentrates on the street and Sakura is silent, embarrassed. Because she has never kissed anyone so deeply before and she can't say exactly where this passion and desire that she felt suddenly came from. Desire for more. A few minutes pass. The Uchiha also struggles with this new experience, but is sure that this will not be the last. It just felt too good for that. He smiles slightly and stops the car in front of the garage. After parking the car he gets out to open the door for Sakura again. Together they then approach the front door, which they unlock and enter their warm home. Slipping out of their shoes and jackets they look through the foyer. She then turns to him a little hesitant, before getting up on her toes and pressing her lips on his cheek. "Thanks for the nice evening." "You're welcome." He replies with a smile and watches as she goes up the stairs. He has to hold his burning head for a moment, until it fades away. This changing of burning and freezing is going to make him go crazy. With a little sigh he locks the door and turns off the light in the foyer, before following her upstairs. When he enters the bedroom, she is already peeling off her clothes, which simply fall to the floor. Walking to the wardrobe, she looks for a sweater, which she puts on and walks past him into the bathroom.
 

A smile pulls on the corner of his lips when he sees his wife in his sweater. He approaches the windows and closes the curtains before he turns around to get ready for bed too. Approaching his side of the bed, he takes off his clothes to slip into his sweatpants and shirt when he hears the hairdryer. A tired yawn leaves his lips and his feet carry him into the bathroom to get a towel and dry his hair. "Nice hickey." It comes from him with a grin as he stands in the door, leaning casually against the frame. Startled, she pauses and turns her head a bit, while she holds her hair up. Her eyes immediately catch the blue spot on her neck. “You!” She exclaims with a little pout. He smiles at her reaction and straightens up again, only to walk closer to her. "Shall I make you another one?" He then asks while smiling seductively at her, halting right next to her. Embarrassed, she quickly points the blow dryer at him, which makes him laugh and dodge the hot air to encircle her. She quickly puts the hair dryer aside and almost throws herself on him, which makes him chuckle before he sits down and lies down on his back. Immediately she takes the opportunity to sits down on his stomach and takes the blow dryer back into hand to blow with it into his face. Amused he turns his head back and forth with closed eyes, while she lets out a chuckle. When his hair is dry again, she turns it back to herself and dries her own her. Smiling, the Uchiha keeps laying on the floor while watching his wife blow drying her pink locks, noticing that she has already removed her make-up. Her eyes seem a little smaller than before, but they are still so indescribably beautiful.
 

The sound of the hairdryer ceases. Sakura sets the device aside and then looks down at her husband, on whose stomach she is still sitting. His breathing is regular and his features relaxed, eyes closed. Which kind of makes her feel disappointed, since she hoped to look at his eyes a little more. Apparently he fell asleep. With a silent giggle she leans over to him. Just a little more. But before she could get any closer, suddenly his arms go around her and press her down to his chest. He opens his eyes again and grins sneaky at her. “Whoa, you bastard!” She exclaims and tries to break away from his embrace. "Meany, if I may ask.” He corrects and starts tickling her again. Amused, he watches his wife writhing and laughing in his arms, before he turns her around, so that she is now laying under him while he continues to tickle her. Kneeling between her legs with a deep chuckle. Only when he can see tears forming in her eyes from all the laughter, he dares to stop. Gently brushing the tears from the corner of her eyes with his thumb, he studies her face while she puts her hands on his cheeks and pulls him down to her. He follows her silent plead and gets closer to her, only to be stopped briefly in front of her lips. "You'd like that." She whispers against his lips, but she doesn’t expect his next words and blushes hard. "I wouldn't just like it." He replies with a grin and immediately closes the little gap which has been bothering him, only to press his lips on hers.
 

He kisses her gently before he loosens his lips from hers and breathes a trace of kisses on her skin, until he gets to the right side of her neck and starts to whisper there, making her scream. "Sasuke! No. Off! Bad Sasuke! Bad! No!” It comes from her with a gasp and laugh and tries to push her husband's face off that certain spot. With a frown he lifts his head and looks at her. "I'm not a dog." He grumbles dissatisfied. "Are you sure about that?" "Oh yes." He starts, only to move closer again. "And this is all mine, that's why I'll give you a hickey if I want to." He growls out softly only to touch the same spot with his lips again. "Bad dog!" She says seriously, before grinning, but he doesn’t dare to move away. "That’s it!" He says with a deeper growl, before he leans forward and continues where he left off, placing kisses all over her neck until he feels like sucking onto her warm skin again. This time on the left side of her neck. She laughs and tries to squirm underneath him. "Sasuke." He can hear his wife whine and squirm. "Hm?" A hum is all that leaves his throat, before he pulls himself off her neck with a loud smooch. Smiling, she kisses him and puts her arms around his neck, so as not to give him the chance to move his head in another direction.

His fingers slide under his sweater which she's wearing and gently caresses her bare skin underneath just to tickle her again. Laughing, she breaks the kiss and releases his neck again. Sasuke grins and stops briefly, only to continue tickling after she has caught her breath again. After a while he bends over to her neck again to give her another hickey. "Monday will be fun with all those hickeys." She muses with an inward smile and shakes her head. His lips loosen from her neck with another smooch, only to look into her eyes. "I can also leave a hickey somewhere else, if you like. That’s no problem for me." He then explains with a crooked smile and lets his gaze run over her face and neck, showing two slight reddenings, the places where he wanted to make her a hickey and got interrupted. The thing is that he just doesn’t want to stop even though he feels actually dizzy. This newfound feeling inside him just keeps his desire to keep going, stronger than his desire to just go sleep. His fingers run over her belly at which he looks down. Through her constant squirming, the material has slipped up and is now exposing her entire belly. "Maybe here." He hums thoughtful and taps onto the side of her bellybutton. "Or here." He continues, tapping her right shoulder and carefully pulls the oversized collar a little further down, exposing her shoulder and even her chest. "Possibly here." He caresses the inner side of her breast, watching her shiver and goosebumps forming on her light skin. "Or here, too.” He whispers in a rough voice and taps on her right collarbone.
 

Ignoring his last suggestion, his lips move down and starts breathing soft kisses between her breasts. "You sure are daring today." Sakura whispers to him in a hotter voice. "Then on your belly?" He grins and bends down to said place. "No! No more markings!" She exclaims and tries to push his head away, but he catches his hands out of the air, crosses his fingers with hers and supports himself with his forearms next to her head so that he holds her hands over her head. "Oh yes! One more!” The black haired man breathes against her lips in a rough, seductive voice. His dark grey eyes are fixed on her green ones. His look is somehow dark and seductive at the same time, slightly wicked and with a touch of desire. Somehow she can’t stop thinking of him as a dog right now. A dog that keeps trying to mark its territory, like Sparkle had with Ryosuke. Only when she notices to what conclusions her thoughts would lead, she blushes hard and brushes that thoughts off immediately. No, that’s not possible! “I like caressing your skin right now.” She hears him whisper against her lips, pulling her out of her thoughts and the gentle scent of raspberries catches penetrates her senses. The heat on her face gets worse and she feels how Sasuke gently lays his body down on hers. With half open eyes, she gazes at him when she notices that he is approaching her lips again. Their lips meet and she closes her eyes completely, giving herself in to the kiss. Somehow she doesn’t even notice her quickening heart. The feeling of her soft skin immediately increases the need for more in him and he nudges her lips with his tongue, already excited to make out with her again. To feel her hot tongue and play with it. Slowly he lets his tongue run over her lips and she doesn’t hesitate to grant him entrance and is already looking forward to the game of tongues that they are about to fight. Playfully she nudges his tongue with his to tease him, only for him to lay down on her with all his weight, so he can be as close to her as physically possible.
 

He gently loosens from her lips after their heavy make out. His lips curl up when he sees her automatically and subconsciously following him with her face, indicating that she wasn’t expecting him to stop already and wants more. Her breath rattles slight and her eyes flutter open, to look into his dark grey orbs with a sigh. His smile gets warmer and loving, only to lower his lips back down on hers. "Well? Shoulder?” It comes from him in between some kisses, slowly moving down and trailing kisses over her cheek and chin. "Breasts?" He then continues to asks between the next two kisses and already places his lips in between her mounds only to stay there for a while. "Belly?" It then leaves his lips in the form of a hot breath, kissing his way back up to her neck. "Or collarbone?" His lips touching her hickey and in the next moment she can suddenly feel something hot and soft run over that same spot. A silent gasp escapes her lips when she realizes that he is licking over it. A strong shiver runs down her spine and goosebumps form on her skin all over again. “It's all yours. You have to make up your mind." The Haruno whispers with a shaky sigh. He chuckles softly against her skin and looks up. Carefully he gets up from her again and lets go of her hands too, with which she immediately reaches for his hair to play with it. With a smile he keeps pushing himself up on his upper arms and bends down to her chest, breathing kisses down her collarbone, a little lower and sucks down onto the inside of her left breast. His wife lets out a sigh of relish and looks at his head, through which she runs her fingers. This morning she didn’t dare to believe or imagine that she would be lying here with Sasuke on the floor in their bathroom and that he would give her one hickey after the other.

After a while he then stops sucking on her soft skin and kisses himself back up to her lips. He stops in his movements, hovering over her and just looks deep into her eyes. But then he notices how she tries to suppress a little yawn and it seems that he isn’t the only one tired any longer. "Lets go to bed." It comes from him in a whisper, giving her a loving smile and kisses the tip of her nose. She watches him stand up, letting herself getting pulled up. Already about to make her first step, she gasps in surprise when she feels being lifted up. One of his arms under her thighs and the other around her back. Eventually her surprise turns into acceptance, putting her arms around his neck and cuddling onto him with a soft hum. He turns off the lights and leaves the bathroom, carrying her to her side of the bed and put her down carefully. She looks at him through tired eyes and gently runs her hands into his hair. He sits in silence on the edge of the bed, his hands on her left and right, bent over her and looking into her tired green eyes. She smiles. "Kiss me.” It comes from her in a whisper and another smile steals onto his lips. He can’t remember ever smiling this much in one day. This woman is really something. Carefully he bends down to her and presses his lips on hers. Suddenly he can feel her tongue one his lips, making him break away from her. "Oh, you mean that." He whispers with a chuckle and climbs into the bed with her, carefully laying back on top of her and starts hogging her lips again.

As if unable to wait, she pokes with her tongue against his lips, which he opens with a smile and presses against hers. Her arms move back behind his neck and he turns with her, letting her lay on top of him. His arms close around her waist and press her closer as if it would work. His fingers lightly caress her sides, only turning back to the side a little. Releasing the kiss only when he needs to breath again, he lets out a deep sigh before he puts his head back on his pillow and leans his forehead against hers. "I had a lot of fun tonight." Her gentle voice reaches his ears, watching her cuddle down against his chest. "Yes, me too. Especially in the bathroom." He replies with a chuckle, listening to her laugh. “I don't even want to know how I look.” She muses silently and feels him hug her tighter. "Lovely and sweet." He answers her as if she asked and caresses her back in circles. She hums against his chest in response, startled when her husband suddenly releases the hug and turns back. "Don't go away.” It comes from her in a whisper, her eyes falling almost shut. "I’m just going to close the light." He whispers back reassuring and uses a switch on the night stand. Then he turns back to her and pulls the covers over the both of them before putting his arms back around her to hug her close to himself. He needs her as close as possible. He doesn’t want to dream. At least not this night. Not after this day ended so good. Sighing, he thinks back at how their date went, before closing his eyes with a satisfied smile. Today, yeah today felt so good. He hadn’t felt this relaxed in so long.