A/N: hey, I just had this little thing already started and I know I should be focusing on my chapter story but I had to finish this first. It's pointless and I don't know why I took the time to finish it but I did, so read and enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its components, and I do not make any profit.
The Laundry Wars
Sakura glared at Sasuke as he stood above her, arms crossed.
"No."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Yes."
His mouth tightened.
"No."
Her fists clenched.
"Yes."
Sasuke didn't reply, but tried to stare her down, using his height to his advantage. Sakura pursed her lips and waited. She wasn't the type to be bullied around by his tough-guy attitude.
He could see it wasn't working and decided to try another tactic. He whirled around and stormed out of the room. Let's see how she likes that.
He got his answer when a crash resounded against the closed door, rattling it on its hinges. Mentally, he winced. Perhaps that had been too drastic.
"I'll throw it all away! Don't think I won't, Sasuke! Then what will you do? I'm sure as hell not doing it for you!"
He glared at the closed door, brooding silently and weighing his options. Admit defeat and look like an idiot, or hold out in hopes that Sakura will do it for him, and risk royally pissing her off. Neither option was pleasurable, but he had to pick one. Why did Sakura have to go and decide that Itan needed a 'break'? Sasuke didn't have time for this.
"Sasuke!"
He knew that tone of voice. Sakura was reaching her boiling point. He had to decide now.
His hand hovered above the door handle, his mind urging him to open the door but his manly pride holding him back. He didn't have to worry about making the decision, as the door was flung open. He stared up into a fuming Sakura's face.
Her hand closed around his collar and he allowed himself to be dragged into the room and shoved onto the bed. A basket piled high with dark cloth loomed before him. Sakura pushed her hair out of her face and smirked, knowing that she had won.
He could literally feel his manliness draining out of him as the basket was shoved into his hands.
"Make sure to fold them after, Sasuke-kun," Sakura chirped sweetly, giving him a peck on the cheek before shoving him out the door. Dejected and miserable, he began his walk of shame, down the street to the washing room in town.
A few ninja he passed laughed raucously. "Make sure to separate the colors and the whites, Sasu-kun!" they cawed, as Sasuke's scowl deepened with each step.
"Have fun doing your laundry like a good little boy!"
Itan seemed happy to see him when he arrived, probably only because it meant less work for her. Damn household staff. He decided that he would kill the bossy, controlling, masculinity-killing kunoichi when he returned.
He shoved the clothes back in the basket when they were clean and once more made the humiliating walk back to his house, his blood-lust growing.
When the door finally shut, he dropped the basket on the ground and glared defiantly at Sakura, who was sharpening a kunai. She set the weapon aside and watched him calmly.
"How was your first laundry experience?"
He glowered at her, and she smiled slowly.
"Now you know what Itan has to go through every day," she said.
He shook his head quickly and stepped around the basket, careful not to touch it.
"Doing laundry is her job, and I shouldn't have to do it. My job is to complete missions and become stronger. I don't have time to be flouncing around folding laundry." He said the last word with such venom that Sakura almost smiled.
Instead she pouted. He looked taken aback for a second, but his features hardened along with his resolve.
"But Sasuke…" she began.
"Don't 'but Sasuke' me," he interrupted, his eyes flashing. Sakura sighed, and picked up her kunai again.
"I suppose you're right," she admitted.
"Damn right I am," Sasuke replied, knowing that he finally had her defeated.
Sakura looked up at him demurely through her lashes, and he grew suspicious. Sakura was hardly ever demure, and if she was it was either because she was planning something or she wanted something. Or…sometimes it was a blaring warning that she was about to give him a harsh beating.
Sakura continued calmly, picking up her kunai again. "And I suppose that if I felt Itan needed a break, I should have offered to do the laundry myself."
Inwardly, Sasuke nodded emphatically, agreeing wholeheartedly. He refrained from any outward gestures, however, as Sakura's demeanor was making him wary. Instead he merely watched her, analyzing, trying to find the cause for such a change of mood.
"I should have played the role of girlfriend and taken care of the household duties, right Sasuke-kun?"
Her sugary voice made the hairs on the back of his neck rise, and unconsciously, he angled himself into a defensive position. Watchful emerald eyes didn't miss the subtle movement.
"What's the matter?" Sakura purred, rising to her feet gracefully. She paced towards him, smiling, but in his mind she looked more like a predator stalking its prey. Friendly and innocent on the outside, but her smile just barely hid what her eyes made no attempt to mask. Fury, mixed with indignation, and perhaps, just slightly, an intent to kill.
Sasuke swallowed and crossed his arms, a weak attempt to prove he wasn't intimidated. Not many things scared Uchiha Sasuke, but Haruno Sakura's wrath was at the top of that very short list.
Closer, she paced, the fake smile still plastered on her face. When she got close enough, she grinned. Absently Sasuke compared it to a leopard baring its teeth. She reached out a hand, and Sasuke fully expected himself to be thrown backwards through several walls. But he was wrong.
She merely rested her hand on his shoulder, trailing it across his back between his shoulder blades as she walked in a circle around him. Circling her prey, vaguely came to his mind as he watched her out of the corner of his eye.
"After all," she continued in the sedate tone of voice he was coming to despise, "you are the big strong man. You should be out saving the village, ne?"
She came to a stop in front of him, her hand solidly in the center of his chest. Her smile slowly slipped off of her face as she stared him in the eye, emerald boring into onyx.
"But, don't forget…" With a flick of her hand, Sasuke slammed into the wall, head cracking painfully.
"I am a kunoichi. I am a shinobi, same as you. Anything you can do, I can do just as well or better."
She stood in the center of the room, arms crossed, glaring heatedly at Sasuke. And Sasuke, despite his offense, despite his fear, despite his aching head, was mesmerized.
This was why he loved this woman. She would give her life for him in a second, she was capable of showing such love and devotion, and yet, she was the most stubborn person he had ever met. She dressed his wounds when he returned injured from a mission, yet inflicted just as many injuries on him herself. She would bend over backwards to please him, but would never allow him to push her around.
He didn't understand her, but he didn't need to.
Sakura took three steps and stood directly in front of Sasuke, her nose millimeters from his as she stared up into his face. He could feel the anger coming off of her in waves, a clear signal that he should be either running or desperately trying to appease her. He did neither.
Instead, his gaze drifted down to her lips, which were at the moment pursed together in fury. He knew that doing such a thing would not go unnoticed by Sakura, and that she would not be happy about it. She might even go off on a rant about how he wasn't paying her the attention she deserved because after all, it was only respectful to listen to her while she was talking. However, he couldn't bring himself to care.
As he watched, her rosy pink lips turned up in a completely un-Sakura-like smirk. She raised her head, bringing their lips closer together. Sasuke couldn't tear his gaze away, and stood still, transfixed, as her hands rested on his chest and she continued closing the distance between them.
"Don't you agree, Sasuke-kun?" she breathed, pressing herself against him, so close he could feel her breath on his lips. At that moment, he would have agreed with anything that came out of those lips.
Excitement rising, breathing shallow, Sasuke only nodded, not taking his eyes off of her.
"Hn." Even to himself, his voice sounded slightly ragged.
Sakura's smirk widened.
"Good. There's more laundry downstairs. Don't forget to separate colors and whites this time."
Just like that, Sakura pulled away and flounced out of the room, leaving Sasuke confused, irritated, and flustered beyond belief. He decided that while he may love Sakura, he didn't like the underhanded, dominating part of her personality that apparently opposed household tasks.
He was an Uchiha, and Uchihas weren't manipulated into doing anything by anyone. And yet, he found himself in just that situation right now. He had two choices. Revolt and risk being thrown through quite a few walls, or concede defeat and get revenge on his kunoichi later, on his own terms. Considering the possibilities to this, his decision was made.
And so, like the man that he was, Sasuke went to do the laundry. As he was walking down the stairs, Sakura's voice called out.
"Sasuke-kun! I think the living room needs dusting!"
Sasuke's foot froze on the stairs.
A/N: Riiiight well I told you it was pointless, but...ah every story is worth writing I suppose. Review! It makes me happy!!