prompt—baby-sitting
summary: Love is sacrifice. When you love, sacrifice is easy. When you really love, sacrifice is joy.
note: quote by Gramma Roxie Owens. As promised, this will be a Maid AU! I have never done one of these but Maid Number 167 by Dark Angelic Kitty was one of my favourite stories and I regularly re-read Maid in your Dreams by CrAzY-SiLLy-Me which is part of her Confessions of an Uchiha anthology. I almost forgot to mention how much I love In the Palm of my Hands by -DramaQueen. I've read my fair share, so it's only natural that I write my own too. Also—inspired by Desire Climax, which is a really good manga. Happy day 6 of ssmonth!
note 2: I just finished writing it—it's not as maid oriented as it should be. Alas, I will be writing a maid AU for Sensuality! That one will be very much maid oriented, with a maid uniform and 'Sasuke-sama' and everything.

always there
—reviee

"Sasuke." Sakura pushed opened the door with her hip, holding a tray of drinks. She bowed her head.

Sasuke nodded to her. "Thank you, Sakura."

She smiled at him and set the tray on the table behind them. Sasuke and his friends—including Naruto, Shikamaru and Neji were huddled around the television. She went about to pick the stray wrappers and papers that littered the floor around them.

Naruto glanced at her and grinned. "Ah, Sakura-chan! Come play with us!"

"Naruto, you know I can't." She laughed, grinning back at him. "I have to work."

Naruto pouted, but didn't push any further. She had gone to high school with Naruto and Sasuke, along with everyone else in the room. When her mom became ill, her dad couldn't afford the medical bills. She opted to not got to university and instead work. Sasuke offered her a job as head maid in his mansion, which didn't sound bad at the time. It did change the nature of her relationship with Sasuke, however.

"I'll come say goodbye when we leave!"

Sakura nodded, walking out of the room with empty cans. She put them away in their respective places and sat down at the kitchen table with a glass of water. The sounds of the boys yelling in the living room were loud, but it reminded her of simpler times. She gulped down the glass of water and went back to work.

—

"Sakura."

The girl switched off the vacuum immediately and turned around. Sasuke stood in front of her, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his drawstring sweatpants. He was barefoot and had a navy v-neck on. Sakura swallowed—the nature of their relationship had become even more platonic than it was before but he never failed to elicit certain feelings in her.

"Yes?" she answered in a steady voice.

He glanced around. "Get one of the maids to do it. It's late—you should go to sleep."

Sakura let the words sink in. She had insisted that Sasuke didn't give her special treatment, but the truth is—she would have been disappointed if he didn't. He made her head maid—that is someone who could order around all the other maids and worked directly under him—and he regularly gave her days off and told her to rest. She still worked just as hard, often doing the jobs of the lesser maids when they weren't done correctly.

Her eyes wandered as she contemplated what she should do in this situation. His eyes were relentless, however, and dared her to refuse him. She sighed and set the vacuum down.

"I'll call Ami down." Sakura walked over to the intercom system and called for said maid.

Sasuke, satisfied, turned around and started walking up the stairs. Halfway up, he turned back to Sakura who was instructing Ami what to do. She pointed around to the spots littered with their trash and to the kitchen. Sasuke smirked—he never thought she wouldn't give the job her full attention.

"Sakura." He called and she nodded, but continued to inform Ami before shooing her away.

"Yes?" She smiled, looking up at him.

He paused for a moment and then—"Help me study."

Sakura's face brightened. "Okay. Let me finish up in the kitchen and I'll be right upstairs."

—

It would be a lie to say that not going to university, not getting to apply to med school didn't bother her. It did. Every day, she saw Naruto and Sasuke go to KU together. Naruto majored in political sciences while Sasuke was in commerce. She longed to go too; study at the best university in the Fire Country, under the best doctors. She couldn't, but she knew she would one day.

"Sakura."

The girl snapped out of her thoughts and stared at him. "Ah, sorry, Sasuke. Where was I?"

"Chapter 7." He replied, staring at her pointedly. There was a silence as she flipped through the pages. "What were you thinking of?"

Sakura stayed silent for a while. "I'm thinking of the day I'll go to university, which… may be in a while. My mom's not getting any better, but she's not getting worse either. We're barely getting by with her medical bills—I mean, I live here—and… and there's no way I could afford going to university." She stopped, realizing that she had been rambling. "Sorry. Anyways, chapter 7—"

"You'll be fine." He reassured her, though his voice was monotonous.

He failed to tell her that he and Naruto had been concerned about this since the day she announced she wasn't going to university. They knew that she wanted to become a doctor ever since they turned sixteen and she was old enough to volunteer at the hospital. They knew—which is why Naruto insisted Sasuke hire her as a maid. The blonde then proceeded to play with the idea that they should help her financially, should she ever be ready to attend university.

It was simply an idea, because they knew that Sakura didn't want to constantly accept their help. It was a rule that she had set up when they were twelve and the distinction between their two financial situations became greater.

"I hope so." She mumbled, looking down at the textbook. "Maybe I could get a scholarship."

"You should try," he suggested nonchalantly, "as soon as your mom gets better."

Sakura smiled and nodded, turning her attention back to the textbook. She read the question aloud and waited for him to solve the problem. Sasuke had always simply been there. He wasn't friendly or comforting, but he was always there. She had liked him—romantically—ever since she first saw him. They never talked about the time she confessed to him in seventh grade.

"Sakura, you're obviously not focused." He groaned, narrowing his eyes. "Go to sleep. We'll do this tomorrow."

"No, I—" She stopped and sighed. "Alright. Good night, Sasuke."

He smirked, glad that she didn't put a fight. "Good night, Sakura."

Sakura nodded, putting the textbook back and getting up. He watched as she padded out of his room in her shorts and tank top. She usually wore the maid out—which, he was glad did not include frills. It was a simple black and white attire with a headband and hair tie that held her hair back. She had a white apron that she could wipe her hands on and that got cleaned every day.

Living with Sakura was unexpectedly pleasant. She kept him company when they couldn't sleep, made him tea when he was cold and brewed coffee in the middle of the night when he had to study. She liked helping him study, she claimed, because she got to learn things she should be learning. It made him feel awkward, because if anyone deserved to go to med school, it was Sakura. Nonetheless, he enjoyed her company. She kept him from being lonely.

Sasuke heard the door click as she shut his door.

—

Sasuke's brother was back.

Sakura was dusting the mantelpiece when the front door buzzed. The head butler answered and she paid no heed to it until he uttered—

"Itachi-sama is back."

Her heart almost stopped. There was this time just after they graduated and Sakura had just started working for him that they had gotten drunk in his room. She was sad that she wasn't going to university and Sasuke had decided to indulge her for the night. They downed almost two expensive bottles of wine that the Uchiha kept in their house. Before the puking started, Sasuke had opened up about his feelings on his parents' death—since they were, after all, talking about sad feelings.

That was how Sakura found out about how much it had affected him. It wasn't even his parents that scarred him the most—it was the fact that a week after they died, Uchiha Itachi disappeared. He upped and left the mansion without as much as a word. The head butler knew how devastated the older Uchiha had been and tried to reason with little Sasuke, but he refused.

Sakura rushed over to the door, as did all the other maids. They immediately bowed their heads as the head butler went to open the door. All of them held their breaths as he walked in. He was wearing black shoes that were neatly polished and black slacks. She counted to ten and they all stood up straight again.

To say the Uchiha brothers looked alike was an understatement—in fact, all Uchihas looked almost identical. They all had stern features with dark hair, smothering eyes, high noses and thin lips. It was eerie. Itachi was no different, though his hair was worn slightly longer than any other and pulled back in a ponytail. Though he was only five years older than Sasuke, his eyes were worn and he looked tired. There were faint wrinkles, but as he smiled at the butler, they all disappeared.

"Welcome home, Itachi-sama."

The butler beckoned for Sakura, who was head maid, to follow him. All the other maids dispersed back to their jobs. Sakura silently followed, bowing her head and feeling oddly self-conscious and out of place.

Sasuke wasn't home. He was attending classes until late tonight—around seven—and it was only one in the afternoon. They went to the kitchen, where the cook hurried to make something for the returning Uchiha. Itachi's presence got everyone on their toes. The butler pulled out a chair and he graciously sat down, crossing his legs elegantly.

"Tell everyone not to be alarmed." Itachi said with a hint of laughter in his voice. "I'm the same as I was a long time ago. You don't need to be so jumpy around me."

When his eyes locked on Sakura's, she jumped a little. She nodded and bowed her head.

"You're the new head maid?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I don't recall you being a maid at all."

Sakura smiled. "With all due respect, you've been gone quite a while, Itachi-sama."

"Haruno Sakura is—" The butler frowned at Sakura's words, "—she's Sasuke-sama's personal hire. It's a complicated situation, which Sakura would be happy to tell you if you so wish."

"Are you his friend?" Itachi inquired, a light smile playing on his lips.

Sakura nodded hesitantly. She was treading on dangerous ground—Sasuke had never once spoken about his brother and she felt that she needed to get his approval before speaking to him. When the butler dismissed her, she sighed. A weight that was in her chest lifted as she moved away from the kitchen and sped to her room, to retrieve her cell phone.

She texted Sasuke—call me before you come home. It's urgent.

—

Her phone rang at six-thirty two.

"Sasuke!" Sakura greeted, rather alarmed—she hadn't quite figure out what to say to him yet.

Sasuke's voice was smooth and it soothed her rather jittery nerves. "What's wrong?"

"Your—" she stopped, struggling with her words. "Your brother is back. I thought you should know before you came home."

Sasuke was quiet for a long time and Sakura held her breath the whole time. She didn't know how he'd react. She worried that he might not come home at all, which would be the worst scenario. Suddenly, she was panicking. His voice came through again and had managed to clear her voice.

"Thank you, Sakura—"

"—Wait! I'll see you at home, right, Sasuke?" She sounded desperate, which she was, but she cringed at the thought of everything seeping through her voice.

"Yeah, bye." Sasuke clicked off.

Sakura sighed. It wasn't a total reassurance, but it was something. She slipped the phone in her pocket—something she never did because she wanted to devote her attention to her job, but this time it was an emergency. As she turned around, she realized two things: she had left her door open and Itachi was standing in the doorway and looking at her with an interested smirk.

"Sakura, was it?" He got off the wall and advanced towards her—which made her already tightly strung nerves twitch even more. "Sasuke's friend."

She rubbed her palms nervously over her apron. "Yes, I am."

"How close are you to him?" Itachi asked. He was standing right in front of her now; his hands in his pockets and his face looking disgustingly pleasant. She was comforted by the smile, but it unsettled her.

The question itself took her off guard. "I—I don't know. We went to high school together. Uh, we hung out with Naruto together and—" her throat constricted as she realized she was babbling, "—and the fact that he gave me this job probably means something but I'm not sure and I guess you could say that we're close but it doesn't feel like we're that close but—"

"Aa." He cut her off and she surprisingly felt relieved. She could've talked on forever. "I see."

—

As soon as she heard Sasuke's car pull up, Sakura sped down the stairs to greet him. Sasuke walked through the door solemnly, glancing at her. She bit her lip. The expression on his face was a mix of different things—confusion, anxiety, anger, hurt. He stepped closer to her, leaning down so that he was speaking in her ear.

"Where is he?" he murmured, his voice distant; cold.

Sakura gulped. "He's in the office."

Sasuke nodded and was about to rush up the stairs when he turned back around to face her. "Did he talk to you?"

"Ah… yes."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What did he say?"

"Nothing, really. Go talk to him." Sakura gave him a reassuring smile and as he climbed the stairs, he didn't forget it.

Sakura remained in the living room; dusting expensive vases, making sure all the time cushions were properly placed. It made no difference, however, because all she thought about was how Sasuke was faring. He was never subjected to this much emotional stress in the years she's seen him, so it was unpredictable. Naruto had a tendency to fight it out and start yelling.

When a loud thump was heard from upstairs, she gasped. Immediately, she rushed up the stairs to see what had happened. The doors to the office were opened and there was a crowd of maids hovering. She peeked in.

Itachi and Sasuke were both panting. The former was holding his cheek while the latter was crouched, his fist raised. His jaw was clenched tightly and his eyebrows were furrowed. It was easy to tell what had happened—Sasuke had punched his brother in the face. Sakura pushed through the crowd and touched the hand that hung limply at Sasuke's side.

For a second, Sakura thought he would be angry at her for interrupting. She saw fury in his eyes, but it wasn't directed at her. She sighed.

"Come on." Sakura quietly beckoned him to come with her.

Without a word, Sasuke followed her out of the room—past the curious maids, through the winding halls and into the bathroom. She didn't touch him, because Sasuke had never been one for human contact. He sat down on the ledge of the bathtub as Sakura leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. She glanced at his clenched fist and realized that his knuckles were bleeding. She bent down to retrieve the antiseptic and bandages from under the sink.

"Give me your hand." She held hers out.

Silently, he placed his hand in hers. Sasuke hissed when the antiseptic burned his wound. Sakura made a small sound of amusement as she carefully cleaned the wound, and then bandaged it. He flexed his hand a bit, feeling the bandage.

"Not too tight?" she asked, smiling.

Sasuke shook his head. "Thank you."

—

Itachi's return caused a media riot. There were not only many reporters stationed outside the gates of the Uchiha manor, but the phone rang nonstop as well. The head on the board of directors at Uchiha Enterprises—Sarutobi Hiruzen—came directly to the manor. They had to release an official statement, he said, and it would be given at a dinner in Itachi's honor. It would happen this Saturday night.

And so, the rest of the week was spent preparing for Itachi's dinner. Every night, Sakura would go to Sasuke's room under the pretense of helping him review his work. If she were to be honest though, it was too make sure he didn't drive himself crazy thinking about Itachi. She had seen Sasuke moving away from his brother's advances to mend their relationship. It pained her, because she knew that all Sasuke wanted to do was accept his brother. He was only hurt that Itachi left.

"Sasuke." She peeked into the room, saw that he was laying against his headboard—legs stretched out in front of him.

The best part about living with Sasuke was seeing him so unguarded. His feet were bare, crossed over at the ankles. His shirt was wrinkled and twisted in places, showing more skin in some places than others. He was wearing shorts, which he rarely wore out. She briefly wondered if he liked seeing her unguarded too—in yoga pants, a messy bun and face scrubbed of makeup.

"Hey." She murmured hesitantly, seating herself on the swivel chair and putting her legs up on the bed.

It was Friday night and Sasuke was probably fretting over Itachi's dinner nonstop. It would be the official reinstatement of Uchiha Itachi into society—he would be on the board of directors for Uchiha Enterprises and he would attend charity events that Sasuke was not old enough to go to. Itachi would be making a name for himself—a name that Sasuke had been fully planning to make after he graduated.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked quietly, playing with the tips of her fingers.

"I'll be fine." Sasuke replied coolly, throwing a paper ball in the air.

Sakura sighed, knowing full well Sasuke was just in denial. She knew he had been thinking about it all week. She climbed onto the bed beside him, resting on her right arm to lean towards him. Her legs dangled off the side and her eyes lowered, locking onto the white bed sheets.

Sasuke stopped throwing the paper ball that had been distracting him and stared at her. It was like the words were at the tip of his tongue, waiting to be said—but he knew he couldn't. He didn't know what to say. There was nothing to say; it was just something he felt. He continued to watch her as she bit her lip, probably trying to figure something out to say to him.

"You might feel better." She looked up, smiling sheepishly and shrugging her shoulders.

Sasuke smirked at her lame attempt. "It's fine."

Sakura, at that moment, realized two things. She was sitting on Sasuke's bed, dangerously close to him with his scent rolling off of him in waves and that she was incredibly turned on by his smirk. Cautiously, she leaned in. His eyes locked on hers, unconsciously leaning in as well.

It was when they finally pressed their lips together that Sakura finally felt that he would be fine. She would be there for him and it would be enough for him. Her hand reached up to cup the nape of his neck. She pulled him closer, meshing their lips together further as her lips parted. His hands wandered to her hips, pushing her closer. Eventually, she ended up slanted on top of him.

Their eyes fluttered open, breathless from the kiss. Sakura smiled, "You'll be fine."

—

It was finally Itachi's dinner.

Sasuke was dressed in a impeccable suit, with Sakura at his side. He had vehemently refused to let her work like all the other maids did. She had not been at an Uchiha event before—it was more work than usual and the guests were not always the best behaved. She protested, asking for her pay to be lowered or just letting her help with the set up. Sasuke was adamant.

Instead, he suited her up into a dress and heels and brought her as his date. Sakura was uncomfortable, her arm laced with his. This wasn't her event to go to.

"Sasuke, you didn't have to bring me." She squirmed, balancing herself on her heels. "Seriously this isn't—"

"Sakura." He finally said, furrowing his eyebrows. "You're fine."

Sakura tugged at her dress. "What am I doing here anyway?"

Sasuke turned her so that she faced him. He sighed, taking her hands into his. She looked at him, surprised at the sudden gesture. He lowered his eyes, locking his eyes on their interlaced fingers. She smiled at him reassuringly.

"For me. You calm me down."

Sakura's eyes softened as she squeezed his hand. "No problem."