[swimming AU, funny, fluff]

"What?!" Ino screamed, "you're doing medley relay with Sasuke Uchiha?! Billboard brow, you idiot! Let me swim with you guys!! You need four per team, right?"

"No. It's a team of all Kakashi-Sensei's students. It's going to be myself, Naruto, him, and Sai."

"Sai?!" Ino stared at her, "aw, lucky..."

"Why?" Sakura rose a brow, "you have a thing for Sai?"

"N-no! I never said that!" Ino clenched her fists, "but Sasuke? I hate you..."

"Well, that sucks for both of us." The pinkette rolled her eyes as she continued down the sidewalk, "I have to head home, now. See you this afternoon?"

"Yeah." Ino grinned, "I'll finally get to see him in person!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." She continued on and started her usual routine. Sakura set her hand on the doorknob of the vacant building in her duplex. As soon as the knob turned, she jumped. It's open... But... She slowly opened the door, and all the lights were on, "what the hell..."

"Sakura!"

"Gah!" Sakura yelped, "Naruto! What's going on he--" She froze, "what the hell are you doing here?!"

"Well..." Naruto chuckled as he pushed Sakura inside and shut the door behind them, "I knew you haven't rented out this place in a long time! Sasuke needed a place to stay, and since I coincidentally knew where you hide your spare keys and the keys to this building, Sasuke's moving in! Isn't that great?"

"No!" Sakura turned from Naruto to the Uchiha, casually lounging on the couch, "get out of here!"

"I'm paying, you know." Sasuke waved a check in the air, "if that's enough, of course. It'll be just for the nights I'm staying. After the Olympics, I'll be out of your flawless hair."

"Yeah." Sakura scoffed, "unlike your hair..." She looked down at the writing on the check and gasped. A million yen?! This can't be... "Are you serious?"

"Of course." Sasuke smirked, "I know how much you hate me."

She gritted her teeth and crumpled the check in her hand, "fine. I expect you to be gone by the end of the Olympics."

"Yay! Thanks Sakura!"

Sakura turned to Naruto, "you! You realize this is all your fault!"

"The money, remember the money!" Naruto grinned slyly.

"Whatever. Is that all you boys ever think about?" She groaned as she slipped the check into her pocket and opened the door, "I'm going. Don't bother me."

"Okay, okay." Sasuke waved as the door slammed shut behind her, "we're not doing anything tonight."

"Teehee." Naruto grinned as he got his phone out, "are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh yeah."

______________

"What?!"

A few hours later, Sakura was sitting on the edge of the pool as Tenten and Hinata swam laps in the lane she was sitting in, Ino sobbing next to her, "not only are you swimming with him, he's renting your duplex?! Why does God hate me..."

"Shut up. This isn't my idea of fun..." Sakura groaned, "I would gladly trade lives with you, just so you know."

"Ngh, that's so not fair!" Ino cried, "I need to swim this off." She jumped into the pool and started swimming like her life depended on it.

She must be mad... Sakura sighed. Not my fault... I never wanted to have anything to do with him in the first place... Now I have to live with him for the next few days? Kill me now...

"Sakura, focus!" Tenten panted, "don't let yourself fall, now! We're so close to the Olympics!"

"Now I just want this week to be done and over with." Sakura replied calmly as she slipped into the pool and raked her hair back, "I'm not looking forward to this."

"You'll be fine, Sakura." Hinata swam up to them, "You always are."

"Thanks, guys."

"Hey!" Ino joined them, "you're inviting me over tonight whether you like it or not! I need to see Sasuke!"

"No. Not happening." Sakura groaned.

"Please?"

"No."

"Hmph..." Ino crossed her arms.

"Whatever, let's just get this practice over with." Sakura sighed, "warm-ups all done."

"Okay."

______________

This day has gone by way too fast... Sakura trudged down the sidewalk. It's like I'm in a never-ending fanfiction... Wait a sec... Is that... Sakura peered at the duplex as she started running, "you have got to be kidding me..."

Cars were parked along the street in front of her building, and she knew why. She didn't bother stopping by her place, she walked straight through the open door of the rented building, "Sasuke..."

"Sasuke!! Oh my word, he's so hot!"

"Sasuke! Over here!"

"Just a few more questions!"

"Sasuke Uchiha, is it true you're married to the Sakura Haruno?"

"How much are you paying to stay here?"

"Are you living here now?"

Sasuke you bastard, I'm going to kill you... Sakura clenched her fists as she walked past all the fangirls and press and went right up to the heart of it all, "Sasuke, what are you doing?!"

"Ah, Sakura!" Sasuke stood up from where he sat at the table, "I was just inviting friends over, but somehow, it got out to the press that I'm staying here."

"And you couldn't deny them, because...?"

"I love the attention." Sasuke smirked.

"You are such an attention-hungry piece of crap." Sakura growled.

"Well, maybe I wouldn't be searching for this much attention if only a certain girl could show me some attention."

"You sicken me." Sakura spat as she turned to the large crowd, "everyone, out!"

"Aw." The girls cried as they refused to move, and the press wasn't satisfied, either.

"Everyone." Sasuke cleared his throat, "please give us some important alone-time, everyone."

And suddenly everyone understood. So they simply spilled out, and everyone was gone.

"You are such an idiot." Sakura turned to leave, until his hand caught her wrist.

"Sakura." Sasuke smiled, "don't you want to stay longer?"

"Of course not."

"Ouch, that hurts." The Uchiha chuckled, "come on, what do you have against me?"

"Everything!" Sakura yelled, "you're a show-off, a major playboy, you don't think of the welfare of others, the list goes on and on! But overall, you're just... Annoying!"

He was shocked. He didn't respond right away. He only stared at Sakura's face, distorted in anger and fury as tears spilled out of her eyes and her fingers clenched into fists, "Sa--"

"Leave me alone." She wiped her eyes and left.

Everything was quiet, and for the next half hour, Sasuke still stood in the same spot he was standing when Sakura yelled at him.

"You're annoying!"

Her scream replayed in his head, and no matter how hard he tried to push it out of his mind, it kept coming back. What did I do wrong?

___________

"What's the matter? You're so out of it today." Kakashi looked from Sakura to Sasuke, then over to Naruto, "what have you done to them?"

"N-nothing!" Naruto denied as he ran over to the pool, "I'm getting in now, see ya!" He dove in and went straight to swimming breaststroke.

"I have somewhere I'd like to be this morning, as well." Sai stood up and started making his way to the pool, "can we please get this over with?"

"Go ahead." Kakashi nodded, then returned his attention to the two, "you two are my top students. If you don't get your a-game on, then I'm going to have to pull you both out."

"What?!" Sakura stood up, "you can't do that, Sensei!"

"Well." He glanced up at the ceiling, "I could always get Ino or Rock Lee to swim instead..."

The two of them froze.

Sasuke stood up, "you can't do that!"

"Yeah! Ino-Pig isn't your student!" Sakura gritted her teeth, "what makes you think--"

"Then get with it." Kakashi looked sternly at them, "Sasuke, you can go. Sakura, I need to have a word with you."

Sasuke looked at Sakura, who didn't even bat an eye at him. He cleared his throat and went to join Naruto and Sai in the pool.

"I can handle myself, Sensei."

"I know you can." He crossed his arms, "I need to talk to you about Sasuke."

"Oh please, no. I'm going to fall asleep..."

"No. You need to know about him. Take a seat. This is your lesson for today."

"But--"

He held his hand up, "no buts. You need to know this before you get into the water with this guy. Naruto knows, which is why it's different with him."

"What?"

"Sasuke..." Kakashi lowered his voice, "you need to know his childhood. His father left their family when he was younger, and left him with his mother and older brother. They had to fend for themselves, then one day, just a few years ago, Sasuke's mother fell very ill and passed away. Since then, Sasuke and his brother have been coping with this loss. His father never came back, and so the two had to find their jobs. Sasuke is now the top swimmer you see today, and his brother was top dog at a famous law firm."

"Was?"

"Yeah. He's... In the hospital for cancer. Sasuke's hoping the money he could win from this Olympics could go to his brother's treatments, surgeries, and care."

"Wh-wha..." Sakura stared at him, "that's..."

"Hm." Kakashi rose a brow, "don't think you or me are the only ones with a tragic life story."

"He..."

"He compensates for all that pain with his outgoing nature and flirtacious personality. He never really had friends in his childhood, either, let alone a girlfriend, which is why he sees Naruto as a brother and me as his father figure. You could possibly be... His sister? Perhaps?"

"Sister?" Sakura rubbed her forehead, "oh my gosh, Kakashi-Sensei, after everything I said to him last night..." She glanced up at the Uchiha in the pool, yanking Sai and Naruto under the surface and laughing, "but he's always acted so... But now, he's got all the attention he's wanted, why me, though?"

"I don't know." Kakashi shrugged as he turned to head over to the guys, "why don't you ask him yourself? Maybe do something to make up for what you said."

Sakura leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms, and continued to watch the boys. As soon as Sasuke looked over in her direction, she looked away. She glanced back to see him talking to Kakashi, who'd patted his shoulder reassuringly.

So I'm not the only one... She blinked a few times. Maybe there is something there...

"Are you okay?"

She snapped out of her daydream and looked up, "Sasuke..."

"You seemed kinda distraught."

"Well..." Sakura leaned over her knees, "uh... I was wondering if you wanted to go out for some coffee after practice..."

"Hm? Uh, sure." Sasuke blinked, "what's this all of a sudden?"

"Look. I'll tell you later." She stood up, "I need to get some practice in, today."

"Oh... O-okay..." He watched her as she dove into the lane and started with freestyle. Well she changed in a matter of a few minutes...

______________

"I just wanted to say... Sorry."

"For?"

Sakura's brow twitched, "for saying all those things the other night."

"Apology excepted." Sasuke chuckled, "so Kakashi told you about me, eh?"

"Yeah." Sakura fondled with her fingernails, "My parents abandoned me when I was little. I mean, at the same time, it's the same yet different. I'm sure you have it worse, because you knew your mom, and now she's gone. I just wanted you to know that I know how you feel."

"Oh yeah?" Sasuke leaned his chin on his intertwined fingers, elbows propped up on the café table, "well, you know, Kakashi told me about you already, too."

"Wha?!" She stared at him. Why didn't you say anything sooner?!

"But you know, it's different hearing it from you. I knew from the day I heard about you, you're nothing like the other girls. You've got a will and a strength. I wanted to meet you. Imagine my surprise the moment I do, you hate my guts. I guess you've heard a lot about me, too."

"Yeah. I have." She groaned.

"Well." Sasuke chuckled softly, "at least we've got this ordeal straightened out, and we can focus more on the events."

"Uh-huh..." Sakura scratched the back of her neck as she looked away from him.

"But something's still bothering you."

"Mm? No, not at all..." Sakura muttered.

He blinked a few times before finishing his coffee, "you know, we're not doing any practice tomorrow. Do you want to get in some work, just the two of us, tomorrow?"

Sakura was silent. She knew Kakashi always gave breaks once every week, and even with the Olympics coming up quickly, he's letting them take the day off. He wants to keep working, but... "Uh, Sasuke... It's break, tomorrow... What... Do you normally do?"

He stared at her, then chuckled, "you could read me so well, I'm surprised you haven't fallen for me yet."

"Oh save it..." She groaned.

"You're right. But I want to win the money if I really want to help my brother. A visit can wait."

"But..." Sakura looked down into her empty cup, "a chance to see someone you love who could be dying... You never know if tomorrow will be your last day."

Sasuke smiled, "you're right..."

"So..." She looked up at him, "can I visit him with you?"

"S-sure... But you'd be using your time better if you just stayed and swam..."

"No." Sakura crossed her arms, "I think I need to get to know my teammate, more. And I can start by visiting his brother in the hospital. Besides, I think we could both use this break."

But inside... Sakura pursed her lips. I really, really need this time to practice... But why do I feel so inclined to visit this douchebag's brother? Why do I feel the way I do right now?! Snap out of it, Sakura!

"Thank, Sakura. Sorry if I left any bad impressions of myself with you. I really don't mean to be that type of person, and I'll try my hardest to be a better person. For you. As my teammate, right?"

"How about." Sakura smiled, "as a sister?"

He chuckled, then nodded, "sure."

As he got up and walked out of the café, Sakura shut her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"You'd be using your time better if you just stayed here and swam."

"You've got a will and a strength."

"Don't think you, Sai, Naruto, or I are the only ones with a tragic life story."

Kakashi-Sensei... Sakura leaned her head back. You've been helping all of us from the beginning... And now... She glanced back at Sasuke, who'd been stopped by a group of girls just outside the café. She was surprised when he looked back at her, then waved the girls away.

There's something about you, too... She smiled to herself. Sasuke.

•••

Written by xX_Fang_Xx