Chapter 15

Sakura sat beside Madara opposite her parents in her family's favorite diner and held his hand supportively beneath the table. Currently, Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno were staring the pair down with wide eyes.

The booth was silent. The woman just announced that they're dating. In an attempt to facilitate things, she simply told them she dumped Sasuke for Madara. That way, they won't ask as many questions.

She didn't need to see the older Uchiha's face to understand what he wanted to say when he squeezed her hand a little firmer, 'I bet he wants to run out of here with his tail between his legs. Dad's giving him the look.'

Kizashi'd given it to Sasuke, too, on multiple occasions. It was a glare that clearly said, "You do know I own multiple guns, right?"

"I'm sorry, Pumpkin, but did I just hear you correctly? You broke up with Sasuke for this…Midoriya?" Finally, her father spoke, his tone ten times tenser than before.

'Stand your ground, Sakura! You're a daddy's girl. Make him see you're serious, and he'll back off.'

"His name's Madara, Daddy, and yes, I did. Sasuke and I mutually agreed our relationship had run its course. We plan to remain friends after things settle down a little bit." Her father's brow raised at the word "Daddy" because she only uses it when she demands things go her way, which wasn't all that often.

'Now to land the final blow!'

Sakura plastered on a pout, making her eyes large and watery, "Please give him a chance. Get to know him a little before deciding not to like him. He makes me really happy, and your approval means a lot to both of us."

Her mother, who'd been silent as a mouse the entire time, spoke before her husband could respond, "How old are you?"

'....Oh, shit.'

It was rare, but Mebuki Haruno could be even scarier than Kizashi when her "Mama Bear" instincts were present. Usually, she's a quiet and collected woman. As she sat before her daughter and her new boyfriend, though, her dark green eyes were alight with a threatening glow.

"Twenty-eight, Ma'am." Madara's voice was smooth and respectful, but Sakura could tell he was extremely uncomfortable.

"Seven years is an alarming age gap, Hon. Are you sure about this?" Kizashi hissed at his daughter, glare still on the Uchiha man. Obviously, he was insinuating that Madara might only be after her because of her young age, which would be wrong in many ways if it were the truth.

Sakura gasped, leaning forward and hissing back, glancing around to make sure none of the other patrons in the diner had heard his words, "Dad, that's rude and uncalled for!"

"How can I can entrust my baby girl to him without checking?" The pink-haired man spoke directly to Madara for the first time, "Son, are you after my daughter because of her youth and looks? Answer honestly. I'll know if you lie."

The waitress chose the perfect time to arrive with everyone's food, obviously picking up on the tense aura because she quickly excused herself the moment a chance arose.

Madara lifted his gaze from the table to meet Kizashi's firmly, "I actually hesitated to act on my feelings for your daughter because of our age difference. I know what it looks like, but I assure you, my interest in Sakura isn't primarily a result of her appearance."

Sakura's face warmed as she looked at the man in muted surprise.

"Are you saying she's not attractive? I'll-" "Of course not! She's beautiful, but I fell for your daughter's compassion and strength. Before meeting her, I'd never met someone with so much drive."

'He's really giving it his all! I wonder if they'll buy it….' Sakura touched a cold hand to her warm cheek while trying to gauge her parents' response to the Uchiha man's declaration.

The couple glanced at one another, and she realized their resolve was slowly beginning to crack and crumble.

Mebuki asked another question while poking at her food with a fork, "What is it you do for a living, young man?"

"Currently, I'm on a break, but I do freelance security and bodyguard work."

'Ah, he should've lied….' Sakura thought as her parents both gave her stern looks. It was apparent they saw him as even more dangerous after realizing he has a potentially violent job.

Reading the room quickly, Madara added, "So, you can rest assured I'm capable of protecting your daughter."

It became quiet as the four people ate, eyeing one another uneasily.

Maybe five minutes later, the tense aura became too much for Sakura to handle, and she blurted out awkwardly, "D-Did I tell you how we met?" The moment the words left her mouth, she realized her error and glanced over to see Madara shooting her a covert panicked look.

'Shit! Why did I say that? I can't tell them I willingly entered a man's house while drunk. They'll think I'm irresponsible and that he had bad intentions for letting me come over, too!'

"Please do, Sweetheart. I'm curious," Kizashi smiled stiffly, taking a sip of coffee.

Anxiously stabbing her scrambled eggs and averting her gaze to her plate, Sakura stumbled over her words, "It's a really funny story, actually. You see, it was Halloween, and I, um, I got locked out of my apartment. He lives next door, and-" "I looked up how to pick a lock and helped her get inside."

The pink-haired woman could've kissed Madara right then and there for rescuing her but settled for smiling gratefully, "It was really embarrassing. I was sure he thought I was annoying because of that, but we became friends afterward."

"You always misplace things. You've done so since you were a child. Isn't that right, Dear?" Mebuki mused warmly, a nostalgic glint in her eye.

Her father grinned toothily, pointing his fork at her, "Remember the time she lost her retainer? How do you lose something that goes in your mouth!"

Mortified, Sakura made broad shushing motions with her hand, blushing wildly, "Sh-Shut up, you guys! Why would you tell him that?"

"What other kinds of trouble has she caused you, Son? Despite our best efforts, she can be quite a handful at times," Kizashi asked, the tension in the air finally beginning to fade.

Madara grinned amusedly when she looked at him in disbelief, pausing to give her a subtle teasing glance, "Her TV was broken, and she came over every day for a week to use mine so she could binge-watch some cheesy soap opera."

It was Mebuki's turn to laugh, "That sounds just like her! I bet she made herself right at home, huh?"

The Uchiha man nodded, sipping his coffee with a small smile.

"Don't gang up on me here! What is this?" Sakura objected, feeling completely humiliated.

She was ignored again, her father tilting his head as he looked at Madara with new eyes, "Why don't you come over for dinner sometime?"

Sakura's mouth opened slightly in surprise. It took over six months of her dating Sasuke for him to be formally invited over for a meal, and her parents knew about her crush on him years before then, too.

"Oh, yes, Dear, that's a good idea! I can show him some baby photos!"

"N-No! Absolutely not! He's, uh…. He's busy, so he can't!" Sakura tried. She knew how embarrassing some of those childhood photos were. If he got a glimpse of them, she'd never live it down.

The man in question ignored her arguing, too, "That sounds great. Should we exchange contact information?"

The pinkette stared in disbelief as her father and boyfriend exchanged phones. 'What the hell's going on? Why're they suddenly so chummy? Mom and Dad were ready to beat him up just ten minutes ago!'

Breakfast continued smoothly, her parents asking more questions about Madara while also offering embarrassing little tidbits about Sakura, like how she threw up during her dance recital at age six because she was so nervous or how she tripped and fell when receiving her high school diploma in front of over a thousand people.

When the couple returned to the apartment, she felt betrayed and drained.

"Your parents are nice people," Madara stated warmly, amusedly.

Sakura trudged over to fall lifelessly onto the sofa after removing her winter gear and shoes, offering no response.

'Of course, you'd think so! You didn't spend the past two and a half hours being humiliated by them!'

"I'm glad they don't hate me, at least. I was worried for a minute there at the start," he snickered as he walked through the family room toward the hallway where the bedroom, laundry room, and bathroom were.

She called after him in a deadpan voice, rolling onto her side to grab the remote off the coffee table and click on the TV, "They like you a little too much if you ask me."

A moment later, he reappeared and came to sit on the sofa while pulling his wild hair into a ponytail so it'd stay out of his face, "I think them realizing Ino didn't scare me away was the final nail in the coffin."

Sakura moved so he could sit, resting her head in his lap once he was seated, "Are you sure it wasn't when you told them I talk in my sleep? There's no way that's real, by the way. I would've found out before now."

"On the contrary, Baby, you've done it a handful of times. I think it's cute," the man mused while absently smoothing her hair out of her face, his phone in his other hand and gaze trained on the device.

'....Damn it. It's hard to stay annoyed when he talks to me like that….'

"Oh, did you see the news? A blizzard's supposed to hit tonight."

Sakura closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his fingers running leisurely through her hair, "Mmm, no. Is it supposed to be bad? Maybe I should go to the grocery store in case we're stuck inside for a few days."

"...."

When he didn't respond, the pink-haired woman sat up with a concerned frown. Madara's brow furrowed slightly, "Would it be rude to make a request?"

'Huh? What kind of request? Did I do something wrong?! Oh no! Is what happened with Sasuke happening again!'

To appear unbothered, she forced a smile, "Of course not. What is it?"

Madara averted his gaze to his phone again, the tiniest sliver of color dusting his cheeks, "Would you make chili again? I'll pay for the groceries."

All of Sakura's insecurities dissipated at his almost bashful expression, but she snapped out of it when the man glanced her way. She smiled, almost giddy with delight that he liked her cooking, "Deal, but you have to come to the store with me. It's bound to be crazy with a blizzard on the way, and people will back off with a big scary guy like you by my side!"

"Am I just a guard dog to you, then?" He asked jokingly.

The woman ran a hand up his thigh, lowering her voice threateningly, "You did tell my parents you'd protect me. That wasn't a lie, was it?"

Suddenly, the device in his hands was on the table, and she was beneath the man on the sofa, his eyes burning warmly into hers as she struggled to comprehend how they'd gotten into that position so quickly, "No, Ma'am. Just point out the danger, and I'll deal with it." A surprised squeal left her mouth when he dipped down to kiss her neck, fingers dancing at her sides to tickle her.

Through laughs and struggling to wrestle his hands away, Sakura squirmed, "You're the only danger around right now!"

~

Almost three hours later, the couple arrived home from their impromptu grocery shopping trip. Sakura sat her bag of peppers on the counter, shaking her head at the Uchiha man as he sat the other seven bags on the counter and began unpacking their purchases. He wouldn't let her carry any of the others but also refused to make more than one trip to the car.

She froze in the process of washing the peppers under the faucet when Madara reached to put something into the cabinet just slightly above his head. His sweater tugged at his figure while performing the act, stirring something in the woman's lower abdominals. As soon as he glanced her way, she averted her gaze to the vegetable in her hand with a blush and tried to act like he hadn't caught her checking him out.

It was surprisingly difficult to be in public with him. Seeing him in the unfamiliar setting piqued her interest endlessly. Sakura struggled to keep her composure the entire time. She wasn't the only one, either. Every woman they passed in the store, from her age to those over fifty, ogled the gorgeous man.

'I know they all saw me, too. Shameless!'

Sakura's hands froze as a thought crossed her mind, '...What if they didn't realize I'm his girlfriend? What I must look like next to someone like him!' Her mood fell as she resumed her task, lost deep in her thoughts. 'It makes sense. I mean, I didn't do anything to my hair today, and I'm barely wearing any makeup. They probably thought I was a friend or maybe even a relative!'

This type of dilemma often plagued her when she was with Sasuke, too. It wasn't a what-if scenario, though. Many girls told her straight to her face that she was too plain to deserve a spot at his side.

Though their looks differ significantly, Madara's appeal is undeniable, too. Sakura, who never dreamed of cheating on her then-boyfriend, was even forced to admit to herself upon meeting the older man that he was one of the sexiest beings she had ever laid eyes on. How could she not? He looks like he walked right out of a spicy romance novel.

'Talk about catering to the female gaze….'

Then there's her. Sakura's features hardly register as a classic beauty to the male gaze. She's flat-chested with hair the color of cotton candy. Most take one look at her and think she's attention-seeking because they don't realize the pink color of her locks is natural. Those two facts were enough, much less the other, more minor things wrong with her appearance.

A surprised squeak left her lips when Madara's voice suddenly tore her from her stewing, "You've been washing the same one for five minutes. I think it's clean." Sakura looked over to see he'd already put away the rest of the groceries and was leaning against the counter with his arms loosely crossed and an amused smirk as he watched her.

For some reason, what he said earlier, during breakfast, suddenly crossed her mind. 'He said he thinks I'm beautiful, but that's not why he fell for me. Was that the truth?' She turned off the water and hesitantly faced him, 'If I ask, he'll probably realize how insecure I am and get turned off, right? Would it be okay…?'

Frowning, she groaned and came to fall against his front, burying her face in his chest when he chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. Her hands clutched his sweater casually as she closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath to calm her nerves. Madara's embrace, the warmth and his scent, worked wonders to quell the anxiety, and she found herself relaxing as she exhaled.

'If he only cared about appearance, I wouldn't want him, anyway, so there's no reason to fret over something like this.'

"How long will it take to cook?"

Sakura mumbled absently, turning her head to press her cheek to his chest instead of her forehead, "About half an hour to cut everything and get it on the stove to simmer. Are you hungry? I can try to hurry."

A short hum rumbled his chest, making her eyes open slightly. Fingers danced around the bottom hem of her shirt, flirting with the bare skin underneath, "Do you know how hard it was to watch you prance around all day and not jump you? Personally, I think I went above and beyond with my behavior today, so I'm owed a continuation of this morning."

She should've been surprised, but she wasn't. Sakura swiftly pulled herself away from him and quickly rinsed the rest of the vegetables so she could get to work without delay, making the handsome man chuckle again.

The pinkette smiled softly to herself, feeling warm and fuzzy inside, 'How is it that he knows exactly what to say these days?'