Author's notes

So...um...This...really...isn't...my...kind of thing...but...I was biten by the plot-bunnies, okay! Lol...so...Just to let people know, I don't really approve of SasuSaku...but...like I said, I was inspired, so...oh, and I kind of meant for ir to have an almost detached feeling, so...

Warning: Weird writing, some almost anti-SasuSaku...stuff..., hints of SasuNaru, though really just hints, so if any of these don't float your boat, leave

Disclamor: So, the day when you hear screams from all the little kids who watch this show, you'll know that I've almost gotten naruto...

Author: Obsessive


Standing by the sink, Sakura turned to lean against it to look at her family. Her daughter Aya was building a fort out of her toast and eggs, while her son Yaharu was trying to butter his toast with a kunai. They got their fathers looks -no doubt about that- but they got their mothers personality.

Finally, sitting at one head of the table was her husband. The Uchiha looked as gorgeous as ever in his silk sleeping yukata. He was reading the newspaper, and his usual blank face was marred by a deep frown.

"Something wrong, dear?" She asked, not expecting a real answer, but trying anyways.

"Hnn." Was his response. She saw the kids role their eyes at him. A small smile graced her features as she looked at her family.

Turning back around and washing the last dish, she wiped her hands on a towel, then sat at the other end of the table. She waited until her kids were almost done before speaking.

"Hurry up now! You don't want to be late for school!"

They both gasped, then looked at the clock. Running from the room, she could hear them arguing all the way down the hallway. Pulling the lunches from the fridge, she stood by the front door less than a minute before the twins came racing by.

"Bye mom! Thanks!" They called out together from down the pathway.

Chuckling, she turned just in time to see her husband walk past, towards their bedroom. She followed him to the room watching him through the mirror, looking into his eyes.

xxx

In the beginning she had often wondered when his eyes had become so dead. Happiness, sadness, anger: none of them ever showed their faces. It had once bothered her, but she learned not to care soon enough, and never wondered about it again.

xxx

Sakura stood in the doorway as she watched her husband pull on his ANBU uniform. He looked so handsome. As he stood in front of the mirror, she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

She looked to the side of him, her face leaning against his arm. "Aren't we a sight?" She asked, not even hoping for a "hnn", let alone expecting one. Like she thought, he offered her nothing but a blank stare from hollow eyes.

Slowly pulling away, Sakura walked over to the dresser and picked up a cat mask. She brought it to him carefully. He pulled it on and walked towards the front door. She followed him quietly, watching his stiff yet graceful movements down the hallway.

When he pulled open the door, she stopped him by tugging briefly on his wrist. He turned slowly, mask set firmly in place. Pulling it aside, she kissed his cheek gently.

"Goodbye, Captain Uchiha…" He regarded her for a moment before pulling the mask in place. She stood in the doorway and watched him until there was nothing left.

xxx

There was a time when she supposed they had been happy, all three of them. Way back when, in their Gennin days, when things had been simple. She had known where everything stood then. She loved Sasuke, Naruto loved her, and Sasuke was god, at least in their eyes. That was the happiest year of her life.

Then they split up. Sasuke went to the Snakes, Naruto went with Jiraiya, and she stayed behind, alone, to train. That was the end of simplicity.

xxx

Turning and closing the door, she began cleaning. Every day, she cleaned the big house. Starting with their room, she began working her way through all the unused rooms, then the used ones. At noon she paused to make a salad.

It was important to always look her best. She was an Uchiha, after all. Her hair must always be perfect, as do her clothes, and she had to be in perfect shape. Sakura was always perfectly groomed. Her house and children were kept the same level of perfection as herself, if not more so.

When she was done with lunch, she went back to cleaning. That night was special, so everything had to be ideal. Today was an extra hard day.

xxx

At one point she had wanted to be a ninja. For a long time, actually. It had been her greatest dream, after snagging the Uchiha. After he left, she put her whole heart and soul into training. She dreamed of being even greater then Tsunade herself, and was well on her way to achieving it.

That was a long time ago.

xxx

When her kids came home, she barely noticed. She was so into cleaning that when the phone rang she jumped a mile. Calming down, she walked into the kitchen, where the only phone was, and picked it up.

"Hello, Uchiha residence."

"Sakura, hi! This is Hinata! I was just calling to confirm that tonight is still on!"

"Of course it is! Both of us have been looking forward to it!" She said, the lie coming out easily.

"So have we!" Hinata said, lying just as well. "Okay, so, we'll see you at seven!"

"Bye!" Sakura stayed on the line until she heard the click that announced Hinata's departure, her smile fading. She looked at the phone in her hand, before looking at her house, sighing. She put the phone down briefly, then picked it up again. Quickly dialing the ANBU headquarters, she waited until someone picked up.

"Hello, ANBU." A gruff voice said.

"Hello, may I speak to Sasuke Uchiha?"

"Who's calling?"

"His wife." There was a pause on the other line.

"One minute."

She looked at the beige tiles on the ceiling. Beginning to count them, she thought he might never come. She was at twenty when he picked up.

"Sakura."

"I was just calling to remind you about dinner tonight. I want you home early enough to wash the blood away." Some other wives would be disgusted by that, but in one lifetime or another, she had come home covered in blood too.

"Hnn."

"Goodbye then, sweetie." She put the phone down, then went to find the kids.

xxx

Sakura and Naruto were eighteen when he came back. She supposed Sasuke was too, but he didn't seem it. He seemed much, much older then them, then anyone.

His trial was within a week. Every nin in the village was there, it seemed. It didn't matter to him though. He gave his answers as coolly and precisely as if it were just him, speaking to a mirror. For as long as she lived, she would never forget that trial. It had been Naruto's first week as an advisor to the Hokage, and it had been clear just how worried he was for his friend.

The tears that flowed from her eyes and Naruto's when Sasuke was allowed to live were from pure happiness. Even the great emotionless Sasuke was thrilled. Later on, she supposed that day was his body's last hurrah, seeing as she never saw any other emotions from him.

When he was free of the trial, he had told her how happy he was to see Naruto again, and how much he missed him. There had been genuine hope in his eyes when he said it. Then he found out that he had missed the Uzumaki's wedding.

By nine days.

xxx

"Oh my, this meal is absolutely lovely!" Hinata exclaimed, smiling.

Sakura beamed proudly. "It was nothing."

The pointless chatter continued. For most of the evening it was just Hinata and Sakura, talking about pointless housewife things. Occasionally, Naruto would pipe up, and Sasuke would make some kind of noise when required, but for the most part he and Sasuke sat there, picking at their food.

By ten, the women had run out of things to say, so they started to clean up. After finishing and grabbing the kids, they said their goodbyes, filled with lots of hugs and promises to talk soon. The men just stood there awkwardly.

"Goodnight, Hokage!" Sakura said, grinning.

"Goodnight, Sakura!" Naruto replied. The blonde turned to look at the brunette. Their eyes met, and for a moment time stilled.

"Goodbye Dobe." Sasuke said softly, after much silence.

"Goodbye Teme." Naruto said just as softly.

The two Uchiha's watched as the other family walked away. When they were out of sight, Sakura went inside, and looked out the window. Sasuke was out there for a long time afterwards.

xxx

A week after he found out, Sasuke asked her out on a date.

Three months later they were engaged. Four months after that they were married. Seven months passed, and they moved into Sasuke's old house, and two months later came the birth of their twins, Aya and Yaharu.

That month Naruto's kids were born too, triplets, two girls and a boy.

xxx

Sakura was already in bed and almost asleep by the time she felt the bed shift, signaling her husbands return. She listened to his breathing for awhile. Normally, it would lull her to sleep, but tonight all it did was trouble her. She rolled over to look at him. He was staring at the ceiling with his usual blank look on his face. If not for the tear streaks gleaming gently in the moonlight, she would have believed everything was normal.

"Are…are you okay?" She asked him, knowing he wouldn't answer.

For the first time in a long time, she was wrong. "No…I'm not…" The fact that he answered surprised her more then what he said.

xxx

There was a little pond outside their house. Everyday, without fail, sometime Sasuke would go out there and stare at the little pond as if it held the answer to every last one of his unspoken questions. She started going out there too, after a few years. Not because she thought it held answers, but for a much more abstract reason…

The only man she had ever loved was in love with another. Her kids would never meet their real father. She lived in a house that always reeked of death and blood, no matter how much she cleaned.

But the biggest reason for her daily excursions by far, was this; Sakura Uchiha was twenty-six years old, and every day she wondered if anything would ever be okay again.


I hope you liked this! Seriously, even if you didn't, I would love to hear what I could do to make it better! I was trying something really, really new, so any feedback would be appreciated!