The Happy Housewife

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Sakura was more than a little surprised when she realized that, in regard to who she loved, she now had a choice.

Emotions were not to be controlled, she thought. They had a mind of their own, she thought. Because who would continue to love somebody after they ignored you, abandoned you, and then came back and asked you to help them in singlehandedly repopulating their fifteen-room mansion?

At twenty-five, she was an accomplished kunoichi and, apparently, moderately attractive. When Sasuke had kissed her and told her that he wanted her to be his wife and the new matron of the Uchiha clan, what was she supposed to do? It was at that moment that she had realized that, despite how much she loved him, she could never be his happy housewife. She had become a ninja out of interest, yes, and she had continued because she wanted to be near him. But after he had left her, something had changed. She was no longer a lovesick little girl, nor was she a lovesick little woman determined to get herself a man and then a family.

She was powerful.

Therefore, there was only one course of action: refusal.

That's why, on the day that she had dreamed about since she had first laid eyes on Uchiha Sasuke, she was shocked to find herself completely alone.

Sakura closed her eyes, letting the breeze whip her hair around her head. Sasuke, surprisingly enough, hadn't been angry; he had just walked away. She didn't doubt that he would approach her again about it tomorrow. Normally, at this time of night, she would be in his bed or he in hers, relaxing in each others arms after a long day at the hospital or a short mission. But tonight was very different; Sakura knew that she needed to figure out what she was going to do with her life. She supposed that she had always, on some level, known about Sasuke's intentions with her. After she had broken through his defenses, he had revealed to her that he loved her – and she didn't doubt the truth in his words – but something just wasn't right.

It was on that night, dangling her legs off of the roof of her apartment, that she realized that he might be in love with her, but she wasn't in love with him.

"Yo."

Sakura glanced over at the masked man; she'd sensed his presence before he even said anything. "Can't a girl think in peace? It's the middle of the night and I can't even get away from you guys now."

"You should know that I frequent the Konoha skyline on restless nights, if you plan on doing this again."

"I'll keep that in mind."

He leaned back on one hand and pulled his little orange book out of his pocket, his one uncovered eye lazily running over the page. It would be hard to deny that the man was extremely attractive…she had started to notice him one day when they had been training, while Naruto and Sasuke had been on a mission a few years ago. He had taken his shirt off and lowered his mask to reveal both of his eyes, and she had been completely blown away by his sculpted body…

She looked back out at the village and then sighed, turning back towards him and running her hand through her short hair.

"What are you really doing here?"

He stared at his book. "Admiring the view."

Sakura snorted. He glanced at her, raising an eyebrow, and she looked at him incredulously. "Kakashi-senpai. You're reading a book. In the dark."

"I'm a shinobi," he replied, "Maybe I can read in the dark."

She shook her head; she just couldn't deny that it might be true, and how would she know if it wasn't?

When it was obvious that he wasn't going to leave, she just looked back out at the village and ignored him.

So what was she going to do? Sasuke wanted a family, and Sakura realized now that she didn't. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to be with him. Thinking about it now, up in the air and away from the pressure of her social circle, it all seemed like a silly childhood fantasy. What if she really didn't love –

"You seem troubled."

Sakura glared over at her usually silent companion, who had chosen an inconvenient time to start counseling her. "Are you my therapist now or something?" she snapped.

"Just a concerned friend."

She was silent for a moment, guilt welling up in her stomach. He was a friend, even if she forgot that sometimes. Their relationship hadn't changed until recently, when they had finally started to spend time together outside of training or missions. That is, until a few months ago…

Honestly, she had been a little upset. Maybe that was why she was being so hostile.

"Sasuke asked me to marry him today."

Kakashi's gray eye drifted over to her. "I know."

She frowned and then pointed at him. "So that's why you're here!" she said accusingly, "You wanted to know what happened! Did Naruto send you? Tsunade-sama –"

"Sasuke discussed it with Naruto and me yesterday, Sakura-chan," Kakashi said calmly.

"Oh…"

"So seeing as you're here and not celebrating with Sasuke…" Sakura blushed at the insinuation, thankful for the darkness.

"…I said no," she finished for him.

Her old sensei nodded in acknowledgement, "I expected you would. Told him he shouldn't even ask."

They sat quietly as Sakura flushed angrily, at a complete loss for words. How was she supposed to reply? Why would Kakashi be meddling in her love life? Was he even meddling in her love life? Did this mean something? Maybe he was just attempting to offer helpful advice…

"You can just ask me why," he interrupted, "Don't be embarrassed."

"How do you-"

"Remember? I can see in the dark."

Sakura promptly delivered a punch to his shoulder and he flinched, chuckling. "Damn it, Sakura. I thought you were good at chakra control."

If at all possible, she blushed even more. "Sorry." She waited for him to settle himself again before continuing. "So…why would you tell Sasuke not to ask me to marry him?"

Kakashi put his book down and she knew that he was serious as he looked over at her again, his usually drooping eye narrowing a little. "I've known far too many kunoichi who threw away their career and their talents to make homes for their husbands," he said finally, looking her in the eye. "You know a few of them…Temari. Hinata. Ino too. They had a lot of potential as ninja and they gave it up because they wanted children."

He put a hand on her shoulder and leaned towards her. "Sakura, you are a talented, skilled, strong, and beautiful young woman." Something in her chest clenched a little at his praise. "If you want to let all that go and be Sasuke's happy housewife, go ahead. I wouldn't tell you not to if it's what you want. But there comes a time when you have to decide if you're going to give your life to Sasuke or to your village."

"I already know that."

She grinned at him and they both laughed, taking a break from the serious turn the conversation had taken.

"I know that Sasuke wants me to make babies for him," she finally said, "And it's hard to tell if he loves me because I'm me or because I could recreate his clan."

"Oh, I'm sure he…" – he paused, as if he was uncomfortable saying the word – "…loves you."

She gave him a wry smile. "And what makes you so sure of that?"

"Well, how could he not?"

They both froze.

Sakura was suddenly very aware of Kakashi's hand, which had never left her shoulder. She thought about what good friends they'd become – how they were no longer teacher and student, but equals as Jounin and as teammates. She remembered all the times he had come up with excuses not to go out for drinks with the team after she and Sasuke had finally started dating six months ago. She considered the happiness she felt deep in her gut when she was with him, compared to the childlike giddiness that permeated her mind when she was with Sasuke.

His masked lips brushed against hers and her eyes slowly shut.

And then he was standing on the edge of the roof, his book in his pocket and his eye smiling. "All I wanted to tell you is…there are other men that would be more than willing to have you that do not need or even want you to play the housewife."

She vaguely touched her lips after he had gone, her face drifting between a frown and a smile.

Yeah, she had choices. But they made things so much more difficult.

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A/N: I don't know if I'm going to continue this or not…it might just be a one-shot. If it's not a one-shot the rating will likely go up because I like lemons.

I'm reading "The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan and it's making me all feministy. I took the title from a chapter in that book.

Please review!