The ornate palanquin shimmered in the desert sun as it slowly made its way across the sand and away from the only home that Kaiya had ever known. Not for the first time, she wondered how life could be so unfair, when all she had ever wanted was… well, it was best not to go down that road again. Besides, she was tired of crying. Her small grandmother sat across from her, but she would find no comfort there, only scorn and disappointment. She could feel the old woman's lingering gaze, but stared determinedly out the window. When at last her village slipped from view, her throat constricted, and she felt the telltale pricking at the back of her eyes. She took a deep breath, rolled her eyes at her own foolishness, and let the curtain fall back into place. Her grandmother let out an exasperated sigh, and Kaiya winced.

"Really, child, are you weeping again?" Kaiya didn't respond, and her gaze fell to her hands. She wasn't weeping; the tears hadn't even fallen. "You should be happy to be able to finally bring some measure of honor to the Osaeru clan, especially after your humiliating behavior the other day. How we'll ever show our faces at council again, I'll never know. You should be proud to be doing this for the village you claim to love; you are strengthening our peace agreement with Konoha and helping to assure the safety of our people." Kaiya knew she was being mocked and didn't even look up. Her grandmother's voice turned cold. "No, you'd rather spend your time wallowing after someone who obviously wants nothing to do with you. Well I will tell you this, Kaiya, you will not be returning to Suna with us. We will not have you bring any more dishonor to our door. You will either marry this man, or you will not. Either way, there is no longer a place for you in our clan."

The girl still said nothing, but finally looked up at the self-satisfying and cruel smile on her grandmother's face. She tried to tell herself that it was only the madness speaking, that her grandmother and father loved her, and that they would never really hurt her. Somehow, she couldn't seem to convince herself. How did she deserve so much contempt when all she had done was fall in love?

Sasuke stood across from the Hokage wondering why, if not for a mission, he had been summoned there. Since his return, he had been completely ignored by the Godaime. Excepting of course, that first week, when he had been interrogated and sentenced. The Godaime studied his bored expression, and then the papers in front of her before she finally spoke.

"Is it still your intention to rebuild you clan?" She took in the narrowing of his eyes, and how he hesitated before answering.

"Yes."

"Are you… involved with anyone at the moment?" Sasuke glared at her, trying to decide if he should tell her to mind her own damn business.

"You summoned me here so we can chat about my personal life?" Tsunade chose to ignore his attitude, and wondered vaguely if he had any previous knowledge of the agreement, or if it would surprise him. She sincerely hoped for the latter, it would be nice to wipe that superior smirk off of his face.

"Yes. Early this morning, we received a signed copy of a proposal from the Osaeru clan of Suna." She paused. "It seems to be signed by both parties, and only waits for my approval." He raised an eyebrow, not sure he liked where this was going.

"What does that have to do with me?" He frowned. "I have never heard of this clan before. What do exactly do they want?"

"For you to marry their daughter." Tsunade secretly enjoyed the way he tensed.

"Excuse me?" He shook his head in disbelief. Honestly, he should have seen this coming sooner or later. "You can tell them I have absolutely no interest in their daughter."

"It isn't that easy. Not only would that insult one of the most prominent clans in our allied village, but as I have said, it has already been signed by both parties."

"I don't see how that's possible," His voice was dangerously low, and Tsunade felt the sudden spike in his chakra, "as I have not signed anything."

"Relax, Uchiha." She said, though she was tempted to let him sweat it out. "I didn't say that you did, just that it has been signed by both parties. The fact remains that we have to tread carefully; our relationship with the Sand Village is still somewhat strained, and we have reason to believe that this is one of the main clans who distrusts our alliance."

"If you know that I didn't sign it, why aren't you addressing the forgery with the Kazekage?"

"I had some of our best look at it, and it is no forgery."

"But you just said—"

"Apparently," She interrupted, "before the massacre of your family, your parents had entered into negotiations with this clan regarding your future. At the time, our first peace agreement with Suna was still new, and marriages between the villages common and often rewarded, in an attempt to strengthen our relationship." She paused, and though he had tensed at the mention of his parents, Sasuke kept his face carefully blank as he waited for her to continue. "From what I can see here, both families were in agreement and happy with the terms, however, because it was an inter-village match, between two powerful clans, both the Kazekage and the Hokage would have had to agree to the match as well. It had been signed by the Kazekage, but lacks the Hokage's approval. I can only assume that the contract was never submitted to the Sandaime because of the deaths of your parents. It has now, however, been submitted to me."

"By who?"

"The girl's parents; they still wish to hold to the agreement." She held out the small stack of papers, and Sasuke strode forward to take them.

"Why did they wait so long? Why now?" Tsunade sighed.

"I have a few guesses. For one, after the loss of your clan, no doubt they wanted to wait and see why your brother spared you. Was it because he took pity on you, or because you and he were of the same mind? Then, I am sure they heard rumors of your… disappearance, which probably did nothing to allay their worries, and I assume they did not want their daughter to marry someone that had defected from his village." Sasuke ignored her disapproving tone. "Now that you are back, and our official story that you were never technically a 'missing-nin,' not only are you a capable ninja with a coveted bloodline limit, but you are now the head of your clan, and a much better match than they originally hoped for. I called you here for your opinion on the matter, as ultimately it is your future." Sasuke flipped through the contract, skimming it. "I have also collected some basic information regarding the girl and her clan, and have included that in that packet."

But he had stopped listening. He had come to the last page, where each party involved had signed their name. He could barely make out his father's bold scribble, but his mother's signature was small and neat, each stroke perfect. He was trying to weigh his options, make a decision, but could only seem to focus on those delicate contours of ink. He tore his eyes away, and looked up at Tsunade blankly.

"I need some time to think." His voice was steady, even if his mind was not.

Tsunade nodded, noting how quickly his 'no' had become a 'maybe'. "The girl and her escort will be here within the next couple of days; you can meet her, and have a few days to get to know her." The Hokage caught the flash of annoyance on his face. "Yes, apparently, they left the day before they sent us the contract. No doubt they thought it would be harder for us to refuse them in person."

"Hn."

His feet automatically carried him to the dock of his childhood, as they always did when he was preoccupied. He sat down, took off his sandals, and slipped his feet into the water. Ok, so yes, he had said that he wanted to rebuild his clan someday. Someday. Honestly, since he had come back, he hadn't even really given it much thought. He had expected it to just kind of happen eventually. He scoffed. That really sounded more like Naruto's way of thinking than his, but it's not like you could plan that sort of thing. He thought about the papers in his pack; maybe you could, he didn't know.

He tried looking at both sides abstractly. On the one hand, if he married the girl, at least he wouldn't have to go through the whole dating process with one of the girls he already knew. Which, if he really wanted to rebuild his clan, would have to happen eventually. On the other hand, he wasn't altogether sure he was ready for the responsibility of caring for a family. Sure, he could put food on the table, and he swore to himself he would be a good father, to all of his children, but the thought of letting anyone else that close to him made him uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, it downright terrified him. It was hard enough having to worry about losing Naruto all the time, he wasn't sure he could handle worrying about more. What if he lost his new family too?

He thought again of the signatures at the bottom of that last page. This was something both of his parents had wanted for him. They wouldn't have agreed to the match if they thought that he would be unhappy. His father especially would have accepted nothing less than the best. He felt like he owed it to them, that it would dishonor his clan and their memory if he didn't. His parents had promised that Sasuke would marry this girl, how could he go back on their word?

But then, of course, there was Naruto. Sasuke sighed. Naruto was the only one that Sasuke had allowed himself to get close to. He was the only one that had earned that right. They had been through so much together; there was no way he could shut him out. Naruto had fought for him, and believed in him, even when he himself did not. Even when he had done things that had made him despise himself, Naruto had been there to save him, whether he wanted it or not.

They were friends- best friends- but there was so much more to it than that. Maybe it would be easier to make this decision if he could categorize his relationship with Naruto, but there really wasn't a word for everything they were to each other. They were friends, rivals, and each other's most important person. Naruto knew him better than anyone else in the world, but they weren't more than friends. He didn't think their connection went that far, but sometimes, it was hard to tell. He shook his head and leaned back onto his elbows.

If he was completely honest with himself, there had been more than one occasion in which they had gone past they realm of friendship, and into the grey area between friends and something more; countless simple touches and shared looks that were always followed by an awkward silence or subject change. Just the other day, during their spar, he had been sure that Naruto was going to kiss him, but the next second, he had only laughed, punched him in the arm and then asked if he wanted to call it a day.

He wondered what Naruto would say if he told him that he had decided to marry this girl. Part of him hoped that Naruto would be ok with it, but the other part… the other part wanted… something else. He sighed. The sky was turning pink, and he realized that he wasn't going to be able to make a decision without talking to Naruto first. He stood, slipped his sandals back on, and headed home. He wasn't surprised to find Naruto already there, sprawled on his couch with a video game controller in hand. When Sasuke walked in, he didn't even look up.

"'Bout time, Teme, I was getting worried."

"Tch." Sasuke walked around the couch, and sank into the empty recliner. Naruto continued to mash buttons. Sasuke watched him, not sure if he was ready to talk about it yet. How do you even start a conversation like that? That was the hard part, getting started. He wondered again what Naruto would think, what he would want Sasuke to do. Talking to Naruto was easier than talking to anyone else, but that didn't mean he was exactly good at it. Usually he didn't even have to; most of the time, Naruto just knew what he wanted to say.

"Eh, Sasuke? You're creeping me out." Sasuke realized he was staring, and quickly looked away.

"Whatever, Dobe."

He sat there for a few moments, and then decided that there was no way he was going to be able to do this with his current state of mind. He wanted to be able to express himself correctly, and he wouldn't be able to do that in his current state. He stood, and left the room. Naruto watched him go and frowned while his fingers still flew across the controller.