Argumentum
Before they built a solid life together, they fought. A lot.
Chapter One
"I hate when you do this," she seethed.
Eyeing her from beneath his overgrown hair, he slipped his hand into the pocket of his black pants and did not comment. His face was more angular than it had been in the past, making the clamp of his jaw more obvious. He was leaning his back against the marbled kitchen counter, the natural light from the window over the sink becoming sparse as dusk overtook the village.
She unzipped her jacket aggressively and continued berating him. They had just gotten home and she was livid.
Tossing her coat on a dark wooden bar stool, she turned her back to him and began haphazardly stacking the dirty dishes they had left out on the kitchen island from their breakfast. Her hair was longer now because she knew he liked it that way, and it swished around with her aggressive movements.
"It's irritating!" she hissed.
Whipping back around with her hands full of china, she stared him down silently until he shifted slightly to the left, allowing her to deposit the items into the sink.
Her rising temper coupled with her brute strength had half the stack shatter as it hit the basin.
She groaned in frustration as she began quickly and carelessly picking up the shards.
"Look at what you made me do," she grumbled, exasperated.
She could feel Sasuke start bristling next to her as she continued, "Every single time we go out—"
Her declaration came to an abrupt halt.
She saw the blood oozing out of her hand for a couple seconds before she began feeling the sting from where the porcelain had sliced into her skin. She inhaled sharply and ceased picking at the mess in the sink. The cut was deep and painful and the blood was flowing out quickly and profusely. It suddenly looked like something had been massacred in her front of her.
His hand shot out of his pocket and grabbed the wrist of her injured limb tightly.
"Heal it."
His voice was deep and low from lack of use, but it was clearly laced with irritation.
She scowled at him before trying to pull her arm out of his grasp.
"Stop telling me what to do!"
His grip was firm however, and her attempt to yank herself away from him was not successful.
Straightening up from the counter, he stood up to his full height and glowered at her. She was not yet fully used to the eerie purple eye that peeked out from beneath his bangs at the motion.
"Heal it. Now." He repeated quietly.
She looked up at him in agitation for an instant before wordlessly lifting her opposing hand towards her bloody appendages. His grip on her wrist loosened as he carefully watched the green glow of her chakra mend the injury.
When she was finished, he smoothed his fingers over her blood soaked hand to confirm for himself that the laceration had sealed up.
Not paying him attention at this point, she was looking down at the blood that had dripped onto the white kitchen tile when they heard a sharp knock at the door. Snapping her head in the direction of the sound, she then gave him a questioning stare.
He turned his head towards the door behind him and muttered, "...Naruto."
Looking back at her in annoyance, he gave her a look of warning before releasing her and walking towards the doorway.
Standing alone in the kitchen area, she was now randomly irked at how Sasuke and Naruto could sense each other's chakras so well.
'Go be gay together then,' she thought unreasonably.
She watched Sasuke's broad back as he reached for the doorknob to let Naruto in. His hand had her blood on it and his slippery grip on the knob did not escape her.
"I AM SO THIRSTY," Naruto groaned as he shoved his way inside.
"Why is it so dark in here?"
He flipped the light switch on in the kitchen before continuing his rambling.
"I couldn't make it to my house my mouth was so dry! I thought to myself, your place is on my way, I can get some water real quick and take a leak without getting in trouble for busting it out on the street again..." he trailed off.
It seemed his brain had caught up with his mouth. He noticed the somber look on Sakura's face as he approached the dark cabinet that housed their cups. His eyes darted from her bloody hand to the red-splotched floor.
Swallowing thickly, he quickly reached his long bandaged arm up to open the cabinet and grab a glass. Noticing the muck in the sink as he went to fill it, he looked towards Sasuke nervously and asked if everything was all right.
Sakura noted Sasuke's nonchalant lean against the front door. She was the one that was bleeding here! Why was Naruto asking him if everything was alright?!
She looked back and forth between them, mouth gaping at their seemingly silent communication. Turning on her heel, she groaned dramatically before stomping across the apartment to the bedroom and slamming the door.
She was having enough trouble dealing with one idiot, but having two in her immediate vicinity was too much for her at the moment. With heavy footsteps, she made her way into the large master bathroom, briskly rinsing off the blood that was quickly caking to her hand before kicking off her pants and ripping off her shirt.
A hot shower would do her some good.
Letting out a sigh as the door slam shook the walls, Sasuke pushed off from where he was inclined and walked towards Naruto. Naruto gulped down the last of his drink as he eyed him apprehensively over the rim. Grabbing a dish towel from the counter, Sasuke made quick work of wiping off the floor.
"Are you guys fighting again?" Naruto asked cautiously as he set his glass down.
Ignoring him, he straightened up and used the now pink tinged towel to carefully gather the broken china in the sink and throw it in the trash. He turned on the faucet and let it run to clear out the debris, before Naruto reached into his space to re-fill his glass under the running water.
Sasuke shot him an unimpressed look at the action, while Naruto grinned in response.
"Down for a shot of sake before I go?" he suggested as he pulled his cup away and took a sip.
Sasuke shrugged in agreement as he turned off the tap.
After Naruto had left, he switched off the kitchen light and padded barefoot across the hardwood, passing the leather couches in the living room. Opening the door to the bedroom, he found Sakura loosely wrapped in a large black towel, her back facing him as she sat on their inky grey comforter painting her toenails.
She had opted to only turn on the bedside lamp, keeping the room dim. Her locks were a shade darker damp, and they cascaded down her back. Her skin was flushed.
Peeling off his loose dark shirt with his lone hand and tossing it onto the armchair in the corner of the room, he stepped into the steaming bathroom to quickly wash his face and brush his teeth.
When he was done, he approached the bed cautiously and sat behind her carefully. Folding one leg towards his body, he let the other hang off the side of the mattress.
She halted her ministrations and turned her head to the side.
Looking at him with one eye, she paused before faintly murmuring, "I'm sorry."
As she turned back around to continue her task he rested his chin on her bare shoulder.
He lightly kissed her jugular before mumbling, "I didn't even do anything."
She sighed as she closed the forest green nail polish bottle and set it on the nightstand.
"I know," she replied softly.
What she was really upset about was his inability to stay put without needing to leave. He knew that. Naruto knew that. Whenever he'd make a sporadic appearance in the village, her happy mood caused by his drop-in would randomly go south at the most ludicrous things.
(He was at the moment however, choosing to disregard his own random bouts of unreasonable behavior that flared up during their short reunions).
Relieved that he wasn't going to end up sleeping alone and on the couch for one of his last nights in Konoha, he lifted his right hand and pulled her towel off.
She let out a content breath as he buried his face into her neck and wrapped his arm around her front from behind.
TBC...