Bound by Symmetry

When he entered the living room and found her seated on the couch, he realized that something was wrong. The silence should have alerted him, but he was preoccupied. There were no greetings, no children's laughter, no tears of joy, no questions of his wounds.

Thoughts of the children caused him to look to the wall behind her, through which the children were sleeping.

"They're fine, Sasuke-kun. Please have a seat," she spoke quietly, her voice soft and low, but not a whisper. Her statement was not a request.

He did so, dropping his duffel next to her couch's twin, before he adopted a seat in its middle.

She sighed, her eyes roving this way and that, before they fixed on him and she smiled, a small, reassured smile. Not for the first time he wondered where the shy girl, unable to look directly at him or stand up to him had gone. She spoke, though, and the thought vanished. "A week ago, after your last A-rank mission, you were seen."

If she was gratified by the widening of his eyes or his sudden pallid skin, she said nothing.

Then he coughed, color returning to his skin in force, a blush staining his cheeks even in the poor light of a single lamp. "It won't happen again," he explained as he made to stand, watching her infernal brave smile. "Forget it."

"I can't," she said, shaking her head very gently. That her actions were subdued was not lost on him. "And to think that you can…"

Sasuke turned away and grimaced, a comfortable expression on his face. One time, only once, but one seemed to be a telling number for him. One brother, one night for his entire family to die, one friend to kill for power, one woman to marry.

the mouth of another under his, frozen in shock, but warm and alluring even when still. pulling of the gentle lips, parched only for a moment by cool air, then consumed once more in a blanket of warmth, either by breath or renewed contact.

Two children.

"Before you go," for he was already making to leave, "please listen to what I have to say because I'm only going to say it once."

He did wait, and he even turned for free. She did not stand, but she did not cry either. She simply watched him. Taking his silence as annoyance, she took a deep breath and began again.

"This will be the last time that I apologize to you. I know that it bothers you, but for me it's become a force of habit, more sympathy for you, constant sympathy for something that I am not even sure of…" A shake of her head and the digression stopped. "I'm sorry for not being good enough for you, for not being able to help you more. I tried my hardest, and thought that I would be able to love enough for both of us, for our family, but I know now that it's not true. I apologize that it took many years to realize- wasting your time and mine."

Sasuke turned, not new to the gravity of her words, but feeling them now because of the connection they played to his own fate. She was his wife after all.

"I'm also sorry for being angry with Naruto as well, but I am. I know it's not his fault, and he's too caring to willingly hurt a friend… I'm glad he was able to do what I was not," she added.

Sasuke watched her, realizing with dread that her reaction should have been more devastating than this. Crying and sobbing and ripping the house to splinters with calculated chakra strikes. Pleading with him for explanations or something more than this calm acceptance.

"I'm sorry that the only thing I could give you were two very beautiful, very intelligent children. I'm sorry that I thought being with you would be enough, because as time has passed, I think that has only made it harder."

"Sakura," Sasuke ventured, only to stop. Not because of the snap to attention her entire body had given at her name. Not because of the calm and relaxed stance she was effecting, but because of her eyes. Their slight widening and the way her eyebrows fell inward, pinning him. He felt seven years old all over again. He realized then that she was controlling her emotions, as tightly as she molded chakra.

"I'm sorry that all I was able to give you were two beautiful children. But really I'm not sorry at all. Because you didn't give me anything either." She stood then and followed him clear of the couches, continuing, "You promised to love and cherish me, but you didn't. You promised to honor and love me…

"Really," and she relaxed, pausing for emphasis, "You didn't even do that… I gave you everything, including children from my body. You gave me nothing…"

His eyes flicked to the wall past her left shoulder and she nodded, giving a smile that was reminiscent of those she gave every day. His eyes were back on her, a terrible feeling of certainty in where this conversation was heading.

Sakura glided forward, confident and beautiful, every ounce of it earned. She embraced him, arms slowly winding around his torso, over his back to where her hands rested on his shoulder blades. Her faced rested against his chest and she sighed, releasing air that warmed him. A chill ran through his body, expanding outward from that spot.

"I'm leaving, and I'm taking the children with me."

The seriousness of her words gave way to the tension in his body, a warning flag to her and anyone else that could see how he tightened like a spring.

But she had not followed the student of the Yellow Flash, or the bearer of the Nine Tails without gaining a bit of speed herself. He was down before he realized she had reacted to his tension, feeling a searing pain through his body.

When he tried to lift his left leg, he saw that his shoulder instead dropped down. And when he tried to lift his shoulder, his hand wobbled feebly. Godaime Hokage had truly made her a master over the body.

Sakura nudged him with her foot onto his back and straddled his chest. Her expression was still bland, until she smiled, a new smile. A smile only for him.

"The effects of this technique are temporary… I still love you, Sasuke-kun. Far too much, but as your wife, and as the woman who has loved you longer and more deeply than any other living person has, or will… I can't take any more treachery from you. And I won't have you corrupting my children." He tried to open his mouth, but it would not respond anymore than the rest of him.

"They are my children. Not yours, never again." She shook head and then reached forward, wrapping slender fingers around his neck. They tightened with the strength of a man, not a woman, not even a kunoichi. She did not hurt him, much, but rather made sure she had his attention.

And she grinned.

"If you come near my children, if I feel so much as a breath, hear as much as a whisper of a foot fall… I will kill you."

Notes: Ta da! In the middle of EotS chapter fifteen and needed a break. Had a bit of inspiration, and felt like writing something kind of angsty. I started writing this and saw that it was turning into a bit of a novel, so I tried to go back and re-write it, keeping only essentials.

Not sure if this is angsty or just mad, but I think everyone has their limits, even Sakura. Besides, grown women especially the ones with children, think very differently about the world and what they expect from it than do idealistic teenagers, and before you complain, yes I do believe that Sakura could kill Sasuke if she were desperate enough. To be fair, I didn't really explain Sasuke's reasoning, though I have it worked out in my head. Sort of. Not too much. Oh well. Too bad for Sasuke, anyway.

I guess I've been hanging around Geno too much (even though he did not endorse my methods in this story.) Hope you all enjoyed it.

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