Dance, Dance, Darling
By: Majesa
Disclaimer: I will pretend that this is necessary, and say that I do not own the series Naruto. Done with that.
Chapter 1: Lacking Husband
What she should have said was "Welcome home." What she should have said was "Glad to see you made it home alright." What she should have said was "I missed you." But the only thing that escaped Sakura's lips when she heard the front door open was a sigh. Sasuke was home from a mission that lasted three months, and nothing had changed since his departure. She couldn't care less whether he was home or not at this point in their marriage, because his presence didn't do very much for her anyway.
Sakura took the bottles of medicine she had just finished filling, and made her way down the stairs from her office. There he was, as usual, setting his things down at the door. She looked him over from her place on the stairs, and was surprised to see a small stain of blood on his shirt. It was on the side, so he had to be injured. Otherwise he would've changed, this she knew. Even as she stood there, he didn't say anything. He didn't acknowledge her. She expected it.
"How was your mission? Successful, I assume." She continued down the stairs and continued to the kitchen. Of course his mission was successful. His missions were always successful. She didn't know why she bothered asking in the first place. At least it ruined the uncomfortable silence that would come if she didn't ask.
"Fine. No critical injuries, no mistakes. Everything went fine." Sasuke dropped his bag to the floor. Was he glad to be home? No. Was he glad his mission was finally done? Yes. Many people thought of home as a place of comfort, but not him. His home was, in a single word, awkward. He had a nice home, a beautiful wife, he guessed his job was decent enough for him, yet every time he returned he felt out of place. Sasuke looked around the perfectly clean living room of the Uchiha complex and wondered what had drove Sakura to clean the carpet so thoroughly. It took him a second to decide that it wouldn't kill anything to walk over it to reach the couch. "and things at the hospital?"
"Same as it was before. More sick and injured people needing help." Sakura had put her bottles in the refrigerator and was now turning up the heat on the stove. Then she was hit with an idea. "Sasuke, it's been a while since we went out. Do you feel like going out to eat tonight?"
Sasuke glanced over at the kitchen door from his spot on the couch, and instantly knew what Sakura was trying to tell him. What she was basically hinting at was that dinner wasn't going to be great tonight if she had to make it herself. Not that anything she made was wonderful, but tonight especially was going to be terrible.
"I suppose."
"Good." Sakura turned the stove off. He'd gotten the message. He usually did. "I need to run to the hospital to sign a few papers. It's around six now, and I won't be gone long, so we'll leave at around eight?" 'Nine.' She thought to herself.
"Nine. We'll leave at nine." Sasuke said, rising from the couch and making his way to their bedroom. He wasn't tired, but he knew from the way the conversation was going that it was about to dry out. Then they would both be sitting there, staring at each other, not exchanging words, and thinking about how they had gotten to this point. He'd rather go to sleep, or at least try.
Sakura heard his footsteps as he climbed the stairs, and couldn't help but feel a little relieved. The hardest part was over.
A/N: Yes, I know it's short. The next chapter will be longer, and those following if any. Reviews loved, welcomed, and hoped for.
