note: so i got inspired by a couple of songs like "someone like you" by Adele, "amor clandestino" "si no te hubieras ido" both by Maná and such. i'm not planning a full-out lemon but there is lots of repressed(?) urges not meant for them younger kiddies if you catch my drift.
"Sasuke-"
"Mimi, mimi! Look what I drew! Who's that, mimi?"
Her green eyes glanced from the dark-haired man at the door to the blond little girl at her side. The little girl stared back at her with curious, stunning blue eyes.
"This. . ." She looked back at the man. His black eyes were studying her face. His intense stare felt wrong and made all her nerves terrifyingly sensitive. "This is Mr. Uchiha. He's an old friend of mine and daddy's."
"Oh." The girl smiled at the man. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Uchiha."
The little girl stared awestruck at the man at the door. She fought the urge to smile. Of course, Sasuke would have that effect on any woman of any age. It seemed impossible because of the age difference but the girl looked hopelessly in love.
"Honey, why don't you go back to your room and wait for me?"
The girl's big blue eyes reluctantly went from the man to the woman. "Kay-kay! Bye, Mr. Uchiha!"
She watched the little blond girl glance at him one last time before she spun around and ran into a hallway. Once the girl was out of sight, she turned back to Sasuke.
"She's beautiful." She heard him say quietly. "She looks exactly like her father."
"She does. . ." Her grip on the door tightened. "Why are you here, Sasuke?"
He lowered his gaze. "I- I can't do this anymore, Sakura." Her heart lept into her throat. He couldn't be doing this. Not now. Not when it was too late.
"Please, Sasuke, don't." She begged.
He ignored her request and continued, "Sakura, I need you." His dark eyes bore into hers. There was so much emotion in them that her heart couldn't take it. "I think about you day and night. I can't- I tried to do what you asked but I can't fight it. I can't stay away." He took a step forward and for a second she thought he would kiss her like in the old times. She stood still, immobilized by his confession, but her heart and her mind were racing. "I want you so much, Sakura. Dear god, it isn't over for me."
She saw him reach for her body. The feel of his warm hands on her shoulders gave her goosebumps. His half-lidded eyes were sparkling in a way that would have seemed impossible in the past. She made no move to push him away when he hugged her tightly.
It felt right.
His body against hers. This was how it was supposed to be. Him and her. Together. For the first time in five years, it felt right to have a man, to have this man holding her. Her arms were slowly encircling his torso when a voice froze her.
"Sakura?" There was a pause and the body she was holding went ridged. "Holy shit! SASUKE!"
The blood drained from her face.
She slowly looked pased the man she was hugging to the other man at the door.
A blond man with blue eyes and slightly tanned skin who just returned from work. "Naruto? You're- you're early."
"Yeah." He turned his blue gaze from Sasuke to look at her. "I wanted to surprise you. Looks like I got the surprise instead, huh?"
Her heart stopped. "Naruto, I can explain-" Sakura pushed Sasuke behind her. She paused when a grin spread slowly across his face.
"Explain where the hell this guy's been?" He walked toward Sasuke. "Dude, where were you hiding? I haven't seen you since our wedding day!" He gave Sasuke a strong bear hug. "I missed you so much, you bastard."
"Let go of me, idiot." Sasuke muttered.
"Oh, so Sakura can hug you but I can't?" He released Sasuke and lead him to their couch. "Sit down! Tell me where you've been!"
Sasuke's eyes flashed to Sakura for a split second before he took a seat. Naruto plopped down on his right while Sakura sat down next to Naruto. She was nervous. They hadn't been all together like this for more than five years.
"So start!" Naruto waved his arms excitedly. She couldn't stop from feeling relaxed when she saw his childish antics. That was something that never changed in Naruto.
Somehow it reminded her of the old days when everything was simpler and love was less painful. The time when the heart was happy and whole.
She glanced at Sasuke and caught his gaze.
He was staring at her.
What would Sasuke think of them? That she was truly in love with Naruto? That her life was wonderful? Would he believed that she had forgotten him?
She broke eye contact first.
It was wrong.
She couldn't do this, not to Naruto, not to the man that held her when she needed support and whispered loving words in her ear as she drifted off to sleep, not to Naruto, her husband. . .
Time passed as Sasuke told them where he had been for the past five years. It all went by in a blur for Sakura. Her eyes hadn't left his face even for a second while he didn't look at her for the rest of the night. Not one single glance.
Her attention was finally brought back to the present when Naruto invited Sasuke to stay for dinner and called for their child to join them.
The young girl came running down the stairs to hug her father then to give Sakura a quick squeeze. She finally turned to Sasuke. Her big blue eyes stared at him in wonder. "He so pretty, daddy. Way prettier than you."
Naruto laughed then he frowned as he understood what his daughter had said. "Hey!" He glared at Sasuke. "Geeze, turn off the charm will ya! You're enamoring my baby!"
For the first time in that whole evening, Sasuke smirked and Sakura's defenses fell all over again. Naruto had no idea what he was implying. . .
This was, by far, the worst idea Naruto had ever had. Even worse than when he decided out of the blue to enter the eating contest at the fair four years ago and boy, was that a horrible idea.
Again Sakura knocked on the bathroom door.
That person currently inside taking a shower was making her uneasy. He had been there for some good time and all the while she had been imagining him cleaning his body, the warm water traveling down his muscles, the soap dotting his pale skin. . .
STOP.
She shook her head. She needed to get him out of there, for her sanity's sake but it seemed like he was trying to stall for some reason, probably to avoid her.
She was about to knock again when she heard the water stop and shortly afterward heavy footsteps headed to the door. Warm mist seeped through from the opened door.
For a second she couldn't see but when her vision cleared a wet Sasuke with only a simple white towel for covering was standing in front of her. Her shocked green eyes slowly moved involuntary downward from his handsome face to his bare chest, down that delicious v-shape of his torso to the small towel around his waist.
She quickly caught herself, forcing her eyes up to his face.
The heat that had been growing between her legs became unbearable and caused her to rub her thighs together.
His dark eyes held a glimmer of amusement for a moment before his stare turned blank. She stared back, trying to rid the inappropriate thoughts about a man other than her husband from her mind. He swallowed which caused her attention to zone in on his throat. She had the most irresistible urge to leave love bites on the flawless pale skin and was about to act out her desire when she remembered what her purpose was.
She cleared her throat. "Um, yes, Sasuke, I have your room all set up and if you'd like to follow me." She pointed to a door on the side.
"Now?" He asked.
She kept her eyes trained on the spot between his eyes. "Why, yes."
"I was hoping maybe after I put some clothes on." Sasuke gestured to his bare body with both hands.
Sakura's face turned a darker shade of red. "Y- y- yes! O- of course! I'll wait for you to change."
He smirked at her stuttering. "I wouldn't want to get caught by your daughter in the hallway half-naked. She might overreact." He bent down to her ear level and breathed his next words. "It would look like I'm trying to seduce a woman."
Her heart sped up and she couldn't help the tingling spread from her lower region to the rest of her body. The burning in between her thighs intensified so that she had to squeeze her legs to relieve some of the pressure.
Oh, dear lord did she want him too. . .
He turned his bare back to her and she had visions of herself straddling that fine waist from behind, nails digging into his firm flesh, clawing her way from his back to his well-defined chest, as she moved over his lower back, rubbing herself against his muscles until she reached gratification.
Ohhhh. . .
She almost stepped into the bathroom, nearly giving into the temptation of locking herself in there with him but she heard the sound of laughter coming from the living room downstairs and guilt filled her heart.
She couldn't do that to Naruto, she couldn't do that to her baby.
She loved them both.
They didn't deserve to be crushed by a woman lusting after an old flame, a woman who claimed to be someone's loyal wife and caring mother.
The bathroom door gently closed in front of her.
The moment to act out immoral fantasies had passed and for now she was safe but she knew there will be other times.
Sakura slowly made her way toward the guest room that Naruto had suggested for Sasuke. Unfortunately, that was his horrible, god-forsaken plan that topped all the previous idiocies he had done:
Naruto had invited his best friend to stay over for as long as the he wished.
Yes, Sasuke Uchiha, the love of her life once upon a time ago, the man, the creature of temptation that could bring any saint of a woman to her knees, would be staying with them indefinitely.
She prayed to the God and any other one that came to her mind that she could resist her urges. It is going to be hell being so close to what she desired to have most but was denied.
"So this is where I'll be sleeping?" The voice spoke from behind her, causing the little hair on the nape of her neck to stand.
"Yes, this is where you'll be staying." She watched his now clothed back as he walked into his temporary room to survey his surroundings.
The room was of modest size with light peachy-orange walls and bayish carpeting. The walls were bare of any decorations except for a hanging mirror by the closet. A bed with white sheets was on the far left-hand side of the room and a cabinet was on the opposite wall of the bed, next to the closet and mirror. There was one window with white curtains on the wall opposite to the door. The single picture in that room was one of her taken years ago when she was still in her late teens which she allowed Naruto to place on the cabinet.
She quickly looked away from that photo, knowing full well who was the photographer. She decided that it would be best to take it down, when Sasuke wasn't looking of course, to avoid bringing to life any uncomfortable memories.
The room wasn't as luxurious as most of the rooms he may have slept in, she assumed, but it would serve it's purpose.
"It's small," he turned to her, "but it's very homey."
He gave Sakura a half smile.
She held her breath as she blushed.
The sun was just about to disappear behind the horizon and the dying rays managed to spill into the room, bathing Sasuke in a gentle golden hue. Right then and there he didn't look like the dark, brooding man he usually was but resembled instead a bright angel with glowing skin and black hair. It didn't matter if he was wearing a wet towel or the most expensive suit by the biggest label or just a simple white, button-up shirt with black slacks as he was wearing now, he kept true to the word breathtaking.
How strange it was that she held feelings of ravishing this gorgeous man yet at the same time she was unimaginably amazed by him.
"Sas-" Sakura began but she was abruptly interrupted by the ringing of the phone.
She turned slightly toward the sound, preparing to answer it herself but after the second ring, it stopped. Naruto's loud, cheery voice drifted from downstairs to where they were.
She checked the clock above the window.
Almost eight o'clock. Who could be calling at this hour? The footsteps stomping up the stairs startled her.
"Sakuraaa~! Sasukeee!" The blond man burst into Sasuke's new room. "Guess who it is!" He swung the black cordless phone in the air above his head. "Guess! Guess!"
Sakura narrowed her eyes at Naruto. She had the craziest urge to smack him, something she hadn't felt in years. "Stop. That."
Naruto's cheerful aura died and his eyes widened slightly in surprise then suddenly he was excited again. "Okay, well, it's for Sasuke!" He stepped toward his best friend to hand him the phone. "It's from someone special." He then grabbed Sakura's hand and proceeded to lead her out the room. He slid an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, brushing his lips to her skin in nearly the same manner Sasuke had done earlier. "It's probably a good idea to leave him alone so he could talk."
It was completely different.
She had no tingling feeling in the bottom of her stomach, no unbearable heat in between her thighs. She had no wild images of herself and Naruto making untamed love in the most erotic positions. It never shocked her as much as it did now to realize that she was utterly unaffected by Naruto's attempts at seduction.
It was wrong and she was a horrible woman.
Her eyes went to Sasuke as they made their way out of the room.
He was staring at her with the same eyes she had seen when he saw her smile at Naruto before dinner.
The last rays of sunlight were finally retreating from the room and they were taking Sasuke's light mood with it. As the room grew dark so did his eyes. Right when she lost sight of him as she and Naruto went into their own rooms, she saw his eyes flicker to the floor and his face twist in sorrow.
Naruto lightly closed the door of their bedroom when Sakura entered. She stood at her dresser mindlessly searching for some object in a drawer while Naruto sat down on their plush king sized bed.
He snorted a laugh. "I can't believe Sasuke's back. It just seems so impossible that he's actually here."
She kept her eyes cast down at the drawer she was searching through. "Why is it so impossible that he's here?"
She could feel his blue gaze on her back. "Well, the last time I saw him he looked dead." Sakura glanced at him through the mirror in front of her. "Seriously, I thought he would have withered away at our wedding. It felt like he didn't even want to be there. He never went to any of the dress rehearsals, the tux fittings, the dinners, he didn't even go to my bachelor party. I half-expected him to not show up and I didn't expect him at all to follow through with being my best man." Her hand closed tightly around a white porcelain brush. "After the way his eyes looked that night, I never expected to see him again."
She could see the pain in his expression. Naruto was hurt that Sasuke had disappeared without a word. He probably hurt even more not know what caused his best friend to act in such a way.
Sakura passed the brush through her hair slowly, smoothing away the little tangles. How much more hurt would the truth cause? How much more pain would she put him through?
She watched Naruto stand up from the bed and walk over to stand behind her. He smiled softly as he swept her hair to the side, gently brushing his finger tips across the back of her neck. "I guess it doesn't matter anymore, huh? The bastard's back and it doesn't looked like he'll be leaving anytime soon."
Sakura stared at Naruto through the mirror. "Is that way you invited him to stay as long as he wanted? Because you were afraid that he would leave again?"
"You can never tell with that guy. But I really think that he found what he was looking for." He wrapped his arms around her and lovingly kissed her neck. She closed her eyes and imagined his soft touches and warm kisses weren't from him but from the dark man in the other room.
It was wrong.
What she was doing, it was wrong but she couldn't help it.
She couldn't help that her heart had never belong to her husband. It was never his from the start yet she gave herself to him.
His warm hands made their way slowly up under her shirt.
A tear threatened to fall.
She not only betrayed Naruto and Sasuke but she had betrayed herself by settling, not with the love of her life but with his and her best friend. She had married to a man while dreaming of having another. Now the only way she could live as a happily married wife was through fantasy.
And so she allowed him to continue his caring gestures that would ultimately lead to a one-sided love. She allowed her twisted mind to continue her twisted fantasy with the man in the other room.
"Hello?"
"So the rumors are true." Immediately upon recognizing that deep voice Sasuke frowned. "When did you decide to rejoin civilization, little brother?"
"How did you find out?" He nearly growled out.
"You won't believe how fast word of mouth travels." The voice said in an amusing tone.
"That stupid idiot! It was Naruto, wasn't it."
"Does it matter?" There was a pause and Sasuke could hear some movement in the next room. He was about to step into the hallway to find out what was making the noise when the voice spoke up again. "Why are you there, Sasuke?"
"What I do or where I go does not concern you." Sasuke bit out as he began pacing across from wall to wall in his new room.
"It does when you've pulled a disappearing act for five years that even Houdini would've found impossible. Then afterward, you finally show yourself and the first people you visit is not your family, not your worried-to-death mother, not even Kakashi, but your best friend who, not so coincidentally, is married to the woman of your dreams."
He froze in the middle of a step. "It's not-" The voice cut in.
"You can pretend all you want, Sasuke, but I remember how you were the day you left."
"I-" The voice didn't allow him to finish.
"You can't do this to Naruto." He hissed. "For goodness' sake, Sasuke, he's your best friend! He's practically family to us! You can't steal Sakura back. It's too late to fight for her. She's a wife. . . and a mother now." The voice sighed. "You should have done this five years ago, not now."
The hand holding the phone fell from his ear to his side as Sasuke dropped his head back and bit his lower lip. He stared at the peachy-colored ceiling for a few moments before his eyes began to glisten. "God, Itachi, don't you know that I know that already." He whispered to himself.
He heard his older brother's voice still speaking. "Get your stuff packed. You aren't going to stay there. . . I won't let you." The voice was quiet but Sasuke managed to catch his brother's last words before he hung up.
He tossed the phone onto the bed and was about to sit down when he heard a soft sigh. He carefully stepped closer to the wall where he believed the noise came from. The silence that followed made him doubt that he had heard anything but then there was a thump then another.
Sasuke frowned.
What could that be? Maybe Naruto had a crazy pet dog or something? He left his room and stood outside the door where he heard the noises. As he leaned in to put his ear to the door, his hand made to turn the doorknob but the next noise stopped his movement and froze his heart.
It was a voice, a very familiar voice.
"Oh, Sakuuu."
It was barely a whisper, but Sasuke could hear the deep husky lust in his voice.
They were in there.
Naruto and Sakura.
Apparently making love.
He blinked in shock and snatched his hand away from the door. He stumbled backwards a few steps before he collided into the wall and collapsed to the floor.
The noises were unbelievably loud to him now.
Everything was crystal clear and each sound was a stab at his wounded heart. His moans, her quiet gasps, the movements of the bed, and the words of love Naruto was whispering.
His ears couldn't block anything out and, as much as he wanted, his body refused to listen to the demands his mind was making.
He gripped the front of his white collared shirt.
The pain in his chest was becoming worse with each passing second. Images of Sakura with another man, his god-damn best friend, together, being so close, so intimate, flashed through his mind and made the pain tighten in his chest.
This was never meant to happen.
Naruto was never meant for Sakura!
He was!
Sakura was his light and he was her darkness. That was what was meant to happen.
It should have been him who was in that room making love to Sakura, not Naruto. It should have been him who was standing at the alter at her wedding five years ago, watching Sakura gracefully walk to him, watch her as the groom and not as the best man. That child downstairs should have had black hair and stunning green eyes instead of bright golden locks and sky blue eyes. That child's parents where supposed to be Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha, not Sakura and Naruto Uzumaki. That child should have been his.
He blinked again, feeling something wet and warm slide down his pale cheeks. His trembling hand touched the wetness and he realized what was going on.
He was crying.
"Mr. Uchiha?"
He blankly stared at the door that hid the woman that claimed his thoughts for eight years. A small hand tapped his right shoulder.
"Mr. Uchiha?" He turned his blank stare to the person tapping him. It was their daughter. He watched her blue eyes widen when she saw his tear stained face. The young girl's cheeks turned a pretty shade of pink. "Um, are you sad, Mr. Uchiha?"
He did nothing but stare at the child.
The girl's golden hair turned black, her blue eyes turned black as coal, her healthy, tanned skin faded to a pale color, just like his, and suddenly, he was staring at a replica of a younger, female version of himself. His hand moved to brush his fingertips down her soft cheeks. The girl's blush darkened and he smiled. She looked so much like his mother.
"Uhhm-"
"Sasuke? What are. . ." The voice broke the illusion and the pale, colorless girl melted back into Naruto's sunshine daughter. His hand dropped from the girl's face. It felt so heavy. "Foolish little brother." Itachi held out his hand. Sasuke glanced at the hand then at his brother. There, on Itachi's face, was a tiny, sad smile. "Hurry up and come home already. Mother made your favorite."
He glanced at the door again quickly before taking Itachi's offered hand. His older brother swiftly pulled him to his feet in one smooth move. Sasuke resisted the urge to wipe his nose with his sleeve and cleared his throat with a raspy cough. "You told mom I was back?"
Itachi gave him a half-grin. "Of course. She got so happy when she heard her baby was safe and sound." Sasuke frowned as Itachi placed a hand on the child's golden head. "Come, Kimmy. Walk us to the door."
"Yepyep, Uncle 'Tachi!" The girl skipped ahead of the two men.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Uncle?"
Itachi just smiled in response.
They went into the peach-colored room to collect Sasuke's belongings then headed downstairs to the front door. At the door, Itachi bent down to the level of the girl's face. "Okay, Kimmy. This is where we say good bye. Tell your daddy that his friend went back home with uncle. Tell him not to worry," Itachi glanced at Sasuke, "his friend is not going anywhere." He gave the girl a sweet kiss on the crown of her hair. "Be a good girl, Kimmy."
The girl blushed and hugged Itachi. "Kaykay, uncle."
Itachi straightened his back and looked at his brother. "Sasuke, say bye to little Kimmy."
His dark gaze fell on the hopeful, lovestruck little girl. A part of him cringed at the possibility that a nice gesture would create a monster of a fangirl out of this child but, after a stubborn glare from Itachi, Sasuke patted the little girl's head. "Bye, kid."
He quickly turned, and nearly sprinted to a black car parked illegally in the driveway which he assumed was Itachi's. His rapid departure caused him to miss the girl's wide grin and blushing cheeks.
"I like 'em, uncle. He's really cute."
"Go back inside and don't open the door to strangers." He saw the girl nod furiously before she stepped back into the house and shut the door with lock.
Sasuke stood impatiently beside the passenger door of the expensive black car. He wanted to leave, abandon everything like his gut had told him five years ago at that unbearable event.
"I know that look." Itachi was at the driver's side of the car opening the door. "Don't even think of running away. Here, wipe your face." He tossed Sasuke a white napkin before climbing in. "I won't ask what happened, just clean yourself before we see mother or she'll die of worry."
Sasuke caught the cloth and wiped his eyes and nose before sitting in the passenger seat. "Does he know?"
Itachi didn't respond.
He looked at his older brother in the darkness of the car. It might have been his eyes, but he almost made out a frown on Itachi's face. "Yes." He turned on the car and began driving through the dark streets. "He isn't as happy as mother."
Sasuke stared at the street lamps passing by. "Of course." His father was never happy with anything he did. "One, big disappointment I turned out to be."
"Sasuke no one blames you for leaving."
"I doubt that. If he knew exactly why I left he would disown me."
Itachi sighed. "He isn't that heartless."
Sasuke glared at his brother. "Oh, he isn't? I wasn't aware that that man had a heart to begin with."
"He managed to romance mother didn't he?" Itachi smiled. "And mother is very peculiar about whom she allows in her life. Remember how she chased away that one girl that you had agreed to go on a date with? She never like any girl you brought home except for. . ."
"Shut up."
He went back to staring out the window. It was painfully obvious that his mother had a soft spot for the pink-haired woman. She had been so excited when they became an official couple and so devastated when they separated. His mother had continually tried to convince him to reconcile with Sakura. Sasuke, being of prideful nature, wanted Sakura to be the one who came crawling back. His mother had told him, scolded him, even threatened his life if he wasn't the first to take the initiative of repairing their love life.
She had warned him that he would not only be losing a great woman but his soul mate as well. She had told him that he would regret losing her and suffer in the 'what if' for the rest of his life.
He didn't listen.
And, at the young age of twenty-six, 'what if' had already plagued his mind for five years.
They were almost there.
Just a few more minutes and they would be at his old home where his mother and father waited for him. Knowing that he would have to face the people he abandoned such a long time ago made his stomach prickle with nerves. He had only wanted to see Sakura again but he hadn't planned on bumping into his best friend and that same best friend telling the whole world of his reappearance. He didn't want to come back to his old life, where, at every turn, he would be reminded of her.
The pain flooded his chest at the thought of the pink haired woman.
Had she stopped loving him? At what point did her love for him die? Was he the only one living in the past, loving a woman for years while that same woman found a different love?
He couldn't hold back a whimper.
Yes, there was no doubt that she loved Naruto. She had his child, a child that bounded them for life, for eternity. There was no space in her heart for him anymore. She had moved on but he was still stuck in the same place as five years ago, helplessly in love with the person whose heart he broke.
The car stopped.
They were home.
"Alright." Itachi walked to the front door and stopped before opening the door. "You ready?"
Sasuke walked up the steps without looking at his brother. "Just open the door."
"Sasuke!"
As soon as Itachi opened the front door a woman with the same skin color and hair color as Sasuke came running to him. She flung her arms around her youngest son as she cried into his shoulder.
"Oh dear! I was so worried about you! Gone for years without a peep!" Sasuke wrapped his own arms around his mother's waist which caused her to squeeze him harder. "I was so worried I couldn't sleep!" The woman pulled back but left her arms around Sasuke. He looked at his mother's teary eyes and felt guilt hit his stomach. "You should have seen your father. He hired the best detectives to find you but they couldn't. We thought you- we thought you died." More tears rolled down her pale cheeks. She hid her face in her son's wide chest. "Oh, please don't do this to us again Sasuke. I wouldn't be able to bear it. . ."
"Mother, I'm-" Sasuke began to say but a voice interrupted him.
"You made your mother worry, Sasuke." His black eyes clashed with similar black eyes.
"Father."
The man was standing tall before his son, with his head held up high and his hands behind his back. "Why did you disappear for years and not inform your mother nor I? You left all your responsibilities, everything, you left unattended. That wasn't very wise of you Sasuke."
He felt his mother hug him tighter. "I had my reasons for leaving. I-"
"No reason could have been more important than business." His father stepped closer. He could see anger in the older man's eyes. "It was chaos after you left. Itachi had to be the better man and fix the mess you left behind."
Sasuke pulled away from his mother. His father had hit a nerve by comparing him to his older brother. From the corner of his eye, he could see Itachi stiffen next to him.
"It's always like that with you, isn't it father? I'm never good enough, whatever I do is never good enough. The one time I do something for myself, you dismiss it as one of the biggest mistakes I have ever done."
"Sasuke, honey, please." His mother stepped between them. She glanced at Sasuke then at her husband. "Please. Our baby came back to us all healthy. We should be grateful. Lets not fight."
The man didn't look at his pleading wife but kept staring at his youngest son. "No, Mikoto. Sasuke should know that what he did was wrong. If he was a proper son he wouldn't have done it."
"God damn it!" Sasuke shouted. "You know nothing! You know nothing about what I was going through! How dare you say that!"
He felt hands on his chest pushing him back. "Sasuke relax." Itachi held him in place. He whispered quietly for Sasuke only to hear. "Father doesn't know about your. . . predicament. Now unless you want to tell him like this, I suggest you head to your room to get some rest." He leaned in closer. "Besides, you're making mother sad."
Sasuke looked at his mother who was now crying freely. More guilt. "Fine." He went to his mother to give her a hug. "I'm sorry, mother. Please don't cry."
"This wasn't how I had imagined our family reunion." She whispered against his chest. "But at least we had one." She pulled back and smiled at him. "I'll bring your food to your room."
He nodded and walked to the stairs. He paused at his father's side. "It was not my intention to upset you, father. I was. . . going through a difficult moment in my life. It won't happen again." He managed to catch his father surprised expression before heading to his room.
He didn't lie when he said it wouldn't happen again. Sakura Haruno was the last woman who would ever have the singular pleasure of owning his heart. . . and breaking it as well.
"That. Was. Really good." Naruto brushed his hand up and down Sakura's arm. He grinned. "I think this has to beat that night when we went on vacation to that tropical place."
Sakura sighed as she turned her back to him. "Goodnight, Naruto."
He flinched at her sudden coldness. "Ah, o- okay. Goodnight, Sakura." He quickly rolled to his side so that his back was also to Sakura.
It was strange.
He felt that something was off with his wife.
She was there with him but at the same time she wasn't.
During their love making Sakura had actually taken an active role. When they made love, she never did anything and usually he felt like he was having sex with a human doll. Today was different. She was passionate and he sensed a hunger in her body. It was exactly like the time when they vacationed in the sunny shores.
What was it?
What connect those to events?
Maybe that would explain why was Sakura acting so unlike herself. He replayed their time spent on vacation and could find nothing that was similar. Well, they were both there, that was the same but other than that? He shut his eyes, willing all his brain cells to remember.
Sasuke.
That name rang in his skull for minutes.
Yes! He remembered that he had mentioned to Sakura that he might have seen Sasuke or a Sasuke look-a-like at one of the resorts. They had spent all that day, then the next two afterward searching for their missing friend.
Unfortunately, they found nothing and, if he remember correctly, it had been during that time span when Sakura had turned into a fiery vixen.
Could Sasuke really be the reason why Sakura was so alive?
He shook his head roughly.
No.
Impossible.
Sakura didn't love Sasuke anymore, she had told him that years ago. He slowly turned to face Sakura's back. She had said she stopped loving Sasuke but had she ever said she had started loving him in Sasuke's place?
His breathing became difficult.
She never did say those three words to him, at least he couldn't remember her speaking them. He slid his arm around his wife's slim waist and he pulled himself closer to her. He nuzzled his nose in her soft pink hair.
"I love you, Sakura." He whispered. He felt her move slightly in her sleep. Her breathing was even and he thought that she wouldn't reply.
"I love you, too. . ."
His heart raced. She had finally said those words to him-
"Sasuke."