Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Author's Note: Random inspiration again! Yay!
Pretend
She knew he didn't love her. But she liked to pretend he did.
She pretended that every night when he came home from a mission, he would hold her close and kiss her cheek as he whispered, "I'm home." She ignored the fact that he always said "Hn" before he walked off to the bedroom without another word.
She pretended that every morning when she woke up, he was there to say "Good morning". She ignored the fact that he was never in bed when she woke up, even in the early hours of the morning.
She pretended that he was smirking and watching her as she played with their two boys. She ignored the fact that he would say that playing was a waste of time, then took the children off to train with him at the grounds.
She pretended that he brought home flowers for her to place in a vase to be a pretty centerpiece on the kitchen table. She ignored the fact that the flowers came from some fangirl, just waiting for divorce papers to be signed, and he would throw them away as soon as he came in the house.
She pretended that he didn't forget her birthday or their anniversary and offered to take her out to dinner, leaving the kids to stay with Uncle Naruto and Aunt Hinata. She ignored the fact that he would only say "Happy birthday" or "Happy anniversary" before asking "What's for dinner tonight?"
She pretended that he held her when she cried over the stillbirth of their third child, a little girl. She ignored the fact that he only wiped away her tears quickly with his thumb, muttering "One day" before walking off to ask for a mission.
She pretended that he would dance with her on boring nights when a soft song played on their radio. She ignored the fact he would turn off the radio as the song came on, then walked off into the kitchen to grab a tomato.
She pretended that on cold nights he held her to keep her warm. She ignored the fact that all he did was cover her up with another blanket before turning away.
She pretended that every night he said "I love you too" when she expressed the words. She ignored the fact that all he said was "Hn. Night."
She pretended that she wasn't crying on the bathroom floor, her boys outside of the closed door with sad and confused expressions on their seven-year-old faces as one spoke a gentle "Mommy?" She pretended that tears weren't streaming down her cheeks when she stood and left the room, smiling at her boys before offering to make their favorite dinner that night.
She liked to pretend she was happy. She ignored the fact that she was miserable and how much her heart ached every time she saw her husband walk through the door.
"Daddy?"
Sasuke looked up at the twins, "Daisuke, Fugaku? What is it?"
"It's Mommy..." Daisuke started.
"She's crying in the bathroom again," Fugaku finished.
He looked at them for a moment, "Why?" The boys shrugged their shoulders.
"She said something about how she hates to pretend she's happy," Fugaku said, sitting down on the couch. "She said that she wished that someone said he loves her too," Daisuke added as he followed his brother's example.
"Someone? Who?" Sasuke asked. Again the boys shrugged their shoulders, "She just said he."
With a sigh he stood up and walked towards the bathroom, noticing the closed door and hearing the quiet and whimpering sobs on the other side. He rapped the back of his hand on the door, "Sakura?"
"O-one moment!"
Two minutes past before Sakura opened the door, tears not streaming down her face but the trails and signs were still there. "Sorry I took it up for so long--" she tried to say before Sasuke grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the bedroom. Once inside, he let her go and closed the door, leaning against it with arms across his chest.
"You're not happy, aren't you?"
"Wh-what are you talking about? Of course I am!"
"Don't lie to me, Sakura."
"I'm not."
"Then why did Fugaku tell me that you hate to pretend you are?" he asked, onyx eyes staring at his shaking wife, knowing full well that she was trying to get away with lying.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I am happy," Sakura said, "Now if you could open up the door, I can go and clean up the dishes from dinner and get the washer going before the kids go to bed." He refused to move, "The dishes can wait. Sakura...what's wrong? Why are you crying like this?"
She could only stare at him for a few moments before her tears formed again and she fell to her knees in the middle of their bedroom floor. "Sakura? What is it?" Sasuke asked, almost in a bit of a panic as he tore away from the door and knelt down beside her.
"Do you know how much it hurts...to have to pretend that every night that your spouse loves you?"
"What are you--"
"I know that you don't love me, Sasuke-kun."
He stared at her, surprised by her bluntly-put statement. "I can tell by your actions," she continued, "I can tell by how you never say "I'm home" after a mission, or how I wake up and you're never there. I can tell by how you tell me that playing is a waste of time and take Daisuke and Fugaku to train. I can tell by how fangirls still give you flowers, or just saying a "happy birthday" to me before asking for dinner, and how you walked away after we lost our daughter. I can tell by how you turn off the radio during a romantic song, or how you just grab a blanket and toss it over me when I'm cold. I can tell by how you...never say that you love me too."
Tears fell fast down her cheeks and she sobbed into her hands, the noise echoing throughout the closed room. He only watched as his wife let out her sorrows into her wet hands, shocked by the revelation she had told him.
"Sakura..." he muttered before wrapping his arms around her, "Don't cry anymore." She gasped and looked up at him in shock.
"I walk away to change, as I don't want to get you dirty. You're more beautiful when your cheeks aren't marred with dirt. I always wake up early to train so I can get home early to see you. I love seeing you in the evening as you're making dinner; it makes me feel comfortable and at peace."
He brushed a hand through her short pink hair, "When I take the kids away to train, I take them to the park and play with them as I never have the time to thanks to all the missions. When I bring home flowers, I throw them away as they're already dead before I can bring them home to you."
He looked down at her and brushed his thumbs over her cheeks, wiping away her falling tears, "I always ask what's for dinner as you always make something special on those nights. I like staying home with you and the kids on nights like that. When we lost our baby, I walked away to create a gravestone with the Uchiha symbol on it for her, and buried her myself next to the graves of my parents."
His lips touched her forehead, "I turn off the radio because I rather dance with you when the mood is right, when you're dressed up and smiling with excitement. I give you a blanket because whenever you're cold, I am too. You should get all the extra warmth you need."
He smiled, a true and special smile, as he bent his head and his lips neared hers, "And every night, when I know you're asleep, I always say that I love you with all my heart."
Sakura smiled as he closed the gap between them. She knew that from that point on she didn't have to pretend.
She knew then that he loved her.