Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters

This is a long chapter, but I had to finish their... argument... sooo, i went over my word limit. :] Anyways, thank you all for the reviews, they made me smile and grin and whatnot. And even though that chapter was depressing (and, probably many more to follow will be depressing) I'm glad you all are enjoying it! Enjoy

The morning came slowly, Sakura's eyes opening slowly as the sun shone down on them. She looked over to her husband, sleeping peacefully, his eyes closed in curved slits. I wish he could always look this peaceful… she mused, passing her hand across his face gently—something she would never do if he was awake. Sakura hadn't the nerve. She sighed when she heard her husband breathe out an annoyed groan as he grumpily woke up. "What," he spat, clearly not interested in waking up.

"Nothing…" Sakura mumbled, slipping out of bed halfheartedly. Sasuke only grunted turning away once again to try to return to his slumber, which tended to be harder after being disturbed by a certain someone. I can't wait until they start calling him in for morning missions… Sakura ground her teeth, thoroughly set in a bad mood already by her husband's selfish behavior. It was happening again—just like she thought.

As she began to dress, Sakura tried to drive the thoughts out of her mind, but only found that she was constantly feeding them. It always has to be him that's going to be in a good mood if anything gets done! Yup, always Sasuke Uchiha, king of the freakin' world! She couldn't help the sarcastic, enraged smile from spreading on her lips as she began to dress to head for the hospital. It wasn't fair. Sasuke always had his way—he always got his way.

Even last night, when they "pushed aside" their differences so that they could sleep peacefully, it was his way. He never had to apologize for anything—and he was the one that needed to apologize. She hadn't done anything. It was him who didn't tell her that he was going to be late. It was him who didn't think it was necessary to say hello to his wife when he came home. Maybe everything is about you, Sasuke. She looked over at her husband as if he could hear her mental rant. Just not in the way you wish it was. She completed her musings as she strode out the door, making her way to the hospital already in a sour mood.

Both the doctors and the nurses cleared out of Mrs. Uchiha's way at the hospital. Everyone could tell when she was having a bad day, and today was one of those days. Her peers missed the smile that used to come on her face whenever she came into the office, or when someone would simply ask "How's Sasuke?" Now, if they ever asked that, all they got was a sour frown and a nasty retort. People assumed it was small bickering from the early morning that would set them off, but then the couple would be happy in the evening again. They were all, of course, ignorant to the true facts.

Sakura swallowed hard, tapping her manicured nails on a desk. She was at work. It was time to think about work things, not about her husband, but he wouldn't leave her mind. She thought back to how he had touched her face the previous day—that gently, soft caress that she hadn't felt since they had been dating. Sakura brought her hand up to her pale cheek, finding herself repeating his action before she could stop herself. "Ugh!" She threw her hands up in the air.

"Something wrong?" Hinata, the former Hyuga, knocked on the office door with an elegant smile adorning her face. After her marriage to her beloved Naruto, Hinata began to work for the hospital to aid operation sequences with her Byakugan. Sakura looked over to her best friend, a legitimate smile spreading on her lips. There was finally someone who could help her think about something other than Sasuke.

"Hi, Hinata," Sakura gave her a short hug in greeting. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," the pinkette lied, simply trying to get off the subject. Sasuke was the absolute last thing she wanted to talk about. All she would do is involve Hinata in things that she probably didn't want to think about. The new Uzumaki was having a dream life with Naruto, and Sakura didn't want to ruin that with her own marital problems. Hinata frowned at the pinkette.

"Sakura, I know you're not fine…" she frowned as she spoke warily. Sometimes Sakura wondered if the Byakugan allowed the Hyuga to see into the mind as well as everywhere around them. "Naruto and I were talking yesterday—um, about you and Sasuke…?" Her voice trailed off. Sakura eyed Hinata carefully. Did she know? Was it really that obvious that they had been arguing for awhile? "Naruto said Sasuke told him that you two were arguing—"

"Sasuke said what?" Sakura clenched her teeth. That was not something he should just go around telling everyone! Who did that man think he was? Oh, was he ever in for a surprise on her lunch break. She was going to call him, and that was that. He was not going to go around telling all his guy friends that he and Sakura were arguing—that was just immature and bratty and out of line.

"S—Sakura, calm down," Hinata urged her in a gentle voice. "I want to talk to you about it… because, despite all appearances, Naruto and I are having our own fair share of marital problems…" her voice trailed off when Sakura's entire demeanor changed. Tears streamed down the pinkette's cheeks—hot tears, both angry and saddened.

"Hinata, you don't know what he treats me like," her voice shook. "It's torture—he's nothing like he was when we were dating—I just should've listened to Ino… I just should've…" her voice was cut off by sobs as she cried into her hands. Hinata placed her arm around Sakura's shoulder, frowning pitifully at the mourning newlywed. Her sentences were becoming more and more incoherent, but Hinata stuck to what she could understand.

"Sakura, no… don't say that you should've listened to Ino—not ever," Hinata warned her. "You know you love Sasuke… you both just need to work through this…" Sakura pulled away from Hinata and headed for the door, looking back only to say:

"Hinata, I'm sorry, but… you just can't understand."

His cell phone rang in his ears with what should have been his alarm, but it was a phone call from that Dobe. It was early—too early for him, anyways. And as far as he knew, it wasn't time for any missions. So picking up the phone was out of the question. Sasuke threw his pillow over his ears and attempted to muffle out the ringing, but it just seemed to get louder and louder. "Shut up…" he mumbled an order to the inanimate object, knowing it wouldn't listen. The last ring went off, and Sasuke sighed in peace, slowly drifting back off to sleep.

Ring, ring, ring!

The phone was ringing again?! It's just like that Dobe to spam call! Sasuke fumed in his mind, snatching his cell phone off his night desk and picking it up. "The heck do you want? It's early," he spoke curtly on the phone, trying to get as far away as possible from idle conversation.

"Sasuke, wake up, this is important," Naruto said seriously from the other line, but it was hard to take the blonde seriously with that scratchy voice of his. The raven sat up slowly, propping himself with his free hand.

"I'm up; what?"

"I want to finish talking to you about your arguments—" Sasuke hung up the phone, turning it on silent.

"Not interested," he retorted, acting as if Naruto could hear his snide remark. I knew I should've let him believe whatever he wanted to… Sasuke mentally rebuked himself for telling the Dobe anything at all. It's not as if he could actually understand what's going on anyways. 'He treats Hinata like a queen'. He spat in his mind, recalling the words that Sakura had said when comparing him to that blonde idiot.

Sasuke sighed. Sure, Naruto was an idiot, but at least he was happy. Maybe Sakura's right. He quickly shook the thought out of his mind. What was there for her to be right about? That Naruto was better than him? Gee, thanks, go get the guy into polygamy then, I don't give a freakin' crap! Sasuke slammed his head back down onto his pillow, but he wasn't tired anymore. He was about as far from tired as you could get.

Maybe he wasn't entirely miserable. Maybe—maybe Sakura was right that he should give a little, but what was there to give? The only thing she was giving was orders; did she want him to do that too? Sasuke looked back to his phone and held it in his hand, staring at the blank screen. Maybe I should call her… He quickly drove the thoughts out of his mind. That's not something he wanted to talk over the phone; it should be in person. That's where all their "conversations" should take place: face to face.

After tossing the phone back onto his night table, Sasuke slipped out of bed, going into his side of the closet to grab his anbu outfit. If he got a mission early he might be able to avoid Naruto for the rest of the day; it would save him a long lecture of "Why-not-to-hang-up-on-an-Uzumaki" or some creative title like that. Once dressed, Sasuke styled his bangs out of his face so the loose pieces of hair hung on either side, framing his facial features with regality.

The raven made his way to the Hokage's Residence and up into Tsunade's office, his face grim. It took a bit of staring to tell whether or not Sasuke was in a bad mood—that is, unless you were Naruto or Sakura, who could tell in a heartbeat. And just like his wife, Sasuke was in a bad mood, and when Sasuke was in a bad mood, he liked to occupy his time with something productive. That's when he would go to work and do more missions than what was required of him. It rid his mind of the circumstances, making him focus only on the now: the now in the mission.

"Tsunade," he addressed the Hokage, who snapped her head up at him and glared. The lack of respect curled her lip every time.

"You're ready for your missions?" Sasuke nodded, giving no audible response. Before Tsunade could begin handing Sasuke the mission slips, Naruto barged into the room, clad in his anbu outfit.

"Now he's ready!" The blonde darted beside the raven, looking up at him with a slight scowl. Sasuke grunted, but inside he was ranting. He had wanted to be alone, but now he got something far worse than even the opposite of alone: he got Naruto. Tsunade rolled her eyes and gave Sasuke a mission slip.

"There's rogue ninja in the area. I want you to take them out. Understood—"

"Is that it?" He interrupted. That was the only mission?

"Excuse me?" The Hokage stared at him dangerously. Sasuke, unfazed, looked her straight in the eyes.

"Is that it?" He repeated, his tone more commanding. Naruto looked over at the raven, already telling that he was in a bad mood. He wanted as much work as possible, but what he needed was a few minutes to talk to someone about his problems—which was exactly what Naruto was trying to do for him.

"Yes. Now go, before they go back into hiding," Tsunade ordered, shooing the two anbu with her hand and returning to her paper work… or gambling. Whichever she was doing didn't really matter if she was sitting in her desk. Sasuke took it begrudgingly, wishing he had five mission slips instead of one. After a quick clenching of his jaw, the raven strode out of the office, Naruto following after him.

"Honestly, Neji, training should never be so intense that someone ends up in the hospital," Sakura warned her patient, shaking her head as she finished bandaging his arm. Neji nodded solemnly, his eyes focused on the wall opposite of him. "Besides, Tenten called the hospital—she sounded like she was a frantic mess…"

"She worries too much," Neji said thoughtfully, but there was a smile on his lips as he spoke. Sakura flinched, deciding not to make a comment. It seemed that everyone's relationships were just going better than hers, weren't they? Hinata and Naruto got married, Tenten and Neji were engaged, Ino and Shikamaru were dating—everything was going perfect with everyone but her and Sasuke. What's so different? She mused, chewing her bottom lip as she fought the tears coming on.

No, not now. She was at work. It was time to think about work—not Sasuke. She could think about Sasuke later—on her lunch break, when she would call him and tell him off about how he so immaturely told Naruto that they had been arguing. It should have been understood that they wouldn't tell anyone about that, but no, Sasuke just did whatever he wanted.

In fact, even if she had directly told him not to tell anyone, he more than likely still would have done it just to go against what she said. That's just how he is. She spat in her mind, finishing the final wrappings on Neji's arm. "There you go, all done. Be more careful next time—and don't use that arm until it's fully recovered." Neji nodded and slipped off the seat as he put his shirt back on.

"I'll be sure to tell Tenten I'm all right." Those words stabbed Sakura's heart. Neji would be sure to tell his girlfriend what was going on with him, but Sasuke wouldn't so much as tell his wife "hello" when he came home. Neji cared about Tenten. Sasuke didn't care about her… Did he? It certainly doesn't feel like it… she mused, sighing a quick breath of air out of her lungs.

Neji had already departed by the time she looked up. Returning to her office, Sakura looked at her clock, a frown curving her lips downward. Her eyelids shut as she thought back to their argument of the previous day:

"Don't boss me around," he would say.

"Then stop being such an idiot about everything!" Probably not the smartest thing that she ever retorted.

"Are we going to start insulting now? Because that's when I know this is going nowhere," his response was in that cool, smooth tone that she hated when he used it for arguments.

"Stop talking to me like I'm a child!"

"Then stop acting like one!" That was when he snapped. It always had to be that she was the child right? Was he really that bitter? It hurt, and it brought out her own bitterness that he was never supposed to hear:

"Why can't you be more like Naruto? He actually cares about Hinata…"

Sakura sighed harshly, leaning her face in her hands. Sasuke wasn't supposed to hear that; it was supposed to stay in her heart, never to be heard by anyone. She knew what she said was wrong, which is why she didn't want to answer, but she knew that was a question that Sasuke wanted an answer to the most: why did she say that? What had compelled her to compare him to another man?

That's right… She mused bitterly, biting her bottom lip harshly, as she recalled their very first argument—the argument on the last day of their honeymoon. Sakura felt her heart rate quicken as her blood boiled in anger, shutting her eyes tightly to think of anything else but that. It was something both angering and depressing that it could fuse hot and cold tears to stain her cheeks. She didn't want that. She was at work.

Sakura twirled a pink strand of hair around her index finger, shaking her mind of thoughts that would cause her to be even more defocused on her work. The fact was that nothing was changing until someone gave in. There was no room for compromise—it was either her way, or Sasuke's way. That's how it always had been, and that's how it would always stay.

Only, she was sick of letting him get his selfish, impassive, uncaring way that benefitted no one but himself. It pleased him and him alone, but that was what that self-centered Uchiha cared about: himself. I'm just some pawn to him that's not following his stupid game. She stuck the thought into her mind, nurturing it and making the lie seem more and more true as she fed it with what she considered worthy facts. After all, if he did care, she would be able to hear an "I love you" every now and then from him, wouldn't she?

Sasuke descended on the man lithely, slitting his throat without a second thought, his eyes cold and impassive. The rogue ninja lay lifeless on the floor after a short grunt of his last breath. The raven removed himself from hovering over the man, kicking the dead body on the opposite side and beginning to strip him of money and documents fastened to his waist. "What're you doing, Sasuke?" Naruto questioned harshly, grabbing the man by his shoulders. The blonde wasn't enjoying the cold show Sasuke had been putting on for hours now: it was as if human life meant nothing.

"Taking them out," he repeated the Hokage's command mockingly, tearing a second money pouch from the rogue ninja's waist.

"Don't play stupid, baka!" Naruto yelled, punching the raven flat on his face. "You hang up on me, you march into grandma Tsunade's office demanding missions, and then you come out here killing like a robot! What's your problem? Meet reality and stop brooding and open your freakin' mouth!" He couldn't take it anymore. Sasuke being quiet: sure, that was fine, when it wasn't like this.

The merciless silence that the raven would attain when something was bothering him so much that the reality of a heartless killer seemed more appealing than the life of a Konoha ninja was unsettling. Naruto knew he wasn't really like that, and that this façade was based on anger, depression, confusion, and hurt. Four things that Sasuke would never explain, but he would have to try to pry them from the stoic's mouth. "What's my problem?" His voice was in a clear tone, even and yet having a slight shake that portrayed his anger in bone chilling resonances.

"That's what I asked!" Naruto played it off, jerking his head to the side as if he heard something. Sasuke's eyes veered towards that direction, feeling more comfortable speaking when he wasn't facing the other party of the conversation.

"I don't know," he mumbled simply, looking back down at the dead man as if trying to recall exactly how he had ended up dead. When had the skirmish occurred? When had he slit his throat? Did he say any last words? Naruto did know—the basic idea of it, anyways. He hadn't the slightest clue of the intricate details.

"You're thinking about Sakura, aren't you?" He mumbled, crouching beside his best friend and looking up into the onyx eyes; they were focused on the man, but blurred with fantasy rather than reality. He was lost in his thoughts, trying to recall how he got where he was. It was almost as if he was drunk on his anger, and now he was having a hangover, trying to remember missing facts. "What happened with you guys?" The words snapped the raven back into reality and he stood up to his feet, throwing the money back on the dead man's body, but keeping the documents clenched in his grasp.

"I don't think about her when I'm at work," he spat coldly, lying through his teeth as he rolled the paper and slipped it into a pack strapped on his back. Naruto watched him, anger twitching his eyes. The blonde didn't like being lied to, and he especially didn't like being lied to by his best friend of all people.

"Nothing will change if you avoid everything—come to work and ignore her existence, stay sleeping in the morning so you don't have to see her face, staying up late at night just to make her feel guilty—"

"You don't know anything," Sasuke's voice shook as he grabbed Naruto by his collar, tossing him onto a nearby tree loosely. "So shut your mouth and stay out of it," he ordered, clenching his teeth menacingly. Naruto did not understand, and like heck would he ever. No one would—not even his wife could understand, and she was supposed to.

"How do you think you're making her feel, huh?! Or did the genius not think that far yet?" Naruto's lip curled in anger as he clenched his fists at his sides. His aqua eyes stared at Sasuke's without hesitance or fear, just a clear boldness that proved he wasn't afraid of him. The best way to make Sasuke blow up and say how he really felt was mocking him. His answers would cease to be logical and he would finally portray emotion.

"Then maybe I'm not a freakin' genius!" He yelled back, threateningly raising his fist to Naruto, causing the blonde to flinch only slightly as they never lost eye contact. "And do you think I want it to be like this? We're both miserable not just her! But guess what? You don't know one freakin' d!#$ thing so shut-your-mouth!" He ordered once more, not finding it within himself to punch the blonde directly. He landed his fist right beside the other's face, the bark of the tree cracking in response.

Naruto stared at him, swallowing a growing lump in his throat. He slowly raised his fist and past it right by the face of the raven, earning him a confused glare. "That's what it feels like, to have your best friend's fist this close to your face." The blonde said seriously, pinching his lips together. They were fighting—attacking each other with words and actions; had it registered into Sasuke's mind?

Sasuke clenched his teeth, lowering his fist and stepping away from Naruto. He ran his fingers through his charcoal mess of hair and breathed out a harsh sigh from his lungs. Right now, it wasn't the time to continue arguing. He needed to calm down before he seriously lost his mind.

Sakura never found it within herself to call Sasuke during her lunch break. She didn't want to get into an argument over the phone, which she was sure that argument would last more than an hour, and be thinking over it for the rest of her time at work. That was just asking for her to mess up with some patient that she would be dealing with.

Her strides homeward were weak and weary. She was exhausted over the long day at the hospital, and her head was throbbing with a majority of thoughts. A groan eased from her lips as she imagined her home, full of stress and arguments. Peace did not exist in this world, she concluded.

By the time she arrived in their home, it seemed as if Sasuke had come before her. Good, so I don't have to wait for him, she mused, tossing her keys in a basket after locking the house door. Sakura jogged up the stairs to find her husband reading silently at the desk, massaging his temples with his index finger and his thumb. Sakura cleared her throat to gain his attention, but he didn't so much as turn her way. "Excuse me," she said in a sweet voice, clearly underlined with sarcasm. Sasuke spared her a glance, giving her a "what" expression. Sakura stared at him: he would talk before she would continue.

Sasuke stared back at her, his eyes dull. He wasn't in the mood for this game. She got his attention, and "excuse me" wasn't a question when you said it like that. So if she wanted to talk so much, then she should have enough decency to finish her thought. Sakura pinched her lips together at his actions. It was as if he had forgotten he could speak English and constantly had to "resort" to looks and body language, which she absolutely abhorred.

The staring continued, never wavering, until anger began to boil in both of their minds. They both wanted to other to speak first, and they both didn't want to give in. No, rather, they both thought they shouldn't have to give in, because they had given in enough in previous circumstances. So there they stared, nothing getting accomplished.

The phone rang and broke their silence, Sakura breaking eye contact to glance at the landline on Sasuke's desk. He too, stared at it as if it were some foreign object. "Are you going to answer it, or is it too advanced for you, cave man?" Sakura mocked, referring back to how he never spoke. Sasuke clenched his teeth together, sending a harsh glare in her direction.

"I don't know what's so 'cave man' about waiting for you to finish your sentence," he retorted, refocusing his eyes to look into hers. Their staring began once again as they ignored the phone ringing in their ears; that is, until the answering machine got it: "Sasuke, it's Tsunade—you're Hokage? Yeah, I know you know the number and if you don't—" Sasuke reached over reluctantly and answered.

"I'm busy, what do you want?" He snapped into the mouth piece. Sakura's eyes widened at his rude behavior towards her former teacher and both their leader. She crossed her arms over her chest, her lip curling in anger. He has no consideration for anyone! She fumed. When Sasuke hung up the phone without so much as a "good bye", the pinkette threw her hands up in a rage.

"You self-centered, egoistic, impassive jerk! Are you serious?!" Sasuke hated when she spat her "list" at him. A quick "tch" grunted from his lips. He wasn't in the mood to sit there and be insulted while giving her his attention, so he turned back to his book, engrossing himself in it. Sakura gawked at him in disbelief, but retaliated by snatching the book from the desk and tossing it elsewhere, not caring where it landed. "I asked you a question!"

Sasuke stared at her, his eyes dancing in flames of a growing infuriation. Did she really just have the nerve to grab the book that he was clearly reading and throw it off to the side? He clenched his fist, resisting the want to slam his fist on the desk. "It sounded rhetorical," he snapped through his teeth, his eyes never wavering.

"Well how about this then?" Sakura changed the subject, returning to her original goal: "Why did you tell Naruto that we were arguing? That's absolutely none of his business."

"You think I don't know that?" He practically cut her off as he snapped an answer at her. "I told him because he was acting as if he could understand, if you must know," he added sarcastically, a glint of annoyance hanging in his onyx orbs.

"I thought I told you to stop treating me like a child," she seethed through clenched teeth.

"That's funny, because I told you to stop acting like one, and yet here we are," the placidity in his voice wasn't making anything better. Sakura already had a short fuse after dealing with work.

"Don't talk to me like that, please," the please was only added to appease his ego. Sakura tapped her index finger on her arm and stared at him impatiently. They always tended to veer away from the real subject when they started arguing. "Can you just keep everything that happens here: here? Is that really too much to ask?" She lifted her arms in a gesture of frustration, her voice shaking as she tried to control her anger.

"As if things happen here," Sasuke gave her a look so that she knew exactly what he was talking about. Sakura flinched a bit, but only to meet his eyes once again in a raging battle of dancing fire.

"Are you still bitter about that?" She spat, crossing her arms once again.

"It's not bitterness; you're being unrealistic," he snapped, not liking her tone one bit. He continued before she could cut him off. "You're my freakin' wife—there's nothing 'obscene' about sex."

"With the way you do it? Oh yes, it's obscene," she nodded her head with a tight smile, allowing him to soak in the rage she was portraying with sarcasm. "And you know what 'things' I was talking about, Sasuke Uchiha," she called him by his full name, her face returning to its serious state.

"We don't always have to talk about what you want to talk about," he grumbled, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I could say the same to you," she barely waited for him to finish, already knowing what he was going to say. He was being antagonistic—as if he wanted this argument to drag out longer than it really had to. It was either that, or he really was just in a venting mood.

Sasuke chose not to answer her. Yes, he did want to talk about the things that he wanted to talk about—because the things he wanted to talk about would actually accomplish more than a petty argument like the things she wanted to talk about. It was almost as if she enjoyed coming home to this misery, and Sasuke hated it. He hated coming home expecting another argument. He hated coming home seeing her smile while she was outside completely disappear.

He pinched his lips together, standing up from the desk and grabbing his cell phone. "Where are you going?" Sakura asked him, stepping in front of the doorway. Sasuke just looked at her.

"Out," he said simply.

"Running away?" She reworded his one word sentence with a tinge of subdued annoyance lingering in her voice. He clenched his jaw.

"A walk."

"Oh, I'm sorry," she squinted her eyes sardonically. "I should have guessed you wanted to go talk to Naruto better," she stepped out of his way begrudgingly and strode to the bed, plopping inside in and resting her head on the pillows.

"Shut it," he ordered before he stepped out, purposely slamming the door behind him before he left. Sometimes, he just hated how she knew him so well, but he did indeed leave to call Naruto. As much as he didn't want to speak with that Dobe again after what happened on their mission, he couldn't stand another minute in the same room as his wife. Oh, the irony.

Sakura lay in bed with a distasteful frown on her lips. Her eyes shut tightly as her mind recapped their argument. She fought the tears filling up her eyes, not wanting to cry for the same man who had exposed private details of their marriage to someone else, but she couldn't help but see it the way it was: her husband was so upset with her he didn't even want to see her face, and there was nothing she could do about it.

The night grew dark, and Sasuke didn't return until his wife was already sleeping soundly, tears still staining her pale cheeks.

OooO

Gah... They are so depressing... If I'm ruining anyone's day, gomen'nasai. :s Oh, and someone mentioned something about a chapter to explain the argument that started all this- that will be coming in the future. Maybe the next chapter, I don't know I'm not sure yet.. :o But! Lol don't worry I won't leave that little fact dangling. Arigatogozaimasu for all your support. And don't forget to R&R!

InaGaTa