Disclaimer: I...don't...own...

Warnings: Bromance. AlcoholIndulging! Sasuke.

2: In the Bar

Yesterday when he reported to the hokage's office, Naruto wasn't there. The nanadaime was attending an important conference according to Shikamaru, so Sasuke left immediately without leaving a note.

Now, as he stood outside the office, he could hear the loud, familiar voice of his old friend. He repressed a smirk, and knocked on the door. He did not wait for a reply before he went ahead, opening it and walking inside.

"What do you think you're doing, barging in like that? For all we know, I could be...", the blond hokage was sitting behind his massive desk, his face mostly hidden by pile after pile of documents. "...uh, naked in here?" Obviously, he couldn't seem to come up with another better reason, since his mind was presently occupied with more important matters. However, the joy of greeting his old friend was implied by his glinting blue eyes.

Sasuke turned to Shikamaru. "Please put up a sign outside if that's the case."

Shikamaru grimaced.

"Is our hokage indulging in day-time alcohol?" Sasuke asked suspiciously, noting the thorough messiness in the office.

"Hey, be careful of whom you're addressing to! Show some respect and—Damn! That's a brilliant idea! Let's grab a drink tonight after I finish sorting out all these..." Naruto wiped his hand across a couple of files, sending it flying; he made a miserable face.

"He's too stressed out these days," Shikamaru sighed. "But he insists on browsing through all the paper work himself—"

"Not browsing, reading," Naruto corrected him, burying his face into a notebook now.

"The thing's done," Sasuke cut in simply, referring to his mission.

Naruto glanced up, his eyes lingering on his old friend's face. "Yeah, I know," he smiled. "Thank you, Sasuke. Gokurōsan*."

"It's my job," Sasuke said, turning to leave.

"It's a deal, huh?"

"...What?"

"I'll met you at the bar, then? Nine-thirty sharp."

"Don't be late," was Sasuke's reply.

Sasuke left home shortly after having supper with his wife and daughter. When Sarada asked him to practice shurikenjutsu with her that evening, Sasuke had to tell her to wait until tomorrow. He tried to forget about her disappointed pout when he walked out of the front door.

It was a cool autumn night. At first, Sasuke's casual walk to the bar soothed his racing thoughts. He didn't know why his returning home had become so unsettling. He should feel at ease as he rejoined his family after, what, five months of S-rank mission—that's how any normal people would feel, right?

Something was stirring under his thoughts. The word 'family' caught his attention. He found himself recoiling at some very painful images concerning the word. Once upon a time, he'd had another family, and how much it had wrecked his heart to see...

"You're late," a smug voice wrenched him back from his nightmarish sub-consciousness.

Sasuke looked up, Naruto was leaning against the neon sign of the izakaya** they agreed to meet.

"...Am I?"

"Yeah, you're ten minutes late," Naruto said. "For a ninja with such amazing speed, you certainly has a pace of a snail when you're walking, you know?"

.:.

The clock on the wall said that it was eleven o'clock.

"...Aaaaanyway," Naruto was slurring. They were sitting in the corner of the izakaya, quietly conversing about important and unimportant matters. The dim light of the place and the privacy it offered granted the two prominent men freedom and space to wind down and just be who they used to be. "The last time I was here with Sakura-chan. She was so so drunk, she could barely hold it up—"

"You do realize that it's my wife you're talking about, right?" interrupted Sasuke.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto waved his hand. "It's really like old times, isn't it, Sasuke? Me ramblin' and you bitchin'…you were always bitching, cocky bastard…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"…Sakura is working so hard. It's something to raise a child alone, y'know? She never complains, but that other night, when I was here with her…I could see what's under her mask…She really is a tough woman, huh?..."

"What did she say to you?" Sasuke suddenly asked, in a cold tone.

"Uh…oh?" Naruto straightened himself, as if he all of a sudden recognized the person who sat next to him was Sasuke.

"Nu…nothin'," he muttered. "My head's spinning."

"Let's get you home," Sasuke sighed. This drunk idiot before him being the mighty hokage the seventh was just unbelievable.

"Wait," Naruto held up a hand. "You didn't even finish this glass I poured for you!"

"Naruto, I—"

"Finish it!"

Sasuke really didn't want to argue with the drunken man. He drank down the burning liquid (a full glass of sake), and cleared his throat. Normally, he despised alcohol, but today was one of those days his thoughts had become so heavy that he just wanted to get rid of them, no matter how.

"That's my man," Naruto chuckled. "Now, I wanna ask you something. If you don't wanna answer it, you just gonna drink up this..." He reached for the bottle and poured Sasuke another glass, which the other man's gaze was fuming at.

"I don't want to participate in your silly game."

Naruto grinned in his foxy way. "I don't care. We haven't drink together in, like, ages. And I won't have another chance like this for god knows how long. I'm really really busy y'know. C'mon, bastard."

"You're more sober than I thought," Sasuke remarked darkly.

Naruto sniggered and shrugged. "Jeez. I couldn't believe that Sakura has waited for ya for all this time. You must be really, um, satisfying for her, I guess?"

"...What?" Sasuke growled. Naruto laughed, watching evilly as the man's pale face turned slightly pink.

"After your last mission, I told ya you could have a break. Have you considered it yet?"

Sasuke took a sip of sake. "...It's alright. Just need to recover my strength and I can take off again."

"You don't need to do that. I told ya that you can have a break."

"I don't need one." Sasuke sipped.

"How 'bout Sakura, and Sarada?"

"They'll understand. They know." Sasuke was avoiding Naruto's gaze, even though he knew that the other man was almost completely wasted. His hand clutched the glass.

"...Are you sure?" Naruto asked, his voice suddenly soft.

Sasuke took another sip, and noticed that the glass was already empty. He poured himself another one.

"I wish I could have a break, sometimes," the other man sighed.

"We couldn't turn away from our responsibility, Naruto."

"I offer you a break."

"I turn down your offer."

"Why?"

"Because..." Sasuke paused, and found out that his glass was empty again. Shit.

"C'mon, Sasuke." There was a huge, lopsided smile plastered on Naruto's face. "Be there for them."

"For them..." Sasuke repeated in a mutter. "For whom?"

"You know," Naruto simply laughed huskily. And Sasuke appreciated the man's laughter; it really brought about a tinge of nostalgia, and he allowed himself to smile faintly. Naruto saw it, and smile back at him.

"I'm so glad to see you again," the hokage said.

"Me too, usuratonkachi," Sasuke's smile turned into a typical smirk.

They filled each other's glass again and drank off.

He mumbled an 'I'm home' before he putting his sandals away and stumbling toward the staircase. He felt his way up the stairs because (1) the house was completely dark, and (2) normally that wouldn't have been a problem but (3) he was totally drunk.

Suddenly something crushed into his chest. Something soft and warm and rather small. And that something was now saying, "You're home, Sasuke?"

"Yo...Sakura." Sasuke slurred. Of course the person who crushed into him was his wife, he hadn't know before she spoke...what was he thinking? He didn't live alone anymore.

"You're..." Sakura hesitated. "Drunk?" She gasped in disbelief.

"Either Naruto put something in the drink...or I'm drunk," He said. "Did someone try to ambush me?"

"No," Sakura said. "You're delusional." She started to count the times that Sasuke had been drunk. Naruto's wedding. Their wedding. Once or twice on Team 7's reunion. But Sasuke had only been tipsy then. He was always in control, even if he indulged. Well, she guessed that it couldn't be called indulgence if he hadn't really been drunk.

"Hn," Sasuke chuckled, pleased. "Alcohol...interesting."

Sakura stared at her husband. This was unbelievable. But she somehow found the situation very amusing. Sasuke, pleased? No, you didn't get a chance to see that every so often.

"Oh my god," she shook her head and pulled her husband along the hallway, leading him towards their room.

"What time is it?" Sasuke asked.

"It's 2 a.m.. You don't want to wake Sarada up. She has mission in the morning."

"Alright..."

Sakura closed the bedroom door behind them. The room was already lit, since Sakura had been reading on the bed, waiting for Sasuke to come home. She took in the full view of her very wasted husband. There were...

"Is that mud on your coat?" She quirked an eyebrow.

Sasuke shrugged off the overcoat and plumped himself down heavily on the bed. "...Yeah."

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "How did that happen?"

"I guess...I fell."

The mighty Uchiha Sasuke was drunk and then stumbled his way home. Sakura laughed.

"Very...funny," she managed to say.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke asked, but there was no sull on his face.

"You," Sakura said, looking into his eyes.

Sasuke emitted a sigh with his nose, and met her gaze.

And then he slowly rose up and walked towards her, staggering to be precise.

An inch away, he stopped.

Sakura found herself looking up, suddenly aware of his closeness.

"I..." He began to speak, but the words were instantly lost due to his confused brain.

And he chose to ignore what he had intended to say by lower his head and bumped her lips with his own.

Sakura jumped a little. She didn't see that coming.

The kiss was more like a crash than a gesture of love.

She gladly accepted the gesture anyway.

They lingered for a moment. Sakura broke the silence by asking, "...do you want to take a bath?"

Sasuke didn't bother to think. "No."

"Then perhaps you should change," she motioned for his clothes. "You smell like..." She made a face.

"Ah." A pause. "You smell good though."

Sakura felt heat creeping up her face. And godforsaken she wasn't no girl of eighteen. How could he just say that? ...Oh wait he's wasted.

(She was so gonna force him drunk every night from now on.)

"Are you alright?" was her reply to his compliment. Someone had to remain sober. And she might need to check him for head injuries.

"...No," Sasuke sighed. "My head spins."

She guided him to the bed and maneuvered him to sit down.

"How can you find your way home like this?"

"It had been okay, but then it started to spin really bad."

Great, now her husband suffered vocabulary loss. Or was he really Sasuke at all? …She had been tricked before—well, that was over twenty years ago. She couldn't help but smile at the memory. Naruto disguised as Sasuke to gain her attention, and they almost ended up kissing. Thank God that didn't happen.

Sasuke held his right temple with his hand and groaned lowly. If he really felt that bad, she should probably use medical ninjutsu to help him get better a bit. But, to be honest, she didn't want to. She somewhat enjoyed seeing her husband vulnerable like this. And it was lucky that Sasuke would as likely as not remember nothing from tonight.

He began to fumble with his vest and shirt, trying to get them off, and he grunted in frustration.

"There," Sakura took hold of his wrist gently. "Let me help you."

Sasuke silently consented. He sat still (actually it was a bit aslant, but was still enough for someone loaded) and let Sakura took care of him. He never really had any trouble with one arm nowadays, and he wasn't very sensitive over the matter. Nevertheless, Sakura rarely helped him do anything related to his inconvenience (Sasuke was rarely home anyways). But she guessed it was all right to help him undress.

She removed his glove (which was possibly the main reason why he struggled with buttons) first; his skin was icy where she touched.

"Why are you so cold?" she asked.

Sasuke's eyes were half-lidded, and he didn't seem to hear her question. And then, "…Cold?" he repeated. "Dunno," he said. "I guess it's a habit."

It took a second for Sakura to realize that he'd misunderstood her question. Suddenly she felt both angry and confused. So this was why he had been so detached over the years? Just out of habit?

She sighed and pulled his sleeve off. Though not very muscular, his frame was wiry and solid. She stared at his bare back for a while, studying the blemishes and scars on him. Just as she thought that he might be falling asleep, he uttered, "You're angry."

Sakura blinked. "…What?"

"I said," Sasuke said again, this time more slowly and deliberately. "You're angry."

"…Yeah," she then muttered, not knowing why she had admitted the truth. She was upset by the fact that Sasuke was a cold bastard. She should have known better.

"Sakura," he mumbled, lying down (not even on his pillow, which means that she'd have to drag him to his hide of bed. Sakura rolled her eyes). "...Thank you."

Sakura turned off the light and lay down beside him. She pushed him away to make more room as she snatched the cover from under his body. "Thank me for what?" she finally asked.

"For…everything."

"Yeah, everything is a specific answer," she stated sarcastically.

"Well…for this. For being with me."

"Why did you say that?" Was he unhappy that she stayed with him? Did he find their relationship frustrating, just like she did? And NO, 'frustrating' didn't begin to describe the situation.

But Sasuke didn't give her any answer; instead, he found her arm in the darkness and gently tugged her closer, until she was half on top of him with her arm around his chest.

"...You're still heavy," he muttered. "After all these years." Was he referring to the times when she used to plunge into him against his will like a mad fangirl, when they were still thirteen?

Sakura felt his breaths evened. Her husband had fallen asleep, leaving her to her own thoughts.

This was Sasuke's second night home.

(tbc)

*Gokurōsan: "Cheers for hard work" or "I appreciate your efforts"

**Izakaya: tavern, or bar

A/N: Yay! This chapter is much longer than the last one!

Alcohol just makes people OOC, especially making them truthful and talkative ^^

Some of you asked if this would be a divorce fic or cheating fic. I think that's a question I can answer, and the answer is...NO. I wanted to write this story because I intended to fix things between Sasuke and his family.

As for my update schedule, I'm reeeally not sure about that. If I lay out a strict schedule, I'll feel stressed and reluctant to write XD (I'm such an inert person lol). But literally I'm on summer vacation so I have more free time to update.

And thank you guys for all your f&fs and reviews! Your words are my fuel! I've decided to pump more energy into my lethargic brain and write faster!

And...hahaha I just love this review "Stupid blind sasuke...doesn't he see what's right in front of him? A family!" You're so right Guest! Sasuke got his mangekyou and rinnegan but he still sees nothing TAT what an idiot!

Until next time!

-Teru

p.s. And I just absolutely love it when Sasuke calls Naruto 'usuratonkachi' XD. Shout out if you agree with me! (Or don't coz I'm just being silly lol)