a/n: Thanks for the reviews, and hopefully your weekend is going great so far, lovely people!

twenty-one.

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Tenten stood on the doorway and surveyed her living room.

Comfortable pillows, check. Two boxes of Kleenex, check. Strawberry cheesecake ice cream, check. In the middle of it all, sitting on the couch with her eyes glued to the TV screen, was Sakura, folding her knees to her chest and looking very, very miserable indeed.

"Sakura…" Tenten made her way to the couch, dropping her bag carelessly on the floor and extending her arms to hug her housemate, her eyebrows creasing in worry. "Oh, Sakura, dear god, what happened?"

Sakura made no move to pull away. Instead, she buried her head on Tenten's shoulder, sniffing soundly in the most undignified manner. After the cursed lunch with Sasuke, she had returned to the office and managed to work her ass off for the rest of the day. By the time dinner came, though, she was already too exhausted to start her lesson with Ougi, and much to her surprise and gratitude, the latter dismissed her. Apparently there was no use trying to learn when she had her mind of other things—which was pretty much the understatement of the year, really. She had spent every waking moment thinking about what happened today, being unable to take her mind off it even for a second. As soon as she got home, Sakura set up a comfort camp on the living room, planning to spend the rest of the night watching Friends reruns and moping alone. It had been three hours since she started on Friends, and she had calmed down.

The worst had passed by, at least.

"The better question is who happened," Sakura mumbled into Tenten's arms, "God, Tenten, it was so terrible. He didn't believe me at all!"

"What happened?" Tenten frowned, "Who didn't believe you?"

"Sasuke happened," Sakura drew away, trying to stop her nose from running. She grabbed a sheet of Kleenex and blew into it, tossing it with maximum accuracy into the rubbish bin she had conveniently placed close to her feet when she realized her crying episode was about to start. She looked at Tenten and began telling her housemate about what happened today, going into as much detail as she could.

Tenten's expressions had changed from startled, to confused, to surprised, and then, when Sakura had finished, completely enraged. "What the fuck?" she glared at their coffee table, "What the fuck? He didn't believe you? How could he have been so stupid?"

Sakura gave a weak smile. "I think he was just being… yeah."

"Being what? Being what, exactly, Sakura?"

"Cautious. His company is threatened, after all, and I think he's just… really stressed at the moment."

"Well that's no excuse!" Tenten exclaimed, looking very incensed, and when Sakura opened her mouth, she held up a finger, "No. Don't you dare defend him, Sakura. You and I both know—yes, you know—that what he did was wrong. He was rude, he was cruel, and he doubted you while you have never shown any kind of betrayal towards him! He's just—he's just—oh, God, I just want to skewer him alive right now!"

"Tenten—"

"Okay, so even if he had the right to be cautious, that does not excuse how terrible he behaved, how awful he had treated you—"

"Tenten—"

"And why," the romance novelist glared at Sakura, "And why, pray tell, are you so calm about this? You should be angry! You should be mad! You have every right to! Are you not angry at all?"

"I am," Sakura said, and when Tenten looked unconvinced, repeated, "I am, honestly. But I'm just so tired."

"Tired of what?"

"I don't know." She shot her housemate a rueful look. "Everything?"

Tenten bit her lip and hugged Sakura once more.

"It's like… I don't know. I don't know how I feel. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel, really. I've always thought… I've always thought that he trusts me enough, you know… I've always thought that it doesn't matter what family I come from," she muttered, massaging her temple slowly as she leaned back, tipping her head up to look at the ceiling. "But apparently it does. So much. Fucking coincidence."

"Sakura…" Tenten sighed. It was a little unlike Sakura to swear. "I really don't want to contradict you or anything, but… but honestly, love, he misunderstood you and he never cared to hear your side of the story."

"But that's Sasuke, you see," Sakura smiled wanly, "That's so him. He's abrupt."

And she was right. Sasuke was abrupt. Their very first meeting had been evidence enough; he thought she was a gold digger. Even after they had made that deal he'd still keep some distance from her all the while telling her the truth and whatnot.

Until, well… until that night.

Sakura groaned. "Oh, goodness, I can't believe we slept together."

"What did you just say?" Tenten's eyes widened when Sakura didn't reply, "Oh, god. How? When? Where? Wait, wait, don't answer that, I don't want to know the details—I just… what?"

"About two or three weeks ago," Sakura whimpered, trying to push certain images away from her unfaithful brain.

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

"Two or three weeks ago," she muttered, "And now we're not even talking." All of a sudden, Sakura wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh hysterically or weep like a miserable wreck. Maybe even both. "Ironic."

Tenten looked at her scornfully. "You'd think that someone like him would have been a little more level-headed."

She sighed, wanting to deny it but knowing that she had every reason not to. "I suppose. Although it's… it's not his fault, really. It's mine."

"Why?"

"Because… I should have told him as soon as possible. As soon as I could." She bit her lip. "It's our deal. It was our deal. To be honest with each other." Before Tenten could respond, she groaned. "Oh, God, if only I've told him that I'm a Miyazawa from the very start—"

"What would have happened if you've told him?" Tenten interrupted. "Could it make anything better? At the time you found out, has he found out about his own company and what's at stake? Let's look at this carefully. You have to admit that he's so quick to jump to conclusions. Too quick, in fact," she bit out fiercely, "especially when he did not tell you that the Miyazawa's is going to buy the Uchiha's. Did he tell you, Sakura?"

"I don't… no. He never did."

"So he's never been completely honest with you, too, has he?"

"Well…" Sakura looked bewildered at the realization. She had never quite thought of it that way. She bit her lip and admitted, "No, I suppose not."

"And this means that it's also his fault, doesn't this?" Tenten continued.

"I… really?"

"Of course!" Tenten shook her head disbelievingly. "Of course it's also his fault, Sakura. You'd have told him if he told you that the Miyazawa's is the one who's gonna buy his company. And don't try to protest!" she raised her finger firmly, her eyes fierce, "I know you, Sakura, I know what you're like. You wouldn't have been able to stay quiet!"

"It does look like too much of a coincidence, though…" Sakura trailed off helplessly.

Tenten crossed her arms across her chest and demanded, "Well, would he have told you if you tell him first you're a Miyazawa?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" She shrugged. "He's pretty honest about everything else. I think. Except," her gaze darkened, "Except he might have wanted to keep it to himself."

"Ah, and why would he?"

"He doesn't want me to get worried. Didn't. Doesn't. Didn't."

Tenten ignored the hesitation at the end of the phrase. "And why didn't you tell him earlier?"

"Because I don't want him to get worried…" Sakura trailed off, starting to see light in their question and answer session. "Oh…"

"Yes," Tenten agreed, "Oh, indeed. This is just really a big fat misunderstanding. An extreme example of one, really."

"One that cannot be solved easily." Sakura's voice was glum.

"No," Tenten concurred, "Perhaps not. But you have to admit that it's not only his fault, nor is it only your fault. It takes two for a relationship to work, Sakura, and in the same fashion it also takes two to create a misunderstanding. Okay?"

"Okay," Sakura replied, and then looked at Tenten in admiration, "Wow, Tenten. What would I do without you?"

"You would mope for days, completely forgetting that this should be looked at objectively. You would also gain weight from eating too much junk food and ice-cream," she gestured at their coffee table, which was quite correctly covered with seven different flavours of chips and two buckets of strawberry cheesecake ice-cream, her voice flat, "and you would never, never, never stop blaming yourself," she smiled triumphantly here, "but as it is, I am here."

"Yes, and thank god your logic saves us all."

Tenten beamed. "Hey, I'm not a writer for nothing."

"Of course." Sakura smiled now, and while it wasn't very cheerful it wasn't as gloomy as before. "And you're a damned good one, at that."

"Thanks!"

"No, thank you."

Silence fell upon the two women now, both of them lost in their thoughts. Tenten watched Sakura, studying her face slowly, her eyebrows creased as if something really, really bothered her.

And in sudden inspiration, she asked, "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

"What!" Sakura spluttered so violently that she almost fell from the couch, knocking over the Kleenex box onto the floor. "What! Just—just what do you mean by that!"

"Exactly what I said: you're in love with him, aren't you?"

"I don't see how you got there—"

"Well, I do, and I'm the romance novelist here." Her eyes twinkled. "You go on dates, you spend an awful lot of time together be it on the phone or face to face, you slept with him willingly and didn't regret it… Anyone else would have arrived at the same conclusion, I do believe."

"I don't—" Sakura wanted to choke.

"And," Tenten's voice was almost gleeful, "And he's in love with you too, isn't he?"

This time, Sakura really choked at the mischief in her housemate's warm brown eyes, "Just—where did you get that from?"

"It's common sense, love, just common sense," Tenten smiled, patting Sakura's arm cheerfully, "He's too blinded to realize that there are loopholes in his hypothesis—" Sakura snorted at her choice of language, but Tenten continued anyway, "—and you, you're too blinded to realize that you need to look at this neutrally."

"Blinded by what? Rage?"

"That, too."

"'Too'?" Sakura demanded.

"Among other things." Tenten shrugged. "Do you know what you have to do?"

"No."

"Do you know what you want to do?"

"No."

"Well, then. Will you do as I say?"

Sakura looked at her dubiously. "… Maybe?"

"Alright. I say you clean up this mess now—I'll help, don't give me that look," Tenten chuckled, "and then you take a warm bubble bath, wear your comfiest pajamas, and come out here. I'll cook you a proper dinner."

"Really?"

"Really." Tenten's eyes softened. "Stir-fry good?"

"The best." Sakura nodded, looking very pleased. Without warning she tackled her best friend into a tight hug, "Thanks for making me feel a lot better. I owe you so much for this, I swear."

"You're welcome," Tenten grinned, returning the hug just as tightly, "And God, Sakura, you stink. Double that shampoo, won't you?"

xx

"You look like shit."

"Thanks."

"I mean it, Sasuke. You look like shit. Like, shittier than shit. Like the shittiest shit—"

"I said thanks."

Naruto crossed his arms across his chest and raised an eyebrow, stepping closer into the garage of the Uchiha mansion. "Well, someone's in a good mood today."

"Oh, just fuck off, why don't you?" Sasuke snapped irritably, clearly in no mood to play around. "Leave me alone."

The eyebrow rose higher and Naruto leaned down to look at the closest front tire of Sasuke's black Lexus. The tread was balding miserably—a sign of extreme speeding for a long period a time. He let out a low, throaty chuckle as he straightened up and looked at his best friend attentively. "What happened, Sasuke?"

"Nothing."

"Don't you nothing me. That was a seven-hour lunch you went to. And judging from the look on your face right now…" Naruto paused, "I don't think it was a good one. Did you even get to see Sakura-chan, Sasuke?"

Sasuke glared, refusing to answer.

Naruto sighed, "Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"The better question is why should I tell you anything at all."

"Now, now, don't be so cruel. You know you need me."

"I must have made an error in judgment when I chose you to be my right-hand man," Sasuke sighed, and then muttered darkly, his voice low but audible enough that the man beside him heard it, "Seems like I've made a lot of errors in judgment these days."

Naruto leaned forward. "What are you talking about?"

"Fuck off," Sasuke snarled, kicking the tire Naruto had been examining, "Fuck this shit," he glared heatedly, "Fuck you. Why should I tell you anything?"

"Now that's not a very nice thing to say," the blond sighed, knowing better than to take him seriously, and then turned to look at Sasuke grimly. "Look. You don't want to tell me anything, and that's fine, but letting it out will make you feel better, trust me."

"I am—" Sasuke kicked the tire again, "letting—" and again, "it—" and again, twice this time, "—out."

"You've been speeding."

The Uchiha replied sarcastically, "Oh really? I couldn't tell."

"Sasuke—"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"But—"

"I don't want to talk about it. God, Naruto, what part of it can't you understand?"

"Fine," Naruto griped in defeat, "Fine."

"Fine," Sasuke echoed.

"I'll just call Sakura-chan and ask her, then," the blond fished out for his phone from his pocket and started pressing the buttons, "I'm sure she'll be much more cooperative than you."

Without warning, the raven-haired man reached out and slapped Naruto's hand so hard that he dropped his phone and it whirled under his car. Naruto looked at him in shock, and he glared at his best friend and boss all in one body. "What the fuck?"

"Don't you dare," Sasuke began, his obsidian eyes so dark and stormy, like a deep, bottomless abyss, "Don't you dare. I don't want you to call her, I don't want you to meet her, and I don't want you to speak of her anymore. Say her name and you're dead, Uzumaki."

As soon as his family name escaped Sasuke's lips, Naruto straightened up, a thousand times more wary than before. Whenever Sasuke called him by that it meant business, and he knew better than to argue, especially when he was at this state of mind.

"Alright," agreed the blond, "Alright. But this won't be the end of it."

Sasuke ignored that. "Is Itachi inside?"

"Not yet, but he'll be here soon. We can start the meeting then," Naruto hesitated as the raven-haired man locked his Lexus with a single beep from his key. "One question, Sasuke."

"No."

Wisely ignoring the idiot he called a best friend, the blond asked, "What is Sakura to you?"

At this, Sasuke narrowed his eyes darkly, "Traitor," and then left the garage abruptly, slamming the door behind him.

Naruto stood, and stared.

Traitor?

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tbc.