I've been listening to really heartbreaking musicals recently, so I feel like my writing is reflecting all that tragic angst...haha oops.

If you're looking for love stories (almost) as tragic as SasuSaku, go look up "The Last 5 Years" and/or "The Wild Party (off-broadway)"

:(

Title: Behind the Mask

Summary: No matter many years had passed, Sasuke would always have a weakness for the woman he loved: his brother's wife.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Prompt: Achilles' Heel

Rating: M

Warnings: kinda itasakusasu

Comments: my all-time favorite pairing 3

Even though Naruto had only found out his secret a months ago, he made sure to utilize the knowledge in every way possible.

Whenever he wanted anything from him, the blonde made sure to mention that "you wouldn't want anyone to find out about how you are in love with your brother's wife, eh?"

….Naruto could definitely be an asshole at times.

But it was rather embarrassing how he found out, considering it involved a folder on Sasuke's computer completely devoted to pictures of Sakura in a bikini. (Hey, she was the one who posted them on her bacefook profile...)

Unfortunately, he had to go through the trouble of cropping Itachi out of every picture.

Everyone else in the world considered the two the "perfect couple," both being highly attractive young adults with prestigious jobs and long lists of accomplishments.

Itachi Uchiha. Law degree, CEO of Uchiha Industries, business genius, and the youngest member of the "Richest Men in the World" list (thanks to his father passing on all their funds).

Sakura Haruno. She received her medical degree at 22, and it had only taken her a single year before she created several different vaccines for various diseases. She was rumored to be considered for the Nobel Prize, and she practically led Konoha's hospital by herself.

They were almost superhuman, and attracted publicity wherever they went. However, Sasuke was one of the only men who had the opportunity of being close to the both of them. (Itachi had a knack of scaring other men away from his wife)

Seven years separated the two, and it sure didn't make Sasuke feel better that he and Sakura were the exact same age, only months apart. He had gone to High School with her, and even though she had graduated two years early, they had become extremely close due to a mutual friendship with Naruto. He had always been secretly attracted to her wild ambition and contagious smiles. (Why she didn't go into modeling like her friend Ino, he'd never know)

In fact, it seemed like their entire friend group from High School became superstars, with Shikamaru making it into Mensa, Ino becoming a supermodel, Naruto and Choji starting their own food chain, and Kiba being an advocator for animal rights.

The only one that seemed out of place was Sasuke Uchiha.

Sure, he was considered a prodigy in high school and college, but in the real world, he worked under his brother, and would always be known as "Itachi's brother" no matter how hard he tried to change that. He was only 25, but it felt like his life was already over.

Which is why he loathed family "reunions," where the couple dozen of existing Uchiha met in a large banquet hall, mainly to discuss politics and finance while silently judging everyone else's clothing choices.

Sakura, with her bright strawberry-blonde hair and pale green eyes, was a welcome change from all the darkness in the room. She was by herself, sipping some fruity cocktail at the bar, when Sasuke decided he had to make a move.

(or at least test the waters)

He sauntered over as inconspicuously as possible, carrying a drink of his own, though it was considerably stronger and more masculine. Her eyes widened when she saw him sit next to her, turning slightly to face him.

"Where's Itachi?" he asked smoothly, thankful for the alcohol running through his veins, giving him confidence he didn't deserve.

She frowned, and he reveled in how breathtakingly beautiful she was.

"Talking to some executives over there or something," she mumbled out, not touching on the fact that this tended to happen quite often. "He's been very busy recently."

"By 'recently,' do you mean the past year?" Sasuke drawled out, sending a thinly veiled glare towards Itachi's back. "I hear he's been working fourteen hours a day, even on the weekends."

She took a few gulps of her drink, and when he looked over at her flushed cheeks, he could tell that she was already the slightest bit tipsy. But having grown up with Sakura, he knew that she was never a sloppy drunk, so he wasn't too worried.

However, it was an excellent opportunity to make use of her loose lips.

"Sometimes he takes a day off," she defended quietly, not even fooling herself. "A few times a month."

"That doesn't give you too much time together," he commented, trying to make his speech sound informal and noncommittal, when in reality, his heart was throbbing uncontrollably and his head was pounding. "What do you do in your free time?"

She sighed, running a hand through her soft hair. He took the moment to fully appreciate her outfit, a skintight crimson dress that reached her ankles yet showed ample cleavage. On the outside, she looked flawless, but he knew that it was only a façade to disguise the inside. All he needed to do was peek behind her mask…

"I've been taking a lot of extra hours at the hospital. I read a lot," she explained, trailing a finger slowly on the edge of her glass. "I learned how to speak French. I might try Italian next."

"You sound…incomplete," he added, though he didn't tell her how much he'd love to be the one to 'complete' her.

"Well he's been so distant to everyone in his life. He only cares about upholding the company name," she said sadly, scrunching her eyebrows together in light frustration. "We haven't had sex in forever."

Sasuke nearly choked on his spit. Apparently, Sakura was a lot more drunk than he thought.

"How's that going for you?" he asked, hoping for some juicy information on how to…uh…please her later on.

"When I was younger, I thought I'd always want a gentle lover," she mused softly, a slight smile crossing her lips. "But as I got older, I realized that all I ever wanted was passion. The whole stoicism thing really wears down your patience after a while."

Without thinking, Sasuke spoke. "I'm passionate."

She laughed at that, her cynicism dissolving.

"Oh, Sasuke," she sighed, her voice sending shivers down his skin. "You may be better than Itachi, but all you Uchiha can be the same."

"You may be better than Itachi"

He ignored the ending of her sentence, letting her little minute comparison fill him with uncontainable joy that he was very unused to feeling.

Without realizing it, he had unconsciously scooted over so that their skin was brushing, filling his world with even more warmth. She hummed in contentment, her mood apparently improved after spilling a few of the secrets that had been weighing her down.

"Sometimes you're very pleasant to talk to," she smirked impishly, the teasing lilt in her voice making parts of his insides melt.

"Hn."

"I wouldn't mind talking to you more often," she decided, straightening up her outfit as she saw Itachi start to walk over. "I miss the days in High School when we spent practically every free hour with each other."

Me too, Sakura. But maybe for different reasons. "As long as Naruto isn't invited, I can come over whenever you like."

True, it would be strange to try to casually seduce Sakura in her and Itachi's own home, but she would most likely be more receptive in private, instead of worrying herself with how others saw them.

"I'll take you up on that," she smiled, though she had turned to fully face Itachi, who was almost at their location. "I don't want to learn Italian, anyways."

"I'll think of some ways to distract you," he smirked, appearing to be lighthearted, when in reality he had already started to fantasize about all the ways he could…distract her.

By then, Itachi had arrived, holding out his arm for Sakura to latch onto, her breasts pushing against him in a way that made Sasuke frown. But Itachi seemed oblivious to Sasuke's interest, which would definitely be in his favor. If he was about to attempt what he was going to, he was going to need to be covert as possible. After all, if it had taken all of his courage just to talk to Sakura at a party, he was going to need to find a whole hell of a lot more if he was planning on making her fall in love with someone more deserving.

However, it never crossed his mind that Sakura might have also been using all her courage to start that conversation.

I changed my tumblr dashboard layout so that the "home" button is now the Konoha symbol. Wow I'm so lame.

brb going to finish the June chapter for School Days~