We don't own Naruto/Boruto.
Boruto woke up with a familiar weight lying down on top of him. It was still early, and her lips were parted, breath tickling his chest. For a moment, he considered going back to sleep, but the events the night before rushed back to him, and the only thing he could do was groan and close his eyes again. But sleep wouldn't take him.
Sarada was jealous. And this was an entirely new side to Boruto that he didn't know existed. It was frightening to see how much she could cry, and how hurt she felt. Boruto already knew something was wrong, but he still couldn't figure out what had triggered her so much. From what Sarada said, it was because he mentioned she was pretty. Boruto always complimented people in the industry, but he couldn't understand why it had escalated so much.
It was just Kiyoko and there was nothing between them. He had barely spoken to or even met up with her and yet she reacted so violently. The comments on Asahi's photos were the usual comments, perhaps some more teasing and thirstier than others, but overall harmless.
She was right, though. Sarada wouldn't have to feel insecure if their relationship had been official and public. Boruto understood that feeling, because he felt it often when Sarada was acting with Hōki. Hell, the whole world thinks they're together and it's only the two of them who really know how they felt. And perhaps even if he told her often, it wasn't enough for Sarada.
His eyes softened and Boruto ran his fingers through her hair, lips dipping to a frown. He never wanted to see her that upset again. Sarada had shut him out that night, and he felt so lonely and hurt when she did. He just wanted to make her happy but apparently he was causing her pain by not officially making her his.
Boruto would have to fix that. But it still couldn't happen any time soon. Technically, Sarada and Hōki were still together, and she would need some time to be single before he could make any public announcements—be it subtle or not—about he and Sarada. It was going to be tough, but at least Mitsuki was already working on ironing out Sarada's 'break up' plan. Right. He would have to remind Mitsuki of that.
Carefully, Boruto reached over to get his phone, surprised to see texts from Mitsuki, as well as one from Kakashi.
Kakashi: you're not making this any easier for us. I know they're not really together, but you have to rethink what you post, as well as their implications, beforehand.
Boruto thought he might have been dreaming but—was Kakashi scolding him right now?
"What the fuck," he muttered and closed the text to open Mitsuki's barrage of hate texts.
'What the fuck, Boruto. You could tell me before you post things like that.'
'Seriously. What the fuck were you thinking?'
'You make my job so fucking hard. Resign already.'
The last one really annoyed Boruto. Mitsuki never swore—unless he was stressed and panicking.
It was a safe photo. What was the big deal?
Boruto opened up Sarada's Ninstagram, and was flooded with notifications and messages. He wrapped his arm around Sarada, holding the phone up above her head, careful not to wake her. He read some of the comments and felt the heat rise to his cheeks.
'Oh my god. FAMILY?! IS BORUTO NOW PART OF THE FAMILY?!'
'So people are losing their minds because her manager met her family and here we are, not knowing if her boyfriend has met them. Lmao people… it's valid tho.'
'You see how close their faces are and Sasuke and Sakura are right there, still smiling? I think the parents approve… what about Hōki tho?'
'Yo. Boruto said there was nothing but love and respect between him and Hōki but it looks like nothing but love and respect between him and Sarada tbh. Lol'
There was a lot more… mostly snake emojis. Boruto groaned and opened up his texts with Mitsuki. Now Kakashi's text made much more sense. He thought it looked innocent enough, even earning a like from her uncles and Sakura. Shisui even put it up on his own feed, gushing about how cheesy Sarada was being.
Boruto: is it that bad? Is Kakashi suing me yet?
Mitsuki: he isn't, but you'll hear from my lawyer in a bit.
"Oh fuck you," Boruto rolled his eyes and replied.
Boruto: on a scale of one to sex tape, how bad is it?
Mitsuki: worse. Marriage.
Marriage. Boruto dropped the phone on the bed and wrapped his arms around Sarada, burying his nose into her hair and tightly closing his eyes.
Perhaps it was a bad movie, but it would be best to ignore the comments. People could think what they want, but it was just a family photo and people should have expected that Boruto would have met them already—especially Sakura.
He groaned a bit and tightened his arms around her, thinking of how to get out of this mess before Mitsuki threw his snakes at Boruto.
"Boruto… too tight." Sarada mumbled sleepily, being roused by how strongly he held onto her.
"S-sorry!" Boruto immediately let go, letting his arms fall on the bed to his sides. He let out a loud sigh and cursed under his breath.
"What's the matter?" She asked, forcing her head up so she could peek at him.
"It's nothing," he lied. "I'll take care of it. You go back to sleep." Boruto picked up his phone and started texting Mitsuki what next steps they could do. Perhaps he was right, maybe Boruto should resign. He kept screwing up more and more lately.
Her eyes opened fully only for them to narrow on him in suspicion. "Don't lie to me. I need to know, I'm sure."
He sighed and after sending the text, threw his phone away and wrapped his arms around her, hiding his face in her hair. "I messed up again. That photo of me with your family, people are taking it the wrong way."
"What do you mean wrong way?" Sarada asked, already upset after the picture was meant to show how much she loved her family and Boruto.
"Mitsuki said on a scale of one to sex tape, it's on the line of marriage." Since it was out of context, it sounded totally wrong. "I didn't think people would take it that way," he whined.
Sarada huffed and scrambled around to sit up on the bed next to him. "Well we are getting married one day, so they might as well get used to it."
Boruto felt his cheeks flush and a shy smile spread on his face. "I know, princess. But you're still… dating Hōki, ya know?" Even if it was fake, thinking of all the times Hōki had ever kissed or touched Sarada made his heart twist. "At least, that's what the whole world thinks. People are commenting snake emojis again, ya know?"
"Whatever. I'm calling Papa." She rolled her eyes and crawled out of bed hastily. She was fuming now, stomping out of her room and leaving him where he was.
Boruto was still gaping, even after Sarada had left the room and he could hear her greeting her father good morning. Shit. She wasn't kidding at all. He ran out of bed and into the living room, staring at her with wide and fearful eyes. If Sasuke had to do something about it, it would only mean Boruto was incompetent, and ultimately may no longer have his blessing.
That wasn't allowed to happen. Especially since Boruto has plans to ask for his permission to marry his one and only daughter.
Shit.
"Princess!" Boruto shouted in a whisper, not wanting Sasuke to hear him beg.
Sarada scrunched her face, pouting before she asked Sasuke to hold on for a second. "What?" She held her phone aside, looking at Boruto expectantly.
"I—Mitsuki can fix it. You don't need to tell your dad!" No need to lie to her now, they both knew Mitsuki would be doing the work to cover this all up anyway.
"This isn't about just the photo, Boruto. I'm done with all the drama. I'm done pretending to be with Hōki. It's too much for you to deal with it all and poor Mitsuki is probably working too hard already. Papa can help, he wants to."
All of those points were purely and utterly correct. Even if it hurt Boruto to admit it, she was right. He covered his face in shame and sulked to the couch, leaving her to finish her call with her father. He was dead. Boruto should start looking for a new job now.
After a few minutes that felt much, much longer than that, Sarada came to sit next to Boruto on the couch, her call finished. She looked a lot calmer now, was even smiling at him. "Papa will take care of everything. He was glad I called… I think he really doesn't like Hōki for some reason."
Although Boruto liked that Sasuke hated Hōki, it still didn't stop his lips from poking out. "Am I fired now?"
"What?" Her smiled faded quickly and she glared at him. "Why would you be fired?"
"B-because I couldn't even handle a fake relationship for your image."
It hurt his pride that he had to admit it. But Kakashi really was a more experienced manager and knew the business, as well as had more contacts than Boruto did. It wasn't that he couldn't terminate it right away, it was more like Kakashi subtly threatening Sarada's image that Boruto simply didn't want to risk.
"It's not you, it's Kakashi and Hōki giving us both a hard time. I'll be glad when it's all over, I can't really wait anymore. It's too much. So, we put it in Papa's hands. He's not scared to take drastic measures."
"Anyone can take drastic measures, ya know?" Boruto muttered. "And I'm not saying Sasuke can't fix it. I'm just—ugh. I just don't want any of this ruining your image, ya know?"
Sakura had taken such good care of Sarada's image since she was a little girl and Sarada also ensured her privacy and kept her image up right up until this recent movie, when Boruto started acting on his feelings and things just weren't working out as planned because he had no self-control.
"Don't worry so much. I'll be fine as long as I have you. Okay?" Sarada smiled again, trying to reassure him. She reached over and grabbed his hand. "It will all work out. Because I love you."
Despite his guilt weighing his heart down, Boruto forced a smile on his face and kissed her hand. "I love you too." All he could do now was hope for the best. "Are you feeling well enough to go to filming today?"
"Yes, of course. Nothing will stop me from working."
"Alright," Boruto kissed her hand again and stroked her thigh with his other hand. "We should get ready then."
"Okay." Sarada moved closer to him, slowly leaning in to press her lips against his. Then she hopped up and ran out of the living room.
Boruto leaned his head back on the couch. It looked like today was going to be difficult but Sarada was right, nothing should stop him from working.
.
.
.
Boruto sat on the bench a few steps up on the bleachers, a few feet away from the court. They were filming a scene wherein the boys were doing spike drills and Sarada was there to help the coach by feeding him the ball when he set it for them.
There wasn't much for Sarada to do except for tossing the ball to the coach, she didn't even have a line for this scene.
"Boruto."
He tore his gaze away from Sarada to look at the person who called his attention.
"Hi, Kiyoko." She smiled and sat a few spaces away from him, asking how Sarada was feeling.
"She's doing much better." He assured her. It felt a little awkward now that Boruto knew how Sarada felt about Kiyoko. But he couldn't just shut the manager out because of that. He was doing nothing wrong, anyway. This was work.
"How are the boys? Feeling fired up for today?"
"As always," she giggled. "Shoyo couldn't stop talking about it."
"I bet," Boruto chuckled, knowing full well how energetic the teen was. "It's not even one of the game scenes." He turned his attention back to Sarada just in time to see her attempt a block that was demonstrated by the coach. She was up in the air, and her eyes were locked on him.
His lips parted and Boruto stopped breathing when he saw her right foot land on its side. It was like he was watching in slow motion, blocking out Kiyoko's voice when all he could see was the look of shock on Sarada's face and her falling on the floor. Her scream filled the air and that shook him back to the present, instantly on his feet and rushing over to her.
Kageyama wasn't fast enough to catch her, he was on his knees next to her, asking if she was alright. The director was on set, barking for the medic to be called.
There were so many people talking and looking on and Boruto felt like he couldn't get to Sarada fast enough. Sawamura helped to stretch her leg out, and Sarada looked close to tears. Hinata had pushed his way towards her, looking fearfully at her ankle.
"Sarada!" Boruto finally got to her, Kageyama making space for him to be next to her.
"B-Boruto," Sarada whimpered, lower lip trembling. "I hurt my ankle."
He couldn't even respond, just looking at her face was already enough to make him hurt, but when he looked at her ankle, he wanted to blanch.
"Move away," Sasuke ordered firmly. All the actors scurried away but Boruto stayed next to Sarada, holding her hand.
Two medics laid a stretcher next to Sarada, and looked at Boruto expectantly, waiting for him to let go of her.
"Boruto." Sasuke loomed over him.
He looked at Sarada and hesitantly let go of her hand, getting up on his feet as the two medics carried her on to the stretcher. Boruto glanced at Sasuke but didn't say a word when he followed the medics to the clinic. Sasuke followed close behind, telling the rest of the crew to take five.
Everyone was still staring at them, but Boruto didn't care. He was only looking at Sarada, still at a loss of words. She was hurt, physically this time, and he didn't know how to reign in his emotions. All he could do was hold her hand while they all walked to the clinic.
"It's… it hurts." Sarada whined, really trying her hardest not to cry. "What will I do if I can't walk?"
"Don't you worry, Sarada. You'll be taken care of. Or else." Sasuke spoke softly and yet so intimidatingly at the same time, even going as far as giving Boruto a pointed look.
That threat finally made Boruto speak. "R-right. Of course. Don't worry, I'll take care of anything you need, Pr-Sarada."
"Yes, you will," Sasuke said, smiling tightly at Boruto while patting his shoulder with his hand.
"It's okay… I'm okay…" Sarada sighed, not really paying them any attention.
"You'll be okay," Boruto squeezed her hand lightly. Although it was meant to reassure her, he felt like he said it to reassure himself. It was like it was all happening in a dream, one that Boruto wanted to wake up from because he couldn't stand to see his princess in pain.
The medics brought Sarada inside the clinic and the nurse stopped Boruto and Sasuke in the receiving area. The clinic was tiny, and they could still hear everything the doctor was telling Sarada. She was whining every now and then, but the doctor and nurse soothed her to their best ability as they wrapped a bandage around her ankle.
"No filming for you," the doctor advised. "Try not to put any pressure on your right foot and stay at home, in bed, as much as you can."
"I have to film!" Sarada argued immediately. "That's not going to work out."
"Your ankle isn't going to heal if you continue your volleyball training and filming." The doctor explained. "If you rest well, it should go away in a week. But you'll find it painful to walk for a few days."
"I have a job to do!" Sarada squeaked. "Can't you do something?!"
"I'm afraid not," the doctor sighed. "You will just have to sit and rest. Even if you do go to your shoot, you'll barely be able to stand on your own."
"BORUTO!" Sarada yelled and then proceeded to snap at the doctor. "You're not going to make me agree to that."
Boruto sat up straight, surprised that she had called for him. He looked at Sasuke before getting up to his feet and entering the clinic. Sarada was sitting on the bed, her right leg stretched out and her arms crossed against her chest.
He looked at the doctor, who only smiled at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Mr. Uzumaki, but as long as Sarada has an injury, I won't be clearing her to get back on set."
Boruto eyed the bandages around Sarada's ankle and sighed. He remembered how it felt to sprain an ankle and how it hurt like a bitch. Knowing Sarada had low pain tolerance she would feel it was far worse. But she was also stubborn and hated missing days of filming. "It's alright, doctor. You don't need to clear her until she's fit to act again."
Sarada's relief at having Boruto in the room evaporated and was replaced with frustration. She clenched her fists, ready to knock him out. "Excuse me?" She hissed, staring him down as if he were her mortal enemy. "I'm not even finished for today. I'm going back!"
"Oh yeah?" Boruto raised a brow at her. "I dare you to try to stand without my help."
"What… why won't you help me?" Her mood shifted once more, anger turning into sadness. "I only need a hand…"
Boruto exchanged glances with the doctor. "Sarada," his tone and eyes softened at her. "If you can't stand and walk on your own, how do you expect to act properly? I can't be on set to hold you, ya know?"
Her expression said she didn't understand why not, which was ridiculous. "I'll be able to stand." She said and shifted to let both her feet dangle off the side of the bed. Sarada was staring at the floor in uncertainty, but after a few seconds slipped down. Supporting her weight on her left foot. It was only when she let her toes on her right foot touch the floor that she realized it wasn't going to happen. "Ow…"
Boruto was at her side in a flash, holding on to her hand and wounding his arm around her waist to support her weight. "Careful now."
"I'm sorry. I have to go tell everyone." She sighed, holding onto him as well. "You help me out and then Papa can help me."
"It's okay, I got you," he whispered. "Just hold on to me, okay?"
Sarada nodded, holding onto him so she didn't have to put pressure on her injured leg at all. Sasuke was already standing, waiting on them with a blank expression on his face.
"They aren't going to let me work, Papa. I'm sorry." There was nothing she hated more than not being able to do her job.
"It's perfectly understandable, Sarada." Sasuke nodded. "You just focus on healing for now."
"I will, Papa." She smiled. "I just need to explain it to everyone."
"If you insist."
The three of them walked back to the set, a lot slower than usual since Boruto didn't want Sarada to experience any pain. If he could, he would have carried her instead. "I'm so sorry this happened," he whispered to her.
"It's not your fault… it was an accident. My fault for being distracted."
Boruto knew why she was distracted and he sighed deeply. He had nothing else to say, only repeated his apology, "I'm sorry. I'll take good care of you."
"I know." Sarada clutched onto his shirt and looked at him fondly. "And I'll behave."
The corner of his lips tugged upward. "I'm counting on it, princess."
With Boruto's help, Sarada made her way back to the crew who were all on standby. As soon as they entered the room, all the guys hurried over to them. Sarada tried to look reassuring and not like her foot was throbbing horribly in pain. She explained her injury and that she would be absent for maybe a week, but everyone was understanding and urging her to get home and rest her foot.
When they were in the car, finally on the way home, Sarada stared at Boruto for a long time. She didn't speak for a while, just watching him until she eventually broke the silence.
"I was jealous again."
Boruto glanced at her before looking at the road again. "How come?" He asked, even if he knew the answer. Sarada coming clean about her feelings was much appreciated, though but it only made Boruto feel guiltier.
"Because she likes you and it makes me not want to like her," Sarada admitted quietly, disappointed in herself. "I know you don't want her so I don't want to feel like this, but I can't help it."
Boruto took her hand into his and interlaced their fingers together. He was familiar with the feeling and understood her perfectly. "I constantly felt this way during your last movie, ya know? I would always get so jealous whenever Hōki was kissing you and I couldn't even stand just seeing him next to you. But do you know what helped me through it?"
"What?" She pressed, eager to hear any suggestions that may help her keep that nasty feeling in check.
He brought her hand up to his chest, resting it right about his heart. "You always assured me that it was just work and I'm the one you love." Boruto looked at her and smiled. "Someone else had eyes for you but you only kept yours on me. And I'm telling you now, that's exactly how I feel about you, too. I love you."
"I love you so much. I'm sorry I've been a little crazy lately… I don't know what's wrong with me."
"Nothing is wrong with you, princess," Boruto assured her. "Well, except for your sprained ankle." He snickered.
"Yeah… I'm a klutz now that I'm in love. I'm not sure how to feel about it, honestly." She giggled.
"A lot has changed about you, ya know? You've been glowing differently, too. I like it." Boruto brought her hand up to his lips and brushed them against her knuckles. "It makes you even more beautiful, ya know?"
"You're so sweet. Thank you for everything."
He smiled at her and kissed her hand again. "Anything for you, princess."
.
.
.
When they reached Sarada's condo, Boruto parked the car and carried Sarada out, bridal style. He didn't even care they weren't alone in the elevator. He knew Sarada was tired and needed to get into bed to rest and he didn't want her to have to walk any more than she needed to. Boruto struggled to get the keys in his pocket, but he didn't have to when the door flew open and they were greeted with a familiar face.
"Mitsuki!" Boruto yelped.
His eyes were drawn to Sarada's ankle and he smiled. "I think you should put Sarada down before I discuss some things with you, Boruto."
Boruto did as he was told, settling Sarada on the couch in the living room before turning to face Mitsuki. When he did, Mitsuki threw something at Boruto, which made the manager scream in a very unmanly way. "DUDE WHAT THE FUCK!" Boruto caught the green snake that Mitsuki tossed at him before dropping it on the floor. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU NO PETS!"
"Hey!" Sarada gasped. "Don't hurt that little angel!"
"There is nothing angelic about these—these things!" Boruto argued, stepping away from the slithering creature.
"Mitsuki, what's wrong?" Sarada asked, wishing she could get up to comfort the snake.
Mitsuki picked up his pet and carefully placed it on Sarada's lap, sitting on the edge of the sofa. "It's actually about your father, Sarada. He's causing quite a stir online. He posted a photo of you and threw some—as people commented—shade."
"Ooh." Sarada's eyes lit up as she hugged the snake to her chest. "Papa knows what he's doing. What did he say?"
"He posted a photo of this," Mitsuki showed them a tweet, and it was a photo taken from behind of Boruto being Sarada's crutch, all the way back to the set. "And his caption reads, 'Where was Prince Charming when his Princess needed him? Oh wait, right here next to her."
Boruto paled and felt his heart stop beating. If he thought Sarada and Mitsuki could be petty, apparently Sasuke Uchiha was the living definition of it. He couldn't even begin to imagine what people were saying. Sasuke didn't have a following as big as Sarada's but all the influential people in the industry did.
"I was also copied in some emails, and he and Kakashi had some back and forth regarding terminating the contract," Mitsuki added. "It was rather… heated."
"I expected no less. Kakashi must have tried to put up a fight. Papa isn't going to take that quietly." Sarada wasn't surprised at all, she even seemed pleased.
Mitsuki hummed. "Kakashi and Hōki aren't pleased about it. The email thread was active just a few minutes ago. Oh, and your fan club already reposted the photo. As usual, Hōki's fans are trying to have the page reported."
"Hopefully Papa will be able to get Hōki to make an announcement that doesn't make things seem so bad. I wouldn't put it past Papa to make things hard for Hōki if he doesn't cooperate."
"I don't doubt it one bit. Your father did learn under my parent for quite some time." Mitsuki smiled and petted the snake.
Boruto felt all the hairs on his body stand on edge. It could get ugly way too fast if push came to shove. The last thing he wanted was to make it look like Sarada had an affair. "Let's just… try to find a way to settle it quietly."
"It doesn't look like the case for Sasuke," Mitsuki commented. "But he has his side set up and it looks like Kakashi will have no choice but to give in sooner or later to Sasuke's terms. I'll keep you updated."
"Everything will be fine… and finally settled soon. Thank goodness, it was very tiring." Sarada was too excited at the idea of being free from her tie to Hōki.
"It really is," Boruto sighed. "This will be the last time we ever sign faking a relationship for a role, okay?" He was never ever going to agree to that shit ever again.
"Never." Sarada agreed happily, knowing she wouldn't be able to go through it again. Not for the sake of any movie.
Mitsuki stood up and offered his hand to the snake, and it slithered into his sleeve. "I should get going. I won't be doing any crowd control for Sasuke's tweet, and I already shut off both your comments sections. Maybe put up a slight hiatus on Sarada's account while she's healing. Some of the cast members already said something about you spraining your ankle, Sarada."
"I don't mind it, I really don't want to deal with any online drama right now anyway. I'll leave it all to you guys."
"We will take care of it," Boruto assured her. "Do you want me to carry you to bed?"
Sarada's brows raised in surprise before she nodded slowly. "Yes, please."
Mitsuki took his leave, saying he would call Boruto once he was back home to discuss further when Sarada was already resting.
Boruto took Sarada into his arms and carefully carried her into her bed, and changed her clothes to her pajamas before tucking her in. "Is it still painful?" Boruto asked, stroking her hair.
"Yeah." She didn't deny it, giving him a pout. "It's throbbing and feels awful. Nothing like this has ever happened before… I think it's swollen too. Feels… fat."
He chuckled lightly at her last description and kissed her forehead. "I'll get you a painkiller. Do you want one? Or can you be brave for today?" Boruto grinned cheekily.
"I'm brave," She said proudly, shuffling onto her side and looking up at him. "I'm going to sleep anyway, so I can handle it."
He smiled fondly at her and kissed her forehead. "Alright, princess. I'll come to bed in a while. I'll just get some work done. Sleep well."
Boruto lingered a little longer until she shut her eyes and her breathing slowed down. Once Sarada was asleep, Boruto padded into the living room to fetch his phone and read through his emails. There wasn't much, it was mostly just Mitsuki telling Boruto what he would be doing.
Things were getting messy, but Boruto knew that it usually got worse before it got better. He could only hope that it would happen sooner much rather than later.
A/N: Oooh. Papasuke is now involved and petty af. LOL. Leave us a review to tell us what you think is going to happen next!
Wash your hands and keep safe for the week ahead, fam!
Cheers,
Kairi and Tyy