Hers (10)

She had been wearing that same dress. The very dress whose fabric showed through the crack of her wardrobe's doors. A tight, glittery red dress that clung to her waist and showed off her legs. That dress that had drove her date crazy. She had bought that dress with completely different intentions, hoping to use it to celebrate once the upcoming war was over, if she survived, of course. Once Sasuke was back. She was so naïve back then.

That's not what she used that for, though. The one and only time she wore it, was for her first ever date with her then best friend, Naruto. He'd insisted so much, and the world was about to end, so why the hell not, she had thought. She'd deliberated for a long time on what clothes to wear. She would have gone in her normal getup, but her date had informed her he wouldn't be taking her to his usual spot, which was Ichiraku Ramen. She didn't know where they'd go, but it might be the last chance she got to wear such a beautiful dress, so without much hesitation, she put it on for him, expecting to have a funny night of him drooling all over the place. She knew she looked good, after all.

The night had been fun alright, but things had gone a completely different way than what she had expected. A bit of sake turned into a couple glasses of umeshu, which lead to a lot of giggling, close chats and rosy cheeks. She had felt so good with him that night, so comfortable, so free. Of course, she always felt comfortable around him, as they'd spent so much time together that their friendship had evolved into a greater one, but the comfort she felt that night was different, intimate, even. She felt like she could share her deepest secrets with him and feel absolutely no shame about it.

Obviously, that didn't mean that that kiss had to happen. When he kissed her, she wasn't expecting it, at all. They had been joking about Kakashi and his mask when suddenly they both became quiet. He was looking back and forth between her eyes and mouth, and she found she didn't quite mind it. In fact, when he leaned in closer, she almost welcomed it. Almost. It was cute, she had to admit, and it felt very nice, but that wasn't who she wanted to be kissing, was he? She pulled back immediately, red faced, ready to pound Naruto into the ground. But she didn't. The look on his face halted all negative thoughts. He looked at her so… So, beautifully? Like she was the most precious thing in the world and somehow, he'd been given the blessing of kissing her lips.

He apologized, but she had nothing to say. Not good, not bad. She was just sort of mesmerized, lost in his eyes and the way he eyed her, lost in the memory of that feeling, that felt so good, even though it was completely unexpected. She couldn't deny she kind of wanted him to do that again, but she knew he wouldn't. By now, he was in the verge of throwing a fit in shame at what he'd done. If only he knew what she was thinking, though. She waved his worries away with a hand, saying it was alright, and continued having her drink. The rest of the night was a tad awkward, and Sakura secretly wished to be kissed again, but she wasn't. It seemed that her companion spent the rest of the evening in preparation for a punch from her, but it never came.

Naruto had later explained that she had looked so incredibly cute in that dress, so darn adorable with her rosy cheeks and vibrant eyes that he'd had to kiss her. That dress, that she now held in her hands, she longed to wear it again. Would it be wrong to wear now, she wondered. Skin just recently cleaned and perfumed, hair still damp, makeup on, but still no dress. Would it be wrong, she kept wondering. She was almost ready, all she needed was to put on the dress and dry her hair and she'd be out the door. Looking at the clock on her bedside table, she made a quick decision, as time was short. She hoped it wouldn't be wrong.

Half an hour later, the Uchiha's met with the Uzumaki's for dinner for the first time since their marriages began. They chatted awkwardly at the table they were sat at for a while, all the time wondering why and how she managed to get them all in this position. Her friendship with Naruto had rekindled, and they'd spent the last few weeks making up for lost time. This time around though, they tried to do it the correct way. They'd meet up at training parks with the kids, at each other's houses when their partner was home, or just overall public places. They were sure nothing would happen, but still, secretly they liked the change as they could trust themselves much more. That's how, one fun evening with Naruto and Sasuke after training, they discussed the current night. And here they were.

It was impossible to not look at him, though. He looked stunning, the black he wore making his blue eyes stand out. It didn't help that she'd chosen to wear that dress either, since he kept eyeing her, which is what got her distracted in the first place. How was it so hard for them to stop this crap, she thought. So many years later and her body still craved what she'd once had. She immediately began regretting everything, they should've kept apart. It was hard not remembering; they were back in the same restaurant. She was even wearing the same damn dress. He'd kissed her for the first time then, she'd tasted heaven for the first time then. And back then she didn't even know how great it was.

How she wished he could finally tear her dress off and touch her in ways no other had. How wet she was at the thought. Her eyes must scream it to him, as his burned into hers. The server arrived with the food they ordered, which she didn't even remember what she asked for, but the distraction was good enough to make her realize that Hinata was asking her something, and she could engage back in the conversation and forget about the man sitting right in front in her.

"Will you resume training with Himawari this week, Sakura?" The woman who stole Naruto asked her sweetly. Too sweetly. Why did she have to be so sweet, she thought.

"Yes, I think we should do two sessions a week now, instead of just one," she replied, trying to be at least an ounce as sweet.

Hinata smiled at this. "You've been so great to her; her confidence has improved so much! I hope one day, she'll be as brave as you."

Sakura smiled, "even braver, Hinata. Do not forget who her mother is and what she's done."

Hinata blushed, as Sasuke added, "As I am told, you put yourself between Naruto and death, pretty much. You must be incredibly brave."

"You're all too sweet," she said shyly, looking away cutely. Gosh, she was so cute. So unfair, she thought.

They ate, then drank, and the entire night was spent by her trying to not look at Naruto anymore. Sasuke kept a tight hold on her waist the moment they approached the bar, which she thanked him for. She was sure he knew what was going through her mind and would definitely have to hear about it later. She would even shiver every time he walked too near. She couldn't control it, and she wished she could. It was all so wrong. She would have to distance herself from him again.

Back home, Sasuke sat her down for the talk she knew was coming.

"Sakura, what's going on?" he asked, obviously needing no answer, really. He knew, he always did.

"Nothing," she replied simply. Nothing had happened, so it was true.

"Yet?"

She sighed. "Nothing will happen, Sasuke."

"Then why were you eyeing each other up?" He asked angrily. "I'm not stupid, Sakura, nor blind. I don't know how that Hyuga girl doesn't notice."

She didn't reply, instead, she let him let it out.

"We've been married for eleven years. Why the hell did you marry me if that was still going on? You asked me, for fucks sake. I had given up on you. I didn't even touch you for years. You came to me. I thought you were confused. I thought you made up your mind. Figured out your true feelings or whatever other bullshit you told me. What the hell, Sakura?"

He continued rambling while she thought about it all. She didn't mean for anything to happen. She just wanted her friend back, and now she had him. As a friend. Who she drooled over, but he was just a friend. Right?

"Sasuke, nothing is going on, nothing will go on. I'm sorry to make you feel this way. It's just, I don't know. I really don't know. It's complicated, I can't even explain it because I don't even understand it myself." She sighed, "you must really regret marrying me…"

"Of course I don't," he interrupted her dark train of thoughts. "We've done amazing things together, and our daughter, I'll never regret that. But, Sakura, don't think I'll sit by and watch this all happen and just take it, cause I won't. I will not stick around for you like this."

"I know."

"You have to be straight with me, I won't tolerate lies, I now you too well for you to lie to me so don't even try." He waited for her to nod in acceptance. "Has anything happened?"

"No."

"Do you think anything can happen?"

She could feel his eyes study her face as she thought. She couldn't lie, there was no point to it. She looked at her husband in the eyes and replied, "I hope not."

His disappointed features showed clearly that that wasn't the answer he was hoping for.