Chapter 3: Communicate

"Can you talk to me? Do you trust me with your thoughts?"

|Sasuke|

With Shisui and Itachi's recommendation to take Sunday as a rest day, I hadn't gone to work. Had it been any other time, the break would have been well appreciated, but Ino had invited the family to dinner and while I had originally told Sakura that I wouldn't be coming, it just so happened that I was now free.

With no legitimate reason to decline, I was forced to don slightly formal wear and accompany her. And to make matters more awkward, Sarada wandered upstairs with Inojin as soon as we arrived and Ino disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me alone with Sakura. It didn't ease my mind that the two women shared a look before Ino excused herself.

"Is something wrong, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, interrupting my recollections.

I turned to her and shook my head, "No, nothing."

She nodded and turned her attention back to the magazine she was reading. A glance at the section she was on told me that a famous actress, Fujikaze Yukie, was coming to Konoha and her arrival was expected to be the biggest event of the month. My heart went out to the poor souls that would be tasked with guarding her.

As I watched Sakura read, I couldn't help but look at her in another light. She wouldn't be seeing me for three months, maybe twelve if Karin and I got off to a slow start with the organization, and that worried me. Yes, we barely saw each other now, but there was a difference between barely and not at all.

I put myself in her position and imagine waking up one day and finding out that she hadn't returned from work, and then watching as days go by without so much as a call or text. Itachi and Shisui could chew me out all they wanted; I couldn't ghost her like that.

"Actually, there is." I held her left hand, "Sakura, I have something important to tell you."

She looked down at our joined hands before meeting my eyes, and I could see a hint of surprise behind them, "Yes?"

"As you know, crime is remarkably high right now."

"Yeah, I was just talking to Tenten about how dangerous it's been recently." She nodded, "You know she lives in Shinobi Square? Just yesterday there was a stabbing there."

I ran my thumb over her knuckles, "It's so bad that the police are having to pick up extra hours. And, you know I was recently bumped up to Inspector because of my exceptional work."

"Mhm." She nodded, her emerald-green eyes shining as she listened attentively.

With her eyes so focused like that, how could I explain to her I was going to disappear for 1/4th of the year?

With a hard swallow, I resolved myself to tell her a half-truth, "Well, the higher-ups spoke to me and, because they feel that I'm a reliable asset, they want me to stay at the station 24/7."

She blinked, "You mean, all day?"

"It would just be for three or six months. To get the crime rate to drop."

"Three? Or six?" Her voice rose, "That doesn't make sense!"

"Sakura." I glanced at the kitchen door, "Lower your voice."

"How is you staying at the station going to drop the crime rate?" Sakura furrowed her eyebrows as she obeyed my command, dropping her volume, "Aren't they expecting too much from you?"

"It'd only be for a little bit." I tried to assure her, pushing her loose strands of hair back behind her ear.

"T-Three months is a little bit for you." She stuttered as my hand brushed her ear, but she still managed to find the strength to glare at me.

I sighed as I dropped my hand, "Don't make this about me. It's work, you know I don't have a say in it."

"But you do have a say." She crossed her arms, "Isn't Itachi part of that group? What's it called, The Six? Can't he do something?"

"No, Sakura." I shut my eyes, "He can't do anything. They voted, I was told what the outcome was, and I'm going to be staying at the precinct."

"You're awfully resigned about this. How long have you known?" She questioned.

This was one of those questions that practically begged for a lie in response, but I already wasn't telling Sakura the truth about where I would be going. I figured the least I could do was offer her some sort of honesty.

"Since Friday."

"Three days? You knew for three days and decide to tell me now. At Ino's house." Her tone was bitter.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you at all, but—"

"Oh, I should be glad you told me in the first place, ne?" Sakura waved a hand, "Well, I'm not. You should've just kept it to yourself since it's clear you don't care what I think."

"Sakura, that's not—"

"What does it matter?" She looked away from me, throwing her hands up, "You should be happy; now you have a real reason to avoid me."

"I don't avoid you, I…" I let the words die in my throat as painful memories surface, 'I just can't believe you would still want me after everything I put you through. I don't deserve you.'

She lifted a hand up to her face and I realized she was crying. Placing a light hand on her shoulder, I made her face me and swallowed hard.

"Sakura, please don't cry." I told her in a low voice, "I don't have a choice. If I could, I'd spend all my time with you."

"That's not true." She replied shakily, wiping at her eyes, "You don't want me. You haven't wanted me since Suna…"

"Sakura." I held her cheek with my hand and tilted her head up so that our eyes locked.

I couldn't help myself from glancing at her lips and taking note of how kissable they were.

'And that would be enough to stop your repentance.' I scolded myself, eyebrows scrunching together in disgust, 'You still haven't learned.'

Sakura's hand over mine brought me out of my thoughts, and although sadness was still etched into her face, her tears had come to a stop.

"It's okay." She told me as she pulled my hand away from her cheek, "You don't have to force yourself."

"I'm not—" I facepalmed, realizing there was only one way to resolve this, "Sakura, I—"

"Sorry for the wait!" Ino burst into the living room, "Dinner is served!"

Sakura met her eyes first and the two exchanged some silent words before I raised my head and turned to Ino.

Ino raised a hand to her mouth, "I'll…call the kids."

I nodded, looking back to Sakura who now had her eyes downcast, "Arigato."

|Sakura|

I entered the bathroom and immediately splashed warm water on my face.

'C'mon Sakura, get your shit together.' I told myself as I massaged under my eyes, 'Do you have to cry for everything?'

As I offered myself counsel, I scrubbed at the tears streaks that had cemented themselves on my face. So much for a lighthearted dinner. I had invited Sasuke with the hopes that we would eat as a family, but also resolve the silent conflict between us. Instead, I had been given some upsetting news, and part of my worst fears had been confirmed.

I cringed as I recalled how disgusted Sasuke had looked when he had held my cheek. Although I had suspected he didn't find me as attractive, had he needed to demonstrate it so plainly?

'Would you have gotten the hint otherwise?' The voice snarkily laughed, 'I mean, he's made it painfully obvious all this time. You just had to go and get yourself hurt.'

At the thought, I felt tears start to well up in my eyes again but quickly shook them away, clutching the sink for support. Maybe I had been living in denial, but if that was the case why had he even bothered to touch me? I shut the sink water off before staring at myself in the mirror.

Although things had started off sour, the night was still young; there was a chance things could be resolved. They had to. I had been planning to use this dinner as a gateway to tell Sasuke my deepest desire: I wanted another child. There was an obvious void in our lives that gave way to negative feelings and energy, but a new life from the two of us would fill that void with happiness. At least, that's what I hoped.

"Mama?" There came a knock at the door, and I quickly wiped my face.

"Coming, coming." I opened the door to Sarada standing outside, "Want to use it?"

Sarada shook her head, "Uh, no. Never mind, just wanted to make sure you were here. Come on, the food's gonna get cold."

'What was that about?' I thought to myself as I followed her into the dining room.

"It's great that you guys could come over and spend some time with us." Ino said as she set down a bowl of rice and placed a bottle of apple cider beside it.

"I'm glad you invited us, Ino-oba." Sarada said, happily helping herself to some spoons of rice, "It's nice to get together every now and then, ne Inojin?"

"Yeah, every now and then, but I see you at school every day so—"

Sarada punched him in the shoulder and Ino laughed, "Sarada-chan is just like her mother."

"And Inojin gets that brazenness from Sai, no doubt." Sasuke remarked as he poured himself some apple cider, "Used to annoy me, how he'd just say whatever came to mind."

"You're telling us." I shook my head, "I remember when he first transferred to our 10th-grade class. Other than Naruto, he was the only person to get in a fight on their first day."

Sasuke grunted in agreement before turning to Ino, "Have you spoken to Sai recently?"

Ino shared a look with me before shaking her head, "You know how he is with his work. Nothing could take his attention away from his art. I just get a letter now and then from some random location in the world."

"I could track him down if you'd like." Sasuke offered, dishing some more rice for himself.

"No, it's fine." Ino waved her hand, "He'll be back when he's done. I'd rather not—"

A forceful knock interrupted her mid-sentence, and I started to get up, "Were you expecting someone else?"

"Even if she is, is that any way to knock?" Sasuke raised his hand, indicating I should sit back down, "I'll get it."

Everyone's eyes followed him as he left the dining room to answer the door and I glanced at my watch, 'It's 10:05, who could possibly—?'

"Speak of the devil." I heard Sasuke remark.

"Is something wrong?" Ino stood up, craning to see.

"That's up to you." Sasuke returned to the dining room with the uninvited guest.

A tanned man with jagged black hair, a chin strap surrounding his lower facial area, and some hairs above his lip just starting the process of a mustache, stepped into the room with a bunch of scrolls under his arms. We made eye contact and he tilted his head and smiled.

I brought my hand to my mouth, "Sai!"

"Hey, it's nice to see you all." He greeted us, looking around the room, "I'll go put these tapestries down and be right back to catch up with everyone."

My eyes drifted to his arms, and I quickly counted that he held eight rolled-up scrolls in total.

"Ah, let me help you with that." Ino said, getting up from her seat.

"Yeah, me too, Tou-san." Inojin happily stood up, walking over to his father.

"Arigato." Sai nodded to them both before giving Ino three scrolls from his left arm and Inojin two from his right.

The family left the dining room, and I couldn't help but exchange looks with Sasuke.

"Did you know he was back?" I asked with my eyes.

"I had no idea." He promised, holding his hands up.

Before we could go on, the three re-entered the room, and Sai clapped his hands.

"Lucky me, I came back just in time for dinner." Sai commented, smiling, "Scoot over, Inojin."

"Of course." Inojin grabbed his food and moved to the end of table, allowing Sai to take a seat diagonal from Ino.

With a large sniff, Sai grinned, "Everything smells delicious Ino, as usual."

"Oh, you know." She shrugged, her face reddening, "I try my best."

"I can see that." Sai nodded, helping himself to some rice before turning to Sasuke, "So, Inspector! They finally dragged you out?"

Sarada stifled a laugh and Sasuke picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks, "I'll have you know, I wasn't dragged. I was given the night off."

"Oh. So, you had no excuse not to come."

"You know what?"

"Okay!" I clapped my hands, chuckling and looking between the both of them, "Before you two get into it, I want to ask you Sai, what's it like traveling the world?"

"It must be fun, ne?" Inojin perked up, showing some interest.

"It's exhausting, to be honest." Sai poured himself some apple cider as he spoke, "Not many people speak Japanese out there, so I had to learn English and French before going anywhere."

"Really?" Ino leaned forward, "Say something for us in French."

"Like what?"

"Anything." Ino waved her hand, "Whatever comes to mind."

Sai thought for a moment before turning to her, "Je t'aime."

The phrase sounded oddly familiar, and I figured I had heard it used in one of the many Netflix shows I had binged, but I couldn't place its meaning. Something about it just seemed tender, it wasn't to be tossed around lightly.

"What does that mean?" Sarada asked for all of us.

"It means I love you." Sai answered, his eyes remaining on Ino.

Ino's cheeks turned stark red before she replied, "I love you too."

Sai leaned forward to give Ino a quick kiss and Inojin looked away, clearly embarrassed at his parents' public show of affection.

"But other than the languages," Sai continued, "I have to say, Europeans are very direct. This one time in Paris, a woman..."

He went on sharing stories of his adventures abroad, and every now and then one of us would chip in with a question or comment. The air was warm when we finished eating and soon it was time to clean up. Once the kids had dumped their dishes in the sink, they returned upstairs, leaving the adults alone. Sai offered to help in the kitchen, but I assured him that we would be fine before shutting the door and turning to Ino.

"So." I bent my head to look at her as she washed the plates, "He's back."

"Yeah." Ino nodded, handing me a plate she had washed.

I dried it and placed it in the overhead cabinet, "Yeah? That's it? What happened to what we talked about?"

She shook her head, "I don't know, Sakura. Maybe I should leave the whole thing alone. After all, he kissed me, didn't he?"

"Because he doesn't know that you know." I crossed my arms, "Ino, you are not allowed to let him waltz back into your life and act like everything's okay when he's been frolicking with some woman for the past eight months."

Handing me another plate, she sighed, "What if…what if he says he wants a divorce because I bring it up? I mean, he's so different now with the beard and the tan…I just, I don't want to lose him."

"Ino…" I touched her back sympathetically and she stopped washing.

"Gomen." She turned to me and offered a weak smile, "I know this isn't the strong independent Ino you were expecting, but when I think about life without him I…"

I immediately pulled her into a hug as a tear slipped down her cheek. She cried into my shoulder, and I patted her back before silently sighing. Of course I could talk a big game but if the shoe was on the other foot, I wasn't sure if I could be so quick to confront Sasuke either.

Collecting herself, Ino pulled back and wiped her eyes, "Arigato. You're always there for me."

I smiled as I released her, "I'm just returning the favor. After all, what are friends for?"

With a quick laugh, Ino returned her attention to the plates, and we finished up the dishes in warm silence. When the sink was clear she turned to me.

"You know what we need?" She tilted her head to the side as she leaned against the counter.

Raising an eyebrow, I waved my hand and motioned for her to continue.

A wide smile spread on her face as she grabbed my hand, "A drink. To the cellar!"

With a groan, I allowed her to drag me out of the kitchen and back to the dining room.

|Sarada|

"Inojin, take care of the house." Uncle Sai said clapping a hand down on Inojin's shoulder.

When Inojin nodded, Uncle Sai released him and stepped out, shutting the front door behind him.

"Finally." I sighed as we moved to the living room, "I thought they'd never leave."

"It's weird," Inojin commented, staring back at the front door, "Tou-san was never this concerned about safety before."

"Maybe something abroad changed him." I offered a reason for his father's differing behavior.

"Or someone." Inojin muttered as he plopped down onto the sofa, spreading out horizontally and lifting his legs onto the arm of the chair, "Anyway, what do you wanna do?"

"Well, I wanted to go over the plan but you look really comfy. I'd be bothering you if I asked you to get your laptop, wouldn't I?"

"Yes, yes you would." He nodded, slipping his phone out from his back pocket, "Not to fear, I have it right here."

Once I started to move his legs, he sat up and patted the space beside him. I bumped my arm into his as I slid into the seat before looking over his shoulder. He shielded his passcode from me before opening the Microsoft Word app, and I pinched his cheek.

"What, afraid I'm gonna steal your phone someday? Find out which girls you're talking to?" I teased as he tapped on our plan.

He rolled his eyes, "All you'd find is my mom, Chōchō…and you."

There was something about the pause before my name that made the air somewhat heavy. I found it hard to break eye contact but once I did, I punched him in the shoulder and forced a laugh.

"What's with that? Heh, you need to get out more."

"Coming from the girl who snuck out for the first time in her entire life yesterday?" Inojin snorted, handing me his phone, "That's rich."

"Shut it." I barked before scrolling through the text, "Hold up, there's a lot more on here than what we talked about."

He nodded, "Well, duh. You're not the only brains behind this operation."

I hummed absent mindedly as I read the document. What had been an incredibly simple outline was now a fully-fledged mission briefing, complete with everyone's designated roles and duties. Chōchō was the main piece of this operation, as everyone else's contributed would be related to her one job: making the drinks. Sumire and Denki played support with her, and the two would be their connections to find research on the brewing process. Inojin would supply us with bottles from his family cellar to put the mixture into once complete.

In the meantime, Boruto and Iwabe would take the coming days to subtly spread the word about a new drink unveiling at the party. Last night I had wondered aloud whether the host would be okay with us promoting our product at their place, but Boruto quickly waved away my concerns.

"Don't worry about it." Boruto had patted his chest triumphantly, "I know the guy, we'll be fine."

In the end, Shikadai and I were left as the wine distributers, with Metal in the background to act as muscle and prevent anyone from pulling a fast one on us. The latter had voiced his concerns about being the tough brawn of the group, but I assured him that as long as he wore something that showed off his toned arms, we would be fine.

"Do you think we can count on Metal to do his job?" Inojin asked out of the blue, causing me to raise my head, "He's already got the jitters on a normal day, imagine what he'll be like at the party."

"He's reliable when he needs to be." I said, handing his phone back to him, "If you're so worried, why don't you join us?"

"Me?" Inojin pointed at his chest with mock shock, "Collect money from rowdy teens? No thanks. Besides, it's a party and I'm there to have fun. You should try it some time."

"Fuck. You." I told him flatly, giving him the finger, "And I will be having fun when I'm counting up our profits at the end of the night."

He shook his head, "That's not fun, Sarada. Okay maybe the counting money part, but the hours you're gonna spend standing and serving people? That's boring."

"So what do you want me to do?" I crossed my arms, "Get drunk with them? Or play spin the bottle and kiss a random stranger?"

Inojin burst out laughing and I rolled my eyes, "If not that then what? What do you even do at a party?"

"On Wednesday night you'll see." Inojin promised before laughing again, "But uh, be honest with me Sarada, why are you doing this?"

I froze for a second, caught off guard by his change in tone, "What do you mean?"

"Getting involved with our whole drinking thing." He continued, further explaining, "Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the help in planning and organizing but you really don't need to do any more than this. All of us would be fine with you getting a cut based on what you've done so far."

I pursed my lips as I thought of a response, and in turn I began to question myself, 'Why am I doing this?'

Part of me wanted to blame it on the typical teenage urge to break rules, but that didn't feel right. Then I recalled Iwabe's moniker for me and felt my face tighten. I was nothing like my dad, and I was going to prove it. Did Inojin need to know all that? No.

I looked at him with the most unreadable face I could muster, "I have my reasons."

"And…what're those reasons?" He smirked, leaning his face close to mine and bumping our shoulders, "You know you can tell me, right?"

"Hm, I can but I won't because they're for me and my knowledge only." I bumped his shoulder back before standing up, "Okay?"

He grabbed my hand and forced me to look back at him "Sarada, talk to me. Why are you doing this?"

His lime green eyes were warm with concern and for a second, I considered confiding in him. Even if Inojin had a big mouth, when it came to secrets, he would take things to the grave. But this wasn't something to be shared, at least, not with him. He wouldn't understand trying to break away from the constricting expectations that had been set by my father.

I shook my hand free, "Inojin, drop it. I'm doing this because I want to — end of story."

Sighing, he shut his eyes and gave up on meddling. With a thankful nod, I punched him in the arm before heading for the kitchen to pour myself a cold glass of water.

As I drank, I thought back to Inojin's teasing about actually enjoying the party, and I tried to picture myself partaking in any of the events usually found at a social gathering of my peers. I almost vomited when I imagined me and this random teen lip locking after having terrible luck during a king game.

"Hell no." I muttered to myself as I drank some more water, "It's gonna be strictly business for me."

|Sakura|

"Ino, daijōbu?" I asked as I rubbed her back.

"I'm...fine." She managed to say before doubling over, and I gave her an incredulous look.

We were currently in the storage portion of the cellar, and she was using the wall for support while she took some calming breaths. I rubbed her back endearingly again as her breath hitched and she took a seat on the floor.

I reached for the doorknob, "I'm gonna get Sai. If you're not feeling well—"

"No!" She called out, before quickly covering her mouth with her hand, "Do not call him."

"Ladies? Is everything all right back there?" Sai inquired, and I glanced at Ino before responding.

"Everything's fine!" I answered and turned back to Ino once I heard nothing else, "Start talking; what's making you so sick all of a sudden?"

She whispered the answer, "Sai-kun."

"What?" I squatted beside her, leaning my ear closer, "I don't understand, your husband makes you sick?"

"Not sick, I'm just…anxious?" Ino shook her head, "Sakura, it's been eight months since I last saw him. Eight. And there weren't any phone calls, any FaceTime, any Skype…nothing. Just radio silence."

I kept quiet and let her continue.

"And you know how quiet Sai-kun is, was. We've been with him for, what? An hour? I feel like I'm talking to a stranger." Ino held her head in her hands, "He's become so different in such a short while…Kami, I don't even know him anymore."

I could agree with her there. The Sai that I knew was much like Sasuke: quiet and reserved. Yet the Sai before me now was talkative, expressive, and engaging. It was as if his personality had done a 180. Again, I couldn't help but put myself in her shoes and imagine how life would be if Sasuke's own personality had switched. To say I would be confused would have been an understatement. Still, I had to encourage her.

"Ino, no matter how much he's changed, he's still your husband." I grabbed her hands, trying to bring her to her feet, "And I would think that his change in personality would be the last thing on your mind, considering what we know."

Ino resisted my efforts to lift her, "That's the other thing. Sure, he's different, and I kinda like the change in pace. But when I find myself thinking like that, I remember the photos. How am I supposed to keep acting like everything's fine when he cheated on me?"

I stood silent for a moment, wondering what I would do if I were in her position.

'Nothing. Hell, you might be in her position right now and you wouldn't know because a loud voice makes you cry.'

Shaking my head, I yanked her up, "Alright, here's the plan: you're gonna go out there and ask him what those photos are about."

"But—"

"No buts. I can't stand seeing you like this; and you said it yesterday, didn't you? Once he gets back, you're going to get some answers out of him." I reminded her, "Well, he's back. Go get your answers."

I dragged her out of the storage room, but not before grabbing another bottle as a ruse for our chat.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen." I flashed a smile at the two men before shutting the storage door, "Ino and I couldn't decide on which bottle to bring back."

"Oh but Junmai is perfect." Sai smiled as he took the bottle from my hand, "While you ladies were gone, Sasuke and I were having a chat."

"Oh really?" I took a seat next to Sasuke, glancing at him, "About what?"

"Fatherhood, husbandry, love." Sai opened the sake as Ino slinked over to him.

"Love?" I raised an eyebrow, "I'd like to hear more about this love chat."

"Oh, if you want Sasuke to explain it to you, you guys should get going now." Sai poured himself a glass, as well as one for Ino.

"Why?" I questioned, not understanding the sudden need to end the night.

Sai smirked at Sasuke before continuing, "Because the only explanation is some good ole, over eighteen—"

"Arigato!" Sasuke clapped his hands, cutting Sai off, "Still as direct as ever."

Sai grinned sheepishly and Sasuke shook his head.

"What?" I looked from one to the other, "What were you going to say?"

Raising the glass to his lips, Sai drank with slightly raised shoulders, indicating he would say no more. I sighed and exchanged looks with Ino before nodding my head in encouragement.

"Um, Sai-kun…" She began slowly and I quickly distracted Sasuke.

"Since you've sworn Sai to secrecy, would you mind finishing what he was going to say?" I inquired, resting my chin on my hand.

Sasuke set down his glass and looked at the counter, "It's…he was referencing something we haven't done…in a long time."

I ran over Sai's few words again and felt my face heat up as I realized what he had been talking about.

"As in…?" I used my hands to portray the act.

"Mhm." Sasuke hummed quietly, folding his hands and placing them on his stomach.

"Oh." Silence began to spread between us, but I cleared my throat and forced the conversation to continue, "Well, I-I mean I'm always up for it, if you want to."

This was it; this was the moment of truth. Sasuke turned to me and I took forever to meet his eyes, scared that what I would find was absolute repulsion or contempt. Instead, I saw a flash of hope and then pain? Instinctively, I reached out and touched his cheek and he leaned into my hand, placing his own over it and pressing it firmer against the side of his face.

There were so many questions that I wanted to ask. Why was he doing this when he had seemed so disgusted earlier? Was he just acting like this because we weren't alone? What could I do to get back on his good side?

"Sakura…" Sasuke took a deep breath, "The truth is that I—"

A loud slap cut him off and we both turned our heads to see Sai holding his cheek, a tearful Ino still having an outstretched hand.

Sai's smile had been replaced by his thin line of the past and he turned to us, "Gomen, but I think we'll be cutting this short."

"Aa." Sasuke agreed, standing up and checking his watch, "It's half past ten anyway."

I stood up beside him, mourning the loss of contact for a second before turning to Ino and trying to catch her attention. She purposefully kept her eyes on the ground, and I feared what she had learned from her talk with Sai.

"The city's going to have us pulling practically 24-hour shifts starting tomorrow." Sasuke told him as we walked toward the stairs "I won't be seeing you for a while."

Sai opened up the cellar hatch, "That's unfortunate. We have to finish our chat so call me when you get the chance."

"Sounds like a plan." Sasuke affirmed as we stepped outside, "Ready to go?"

I realized he was talking to me and quickly nodded. All of us walked up to the house and once we were inside, Sai left to call Sarada and Sasuke excused himself to the bathroom. With the men gone, I took the opportunity to question Ino.

"What happened?"

She shook her head, wiping her eyes, "I just…I can't believe him. If I talk about it now…"

Sai and Sarada's voices made her trail off as they descended the stairs, and I quickly squeezed Ino's hand before rubbing Sarada's head. She shook my hand off before smiling and putting on her headphones. Inojin squeezed her shoulder, and she gave him a quick farewell hug before heading outside. Sasuke returned from the bathroom with our coats in hand and I thanked him before wearing mine.

The couple walked us to our car, and I got into the passenger seat before nodding at Ino.

"Remember, you have to call me." Sai reminded Sasuke, holding out his hand.

Sasuke shook it firmly, "I will."

Once they were done, the couple stepped back and Sasuke backed out of their driveway. With one final wave, we were out and on the road. Without any filler, the silence that had threatened to consume us before returned in full force. Sasuke switched on the windshield wipers, and I realized snow had begun to fall.

'Hypocrite.' The voice in my head chided me, 'You tell Ino to talk to her husband yet you won't do the same.'

With a silent sigh, I spoke up, "Sasuke-kun I…there's something I want to tell you."

"Go ahead." His eyes remained on the road, and I winced as his habitual hard tone returned.

'So it was an act.' I mused, my courage disintegrating.

There was no point in continuing when it was clear he didn't care for me like his most recent action had led me to believe

"Never mind." I said quietly, leaning against the window.

He said nothing, and I shut my eyes as the small glint of hope I had been holding onto faded away.