My head is pounding as I roll over onto my back. Last night I pushed it too far trying to prove that I can hang with the boys. Did Sasuke really push me against the wall last night?

'Yes he did! And you wasted a perfect fucking opportunity. Pun defiantly intended.'

'It's too early for this…I need water.'

I sit on the edge of my bed and chuck my shoes towards my closet. My dress is skin tight but I don't even care as I walk to my kitchen. The house is bright from the light bouncing off of the fresh snow, my eyes are closing from the pure white and I don't notice the man standing in front of me. I bounce off a soft, firm chest and take a few short steps back.

Sasuke is wearing a pair of sleeping plants and of course he's shirtless. My cheeks begin to feel hot from the specimen standing in front of me. If I was my younger self, I would try to have my way with him right here on the floor. Sasuke looks my disheveled self over, taking in every out of place hair and wrinkle in my dress. Gathering my composure, I push him slightly out of the way to grab a glass of water.

The cold liquid wakes my senses more and I look out into the backyard. The snow is about two feet high now and everything is covered. Looks like I won't be leaving the house today which means I can catch up on the laundry and finish reviewing a few files. Ignoring the pair of eyes watching my every move I return back to the safety of my room to clean off the remnants of last night.

I feel refreshed and ready to take on anything after a nice hot shower. The past few days I've felt defeated and uncertain of where to go from here. Sasuke and I still have to sit down and discuss what to do and where to go from here. My heart tightens at the thought. There is so much to figure out in such a short amount of time. Fuck…what will I tell my parents? Do I tell them the truth or lie to them like everyone else? Pulling my hair, I focus at the task at hand and throw my clothes in the washing machine.

The hardwood is cold under my feet as I take a seat on the couch. Sasuke is probably locked in his room right now which tends to make conversing even more difficult. What's the point? Trying to force him to talk will only make things more stressful. It's bad enough that I will most likely move into the Uchiha compound and sleep in the same bed. If our friends go to visit us and see another bedroom set up they will find out the truth. The truth is something that they have no business in knowing.

A door opening brought my attention to the hallway. Sasuke emerged from his room, dressed in sleeping clothes, he plopped down on the opposite end of the couch. I move to sit in my usual position with my feet tucked under me, moving the blanket on me I cover myself from his view.

He turned the television to a medical documentary on chakra control and the process of healing. Even though I have mastered this, the basics still pull me in. This was my entire life. Medical Ninjutsu is something that has helped mold me into the kunoichi that I am today. It also helped pull back the pieces that broke off when my two male teammates abandoned me. The screen entrances me and I can't help but think about my sensei. Tsunade is such a powerful medic and shinobi, her strength is inhuman and her ability to heal is astonishing. I'm beyond grateful that she took me under her wing and showed me the way of healing. If it wasn't for her, I would be the same girl crying over everything and latching onto Sasuke every chance I could. As a genin, I was called 'weak' and 'annoying' but now I can hold my own against the Hokage. Never again will those two words be used to describe me.

The screen went dark and the end credits rolled. I was too lost in my thoughts to notice that the hour presentation was over and another one was beginning. A static feeling is in the air and I turn my gaze over to Sasuke slightly, his eyes darted back towards the screen. He must've been watching me and once I caught him he ran. Sasuke's composure was still the same as always, statuesque posture, emotionless expression and quiet. I have to spend the rest of my life with this…Just fucking great.

"I think we should talk Sasuke." My tone is serious and harsh. We could avoid each other all we want but it won't help the awkwardness from the uncertain.

"Hn. Then talk." Same old Sasuke, cool carefree tone. This obviously wasn't bothering him as much as it was me. Our situation was just another annoyance to him.

"We need to figure out a plan."

"Simple. We marry, you move in with me, we follow the rules and have a few children." My eyes widen at his statement. There was a confidence to his small speech, he had been thinking about this more than I thought and the words rolled off his tongue like he had been practicing. A few children? The order said we only had to have one child within two years of being married.

"A few children?" My tone is harsher this time. I didn't want to get married to this human ice cube, let alone have multiple children with him. There's nothing I'm gaining from this situation. I will never have a true husband that will love me and respect me.

"The council won't be satisfied with only one Uchiha heir. It's a smart decision to have at least two maybe three children so that they will never force another Uchiha into marriage." Sasuke had thought long and hard about this. Seeing it from his point of view, the Uchiha clan is only one person now and producing a few heirs should make the council happy. I'm going to be used as a tool to repopulate the clan…fucking great…

"How can you be so calm about all of this?! You and I both know this is going to be a disaster. You're lucky if you get one child from me Uchiha." I rise from the couch and walk towards the back yard. My thick blanket is still wrapped around me as I step into the cold snow. My lungs breathed in the freezing air and it sent a chill through my whole body. I shouldn't be thinking so much about this, as a young teen this was my ultimate dream. Even now I'm slightly happy that I get to spend more time with him but I will never get him to have feelings for me. How could we possibly raise children together and act like a happy family? We are barely even teammates anymore; it would cause more harm than good for an innocent child. We would be lying to them their entire life.

My feet start to burn from the cold and I return to the warmth of the house. Sasuke hasn't moved from the couch and I take my seat back, hiding even more into the blanket. My face is freezing and surely my nose is tomato red from the cold, the news is on with the volume low.

"Unless you want to be killed, we have to produce at least one child." He doesn't even bother to look in my direction as me talks. My anger is continuing to boil and here soon he's going to see my full wrath.

"And what? We raise a child in a home where the parents can't even stand each other? That's no way for a child to live." My eyes are locked on him and he turns to look at me. Finally, this jerk can act knowledge me. His eyes are intense and I feel myself hide even further in my cocoon as blazing red eyes are staring me over.

"We haven't been around each other in eight years Sakura. The last time we had to work together was when we were twelve. I never said that I couldn't stand you, I just can't stand the situation. We have to try and get along, working together is the only way we can get through this." Sasuke's eyes never left mine. I can't open my mouth and retort as he begins to continue his statement.

"Trust me Sakura is there was another way I would think of it. It's pretty clear that we are stuck with each other." Crimson turns back to black and a pale hand runs through raven locks. I can see the frustration on his face, good to know that he can feel some emotions. Between the both of us, if there was a way out we would find it. There's no loop hole or exit clause in this order, so in turn the only way out it death. Like he said, were stuck together.

"So it's hopeless arguing about it huh." I feel defeated now. So much for feeling ready to take on the world. A sigh leaves my throat and I move my gaze back to the television. The couch moves slightly and Sasuke is sitting right beside me. My inner teenager wants me to wrap my arms around him and seek protection in his hold, but I know that I can't rely on that.

"I said I would try." His face is coming closer to mine. My face feels hot and it's like I'm in a heater. What is he doing? Before I can find out my front door slams open and two men come trudging in. They kick off the snow in the entryway before one of them jumps on top of Sasuke and I.

"Damn it Naruto. A little heads up next time." I push him off the couch and a loud thud echoes through the room. Kakashi walks over to the loveseat and laughs at the scene in front of him.

"Sorry Sakura! I figured Team 7 could spend quality time together. Everyone is locked in their houses being boring so I thought we could liven things up a bit." He laughs and takes Sasuke's previous seat on the other side of the couch. He changed the channel to some awful comedy movie. Time with my team does sound good and I do have to learn how to work with Sasuke all over again.

"So what's the plan? If you're here to liven the place up that is." I roll my eyes as I continue to stare at the bright screen. It's getting close to lunch time and knowing these guys they will be starving. After drinking so much last night I could use a decent meal to get my system back in order.

"You'll see." Naruto jumps up and runs to the backroom where I keep all of my storage. Please for the love of everything please don't bring out any board games. The last time we played games I ended up punching Naruto and Shikamaru square in the jaw. Pushing myself from the couch I head toward the kitchen to make a small lunch for the four of us to share. My hands guide the knife as I chop the vegetables and listen as the boys talk about the new weapons coming to the market.

Cooking is something that I've always found relaxing. In the past years, I've had more free time to learn recipes and practice the skill. Maybe I could teach my future child to enjoy the peacefulness cooking brings as well. Two little hands helping me make cookies or rice balls while they wait for their father to come home. A smile spreads on my face as I picture a small version of Sasuke standing tall on a kitchen chair helping me. It couldn't be that bad…

Of course…Naruto pulled out a huge stack of board games and he wanted to play the longest game in history. Fucking risk…Kakashi and Naruto were secretly teaming up to wipe out mine and Sasuke's armies. I'm down to just a few countries and I'll be taken out here soon. So far it's been fun, everyone has talked about nothing in particular. Sasuke's even laughed when Naruto started being an idiot and I knocked him on his ass for a second. It's nice to hear him laugh after seeing him so far into the darkness.

"Ha ha. Looks like you're almost done for Sakura." Naruto starts laughing as he distributes his new pieces. Kakashi is lost in thought and Sasuke's sitting just a little to close for comfort. Every time he goes to grab a card or the dice, his hand slightly grazes my arm. I don't know if it's on accident but it happens every. single. time. My face is slightly flush and I know that everyone else can tell. At this point there's no reason in hiding.

"You and Kakashi are cheating together." I point out as I watch Naruto attack one of Sasuke's countries. The loud mouth lost and started to pout.

"It's not our fault that we know how to work as a team." Kakashi's voice is deep and straight to the point. Sasuke and I don't know how to work together anymore. Back then, we had just started to learn how then he left.

"Hn. Working as a team doesn't justify cheating. You have to follow the same rules." Sasuke's tone is flat. There is an undeclared argument going on here by the way the two men are staring at each other. Kakashi makes his move and attacks Naruto instead of Sasuke, winning his attack he takes his card and continues his conversation.

"So you will work as a team and follow the rules?" Sasuke's body stiffens next to me and the tension in the air is thick. I shift awkwardly and look over to Naruto who is also waiting for a response. What was Kakashi sensei getting at? Why is he giving Sasuke the tenth degree?

"Yes…" Sasuke says defeated. It's as if there is an inner battle with himself to come to that answer. I want to plain out ask what in the world they were talking about, but it's not my business. My body tenses up as a hand rests on my thigh under the table, a smirk adorning Sasuke's face. He really does think he is slick huh? Well two can play at this game. Returning his gesture, I hand rest on his thigh further up his leg and my thumb strokes the fabric slowly. Two eyes cut towards me and a hand retracts from me, too much for him to handle.

'Look at his face! There's a red tint. Looks like you learned something from me.'

'I haven't learned anything from you. It's just common sense.'

'You were so close to his crotch too. Man if only you would've gone up a few more inches.'

'In his wildest dreams.'

'No sweetheart, our wildest dreams. Just think here soon you get to spend adult time with him.'

'Not like I will enjoy it.'

'Oh you will or I'm taking over your body. Stop being such a prude and enjoy it instead of resenting it.'

Enjoy Sasuke? I need to focus more on trusting him again and learn to work with him. Naruto wipes out the rest of my army and I retreat to the couch. Getting away from the lone Uchiha, I wrap back into my cocoon watching my boys argue over the last few countries.

Naruto and Kakashi decided to crash in the other two empty rooms. Sasuke and I went back to sitting on the couch watching more ninja documentaries and how to videos. Most of it were basics so it was on just for the background noise. My legs are stretched out this time and he doesn't seem to mind me being so close.

"I guess we have a lot to work on huh?" I quiet as I talk. Sleep is starting to lure me in and my body starts to feel heavier.

"Hn. Yeah we do but we don't have to perfect it in the next month." He's right. Just because we are being forced to marry in a month doesn't mean we have to work perfectly in sync in that amount of time.

"What were you and Kakashi talking about earlier?" The question has been bugging me all night. There was a hidden message in their conversation, I figure it has something to do with our situation but I don't want to read it the wrong way. A long sigh leaves his mouth before he starts to talk.

"While you were at the Hokage's the other day, Kakashi and Naruto came over. Kakashi left just before you came back."

"Why?"

"He's hesitant of trusting me again as well. There's no reason for me to try and turn against any of you. I've completed one of my goals in life. Itachi is dead and there's no reason for me to seek the darkness."

"That doesn't explain that conversation." A sigh fills the room again before he continues to talk.

"Sakura, I told you I would try." He is silent after that and he moves towards me. My heart is beating rapidly and I move closer to the edge. Sasuke lays beside me and I turn to face him.

"Why are you doing this?" My face is fire hot and probably red to match. It's taking all of my self control to not melt into him. I'm supposed to be angry at him, hate him even, but why does every nerve in my body want me to move closer?

"Hn. Might as well start getting used to sleeping with each other." He drapes an arm over me and his eyes close. The scent of wood and trees hit my nose, it's not too much and it reminds me of our early mornings training in the forest. Instead of my body tensing more, I relax and close my eyes as well. I'm too tired to argue with him and pull away. His face looks peaceful as his breathing starts to even out. Maybe he really is trying…