"Will you get your fat ass out of the way?"

Mikoto Uchiha wanted to cut her husband's throat with the sharpest knife that she could find, but she'd worked hard on turning the other cheek lately. Maintaining her composure wasn't exactly easy though.

He turned up the volume as his wife continued to dust in front of their bedroom television. "I can't see the broadcast!"

Had she officially reached her breaking point after 23 years of marriage? It certainly felt like it.

Lazy, condescending, nasty, fat, and downright mean at times: those were just a few adjectives that she would use to describe her not so lovely husband. He was never kind-hearted to begin with, but ever since he returned from prison, he's been turning into a bigger asshole with every passing day. He was lucky the Hokage hadn't executed him for his crimes! In fact, most of the Uchiha clan would've been put to death if it wasn't for Hiruzen having the ones wanting to revolt arrested.

The present-day version of her spouse was vile to her. The comments about her weight were endless. Was she a little more plump than she was back in her twenties? Sure, but who wasn't? Countless numbers of her excess pounds had been trimmed courtesy of her new diet and gym-going habits.

Mikoto had always considered herself to be a voluptuous 5 foot 5 inches. Her D-cup breasts and sizable backside complemented her onyx eyes and shoulder-length black hair perfectly. At least that's how she felt a decade ago. Years of verbal abuse had completely crushed her self-esteem, and she could pinpoint the exact moment when things really took a turn for the worst.

It was when both Itachi and Sasuke moved out.

Itachi was practically kicked out of the Uchiha clan after the elders and Fugaku returned. He didn't have to leave since he was the clan head, but he decided it was best to give up his seat so his father and other clan members could return. He was now serving as one of the Hokage's chief advisors, and Mikoto was so proud of her son for all his accomplishments.

Sasuke hadn't technically moved out but he was seeing a girl (Kimiko was her name) in Grass country and she didn't want to leave her home, so he was spending most of his time there. Mikoto hoped that her son could convince the sweet girl to move to the Leaf because she needed her baby boy to be home again. Fugaku's true colors only showed when their son wasn't around, but with Sasuke never around, the nasty remarks soon became commonplace everywhere. If she overcooked something, she was an idiot; if she bought the wrong item at the grocery store, she was stupid; and no matter how much she exercised, she was always fat.

Things were a little better now because her deceased best friend's son had returned to Konoha a couple of weeks ago. Naruto was always precious to her, and he had grown up to be an intimidating man and his presence alone could scare off most enemies. She realized it as of late but her husband appeared to be scared of Naruto as well. She could tell from his eyes and the fact he didn't dare speak ill of her when he had stopped by.

"Can you move any fucking slower?" he huffed. "Hurry the fuck up, Mikoto!"

She finished wiping off the dresser before turning back to glare at him. The casualness of her pink sweatpants and black t-shirt didn't reflect her anger whatsoever. She couldn't possibly despise him more at the moment.

"Move!"

She placed her hands on her hips defiantly and stared at him. His big beer belly and thinning brown hair only angered her further. A guy like him should be over the moon to have a woman like herself in his life!

"Get the fuck out of the way!"

Did part of her actually prefer that he be such an outright jerk? She certainly didn't love him anymore, and his reprehensible personality caused her to experience significantly less guilt regarding her own feelings. How many times had she dreamed of leaving him?

Hundreds? The urge to cheat consumed her every time a nice, respectful, good-looking man showed her even the slightest bit of attention. All she desired was to feel loved and respected. Was that really too much to ask for?

Filing for divorce would be an admission of failure. It would display a crack in the pristine life that she portrayed to everyone around her.

Not even her friends had any idea that she couldn't stand the man she was married to.

"Thanks so much for watching!"

He was fuming now, and his intense look of anger from missing the shinobi channel broadcast brought her joy. Part of her was happy with her decision to block his view by refusing to move. Ruining her asshole husband's night brought her happiness. It was refreshing to make him experience a hint of the misery that he brought to her life on a daily basis.

"Move!" Fugaku demanded, enraged. "Now!"

She didn't have anything to show for her effort to be the better person for all these years either. Turning the other cheek was bullshit. All it did was allow the other side of her face to be slapped. Her days of being a pushover were behind her, because she was ready to finally stand her ground.

"You're an asshole."

His eyebrows perked up at the sound of her strong tone. "Excuse me?"

"I said that you're an asshole," she repeated calmly, still blocking his view.

"Is that right?" he asked with an arrogant chuckle. "Well, do you want to know something, Mikoto? I may be an asshole, but you're a fat, old, unappreciative bitch, and the last thing I need is for some cunt to intentionally block my view when I want to watch TV. Now, get your fat fucking ass out of the way before I snap."

Tears poured from her eyes as she scurried out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

"Kami are you kidding me?" he remarked under his breath. "Fucking bitch."

Years of being called fat and old took its toll on her to the point she just couldn't keep fighting back. Her life had turned into a nightmare, and there wasn't any escape.

What if she wasn't the nice, kind, lovable person that she always thought of herself as? Maybe she was delusional? Perhaps Fugaku hated her because she was unlikable?

"What happened?"

She stopped in her tracks. Standing in the middle of the hallway- pausing from his trek back to his bedroom with a glass of water in his hand-was Naruto.

"N-Naruto-kun," she said, doing her best to hide her red eyes from her son's best friend. "When did you… get here?"

"I forgot something in the guestroom the last time I was here so I dropped by quick with Shunshin. I was going to apologize for dropping by unannounced but forget about that. What happened?"

She turned and looked away. She didn't want him to see her like this. The last thing the nineteen year old to be burdened by her problems.

"Kaa-san," he said, his tone reflecting a man who wanted an answer.

And what would he do if she told him anyway? He was her adopted son though he had moved out of the Uchiha clan and taken up his right as the Uzumaki clan head. She hated letting him go like that, but she knew it was for the best because she wanted the Uzumaki clan to be remembered forever. And if she couldn't find it in her to tell Sasuke about what was going on, then how could she tell Naruto?

Maybe he would mention something to her husband, but Fugaku would eventually return to his degrading ways-especially once Naruto left.

But how good would it feel to get it off her chest? She needed someone to vent to. It felt like a godsend to simply have someone in her life who was willing to listen to her problems.

"Kaa-san!" he said louder, demanding to be informed of the situation. 39 year old women shouldn't turn to 19 year old men for advice.

Shouldn't it be the other way around? Was this really where her life was at? Had she merely become a helpless old lady who couldn't even stick up for herself?

Messy, thick golden hair, striking blue eyes and a body that showed just how much time he spent in the gym. Naruto should be busy chasing girls this Thursday night, but he wasn't seducing some lucky nineteen-year-old knockout, was he? No, he was about to be weighed down by her headache instead.

"Your-your-your oji-san," she stammered. "He is-is-is so-so…"

Naruto waited for her to finish patiently. He would stand here all night if need be. He couldn't just move on from seeing his guardian angel cry. After all, when he was a child, she made the massive decision to adopt him into the Uchiha clan once Fugaku and the conspirators were sent to prison. He eventually moved out to accept his role as the Uzumaki heir, but she still always treated him as her youngest son.

"He's-he's-he's so-so mean to me!" Relief flooded her body. Her confession was over a decade in the making, and now she wondered why she never acted on her instincts sooner? She no longer carried the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"What?" he asked.

"Fugaku is so mean to me!" she repeated, still flustered but significantly relieved. "He always calls me names, makes fun of me, and treats me like shit!"

His confused look grew. He'd never heard negative or nasty comments from his father, and while his friend's parents didn't exactly seem lovestruck with each other, things weren't horrible either. However, there was no way in hell she would ever lie to him about this and now he was getting pissed.

"What does he say?"

"He calls me stupid, old, and he always tells me I'm fat," she admitted. "Constantly."

His blood began to boil but he tried his best to remain calm for his best friend's mom's sake. "He says those things to you?"

"Every day!" she continued to vent. "I'm so sick of it! I do so much around here and he doesn't appreciate any of it. Like, I was trying to dust our bedroom a few minutes ago, and told me to get my fat ass out of the way because I was blocking the TV."

His hand balled into a fist instinctively.

"And then he called me a fat, old, unappreciative bitch," she told him. His left eye twitched.

"And a cunt too!" she shouted, her anger beginning to rise as she replayed Fugaku's conceited tone in her head.

"Stay here," he said and then stormed past her. He made a beeline straight for Mikoto's closed bedroom door at the end of the upstairs hallway.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He was far too preoccupied with what he'd heard to find the words to respond. It was no secret that Fugaku was on the lazy side after returning from prison, but this version of him sounded like hell to live with. How long had this been going on for?

He burst into the bedroom to find his friend's dad lounging in bed. "Back already?" Fugaku asked, his eyes yet to leave the television. Naruto literally stomped his way towards the man.

"Fucking bitch, it sounds like you're going to fall through the floor," Fugaku snickered. "Maybe you-whoa!"

Naruto grabbed a big handful of the bastard's shirt and slammed him back against the wooden headboard of the bed. Fugaku's eyes finally left from the TV and stared at his face, confused and maybe even a little fearful. If what Mikoto had told him was indeed true-and she'd never lied to him before-then he wanted this piece of shit to be terrified.

"What did you say to Mikoto kaa-san?" Naruto growled.

"What did I say to her?" Fugaku asked after taking a deep gulp. He'd never seen Minato's brat so enraged. "What?"

Naruto's fingers dug deeper into the cotton fabric in his grasp. "What did you say to her before she came out into the hallway?"

"I-I-I did-didn't say anything," Fugaku sputtered, attempting to conceal his lie.

He roughly pushed his friend's father again, causing the back of his head to thud against the wood behind him. "Don't lie to me!"

"I-I-I don't know what you're talking about," Fugaku said.

He stared deeply into the bastard's frightened black eyes. "Did you call Mikoto kaa-san a fat, old, unappreciative bitch?"

"I-"

"And did you call her a cunt?" "We-"

"It's a yes or no question," Naruto interrupted.

Fugaku would never admit it, but he was scared. He couldn't help but be intimidated by the way the Uzumaki effortlessly jolted him back against the headboard. Naruto was taller, at an imposing 6'3 compared to Fugaku's 5'7 stature. He was also significantly fitter and undeniably stronger. The vein which bulged in his bicep as he continued to squeeze his shirt was scary. For the first time in his life, Fugaku found himself legitimately worried for his safety inside his own house.

"I may have-have-have sa-said some things," he stuttered, glancing at the blonde's powerful forearm which held him in place.

"Did you call her a cunt?" Naruto asked again. "And did you tell her she's fat?"

Sasuke's father nodded meekly.

"Sweetheart, relax!"

Naruto's head snapped around to find Mikoto now in the room with them. She kept her distance cautiously, just inside the entryway. Her look of concern was impossible to miss.

"It's fine," he told his adoptive mother. "You shouldn't be here for this."

She'd never seen anything like Fugaku's look of panic. He appeared so weak-like a younger sibling being bullied by his big brother-but her husband couldn't be further from a little kid, and the guy with a

handful of his shirt certainly wasn't his older brother. Fugaku was a 41 year old man being dominated by their son's friend!

The optimistic part of her had hoped for the young man to sit down and have a mature discussion with Fugaku regarding his behavior, but he clearly decided to handle the situation differently-much differently.

And even more unexpected was how much she found herself enjoying it.

"Mikoto kaa-san is going to keep me updated on what's going on around here. If I find out that you even utter a disrespectful word to her, let alone call her something like a cunt again, I'll fucking kill you!"

Fugaku's heart stopped beating.

Mikoto's heart was doing the opposite. It was beating faster than it ever has.

"Have I made myself clear?!" Fugaku nodded gingerly, terrified.

Naruto released his hold on the man's shirt before turning to look at his friend's mother, and he couldn't help but be caught off guard from what he saw. She didn't appear stunned, confused, or even scared. Instead, she looked pleased.

"You can sleep in the guest room with me tonight."

Mikoto's focus left her shocked husband and shifted to her son's friend. "What?"

"You shouldn't have to sleep in the same bed as someone who talks down to you," Naruto told her. "You can sleep with me."

"Thanks, Naruto-kun," she said with a smile.

"No problem," he smiled back. "Is there anything you need to get?"

She walked over to her nightstand, her eyes locked on the dispirited asshole who'd acted so cocky mere minutes ago. Fugaku was a tough guy when it came to mocking her, but he crumbled the moment a real man stepped up to him. His recent behavior reaffirmed everything she already knew about him.

She grabbed her favorite novel and followed her blond hero into the hallway.

"You didn't need to do that," she said, thrilled to finally have someone stick up for her, but slightly troubled from what she witnessed.

"No, I did," Naruto said as he shut the bedroom door. "Has this been going on for a long time?"

She nodded.

"I wish you would've told me about this earlier," he said. "You don't deserve to be talked to like that."

She wrapped her arms around him and gave him the biggest hug of her life. Everything about him was perfect. As if he wasn't smart, funny, muscular, and handsome enough to begin with, now he was a total gentleman on top of all his other amazing traits? Eligible bachelorettes were probably fighting each other for the privilege of getting his time.

"Thanks again, Naruto-kun. I really appreciate you standing up for me," she told him after breaking off their embrace.

"No problem, kaa-san."

The two headed into the guestroom where Mikoto slid into the bed. He swiftly joined her under the covers.

Watching her son's friend slam her husband against their bed headboard took a back seat to her current moment of confusion. She couldn't have been more baffled. "Um… what are you doing?"

He reached out to retrieve the water bottle from the nightstand. "Huh?"

"I thought you said that I could have your bedroom tonight," she reminded him.

"I did," he answered nonchalantly before helping himself to a sip. She continued to stare at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Did she really need to answer that? She was comfortably under the covers in bed, all ready to read her novel before calling it a night, except she wasn't alone. A certain young man had decided to join her, but he wasn't some hunk from her latest romance novel. No, the guy a few feet to her left just so happened to be her son's best friend.

"I wasn't expecting you to be here too," she said awkwardly. Nothing about this felt right.

His curious look had yet to alter. "It's a queen size bed. There's plenty of room."

Spacing wasn't her problem. It was who she shared the bed with. "Honey-"

"Is this weird for you?" he interrupted. "It's not weird for you?" she asked.

"Why would it be weird for me?" he questioned, casual as ever.

"Because I'm not exactly a single woman," she answered, flabbergasted that she needed to explain the situation. "I assumed that you would sleep downstairs on the couch."

He took another sip of his water before setting the glass back down on his nightstand. "I can leave if you want."

"No, I don't want to kick you out. I just wasn't expecting this. You know what? It's fine."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Totally sure," she said with a warm smile. "You're right. It's a big bed. There's plenty of room."

He shot her a smile of his own before turning on the TV and finding the new development channel that was showing all the things that were happening in the Elemental Nations. Namely Fire Nation because that's where most of the coverage was. Apparently they were going to create a mall of sorts. As for Mikoto, she flipped open her book and began reading.

The two went about their night, disregarding any of the awkwardness that came along from sharing the same bed with each other.