The Contract (sasusaku AU) Chapter 25, a naruto fanfic

-XXX-

SASUKE

Whisper. "Sasuke-kun..." I heard a soft whisper nearby, waking me from my heavy sleep. I felt dizziness and warmth. Maybe a little too warm. There was a pleasant sensation of heat surrounding me and something that smelled alluring. A floral scent perhaps, sweet.

While I didn't like sweet things, this scent was sensual, maybe even intoxicating. The pillow was tickling my nose, so I scratched my nose to push the itching away. Then I buried my face in its pleasant softness again, this time deeper, but my pillow giggled and the same whispering sounded again. "Sasuke-kun..."

Despite the fact that I didn't want to move an inch away from the dreamy smell, I forced myself to slowly open my eyes, which saw the window as the first thing. The light outside was dim and heavy clouds, soaked with rain, stretched across the sky. The sounds of the storm had finally stopped, but even with my eyes half open I knew that the storm wasn't over. With a frown, I looked around and lifted myself up on my right elbow.

I looked down at the pillow next to me and it was immediately clear where the softness and that lovely scent was coming from. All the time, I was buried in Sakura's hair and she was currently looking at me with those gorgeous eyes of hers that she was still sleepily attempting to keep open. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun..." She whispered just a small inch from my face and I felt even hotter than I already did.

Suddenly the events of last night flashed through my mind. Looking into her eyes, I waited to see if she would make any comment on last night. For example, that last night's kiss shouldn't have happened and that she regretted it, or that she would start pretending like it never happened. But I didn't want either of those options to come into play. It happened, and I was glad it did. And maybe I even wanted it to happen again. I expected her to tell me all sorts of things, but her next words caught me by surprise.

"I slept..." She said with amazement in her voice. "I slept all night..." She repeated again, this time more enthusiastically, her eyes filled with tears of joy and relief. "I'm glad to hear that..." I was relieved to suddenly see tears of happiness instead of tears of fear and pain. When I saw the corners of her lips lift into a bright smile, a strange feeling of happiness swept over me. The kind of happiness I'd long forgotten I could feel.

I was weak. Her radiant face and bright smile robbed me of my restraint and composure. I made only a slight downward movement to kiss her forehead, and the moment my lips touched her skin and I leaned my body against hers, I was suddenly much more aware of the position we were actually in. I noticed that I was hugging and holding Sakura as tightly around the waist as I could. And if only that. I was touching her with every inch of my body.

I had one hand tangled in her smooth hair while the other hand was placed over her stomach, squeezing her to me as tightly as if my life depended on it. As if she would disappear from me in an instant. My legs were entwined with her all-too-cold feet, which now provided welcome cooling.

What startled me the most, however, was my fully erect penis pressing against her bottom. I was used to this situation in the morning, but never like this. I felt sweat on the back of my neck and my breathing quickened like it hadn't in a long time.

"We should probably get up, Sasuke-kun... I'm sure Hinata is waiting for us downstairs in the kitchen." Apparently the same wave of heat washed over her, because she turned her face away from me, her cheeks flushed, unable to keep eye contact between the two of us. I knew by the blush in her cheeks that she was embarrassed, and her thoughts were in places where mine probably were too.

She turned slightly towards me again, her gaze fixed sideways. "Come on, Sasuke-kun... Let's go…" She tried to gently push my hand away from her tummy so she could climb out of bed, but I wouldn't let her. I buried my face in the hollow of her neck again, both of us now lying on our right sides. Her back was pressed against my chest and I could feel her every breath. "Five minutes..." I murmured into the exposed piece of skin that wasn't covered by her locks, mentally marveling at how natural it felt to wake up with her like this.

When I felt her trying to break free from my embrace, I kissed her behind the ear with a small bite, and was pleased to see that she shivered all over her body. Unlike last night, when she trembled with fear, this morning she shivered with the pleasure my proximity caused. A feeling of pleasure ran down her spine until she arched her back and pressed her ass even more forcefully against my member.

The fact that she was feeling the same arousal confirmed the faint moan that escaped her lips. Perhaps the heat had overwhelmed my brain that I hadn't thought at all, and instead of restraint and composure, I had acted impulsively and quickly. Still holding Sakura in my arms, I rolled her from her side to flip her onto her back and pressed my lips firmly against hers. I kissed her deeply, tenderly and respectfully.

I needed to feel her as close to me as I could. We panted between kisses and her hands found their way into my hair, just as my hands found their way along her waist to her abdomen. I caressed her with my tongue, exploring the inside of her mouth and teasing her with the touch of my fingers.

After a moment of our tongues twiddling in unison, I pulled away breathlessly. I thought to myself that she had never been this gorgeous. Maybe she always was, I just didn't notice. But now her emerald eyes were so hypnotic and her swollen lips so inviting that I stopped wondering and leaned down for another tender kiss.

I put my full weight on top of her and pressed myself against her hips. Her eyes widened, the flash of surprise in them penetrating even the lust I was lost in. I knew that if I didn't end this now, sweat would soon be pouring off our heated and naked bodies even more than it had been up until now, with both of us in our pajamas and linked together in lustful kisses alone.

With the way Sakura had opened up to me last night about her past and her hardships, I felt that we were a little closer now. The fact that my thoughts were yearning for a different kind of bonding right now, I had to put aside. I didn't want to destroy what we had managed to build, whatever the hell that was.

By force of will, I rolled to the other and my chest was rising heavily. I covered my face with my hand so she wouldn't see me blush from the awkwardness. "Go down first. I need to take a shower..." I huffed as I felt Sakura leaning towards me.

"I... I'm sorry if I caused something..." Sakura whispered feeling abashed, and I had to smirk at how this whole thing was kind of ridiculous. "It's nothing..." I groaned as she put her hand on my shoulder and slowly pulled away. I felt the covers lift and I could sense Sakura tossing them to the side so she could climb out of bed.

Before she could put her toes to the carpet on the floor, I turned around, grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the bed with a jerk. If she hadn't braced herself with her other hand, she would have fallen right on top of me. "Wait. Don't go yet." I told her, and the confusion on her face deepened. I didn't blame her. First I wanted her to leave, and now I told her not to go. "What… Why?"

"Stay here a little longer." I began to explain with a heavy sigh. "I don't want Hinata to think and then tell that dobe that I'm lacking energy in the morning." She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. After a while, Sakura began to giggle until I started to regret what I had said. She buried her head in her pillow again, her shoulders shaking as the giggles turned into genuine volleys of laughter. Her amusement almost made the bed tremble.

"It's nothing to laugh at."

She kept laughing and I smirked at her. I deliberately rolled over on top of her just so I could touch her belly with my hard cock. Her cheeks turned pink with excitement and her eyes glistened. I kissed her gently on her collarbone and caressed her shoulder as I spoke. "I guess we'll have to talk about extending our contract..."

She didn't say a word to my statement, she was speechless with surprise and amazement. And she was also probably wondering what was hidden under the word "extension". But she still kept her lovely smile on her face. And neither did she say no.

…

Hinata got a call from Naruto during breakfast that he wouldn't be home until Sunday. Since the storm was still threatening, we assured her that we would be happy to have her stay with us until tomorrow when he would come to pick her up. There was no other option anyway. Besides, Sakura often laughed with her, which I liked. I wished I could hear her laugh as often as possible.

As the storm subsided, tame and weakened, the three of us went to visit Tsunade at the nursing facility. I suggested we stop along the way for Tsunade's favorite meal, chicken breast and sake. Sakura was shocked to learn that I knew what her aunt liked, and how many times I had actually been there to visit.

The store across from the nursing facility, where I always went to get whatever Tsunade sent me for, had certainly shown an increase in sales in recent weeks, and the staff at the nursing home always looked forward to see what I would bring them again each time I visited. I couldn't disappoint the woman who was my newlywed wife's only family. Not because I was afraid of Tsunade, but because I wanted to have peace on my mind.

Her eyes sparkled with appreciation and she startled me by rising on tiptoe and kissing me on the cheek right in the middle of the street we were walking down. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." I give a nod of agreement, and seeing that we were making Hinata uncomfortable, I went ahead. Upon arriving at the house, we found Tsunade to be in an exceptionally good mood today, which was further heightened when she saw us.

Hinata was back to her old self, smiling and not as silent as she had been in the last couple of hours. She met Tsunade for the first time, and Tsunade didn't hesitate, immediately embarrassing her with stories from her youth. So I had the opportunity to sit quietly and watch all three women enjoying themselves.

Hinata and I sat on the chair next to the bed and Sakura sat next to Tsunade on the blanket so she could hold her hand, adjust her fallen hair from her face while talking and laughing with her.

Sakura was enjoying their time together and kept urging her aunt to eat something, which Tsunade didn't like very much. "You shouldn't be so uptight, Sakura! Relax a little..." Her aunt scolded her as if Sakura was still a little girl. "I just want you to gain strength, there's nothing wrong with that." Sakura stuck her tongue out at her playfully, and Tsunade snorted. "You're so boring sometimes... You always have to keep everything under your control." All three of them ended up laughing at that, and the atmosphere in the room was nice and light.

"Well… am I right, you little Uchiha brat?" Laughing, Tsunade urged me to give her my opinion. "Hn... she's very stubborn and when she sets her mind to something, she doesn't give up." I only added to the conversation on the sidelines, and Sakura threw me a wronged look. "That's not true, shannaro!"

Hinata chuckled shyly and handed Sakura a glass of water from the table Sakura was trying in vain to reach. "But... you certainly like that about your wife... don't you, Sasuke-kun?" Hinata remarked softly to me as Sakura took the glass of water from her. Sakura and I both froze in a second. We hadn't told Tsunade we were married yet. We couldn't exactly identify what was between us ourselves, let alone explain it Sakura's aunt.

We looked at each other and didn't know what to say next. Tsunade sat up so abruptly that the food on the tray above her knees almost fell into her bed. "So you're married?!" She turned fully to Sakura and shouted at her. "You got married and didn't tell me anything?! Are you pregnant?" Tsunade was genuinely angry, spouting one question after another at Sakura.

When I saw the whole situation thickening, I knew I should shed some light on our wedding, because I was the one who got Sakura involved in the first place. "Tsunade, listen..." I started, but she shot me a murderous glare and put me on the spot. "Shut up! I'm not talking to you right now." She snapped, and Sakura shook her head at me as a signal that I'd better not say anything and leave the explanation to her. Sakura was braver at talking to Tsunade than anyone else.

Taking a deep breath of courage, Sakura uttered: "No, I'm not pregnant." She replied calmly. "But you're married." Tsunade pointed out firmly. "Yes." Sakura confirmed what Hinata had publicly announced here a moment ago, albeit unintentionally. Tsunade looked at me again and pushed her lunch tray away completely. "I want to talk to my daughter alone."

Hinata apologized and was the first to flee the room, obviously upset and angry with herself for indirectly causing this mess. After a moment, I got up from my chair as well, and with one last glance fixed on Sakura, I agreed, closing the door behind me as I crossed the threshold, out into the hallway.

…

I paced back and forth in the common room anxiously. I never minded waiting, but this was getting to me. I leaned against the opposite wall and sighed, my eyes fixed on the door to Tsunade's room. "Sa-sasuke-kun, I'm so sorry!" pleaded Hinata, sitting at a table with knitting magazines. She had her gaze fixed on her lap, playing with her folded hands in it, full of worry to even look at me.

"It's okay, you couldn't have known." I told her and closed my eyes thoughtfully, imagining the conversation going on behind the door in front of me. My reassurance must have calmed Hinata down a bit because when I opened my eyes again, her chin slowly lifted and she regained the confidence to meet my gaze. "I'm sorry, but... Can I ask you something?"

I nodded, hoping her question would make me think of other things. "Did she really not know, or did she just forget?" I wanted to lie first and tell her that Sakura and I had told Tsunade about our wedding a long time ago. I wanted to say that her Alzheimer's was to blame, not us. But I was getting tired of all the lies.

I pushed myself away from the wall and rubbed the back of my neck wearily. "Sakura didn't have it easy in her childhood." I began to explain slowly. "There's more you don't know about Sakura, but it's up to her to tell you." Hinata smiled ruefully, but didn't object and continued to listen. "Tsunade is everything to her, so she tried to keep her from getting upset." Hinata nodded and waited for me to continue.

"It's my fault." I admitted with a heavy heart something I knew deep down from the very beginning. "I was the one who insisted on getting married. Sakura didn't even want me to know about Tsunade at first." I ruffled my hair in frustration and shook my head.

"I was in a hurry and wanted to marry her quickly before Sakura could change her mind." Hinata widened her eyes in surprise, but let me keep talking. "Sakura was concerned that it was too quick, so we decided not to say anything to Tsunade and wait until she got more used to me." I was annoyed at what a failure "husband" I was, and how Sakura had to carry everything herself, but it was too late for remorse now.

"Again, I'm so sorry-" Hinata began softly as the door finally opened after my endless hypnotizing. "Sasuke-kun, would you please come in?" Sakura came out and asked me with a slight smile on her lips. "Ah..." I agreed, and Hinata looked at me encouragingly. I parted to Sakura, who made space in the doorway for me to step through. As we passed, Sakura grabbed my hand unexpectedly and intertwined our hands and fingers into one.

I looked into those green eyes and she mouthed, "Don't worry, it'll be all right." At her words, I squeezed her hand even tighter. We walked into the room together and Sakura closed the door behind us.

…

I've faced angry clients in conference rooms before. I've faced lines of hostile faces at meetings, waiting for me to make the slightest mistake in my presentation. I've done it all without breaking a sweat. But now, standing in front of a stern-faced old lady, I was sweating and clutching my wife's hand like a talisman.

Tsunade was lying in bed in the same posture as when I left the room. The only exception was that she was now digging her gaze deeper into me than before. "So you got married to my Sakura." She stated a fact, yet the context demanded my answer. "Ah..." I nodded firmly. "Without my permission." Tsunade put emphasis on the word "permission" by raising her voice. "Ah..." I replied as I had before, and her face suddenly turned into a frown.

"Why?" She folded her arms across her chest and I gradually felt my mouth go dry. "I've never been married before. I had no idea I had to ask..." I said simply, hoping that a truthful and honest answer would satisfy her. But the way Sakura squeezed my hand, I probably should have chosen different words.

"You didn't know you had to?!" Tsunade snapped at me angrily, technically my mother-in-law, and I knew for a fact that I had clearly picked the wrong words. For the next minute, we looked each other in the eye as if we were playing a game to see who would give up first. Neither of us said a word.

"This is ridiculous, shannaro!" Sakura shouted in exasperation, and both Tsunade and I looked at her. I was glad she had broken the stuffy atmosphere in the room. Anyone else, I would have unsettled and overpowered with my stern gaze, but this woman, hardly. "God... You really aren't the brightest sometimes, are you, you little brat?" Tsunade asked mockingly and I had to hold back.

"Why did you marry her?" The questioning continued relentlessly and I knew that if I didn't give her an answer she would be satisfied with now, it was over. "Auntie, please stop it, me and Sasuke-kun..." Sakura began to calm Tsunade down as I finally came up with an answer that even I can be proud of. "For me..." I jumped in. "Sakura is an irreplaceable partner and always will be." I replied directly to Tsunade's guestion and Sakura let out a startled gasp.

I understood that Sakura was surprised by my answer, but even Tsunade had something resembling wonder on her face. "And the reason you didn't tell me?" I didn't know what Sakura had already been able to tell her, but I felt the need to stick to the truth as much as possible.

"We were worried that you wouldn't agree to our wedding, but we were hoping you'd accept the idea once you got to know me better." Tsunade shook her head in disbelief, and I wanted to prove to her that we stood by our decision, so I boldly added one last sentence. "I married her because I need her. And if you think I'm some stupid kid ruled by his emotions, then so be it."

"She's too good for you."

I smirked because she was absolutely right. "I'm well aware of that." A flicker of hope finally appeared as Tsunade let out a sigh and in a calmer voice uttered, "You should have asked me first." She was still bitter, though, and kept her murderous gaze fixed on me until Sakura spoke again. "You're right, we should have told you. We're sorry, auntie."

"She told me she is happy with you. And that's all I need for now." Tsunade began slowly, relaxing the hands that were folded on her chest. "I'll be watching you, you're not out of it yet." She snorted and finally lowered her gaze. She moved the tray of food to her side and a burden lifted from my shoulders knowing that this conversation was probably over.

"I take note..." I assured Tsunade, glancing sideways at Sakura, who had a big smile of relief on her face.

Sakura let go of my hand and put her palm on my shoulder. Only now did I realize that she was wearing the ring I'd first given her as an engagement ring and later as a wedding ring, because she always took it off when she visited Tsunade, and for some reason the sight gave me a warm feeling. I never took my ring off, but Tsunade never asked about it.

"Anyway, all good things must be celebrated with a drink!" Tsunade remarked brightly, and we both looked at her in amazement. She was already back in her happy and chipper mood, which made me feel better. "So it's a good thing, huh? I'm a good thing too?" I didn't forgive myself a small joking remark with a genuine smirk. "Don't get ahead of yourself Uchiha, and be good for something and get me that expensive bottle of sake from the cabinet behind you... where you two thought I wouldn't find it."

Sakura started laughing at the top of her lungs, and without further delay I obeyed the clear order. I had survived a conversation I had been dreading for some time and which I knew might not turn out well. Part of the reason we didn't want to tell Tsunade about our relationship was because we didn't know how accessible her memory would be and how much she would remember with each visit we made.

There was a strong possibility that the next time Sakura and I came here, Tsunade would forget about today and think I was just Sakura's friend again. I didn't know what would happen in the future, but what I did know was that Tsunade, despite the mental torture she wanted to put me through, had accepted me in a way. She accepted me, and that was good enough for me right now.

…

After our visit to Tsunade, all three of us were exhausted. Sakura walked into my room with a cup of coffee, which I gratefully took from her and placed it on the desk in front of me, where I was still finishing up some work. Sakura sat down on the bed and sipped quietly from her mug.

"Where's Hinata?" I asked, wondering where our guest was right now. "She went to bed. I think she wants to take advantage of the moment when the storm has calmed down. I guess she didn't get much sleep last night." She remarked and took another sip of her coffee, more carefully this time as it was very hot.

As she moved her lips away from her mug, her gaze grew serious. "Sorry about the thing with my aunt, Sasuke-kun..." I rubbed my neck and leaned my whole back against the chair. "I guess it had to happen." Sakura then nodded, and I heaved a sigh.

"It's quite possible she'll forget about it. We'll probably have to talk to her about it again." Sakura voiced out loud the exact thoughts I had earlier today in the nursing home. "At least now we'll be able to claim that we already told her." I pointed out and she grinned slightly, her eyes fixed on her coffee. "I hope so too."

I reached for my cup and with a little sniff I sipped from my coffee. "What did she tell you?" I asked as I set the mug back down on the tabletop. Sakura gave me a brief glance, but no further questions were needed. She knew exactly what I was asking.

"A lot of things..." She replied vaguely, as if she didn't want to say out loud what Tsunade had thrown in her face today. "But mostly she wanted to know if I was pregnant." I shook my head and more to myself I added, "That's probably the last thing she should be worried about." The look in Sakura's eyes told me that she didn't like my statement, or more likely, she didn't understand its meaning.

"Why do you say that so bitterly, Sasuke?" She tilted her head in puzzlement. I didn't mean to say it so harshly. I just knew the subject of children was completely foreign to me. "I don't plan on having fake children, and I certainly don't plan on having real ones." I clarified and she looked at me with incomprehension, as if I were speaking to her in a foreign language. "Sasuke-kun, you don't want to have children?" She asked cautiously, the coffee mug resting forgotten on her lap.

"Sakura..." I snorted at her annoying question. "I'm not interested in starting a real relationship. So I'm not even interested in becoming a father and making life difficult for someone else." I knew I would bring hell to both mother and child. I wasn't built to be someone's husband and father. This was a subject I never gave much thought to.

I knew I could never take care of something as pure and fragile as a child. I knew I couldn't be the father they deserved. I couldn't bond with a child, so that's why I have no desire to have one. Never.

"I'm convinced you're wrong."

"Wrong?"

"I think that when you find the right person to love, your opinion about children will change over time and you will naturally want to start a family." She said with eyes that glittered with anticipation. All my life, I believed that would never happen, so I could easily stand by my original statement. However, every time Sakura talked about love and family, the frustration in me grew strangely more and more. I was beginning to lose patience.

"What my parents taught me about love was that it weakens a person. It makes you need someone unconditionally. To be dependent on them. And I will never allow that." I remembered how dependent I was on my mother, my brother, and my father, from whom I wanted love so badly but never got it.

"Sometimes things happen that you have no control over, Sasuke-kun... And sometimes you just have to open your eyes and take a good look around." I was beginning to think Sakura was on to something with her words. Like she wanted to say something explicit, but didn't know how. And that's why she was trying to beat around the bush. I had no idea what she was trying to imply, but I wanted to know.

I shook my head and picked up my mug again and took a sip of my coffee. "Not in this case. Love and children are not in my future. I have my job and that's enough. It fulfills me." Sakura gloomed, as if I had just said something that should make the other person feel sorry for me. "That sounds awfully sad and lonely..."

I turned my whole body around in the chair so that we were facing each other, her eyes fixed on mine. It was as if she was searching me for the slightest sign that I wasn't serious. She watched me with a furrowed brow. Her expression was so intent, as if she was downright waiting for me to say it was a lie.

"Do you really mean it?" She asked in disbelief.

"Stop analyzing me." I said, thinking we'd end this unpleasant topic that was going nowhere. "I'm not analyzing you, Sasuke-kun... I'm trying to understand you." She pitched up her voice, her desperation already evident not only in her eyes, but also in her tone of voice. "Then stop it." I didn't understand why she was so bothered by my decision and what she was trying to accomplish. Change me and my future?

"Why?" She retorted in an instant and I rested my forearms exhaustedly on my thighs. I didn't like this conversation and I was sick of it. "Listen... I'm not paying you to understand me. I'm paying you to play a part." In my temper, I said what I honestly didn't want to say. I knew I had given her a painful blow without thinking twice about it. But I figured it would be better for her if she didn't think about it so much and just did her job.

"And that role gets more complicated every day..."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Aren't you getting tired of this, Sasuke-kun? All those lies? We have to keep making up more and more. It's like a snowball rolling downhill, adding more and more layers." Sakura sighed despairingly, holding her mug so tightly in her hands that I feared it would burst and she would scald herself.

"It was supposed to be a simple thing..." She pressed on in a muffled voice. "I was just supposed to pretend to be your fiancée. Now it's a much bigger story. It escalated to the point where I don't recognize myself anymore..." I watched as her whole body trembled. Not with fear, not with sadness, but with pity. I too had the same feelings as her. I may not have talked to her about it and refused to admit it out loud, but even I knew it had stopped being a simple thing long ago.

"I hate lying to people, shannaro!" I noticed that her eyes were beginning to glisten, watering with tears, which she refused to let out with a pained expression on her face. "And now I have to lie to everyone. Tsunade, Namikaze's family, Hinata, all the people at the nursing home... It's one big mountain of lies."

"Minato won't be hurt. Tsunade is well taken care of, you live in a nicer place and don't have to go to work. So who is it hurting?" I said with a raised voice, our argument escalating to the point where I wondered if Hinata would stick her head in the doorway in a moment, wondering what was going on.

Sakura suddenly hushed her voice until it was almost a whisper. "I feel terribly guilty. More and more every day."

"Why?"

"I like these people, Sasuke... I really like Hinata, we've really become friends. Knowing that I'm lying to her makes me sad. Minato and Kushina are incredibly kind. I'm just deceiving them with this charade. Even the people at the nursing home think we're married." She lowered her head, not taking her eyes off her lap.

"We are married." She turned her head in disbelief and caught my gaze. I pointed with my chin to the wedding ring that adorned her delicate hand. "This isn't a charade. Our marriage is legal." I reminded her. "But they think it's real. They think we love each other." Yes, they all think we love each other, which was a lie. But not all of it. Our affection for each other was real, not pretend. I cared about her, and I was damn sure she cared about me too.

"And Tsunade... I didn't want my aunt to ever find out. Of all the people in the world, I didn't want to lie to her in the first place. That's what bothers me the most, having to lie to her." I knew today was going to start a lot of troubles. Tsunade finding out about our wedding today wasn't supposed to happen this unplanned. "As we discussed, she'll probably forget about it."

Sakura frowned, her eyes holding the same look Tsunade had today when she looked like she was going to rip me in half. "It's still a lie, though. Head Sister Mei and the other staff will remind her, so maybe she'll remember I'm married. But it's getting complicated..." She blurted out in exasperation, her breathing heavy and irregular.

I gripped the edge of the desk I was sitting at firmly with my palm, feeling that even this solid wood would crack under my grip. I closed my eyes and slumped my shoulders in distress. "There's more than I expected, I admit it." I had to give her credit, the list of people we'd lied to was large.

"Even that dobe thinks I'm a different person. When we played golf the other day, he congratulated me for finally discovering my human side." I snorted in disbelief at the mere memory of that idiot saying this to me. Even though Naruto had made fun of me back then, he meant it. And I'm not so blind that I wouldn't notice it myself.

"Doesn't that bother you? Doesn't it hurt you how many people this lie affects? How many people's lives will be affected when it's over?" Sakura jumped into my thoughts with questions I couldn't give her answers to. Of course it bothered me. It pissed me off and suffocated me. It was just that everything was a necessary sacrifice to get me to my goal. To accomplish the goal I'd set my sights on and get the job I really wanted to do.

"Marriages fail all the time. We just get divorced. We'll deal with that when it happens." I came up with the best excuse I could give her at this point, even though it was a lame one. I deluded myself into thinking that I had everything perfectly figured out, and that I knew exactly where we were going with our lie.

Sakura said she didn't recognize herself anymore, but the truth was that I was the one who didn't recognize myself. Was I trying to convince her or myself?

"Until then, are we going to keep lying?" She looked up in disappointment, expecting a different answer than "yes". I'd had enough of this conversation. I ran my hand over my wrinkled forehead and looked at her with a frown. "Yes. We'll keep lying." She opened her mouth to say something, but I didn't give her any space.

"I'm still paying you for this, and our contract is still on the table. It's just a job. Until further decisions, you're my wife. Just keep playing the part and pretend that you love me." Her fierce and disappointed gaze never left me. „In short, do whatever it takes to keep this charade, as you call it, going." I hadn't expected so many anxieties to build up inside me, which I could turn into anger and fury in a sekond.

Sakura grabbed her half-empty coffee mug by its ear and slowly got up from the mattress of the bed she was sitting on. "There's only one catch, Sasuke-kun." She eyed me once more, her face now relaxed from the frown it had been carrying for quite a while. "I don't have to just pretend to love you every time."

My heart was racing as she said those words. I was worried that I had misheard now, because I felt like Sakura had just admitted that she genuinely felt something for me. I remembered all the times Sakura had looked at me with a tender gaze that I knew wasn't pretended. The moments when we laughed heartily, again, not hardships we overcame together because of each other's support, also not pretended.

I knew she cared about me, but the possibility that she might ever feel something more for me, like love, I never considered. That fact was simply impossible.

"If you stop being a jerk, you're actually a pretty nice guy. You know how to treat people when you care about them, and you have a hidden innocent side inside of you." A small, gentle little smile formed at the corners of her lips.

"You're kind and generous to Tsunade, an old woman you have nothing to do with. I don't know why, but when you're with her, you forget to act like a douche, which you otherwise show to the whole world. And sometimes…" She paused for a brief moment before finishing her thought. "Sometimes you forget to act like that even when you're with me."

I remembered last night and this morning when I held Sakura in my arms. The feeling of falling asleep with her and waking up with her next to me was overwhelming. I liked it, and I dreaded it. I longed for it, but I didn't know what to do with it. My head was a mess.

I told her things like she was safe with me and that she had nothing to worry about. These promises were not empty, and certainly not pretentious. I meant every word. The way I behaved now clearly proved that I was contradicting myself. And I was aware of that.

The truth was, I was losing track of where the line was between the two of us, dividing which feelings I was faking for her and which were real. At the beginning of our contract, I had that line clearly defined. Over time, I realized that line can change and shift a bit too. And eventually that line disappeared completely, leaving me with mixed and confused feelings that dominated my mind and body.

Sakura looked distressed, resigned at my pettiness. Despite the restlessness in her head, she had my full attention. "Sometimes I really forget that you don't like me and think we're real friends. Maybe even more than that." She turned and walked slowly to the door of the room. She stopped just in front of them and looked back at me over her shoulder. "I like these moments the most. Thanks to them, it's easier to bear others." Those were her last words. Then she walked out of the bedroom into the hallway and left me sitting there stunned.

-XXX-

End of Chapter 25