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SASUKE

When she was finally done, I grabbed a tray of refreshments for all of us so she wouldn't have to carry it by herself.

"Let's go get fired."

I served the coffee cups with a much less sure hand than usual. Kushina approached Sakura with a few comments, but mostly she wanted to know how she was coping with the loss of Tsunade.

When Sakura told of the scattering of her ashes, her voice shook as she spoke, and her shoulders drooped down in sadness. Kushina didn't hesitate and placed her palm sympathetically on Sakura's hands. It was a nice compassionate gesture from her.

We spent some time telling them about the campsite and about Sakura's general farewell to her aunt Tsunade. Minato didn't say anything, just watched and listened intently, and eventually put his finished cup of coffee on the table. "You two seem to have come to an understanding, don't you?"

His description of the situation was not entirely accurate. "This is not just about understanding. Sakura is my wife and we plan to start a life together. I'm telling you this straight up." Sakura looked at me and nodded in agreement with a small smile.

"So it's not just a marriage of convenience anymore?" Minato asked, and I resisted the urge to scratch the back of my neck. This whole topic was getting uncomfortable. "That stopped a long time ago. I was just too stubborn and didn't want to admit it." My temporary boss turned his gaze on Sakura. "Is that so?"

Sakura lifted her chin and proudly said. "I have deep affection and feelings for Sasuke. It's been going on for a while... I was just afraid to tell him in case he didn't return my feelings." I was a little embarrassed to hear it like that in front of my boss, so I was glad to have my hair covering my blushing ears. "But he feels the same way about me, so we want to walk into the future together."

"I understand." Minato bent down, picked up the box he'd brought earlier and set it on the table in front of us, next to his finished cup of coffee. He then pulled my employment contract out of his suit pocket and tore it in half, placing it on the box.

No words were needed. I knew that it would come to this, and now the verdict was finally clear. I took a calm breath and looked at my former boss. Minato tried to say something, but I held up my hand and cut him off.

"I get it. I came to your company under false circumstances, so I understand that you must fire me. You showed me how a man should run his business." It was only right and proper that I give him the respect he deserved.

"You and your family mean a lot to both of us." Sakura joined in. "I hope one day you can forgive us for not being completely honest with you." Her words were meant for all those touched by our camouflage, but in this very room, she needed Kushina's forgiveness the most.

"Why did you want to work for me, Sasuke?"

Namikaze asked a question I've answered in my head a hundred times. I decided to be honest. "My first goal was revenge. I wanted payback on Danzo for not giving me the promotion he promised me." Back then in the office, when Namikaze invited me to his house and I confessed to the scam, I didn't tell him the details of my original intention.

"He hates you so much, so I thought that if I got a chance to work for you, maybe he would offer me a higher position in his company after all. I didn't care about anything but the offer at first." I explained.

"And then?" Minato prompted.

"Then I met you. We talked and I changed my mind. You listened to my ideas and encouraged me to come up with my own original ideas. I haven't felt that level of self-confidence and freedom at work in a long time."

I heaved a sigh and continued to explain. "I pushed revenge aside and instead my priority became my desire to become part of your company. I wanted the opportunity to work with you and find out what work style suited me best." Embarrassed, I was silent for a moment and then just ended it by saying, "That's it."

Kushina looked at her husband with a pleading look, and the room fell silent. After a while Minato, without a single positive emotion on his face, said: " I don't want to hear any more." Nodding my head in a knowing manner, I finally added. "Ah... I see." I was disappointed, but I didn't want to show it.

But Sakura sensed it from me, so she decided to end this unpleasant situation politely and in a good way. "We apologize again. Sasuke-kun and I wish you well both personally and professionally." She smiled genuinely at the couple in front of us and then at me.

I was a bit surprised that even the always spirited Kushina didn't say anything, just kept glancing at her husband as if waiting for some sign or his reaction. She was clearly not herself, and even Sakura was disturbed by her behavior.

"I couldn't have said it better." I looked at Sakura and nodded gratefully. "I may not have my dream job, but I'll have my wife by my side." To keep working under Minato was just icing on the cake. "I have everything I need right here." Sakura opened her mouth in surprise and lightly uttered "Sasuke-kun..." I knew that on one hand I had lost something, but on the other I had gained so much more.

Minato's fingers tapped out an irregular rhythm on the lid of the box. "Danzo hates me because for the way I've chosen to live. Did you know that at one time he was a teacher at my college?" Namikaze asked me. I knew that Danzo had once led the management class at some college, but I never thought that Minato would be his student. So I shook my head.

"There were times when I looked up to him, and in classes we would often argue about the ways of running the company and the employees. We even considered going into business together once I finished my degree. But with Danzo, it's always all or nothing." He didn't have to tell me that twice. I saw firsthand his cruel and calculating behavior towards employees and clients just to get what he wanted.

Minato thought briefly and continued on. "He expected such dedication to the company that it was no longer possible to run a business and have a normal life outside the company." Namikaze then looked at his wife sitting next to him. "I met Kushina and understood that I wanted more out of my life than just working all the time. When I told him I wasn't interested in that, we… exchanged some harsh words." He smiled wryly at the thought.

"We went our separate ways. He started his own company and I started mine. We were both successful, but his success was based on completely different principles. For him, it's all about money and business." He sighed and shook his head.

"I've lost count of how many people have walked away from him over the years. Also the various shady campaigns that have been tied to his company. How many women have been associated with his name. I think he's been married four times, and divorced four times, too."

"Five times." I corrected him.

"So I must have missed a round..." Minato laughed heartily, and the atmosphere in the room melted a little.

"But the thing is, there is nothing more important to him than money." He continued. "He hates me because I have chosen to dedicate my life to something other than work, and yet I have achieved success at work." This was not at all boastful on Minato's part, as it might seem, but an absolute fact. Everybody knew that he had managed to build something that nobody else had managed to do. He ran an advertising firm that had no competition.

"He knows as well as anyone who knows me that my greatest achievement... is my family. It's the most important thing in the world to me. I would give up everything else for them and not blink an eye." He gave his wife a look again, and I noticed that Sakura looked at me at that moment too, because I automatically looked for my wife's gaze.

"Danzo has nothing else in his life. That's why he is the way he is..." Namikaze finished his thought and I reflected on everything he had just said. "I was starting to look dangerously like him, until everything changed..." I said, rather to myself, but audibly by the looks of the others.

Minato looked at me intently again. "I'm glad it's different now." He tapped his knuckles on the top of the box of my things he'd set in front of him. "Which is also why I have to end your employment contract, Sasuke. The signing happened under false circumstances."

"Ah..." I agreed with him. "I appreciate your honesty." I was glad he didn't continue to silently ignore me, or fire me through his secretary or in a written letter. But I honestly didn't expect anything less from him.

"I'm not done yet, Sasuke..."

I gave him a puzzled look.

Minato leaned back against the sofa, folded his hands together, and an almost amused expression spread across his face. "I have found a very talented employee in you. I saw how you work Sasuke, and I thought you might be a good fit for my company."

I frowned at his words. I must have heard wrong just now. "What?" I asked, and even Sakura looked uncomprehending at what he meant. Kushina was the only one of us who wasn't fazed. "I think you're exactly the kind of person I wish I had on my team right now."

"Sasuke-kun…?" Sakura looked at me with confusion, but I didn't quite get it either. Namikaze definitely wanted to keep his amused expression a little longer, but seeing our prolonged collective silence, he finally decided to explain himself.

"I'm offering you a job, Sasuke. Let's start from the beginning, what do you say?" He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out an envelope, taking out a new employment contract. "We'll make a fresh start."

I swallowed hard. I could hardly believe it. "Why?" I forced out through stiff lips. "Because, like Sakura here, I believe in second chances." He took Kushina's hand and smiled lovingly at her. "We both believe in it."

Kushina looked up at me, tears in her eyes. "You could have kept quiet about your fake relationship with Sakura. You could have continued to deceive us. We could have suspected you, but if you hadn't been honest with us, we would never have known the truth. We both saw that you could be very caring and thoughtful. Even if you don't look like it sometimes..." Her wide smile turned into a bit of a teasing laugh, which apparently made Sakura smile as well.

"This is the Sasuke we want to have in our company. The one who wants to grow with us, dattebane!" Sakura was laughing with Kushina now, and it looked like they were both enjoying themselves and teasing me at the same time.

I asked Minato. "So you still trust me after all this?" I asked, stunned. "I do, because of this." Minato pointed to a happy and contented looking Sakura, who had tears of joy in her eyes. Tears of joy for me, for us. She was talking to an excited Kushina, but she glanced at me now and then.

"And this." Now Minato indicated to me. Before I could say anything, Namikaze went on. "I can see the way you're looking at her, and you two have obviously been through a long and difficult journey together. I can also see what you value the most. You can't fake this, Sasuke."

"The decision is yours, Sasuke." He encouraged me friendly. I took a breath, wanting to give him an appropriate response to his words at first, but Sakura's sudden shout prevented me from doing so. "Hand him the pen!" Sakura exclaimed. "Let him sign it right now! He wants to work for you, we both want to stay here and we'll do our best, shannaro!"

Minato and Kushiha both started laughing at the top of their lungs, and I had to hold on really tight to keep from joining in. Sakura may have been a lousy card player, but she was great at lightening the situations. But she was absolutely right. We both wanted to stay here. So there was nothing to decide.

"Here, Sasuke-kun." Kushina reached into her purse and handed me a pen with a smile on her lips. "Thank you." I gratefully extended my hand and took it from her. One signature and it was all settled. Minato took the pen from me and signed as my employer. He looked over the contract one more time, folded it up and put it back in his jacket pocket.

Namikaze didn't stop smiling even when he shook my hand. I took his proffered hand and squeezed it tightly. "I'll be glad to stay." I replied and Minato nodded in approval. "I wouldn't have hoped for anything else, Sasuke." And with those words he ended the conversation I had been dreading for so long. But suddenly it was over and with the positive outcome I could only hope for. At this point, I was completely convinced that whatever Sakura and I were facing, we would make it through in the end.

…

We agreed and decided to discuss the work details on the side, so as not to disturb our chatty wives. I took the tray back to the kitchen and Minato stood up and followed me. We left Kushina and Sakura to talk some more. He was carrying a box of my things from the office, which he brought and placed on the table.

In the meantime, he spotted the papers on the kitchen table with the job offers Sakura and I had looked at earlier and picked up the offer from the Genno Group in Kagero village. "Were you serious, Sasuke?" He grinned. "You'd die of boredom in there." He was joking, and it occurred to me that we were of the same mindset. I too wondered if the job would bore me.

"If Sakura and I were going to move, I wanted her to be as close to here as possible." I paused for a moment. "There are places she and Tsunade used to go." I explained, and by the look on his face, he knew exactly what I meant.

He watched me for a moment with a slight smile and then finally said. "You've really changed, Sasuke." He turned over his shoulder towards the living room and I followed his gaze. Minato watched Kushina and Sakura talking and laughing together. Then he turned back to me and spoke. "The right person can often open our eyes in many ways."

And he was right.

But one thing kept nagging at me. "Why did you bring me my things if you were going to take me back?" Namikaze made a significant face, then lifted the lid of the box I had packed all my belongings in at the office.

"It's empty." He smiled mischievously. I just stared at him for a second. "What?" My mind raced, wondering if the box was just meant to act as a backdrop to mentally throw me off. "'For the same reason we came here unannounced. I wanted to see how you would act if you thought it was over. I wanted to see your real, basic reaction. Not what you might have prepared in advance."

"And?"

"You looked shaken up."

"Hn… I was." I scowled ironically.

"I wanted to keep working for you." When I saw the box, I thought I'd messed up beyond repair. It didn't surprise me, but in that moment it hit me how much I wanted it. It was clear to me that there was no way to fix it. After all, it was my own fault. But it turned out exactly the opposite.

"Your reaction told me everything. You were disappointed, yet you and Sakura stood together and faced the distant rejection proudly." He explained before adding: "I'm sorry for the deception." He grinned at me. I understood why he did it. I may not have expected it, but I understood him. "Ah... I see."

Minato reached for the lid and closed the box. "Take it Sasuke and bring a few more things to the office in it. Your office is pretty... impersonal." Again, he seemed amused. While I had no intention of filling my own office with useless trinkets that would only get dusted, I might as well ask Sakura what to bring in. "Hn."

"Does anyone know about this?" I asked again.

"No one except my family. The staff thinks you're on leave to be with Sakura. On Monday, you just come in and start working. No one needs to know." I was grateful that the gossip wasn't spreading and the whole thing wouldn't be a blur at work anymore.

"I appreciate it."

"I know, Sasuke." He said and nodded emphatically. "I know that."

…

A little later that day, Namikaze and I shook hands again, but this time between the front doors and as a farewell. "See you on Monday, Sasuke." Kushina hugged Sakura one last time before turning to me. "We're expecting big things from you, Sasuke-kun!"

"I'll do my best." I knew I had a lot to fix, so I would do what I could. "I know you will, dattebane!" She said with enthusiasm. "Let's start all over again. You'll come to work on Monday, and you'll have a clean slate with me and my husband." She added kindly and I went to see them both off at the gate. I waited for them to leave and went back to my house.

Sakura was no longer standing in the doorway, but she wasn't in the living room either. I went up to the first floor and was surprised to find her sitting on the bed in her old guest room.

"Why are you sitting here?"

She looked up at me with a concerned look on her face. "I'm just thinking." She replied calmly. I walked in from the door and sat down next to her. "About what?"

"How nervous and scared I was to spend my first night here." She said with a slight smile at the corners of her lips. "Because of me?" I asked her the reason. "Yes, and because of the whole future. You changed my whole life in a matter of moments." She smiled kindly at me and continued.

"I was no longer in that horrible tiny apartment, I had quit my job, and I had no idea if we would be able to put together such a complicated plan. All I could think about was how awful it would be if we didn't succeed."

Thinking back, when she talked about it, I can't even imagine how she must have felt at the time. How uncomfortable she must have been in a stranger's house with her boss who had dragged her into such a complicated situation.

"And I also couldn't imagine how I would handle it when the trouble came." She paused, her finger tracing something on the pillow. "My thoughts were one big mess and I felt terribly insecure."

"And I wasn't much help." I added cynically, kind of mad at myself.

"Actually, you were." She disagreed. "Your calmness and the way you took control of everything helped me. You were so sure, so determined in what you wanted to achieve, that I could only trust your guidance."

I admired her already back then, though I wouldn't have admitted it at the time. She showed great courage. I smirked because I remembered our conversations back then. When we started living together, I came to understand a lot. Like the fact that she had a hidden spark.

All this time I mistakenly thought that she was just a poor, weak woman, but she showed me great inner strength. No, she was never weak. I was the weak one. "Everything turned out the way it was supposed to, thanks to you." I gave her the credit she rightfully deserved. I pushed her hair off her face and toyed with the silky strands. "You gave me strength. You have become a bright light in my life" As cliché as that sounded, it was absolutely true.

"You're everything to me, Sasuke-kun..." She whispered and I saw her cheeks turn slightly pink. I leaned down and kissed her gently on her lips. "We've come a long way and today was a good day." She breathed those words against my skin. A genuine and joyful smile conjured at the corners of her lips.

"Today was a good day." I repeated after her. "I signed a new contract, I go back to work on Monday and we can stay here." It was a good day indeed. I guess we both needed to hear some good news after a long time. "But I think I'd like to go to work, too." Sakura uttered right after, which surprised me a little. "Why? I'll take care of you." I didn't want her to push herself. With my salary and savings, I was more than capable of providing for both of us.

"I know, but what am I going to do at home all day, Sasuke? Going back and forth in an empty house? Painting rooms over and over again? I'd like to be useful." She sighed. "Now I don't have Tsunade to fill my days..." The sad tone of her voice made my heart clench.

"And have you thought about what you want to do?" Right now, I couldn't tell what she wanted to do. In her younger days, she'd apprenticed in the medical field, but after Tsunade's illness, she'd taken a better-paying office job. I didn't know which direction she wanted to take now that the decision was hers alone.

"I still don't know..." She shook her head. "But I could maybe volunteer at a nursing home. It's a nice place and I already know everyone there." When she talked about it, I got the feeling that she felt both good about it and drawn to it; it would be a good opportunity.

"Hn." I agreed, moving forward and pulling her closer. "I want you to do whatever you want. You can do anything." I assured her that I wouldn't stop her from doing what she wanted at any cost. "Even if everything turns out okay in the end, just don't rush anywhere." I objected still.

The last few months had just been too much for her and I didn't want her to rush things. Although maybe focusing her mind on something new would do her well. I caressed her cheek with the back of my palm. She looked at me with an unflinching gaze, and I couldn't explain to her how important this was to me. But it wouldn't be her if she couldn't read my mind.

She looked at me gently. She took my face in her hands and smoothed my skin with the backs of her thumbs in gentle circles. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun. I'm fine and ready to get back to work." And before we knew it, our lips were locked together. I fondled her lightly at first, but then I took her lips deeply. I took Sakura, my hands under her knees, and lifted her off the bed.

I walked out of the guest room into the hallway and carried her in my arms to our bedroom. There I and pulled away from her for a moment when I felt her giggle. I looked at her curiously and she burst out laughing. "I think we stopped somewhere here before Minato and Kushina came. Don't you think so, Sasuke-kun?" She gave me a mischievous look and her hand pulled me by my shirt closer to her again.

I put my lips to hers again, filled with desire. It was a mystery to me how I could have denied to myself for so long that I was attracted to her. All it took now was one shy glance and a teasing smile from her and I wanted her again. Everything about her seemed seductive and beautiful. The support and love she showed me became the most powerful aphrodisiac I have ever known.

I opened my eyes suddenly and met her urgent, lively eyes. The overwhelming desire instantly turned into a flood of softer feelings. Everything that had happened today and all the good things in my life had only happened because of her.

My body was overwhelmed with the love and longing I had reserved only for her forever. I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers again in a kiss filled with all the depth of my emotions. She wrapped both arms around my neck and her fingers stroked my hair so tenderly that I shivered.

There was so much tenderness in her touch that it was unreal. Every time we were together, her love got under my skin, soothed me, reassured me whenever I needed it most. I slowly undressed her, my mouth never leaving her body. I was caressing her warm skin and worshipping her every curve with my touch.

I smirked when she got impatient. She pressed me hard against her. I lowered myself down over her inviting body, covered her belly with kisses and and cherished her for a while. I relished in the most intimate connection we had with each other.

Now all I wanted was to make love to her. To become one body with her and leave her happy and safe in the certainty that she was mine. And to draw that same certainty from the fact that I belonged to her. I caressed her with my hands and my mouth, so that not an inch of her body was left without my presence, and all through the night I let her know how sincerely I meant it while doing so.

-XXX-

End of Chapter 36