Sakura shoveled eggs into her mouth and wondered why on earth she had managed, for the first time in ten years mind you, to be late. Then she looked over to her absolute rascal of a sister and she sighed. Big green eyes looked back to her and Sakura groaned.

Oh yes. Her sister had decided to throw a tantrum. That was why.

"Emi-chan, listen, you've got to get to daycare." Sakura insisted, already dragging a coat onto her shoulders in the middle of biting through toast. "Mama and Papa paid for it so—"

"I want to go see what being a shinobi is like!" Her little sister cried. Emi sniffled and Sakura's heart clenched as she watched fat tears drip down her sister's cheeks. Watery green eyes locked with hers and she sighed.

Crouching down, she patted Emi's brown hair and the little girl drew closer. "How about next week alright? I know you don't want to go to daycare but it's important because Mama and Papa paid for it and keeping your promises," she ignored Emi's glare, "is essential to being a shinobi."

Glassy green eyes stilled and little Emi's fingers unclenched. "R-Really?"

"Yes. Really." Sakura promised, a small smile slipping onto her face.

They were late to Emi's daycare and Sakura was even later to practice—even starting to run in order to get there somewhat on time. When she burst onto the training field, breathing lightly, she searched for the customary orange or black.

When she didn't find it she frowned. Maybe there had been a mix—

A yelp sounded from another clearing and Sakura smiled.

Naruto barreled into her, eyes dripping with happiness and an electric smile.

"Sakura-chan!" His smile turned into a pout, "Why are you late? Are you beginning to be like Kakashi-sensei? Is this your rebellious phase—"

Sakura snorted and Naruto seemed scandalized.

"How could you just dismiss me like that!" He yelled, a hand coming up to his heart, eyes hurt.

"Baka. I had to do some things…sorry?" She offered, leaning forward to pat his cheek.

"S'okay Sakura-chan." He looked over to Sasuke who was standing at the tree line awkwardly, "The bastard is acting a bit weird today—seems kind of angry, y'know?"

Her eyebrows drew together and she wondered who could've put him in a bad mood. Sasuke was almost never upset unless someone denied him something and she didn't know anyone who—

Oh.

Oh.

The marriage proposal thing that she had sidelined.

Was it bad that she had completely put it out of her mind?

Well it wasn't like she could take it seriously could she? He had basically ordered her to marry him. With almost no, concern for her feelings—her feelings as a twelve-year-old infatuated girl yes—but not her feelings now.

Her eyes narrowed and Naruto looked at her strangely.

Well he would just have to get over it. She wasn't going to marry someone whose only connection to her was the fact that she was a 'failsafe' plan.

She wasn't going to be in a marriage—scratch that—relationship that ended in disaster. If she ever got married then they would have to adore her just as much as she adored them.

And that's why she knew Sasuke would never work with her.

Even when she was a child and wished to be his perfect wife and child-bearer, she somehow knew that he would probably never look at her more than a contingency plan.

There was no love, no affection in Sasuke's gaze, not since they were six years old and Sakura had stumbled upon him on the street and he offered her a tomato.

"Erm Sakura-chan…you wouldn't know anything about that would you?" Naruto asked. His hand ran through his sweaty hair and Sakura wondered how long he was burning off energy.

She winced. "Um…say he had hypothetically asked me to marry him and I hypothetically said no? Yeah…I might know something about that…"

Naruto promptly choked on his saliva.

"Ew, Naruto, you covered me in slobber." She whined, wiping away copious amounts of spittle from her cheeks. "Please refrain from spitting all over me next time."

"Y-You s-said no to the bastard?" He squeaked out, face turning an alarming shade of eggplant.

"Um, yeah?" She said.

Naruto looked at her for another second before he turned to Sasuke and then back to her. And then again. And then once more.

"What?" Sakura snapped, impatient.

He hesitated. "J-Just. Just. Wow. Like. I don't. How? Why? What?"

Sakura ran a hand through her hair, snagging on her messy ponytail and wondered when Naruto was going to realize that while she had loved Sasuke for a long, long time, she was not going to let him hurt her any longer. She deserved to be loved back.

And Sasuke, as much as he would hate it, would have to respect her wishes.

"Naruto…" Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "Can we just forget it?"

Blue eyes watched her for another second and then smiled reassuringly. "Sure Sakura-chan. We'll forget it."

Practice only started properly when Kakashi arrived two hours later than Sakura and flipping through the pages of an Icha Icha book.

"You're late old man!" Naruto bellowed, stopping in the middle of his spar with Sakura.

"I am fashionably late." Kakashi-sensei smiled when Sakura landed a punch, Naruto flying across the clearing and collapsing in a pile of sweaty limbs and curses.

"Hn." Sasuke muttered, bending his knees as he ran through his kata.

"Kaka-sensei!" Sakura grinned and pulled him into a sweaty hug. "I thought you weren't going to be home for another week!"

Kakashi smiled down at her and ruffled her hair. She preened and hugged him tighter.

"S-Sakura—youch!" He yelped.

He stilled when Sakura let him go.

"What was that Kakashi?" Green eyes narrowed dangerously.

Naruto smirked across the clearing and then winced from the huge bruise that was forming on his cheek.

Kakashi smiled cautiously and leaned backwards. "Oh you know, Sakura-chan…it's nothing?"

Her eyes narrowed further and Kakashi began to sweat. "Are you asking me or telling me, Kakashi?"

"Telling." He gulped. "Definitely telling."

Sakura began to relax and Sasuke snorted as Kakashi did too.

"Oh so if I do this." A finger poked at Kakashi's right side and the older shinobi yelped louder, "Then it doesn't hurt at all?"

"Nope!" Kakashi squeaked, cursing the day Sakura became a medic-nin. Couldn't he just suffer in peace?

"You're so full of shit Kakashi-sensei. Sit down; I'm going to be healing your ribs okay?" Sakura tutted making Kakashi sigh.

"Maa, maa, Sakura-chan are you—"

"Now."

Kakashi sat down.

"So you asked Sakura-chan to marry you?" Naruto asked as soon as Sakura started healing their sensei.

Sasuke stumbled and Naruto took the opportunity to land a hit on his side.

Kakashi lifted his head and his eyes narrowed dangerously. Sasuke cursed furiously, knowing that he would be expecting a talk from his sensei soon enough.

Luckily, Sakura seemed immersed in her healing. He would not have to suffer humiliation again.

"She told you?" He hissed out.

Naruto rolled his eyes and ducked to avoid the swipe of Sasuke's katana. "For the love of Kami Sasuke-teme, she's my best friend. Of course she told me!"

Sasuke tried not to be too butt-hurt about that.

"Why did you ask her?" Naruto pressed, throwing windmill shuriken at Sasuke's head. There was an extra twist in the throw and Sasuke snarled as Naruto purposely nicked a lock of his hair.

"None of your business." He growled.

"Wrong~!" Naruto sang, flipping to slide a kunai closer to Sasuke's neck. "She's Sakura-chan. Her happiness is what keeps this team going."

Sasuke frowned. "I thought it was you who kept it going."

"Wow." Naruto said, eyes widening in realization, "Now I'm realizing why she said no."

Sasuke grunted and lunged for him. "She told you about that too?"

"Again," Naruto pushed back, "I am her best friend."

"Hn."

"Sasuke why did you ask her?" Naruto pressed again.

"Hn."

"I can't help you if you say nothing." Naruto goaded.

Sasuke grunted and then stopped swinging his katana viciously. He slumped against a nearby tree and wiped a hand to get rid of the sweat on his brow.

Naruto stood, breathing heavily, in front of him, an eyebrow raised.

Sasuke groaned and clenched his fists.

"I asked her because I have to complete my goals."

His best friend gaped. And then collapsed to the ground laughing. Kunai scattered across the training ground floor and a shuriken embedded itself into the earth next to the dobe's head.

Sasuke scowled and ignored Kakashi's vicious glare.

The older shinobi really needed to mind his own business.

"Y-you actually," Naruto gasped out, tears leaking from closed blue eyes, "Told her that?"

Sasuke's ears reddened and then scowled again. "Hn."

"I can't believe it." Naruto wheezed through fits of laughter.

Sasuke's hands clenched the earth and he willed himself to be calm. Patient. He was a picture of collected tolerance.

"I literally cannot believe you." Naruto said, beginning to glare, finally sobering up. "Do you even know how much that must have hurt?"

Sasuke had an idea but he was not going to admit it. "Hn."

"You're a real bastard sometimes Sasuke. A real bastard." Naruto glared harder and Sasuke began to feel more uncomfortable. He had never had Naruto upset at him before. Desperate, yes. Angry, yes. Betrayed, yes.

But not upset.

Naruto shook his head and stood up. "Well I would normally say good luck but Sakura-chan…deserves to be married because she loves someone and that person loves her back."

"I—"Sasuke started.

"No, you wouldn't." Naruto interrupted eyes serious, "Maybe you would begin to care for her later on. Maybe you would kiss her every now and then and learn how to show your affection for her. Maybe you would even love her back. But right now, what you're asking, has nothing to do with your feelings. That's why she said no."

Naruto sighed and looked up at the cloudy sky. "I know you like her more than other girls, teme. But you don't have affection for her. You don't have anything other than dutiful care and she doesn't want that."

"She's the same as she was. I would begin to love her eventually." Sasuke grunted, his fingers sliding through upturned dirt. "She should be happy with that."

With me. Is what he wants to say but it sounds ridiculous and so his lips stay shut.

Naruto looked at him, incredulous. "You don't even know her Sasuke. She loved you for a long time and you didn't bother to know anything about her, even when we were genin."

"I know no one else has asked to marry her." Sasuke spit out.

He winced, immediately, when he realized how cruel that was.

Naruto glared at him. "Tenten asked."

Sasuke choked. "What?"

"They had a thing during the war. Tenten had lost Neji and Sakura was there for her. It continued for about six months after until Tenten asked to marry her and Sakura said no. She said she wasn't cut out for marriage." Naruto took a deep breath and looked over quickly to Sakura who was still checking up on Kakashi, smiling jovially, "Tenten cried for days, Sasuke. And Sakura didn't show up for training for about a month."

Sasuke frowned. "I thought she was on a mission."

Naruto stared. And stared. And stared.

"Think about what you just said." Naruto told him.

His best friend walked away and Sasuke frowned, troubled.