It's Complicated

Chapter 8: it's complicated

A slight jingle from a bell echoes off the tile floors as a painted, wooden door squeaks open. Ino spins in her chair to see her friend enter their favorite café. Her usually immaculate appearance is rumpled with dark circles shadowing her eyes and her characteristically smooth hair sticking up in places.

"You look awful, forehead," Ino honestly exclaims, she's never been one to pull punches.

"Thanks, pig," Sakura responds sarcastically as she flops in the wooden chair. A plate with half a sandwich and a cup of soup rests in front of her, accompanied by a fresh, steaming cappuccino. "You shouldn't have," she mocks disinterest, but takes a big sip of the coffee anyways.

"Okay, cut to the chase," Ino bursts out, unable to wait any longer. Part of her reason for purchasing her friend's lunch ahead of time was so she could hear the news even sooner. "Why is Sasuke in town?"

Sakura looks down at her food, subconsciously stirring her soup. It's obvious the young woman is not going to give any answers unless Ino pries, so she pushes further. "I thought everything was done with you two."

"It's complicated," Sakura pauses again, obviously trying to think of the best way to steer the conversation.

"What? I thought you said that Fugaku voided the contract," the blond questions. "I thought all of your ties with the Uchiha's were cut off."

"Not exactly…"

"What do you mean not exactly?" Ino ponders for a moment before realization dawns on her. Blue eyes widen before saddening, "You're trying to get him to break it, that's why you've been partying so much, isn't it?" She's seen the way Sakura has thrown herself into the night life, going from a naïve little girl to a typical wealthy wild child overnight. While Ino's always know that there was something off about Sakura's shift, she's tried to make herself blind to it. It's a time of discovery she's been telling herself, unable to conceive the idea that her friend is in open rebellion against a billion dollar company.

The sheepish look in her green eyes is all Ino needs to know that she's right. "Sasuke's here trying to stop you, isn't he?"

At the mention of the Uchiha heir currently taking up residence in her apartment, Sakura's glare deepens as she turns her head away from her best friend.

"Okay, I know this contract thing is entirely fucked up and that you hate it, but do you really think this is the best course of action?"

Sakura seems about to rebuttal, but the other girl holds her hand up so she can finish her thought. "Sakura, I love you and I'll support you no matter what you want to do, but if this is truly the lifestyle you want to live with all the drinking and the whole free, independent woman thing, then you should be doing it for yourself, not in spite of someone else."

"I think you're making it sound worse than it is," Sakura tries to reason, hiding her face behind the oversized coffee mug.

"I'm not though," Ino begins, trying to think of the best way to phrase things. "What you're doing is dangerous, you're not being sensible or just trying to have fun. You're trying to get back at Sasuke and his father and it's causing you to make brash decisions just for the hell of it." She pauses, taking in the nearly hidden bruises peaking from beneath Sakura's sweater. "What exactly happened last night?"

Sakura shifts her clothes, trying to cover up the marks on her arm better. "Nothing," she whispers, "just some asshole at the bar."

Sadness falls on Ino's face, how could she have been such a bad friend, she should have acknowledged Sakura's pain instead of helping her cover it up. She should've protected her friend's heart and mind and prevented her from ending up in such a vulnerable situation. "Do you really think him being here is a bad thing?"

Sakura whips her head around fast enough that Ino knows she's about to start yelling.

"Listen," she begins again, knowing how she can remedy this. "Why would he be here if he truly didn't want to be with you. You should have heard him on the phone last night, he sounded really worried about you. I think he might be trying to protect you."

"He's not worried about me, he's just trying to protect his family's fucking reputation," Sakura spits out, obviously annoyed by Ino's alliance seeming to shift towards the frustrating man.

"I don't think so Sakura," she continues. "I never told you about what happened after you left, you know, that night at the party in Sound."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura questions, as she begins massaging her temples, an obvious indicator of her annoyance. She's tried to banish all thoughts of that party from her mind and she's not particularly inclined to relive it right now.

"I never told you because you were so upset and said that the contract was void after that night." Ino takes a deep breath, wishing she had told Sakura the story right away, maybe then, part of this mess could have been avoided. "I didn't want to reopen the wound. You never seemed to want to talk about Sasuke anymore so I went along with it."

"What happened, Ino?" Sakura slowly enunciates each word, her head running through all the possible scenarios.

"We talked…"

"Hey there, lover boy."

Sasuke whirls around at the feminine voice behind him. He sits on Karin's front porch, not able to stomach another second among the partying teenagers inside. His head swims and his chest hurts with all the emotions from today: losing his brother, fighting with his father, lashing out at Sakura. He settles with ignoring the blonde girl that's intruding on his pity party, hoping she'll get the hint and leave him alone.

"I thought you and Sakura would be having a heart to heart right about now," she continues. No such luck that one thing could go his way tonight. "Where is she?"

The pained look on Sakura's face flashes in his mind. He turns away from this new girl wanting to just pretend tonight didn't happen.

"I'm serious," she continues, pushing him, "what happened to her."

"She left," he bites out, hoping it will get her to go away.

"Why did she leave?" she questions, starting to worry. "Sakura would never do that unless something was wrong."

It's obvious this girl is truly worried about her friend, good to know at least one person has Sakura's best interests at heart.

"She realized that she's trapped in a game she can't win," Sasuke admits, the alcohol in his system and horrible turn of the day causing his lips to loosen. "That's what's wrong."

"What did you do?" the girl now sits beside him and realization hits Sasuke. This is Ino, the friend that Sakura's talked about before. If anybody would be able to comfort Sakura, it'd be her. Before he knows it, he begins telling her a brief version of the story, omitting the details about his family and blaming his outburst on alcohol consumption alone.

"You fucked up," Ino eventually comments once he finishes.

Sasuke stays silent, obviously he already realized this. Sakura never asked for this life, until today she never fully realized what it meant. She lived in this fantasy world where they fell in love and lived happily ever after, basking in their wealth and prestige.

The two sit in silence for a moment, the muffled sound of the party still pulsating behind them. Eventually, Sakura's friend asks a question that takes him off guard.

"Do you want to marry her?" Ice blue eyes scan his face seriously.

He thinks about the question. Yes, no, maybe? How is he supposed to even answer that? He's eighteen and has had as many significant conversations with her as any other girl in the world. "I don't even know her," he admits honestly.

"And she doesn't know you," Ino snaps back without missing a beat. Apparently, she's not letting him cop out of the question so easily. "Think about her feelings with this situation. She feels trapped, her future's been signed away and she has absolutely no control over it."

"Neither do I," Sasuke angrily hisses, "I didn't ask for this either." Why does everybody act like he called this upon himself. He doesn't want to be forced into a marriage, he doesn't want to run his father's company, he doesn't even want the Uchiha name anymore.

"I know you didn't," Ino shakes her head before looking up at the night sky. "It's messed up, but it sounds like you two are stuck together, so you better start thinking about how you're going to fix it."

"Why didn't he try and fix things then? Why did her never tell me this?" An angry tear runs down Sakura's face, taking her off guard. She does not want to be having this conversation and she certainly does not want to start crying in this restaurant.

"I won't even attempt to try and guess what's going on in that boy's mind, but my money's on his father interfering somehow."

Sakura just snorts in response. The contempt she feels for Fugaku Uchiha is no secret to anyone, but as awful as he is, Sasuke can't use his father as an excuse forever. He has had plenty of opportunities between now and then to say something, to do something, but every time he lets her slip through his fingers.

"It seems like he's also trying to find himself." Ino shakes her head before muttering to herself, "how is it possible for everything to get this fucked up?"

Sakura opens her mouth, about to respond when one of the café's TVs catches her eye. There, in the corner, behind a pretty woman is a picture of Sasuke Uchiha. Being the heir to one of the richest empires in the nation means that he does show up in the news every now and again, but the timing of him ending up on the celebrity gossip channel after blowing into town unannounced turns knots in Sakura's stomach.

"-uke Uchiha has long been considered one of Konoha's most eligible bachelors. As heir to the Uchiha empire, which has holdings in everything from real estate, to oil, to even arms dealing, he has both the looks, brains, and fortune to attract any young woman's attention."

"Don't pay attention to those things Sakura," the blonde girl snaps her fingers in front of her friend's face. "They're just tabloids, nobody pays attention to them."

Sakura tries to ignore the story, settling on focusing on her soup instead, but she can't help but hear the news anchor's peppy voice at she continues to tell the story of Sasuke's family. Even Ino can't help overhearing it as she turns around to get a better look.

"- After the dip in stocks over a decade ago, many thought the family had made one mistake too many. All that seems to be in the past though as they have made a miraculous yet mysterious turn around nobody saw coming." As the lady on the TV speaks, a graph is projected showing the Uchiha company heading towards bankruptcy before it take a quick spike that leads upwards into profits.

"Perhaps the future of the company is becoming even brighter with gossip of a new heiress coming into the picture."

Suddenly finding it very difficult to swallow, Sakura begins choking on her tomato bisque. This is not good.

"The younger Uchiha brother has taken a break from his schooling to return home to Konoha and rumor has it that it's because a new, secret love interest has taken up residence downtown. Lifestyle News will continue to provide details as they develop. Next up, what are this season's hottest fashion dos and don'ts."

"Seriously Sakura, don't let it bother you, I'm sure it's all just-" Ino stops talking as she turns back around to find her friend gone, the sound of the bell on the door jingling as she rushes out.

"Lot's of attention has been on the younger, less experienced Uchiha son as he struggles to fill in his older brother's shoes, now with rumors of a coming engagement, stockholders question the twenty year-old's position in the company even further." A man's voice on the business channel echoes through the apartment. "Itachi Uchiha was always thought as the golden child of the company, however, when health issues forced him to step down from the role of successor of the great Uchiha patriarch, Sasuke was forced to take his place."

Sasuke's knuckles turn white with tension as he listens to the new story. 'Health issues,' is just the bull that Fugaku choose to feed to the press when Itachi was dismissed all those years ago, just as 'new love interest,' is the lead they leaked now. It's no secret that Sasuke never wanted to be a key player in the company and the board members know it. After he was appointed heir, many threatened to leave and the Uchiha company hasn't been thriving since. As his father likes to remind him, they need control over the Haruno stake now more than ever to stay afloat.

Slam!

Sasuke's roused from his thoughts as the sound of stomping feet come towards the living room. He braces himself for the tongue lashing he knows he'll have to endure as a blur of pink hair rounds the corner.

"What the fuck, Sasuke!" Sakura yells, her face flushed with anger. "Secret love," she makes air quotes around the words and he instantly knows a fight is about to unravel. He knew she would see the press release eventually, he just hoped he would have had more time to prepare himself for this confrontation.

"Do you want the fucking press snooping around here? Cause nothing summons them like the chance to break a secret about Konoha's biggest heartthrob," she begins throwing pillows across the room in frustration like a short, angry tornado threatening to destroy all that's in it's path.

"The company is keeping the press under control, besides it's time to stop playing pretend," Sasuke states plainly, not willing to give Sakura the satisfaction of cowering at her temper tantrum, even as her projectiles get dangerously close to his head. "We both have a duty to do to our families and no amount of partying or sleeping around is going to change that."

The second the words are out of his mouth he knows they are the wrong thing to say.

Slap!

His cheek stings, but he expected this to happen at least once while he was here. Sakura's temper always gets the best of her sooner or later.

"You think I enjoy this?" She yells, angry tears streaming down her face, "You think I want to do this? I don't!" She's screaming now, her voice rising with her emotions. "All I want is to have control over my own life, all I need is-"

"What do you need Sakura?" Sasuke snaps back. Doesn't she realize it's not this simple? "To drink yourself into oblivion or get caught up in a scandal so my father releases you from the contract." Sakura steps back, obviously shocked by him challenging her. "You are worth far more than some cover up money," he finishes, taking a few deep breaths to settle himself.

"What if I go to the press myself?" she questions, even though she knows the reason, her fury and frustration propelling the empty threat from her mouth.

"Then you and your family lose everything," he responds slowly. The contract is clear, should Sakura or her parents intentionally cause any suspicion that their "marriage" is anything other than a love match, everything the Harunos own becomes forfeit to the Uchiha, no even split, no financial royalties, just taken.

"I hate you," Sakura whispers, her quiet tone of hopelessness even more distressing to him than if she were shouting.

"No," he begins, stepping forward he reaches out as if to touch her. "You don't." Green eyes, still burning with frustration, watch him cautiously not moving away. Extended fingers just barely brush the soft skin of her arm before a harsh knock interrupts.

Without missing a beat, Sasuke turns away, walking towards the door.

Standing in silence, Sakura attempts to process what just occurred between them. There's been a shift, something's changed within him, within her. That look in his eyes when he moved towards her, that hesitation as he reached out to touch her, it reflects the same numbness she's been experiencing for a long time, now.

Trapped.

"Come on," Sasuke orders quietly, a nod of his head indicating towards the door.

"Why?" Is all she can manage, her thoughts reeling, her feelings dancing. Anger, hurt, sadness, even a sense of longing. Longing for something she knows she can't have, something that may never be.

Why did he do that?

Why didn't she push him away?

Why is this happening now?

Her feet move on their own volition, as if her body is trying to seek the closure that her mind will never have.

"I think it's time we have an actual conversation," he responds, ushering her towards the door where another man stands expectantly. "And we're not going to have it here."