Uncomfortable

  The afternoon was spent preparing things and tidying up for their departure. While Sakura was out talking to Tsunade about her open projects (Kakashi had said that she didn't need to worry about it, but she couldn't leave without giving at least a few updates), Sasuke busied himself with cleaning the apartment. Sakura had insisted he shouldn't do any housework, but he ignored that. He had finished what he needed to do, and he couldn't sit still and just wait. He was dreading dinner tonight, but since he had agreed and it made Sakura so happy, he was going. He was starting to wonder if he was overreacting. Sakura had always been able to accept him once she knew him, so it was possible that it was a genetic thing she inherited from her parents. Based on her mother's reaction to him earlier, however, he highly doubted it would go well.

On top of that, his mind was reeling from the fact that it was almost the anniversary of his clan's demise. That would come in just a few days, and he would be out on a mission. True, he wasn't much for sentimentality, but he would usually spend that day somehow trying to honor his family.

He was finishing up as Sakura entered the apartment again, looking pleased with how everything went. Putting her shoes down, she gasped at the clean apartment before saying, "I told you not to do any housework! That's not your job; you're a guest."

Sasuke caught her eye and shrugged. "I had free time."

Whenever he used excuses like that, people would often scoff or roll their eyes, taking him at face value. Over the time living with Sakura, though, he noticed that more and more, she would pause and consider his expression after he did that. Then, she'd usually just smile and thank him.

This time, she walked over to him and placed a kiss on his cheek, saying, "Thanks. You're the best."

Caught off guard, Sasuke stood there for a second as Sakura went to arrange some of her things for travel. Deciding to let it go, he looked around to see if there was anything else he could do to keep busy. Finding nothing else, he sat down to sharpen and polish his tools. They were plenty sharp and completely clean already, but he enjoyed the monotonous task.

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Having completed her preparations, Sakura looked at the clock to realize it was almost time to leave for dinner tonight. She was excited, but she wasn't an idiot. She knew things wouldn't be just smooth sailing tonight, and she knew Sasuke's nerves were on edge which wouldn't help the situation. Still, this was her parents and her boyfriend officially meeting. Surely, she could make them all see the good in the situation.

Running a brush through her hair, she decided she was ready and went into the living room, where Sasuke was finishing packing his tools into his bag. He looked at her as she approached and stood to his full height, but he didn't say anything. Studying his face and eyes, she could make out the nervousness and tension in him as well as a few emotions she couldn't quite understand.

Smiling, she took his hand and asked, "Ready?"

He just nodded slightly, so she led him out of the apartment and towards her parents' house. Normally she wouldn't hold his hand so openly, but she thought tonight he would benefit more from her silent comfort than from avoiding a few extra glances from villagers.

Again, she wasn't an idiot, but it really did baffle her how many people were still so on edge about Sasuke being back in the village. Most of them hadn't met him directly, or at least not since they were kids. People just didn't take the time to get to know him. He was reserved, but the more time she spent around him, she picked up on what he didn't say also. Earlier, he simply told her he had extra time, so he cleaned the apartment. While that was probably true, there was more to it than that. His voice and eyes conveyed more to her. He was happy to do it. He didn't mind at all. He wanted to take something off her plate. He wanted to help her. Of course, she knew he had busied himself all day to avoid having time to think, but he could've chosen any activity to occupy his hands. Instead, he chose one that would benefit her.

Smiling slightly, Sakura slowed as they reached the door to her childhood home. Looking at her boyfriend, she squeezed his hand a little and again asked, "Ready?"

Again, she was met with only a small nod. "You know, you're probably going to have to actually use words to speak with my parents, right?" This earned her an eyeroll from her companion, and she giggled.

Knocking on the door, they waited as they heard someone coming toward the door. It opened to reveal Sakura's mother with a wide grin on her face.

"My lovely girl is here at last! Come i…."

Her voice stopped and her face fell as she saw Sasuke, however. Looking between the two, she asked, "And what is he doing here? I thought you were coming for a nice dinner with your family."

"I am! I also wanted to introduce you and dad to Sasuke so you can get to know each other. He's my boyfriend now, so we should all get along."

"I see… well I'm not one to turn away someone and leave them on the street. Come in then."

The two entered, with Sasuke inclining his head toward the woman as he passed. Sakura led him into the house where her father waited in the living room. He hopped up and hugged Sakura tightly, completely ignorant of their other guest. The two both laughed as he released his daughter, and his eyes fell on Sasuke.

Not waiting for someone to put their foot in their mouth, Sakura moved in between the two men, saying, "Dad, this is Sasuke Uchiha. Mom ran into us earlier in the street, so he met her. Sasuke, this is my dad."

In much the same way he greeted Sakura's mother earlier, Sasuke extended his hand and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sakura received a look from her father, and she gave him a pointed one in return, showing he had better accept the handshake. He did so reluctantly and turned to go sit on the couch again.

"Please take a seat. I'll just go make sure everything in the kitchen is doing alright." Her mother took off, but not before sharing a look with her father. None of the tension or looks were lost on the girl, and she steeled herself for the rest of the evening. Sakura could only hope that Sasuke was accepting this well, but knowing him, he had caught on to every little detail. She glanced at him by her side and motioned for him to follow her to the open seats across from her dad.

"Your mother didn't mention that we were going to have a guest."

"Well, that's my fault. I kinda decided after the fact that Sasuke should come too. I thought it would be great for you all to meet now that we're, um…. Dating." Sakura was more nervous for her father's reaction than her mother's. She knew the woman would keep her cool at the moment and then interrogate her later. Her father, on the other hand, was not very good at filtering his thoughts and feelings before reacting.

"You're what?? How could you possibly trust him? I know what he's put you through over the years, and I do not accept this at all! No, no you aren't allowed to date him."

Sighing, Sakura started, "Dad, I wasn't exactly asking for permission to date him. I made this decision, and I'm happy with it. I know you think you know all about it, but there's so much more you don't know. Please, just try to get to know him. For me!"

The man narrowed his eyes at Sakura, who refused to shy away from him. He considered his options and conceded a little, saying, "Fine. We'll see. Well, tell me how you've been. How's work?"

As Sakura described what she had been doing lately, the tension in the air dissipated slowly. She occasionally brought up things she had done with Sasuke to include him in everything, but her father paid him no mind. A little while into her monologue, her mother called from the kitchen for her to come help with something. Sakura looked nervously between her dad and boyfriend. Leaving them alone did not seem like a good idea, and she was hoping to be a buffer for Sasuke the whole time. Giving a pointed look at her father and a small smile at Sasuke, she got up to go help.

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The silence in the room was deafening.

Sasuke's mind ran a mile a minute on what he should do right now. He wanted nothing more than to dash out of the house and hide in the forest somewhere, but he knew he couldn't do that to Sakura. The man in front of him hadn't been too openly hostile, so he could put up with it.

Deciding that apologizing would be a good way to break the ice, Sasuke began, "I know you don't like me." That earned an eyeroll from the other man. "You have every reason to not trust me. I know that. But there are things that…"

"Are you really going to barge into my house uninvited and try to tell me that you're a decent person? You didn't see her all those years you were out doing who knows what horrible things. I don't care if you feel you're innocent now just because a few people stood up for you. She cried, and that's not something I'll ever forgive you for. She loved you so fiercely, but all you ever did was bring her anguish."

Although he knew he had caused her pain for years, hearing the words said out loud was like a dagger to his heart. Sasuke tried not to think about what she had done while he was gone. He hated himself for going down that path, and he wanted to make up for it now in any way he could.

Looking down, he collected his thoughts and answered, "I know I hurt her. I can't take that back, but I…"

"But nothing! You can't just go through life doing whatever you want and expect everyone else to just forgive and forget. Who gave you the right to just waltz back into the village after everything?"

"That's not what I…"

"Oh, it's not, is it? Sure seems like that's what you're doing. I don't know what you've said to my daughter to make her trust you again, but it won't work on me. She has a soft spot for you, but your actions make it clear you only care about yourself."

Sasuke was growing increasingly annoyed at being interrupted, but he was doing his best to keep his temper under control. If the man would just let him simply speak maybe this would go better. After waiting for a minute to make sure he was done with that little rant, Sasuke tried again.

"I don't expect you or anyone to accept me, but I also won't grovel at your feet. Yes, I've done things that were… I've done things that I regret. I can't change that now, but I can be better going forward. Your daughter is one of the people who made me realize that."

"So, you're putting the blame on her?"

"No. I'm just saying she has helped me. Ever since returning and living at her place…"

"You're LIVING with her?? Absolutely not! The least you can do is support yourself!"

Sasuke hadn't really thought about telling Sakura's parents that they were living together. He just didn't think it was a big deal since she had suggested it herself, but with the man in front of him suddenly yelling, he realized it was a mistake. Sakura heard the commotion and came back into the living room, earning herself a lecture from her father.

"You let him move in with you? What are you thinking? He's a deranged person who is capable of killing with no remorse! This is enough! You will get him out of your apartment and stop seeing him altogether."

Sasuke looked at Sakura and saw the anger burning in her eyes. This is exactly how he thought the night would go. Proving all his suspicions true, now he was causing a fight just by existing.

"You don't know everything about him. He is a GOOD person, and yes, he has regrets. He's moving past them. I was the one who forced him to come stay at my place. He was against it at first, but I made him. And you know what? It's helped me in so many ways. I used to have nightmares at least five times a week. They aren't completely gone, but now it's only about two times. And when I do have them, he is there to help me work through them."

"He's the one who gave you those nightmares in the first place."

"NO! The situations we were forced into gave me those nightmares. You have to trust me, but there's just so much you don't know about. Please, try to understand just a little!"

Crossing his arms, her father glared at Sasuke, who held his eye contact calmly. Turning his attention back to Sakura, he said, "I know enough about him. He's just like the rest of his clan. They were all unhinged. I mean, look at what his own brother did! You can't tell me that that is something a normal person would do!"

Sasuke had been keeping his growing temper under control up to this point, but he couldn't bear to hear his family spoken about like they were some kind of mutants who deserved to die. Standing quickly, he glared down at the man in front of him with so much ferocity that he sunk slightly into couch. Balling his hand into a fist, he had to refrain from actually striking him.

Instead, he activated his sharingan without noticing and replied in a low, dangerous tone, "You know NOTHING about my family, especially Itachi. Never speak of them again."

Sasuke was livid, so he decided the best thing was to leave before doing something based on his heightened emotions. He began stalking out of the room when he felt Sakura grab his arm. Looking at her, he saw she had tears in her eyes that she was trying to fight down. She started to say something, but he cut her off with a simple, "I'm sorry."

After that, he pulled his arm free and swiftly left the house, running for the most remote place in the training grounds he could find.