Save me | yandere! (various uchiha) x reader

Thirty-two

Madara sat at his desk in his office, the city lights casting long shadows over the room. His fingers drummed slowly on the polished wood, the sound a steady rhythm in the otherwise quiet space. His mind was heavy, clouded with thoughts that refused to settle.

He had been planning the wedding for months now, a grand affair that would cement his control, his power. But as the days counted down, a nagging feeling began to fester at the back of his mind, one he couldn't ignore.

He stared at the documents in front of him, his eyes not truly seeing them. His thoughts kept drifting back to Y/N. The way she cried in his arms just hours ago, her desperate words, the way she looked at him with that mix of fear and fury. It all gnawed at him.

The wedding. She didn't want it. Hell, she barely wanted to be here with him, in this life he had thrust upon her. And yet, he kept pushing. Why? Was it out of some twisted need for control? A need to make her bend to his will? Or was there something deeper? Something he refused to admit to himself?

He thought back to the way she had collapsed in his arms, exhausted from everything he had put her through. Maybe it was that exhaustion that kept him from seeing things clearly, but in that moment, he had felt something shift. Something that made him question everything he had been planning.

The wedding was supposed to be a symbol. A symbol of victory, of power, of dominance. It would show the world that Y/N was his, that she would never escape him again. But she didn't look at it that way. She didn't see it as a victory. She saw it as another chain to bind her to a life she hated.

Was it worth it?

His thoughts ran in circles. Maybe she was right...maybe this was all for the wrong reasons. Maybe the wedding wasn't what she needed. Maybe what she needed was something different. Something more... human.

*An engagement party.*

It was a thought that hadn't occurred to him until now, but it made sense. He didn't need to force her into a wedding she wasn't ready for. Instead, he could keep up the appearance of their relationship, the appearance of their commitment, but in a way that would allow her some space to adjust, to come to terms with everything that had happened.

An engagement party wouldn't be a binding contract. It would just be an event. A statement. He could still claim her, still have her at his side, but without the immediate weight of a wedding.

He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples as he tried to consider all the possible consequences. There were risks, of course. People would talk. The Uchihas, his allies...they wouldn't understand. But that didn't matter to him. He'd done far worse in the name of power and control.

What mattered now was Y/N. And despite everything- despite how much he wanted to force her to comply, to bend to his will—he couldn't ignore the fact that he wanted her to be happy. Or at least, as happy as she could be with him.

It was a strange thought. One he wasn't sure he was ready to fully accept. But the idea of her looking at him with those tear-filled eyes again, that hopeless resignation...it was unbearable.

He could cancel the wedding, put it off indefinitely, and host an engagement party instead. Let her breathe for a while. Let her make the choice when she was ready. It wasn't perfect, but it was a compromise.

He glanced at the clock, the hours slipping by unnoticed. He couldn't afford to overthink this. He needed to make a decision.

*The wedding can wait. For now, an engagement party. She deserves that much.*

He stood up, his mind finally settling on something concrete, something he could live with. But even as the decision settled in his chest, he knew one thing for certain:

This wasn't over. Not by a long shot. The power, the control...none of that was going to change. But for now, for the sake of whatever fragile bond they still shared, he would give her this small reprieve.

The wedding could wait. The engagement party would be just the beginning.