𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

01

"[Name], please, it's not as bad as you think..."

Kouhage [Name] waved away her partner as she struggled to make sense of his words, resorting to leaning on a nearby tree for support. At their secret rendezvous point in the woods, [Name] would usually feel absolute peace whenever she was here. However, today was different.

"Just... I need to breathe, Naruto..." she said quietly, shaken to the core. Although the news of an arranged marriage was nothing new in this world of war and alliances, the fact that it now threatened her own romantic relationship was distressing to [Name].

With a look of concern, Uzumaki Naruto watched as [Name] slid down to the ground, burying her face in her hands with a sob of defeat at the trunk of the tree she had been relying on.

"[Name]," said the Uzumaki softly, bending down and pulling her hair away from her face in an attempt to get her attention. She refused to look up. "Please tell me you're not mad at me."

"Of course not," replied [Name] in a mumbled voice, still hiding from him. "It can't be helped."

Ever the optimist, Naruto sighed and got to his feet, holding out a hand to [Name].

"Look, it's not the end of the world!" he said cheerfully, waiting for [Name] to look up. "We can still be together!"

Still not convinced, [Name] remained seated on the ground, docile and unmoving.

"Hey," said Naruto tenderly, squatting before his lamenting lover. "I'll speak to oji-sama, and ask for you as my second wife. The only reason I'm marrying this Hinata woman is because the family want to solidify a treaty with the Hyūga clan. Don't you see, [Name]? You can have so much more freedom as my second wife! Think about it- the main wife has all the household responsibilities! She's in charge of all the servants, money, children... you won't have to deal with any of that! On top of that, we won't have to meet in the middle of weird places like this anymore! We can meet in secret- in our own home! Doesn't that sound appealing to you? Everyone will know you're around, but no one will care if I'm sneaking off to see you because it won't be forbidden anymore! Do you want to keep hiding in shadows for the rest of our lives?!"

Feeling slightly comforted by Naruto's realistic reasoning, [Name] wiped her eyes and looked up at him with a small smile.

"More like hiding in trees, but I see what you mean," she hiccuped, flooding Naruto with relief.

"Good!" Rubbing his hands together, Naruto straightened up and held out his hand once more. Out of all the things in the world, seeing [Name] smiling and happy was all that the Uzumaki cared about, especially at poignant times such as this one.

"Come on, your yukata's going to get dirty," he insisted, beckoning for [Name] to give him her hand. With a small laugh, [Name] obligingly took did so and stood up, only for him to sweep her off of her feet and into his arms.

"Ah- Naruto!" she exclaimed, taken by surprise as he lifted her into the air and put her back gently on the ground after swinging her around. The Uzumaki let out a playful laugh as he rested his head on [Name]'s shoulder, swaying from side to side as he kept his arms locked firmly around her in embrace and danced to his own tune.

"Don't be so saaaaad," he sang loudly, making [Name] snort at how off key he was. "Things will all work out. Believe it!"

"Are you sure?"

Naruto abruptly stopped his swaying and held [Name] at arm's length, looking her in the eye with a serious expression on his face.

"[Name]. Do you trust me?"

[Name]'s heart leapt in her chest at the sudden eye contact, and abashedly averted her gaze. Naruto frowned and pulled [Name] back to him, holding her head against his chest.