S.U
It's been two months since the trip to Paris. Two months since Sasuke and Sakura started dating.
From the moment Sasuke left the Eiffel Tower, he made sure to tell everyone that Sakura was his girl. He didn't like attention, but he wanted everyone to know that he and Sakura were dating. He wanted everyone to know that if they messed with Sakura, they would mess with Sasuke too.
Sasuke dating Sakura wasn't the only reason why the latter was making headlines. Ever since her no major make-up stunt, she had gained attention and recognition as a new feminism. Some of the attention was negative, but Sasuke knew that Sakura would only use that as motivation to get her voice heard.
Camille, Eloise and the rest of their group had been flown to New York last month and was schedule to stay in the city for two months to help Sakura out with campaigns.
It wasn't just Sakura who had gained recognition, Camille's whole group had as well. Camille had even been invited to speak about equality at the Paris Youth Festival. Sakura had spoken to the public on many occasions as well, staying alongside renowned feminists like Emma Watson and Malala Yousafzai.
Sasuke thought it was awesome how Sakura spoke up for subjects she cared about, but a small part of him (this part disgusted Sasuke) wished that Sakura had never become a feminist. The whole thing had made her busier than ever, their dates becoming less and less frequent.
He knew it was selfish, but really, all he wanted to do was have her for himself. Shaking his head, he willed those thoughts to go away and never come back.
"Here's your coffee," Sasuke handed the warm drink he had prepared to the woman on the couch.
Sakura smiled and pulled Sasuke down to sit next to her, wrapping a blanket around him too as she kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Sasuke."
It was a cold evening, the type that made you want to do nothing more than cuddle up indoors with a cup of coffee and a book to read. The two were alone in Sasuke's bedroom at the Uchiha residence, opting for a more quiet area than their chaotic dorms.
Sasuke leaned his shoulder against Sakura, his eyes scanning the Word document Sakura was working on. "Your speech looks good."
"I sure hope so," she laughed before typing some more. "There will be lots of well known campaigners at the convention tomorrow, I can't have myself looking like a fool in front of them especially."
Tomorrow it was International Woman's Day, and a convention for it was being hosted right at Central Park. Camille's group had been invited, and Sakura had been asked to make a speech for all of the feminists gathered there.
"You won't, you're amazing," Sasuke held her hand.
Sakura smiled softly as she slipped her hand away. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I need my hands to type."
"It's fine," he said.
Sakura began typing away again, and the room fell silent for about ten minutes. Eventually she broke the silence, stretching her hands. "With our height difference, isn't it uncomfortable for you to lean on my shoulder?"
Sasuke shrugged. "It is, but I like it. Is it...disturbing you?"
"Kinda," she admitted. "It's distracting when your super hot boyfriend leans on you."
"Well, I just want to show my super hot girlfriend my affection," Sasuke looked up at her.
She laughed. "Who would've guessed you were this cheesy?"
"Absolutely no one," Sasuke chuckled before standing up. "Alright, I'll leave the room so you get some peace. You'll come up with an epic speech, I know it ."
"Thanks," Sakura smiled and leaned in for a quick kiss. "Looking forward to tonight's date. First one in a while, huh?"
"Yeah," Sasuke left the room. "I'm looking for it too."
Bored, Sasuke wandered the hallways of his family house, eyes flickering over different paintings and medals of honour. Fifteen minutes passed, and when the doorbell rang, Sasuke almost yelled in joy that something interesting finally happened.
"Master Sasuke," a butler addressed him. "The staff awaits your approval to let the stranger into the residence. He says he was invited here."
"Invited?" Sasuke repeated, his brow furrowing. His parents were both out on a photoshoot together and Itachi was now living in a different house with Izumi. Sakura hadn't mentioned invited a guest over. And he doubt she would, considering she left the dorms for peace and quiet. "Is it Naruto?"
"No," the butler shook his head. "He says his name is Kiba-"
Not waiting for the butler to finish his sentence, Sasuke ran off to the front door, his stomach curling up with dread. Kiba stood, already inside the house, along with the Uchiha elders.
"Why are you here?" Sasuke demanded as Kiba smirked at the former's shock.
"Because we invited him here," one of the lead Uchiha elders, Michi, spoke up, her hand gripped on a cane tightly.
"I do not allow this," Sasuke said firmly. "In case you need a reminder, you aren't the ruler of this house."
"I think you are the one who needs a reminder," Michi pursed her lips. "You aren't the ruler of this house either."
Old lady's got some nerve, Sasuke thought irritably to himself. "Did my father allow this?"
"In fact, he did," Michi's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm sure we won't disturb you and your, ah, girlfriend."
They were up to something. Sasuke knew it from the way they addressed Sakura and from the look in their eyes.
Unfortunately, he also knew that if Michi said that Fugaku allowed this meeting then his say on the matter. He was pretty sure Michi, Kiba and the rest of the Uchiha elders were lying about this, but he didn't have the proof to call them liars. "Alright."
Sasuke turned away from the group, a bad feeling itching at his stomach.
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"So, in conclusion, we demand change. We demand equality. We demand that the gender pay gap will become non-existent. We demand that women are treated equally and fairly. And not only will we demand this, we will also make this happen. We need everyone, however, to make this happen as well."
The park burst into applause and cheers from all of the people gathered there. Sasuke grinned and joined in with the clapping, feeling his spirits lift for the first time in a while.
Seeing Kiba with the Uchiha elders at his house had shaken his evening up, and to top it off Sakura cancelled their date because she still needed time on her speech.
That being said, Sasuke thought that she deserved all the cheers and applause going her way. He witnessed first-hand how much effort she had put in. He walked towards the stage that had been set-up, prepared to congratulate his girlfriend.
"Sakura!" he grinned as the pinkette descended down the stairs. "You did ama-"
"Oh my gosh!"
Sasuke stood there, his arms outstretched as Sakura rushed past him to talk with Camille and her group.
Did I just get ignored?
Sakura had been distracted from him in all kinds of ways these past days, but it was never like this. Why should Sasuke get ignored but Camille's group get her full attention? He was her boyfriend.
Slowly, he turned to get a better view of them. Ino, Tenten, Temari and Hinata were involved in the group too, but Sakura wasn't speak at all to them. Instead, she was gushing about her speech to Camille and Eloise and the others, who only grinned and heaped compliments upon her.
Ino seemed to notice Sasuke looking that way and gave him a look of pity. Eloise also seemed to notice how rejected Sasuke looked. She excused herself from the group, walking off to talk with Sasuke.
He would've expected some sort of reaction from Sakura; a crazed fangirl was asking to talk with her supermodel boyfriend, but Sakura just grinned and motion her to go for it. Eloise seemed more interested in him than Sakura.
"Hey," Eloise waved as she approached him. "I noticed you looking this way. You're dating Sakura, aren't you, Sousuke?"
"It's Sasuke," he said behind gritted teeth. "What do you want, Elly?"
"It's Eloise," she corrected. "And I know full well that you know who I am. But I'm not here to engage in a petty conversation."
"What then? Get straight to the point."
"It's about Sakura," Eloise smiled coyly. "Up on the stage when she was giving her speech, Sakura seemed so confident, wouldn't you say? She seemed so independent."
Sasuke scoffed. "If you think we're going to break up because Sakura's independent, then you can go back to France."
"The thing is, it seems like you two aren't even dating in the first place," Eloise ignored his jibe. "Sakura seemed better than fine when she's alone up on the stage. And noticed how she ignored you? It happened here and back in Paris, at the café. She would rather listen to her friends than your compliments. Does she even need you?"
"Why the hell are you prying into our relationship?" Sasuke snapped. "Yeah, Sakura is an independent woman. Do you think that means that she can't ever experience love? Get back to your group and mind your own business."
Eloise turned on her heel. "If you say so."
Anger rising up in his chest, Sasuke followed Eloise to where Sakura was standing. He tapped her shoulder, and not waiting for her to speak, he said, "We need to talk. Now."
He grabbed her hand and lead her away from Eloise's curious eyes, taking her to a spot in Central Park that wasn't swarmed with people. They sat on a bench underneath a swaying willow tree, the chatter from the event distant in the background.
"So," began Sakura. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Eloise is bad news," Sasuke said. "She tried to convince me that you didn't need me."
"Sasuke, you know that's not true," Sakura squeezed his hand.
"I know, but it's the fact that she did it in the first place," Sasuke ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. "She tried to break up our relationship. Doesn't that strike you as weird?"
"It does," admitted Sakura. "But there's a good reason behind why she tried to break us up. You see, a few weeks ago she was stuck in a toxic relationship with a man that made her feel inferior-"
"Are you kidding me?" Sasuke's voice began to rise. "That's not even a good reason. Stop sucking up to sob stories. Like in Paris. Chloe deserves to be in jail for as long as she can be."
"I'm just trying to be kind and fair," Sakura's voice rose too.
Sasuke scoffed. "Well, I can't see it. Kind? I'm pretty sure ignoring your boyfriend isn't kind. Ring a bell? At the stage. I was so prepared to make you feel like a queen, but you flat out ignored me and ran off with Camille and Eloise."
Sakura's eyes widened in shock before she embraced Sasuke tightly. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted to talk with Camille and stuff because these past weeks they've been supporting me to reach this point. We've been talking about feminism so much, and we've gotten so much closer-"
"Are you telling me that our dates and time together have been disrupted because of your speech, but your closer to them more than ever now?"
People were beginning to stare.
"Don't word it like that!" shouted Sakura. "They help me write my speech and find motivation. They understand me."
"So do I!"
Sakura stared at him directly. "No. You're not a woman, you have no idea what it's like to struggle because you are one."
"Fine, I don't understand," sneered Sasuke. "But don't you think Ino or Hinata would? Temari? Tenten? They're women too, right? Then how come you still turn Eloise and Camille still? How come those other four looked so left out? Face the facts Sakura, you've been ditching everyone for those French people."
Paparazzi began to take videos and photos, but Sasuke was too angry to care.
"I can be friends with other people too!" retorted Sakura angrily. "They're only going to be in New York for a short amount of time, don't you think it's right that I spend as much time as possible with them?"
"That doesn't mean you can act as if you don't need everyone else!"
Sakura gasped. "You believe Eloise, don't you? You think that I don't need anybody but myself! I thought we trusted each other. That was the whole point of our trip to Paris!"
Camille's group burst into the scene. At the same time, Naruto, Ino and the others arrived too.
"Correction, you trust me. How do you know I trust you? The point of Paris was for you to trust me. When have I ever said that I trust you? You weren't the only one hurt because of the past, you know. You believed so easily that I was the bad guy."
"I'm starting to believe it now," Sakura's eyes began to tear up in hurt and anger. "Maybe you really are the bad guy."
"And you're what, the princess?" scorned Sasuke. "Well then, maybe that's true. Because after all, the princess and the bad guy are never meant to be."
With that, he spun on his heel, leaving Sakura crying underneath the willow tree.
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word count: 2243