Summary: The (not your average) Arranged Marriage AU I didn’t know I needed to write.
Rated: M (for adult content)
Chapter One: The Broken Promise
He opened the door to the house that had been built for his brother, the house that should never have been his.
It felt more than wrong to take such comfort in it, but he was weary from his travels and toils, and the smell of the burning embers from the dying fire and the warmth they emitted enraptured him, pulling him into their snares as he crossed the threshold, leaving the world outside behind.
The Uchiha heir paused, the sound of trickling water in the next room alerting him that she was still awake. Her chakra signature hummed serenely, the feel of it like warm silk against the cold air that lingered in his bones.
He exhaled slowly, taking his time as he unfastened his cloak and untied his sandals. He was in no hurry to face her after that brief audience with his father.
His throat was dry as he tried to swallow, their exchange of words still burning in his ears.
Sasuke straightened in surprise. It was odd to have his father greet him at the gate, he hadn’t done that since he was a boy.
“Is something wrong?” he found himself asking.
“I need to speak to you,” Fugaku told him with that quiet, stern tone Sasuke was all too familiar with.
His father then turned, walking ahead somewhere the young shinobi assumed was more private. He felt his shoulders fall in exhaustion, he had traveled all night without rest and wasn’t sure if he had the energy for this.
But, with a heavy sigh, he followed.
If Sasuke was anything, he was a dutiful son.
“What is it?” he asked as they reached the bridge at the far end of the village, trying to keep his agitation at bay.
Fugaku inhaled deeply as if summoning strength from some otherworldly source to continue, making Sasuke all the more concerned.
“…It is about your wife,” he told him.
“Is she alright?” Sasuke felt his pulse quicken, worry gripping tightly at his chest.
“Yes,” Fugaku replied evenly, banishing his first and foremost fear, at least. “She is as healthy, strong and lovely as the day she first stepped into our home.”
Sasuke’s brows drew together at the fleeting memory.
The day everything changed forever.
“Then I don’t understand…”
“She is so well, in fact, that it is a great wonder to me and the other clansmen that she is still without child.”
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