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The perpetual ticking of the clock echoed in the silence, the opaque night veiling her eyes so that she saw nothing but blackness before her. She could not see him, but she felt him, a warm body resting next to her.
This was their wedding night. All the illusions she once held as a girl, romantic fantasies and childish dreams were scattered like dust to the four winds in the wake of this night. He never kissed, never caressed, never tried to be tender. He moved through the mechanic motions of a familiar mating, sex without feeling, for there was no emotion in his eyes as he moved above her that night, onyx black eyes as dead as the shadows around them.
She shifted uncomfortably, wincing a little. She was no stranger to rough sex with her boys. Just as often as they were sweet and tender to her, they were still passionate and fierce men, and she loved them for it. But they had always taken the time to ready her, make her as eager for them as they were for her. Tonight…the dull look in Sasuke's gaze and the mourning clogging her throat was enough to stifle any hint of desire she might have felt.
It did not matter, she decided. They had done their duty, even if they didn't have to worry about child making, for her womb was already full and swelling with her third child- his child. The heir to his clan lay sleeping in the nursery down the hall.
It was the thought of the little boy sleeping beside that same heir, his brother, who made her heart ache. She could imagine the golden blonde hair splayed out around his head, the soft, mewling snore escaping his mouth. So like his sire.
Shivering from the chill surrounding her and her bedmate, she nestled deeper into the blankets. She was startled into crying out when she felt cold fingers brush against her side, his arm wrapping around her to pull her closer to the warmth of his body. He arranged the covers around them, leaning close to whisper in her ear. His breath was hot against her skin, and for the first time in years, did not stir the faintest hint of arousal in her body.
"I'm…sorry, Sakura."
She accepted the apology, as she had accepted a thousand more before it, from him, from the memory that resided dominantly in both their minds that night. She knew he meant no harm, for expressing emotion was never his strong suit. She placed her hand over his wrist, shakily exhaling. "Its fine, Sasuke."
Her mind was full of tangible memories, of tender touches and blue eyes warm with affection as he whispered how much he loved her. His lips against her skin, large, calloused hands cradling her hips as he moved above her.
His mind was full of tangible memories, of golden hair and idiotic grins, of questing hands and broken promises. Hot kisses that burned like brands, nails that scratched between his shoulder blades as a bronzed body writhed beneath him.
Even as Sasuke held her close that night, silent apologies thick on his tongue, Sakura felt him drifting from her more and more. And the space between them took the form of one golden-haired, blue-eyed man.