[royal AU, bittersweet, fluff]

"You're doing well, son. I hope you're enjoying your time with her highness?"

"Yeah."

"Keep at it and you'll surpass your brother as the rising king. You'll represent our clan name and bring us back into power."

"Wait, hold on. That was it? That was your plan?"

"Of course. This wasn't all just for pleasure, you know. Life isn't made to enjoy if you don't have power. You should know that, Son."

"... I don't care about power."

"I thought that's what you were hungry forever since we were sent out of the kingdom."

"Yeah, that was me before, but now... Things change, Dad."

"Well, it's too late to go back now. If you want to marry her, then you hereby accept the role as long as well. It's a win-win, really."

Sasuke pursed his lips and clenched his fists, "why?!"

"Don't you want to be king?"

"No, Dad, you want to be king! I don't want to have anything to do with it!"

"Sasuke." Fugaku approached his son and set his hands on his shoulders, "I know you want to marry Sakura. But if you want that to happen, then you need to allow the Uchiha arise to power once again. Don't you want to see the Uchiha overthrow the kingdom? Like you always wanted?"

Sasuke set his jaw, "I love Sakura. I love her more than anything else in this world. But I don't want the Uchiha to overthrow the kingdom."

"She has two weeks left..." Fugaku started walking away, "by the end of those two weeks, she'll have married another man and you'll watch her be with that man all because you refused to become king. Think about that for a second."

______________

"Sakura, Parliament needs a decision by the end of this week! Two weeks have passed and you've completely blown off every suitable man!" Minato hastily followed Sakura as she took long, quick strides through the hallway, "Sakura, are you even listening?!"

"I can hear you talking." Sakura muttered almost unconsciously, "where could he be?! I couldn't have made him hate me, could I?"

"Made who?!"

"N-no one..."

"Oh... It's a 'he'?" Minato rose a brow, "Sakura, did you find someone?"

"M-maybe.... That's the problem. I have mixed feelings about this guy." Sakura chewed on her thumbnail and muttered to herself, "I need to find him... I haven't seen him in a whole week."

"Who is this? You should know his name."

"I know his first name, but..." Sakura looked at him, "it's no one."

"This is a problem. You know, the family name is pretty important. Shouldn't you know the name you'll be taking once you two marry?"

"That's only part of the problem!" She pursed her lips, "I don't know if I want to marry him!"

"How could you not know?!" Minato sighed, "listen, I need to go run some errands. Naruto's at home if you want to find someone to argue with. I just want to remind you to get going and start making your mind up."

I know that... Sakura watched him walk off as she quickly dashed out of the palace and made her way to Naruto's house, not too far from where she lives. Would Naruto know who Sasuke is?

"Sakura?" A woman with bright red hair called from behind the house as she peeked around the corner, "is that you?"

"Hi, Ms. Uzumaki!" Sakura ran up to her, "is Naruto home?"

"Oh, sorry, dear... Naruto headed out earlier to go find you." She laughed, "and please, no need for formalities. You're a childhood friend of Naruto's. Just call me Kushina. You call Minato by his name anyways. You're like a daughter to us, you know?"

"That's thoughtful of you." Sakura smiled, "I just came by to argue with him about someone and see if he knows anything about him."

"Ah, I see. Hey, how's your man-hunt going?" Kushina grinned, "found any hot guys yet?"

"Well, a lot, actually. Some are a lot more passionate than others." Sakura chuckled.

"Sakura! I'll protect you with my life!"

"What's your name again? Rock Lee?" Sakura smiled, "I'm touched by your dedication... But I don't want to be seen on a higher social status than you..."

"it's all okay, my Princess!" Lee bowed in respect, "I'll do whatever you want!"

"He sounds.... Charming." Kushina smiled, "but no takers?"

"Not really." Sakura crossed her arms, "is there anything you can tell me... About a man named Sasuke?"

"Sasuke." Kushina looked at her, "isn't he your childhood friend? I haven't seen him around lately."

Sakura stepped closer, "so you know him?! What's his last name?"

"His last name?" Kushina looked at her with confusion, "he's from the Uchiha clan."

Uchiha... Sasuke... Uchiha.... Sakura's pupils dilated at the realization.

Naruto chuckled to himself, "well... I've never seen him before... He looks kind of familiar, though."

"I mean..." Minato scratched his neck, "I wish I could say 'yes', I really do, but... I'm sorry. It just can't work."

My father told me they used to be one of the strongest denominations in Konoha, but they turned on the kingdom, rebelled, and disappeared. Twenty years later, they come out of hiding and armies of them come to Konoha to request for one of their own to take the throne. Every day, this ritual is repeated over and over until the king agrees to their terms. So far? No Uchiha has set their butt on that hypothetical throne. And no Uchiha will ever do that as long as my father, King Kizashi Haruno, is in rule. The only Uchiha that's gotten the closest to the king is Itachi Uchiha,

"You can't marry Itachi, because..."

Sakura felt her eyes sting with tears, "he's an Uchiha."

___________________

"Sasuke!" Sakura walked out to their usual spot under the tree and clenched her fists, "Sasuke, you'd better be up there!!"

"Hm?"

Sakura stood with her arms crossed as Sasuke himself leaned back on the branch and hung upside-down smiling at her.

"Hey." Sasuke reached forward and set his hand on her head, "you good?"

"No, I'm not good! Get down from there!"

He hoisted himself down and looked at her, concerned, "what happened?"

"Your last name... It's Uchiha."

Sasuke pursed his lips and scratched the back of his neck, "y-you figured it out, huh?"

"I also figured out why I can't marry Itachi. And if the reason that's not possible is that he's an Uchiha, then... Then you..."

"No, Sakura, it's..." Sasuke shut his eyes, "I wanted to marry you, Sakura."

"But you knew, didn't you?! You just never told me!" Sakura clenched her fists tighter.

"What difference could it have made if you knew whether or not I was an Uchiha... Wait, Sakura. Were you going to..."

He looked at her as they stood silently staring at each other.

"I..." Sakura choked on sobs, "Sasuke, I was going to ask you to marry me... You were the one I wanted! But now that I know who you are..."

"Please, Sakura. I don't want you to marry me. It's for the good of your legacy and the kingdom." He grabbed her hands, "I'll leave."

"No, Sasuke." Sakura wiped her eyes, "I want to marry you! I don't care about the kingdom! I don't care if Naruto has to become the king, I just want--"

"Sakura." Sasuke took her hands and pushed her against the tree, "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry! Just... Just stay here... With me..."

"I want to. Trust me, I do. But things just can't turn out the way we want them to. Life isn't made to enjoy if you don't have power. That's why I want you to become the queen."

"But who's going to be king?"

"Not me. It can't be me."

"It has to be! Who better than you?!"

"Sakura, please. You're making this harder than it needs to be."

"Sasuke!" Sakura leaned forward only for her lips to meet the air as Sasuke quickly stepped back, "Sasuke..."

"Again. I'm sorry."

Sasuke's grasp slowly left hers as he stepped away and quietly left the garden. Sakura didn't bother to follow, nor did she bother to move. She stood staring in horror at the feeling of losing something she wanted more than anything else in the world.

__________________________

"What's she doing here? We've never had a woman stand before Parliament before..."

"Minato told us to hear this out."

"Yes, but Minato's not normally one to be trusted so greatly..."

"Silence." Minato stood up, "I will not have these rumors spread. Please, just hear us out."

The room hushed to a dead silence as the young pink-haired adult stood up and cleared her throat, "good afternoon, Parliament. As I'm sure you're all aware, the month allotted to my finding a husband is officially up, as of last night. I understand the graveness of this issue and of the absence of an official ruler over the kingdom. However..." She looked to Minato for reassurance, "I refuse to marry."

"Outrageous!"

The Parliament was in an uproar with nasty comments and upset threats.

Is this what my father would've wanted for me? Sakura shut her eyes. He would never put me in such a tight corner...

"Please, hear her out!" Minato calmed the crowd, "give her majesty a chance to speak!"

Sakura sighed and clenched her hands into fists.

"Sakura, I believe in you. Every night, when my boys come home from work, I only have wonderful things to hear about you from the both of them." Kushina smiled, "Naruto goes on and on about your strength and persistence in everything. Minato adds on with your will and refusal to give up on anything. You may as well be queen already."

"I..." Sakura smiled and nodded definitely, "I stand here today ready to become Konoha's queen. Ready to rule and stand tall for the people of our kingdom... Without a husband."

"That's impossible!" One of the Parliament's most prominent members stood up, "you must marry in order to become queen! No woman can rule on her own without the mind of a man!"

"I'll have the mind of a man in my right-hand-man..." Sakura turned to Minato, "Sir Minato's son, Naruto, will be my hand-picked adviser."

"This must not be allowed!"

"Even then..." Sakura looked up into the crowd, "I believe I have the will and the wisdom to rule with the same dignity and pride as my late father, as I have done to this very day. I tell you this, Parliament. With the kingdom in mind, I accepted the refusal to marry the man I truly love. All for the sake of this kingdom. I'm willing to fight for Konoha and rule as its queen until the day I shall step down and take my final breath. You have my word."

______________________

The week after that, the coronation for Queen Sakura Haruno was in order. Event planners, coordinators, and Minato were frantically checking on preparations for the day Sakura had been waiting for for the past few days. Not very long. Nevertheless, she was excited and horrified all at the same time. So, here she sat, under the blooming tree in the garden.

"Queen Sakura. It has a nice ring to it."

Sakura shut her eyes, chuckled, and looked up at the boy hanging by his legs from the branch above her, "if you fall and crack your skull open, I'm just going to laugh."

Sasuke carefully hoisted himself down and waited with open arms as Sakura got up and threw herself into his embrace.

"I'm sorry..."

"No need to be." Sasuke stroked her hair, "I know you're going to make Konoha a great kingdom. The Uchiha will just have to stand back and watch it grow under your rule. Not making you queen sooner is their biggest mistake, though."

"I guess." Sakura stepped back and smiled, "maybe... I'll step down sooner so we can get married."

"Don't bother." He winked, "I'll wait till the day we grow old to marry you if I have to. In the end, it's all worth it."

"Yeah." Sakura smiled, looked around, and yanked him behind the tight space between the tree trunk and the concrete wall, "I don't want anyone to see this... Rumors would get around."

"Who cares?" Sasuke smirked as he ran his finger down her face, "I want the world to know my love for you."

"Whatever." Sakura laughed as she grabbed Sasuke's face and kissed him. 

From that moment on, every day and night, I wished I'd married Sasuke. Eventually, after ten years in rule (and as the youngest queen to ever rise into power), the kingdom truly did grow, and thanks to the help of Naruto and our new Foreign Relations manager, Sai, the Uchiha were welcomed back into the kingdom as the Royal Police Force. Under my command, of course. Fugaku Uchiha was set under strict supervision of my former body-guard, Kakashi and his new intern, Yamato. Thanks to Fugaku's absence, the newfound Police Force had no official leader. Itachi refused to take his place, so the head of the Royal Police Force? Sasuke Uchiha. About a year later, Sasuke handed his leadership over to his brother and took over Kakashi's place as my bodyguard. Eventually, he went up in the ranks from my bodyguard to my bodyguard for life. Thanks to the resolve of Konoha-Uchiha tensions, the bond was sealed between us and Sasuke and I got married. Three years after that, we decided to have little Sarada Uchiha, who, I'm sure when she's older, will, just like me, decide to become Queen of Konoha and rule all on her own... Just as I did.

And just like that, we all, truly, lived happily ever after. 

~~~ 

Random fan of the Day: fairy7000

Written by xX_Fang_Xx