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"You know what we need?" Sakura said two nights before election day, lack of sleep scattering her thoughts like a bad day of target practice. "We need a vacation. A whole week in a cute little holiday cottage with a flower garden, on the shore of a lake, by the edge of a forest, with no reporters whatsoever. Maybe one intern, though. I really like having interns. It's so useful having people who jump to obey my every whim."
"You are the empress of all you survey," Naruto agreed, sounding disgustingly awake. Sakura flapped a hand at Sasuke, who obligingly thwacked his own hand into Naruto's shoulder where the two of them lounged on their collective bed. Sakura rubbed her eyes and resumed staring at Ino and Sai's latest poll analysis, hoping the words and numbers would miraculously resolve into coherent information.
"I hate statistics," she muttered. "Passionately. Well, not really. I don't have the energy for passion anymore. So I guess it's more like a brick wall of implacable dislike instead of a bonfire of rage. Or something." She ran her words back through her brain, and lowered her face until her forehead mashed into her keyboard. "Fuck. That analogy made more sense in my head."
"Yeah, you need a vacation," Naruto said. "Hey, come to bed. The numbers will still be there in the morning, and in the meantime I can give you a neck massage so your head doesn't declare rebellion overnight."
"What he said," Sasuke agreed, his voice thick and muddled with sleep. "Even the stupid cottage. We can rent the most tasteless, fluffy, flowered monstrosity in the country, just to make sure nobody will ever connect it to us."
"It won't work. The interns will know," Sakura said into her keyboard.
"Your interns are faithful to their great and terrible empress, and will keep their mouths shut," Sasuke said. He rolled onto his back and aimed a tiny, sleep-mellow smile in her direction. "It's late. You need to be sharp tomorrow. Kill the light and come to bed."
Sakura gave her screen one last glance, grimaced at the string of gibberish now gracing the end of Ino's report, and shut the laptop with a decisive push. "Fine. But you owe me so much nude sunbathing and skinny-dipping. Also hiking. And a fresh bouquet of flowers every morning for the whole week." She stripped off her tank top and sweatpants as she spoke, dropping the clothes haphazardly on the floor.
"It's a deal," Naruto said, and pulled her down for a kiss.