Thirty Nights

Chapter One

As the sun made it's descent below the horizon, an explosion of oranges and reds and purples lit up the dark, velvety blue sky. The stars began to wink through the darkness, and Venus shone brightly under the crescent moon. The air smelled sweet and inviting. The trees with their deep green leaves stood still in the twilight. Konoha was engulfed by the promise of summer.

Sasuke, now eighteen years old, was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking out the large square window of his bedroom at the sunset. This was how it was every night: he'd come home after the strenuous ANBU missions, heat up a pot of coffee, and retreat to his bedroom to look out at the lively, bustling village from the window. He was single, as he had always been, and didn't give his nonexistent love life a second thought as he watched all his peers hurriedly get married to one another, for fear that Konoha might be ambushed and get pulled into war (the relationship between the ninja countries was not at its' best; a rumor that the last Chuunin exam had been rigged fueled the anger and rage the nations had against one another). Babies upon babies were popping out of the girls he grew up with, and all his male comrades would show up late for mission briefings, explaining that they were changing diapers or putting the goddamn brats to bed.

Sasuke looked over at the bedside table, where a pink card decorated with bows and butterflies and chubby cartoon babies laid open next to a ripped open envelope addressed to him.

'That's right,' he thought, sneering. 'They had a little, snot-nosed kid a few days ago.'

Maybe she was aiming to make Sasuke jealous, or maybe she was just goddamn desperate, but last year Sakura married Naruto and just a few days ago she gave birth to their first child, a little girl (Sasuke didn't remember the name; it was written somewhere in that pink birth announcement that he looked at for about two seconds). Sasuke recalled seeing Sakura around the market a few months before, sighing and looking forlornly at her bulging stomach. Maybe she regretted getting hitched to the village's biggest loser and not using some damned birth control, because she looked unhappy as all hell. Sasuke knew he wouldn't be happy if he had to walk around with a huge, pregnant belly for the entire world to see.

He reached over and lifted the card off the table's smooth surface. He looked down and raised his brow.

"Yumi, huh?"

So the little girl's name was Yumi. Uzumaki Yumi. How cute.

'Maybe she was born retarded and will grow up to be as stupid and annoying as her father and mother,' Sasuke thought, tossing the card back on the table. 'God only knows that when you mix Uzumaki and Haruno genes, you end up with a disaster.'

He stared for a minute at the stiff, pink paper. It really was unbelievable, his teammates getting hitched and then having a daughter. No one thought that Naruto and Sakura would stay together long enough to start making babies. Sasuke remembered Shikamaru betting that they wouldn't make it through the honey moon. Yet here they were, more than a year later.

Sasuke squinted as he took his gaze off the card and looked around the darkening bedroom. He had to admit, living on his own when love was so thick in the air that it was suffocating tended to get a bit lonely at times. He never did consider himself too cocky, but even he knew that he could do better than the few girls his age in the village. Not only were most of them married, but they were shallow, dumb, and not to mention…ugly.

For a short time, Sasuke had begun looking at the younger women of the village, fourteen at the absolute youngest. Not only were they worse than the females his age, but a sense of shame came over him whenever he "checked out" a girl younger than him. He had received relentless ridicule from his peers, and Kiba ('Stupid, disgusting, son of a bitch,' Sasuke thought) had even gone as far as to say that Sasuke was well on his way to becoming a pedophile.

So all in all…there was no one in the entire village of Konoha that Sasuke would even consider getting into an intimate relationship with, much less marrying and having kids with.

The young man stretched his arms high above his head and let himself fall onto the soft, oh-so-comfortable mattress. "Maybe I'll give them a visit and see how miserable they are with their kid," he yawned.


Sasuke rose with the sun, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He reluctantly pushed the covers off his half-naked body and he swung his feet over the side of the bed, landing them on the cold floor. He shivered and began rubbing his bare arms. Summer had barely begun, which meant that he still had to endure nearly frigid mornings.

Sasuke slowly rose from the mattress and made his way across the room to the adjacent bathroom. He switched the light on and stepped onto the cold tile floor, glancing at himself in the small mirror above the sink as he did so. He stopped and stared at his reflection. Though he was only eighteen, small lines had begun to carve themselves around Sasuke's eyes, which many people had said had appeared because he was stressed and overworked. Yet he was still a handsome young man, with unbelievably dark, deep eyes, soft skin, and (at the moment) slightly tussled hair. It was no surprise that so many women yearned for his companionship.

Sasuke shrugged and turned away from the mirror. Nothing new, just about the same thing he had seen every morning. He took a quick, hot shower, dried himself off, and walked back into his bedroom with a towel around his waist. The first golden rays of dawn were beginning to emerge, signaling a new day, a fresh start.

Pulling out a dark blue bathrobe and slipping it on, Sasuke trudged out of his bedroom, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. He pulled out a chair at the small, square table and plopped down, still weary and aching to go back to bed, even after the hot shower. He felt like he was aging at an incredible pace, his bones tired, his attitude cranky and annoyed. Yet he tried to partake in activities normal eighteen year-old boys partook in (like going to parties and reading nudie magazines). Needless to say, he never did take much interest in those ventures, feeling less of a youthful man and more of an old fart.

Sasuke leaned back in his chair. Yes, he had thought that perhaps a woman would make him feel young and alive, but there was just no female in Konoha that he was too excited about. And besides, if he needed to unleash his male needs, there were always prostitutes. There was no point in being attached to a girl when you could get the same pleasure out of a whore.

He stood up and dragged his feet to the counter, upon which sat a small porcelain jar. He lifted the lid, set it down next to the jar, and pulled out a few 10,000 yen notes he had been keeping in case of an emergency. Though he hated the thought of using his reserve money as a gift, he knew that Naruto and Sakura needed it more than he did.

Sasuke replaced the lid on the jar and set the notes on the counter. Even though it was early, they were more than likely up already, taking care of their brand spanking new infant daughter. He went back upstairs to his bedroom, tossed on a black tank top and an old pair of sweatpants, and retraced his steps back into the kitchen. He grabbed the notes off the counter and stuffed them reluctantly into his pocket.

'They better be grateful, damn it,' he thought as he grabbed his keys and walked out the front door. 'An ANBU member doesn't make much money.'

Sasuke shook his head and started down the street. The sun was well over the horizon, and everything in his view was bathed in the warm, morning light. As he walked by lawns and gardens of other houses, he noticed fresh, sweet-smelling dew on the flowers and grass. It was without a doubt a beautiful morning.

He stopped in front of a good size pale blue house with a slightly un-kept yard. It really wasn't a bad place to live for a small family, and they were damn lucky they didn't have to be crammed into a dumpy apartment. Yet, Sasuke thought with a smirk as he stepped up to the front door, it was nothing compared to his house.

He knocked twice and waited, surprised that there were no screams or cries that could be heard from within. He waited, tapping his foot, until the door slowly opened and a slippered foot stepped out. A tired-looking woman emerged, and it took Sasuke a few seconds to realize that it was Sakura. Poor, poor little Sakura, with her silky pink hair wrapped into a messy knot, dark circles around her emerald eyes, and a dirty yellow bathrobe hanging loosely from her shoulders, she looked like one of the hobos that hung around the junkyard. Sasuke held his breath as he gazed at her. To put it bluntly…

'She looks awful,' he thought.

Sakura blinked a few times and her lips formed a tired smile. "S-Sasuke!" She held her arms out and pulled him into a hug, quickly pulling away before he could respond. "Oh, it's good to see you, even this early in the morning."

Sasuke flashed her a grin. "I though you'd be up by now." He crossed his arms and raised his brows. "I got the announcement. Congrats."

Sakura's face beamed and she nodded. "Yup, our little Yumi." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I never knew being a mother was so…"

"Frustrating?"

Sakura nodded again. "Exactly. I haven't gotten any sleep since the night before I went into labor." She smiled. "But it's worth it. Naruto and I love her with all our hearts. She's the best thing that's ever happened to us."

Sasuke hesitated, but rested his hand on her shoulder. "I'm…happy for you two."

Sakura lightly placed her hand on top of his. "I'm happy too." She gestured toward the door. "Would you like to come in? I could make you some tea, or coffee."

Sasuke stepped passed her into the house. "Tea would be great."

Sakura hurried off while he took a look around. The place looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. The living room area, to his left, was strewn with wrapping paper and ribbons, fast food wrappers littered the couch and love seat, and not to mention a disgusting odor of which Sasuke didn't want to know hung in the air. On a recliner surrounded by small stuffed animals and toilet paper sat Naruto, who was holding a small bundle wrapped in a pink blanket in his arms. He looked as spent, maybe even more so, than Sakura, with his blonde hair messy, his black shirt and shorts covered in stains and sweat, and the same dark circles under his eyes that his wife had.

Sasuke thought about teasing him, but decided against it. "Yo, Naruto."

Naruto looked up from the bundle and frowned. "What are you doing here so damn early?"

The other man dug into his pocket and pulled out the notes of yen. "I thought I'd drop by to give you a little something." He threw them across the room and they landed in front of Naruto's feet.

Naruto's face brightened up and he cleared his throat. "Well, you're welcome anytime."

"I thought so." Sasuke walked over and sat down on the floor next to Naruto's chair. "So is this little Yumi?"

Naruto turned back to the bundle and grinned. "Yeah, my baby girl."

He moved the blanket to the side and Sasuke leaned over. Uzumaki Yumi had a small, pink face and tufts of thin, blond hair which she no doubt inherited from Naruto. Though her eyes were shut, Sasuke judged that she had the same green eyes as her mother. Yumi's small hands were curled up around the pink blanket, and her feet were covered with over-sized socks. Her breathing was calm and regular, her chest rising with each breath, and Sasuke guessed that she was asleep.

"She's beautiful," he said quietly, unsure whether or not he was telling the truth or just humoring the child's proud father.

"Want to hold her?"

"No, no thanks," Sasuke said quickly, standing up. "I'll leave her in her father's care."

Naruto pouted and opened his mouth as if to say something but at that moment Sakura came in, holding two china cups with steam rising out of them. He closed his mouth and smiled warmly as she sat down next to Sasuke on the floor.

"Hey there, sweetie."

Sakura handed him one of the cups and returned the smile. "Holding up alright, Mr. Brand New Daddy?"

Sasuke looked from one to the other and rolled his eyes. He hated having to endure what he considered the wretched lingo of lovers.

Naruto sighed and looked at her with starry eyes. "Never been better."

Sakura giggled and handed Sasuke the second cup. "If you'd like, I can take over for a bit. I don't mean to sound rude, but you do smell a bit, Naruto." She nodded her head to the stairs that stood to the left of the living room. "You can go get showered while Sasuke and I chat for a bit."

Naruto looked at her skeptically and sipped some tea. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Just hand her to me."

Naruto set the cup down on the arm of the recliner and handed the baby down to Sakura, kissing her on the head before doing so. "I won't be long," he said, standing up.

Sasuke watched Naruto weave his way through the garbage on the floor and make his way up the stairs. He waited until he heard the sound of a door closing on the upper level before speaking again.

"If you don't mind me asking…"

Sakura rocked the infant gently in her arms and grinned sheepishly. "You mean why did I decide to marry him?"

"Well…yeah."

Sakura started to gently stroke her daughter's cheek. "I wasn't so sure myself at first. I mean, we dated for a while, and at first he didn't seem like anything special, but as our relationship progressed I began to notice how much he cared about me." She stopped rocking Yumi to pull a strand of her pink hair behind her ear. "Every time we went out, he bought me a dozen roses and would tell me how special I was to him. No man had ever treated me so well. I felt like I was a queen."

Sasuke nodded, feeling slightly guilty when she said that no man had ever treated her so well. "I see…"

Sakura looked up at him. "Only a few weeks after our wedding, I found out that I was pregnant. That's the thing that most husbands fear the most: the thought of becoming a father. But not Naruto. When I told him, he hugged me tightly and said he was so happy." She sighed contentedly. "And so far, he's been a wonderful father, and I know that he'll always be there for his daughter."

Sasuke nodded again. After talking to his teammate for only a few minutes, he realized how much she had grown up. She wasn't an annoying little girl anymore; she was a matured, poised woman, a mother. Naruto was a lucky man to have such a significant other.

The two sat in silence, listening to the water running upstairs, before Sakura broke the quiet with a question Sasuke knew she would ask.

"Sasuke, have you found a girl yet that you love?"

He shook his head. "Nope, still flying solo, I'm afraid."

Sakura bit her lip, seeming reluctant. "Well you know…" She shrugged her shoulders. "Ino is still single."

Sasuke smirked. "She's not really my type. I'd never go for her."

Though he wasn't sure if it mattered much, the answer seemed to please Sakura. "I could've sworn her and Shikamaru would be hitched by now."

"Oh god, those two living in the same house together…" Sasuke gave a fake shudder.

Sakura chuckled. "Oh Sasuke, you've grown into a wonderful man."

Sasuke glanced at her, not believing the words that came out of his mouth. "And you've become a fine woman… Sakura."

A huge smile crossed Sakura's face, and Sasuke cursed himself for saying such a thing. "Thank you," she whispered.

Sasuke looked down at his cup of tea, embarrassed. "Uh, yeah. No problem." He cleared his throat and set the tea cup on the ground before stretching his legs and standing up. "Well…thanks for having me over…and stuff."

Sakura stood up as well, still holding the baby safely in her arms. "Oh no, it was our pleasure."

Sasuke turned away from her and started walking towards the front door. "Congratulations, again. I'm sure Yumi will grow up to be an amazing woman."

He turned back around and glanced at the child in Sakura's arms, who was still sound asleep. At the moment, he was oblivious to it, but little did he know that one day that little girl would grow up to become much more in his life than his teammate's daughter. She would change him into a totally different man, turn his life upside down and…

Become the woman he would love.