Don't own Naruto
Summers in the Leaf village were always brutal, it wasn't called the Land of Fire for nothing, but this particular summer was going to be hot for a whole different reason. This is the second summer after the Fourth Shinobi War so the lands were still in a peaceful time and rebuilding what was destroyed… and healing broken bonds.
After Madara, and his psychotic belief that he could force the world into peace under his rule, was defeated there were several days of nonstop movement; everyone, it didn't matter which village they were from, helped both bury the dead and bring those that needed attention to the allied forces main camp where the medical unit had been relocated to. With Tsunade out of commission, due to the extensive Kage battle, both Shizune and Sakura were trying to contain the chaos that was the makeshift hospital; there were a lot more shinobi injured or near death than healthy so they were pretty swamped with trying to save lives.
About five days after the final battle was when Sakura got her first break from duty to rest up; she was sitting on a cot at the far end of the large main tent that made up the medical unit, receiving treatment for chakra exhaustion when she nearly jumped out of her skin because of a snake like hissing sound just on the other side of the tent's thin wall. A second later Naruto's bright blonde head popped through the side flap causing Sakura to scream; luckily the medic that was healing her had moved away and no one else was resting close enough to hear her.
"Naruto, thank god you're okay." Sakura jumped up and pulled the boy, that she hadn't seen in months and didn't know what happened to him, into her arms.
"I'm glad to see you too Sakura-chan, hey I need a-ouch! Sakura, why'd you hit me!?"
After she was relieved to see he was okay her anger for him scaring her before came back and she punched him in the stomach, "That's for scaring me you idiot! Don't you know how many people have been looking for you these last few days; Kakashi-sensei said you disappeared after the fight… where did you go!? Not to mention how worried Hinata-chan has been since you vanished on her during the battle."
Naruto felt guilty for making the violet eyed girl worry over him; he knew of her feelings for him when the village was attacked and they had yet to talk about it. When all this was settled and the village was rebuilt he would take her out for ramen as an apology and they would speak; with that decided he got back to answering the other questions.
"Well… you see there is something I've been doing all this this time but I can't really say right here," Naruto scratched the back of his head while giving his friend a cheesy grin that Sakura wasn't buying for a minute.
"Cut the joking around Naruto, I'm not in the mood, there are a lot of people that need my help so I can't be standing here talking to you."
"Wait, wait Sakura-chan I need your help… but you have to come with me because he won't come here." Naruto's words peeked Sakura's interest and she really wanted to know who the blonde was talking about so she went with him.
Following her friend to an open field not far from where Kakashi said he lost Naruto, Sakura found out just what he had been doing while everyone else was looking for him. And it turned out the mystery man was none other than Uchiha Sasuke and apparently, judging by the large holes in the ground and the dirt covering both of them, the two boys got into a fight after Madara was defeated; neither one had come out the victor but Sasuke had a pretty nasty gash on his side that needed an experienced medical professional's skillful hand… and that was where Sakura came in.
Naruto thought that his pink haired teammate would be have been overjoyed to see Sasuke again, and she would probably begin to cry when he told her that the Uchiha was going to be coming home with them; but to his horror she only glared and turned to walk back the way they came. Seeing that she wasn't going to return he got on his knees and begged while going into a complete explanation that the Uchiha actually switched sides and helped defeat Madara; but even then Sakura still refused to help, she knew the minute he was healed Sasuke would attack the shinobi alliance forces and she wasn't going to waste her chakra on that.
Her stubbornness forced the boys to return to the medical unit for treatment; the second Sasuke set foot in the camp he was arrested and being held in the makeshift prison, ironically with the rest of his old rouge team.
Sakura didn't see either boy for the rest of time they remained at the camp, she went back to healing those injured and was so upset that Naruto could so easily forgive their old teammate that she didn't even want to talk to him; however, despite not keeping contact she was informed daily about their whereabouts curtsy of a messenger that Kakashi had set up. With Tsunade unable to give command at the moment and Danzo being well… dead the shinobi of the leaf village declared Kakashi to be Hokage until their leader was better; the porn loving shinobi's first order of business was to keep the last Uchiha from being executed by another country.
The Raikage, despite Naruto's best efforts, still wanted the teen dead for what he did to his brother; the only person who could get through that thick skull was Bee himself. The eight tailed jinchuriki, having spent so much time with his younger counterpart, knew how much Naruto cared for the troubled boy; Bee spoke to his brother and explained that Sasuke never actually hurt him and it was merely a very intense sparing session between two skilled shinobi. The Raikage was angry his little brother wouldn't allow him to get revenge on the little punk; but he let it go and Naruto was happy.
Sakura didn't hear much after that since the alliance forces parted ways back to their home countries with the promises that since Konoha was still in such shambles that no acts of war would happen… these were to be times of peace.
For the next two years both civilian and shinobi worked together to rebuild their once beautiful home. Four months after coming home Tsunade came out of her coma and resumed her position as leader of the village; she surprised everyone by excusing Sasuke of all his crimes, except leaving the village, and charged the two village elders that were still alive with the murders of his clan. No one knew where she got the information, though Sakura had suspicions, because Sasuke hadn't talked about what he learned while away. Sakura heard the only punishment her ex-teammate received was to help rebuild the village or sit in prison for a year for leaving without permission; surprisingly he chose to help and Naruto and he spent most their time helping the carpenters rebuild homes and the business district.
Time has gone by and now Konoha was celebrating its second summer of peace. Depsite the heat many villagers could be seen walking the streets of the center market purchasing various goods for the day; and in the middle of all this mess Konoha's own cherry blossom could be seen making her way by the crowds seemingly in some sort of hurry… she was so busy in her own thoughts that she nearly ran into a wheeled cart full of apples.
"Watch where you're going girl!" The shop owner that had put the cart there while he rearranged a few other produce stands hollered at the distraught kunoichi.
Sakura gave a halfhearted apology and continued on her way not even noticing that she had become the center of attention by everyone else on the street… it wasn't every day that one saw the Hokage's apprentice acting so strangely.
'Oh god… what am I going to do? This can't be happening… not to me; I don't understand how one time could make this much difference… I should have known better I'm a medic for god sake!' Sakura was very upset with the news she just found out and now she needed to tell the one other person this news would affect.
Rounding the corner and walking down the street the young woman made her way to team seven, now team Kakashi's, favorite hangout since that was where she knew the person she needed to talk to would be; however, she cursed her luck when she sensed more than the three normal chakras at ramen shop. She didn't want all of them to know she was standing outside so she cloaked her chakra and peeked inside to see just how many were there; it was easy to spot her loud mouth best friend since Naruto was hollering about something trying to get someone's attention… she decided to listen in on the conversation to see if she could get any dirt that she could use later.
Once Ichiraku's was rebuilt Naruto had decided that since Sasuke had missed so much when he was gone, they should have lunch there at least once a month; these were deemed 'men only' luncheons since when the girls were first invited they really didn't want to go. However when it was only the men that were allowed to go, three of the four girls wanted to know what they would talk about… Hinata was too polite to wish to know what they said about her. Now that Sakura was standing outside of the shop, without being detected, she was going to find out if the boys really did talk about them while the girls weren't in their presence.
"Teme, I'm telling you you have no idea what you're missing!"
Sakura rolled her eyes, it shouldn't have been that hard to figure out that Naruto was trying to get his best friend's attention with his shouting; the Uchiha was sitting directly next to him quietly eating his lunch and trying to ignore the idiot screaming.
But trying to ignore Naruto was like trying to ignore the sun during the day; if you weren't paying attention to him he would only get louder. The blonde was quick to realize that the quiet Uchiha wasn't listening and so he decided to make him focus; an evil grin appeared on his face as he raised his hand and then slammed it against Sasuke's back. The echoing slap drew the other men's' attention to the two strongest shinobi of their generation; Sasuke stiffened when he was hit and the noodles that he had just eaten were now stuck in his throat. The Uchiha cleared his throat and put down his chop sticks, folding his hands in front of his face, he simply stared ahead but Naruto knew he now had his attention.
"Did you even hear me Teme? You really need to get yourself a woman… the things they can do."
"Naruto, I advise you not to finish that sentence," the Hyuga sitting at the end of the noodle bar glared at the younger man with his pearl colored eyes causing Naruto to shiver and crouch low on his stool. Neji stared for a few more minutes before turning back to his conversation with Shikamaru; Naruto turned back to Sasuke and continued what he was saying only quieter.
"Like I was saying I know what I'm talking about… why when I get home-."
"Dobe, I don't want to know what the Hyuga and you do either."
"What are you talking about Sasuke? Oh I get it… you're jealous huh? Yeah that's got to be it; you don't have a girl to cool your urges… I bet you're still… a virgin!" Naruto's outburst drew the others to their conversation again; Naruto himself couldn't stop laughing and lost his balance on his stool and crashed to the floor.
"Hn," Sasuke took a deep breath to calm his building rage and the urge to kill his best friend.
Sakura outside was appalled by her friend's behavior and decided this would be the last 'men's only' luncheon any of them would ever have… once she spoke with Hinata about her husband's behavior Naruto would be in very big trouble; and yes Naruto and Hinata were married.
When everyone returned to the village two years ago and Naruto was certain that Sasuke wouldn't be severely punished for his crimes he then asked the Hyuga out on their first date; they dated for a full year before he built up the courage to approach her father and ask for her hand in marriage. At first many thought Hiashi would refuse Naruto's proposal, but apparently he considered the blonde's position as a future Hokage and accepted his request. Since this was a marriage in a major clan of the leaf village, despite Hinata not being the clan's heiress anymore, it was still a big celebration; it was an all-day event in early May with the ceremony being held in the morning and the reception in the afternoon. Naruto invited all their friends to the nearby bar that night, since both the ceremony and reception were really for the clan and they couldn't have wild fun, and that's how Sakura wound up in the mess she was in now.
While Sakura was thinking about that day Naruto had managed to pull himself back up on his stool and was bugging Sasuke again, "Come on Teme, you can tell me, we're all guys here, you haven't been with a woman sexually right; I mean I hadn't seen you with any girls around the village. It's okay to admit you're still a virgin… I bet some of our friends over there are still ones too; I know Lee is actually."
"Hn."
"Ah man we really need to get you a girl, even if it's a one night thing; you said you wanted to revive your clan and you can't do that alone you know; I know you're all anti-social an everything but you got to open up to someone if you want kids. Hell at the rate you're going I'll have ten of them before you!"
"Hn," Sasuke brushed off Naruto's comment as nothing; the blonde had no clue what he was talking about so he wasn't worried… hell he was surprised the idiot knew where to put his penis where a woman was concerned.
Before Naruto could start harassing him again Sasuke reached for his lunch, that was already getting cold, intending to once again ignore his friend to finish; he never really liked these lunches since Naruto always found way to bug him about something, but the blonde would hunt him down if he didn't go so he figured why fight it. He had been sitting there for over an hour and now decided to quickly finish his ramen and head out to do a little late afternoon training.
Out of the corner of his right eye he could see Naruto was getting ready to say something; but he was interrupted by a very soft throat clearing coming from the entrance of the shop. Ever the busy body Naruto immediately turned to see who had just walked in; whoever it was had cloaked their chakra if they had any to begin with, so Sasuke had no idea who it was… but with Naruto's loud mouth the whole shop would know soon.
"Hey Sakura-chan! How are you doing, I haven't seen you in a while!" Naruto jumped off his stool and raced over to hug his female teammate.
"Yeah I'm sorry about that Naruto… I've been really busy at the hospital," Sakura gave a worried chuckle, now that she made herself known she was having seconds thoughts about why she was there.
"Well you should take time off then, Obaasan works you too hard… maybe I should have a talk with her."
"No please don't do that Naruto really she'll get mad at you; I'm not that busy and the hospital really needs my help… not to mention I'll probably have and extended leave soon anyway," Sakura mumbled the last part and luckily Naruto hadn't heard.
"Oh alright Sakura-chan, I won't bother Tsunade-Obaasan, but you need to take more days off; oh I know we're having a party for Teme next week since he had a mission the week of his birthday. I know the two of you still aren't talking but you can come and see Hinata… she really misses you."
"Um… does he know you've planned this party?" Sakura looked over to where the dark haired man was still sitting, he didn't acknowledge her presence when she came into the restaurant but she wasn't bothered by it.
"Um… will not really, it's a surprise so don't tell him; he doesn't want to make a big deal about it but you only turn eighteen once!"
"Naruto, he turned nineteen," Sakura tried to hold back her giggles when she noticed his normal peachy complexion pale dramatically due to this new information.
"Oh… well good thing we didn't get balloons with numbers on them then."
'Balloons? Does he knew anything about his best friend… Sasuke is so going to kill him,' Sakura could already picture the boy's violent death; no Sasuke wouldn't kill him at the party but he would already have the method planned out and the next time they went to train Naruto would be dead meat.
"So Sakura-chan, what brings you to our favorite establishment this afternoon anyway? You know this is a guys' only lunch, since you girls didn't want to come to begin with, so you can't be here to eat," Naruto wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist in a friendly manner… he was a married man after all and any other act of affection would receive a glare from Neji.
Sakura was a little offended that she wasn't invited to eat with them, even though she already ate, but she realized now that all the patrons of the ramen shop were staring at her, it was time to leave. "Actually there is a reason I'm here… I need to speak with Uchiha… outside." All chatter that had filled the tiny shop died down immediately at her words which made her cringe.
"You… you need to talk to Teme?" Naruto was shocked, her asking to speak to Sasuke was the last possible reason he thought for her being there.
As far as he knew the two of them hadn't had any type of communication in the last two years; when they had returned after the war Naruto thought his two best friends would eventually warm up to each other and the team would be like old times. But sadly that didn't happen because Sakura wanted nothing to do with the Uchiha, she threw herself into her work at the hospital and they barely saw her. When Naruto, or Kakashi once his duties as Hokage were over, organized a training session Sakura tried to refuse; and when they forced her to come, mainly because Naruto would complain to Tsunade and annoyed her enough, she only agreed to train if she could spar with Kakashi or Naruto himself.
And Sasuke was no better really; while Sakura vocally refused to have contact with the Uchiha he just simply ignored her. When they returned to the village and Naruto and he were helping to rebuild the town he didn't have to worry about bumping into the temperamental pink haired girl. When all the buildings were complete and Sasuke was given an apartment, the Uchiha district had been destroyed and the remaining heir had no interest in fixing it up, he remained in his new home more than wonder around the village… when more than half the villagers were distrustful of him it would be best to stay away from popular areas.
Naruto however refused to allow his friend to be a hermit in his own home village, yes he made mistakes when he was younger but he made up for them; Naruto believed he had just as much right to be in the village as everyone else. Sasuke fought at first, truthfully he was hurt by the others reactions to him… he of course wasn't expecting a warm welcome but still; but Naruto told him the villagers would never get used to him in the village if they didn't see him.
So after that pep talk Naruto would drag Sasuke out for different reasons but most was to train on the new fields; but that brought another problem since now he would be seeing Sakura far more than he did. She flat out refused to spar with him which didn't surprise him nor did he fight it; instead he allowed his teammate and once sensei to pacify her rage.
So like always when Naruto announced who had stepped into Ichiraku's Sasuke continued to eat his lunch and ignored what they were saying. He didn't hear any of the conversation until Naruto had questioned Sakura's words and everyone around him grew quiet; Sasuke put down his chop sticks again and turned on his stool to meet a pair of shocked blue eyes and very determined green ones.
"W-What do you need to talk to him about Sakura-chan? Is it about me because if it is you can say it right here I don't mind," Naruto was sensing whatever it was was a big deal; he really didn't want his friends to be fighting right now.
"No Naruto, it's not about you… it's a private matter that needs to be discussed now," Sakura didn't even look at her best friend when she spoke, her eyes were solely trained on the other man in front of her.
Sasuke could see the intensity in her eyes and it still amazed him how much she changed from that emotional twelve year old girl he left on the bench when he left; but even now under that determination to remain strong in front of him Sasuke saw a bit of fear flash in her eyes and that unsettled him. He stood and approached his teammates glancing at both of them for a second before walking passed and out of the shop not saying a word.
"Hey Teme, you didn't have to be so rude!" Naruto was scared that Sakura was trying to make progress with mending the friendship that was broken but with Sasuke's rude behavior at not even acknowledging her may just have crushed all hope.
"It's okay Naruto, I deserve it with how I've been acting… I'm sorry for ruining your lunch, I won't keep him long I promise," Sakura smiled and left the shop following after the Uchiha quickly as to not lose him.
Following his chakra signature down the road a little ways from the restaurant she found him leaning against another building in an alley way; taking a quick look around to make sure no one followed them, namely their blonde friend, Sakura stepped into the alley opposite where the Uchiha was standing. The silence between the two was nerve racking and Sakura could feel her stomach doing flips as she began to wring her hands together to keep her distracted from Sasuke's intence gaze.
"Sakura, what was it that you needed to discuss with me?" Sasuke was annoyed, he barely ate any of his lunch due to all the interruptions; he was grateful to be away from Naruto but he was still hungry, and her taking her time was keeping him away from his meal.
Sakura took a deep breath and decided to just get it over with, "Well… do you remember the bet you made the night of Naruto's wedding?"
Sasuke was thrown by her question and he began to pull up events from that specific night, not one of which involved gambling; he was an Uchiha and the only thing they gambled with were their lives when on missions. And if he had placed any sort of bet involving money surely he would have won; however, when he woke up the next morning he remembered no extra money on his person. But then again who really knows, when the group had left the reception and hit the bar several of the boys had wound up having a drinking game; Sasuke had been dragged in by Naruto and after it was all over the Uchiha didn't remember how he got home.
'Wait… I didn't go home that night.' A sly smirk appeared on his face when he remembered just where and who's bed he had woken up in the next day.
Bits and pieces of that night flashed across Sasuke's mind as he tried to recall what she was talking about. He could remember the party at the bar and Naruto dragging him into that stupid drinking contest; though he wasn't a big drinker himself Sasuke wasn't going to let his best friend call him a coward. Somehow after only about four cups Naruto passed out; however, after that the Uchiha couldn't really remember who won. He did remember leaving the bar and trying to walk straight down the road back to his apartment, which he was failing terribly at by the way; then he remembered someone coming up to help him but after several attempts to walk straight his assistant decided it wasn't worth the trouble and stirred the Uchiha away from the direction he was going in favor of another… Sasuke put up no fight. It got fuzzier after that and all the Uchiha could remember was a dark room, him tangled in white cotton sheets and someone else in the bed with him… waking up the next morning he had a very bad hangover but another part of his body was very satisfied.
"I only remember bits of that night, and the hangover the next morning; but I definitely don't remember any bet that was made."
"Yeah of course you don't, and stop smirking you jerk I know what you're thinking about and that's what got us into this whole mess in the first place!" Sakura glared as she saw the smirk come to the man's face and she slapped him on the arm for it.
Sasuke didn't even flinch from the slap since Sakura didn't add any chakra to the hit, but he did chuckle softly at her expression, "Sakura, what are you talking about… what can be that bad about making a bet?"
"You bet wrong that's what could happen… I'm pregnant Sasuke!"
Despite what everyone in the village thought about Sakura and Sasuke, that they hated each other's guts, that was not the case at all; the two were just rather go actors when around everyone else… the two actually have had a secret relationship that started towards the end of the war.
It all started just before the battle with Madara when Shizune had sent a group of medical shinobi to assist the first division with injuries from their last fight. Well the group wound up being attacked on the way there and Sakura got separated from the team just as a huge rain storm set in; she needed to find shelter fast and wait out the storm and hope her team made it.
It was about an hour later that Sasuke came into view, walking in the down pour Sakura was certain he had completely lost his mind now, and the two met up once again after nearly seven months; Sakura could see the hate in his eyes and the power he now had obtained… she feared he would kill her before continuing on to where ever he was going. Boy was she shocked when he entered her tiny cave shelter and they spent the remaindered of the rain storm together… intimately. All of his pent up anger and frustration towards those that were using him for their own personal gain turned into passion and wanting for her and her body… and deep down Sakura knew by just how gentle he was being with her that he did care for her despite what he once said.
Sometime later Sakura watched as the rain slowed to a mere drizzle, her mind was somewhere far away though not wanting the last hour to end just yet; but the rustling of fabric behind her signaling her partner was dressing told her it was over and time to get back to real life and the war in which they were enemies. Sakura turned slightly to look over her should at the man she loved; despite what he did to everyone she cared about, and even tried to kill her, Sakura just couldn't stop how she felt for the Uchiha.
Sasuke still had his back to her while he put his shirt on but when he went to face her Sakura quickly turned away to face the cave's entrance again; she couldn't bring herself to face the cold expression she knew that would be on his face. He was going back to being an enemy of the shinobi alliance, despite what they just shared Sakura pulled herself a little closer into her own body for support… she wished he would just leave and not torture her with giving her hope that he would stay.
Sasuke finished fixing his clothes and went to secure Kusanagi to his belt before he approached the opening of the cave; though his mind was already on the upcoming battle his eyes never left the pink haired woman. He had to be honest, when his eyes fully healed and he left the base in search of testing out his new power, he had never expected to bumped into Sakura while he waited out a storm; he never liked being alone with her because their chemistry was always dangerous. And his theory was proven when only after a few minutes of staring at each other across the open field he approached the cave and pulled her in his arms; he was starved for attention and Sakura was willing to give it. He was a bit ashamed that he let his urges, that he had kept in control for several years, for his long ago teammate come forth so suddenly and at such an inappropriate time.
But looking at it now as he watched her watch the rain Sasuke realized he didn't care that he allowed himself to be human for a short time and be with the only woman he would probably ever care for. His razor sharp eye sight caught Sakura flinch into herself when he approached; it didn't surprise him how she acted toward him and he wouldn't blame her. He had been cruel to her when they were children, had thrown all her love and devotion back into her face when he left the village, and twice he has attacked her when they encountered each other; so this time when he actually did return her affection she was now cautious of his actions afterward. He knew trying to convince her that this meant something to him wouldn't work so he tried a different approach.
"I can feel Naruto's chakra to the south of here," Sasuke had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep in control in his jealousy when at the mention of the blonde's name Sakura finally turned to look at him.
Fear filled the young medic when Sasuke casually mentioned Naruto's name, "He's okay… you're… you're not going to go after him are you Sasuke?" Sakura felt her stomach drop when she saw him glare; she remembered the last time the two boys were together and the battle to the death they promised each other.
"Why do you care if we fight… do you care for him?"
"What!? Well of course I care for Naruto," Sakura missed when Sasuke tightened his grip on his sword with her words, "We've been through so much together… he's like a brother to me."
Hearing Sakura call Naruto a brother caused relief to fill the Uchiha's tense body and he released his death grip on his sword; he wiggled his fingers to relax their stiffness and released a deep breath.
"Sasuke, please… I know you want revenge for your clan but please don't take this out on Naruto; if the two of you fight I don't know what I'll do if something happens to either of you," Sakura tried to be strong because she didn't want the man she still loved to see her as annoying, but she couldn't stop the tears from falling when she thought about either of her boys to be hurt.
Sasuke's heart clenched when he saw the tears falling down the woman's cheeks; even as a child he hated to cause Sakura pain and right now he wished to pull her up off the floor and into his arms to calm her… but he was afraid she would think he was going to hurt her rather than calm her. Instead Sasuke moved closer to watch the last bits of rain come down; he shifted the collar of his shirt a little to keep himself distracted from what he knew was to happen… he needed to move on towards the battle that was going on not but a few miles from here.
Turning to look over his shoulder Sasuke could see Sakura was putting on her green medical vest that he ripped off an hour before, she knew that their time together was coming to an end and once they left this cave they would once again be on opposite sides of the battle; however, while she was gathering her things the Uchiha didn't miss the way she paused when picking up her alliance hitai-ate.
Sakura stared at the metal sown on the black cloth that represented which side she was on, it was always bred into her since her days in the academy that she was trained to protect the village and it's people; she was a medical shinobi and for the past few weeks she has been working to save the lives of her fellow men and women all because of an evil force that the man standing a few feet from her represented. A blush came to her cheeks when she thought about what she had been doing just an hour ago with the rouge Uchiha; the hitai-ate felt as if it burned her and for a few seconds she felt shameful about her actions and she thought of all those that were fighting to save their world, that she betrayed her best friends all for the man she still loved. She shook her head not wanting to think about that; Sakura quickly stuffed the hitai-ate into her pouch, after she left Sasuke's presence is when she would put it back on.
"I'm going to be joining Naruto in the fight against Akatsuki."
Sakura was securing her medical bag to her back when she barely caught what the Uchiha said, "W-What?" No longer paying attention to what she was been doing with the bag she was trying to strap on to her person fell to ground; but Sakura was too focused on the him and his every word.
For nearly a year both Naruto and she been trying to persuade him to return home and be with them; but every time he had refused and seemed to fall farther into darkest so to hear that he would suddenly be fighting for the alliance and with Naruto shocked her. "S-Sasuke, what's changed your mind… I thought that you-."
"Do you want me to fight Naruto?"
"What!? N-No of course not… I'm just surprised of your decision," Sakura was afraid to ask what changed his mind now because then he may change it back; but she could barely keep her happiness inside knowing he was going to help.
"I've realized how childish I've been acting… Itachi wanted me to be a hero and so far I have not lived up to that wish; I will honor my brother's dying request."
"Sasuke," Sakura couldn't think of anything else to say, she ran up and surprised him by jumping into his arms… this was the first time since they were intimate that Sakura touched him without fear.
Sasuke was startled at first by her approach because he wasn't used to being so physical, unless in battle, with another person; he relaxed when he realized she was hugging him and slowly he too returned the embrace.
Sakura buried her face into his neck to keep from crying, "W-Will you return to the village?"
Sasuke tightened his hold on her smaller body, "If we survive the final battle I will most likely be executed for my crimes against not only the leaf but other countries as well."
Sakura's heart sank though he didn't actually say no, "You know Naruto would never let that happen; and if you do help stop this war you'll be a hero and Tsunade-sama would never allow another village to touch you."
"Hn… we'll have to see after the fight," Sasuke hugged Sakura a little tighter to tell her he was finished talking about this; Sakura merely nodded her head into his chest understanding his silent meaning.
The two shinobi remained in the cave for only a few more minutes before they parted ways in different directions; Sakura was upset that something may happen to him in this upcoming battle. The fears of never seeing him again were creeping into her mind but she pushed them away and focused more on the excitement in the fact that Sasuke would be changing sides and coming back to them… she kept this thought with her, and the time they shared in the cave as she made her way to help out her team in finishing this battle.
When it was all over and Naruto had finally shown his face to Sakura she was extremely worried about Sasuke and what happened during the battle with Madara; but she easily hid her fear with anger as she punched her best friend for popping up like he did. Naruto brushed off the assault and urged her to come with him; he wasn't sure how she would react to what he had to show her but he hoped it would be good. When Sakura entered the clearing where Sasuke was sitting she was relieved to see that he was alive; though when she spotted the bruises and cuts on both her boys' bodies she became angry that they had fought one another.
Naruto was the first to explain that their fight meant nothing and it was merely like a spar to rekindle their friendship how boys would do; Sakura didn't believe that for a second as she spotted the large gash Sasuke had been trying to hide. When she had refused to heal either one of them Naruto thought she was angry at the Uchiha for what he did to them; he immediately went to defend Sasuke and tried to convince Sakura that he changed and helped to end the war.
Sasuke too was a little shocked that she wouldn't heal him, even throwing at him that she wasn't wasting her chakra to heal him so he could attack the alliance forces that were at the base, it stung that she would think that low of him… and did she completely forget about what happened in the cave not a mere few days before. He wanted to know what happened to the girl that was excited about him switching sides, who had spoken to her to get her to no longer trust him; he wanted to speak with her but she turned away to head back to the main camp… watching her walk away made him feel more alone than the last four years did.
With nowhere else to go Sasuke accompanied Naruto back to the medical unit to seek treatment; like he predicted the second he set foot on the once enemy camp he was swarmed by Jonin. He was quickly arrested and sent to a holding cell with other rouge shinobi; ironically he was placed in the same prison as his once fellow 'Hebi' teammates. Karin was chewing his head off about abandoning them and Suigetsu was hollering at her to shut the hell up, Jugo was quiet though his silence alone was annoying to Sasuke; all three were giving him a headache and he wanted nothing more than to get rid of them… plus he really needed to speak with Sakura and there was no doubt in his mind that she wouldn't visit him here.
Thankfully he didn't remain in the cell long as he was continuously brought to the interrogation unit for questioning regarding his years away from the village. He was also nearly put on trial for his crimes against Kumogakure when he tried to capture the eight tailed beast. Naruto was quick to jump to his defense and even convinced Bee to speak with the Raikage about the playful 'spar' they had; Sasuke would have called it far more than a simple spar but Kakashi, who was acting Hokage at the time, told him to keep his mouth shut if he wanted to live.
The Uchiha was surprised once again by how much Naruto had matured in his absence; when they were children he would be hollering and bouncing off the walls trying to get everyone's' attention to him. But now he stood still by Sasuke's side and only spoke when someone addressed him, and he was very intelligent in his wording when he spoke, every statement he gave held great meaning to those that were present; by the end of the day, which is how long it took, Naruto and Bee had cooled the Raikage's rage and Sasuke wasn't going to die anytime soon.
Though he still wasn't completely off the hook with his punishment where the village was concerned; Sasuke knew no amount of sweet talk from Naruto could get him out of that. Though his major crimes were being overlooked, and he did help win the war, the alliance forces still did not trust him and he was confined to a tent with guards around the clock until they went back to the village; Sasuke didn't care about not being able to wonder about the encampment or the guards that watched his every move… what really annoyed him was the fact that the whole time he was in the allied camp Sakura had not bothered to check on him. The only solace he got about the whole thing was it appeared she was mad at Naruto too and wasn't seeing him either; Sasuke was determined that once they got back to Konoha he would track her down and find out what he did to upset her so much.
The Uchiha didn't have much time to dwell on his thoughts concerning the fair haired kunoichi because things moved rapidly in the camp; with the war over the shinobi and Kages were eager to get home to their respective countries and move on with their lives. The last few days had been spent waiting for the Kages to settle on a peace treaty that they all liked; according to Naruto, Konoha was in pretty bad shape when they left so there was a lot of work to been done when they got back. But though they were gravely weakened by both Pein's attack and the war, Kakashi wasn't worried about other lands trying to attack them right now; with Naruto and Sasuke, the two most powerful shinobi in the world, and part of the leaf's forces many of their normal enemies were afraid to go after the leaf and risk their wrath. Kakashi had even made the joke that the peace treaty was actually an agreement that neither the nine tailed fox nor Uchiha would be sent out while the other nations were recovering… Naruto found it insulting that they thought he would attack his new friends, Sasuke merely smirked liking the fact that they still feared him.
And speaking of Konoha, Sasuke had yet to see the destruction the once Akatsuki leader had done to the village; he was in for quite a shock when the five nations finally split apart and the leaf shinobi returned to their home village. Sasuke had heard of Pein's attack on the village when he first meet Madara but at the time it didn't bother him; however, now standing at what used to be the gates of the village it finally hit him that his home had been destroyed… and deep inside he had hoped when he did return home for the first time after so many years he could have walked through those gates and be welcomed home. But now seeing only foundations and skeletal structures of buildings Sasuke knew there was a lot of work to been done; the next day would start a new journey for the shinobi that returned from the war… helping rebuild their once great village back to its glory would be a fresh start for everyone.
The next day all able bodied men were helping the builders in reconstructing the town's main square and market; until Sasuke had been summoned to the hospital about mid-afternoon much to Naruto's annoyance.
"Hey! Teme, how come you get to go to the air conditioned hospital when the rest of us are out here sweating like dogs!?"
"Hey, speak for yourself Naruto, Akamaru don't sweat and trust me he smells a lot better than you do right now!"
"I don't smell Kiba, maybe you smell yourself!"
"Hn," Sasuke quickly lost any respect he held for the blonde boy when he watched both the Inuzuka and him roll around on the ground; had he truly thought this idiot had matured to adulthood, he merely put up a front when in the presence of higher authorities. While the two loud mouths continued to fight in the dirt, which gained the attention of the rest of their friends, he slipped away heading to the hospital to see who wished to see him.
Those that stayed in the village during the war knew that there would be many that would need medical attention once the war was over; so it was decided that the first building to be restored was the hospital. It was far bigger than the original since it would need to house many injured; Sasuke was surprised that the grand building was finished so quickly but he was glad that those that needed help would be getting it in a clean environment. Plus he was pleased to be heading to the hospital; Sakura had practically locked herself in the building since they got back and he hasn't been able to trap her to get her to talk to him… that was going to change now though. He had it all planned out how he would track her down once he was finished with whoever summoned him; but the second he stepped through the motion sensitive doors and was blasted with the cold air, that Naruto was complaining about, everything of importance left his mind when he saw who was standing there.
The main focus of all his thoughts for the past few days was standing in front of the nurses' station seeming to be waiting for something as she had a glare on her face and was tapping her heel on the tiled floor in annoyance.
Sasuke approached her intending to question her here and now, "Sakura."
"You're late Uchiha, when someone summons you you really shouldn't keep them waiting; I've got a lot more patients to see today so follow me quickly," Sakura snatched up a file from the nurse at the desk and made her way down the hall. Sasuke was angry she interrupted him but since she didn't seem to be stopping, and he didn't want to lose her, the Uchiha quickly followed the spit fire kunoichi… he didn't miss the nurse at the desk try to stop her laughter at him following the small woman down the hall like a lost puppy.
"Sakura, we have to ta-," when Sasuke had followed Sakura into what appeared to be an office he wasn't going to let her order him around like a lap dog; he had every intention of getting answers to his questions. But yet again he was interrupted when he started to speak; Sakura had surprised him when she closed the door… and then used her chakra enhanced strength to grab and slam him up against the nearest wall. Immediately his survival instinct kicked in and he was going to push her away because she was a threat; but then he saw the smirk play across her face and knew he was in no danger… at least not yet. "Sakura, what are you doing?"
The young woman's smirk changed to a frown and she released the tight grip on his shirt; seeing how the fabric bunched up where her fists were Sakura gently smooth down the wrinkles. When she drew her bottom lip into her teeth Sasuke knew she was nervous, "W-Well… I t-thought… I just m-missed you Sasuke. It's been about a month and calling you in for a physical is about all I could think of to get you away from your guards."
"So… you're not mad at me anymore?" Sasuke wanted to clear that up to make sure they were on good terms.
At his question Sakura stepped back, "M-Mad at you!? Why would I be mad at you?"
"You haven't spoken to me in a month for one thing; and the last time we saw each other you refused to heal me… clearly you were mad at Naruto and me," Sasuke stepped aside and approached one of the two patient chairs in front of Sakura's desk; after he sat she came over and leaned on the edge of the desk in front of him to keep his attention.
"I wasn't mad at you… well I was mad but it was at the fact that, despite my pleading, for you and Naruto to not fight you still fought! I was upset that my two best friends were trying to kill each other right after having a major battle that you both could have died in; that's why I was mad and refused to heal you… I'm sorry you thought I was still mad even now."
"Hn… were you aware I was nearly put on trial by the Raikage and he wanted me dead," Sasuke sat back in the chair enjoying the guilt that came over the woman's face at his news.
"I-I knew about that, but Naruto and Kakashi helped you and everything worked out right?"
"Aa, but I'm still under punishment for leaving the village; Kakashi has a few Anbu watching me just in case."
"Well I have full faith that you won't leave again yes?" Sakura stood to approach the Uchiha and gently ran her hand through the spikes atop his head; it was one of the things she enjoyed from their time in the cave… just thinking back on that day caused Sakura to blush.
Seeing her tinted cheeks and knowing what she was thinking about made Sasuke smirk; after being apart for nearly a month and her ignoring him Sasuke was enjoying any attention she would give him. "I must ask though Sakura, if you are no longer mad at me then why did you not wish to see me after my interrogations were complete; or as we made the trip back to the village… you stayed with the medical teams during the journey."
Sakura sat in the chair next to him so they could be eye level; she took a piece of her pink hair into her fingers to twirl while she thought over his words. "Well I was traveling with the medics because I was keeping an eye on Tsunade-sama… you know she is still in a coma from her battle with your ancestor; I just wanted to make sure she made the trip okay. And to answer the other part of your question," Sakura paused as she dropped her hair and took Sasuke's large hand into her smaller two, "There were a few reasons I hadn't reached out to you until now. You've just been reinstated in the village and everyone has been bombarding you with questions and other things that needed to be at the forefront of your mind and I didn't want to be an added burden to you. Also I wasn't sure if you wanted something more to come from that day in the cave; I know you like your space and if that was a one time thing I understand… I still do now of course as well if you're uncomfortable at all," just thinking about that Sakura released his hand and placed hers in her lap and began to play with the skirt she wore that day.
Sasuke immediately missed the warmth that came from her but didn't reach out to grab her hand back; being the calculating shinobi he was Sasuke ran through her reasons and found them to be understandable, but just looking at her nervous movement now he knew something was still bothering her. "Sakura, there is something else; the reasons you gave were valid but I know they wouldn't keep you away… what else is it?"
Sakura cursed at how smart he was, she was hoping he wouldn't ask about the other reason… the main one that kept her away. "Well… I was thinking after we were together in the cave it would be really strange for us to start a relationship, if you wanted to that is, right after the war so quickly. With how distant you were as a child and the two times you attacked us when you were rouge for the two of us to just start seeing each other would draw suspicion from everyone. They would think we were having a secret relationship while you were the enemy and if Kakashi or anyone else finds out we had an affair before the war ended I could be seen as a traitor to the leaf… I could be killed for betraying the village."
Sasuke tensed in the chair at the thought of her dying because of him over something so small as them having an affair while on opposite sides.
"That's why I didn't jump you, and believe me I wanted to, when Naruto brought me to where you were after the fight; you know how bad he is at keeping secrets and we couldn't risk it… you have no idea how happy I was to see you were okay. I wanted to heal you, I did, but Naruto would have known something was going on."
"Hn, now it makes sense and I understand; your fears were warranted and I wouldn't want you in trouble because of me." Sasuke did this time take one of her hands into his and pulled her to the edge of the chair, "Sakura, where do we go from here? Do you wish to be with me?"
"Well… yes I w-would like to be with you Sasuke; but I think we need to keep everything quiet for a while… if Naruto knows we'll never have a minute's peace. And we should take things slow as to not catch anyone's' suspicion."
"Aa."
And that is how Sakura and Sasuke's secret relationship started; while around their fellow shinobi they would act indifferent to each other, most of the time refusing to talk, but alone in their respective homes was a different story.
When the village was being recontructed most of the men, that had no clan ties, stayed in the large group huts until their apartments were built; being in a large open room with Naruto and the weird Sai kid Sasuke knew Sakura could never visit him at night. Therefore to have time together he would have to sneak over to her family's home and slip in through her bedroom window to be with her; there was no telling what her crazy parents would do to him if he came through the front door… and he wasn't there to see them anyway.
"We really need our own place; I'm tired of having to climb into your room every night so your father doesn't kill me." A few weeks after the two teens became a couple they were lying in Sakura's bed taking a breather from their rigorous activities... so much for them taking it slow. Sasuke was lying on his side, a light sheet wrapped around his waist, while nibbling on his girlfriend's neck that he couldn't pull himself away from at the moment.
Sakura was having a hard time keeping her giggling down with him assaulting her like he was, "Sa-Sasuke… you know my parents won't let me move out yet; and definitely not with the Uchiha boy they barely know."
"Hn… the apartment complexes will be finished sometime this week, so I'll have my own place."
Sakura knew that was his way of inviting her over to spend their nights together; Sasuke, though he would deny it, was very fearful that her parents would hear the commotion from their daughter's room and come to check on her one of these nights and he really didn't want to have to flee in the middle of the night in his boxers with Sakura's father hot on his heels.
As he said the apartment buildings for single shinobi were completed by the end of that week; Sasuke rented a nice single bedroom place, Naruto was asking to share a place with him but the Uchiha refused.
"Ah why not Teme, we could be roommates… our own bachelor pad," Naruto had been harassing his best friend that whole morning while they had a break from construction to do some much needed training.
"No," Sasuke had been angry all day, he hadn't gotten to see Sakura the night before because she had night shift at the hospital, and he was very frustrated; and his best friend wasn't helping much either with the continuous talking about moving in together… he really needed this spar to release some tension.
"But why? I'd be a great roommate!"
"Because I remember how your old apartment looked when we were kids, I also don't need to come home one night to find you defiling the Hyuga on the couch."
"Hey just because I have a girlfriend and you don't doesn't mean you can be mad at me; and I'll have you know that because of Hinata-chan my living habits are a lot better," Naruto dodged a punch the other man threw.
The blonde was still unaware that his two best friends were secretly seeing each other; their relationship was still new and they didn't want it spread around the village just yet… but because he didn't know meant Naruto was always teasing him about not having anyone.
"Hn, I don't care if you were the cleanest person in the whole country, I still don't want to share a place with you Dobe."
So Sasuke got his nice big one bedroom place that Sakura and he frequented often until Sakura turned eighteen and moved out of her parents' home. With both of them now living alone it was a lot easier to sneak around; they had grown used to this routine and decided to keep it from their friends, they liked the thrill of maybe getting caught and it kept their relationship fresh.
After a full year of being together Sakura threw him for a loop and brought up that maybe they should start seeing each other publicly around the village; Sasuke didn't object but he was curious why she suddenly changed her mind. She was very embarrassed to say but he found out that while she was at the market the other day and purchasing their more intimate supplies she overheard several older women implying that she was a loose woman; she told Sasuke the horrible things they were saying about her and how it was only a matter of time before it would reach the Hokage herself.
Sasuke knew the relationship his girlfriend had with her mentor and how it would embarrass Sakura if Tsunade thought she was having different men come to her apartment. To stop the rumors from spreading Sasuke went to the Hokage and told her everything that had happened even before the war was over; being a free man for over a year now, and apparently favored by the female Hokage, he didn't care what would happen to him as long as Sakura's reputation wasn't ruined.
"And you thought to tell me all this why Uchiha? Do you realize if the council found out about what happened before the war ended Sakura could be tried for treason by the village!" Tsunade slammed her fist on her desk, to know that this was going on under her watch and with her own apprentice during a critical time during the war angered her.
"Sakura had nothing to do with any of this, I put her in the situation and take full responsibility for the actions that happened in the cave."
Tsunade was surprised by the Uchiha's maturity and that he was protecting Sakura which was something he wouldn't have done as a child; however, this whole situation was giving her a headache and she really wanted a jug of sake right now. "Look kid it's very noble of you to take the blame for all this; but we will not be discussing this out in the open are we clear Uchiha?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Good, now that that is settled, did you want something else other than to tell me that you had a trist with my apprentice?" Tsunade was already fishing in her desk draw for the small cup she uses for drinking when the boy left; she planned to leave early and hit the local bar for the afternoon.
"It wasn't a trist… we've been seeing each other for the past year," Sasuke's confession stunned the woman and she nearly dropped her precious cup to the floor.
She looked up to the stoic Uchiha expecting him to suddenly smile and say it was a joke… but then she remembered who this was. "W-What? You're what… why am I just finding this out now?"
"We wanted to keep it to ourselves; it's no one else's business what we do."
"Then tell me you brat why you feel the need to tell me about it! Now I'll have to watch out for her if you hurt her again."
"I won't do that and I am telling you of our relationship because several women have started a rumor of Sakura being 'loose' floating around; Sakura is too embarrassed to tell you the situation herself because of the respect she has for you. I have come to you in her stead to stop the rumor from coming to you."
Tsunade's protective side for the pink haired woman she thought of as a daughter flared up, "I see, well then I thank you for looking after Sakura's reputation… I will see to ending these rumors immediately."
Tsunade kept her word and the whispers and stares Sakura was receiving did finally stop; she noticed right away and she questioned it but Sasuke told her to just be glad they stopped.
After everything quieted down Sakura again brought up that maybe they should show their friends that they didn't really hate each other and began to date more openly. Sasuke wouldn't deny her anything, though he wasn't sure how comfortable he would be with everyone knowing now, but he agreed to her request. They never got far enough to actually tell their friends though because about a month later while the whole gang was at Ichiraku's Naruto, much to his girlfriend's embarrassment, announced to the whole restaurant that they were engaged to be married.
Sakura was so excited for them, and being the good friend she was, she didn't want to ruin their moment by telling them that Sasuke and she were dating. The two kept their secret quiet for the rest of the year and simply helped their friends with their upcoming wedding; which happened two months ago and apparently a lot more happened that day then the Uchiha thought.
Now standing here in this ally Sasuke was speechless about the news Sakura just told him, "You're… you're pregnant?"
Sakura whipped the tears that were streaming down her cheeks, "Yes… I haven't been feeling well all month and Ino jokingly said I maybe pregnant; then I remembered what happened that night and I immediately went to take a pregnancy test."
"And it was positive?"
"Yes and I went to Tsunade-sama to confirm it with blood work; that's where I was just now… she's confirmed that I'm pregnant."
A rock set in the Uchiha's stomach, "So she knows… does anyone else?"
"No I came right here after my appointment," Sakura looked closely for Sasuke's reaction to her answer. She knew she sprung all this on him rather quickly and he was the type of man to gather all the information before making a decision; but this time she really wished he was easier to read and she could find out if he was upset or not.
In the nearly two years that they were together not once were children brought up, she was only eighteen; and she wasn't sure how long their relationship would last and she didn't really want him to think he needed to stay with her because she was pregnant. Now don't misunderstand Sakura did love the quiet, dark haired man; however, they had been dating for nearly as long as Naruto and Hinata and yet they never even touched the subject of marriage either. She always thought he would be stand-offish about the idea of marriage, with everything that happened to him in his childhood, Sakura didn't want to put pressure on him; she knew there could be a chance that he wouldn't marry her and some day they would break up.
Sakura wasn't blind, she knew how good looking Sasuke was, and though he was a rouge only two years ago… Sakura didn't miss the stares from other young girls in the village when he walked by. She had to admit that when he did become a Konoha shinobi again she was worried that when the people accepted him again that he would dump her for someone better; truthfuly since he hadn't asked her to marry him yet she was just waiting for him to leave her.
But now with her delicate condition Sakura knew he would do the honorable thing and stay with her, at least, to help raise the baby… but she didn't want him to be there just for the child but her too. She hated this feeling while she waited for his answer, her stomach was twisting… or that also could be morning sickness. Sakura stepped away from the Uchiha and tried to take deep calming breaths to settle her stomach.
Sasuke ran a hand through his hair to calm his frustration; this whole situation, now that it was all out in the open, was rather stressful. But seeing how upset his girlfriend was, and the unhealthy green color she was turning, Sasuke knew he had to comfort her now rather than deal with his issues. "Okay… you're pregnant but I still don't see what that has to do with a supposed bet I made… Uchiha don't' normally gamble."
Sakura had just finally calmed her gag reflex when he asked his question; she quickly spun back around to glare at him, "That's what you're more worried about!? A stupid bet, that by the way I already told you you lost, is that the only thing you got from my whole conversation!?" The screaming caused her stomach to turn again, Sakura walked over to the closest building and laid her forehead on the cool brick.
"I apologize Sakura, I didn't mean to upset you… it's just the two topics seemed so far apart that I cannot find a connection."
Sakura groaned as her stomach flipped again, she knew exactly how the two topics connected and she was reliving that exact night in her head right now.
It started the morning of Naruto's wedding; Sakura was already running late since she spent the night at Sasuke's and didn't bring her kimono she would be wearing at the ceremony. She had just finished pinning her hair up correctly when a knock came to her apartment door; upon opening it she was greeted with a freshly dressed Uchiha leaning against the door frame.
"Sasuke, how did you get ready so fast I just left like a half an hour ago."
"Hn… men don't take half as long as women when getting ready."
Sakura did a quick sweep of her boyfriend; he was wearing a solid black kimono, no doubt the Uchiha clan symbol was on his back somewhere, and she could just barely tell his hair was still wet from his shower. A wave of jealousy briefly consumed her that all he needed to do was get a quick shower to look drop dead gorgeous while she needed to have at least an hour to prep; she quickly pushed the feeling away because she didn't have time to be angry because they were going to be extremely late and Naruto would never let them live it down.
Luckily the blonde was too busy worrying about pleasing Hiashi than complaining about his two best friends being nearly late for his wedding; no one even bothered to notice that during the ceremony Sakura and Sasuke sat together. Sakura, having never been present for a clan wedding, was very intrigued by how traditional it all was; Sasuke, having been to several ceremonies before his clan's destruction, was able to answer many of the questions she had.
When finding out just how complex the wedding was Sakura was rather proud of Naruto for not freaking out with everything the Hyuga clan expected of him; her meadow green eyes watched her friend hold in his excitement once the ceremony was finished… Sakura knew he wanted nothing more than to scream to the heavens that they were married.
"I can't believe how excited he looks, I'm surprised he didn't pop during the exchange of sake… and to think for years he was completely dense not knowing how in love with him Hinata was. I still can't believe that they only dated a year and he proposed… it's so romantic."
"Hn, the Dobe probably only married her so quickly because he didn't want Hiashi to find out they started sleeping together."
"Sasuke! Wait, wait… how do you even know that?"
"Those stupid lunches you refused to attend, he turned them into a guys' only thing and decided to brag about it one time… he's luckily the Hyuga was on a mission that day and didn't join us otherwise Dobe would be dead by now."
Somehow during Naruto's table settings for the reception he put his two best friends at the same table, they of course didn't mind because no one knew they were dating, but while keeping up with their charade they pretended to ignore each other when the others were present… while sharing secret conversation when they were alone.
"You don't, you know… tell him about what we do… do you?" Sakura's cheeks flamed just thinking about what happened the night before at his place.
"Hn… of course not, it's not his business what we do… he just feels he needs to share every bodily function he has a day." Sakura relaxed slightly knowing their bedroom life wasn't splattered all over Ichiraku's noodle shop.
The reception was nice, though slightly more formal than a normal party would be for her taste; Sakura did enjoy herself… though the many pearl eyed glares from Hinata's family members she could do without.
"Why are they all staring at me?" Sakura tried to hide herself behind Sasuke's broad body.
He had already had one cup of sake and was a little flustered so he let his tongue slip a little bit, "Hn, who cares. They all look alike so seeing someone different scares them; and trust me… you are very different."
Sakura never liked to be made the center of attention, when she was a child she would cry when the other kids made fun of her big forehead, and to have her boyfriend openly point out she was different made her feel extremely self-conscious.
When Sasuke saw Sakura bow her head and her delicate hands come up to nervously tug on her pink locks he knew he spoke incorrectly. Under the low table Sasuke grabbed the hand that was not twirling her hair into his and began to brush his thumb over her soft knuckles to try and calm her, "It's a good different though… the kind that draws everyone's attention including me."
Though his words may have sounded gloaty to the untrained ear Sakura knew he was actually complimenting her and her unique features; she became flushed when she raised her eyes to look at him and she saw his trademark smirk on his lips. "Are you trying to earn points with me for the bedroom Sasuke?"
"Hn."
The rest of the reception went on like this, Naruto and Hinata were paraded around to all the families in the prestigious Hyuga clan, while all their friends watched… and some like Kiba laughed their heads off at Naruto's nervousness.
The sun was now setting and many of the older Hyuga members were turning in for the night; Sakura found it to be the perfect time for her to leave as well, she was given the mid-morning shift the next day and wanted to get a good night's rest. That of course never happened because the moment she moved to stand a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. She knew after having those same calloused hands roaming her body for over two years that Sasuke had wanted her attention; she turned and expected him to be staring at her waiting for her to acknowledge him, but the man was staring off across the courtyard at something.
"Sasuke?"
"Naruto informed me that there was another party starting in a half hour at the Shushuya; apparently the reception was just to please Hiashi and the 'real' party was there… I was told to come."
Sakura knew that her boyfriend would never be ordered anywhere so it met Naruto threatened to harass him for an unknown amount of time; it also meant that she wasn't getting home early because he would drag her along. She released a groan as she sat back down at the table, "So how long do you think we have to stay at this second party, I have to work tomorrow morning and I would like to get a few hours' sleep since you kept me up last night."
Sakura lightly pinched the Uchiha when she caught him smirking at her question, "Hn… I'm not sure, I believe when Naruto becomes too intoxicated to realize who is there is when we may leave."
"He doesn't plan on getting completely smashed does he because that would be extremely rude to Hinata on their wedding night," Sakura was about to go all mother hen on the blonde idiot and make sure he didn't drink too much; but Sasuke stopped her before she could leave the table again.
"He probably won't be that intoxicated, Inuzuka has already hinted to him he won't be able to perform correctly if he is; and the Hyuga will be there to watch him so don't worry… we can probably sneak away rather quickly."
Well Sasuke's theory of leaving early with Naruto distracted didn't plan out very well, but the main reason it failed had nothing to do with the blonde; while at the bar most of the women took up the booths that were in the establishment while Naruto and the other guys sat at the bar. Sakura had placed herself at the booth closest to the door to make her quick escape when no one was looking; however, every time she made to move Ino would drag her back to her seat and began to talk her ear off.
"Can you believe it forehead, I mean can you really believe it; Hinata, quiet little Hinata, is actually married!" Towards the beginning of the evening Ino was rather shocked about the whole thing; however, after a few hours of drinking the shock quickly changed into jealously and she wouldn't stop talking. "Why did she get married first? I mean when we were kids she couldn't even talk to that idiot without passing out and now they're married! I've dated a bunch of guys, while she only ever had him, and yet not one of them asked me to marry them… what does she have, besides a great rack, that I don't!?" Luckily no one but Sakura heard her outburst because the guys were yelling congratulations to Naruto.
"Ino, you really should keep it down, you're drunk and when you sober up you'll be really embarrassed about what you said now. And Hinata is a sweet girl and after all she did to get Naruto's attention she deserves to be happy," Sakura looked over to the blushing bride who was sitting with her old genin team; and judging by the deep blush on her cheeks Kiba was embarrassing her with something.
"Well of course she deserves to be happy, I never said she didn't, but why wasn't I married first? But of course I can't be selfish because if you really think about it it's not that pathetic that the shyest girl in our age group was married first."
"Yeah that's the spirit Ino, look on the bright side."
"Yeah I mean I might not be getting married but at least I've had a few boyfriends these last couple years; that's not pathetic at all… now you being single even before the war stated, that's pathetic!"
"Yeah well… wait what?" Sakura was happy that Ino had moved on from the whole dissing Hinata thing… but she wasn't expecting herself to be the next target.
"I mean really forehead, you've had no one, not even a one night stand, I've never seen you with anybody; and it's not like you're unattractive I know there have been a lot of guys that have tried to get your attention and you've blown them all off! Even during the war you were attracting foreign men; I heard a shinobi from Iwagakure asked you out… what possessed you to say no?"
"I had higher priorities than finding a boyfriend Pig. And the reason I turned that shinobi down was because we were in the middle of a war not to mention it would be awkward to try and have a relationship from two different countries… plus I'm certain it borders on treason," Sakura brushed away the fact that the first time she was with Sasuke that actually was treason; but that was an entirely different matter because they were now in an actual relationship.
"Oh give me a break, forbidden love is the best kind; but even if that didn't work out there are plenty of men in our own village that are at least bed worthy. You've really got to pop that 'cherry' girl before people start to gossip; come to think of it I just remembered something that you would get a laugh from. A few weeks ago my mother overheard a few women in the shop talk about seeing you buying condoms at the drug store and few months ago." Ino suddenly burst into laughter not noticing her friend's blush, "I told her she was crazy of course because you're not seeing anyone, I would know, and it had to be someone else they saw… to think you would be buying rubbers, that's hysterical."
"Yeah… it's a riot," Sakura glared at her best friend and was half tempted to grab the closest sake jug and down its contents as quickly as she could.
Not long after that conversation, which Ino continued to rub salt in her wounds about the whole mistaken condom thing, the blonde had passed out ,due to too many shots, and was laying on the booth's bench; Sakura got up quickly so no one else would stop her and got Choji to take his teammate home. She was just about to leave when a great cheer drew her attention to the bar; somehow while Ino was talking her ear off Naruto had apparently got Sasuke into a drinking contest. She couldn't go up and stop them because it would draw unwanted questions as to why she was concernd about the Uchiha but she also couldn't leave those two as they were, well Naruto had Hinata to look after him; but there was no way she was letting her boyfriend walk home alone drunk… he was gaining back his fan club and who knows how many are just waiting for him to leave the bar.
It didn't take much longer for Naruto to lose the contest and pass out on the bar, Sasuke was also rather intoxicated but he was still able to stand and leave; a few minutes later Sakura left to make sure her boyfriend got home safely. Walking a few feet behind him she could easily see him swaying on his feet; deep down she secretly wanted him to fall, she was a little hurt that he left and didn't even bother to take her with him and she was also angry that he helped Naruto get drunk when he said he wouldn't.
But after a few more minutes of watching him nearly hit almost every trash can on the street, which she only assumed he didn't due to his shinobi training, she decided he had suffered enough; he wasn't going to make it to his place and her's was closer so she took his arm and guided him there… that's when things got a little out of hand. Who knew that when the Uchiha got drunk he became extremely horny also; the minute Sakura closed the door to her apartment is when he jumped her.
"S-Sasuke? What are you doing?" Sakura of course knew that when the man practically crushed her against the door and his hands were roaming up and down her body just what he was doing; she was just so shocked because a second ago he was completely drunk and now he seemed stone cold sober.
"Hn… what does it look like I'm doing?"
Sakura wasn't sure if that a rhetorical question or not, "W-Well… I thought we would just go to bed… I need to get up early remember and you're drunk; you should really sleep because y-you're going to have a hangover tomorrow." She had to bite her lip to keep from crying out as his hands slid into her kimono; he quickly untied her obi and slid the petal pink cloth from her shoulders. "Sasuke!" She felt the cool air of her apartment hit her bare skin and that's what snapped her from her haze; she quickly tried to cover herself up again but Sasuke refused to allow her to.
Seeing that she wasn't going to be easy Sasuke bent his head to attack her neck and try and coax her into being a more willing participant in his games.
"S-Sasuke you need to stop… you're drunk and we both need to go to bed."
"Hn… I'm not tired… I just want you," to prove his point Sasuke ground his pelvis into her waist causing Sakura to blush at just what was poking her.
"S-Sasuke, you need to sleep." Sakura couldn't believe he was being so adamant about having sex; and a small part in the back of her mind was telling her that, because he was drunk, it didn't matter who he was with as long as he was getting some … now she was really glad she snatched him off the street because who knows what could have happened.
"Sakura, stop telling me what I need to do," Sasuke snapped back not at all happy that she didn't understand what he wanted; no longer was he going to try and make her understand he was too tired for that.
Just as Sakura was about to yell at him for his rude behavior she released a surprised yelp as he threw her over his shoulder and headed for her bedroom; once inside he dropped her on the bed and before she could move to sit up Sasuke crawled on top of her. By now Sakura knew there was no point in trying to stop him, what Sasuke wants Sasuke usually gets; so she didn't put up much of a fight when he made himself comfortable on top of her.
About ten minutes later, when they were tangled in the bed sheets is when Sakura's rational side made its appearance, "Oh my god Sasuke… Sasuke wait, wait a minute! Stop!"
She frantically began pushing on Sasuke's bare chest which caused him to growl in irritation, "What Sakura?"
"We… we can't do this beca-."
"If this is about you getting enough sleep for your shift tomorrow then stop… I'll be quick," though Sasuke did want to spend the whole night keeping her awake; he would settle for a quick run through just to make her happy.
"What? Oh no that's not it… well okay I was a little worried about that; but I stopped you because I haven't gone to the store," a deep blush came over her cheeks when he raised a confused brow.
"What? Sakura what are you talking about?"
"You know… I haven't gone to the store… I don't have any protection."
Sasuke had to roll his eyes at her innocences, despite how many times they've sleep together in the last two years, she still became embarrassed when talking about sexually protection… namely the condoms they always used. "Sakura, you mean you don't have any condoms? So what's the big deal… it's not like we need them right?" He wasn't bashful when it came to talking about sex; he wasn't actually paying attention to most of his own question really, half way through he already had his face buried back into her neck again.
"Yes, yes we need them! I'm not on any birth control Sasuke, we can't risk a possible pregnancy," Sakura pushed on his chest again to try and get his attention back on the situation rather than her body.
The Uchiha was angry that he was taken from his treat again, over something that he didn't think was that big a deal, "Well can't you use that contraceptive jutsu kunoichi's are taught?"
Sakura was a little angry that he brushed off her question with another, and she became livid with his suggestion; so much so that she used her strength to push him off her and sat up intending to send him home drunk or not. "I cannot believe you just said that!"
Sasuke was laying on his of Sakura's bed completely shocked and stark naked staring up at the ceiling; his hazed filled mind was trying to come up with a reason for her to be so angry… he was coming up blank.
"You know that is a forbidden jutsu and only to be used when a kunoichi is on a seduction mission. It's not really a contraceptive anyway; if a kunoichi must sleep with her target the jutsu kills any outside 'essences' from her body. The jutsu also leaves small traces on a woman's body even weeks after it was used and those are easily noticeable by trained medics… like those I work with. If Tsunade-sama decided to have a random physical test tomorrow and found out I used it I would be fired from the hospital and most likely I will be dismissed from active duty as a kunoichi," just the thought of all her hard work going to waste brought tears to her eyes.
Sasuke sat up quickly and drew the upset woman into his arms, "Fine forget I suggested it, we'll think of something else."
"W-What do you mean something else?" Sakura was hoping with how upset she was Sasuke would back down with his idea of sex… but apparently not.
"Aa… I'll pull out, that solves our problem; you can't use the jutsu and we don't have any condoms… so I'll just pull out before we finish… it's just one night, I bet nothing will happen anyway." Before Sakura could even think about what he was suggesting Sasuke already had both of them back on the bed and he was back to nibbling on her neck.
Well to make a long story short Sasuke, with his ungodly skills in the bedroom and knowing all Sakura's pleasure spots, he easily got her distracted off the fact that they had no protection for the 'bedding'. However the downside to his infinite knowledge was that they both became so caught up in the physical pleasure rather than the emotional side that Sasuke forgot his little promise. The next morning after Sakura's euphoria died down and Sasuke's hangover finally subsided is when they both realized what happened.
"Oh god Sasuke how could you!?" The pink haired medic was pacing back and forth in her bedroom her mind was already racing trying to find a solution to their problem.
"Sakura, relax I don't see why you're so upset; I don't think you'll get pregnant… what are the odds really?" Sasuke was lying on his stomach on her bed watching Sakura pace.
At the time Sakura thought he was right, there was a very small chance anything would happen because they had unprotected sex; and if he was so certain nothing was going to happen then she would believe him.
And now here she stands almost three months later in an alley near Ichiraku's, telling her secret boyfriend she was carrying his child. Once she filled him in on their drunkin, well his, night of unprotected sex Sakura could see the wheels turning in the Uchiha's head; there was no doubt that his sharp mind was already coming up with a way to get out of the situation… Sasuke was never one to like being backed into a corner.
"So it seems I did lose a bet, I was very careless that night."
Sakura could hear the disappointment in his voice and she didn't want him blaming himself, "No Sasuke, you weren't careless, you were just drunk that's all."
"An Uchiha should always be composed Sakura, I let Naruto goad me into that drinking contest and I went too far," Sasuke sighed and ran his hand through his long bangs.
"Sasuke, it's okay to be a normal guy once and while; you were having fun with your friends and that's no one's fault," Sakura stepped toward him and placed a comforting hand on his forearm.
"Hn, I was still reckless and you are suffering for it."
"Hey I'm okay really, I think the shock has finally wore off; I came to tell you not to upset you but I thought you deserved to know… and that I'm going to keep the baby." Sakura braced herself for the outrage the Uchiha would unleash upon her for her decision but he looked more confused than angry.
"Why wouldn't you keep the baby?"
"What? I-I was always planning to keep the baby, what I meant was whatever you decided to do I was going to keep the child. I don't want you to think that you need to stay with me just because I was pregnant… I won't hold you to me if you want to leave," Sakura held back her tears at the thought of him leaving her; she didn't want to guilt him into staying.
"Sakura… where am I going?" Sasuke was trying to find where her train of thought was going but as usual he was completely lost.
"W-Well… we've been together secretly for the last two years, and other than the nightly apartment visits we have, we're not really dating; and we've never talked about a future together or having children… me getting pregnant was a complete accident. What I'm trying to say is it's okay if you want to move on and find someone else; I don't want you to think you need to stay with me because of this." This time around Sakura couldn't stop her tears from falling at the thought of losing the only man she would ever love.
Sasuke was shocked, like someone could attack him with a kunai and he wouldn't move shocked, by Sakura's words; she honestly thought he was just going to leave her like this. "Why would I leave you… you're carrying my child; you think that just because it was an accident that I would leave? An Uchiha would never abandon their family-."
"That's just it Sasuke, you're thinking about this as a responsibility… not for other reasons."
It finally clicked, the light bulb went off in Sasuke's head, now he understood why she was so upset, "Tch… you're annoying you know that."
Sakura immediately stiffened at his childhood comment for her, she always hated when he called her annoying because it made her feel like that weak clingy girl she once was. She worked hard to get rid of that title and to hear him call her that made her sick to her stomach; the illness quickly vanished and became anger and she was about to lash out at him but Sasuke suddenly pulled her into his arms. "Sasuke?"
"Go to my apartment, you need to rest."
"Wait what? Sasuke, I'm not tired."
"Go to my apartment… we'll talk about the rest of this stuff later tonight," Sasuke didn't leave much room for arguing as he gave her a gentle nudge out of the alley way and back out onto the street; he then turned and headed back to the ramen shop where the group of boys were still eating lunch.
"But Sasuke," Sakura wasn't satisfied with how they were leaving things but all the Uchiha did was look over his shoulder and smirked at her; and for some reason just seeing that smirk made all her worries just vanish.
Once Sasuke was sure his girlfriend was on her way to his place he resumed his walk back to Ichiraku's; in all honestly he would have liked to joined Sakura at his place, all the information he was hit with in the last twenty minutes really drained him; but he knew if he left the blonde idiot without telling him Naruto would never let him live it down… and the idiot would probably harass him later tonight now that he thought about it. No returning to the ramen bar was the correct thing to do… even if Naruto's voice was travelling half way down the block with whatever he was talking about and already giving him a headache.
Parting the cloth opening to the noodle bar Sasuke really regretted not going home with Sakura like he wanted to; the minute the room was disturbed by him entering Naruto sprang from the counter and began to ask him questions.
"Hey Teme, why did Sakura-chan want to talk to you? Did you piss her off about something? Or maybe you two are finally coming around to being friends; because you know there was a reason I put you together at my wedding… I was hoping you would make some peace."
Sasuke ignored all the questions and Naruto's awkwardness toward him; he walked over to the counter and, realizing he was still hungry, he ordered another bowl of ramen because his first bowl had gone cold.
Naruto wasn't bothered by his best friend ignoring him and simply followed the Uchiha back to the bar; he ordered another bowl as well and started talking once more. "So what did Sakura-chan want with you Teme?"
"That's not any of your business Dobe."
"Ah come on man… we're best friends you can tell me anything… I won't tell her honest."
Luckily the ramen arrived then and Naruto was too busy slurping down the salting noodles and broth to ask any more questions. But Naruto usually inhaled his ramen, whether it was scalding hot or not, so that moment of silence didn't last for long. "So what did Sakura-chan want with you… and you know I can do this all day right so you might as well tell me."
Sasuke sadly knew this to be true, he once watched the blonde hound Kakashi for three hours and he still wasn't sure what it was about, so he was sure Naruto would hold to that threat so he figured he might as well tell him something. "She was only reminding me that I needed a new physical before my next mission."
"Huh… well that was nice of her I guess… though she's never done that for me before."
"That's because you are the world's worst patient and I'm sure the minute the doctor's see you they want to run," Sasuke slid his empty bowl across the bar, with his stomach full and having endured his loud mouth best friend for nearly two hours, Sasuke decided that was enough for one day and stood to leave.
"Hey Teme, where are you going?"
"Where does it look like Dobe, lunch is over, I'm going to go train for a bit and then head home," Sasuke had no intention of training actually, no he planned to go straight to his place and hangout with his girlfriend… and maybe if she wasn't sleeping have some bedroom fun.
"Oh great I'll come with you! With all the stuff Tsunade-obaa has been giving me to do I haven't been able to train in a while," Naruto stood and was about to follow the Uchiha out of the restaurant but stopped when said man shot the future Hokage an icy glare. "Wow Sasuke, what's with the look? We really need to get you laid man than you won't be so grumpy all the time; and then who knows maybe you'll find a girl you like and settle down. Cause you know, like I said before, I'm probably going to have a few kids soon and you'll be behind me again; plus if you wait too long… your junk is going to shrivel up and you ain't going to produce any heirs ," Naruto burst out laughing loving the fact that he made his friend once again uncomfortable.
However Sasuke wasn't red from embarrassment like the blonde thought, no he was trying to keep the excitement from his face. But the smirk wouldn't leave as he thought about what was waiting for him at his place, and he figured now was the best time to shut the blonde up with all his annoying jokes about his 'non-exist' sex life. "You'd be surprised Naruto, at just how soon that heir will be coming… if I were you I'd get on that kid yourself," the smirk grew on his face as he watched the confusion come across Naruto's face; not waiting for him to get it, cause that could take a few days, Sasuke turned and exited Ichiraku's making his way to his apartment and expecting girlfriend.
And about two blocks away from his place Sasuke could have sworn he heard Naruto's high pitch scream of shock when he finally got what the Uchiha said… Sasuke knew he was going to have to explain a lot tomorrow.
Note: Just a little something I thought up to get the creating juices flowing again since I'm kind of at a road block with my other stories. This is only going to be a one-shot so don't expect more from this... now hopefully I can some work done on the other stuff.
xRaianx
