"Hey," Sakura giggled, pointing to one picture, "Look at that."
Ino leaned down, peering a bit closer at the picture.
It was labelled, 'Akako's First Birthday.' Ino smiled. "Akako's first birthday, eh?"
"I remember it like it was yesterday," Sakura said dreamily.
"How old is she now? Five?" Ino asked. Sakura nodded, running a hand through her pink hair.
Ino looked more closely at the picture, which showed Sakura holding a little red-head baby with Gaara. Naruto, Temari, and Sakura's old Genin team stood behind them. Everyone was smiling and laughing. She peered closer at the picture as Sakura went into detail about what happened that day.
[April 2]
Sakura sighed as she finished setting up preparations for the small party. A little table with refreshments on it was set out in the small, yet cozy little backyard. Akako was sitting in her little swinger, playing absent-mindedly with her color blocks. Gaara came up behind Sakura, arms winding around her waist and face nuzzling into her shoulder. Sakura and the baby both giggled, and Gaara murmured, "Almost done?"
"Yep." came Sakura's happy reply, and the pair stood there cuddling for a few moments. Finally, Gaara released her, and she gave him a sly smile before approaching the baby's swinger, squatting. She cooed at the red-headed one-year-old, a gentle, maternal smile on her face. Sakura's index finger reached out, and Akako grabbed it, looking at it curiously. Sakura used the grabbed finger to tickle under Akako's chin lightly, and the baby squealed in delight.
Gaara watched the scene, and felt a fluttering in his heart. Pride, for having such a wonderful woman for a wife, a mother, and a lover. 'Not to mention she's amazing in bed,' he thought gruffly, smirking inwardly. He stared at his child in wonder. 'I made her,' he thought in amazement. 'Me. I made such a wonderful thing.. Sakura and I.'
Before he knew it, there was a ring at the door, and Gaara went to answer it. He opened the door, seeing Naruto and Temari standing there hand-in-hand, smiles on their faces. Sakura joined the room, Akako on her hip. Her face lit up when she saw the two. "Come in, come in!" she beckoned, and the two stepped in, Gaara closing the door behind them.
"Neji said he was coming, he just had to get something," Naruto commented, before holding out a small box to Sakura.
"What's this?" Sakura looked at the box, blinking. Akako reached for it, cooing. The child grasped the big red bow in her stubby little fingers, feeling the velvet material curiously.
"Ever curious, she is," Gaara commented, reaching out and rubbing her red hair gently.
"It's a present, for Akako, and Sakura both." Temari smiled softly. She nodded slightly. "Take it."
Slowly, Sakura took the box, saying, "You didn't have to, you guys. You know it was only a small little get-together for Akako.."
"We wanted to, 'tebayo." Naruto grinned lop-sidedly. "Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan."
They had all walked into the back-yard, as Sakura opened the box. Inside was a bib, and a new pacifier.
"Ohh, arigato, you two!" Sakura squealed. "They're adorable, and just what I needed!" She pulled them into a hug, making sure to be gentle with Akako.
.. BOOM!
Sakura jerked her head in the direction of the front door, and heard, "I AM HEEEERE! DATTEBAYO!"
Kenshi stood there, one foot on the broken down door, hands on his sides, looking triumphant. Sasaki and Akira stood behind him, looking at him like he was an idiot.
Sakura's eye twitched. "KENSHIIIII!!!" she screeched. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THAT DOOR!"
Handing Akako to Gaara, she stomped over to Kenshi, dragging him through the house by his ear. She roared, and threw him over the fence of their backyard. Dusting her hands off, she beckoned for Sasaki and Akira to come in. The two Chunin looked more mature than ever. Akira's hair was even longer now, down to his lower back, about the length of Neji's hair. His top layer of hair still stuck up in the back however, like a hawk-tail. Sasaki, though her hair was a tad longer, was still the same colors, pink and black. Though she had the typical scowl on her beautiful face, her silver eyes weren't glittering with loathing, like they did when she was a Genin. Her chunin vest fit her lady-like form perfectly, her maroon top fitting nicely under it.
"Look at you guys!" Sakura exclaimed, claiming them both in tight hugs. "So grown up..!"
"You say that like you didn't just see us yesterday, sensei," Akira's smooth voice drawled boredly.
Sakura chuckled. "Well, every day seems like forever."
"If every day were forever, we would have spent one hundred life-times together, sensei." Sasaki pointed out.
"More than that." Akira cut in. Sasaki shot him a glare, turning red.
"Well either way, thanks for coming you guys. Cake?" Sakura asked, and they shrugged, nodding awkwardly.
"I want cake too, sensei!" Kenshi whined from the other side of the fence. He apparently had not gotten up yet. Sakura's eye twitched.
"NO!" she yelled, clenching her fist. Gaara was still holding Akako, who was watching the scene with unusual interest. She was not crying, nor did she look like she was about to; it was like she could sense that there wasn't any real anger there. That it was all animated and quite the contrary of stressful or tense.
Temari and Naruto chuckled; even Akira and Sasaki let out snorts. They had long gotten used to their teammate and their sensei having bouts every day. "But senseiii! I'll fix the door!"
"YOU'LL FIX THE DOOR REGARDLESS!" she screeched, and everyone snickered when she marched out of the house and around. They soon heard the famous "Aiyaaaaaa!" and the scuffling of shoes. Akako even let out a small giggle. Gaara, shaking his head, re-adjusted the baby in his arms, brushing a lock of red hair away from the her face. Tuning out the yelling in the background, and the sounds of someone being beaten, and the laughter of Naruto, Temari, and perhaps even his wife's team, Gaara focused on the little girl in his arms. He gazed at her, black-rimmed eyes radiating paternal love and admiration. He held out an index finger to her, and her tiny little hand reached out and grabbed the limb. He blinked, then smiled, his finger wiggling. The child crowed in delight, pulling his finger to her mouth and beginning to chew on it, using her gums.
Gaara loved his child. He truly, really loved her. He loved her almost as much as he loved his wife. His mind then travelled to the woman. How beautiful, how absolutely gorgeous she was; Her pink hair, though not long, was glossy and soft, unlike any other's (at least to him it was). Her eyes lit up whenever she looked at him, and he loved how they were the most serene and breath-taking shade of green he'd ever seen. Her body.. Oh, how he enjoyed her body. Slender, yet curvy in all the right places. She'd been flat-chested and gangly as a 13-year-old girl. Now, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes upon. And his intense love for her, and her love in return made her all the more attractive. Through all her beauty, the most beautiful thing about Sakura was her laugh, her smile; every time she laughed it rang through his ears like sweet music. Her smile dazzled him to no end.
He was so in love, it almost hurt. And the fact she was in love with him as he was with her made him love her even more.
Sakura returned, dragging Kenshi by the ear. She was growling things like "Baka," and "Shoulda had more sense". Gaara chuckled, turning his view from his gorgeous child to his gorgeous wife. Kenshi was on the ground, rubbing the side of his head. Naruto stood nearby, next to Temari, holding a cup of punch and chuckling. "Just like me, 'tebayo," he commented, sipping the punch. Temari smiled fondly.
"Kenshi," she said to him, "Who are your parents?"
He blinked, standing to his feet and brushing himself off. "I don't have parents."
Temari's face lit up, and she immediately began whispering to Naruto. Naruto nodded, grinning slightly. After giving them an odd look, Kenshi joined Sasaki and Akira, slinging his arms over their shoulders.
Sasaki's eye twitched. "HEY! Just because I don't absolutely despise your guts, don't think you can touch me!" the next sound heard was Kenshi's muffled groan as his face got buried in the ground by Sasaki's fist.
"Just like me." Sakura giggled a bit. Sakura knew Sasaki didn't have parents, she was told that by Tsunade before Sakura even met her team, four and a half years previously. She knew that Sasaki, being the outcast of her clan, was rejected by her father, and Iruka took her in. Though in the beginning Sasaki was almost unbearable, Sakura treated her like a daughter. The four had come a long, long way. Even Kenshi, though still the same, became a tad more responsible. Though, Sakura didn't like that as well as taking after his baka-ish behavior, Kenshi also seemed to take after Naruto's sense of style. The boy wore black and orange. The fact that his hair was black made him look like a pumpkin, for Halloween.
In fact, Sakura came to think of it, that's what he'd dressed up as the previous Halloween. Everyone, everyone laughed at him, especially Sakura. He looked so silly— And when everyone laughed, he grinned and laughed in return, like making people laugh was his intention— and it was then that Kenshi was more like Naruto than anyone else in Konoha.
Sakura looked at Akako, who was in Gaara's arms. The baby looked serene, completely content, so she left her in the red-head's arms, and instead took Gaara's other arm in her own, standing beside him dutifully. His eyes switched to gaze at her, and he let a small smile cross his face. She smiled back, blushing slightly, before returning her attention to her team.
"Hey— Let's all sing 'Happy Birthday' to Akako!" Kenshi suggested. Sakura nodded, giggling a bit, and began. Everyone joined in with her, and they all wished the little baby a happy first birthday.
Right at the end of the song, Neji came into the backyard, and said, "I missed the song.."
"Ah, it's alright, Neji." Sakura smiled warmly, and bent to give him a bear-hug. TenTen followed him through the door, and Sakura gave the brunette a hug as well. "You guys, thanks for coming."
"It was no problem, Sakura." Neji smiled, before holding a small box out to her.
"Oh, Neji, TenTen.. You two didn't have to get anything." Sakura blushed, a smile lighting up her face as she slowly took it. They all began chatting, Akako playing delightedly with Gaara's hair.
More gifts came, as well as more people. Among the folks that stopped by for Akako were Lee and Ino, Tsunade, Shizune, Kankuro, Hinata and Kiba, and even Shikamaru. They all couldn't stay long, for each had duties to attend to in the overly large village, but Sakura was glad they were all considerate enough to drop by and bring gifts.
Neji and TenTen were the last to leave. TenTen was helping Gaara take down the table, as Sakura went inside to feed the baby. Neji followed her, sitting down at the kitchen table and watching her intently. "Sakura," he said softly, peering appreciatively at her as she bustled about the kitchen, preparing a bottle.
She jerked around, hand to her chest as she panted. "Oh, Neji, you startled me," she breathed, before calming herself and returning to the preparation of Akako's bottle. "Did you need something, or are you just waiting for TenTen-chan?"
Neji then stood smoothly, before approaching her form from behind. He smoothly turned her around, grabbing her wrists gently in his hands. He looked at her tenderly, light lavender eyes smoldering with love. "Sakura.." he murmured, leaning closer.
Her eyes widened and a hot blush crossed her cheeks. "Neji, you can't," she whispered, shaking her head slightly.
"You know that I still love you," his tone of voice was calm, now, though the fire in his eyes was still there. "And you know that no matter what the circumstance, I'll always be here for you, for whatever you want."
"A-Ah, arigato.. Neji.." Sakura murmured, smiling softly at him. He slowly released her, giving her room. That was when Gaara and TenTen came back into the house. Sakura did a good job of hiding her blush as she immediately set back to work, glancing at Akako, who was playing in her walker. Sakura finished making the bottle, and gave it to Akako, who grabbed it with her tiny fingers, beginning to down it.
Gaara smiled appreciatively at Sakura, and dumped the tablecloth in the trash, while TenTen put away left-overs. After all was done, TenTen and Neji both left, hand-in-hand.
"Let me put the baby to bed, she's had quite a day." Sakura giggled a bit, picking the red-headed infant up and carrying her upstairs. Unbeknownst to Sakura, Gaara followed her upstairs, a sly smile spread across his face. As soon as she gently put the baby in the crib, and closed the door behind her after walking out, his arms slid around her waist, pulling her to him.
"Hey there, beautiful," he murmured, growling lowly into her ear. She shivered, knees weakening.
"Y-You startled me," she whispered, blushing furiously. The red-head trailed his lips slowly up her neck, to the hollow right below her ear. He then grabbed her up, carrying her bridal-style up the stairs to the third floor, the floor on which their room resided. She protested in giggles the whole way. He kicked the door open to their room, and mentally using his chakra to soundproof and seal the room, the blinds flicking shut. He laid her slowly back on the bed, crawling over her.
He stared down at her, and she stared up at him, both faces suddenly serious. A spark ignited in her jade eyes, dancing in the irises. "Gaara," she whispered, a hand slowly reached up to touch his face. Her fingers barely touched his skin before he caught her hand, putting it to his lips. He looked at her, smirking slightly, before pulling her into a sitting position. He was on his knees himself, sitting on his legs.
In the blink of an eye, two shirts and a medic skirt littered the floor, and the lip-locked pair were well on their way to shedding the rest of their apparel. She sighed softly against his lips, breath hissing out as her skin tingled under his smooth fingers, which were trailing lightly down her side. He tilted her head back slightly to take in the scent of her neck, fingers going to her cheek to begin there, and brush slowly and softly down her neck, and over her shoulder, down the length of her arm. She sucked needed air into her lungs, eyes closing as she shivered. He nibbled softly at her throat, and a fire began burning within her body that she hadn't felt in almost two years, since she'd gotten pregnant with Akako.
"You don't want another child, do you?" she breathed, back arching slightly as his nimble fingers trailed down the length of her spine, leaving a trail of fire behind to dance across her skin.
The next words that came out of his mouth made her fall in love with him all over again.
"I've got that taken care of," Gaara murmured against her neck, before moving his head down and planting soft kisses along his collarbone and down into the valley between her breasts. "We need to get rid of that," he rasped, referring to the bra. His fingers nimbly unhooked it from behind, and one strap fell over her shoulder, breasts being released from their prison. He slid the bra away and tossed it to the floor gently, before looking back at her breasts.
"No matter how much I look at them, they amaze me," he breathed, before placing tender kisses upon each one. A bright red blush covered Sakura's face as her head tilted back, hands going into his red hair. He then planted kisses along her shoulder, before laying her back. He paused, looking down at her. She stared up at him innocently, her lush pink locks splayed out on the pillow underneath her. She had the body, beauty, and maturity of a woman, yet the innocence of a girl. One of the many things he loved about her. Her innocent-looking face spurred on the fire developing within him, and he bent down, kissing her lips before slipping her pantiess off.
And with their underwear went their self-control, down to the floor as the pair romped around in the bed. After all was done, Sakura laid on his chest, panting softly. Her hot breath hit his chest, and soothed him. His strong arm was wrapped around her waist, fingers tracing her hip gently. She was drowsy, and fell asleep.
[Present]
"And that was Akako's first birthday," Sakura said, smiling at the memory. Ino giggled a bit.
"It sounded like you had fun that night."
Sakura turned a bright red. "I-It wasn't planned," she admitted. "It just.. happened. Although I have to admit, it was fun."
"Oh, like you haven't done it since then." Ino nudged her arm, winking. Sakura looked down, turning redder.
"Actually, we don't really do it that often.." her voice was soft, but she was smiling. "But I'm glad we don't, because when we do, it makes it so much more special."
"Hee-hee, you don't know fun when you see it, do you, forehead?" Ino grinned slyly, patting the pink-headed woman on the knee. "Lee-kun and I do—"
"I don't want to know about your sex life!" Sakura shot her a look, though she blushed more.
"I just heard about yours!" Ino pouted.
The argument was interrupted by the front door being opened and Gaara stepping in.
"Ooh, there's your hubby," Ino giggled, getting up and dancing to the door. She kissed Gaara on the cheek, before winking and saying, "Have fuuuun," and speeding out the door.
Gaara looked out the door in the direction Ino had gone, before looking back at Sakura, slightly flabbergasted. "What was that?"
"U-Uhm, well, Ino and I had found the pictures from Akako's first birthday," Sakura admitted shyly, scratching the back of her neck embarrassedly.
"OH." Gaara turned a slight pink in the face before scratching the back of his neck as well, shuffling his feet.
"Yeah, she forced me to describe the whole thing.. It was quite degrading, really.." Sakura muttered.
"You told Ino about our sex life?!" Gaara said, stepping forward and looking at her like she'd lost her mind. His piercing gaze only made her more and more shy as she stood up.
"S-She made me," she squeaked, looking at him nervously.
His response was grabbing her up and kissing her lips. Her eyes widened in surprise, but they quickly closed, arms winding around his neck.
"Eeew! Mom, daaaad!!" a childish voice groaned, and Gaara and Sakura split apart to see Akako looking at them.
"Sorry honey," Sakura apologized, smiling embarrassedly.
"Next time, get a room!" the girl stuck her tongue out, and grinned at them. The three began laughing.
(A/N: So? Is it worth continuing? e.e; I have a feeling I'm making too much of these things, just spinning off of one story.. I dunno, am I trying too hard, folks? Should I just move on and let this be it? Let me know. Arigato, ja ne!)