Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I own several Naruto COSPLAYERS, but not Naruto. V.V

Lovingly dedicated to Kevin-Sasuke. We 3 You! – MeilinII Production Studios

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"I've come back."

It was night; the stars twinkled brightly overhead as the two ninja conversed at the gate to Konoha. The raven-haired boy hadn't seen home in nearly three years, but his nostalgia was only for the one he spoke to.

Sakura, pink hair cropped at the shoulder, was understandably reluctant in responding. After so long, an out-of-the-blue return seemed too good to be true. 'Probably another of Tsunade-sama's tests...' she surmised. After all, Sasuke was the last person she'd expect to see while on guard duty.

Sasuke stood calmly, looking directly into Sakura's eyes. Her stance was a defensive one; her hand hovered near her weapons pouch. He understood, of course, that she was slow to believe it would be so easy, after so many years of chase. He would simply have to show her something to put to rest her doubts. For a brief moment, he allowed the Sharingan to activate. "It's really me, Sakura. I'm back."

She reflexively stepped back. There was no doubt that this was indeed Sasuke... Her Sasuke. "Sasuke...Kun?" she mumbled quietly, polling a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Sasuke stepped forwards and pulled Sakura into a hug. "Yes, Sakura. I'm ready to take whatever punishment Tsunade-sama gives me and move on with my life. With you by my side, if you'll still have me." There it was; he'd laid it all out on the table. He'd have understood if she no longer thought of him even as a friend, but he nevertheless held out hope.

Sakura's breath caught. "Do you mean that, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, slowly wrapping her arms about his neck.

He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her hair. "I do. So you'll forgive me?"

She smirked at him. "No, but you'll have plenty of time to make it up to me, won't you, Sasuke-kun?" she teased, winking at him.

For the first time in a very long time, Sasuke broke into a smile. "Sure."

And hand in hand they walked into Konoha to face Tsunade.

-------------------------------Ten Years Later------------------------

Sasuke walked into his house; kicked his shoes off and collapsed onto the couch. He had aged only slightly. Indeed, in ten years only his demeanor had changed; he'd mellowed out some over time. He still wore his white, open-chested shirt and black pants. He'd found that the chuunin jacket was uncomfortable and he had little interest in wearing it despite his recent promotion to Jonin.

"Daddy!"

The tiny, pink-haired girl ran up and hugged her father, smiling brightly. She wore a short green dress over black leggings and had bright blue eyes. Her hair was quite long and tied in a low ponytail.

"Hello Yume." He said fondly. He'd picked the dame Yume, meaning dream, and Sakura had agreed wholeheartedly. That had been seven years before, after he'd served a two-year punishment from Tsunade. Sakura, he was relieved to see, was waiting for him when he was released. When they'd found out she was pregnant, he had proposed. The wedding had been simple, held on the Uchiha estate and attended only by their friends, sensei, and Sakura's family, but it had been beautiful and well-received. Naruto had even resisted the temptation of 'Best man' to ridiculous extents. The rest was history; he'd never been happier.

He picked up his daughter and plopped her on the couch beside him. "Did you have fun at Uncle Naruto's?" he asked her.

She nodded vigorously. "Auntie Hinata showed me how to do Origami! See, Daddy?" she said, pointing to a slightly lopsided paper crane on the table beside him.

"That's very good, Yume." He said kindly.

"And guess what, Daddy? Auntie's gonna have the baby soon!" she said, obviously bursting with the news, "I felt it kick! I bet it's just like Uncle Naruto!"

Sasuke growned. "I hope it's more like your Aunt..." he muttered. Hinata had finally managed to tell Naruto how she felt (using chocolate and ramen, of course) on the Valentine's day after Yume was born. They'd gotten married two years ago and were expecting their first child within the month. Yume went to see her godparents every Saturday, to 'check on the baby.'

Sakura walked in, smiling. "Yume, leave Daddy alone and go eat your lunch, alright?" she said, shooing her overexcited daughter into the dining room.

Sasuke smiled at her. "Naruto is rubbing off on her." he joked, "Maybe we should let her visit Hinata when he's working."

His wife swatted him playfully. "Oh, STOP Sasuke. You and I both know Naruto and Yume would both be crushed if we did that." She laughed and sat beside her husband. "Besides, Naruto has grown up a lot from when we were all assigned as teammates."

Sasuke smiled and snaked an arm around her waist. "We've all grown up fromback then." he said, kissing her on the cheek sweetly. The doorbell rang.

Sasuke groaned and got up to answer the door while Sakura went back to the kitchen to start dinner. Sasuke walked into the hall and threw open the door lazily. He found his miniature mirror image staring at him.

The black-haired, dark-eyed youth stared resolutely up at Sasuke. "Hello, Father."

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And that's chapter one. Reviews?