Lighting the Flame

I don't own any characters or locations you may recognize

Chapter 2: Promises

Sasuke grunted as he tried to get comfortable. He had slept on cave floors more comfortable than this. He twisted and turn when suddenly with a loud thunk he found himself on the floor.

It took him a moment to realize where he was at and how he ended up on the floor. Memories of the night before filled his head. He really messed things up with Sakura.

Getting up and stretching out his sore limbs, Sasuke knew he'd have to go to his wive and explain everything. But first, he supposed, he had to change Natsu's diaper. For such a tiny baby he sure did poop a lot.

He walked slowly towards the bassinet dreading what was to come. Peaking into the bassinet he was surprised to find it empty.

Everything in his mind was telling him not to panic. But his heart was beating fast and he was panicing.

Naturally his first thought was Sakura. But she wasn't a cold blooded woman, there was no way she had done something to a baby.

Trying to calm down his pounding heart he set out to find his wife. It wasn't a very hard thing to do with the smell of breakfast coming from the kitchen.

It was undue panic. Of course it was. Sakura was standing in front of the stove, over in the corner was one of those bouncy swing things with little Natsu inside. It was another relic of Sarada's.

Letting out the breath Sasuke didn't know he was holding, he walked slowly into the kitchen. Now would be explaination time.

"Sakura," she turned to him weilding her spatula like a sword." I'm sorry about last night."

Her frown smoothed out and she went back to cooking her meal. She was ignoring him, not a good sign.

He opened his mouth to say something but she beat him to the punch.

"Sarada is at the academy. I've already fed and changed Natsu" she said still not looking at him.

"He's not mine" Sasuke blurted.

Sakura didn't look at him, she didn't faulter.

Sasuke wanted to bang his head, why were women so stubborn.?

"I didn't cheat on you" he said.

Again he was ignored.

Sakura turned down the fire, and removed her apron.

"I'm already running late, I was supposed to be at the hospital ten minutes ago. There are clean plates in the cabinet."

"Damn it, Sakura," Sasuke reached out and grabbed her arm as she ried to walk away. "Can we just talk?"

"I'm busy Sasuke. Believe it or not, but I do actually have a life outside of you."

Sasuke frowned but before he could reply she continued.

"I spent my whole life waiting for you. Waiting for you to notice me. Waiting for you to acknowledge me. Waiting for you to love me. Waiting on you to come home. Waiting on you to come to your senses. Waiting on you to be with me. Waiting for you to be there for you daughter. I am tired of waiting."

"Well I never asked for you to wait for me." It was the wrong thing to say and Sasuke regreted it the moment the words passed his lips. "I didn't mean it like that."

Sakura sighed. "Just let me go."

Sasuke had never seen her like this before. So...defeated. This wasn't the Sakura he knew. What happened to the fighter who was willing to take everyone on during the Chunin Exams when he and Naruto was passed out? What happened to the girl so in love with him she was willing to end it all to save him? He knew what happened, he happened.

"Can we just talk please?" he asked. "Take the day off. We'll just sit and talk and I'll explain everything."

"Sasuke" she said softly, pleading for him to just let her go.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying for good this time. I promise."

Sakura closed her eyes hating herself for always wanting to give into him. Her inner Sakura was all amped up for her to kick his ass. But she knew he didn't deserve that. Everyone deserved to be heard.

"Okay, I'll call in today off."

Sasuke's heart feltl like it was jumping for joy.

"But," she continued, "this is the last time. You leave again and I'm done. I'll take Sarada and even Natsu and move into an apartment in the city."

Sasuke frowned. He didn't like the idea. He wasn't much for any of this technology that was all over the place but just thinking about his wife and daughter being wholed up alone in the city set his teeth on edge.

"It's not going to come to that. I promise."

Sakura wasn't sure she believed him. For years her friends tried to convince her to move into the city. They wanted her to be closer to them. She was all alone her on the Uchiha compound. She always stayed. It made her feel closer to Sasuke. To know what he must've felt like living here all those years alone. Besides it wasn't like she was completely alone. For the past tweleve years she's had Sarada.

Sakura called down to the clinic letting them know she would be unable to make it. She did promise to be on call if something major had happened. s. She was the best healer in the village, some times she was even called into other villages to help with their sick. She truly had grown into Lady Tsunade's shoes.

When they both sat down on the lumpy couch Sasuke explained his story.

Sasuke had just left the outskirts of Amegakure heading back to Konohagakure when he shipwrecked onto a tiny island. He suspected foul play, but appeared to be completely alone. There were ruins on the island and Sasuke travelded for days searcing the whole place. He figured he might run across one of Orocihmaru's hide outs. He certainly found quite a few sealed scrolls.

Sasuke was taking down trees trying to rebuild a ship or at least a small boat. when he was attacked. He was off his guard.
He was knocked out and when he came too there was a group of people hovering over him.

The ruins weren't abandoned afterall. Ther was a whole village of people living underground. It took a few days for Sasuke to convince the people that he meant them no harm, he was only trying to get off of the island.

Once that got through to them they started helping him build a boat. IT was like they couldn't get him off the island fast enough. They gave him a week's work of provisions and a crickety boat. There wasn't even a goodbye.

As he was boarding his tiny boat a heavily pregnant woman came up to him asking if she could come with him. Sasuke was going to say no at first But then he saw the bruises on her face and arms. Some of them looked fresh while others looked days old. Sasuke couldn't just leave her there. He let her aboard the boat, althouh there was barely any room for both of them to sit comfortably.

For nearly two weeks they were on the boat, it was hard to steer and easy to just go off in random directions. When they got back to the mainlad she went into labor.

Sasuke rushed her to the closest village where she gave birth, named him Natus, and then promptly died from too much blood lost or something.

"I could've left him there in that village," Sasuke said, "but then he would've been all alone. So I thought I'd bring him here."

It sounded so far fetched Sakura didn't know what to believe. He never lied to her before, but then again that was because he was so closed off that he never let anyone in.

"So you're back?" she finally asked.

"Yes."

"For good?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Sakura sighed. "Sarada will be happy. She missed you very much."

"What about you? Are you happy?"

Sakura ignored him and kept talking, "Of course Naruto will be estatic. I'm surprised he hasn't been by already. I'm sure news of your return has spread."

"Sakura" He tried again. He placed his hands over hers. "Are you happy with me being here? Staying?"

"Did you excorise all of your demons?" she asked.

Sasuke winced. "No, they'll never be gone. The things I've seen, the things I've done...they'll stay with me forever."

"And you couldn't realize this decades ago?" she asked.

"I know. I was trying to redeem myself in some sort of way. Helping people out in small villages, trying to right some of my wrongs."

"And you couldn't do that here? With your family? What happened to restoring the Uchiha? Did you just give up on that?"

"No" Sasuke replied. "That was always the plan, but then plans changed."

"Like how? What made you change your mind?"

"I...I was misguided Sakura. I...fuck I'm not good with expressing my feelings."

"Maybe Sai can lend you a book."

Sasuke hung his head.

"I don't want to fight with you."

Sakura sighed, "I don't want to fight with you either. But I still think we need to talk. You can't keep doing this. Bottling all you feelings up inside until you burst. That's childish. It's what you did when you were young and no one knew wha you were thinking until you already left the village with Orochimaru. If you would have just come to me or Kakashi or even Naruto we could've helped you."

"You would've talked me out of it" Sasuke snapped.

"For good reasons. You never had to leave the village. Everything you were looking for you could've found right here at home. You went to Orochimaru and then Akatsuki, but when you finally got the answer you were looking for where where you?" Sakura stood up and paced. "Where Sasuke?"

"Here! I was in Konoha" he answered.

"That's right, here!"

"I can't change the past Sakura."

"I know that. I...just..."

Sasuke pulled his sobbing wife into his arms. He murmured assurrances in her ear promising he would stay.

This made him feel like a total asshole. His father never made his mother cry. They were a team. Sasuke's so used to being on his own not caring about anyone feelings but his own. He had to do better.

"I'll be a better husband and father, starting today I promise."