"Hinata-Chan!" Naruto called enthusiastically to his wife, "Minuki said Dada!" Hinata walked into the living room and smiled at her two blonde boys. Her husband picked up the little 1-year-old and twirled him around, tears forming in his eyes.
'He is so emotional about it...' Hinata thought to herself with glee. Naruto shifted the infant to his hip and put an arm around Hinata's waist, kissing her forehead.
"He called me Dada!" Naruto beamed at her, causing her to giggle.
"Yes, that's good."
"But he's only a year old! He must be smart."
"Naruto, most babies start talking like that when they are a year old."
"Oh... But still!" He looked at Minuki, whose white eyes stared back at him. "Say it again for mommy, huh? Say it again." Naruto poked the child's stomach.
"Mama." Minuki said when he saw Hinata, and reached his tiny hands out to her. Her eyes lit up with delight, and then so did his.
"He said Dada and Mama! I can hardly believe it!" A joyful tear slid down Naruto's cheek. Hinata took her son from Naruto and snuggled him, rubbing her face against his.
"I know, Naruto. It's wonderful." She smiled at the laughing baby she held and soon found herself to be laughing along with him. It was contagious. "Sure makes up for all the trouble of getting him here, and raising him." Naruto agreed with her and hugged her tightly.

Uchiha Home

In their simple house near the edge of Konohagakure, Sakura awoke with her head on Sasuke's chest and his arms wrapped around her. She felt warm and safe with him, and knew they had little time before Sasira would awake and they would have to devote their time to everything but each other. After the trauma of birthing her, Sakura sometimes felt as if the child owed her something for going through all that trouble, but knew that the thought was nonsense. She had made a full recovery afterwards, and either way knew that it was not the girl's fault.
"Are you awake?" Sasuke asked, and she realized with a start that he had been watching her the whole time.
"Yes, Sasuke-Kun." Her deep green eyes gazed up at him, and he felt a twinge of longing for her, though she was right there beside him. Perhaps he longed to be alone with her... "Is something wrong?" She asked, disrupting his contemplation.
"N-No, I was just thinking." He looked away at the tan-colored wall.
"About what? Are you sure nothing's wrong?"
"Yeah, I just wish sometimes that we could be alone, that's all."
Sakura let out a sigh of relief, "You don't know how long I've wished that. But we can't."
"You know what? Maybe Naruto... I mean, we are all good friends. He might take care of Sasira for us for a day."
"Yeah. Knowing him, he'd probably love it."
"I think he likes children."
"Maybe a little too much." They shared a light laugh. He picked her up and set her down gently on the floor.
"Let's go see if we can't convince the idiot."
"Don't call him an idiot." Sakura picked up the sleeping Sasira and settled the toddler's head on her shoulder.
"Sorry," Sasuke blushed slightly, "I was just kidding."
"I'll be sure to tell him that."
"Hey!"
Sakura chuckled and told him she was also joking. They set off for the residence of Naruto, very near to the academy. Their destination was far from their home, but the couple wished to visit places in the village along the way. Soon Sasira woke up from the bouncing motion of being carried, and ate breakfast with her parents, absorbing the marvelous sights of the village that she had seen so little of. The three walked along the street, looking in shop windows and picking up a gift for Naruto, should he grant their request.
When they finally arrived at his house, Naruto graciously welcomed them inside and offered them tea. As the two couples sat down at the dining room table, drinking tea, and their two children interacted with each other on the floor, Sakura decided to discuss her and her husband's thoughts.
"So, Naruto..." Sakura began, unsure of exactly how to word it.
"Yes, Sakura?"
Sasuke took over for her, and put it bluntly, "We want to be alone together, and it's difficult with a child, as I'm sure you'll come to find out. We'd like to ask you to watch our daughter for us until tomorrow morning."
Naruto took no time to consider; he only said, "Sure! If you'll do the same for us some other time!"
"N-Naruto? You didn't even ask me." Hinata gave him an irritated look.
"O-Oh! I'm sorry, Hinata-Chan." He stood up as if to go to another room. Everyone knew that the answer would be yes, so he didn't know how to amend the situation without making it awkward.
"Anyway, yes. We would love to have Sasira over for the day." Hinata had saved him, seemingly sensing his predicament. He sat down and let out a sigh.
"Thank you, Hinata-Chan!" Sakura said.
Sasuke followed with "Yeah, thanks."
"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed, "It's not like she makes all the decisions!"
Sakura explained to him, "We were only telling her because she approved it, even if you decided it. We were thanking you both."
Naruto blushed and said, "Oh. I understand." Hinata then caringly patted him on the shoulder, fully accustomed to his outbursts.
"So, now that that's settled, we will be off." Sasuke stated and placed his hand in Sakura's. She walked over to say goodbye to her daughter, waved to Naruto and Hinata, and then tugged Sasuke outside.
They walked along the dusty streets blissfully, not caring about anything but each other in their few precious moments alone.
Once they reached their home, an hour later, Sakura trudged into their room and slumped onto the bed, weary from walking. Sasuke joined her side and positioned his hand on her waist, under her shirt. The warmth of his arm across her bare stomach felt pleasant. They stayed that way for a few minutes, and then Sasuke pulled her front side against his, embracing her, and she reciprocated it. He affectionately ran his fingers through the hair at the back of her head as he studied her features, and then pulled her into a tender kiss.
Her hands slid up his back to entangle in his raven-colored hair as the kiss became more intense. He moved on top of her and reached a hand back behind him to grip her thigh, pulling it out of the way, meanwhile slipping his other hand farther up her shirt. Sakura stopped him for a moment, and pushed him up a tiny bit.
"Looks like we had the same idea, huh?" She smiled at him, staring into his amorous black eyes.
"Yes, it appears that way." He agreed, returning her gaze, and then eased himself back down to lay atop her. He rested his head on her upper chest, and sighed.
"What is it?" She asked with slight anxiety.
"Oh! Uh, nothing. I just, um..." His eyes met hers and his face reddened.
"It's okay, you can tell me." Some pinkness colored her cheeks as well.
"No, it's nothing." He was slightly nervous after such a long break from what he was planning.
"Alright, well, I'm still waiting." She reminded him, boosting his confidence.
He blushed again, but raised himself up on a forearm and used his free hand to lift her shirt. She assisted him and removed it completely, responding by helping him remove his shirt as well. The two continued to kiss and allowed their hands to freely roam the other's body. They later made love for a long time, relishing the gratification of being with each other in a sexual way, only stopping when it was impossible to continue due to exhaustion. They also noticed that it was late in the afternoon.
Sasuke flopped onto his back beside Sakura, panting, and she placed a hand on his sweaty chest.
"I-I don't know what to say." Sasuke remarked.
"Maybe there's nothing to say, because sometimes words aren't necessary." Sakura noted, attempting to sound philosophical.
"You're right, but I still feel like I should say something."
"Like what?" She glanced at him only to find that his eyes were closed.
He sighed as he pondered, and then replied, "Like, that I've been waiting so long for that."
"I have too."
"And that it felt ..."
"I know, I know. That goes without saying." She stopped him before he could go into detail, her face turning pink.
"No, no. I mean, it felt special." He corrected her thoughts, also turning a shade of pink.
"O-Oh." Sakura said, "Yes. It's been awhile."
He looked at her. "Indeed." He softly kissed her once more, and then pulled back and again rested his head with his eyes closed, as if he were at peace. "I feel a lot better now."
"Me too. Except I'm sort of hungry."
"Way too tired to cook..." He imparted, though it was obvious.
"Yeah, I know. How 'bout we go out tonight?" Sakura's eyes brightened as she looked at him, even though his eyes were still closed.
"Sounds perfect." He peeked up at her and asked, "Do we have money?"
"Yes, of course. Enough for a nice meal."
They relaxed in bed for a while longer to recover, and then removed themselves from the bed so they could bathe. Afterwards they dressed in elegant attire. By that time, it was nearly evening, and they chatted for a few minutes before they departed.
"You... Well, I can't say I prefer this dress over nothing, but..."
Sakura punched him in the shoulder, though more softly than if she were actually upset.
"As I was saying," He explained while rubbing his shoulder, "You are stunning."
She blushed. "Th-Thank you, kind sir. I might say that you, too, appear ravishing on this fine night." She giggled, urging him to laugh with her. He did.
"So are you. And beautiful and gorgeous, and all of the above."
"You know what? I think I know the place to go for dinner." She elbowed him.
"Hm?"
"Shushuya."
"You mean that sake shop?"
"Yeah. Who says we can't get drunk tonight?"
"That sounds good, but I thought we were going to eat. I'm really hungry."
"I heard from Tsunade, who obviously frequents the place, that they serve big platters of food."
"Oh, okay. Great, then."
They set off to find the pub, inquiring of some people along the way, even though Sakura was mostly sure she knew where it was. She had waited outside while Tsunade went in for a drink on multiple occasions. The couple was relieved that they didn't have to walk any longer once they found it, and promptly sat themselves at a booth inside.
Soon a waitress arrived to take their beverage orders.
"We both want your special sake, please." Sakura said without giving anyone a chance to speak or look at a menu.
"Yes, ma'am. We will have that out soon."
"Special sake?" Sasuke asked her once the woman left.
"Well, they serve normal sake and they serve their 'choice sake'. It's what they're popular for. I've heard Tsunade proclaim how great it is many times, and I figure we should try it for ourselves."
"I'm glad to have you here... I wouldn't know my left from my right in these places."
"Yeah, you should be glad. Hey, how about we don't get too drunk until we're going to leave? I want to enjoy my food."
"Yet another good idea. What would I do without you? You're smart."
"Why, thank you." Sakura blushed a little, though she was used to the compliment.
The waitress returned with a tray that held a metal pitcher, filled halfway with hot water and also containing the glass bottle of warm sake, and two small white glass cups with blue flower designs.
"Thank you." Sakura told her, then the woman bowed and rushed away.
Sasuke removed the similarly designed glass bottle of rice wine from the container and poured a bit in each of their cups. "After you." He told Sakura, and gestured to the cups.
"Oh, alright." She brought a cup to her mouth and tipped it back, feeling the warm liquid trickle down her throat and spread heat through her body. "Ah, Tsunade wasn't kidding." At that, Sasuke did the same as she, and then agreed with her. They still resolved to wait until after they ate to get drunk. The waitress returned with a notepad and asked for their order. Sakura studied the menu and showed an item to Sasuke, pointing, and he nodded.
"We want the large platter of yakitori, cooked with salt. I also want some more sake." She told the waitress, "Oh! Oh! And sprinkled onigiri too, please." She quickly added.
"Do you want a filling?"
"None, thank you."
"Okay, I'll be right back with that."
Sasuke sighed again with his elbows on the table and planted his head in his open palms.
"What?" Sakura asked.
He looked up. "You're so... intelligent. And wonderful." He told her, which made her blush again.
"I... Well, so are you."
He smiled. "Thanks. You know, onigiri is one of my favorite foods."
"Yes, I know." She smiled contentedly. "Why do you think I got it?"
"By the way, you can have most of the sake. I don't think it's really my thing, and plus, one of us has to be sober enough to know the way home."
"Okay." She shook a finger at him, "But I bet you just want to see me drunk!"
He laughed and said, "Maybe."
The waitress gave them their rice balls and more sake, and when they were finished with the rice balls, they received a platter of skewered grilled chicken. The alluring smell filled their noses and ignited more hunger, so they finished the food to the last crumb, and then drained the sake into their stomachs to wash it down. Sasuke paid the bill, and helped Sakura to walk by supporting her with an arm. She was extremely inebriated, but he found it to be slightly endearing. Eventually he had to carry her, and she fell asleep in his arms as she clutched his shirt and mumbled to herself.