Lying in her bed, buried in red floral bed sheets, Sakura smiled, the morning light shining in through the window. It was cold outside the warm cocoon of her duvet, so she drew it up around her just that little bit tighter. Over on her desk, her phone alarm had gone off, but it was a soft gentle acoustic, and it filled her bedroom with comfort. The smell of bacon pervaded the air, and she moved strands of pink from her face, inhaling happily…

In a flash, her peace came crashing down as a wave of nausea washed over her, and she scrambled out of bed, hurtling into the bathroom just in time to throw up.

Gasping for air, she dropped down to sit beside the toilet, feeling flushed and confused for a moment. Had she eaten something bad? Was it a stomach bug? Was it-

No… Surely not. She started counted frantically on her fingers. Two weeks, three, four...just how late was it? And how hadn't she noticed sooner?

There was absolutely no way. No way at all. Nope. No.

She threw up again.

An hour later found her walking to the pharmacy. As usual, she had jumped to extreme conclusions, and knew the only way to quell her fears was to double check. Walking in she went about her business quickly, glad that there wasn't anyone else but the cashier in that early in the morning. She walked home twice as fast, and making a beeline towards the bathroom where she sat down on the closed seat. Upturning the carrier bag, she watched as several pregnancy tests fell out with a clatter. She did them all, closing her eyes and chewing on her lip impatiently. Thirty seconds left. She could feel her panic rising, and so she thought of Kakashi. Of his face, his hands, his shoulders, his eyes, his smile, his laugh, his-

She looked down. 7 tests. And all 7 of them…

She exhaled slowly, her breath shaking.

"I'm pregnant."

Naruto sat on the stairs, pouting. He hadn't slept a wink, which hadn't done him any favours at all. How could he? Sasuke had kissed him. Sasuke. Had. Kissed. Him.

Why? Why would he do that? Granted he had calmed down, but who did that? Just kissed people to calm them down? How had he known it would work? Were Sasuke-kisses a tried and tested calming technique? Was Sasuke simply angry? Was he playing a game?

He couldn't stop obsessing over it. It was eating away at him and-

Of course. Damn Naruto, back at it again with the good ideas.

Running downstairs, he entered the kitchen relieved to find Itachi making pancakes. The older Uchiha smiled fondly at him, and Naruto hopped up onto the counter. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Always," replied Itachi, flipping one of the pancakes masterfully.

"So, I was upset yesterday and… well, Sasuke kissed me," he said quietly.

Itachi's hand stilled, and though he gave nothing away, Naruto could tell he was somewhat surprised. He moved the pan onto the side, turning to face him. "He did what?"

Naruto flushed, all the more self-conscious with those Uchiha eyes fixed on him. "I know," he said, "I don't really know what to do. He kind of just kissed me, and then ran off again, and I'm just worried I've gone and fucked up somehow."

Itachi's dark eyes were calm, and he drummed his fingers on the counter. "… I'll confess I didn't see that one coming, actually."

"I'm with you on that one," mumbled Naruto, "I just don't get why he would. Why would Sasuke kiss me? I mean, it must have been because I was upset, right? There's no way he'd voluntarily kiss me because he wanted to."

Itachi looked at him weirdly for a moment, before shaking his head. "You're unbelievable sometimes Naruto."

"Huh?"

"He's a boy, he's not unattainable."

"I didn't say I wanted to attain him!" growled Naruto.

"You seem pretty upset at the idea of the kiss meaning nothing, though," he told him patiently.

… Fuck. Itachi was doing that… that thing again. He didn't reply. Part of him felt that wasn't far off the mark, but he had no right to want that.

"Naruto?"

"Hm?"

Itachi was drumming his fingers again. "I can't tell you why he kissed you," he said honestly, "I wish I could. I… I don't know him as well as I once did. But I do know one thing."

"Yeah?"

"It wasn't whimsical," he said, shaking his head softly, "I know whimsical Sasuke, and whimsical Sasuke isn't the Sasuke you're friends with. It's as simple as that."

Naruto didn't know if he found this relieving, or even more confusing. Still, he hopped down and drew Itachi into a hug. "Love ya."

Itachi chuckled. "Love you too, little fox… Take him with you to get the flour. Stop avoiding him. You'll make him insufferable."

"Okay…"

Well, here goes fucking nothing.

Sasuke was unashamed to admit that the expression he wore was akin to a scowl. Sakura had called in about 2 minutes before her shift to apologetically eask for a trade, and so now Sasuke would be working double. He hated it. Serving people coffee was about as interesting as… Ugh. And the constant numbers written on napkins had him seething, as though he'd never received a phone number in his life. He didn't know how Naruto managed to stay so cheerful; it was almost as though he actually enjoyed it.

Naruto… Sasuke huffed, pointedly ignoring the fluttering eyelashes of a rather beautiful girl. Naruto. He had kissed him. What was he, fourteen years old? Did he have no self-control whatsoever? Naruto had been having a literal breakdown, and Sasuke had thought it a good time to kiss him? Of course he had – he was the king of bad choices.

Naruto hadn't looked at him in days, and Sasuke put on a very good show of not caring. Could he have expected any less? Most people would have melted over Sasuke kissing them, but Naruto wasn't like most people. He was better. And all Sasuke could conclude from the incident was that there was some part of himself that wanted to break what was good. Ruin any chance at friendship. He rolled his eyes as Deidara pressed a kiss to his shoulder on the way out the door, blonde hair flowing behind him, and he turned to see Itachi leaning against the door frame to the kitchen, watching him. Childishly, Sasuke gave him the finger for absolutely no reason, and Itachi arched his brow for a moment, before chuckling and disappearing back into the now smoking kitchen.

The door jingled again, and Sasuke had to suppress a groan at the appearance of Suigetsu. Again? The white-haired idiot sauntered in, flashing his teeth, and Sasuke clicked his tongue. "I'm busy, what do you want?"

"How rude," proclaimed Suigetsu, without any real annoyance to his voice, "I want you to come out with me tonight."

"Absolutely not," said Sasuke, almost immediately.

Suigetsu laughed. "I'm not saying we go to any clubs, I want to go out for a drink with you," he insisted, "Come on, we can wear sports jackets and be sophisticated and shit now we're adults."

"The more you talk the less I want to go," said Sasuke bluntly.

"Oh you will though," he said, smirking, before throwing his arms around Sasuke's shoulders, "you will!"

Sasuke grabbed his waist, pushing him away with a laugh. "Scram, fishboy."

"Sasuke, we need to go and pick up the flour."

Sasuke blinked, turning to find Naruto stood calmly behind them. "We?"

"I can't carry them by myself." His voice seemed smooth, strained, as though he was awkwardly attempting to play it cool. It probably felt awkward for him.

"Uh, sure." He threw his apron at Suigetsu who gave him a quizzical look. "Watch the shop."

"W-What?" demanded Suigetsu, "I'm not a fucking barista!"

Sasuke ignored him, following Naruto out of the door.

They walked in total silence for at least eight minutes. Sasuke was fine with silence, preferred it in fact, but he knew he'd be better off at least making some form of small talk.

"How far away is it?" asked Sasuke casually.

"Just a few more minutes," said Naruto, eyes trained ahead of him.

He pressed his lips together. "Naruto-"

"Naruto!"

Sasuke looked up as a girl ran towards them. She was quite pretty, with her brown hair pulled up into two tidy space buns on the top of her head, and she threw her arms around the blonde. "Long time no see, stranger," she said, with a beaming smile.

Naruto returned her smile. "Oh hey, Tenten!"

Her eyes lit up, and it didn't escape Sasuke at all. As he watched them converse, he was almost blindsided. Her flushed cheeks, flirtatious remarks. She even tried to hint at them "doing something sometime" and apparently every signal, and there were many, went right over Naruto's head. And he didn't like it.

He didn't like it at all.

"Naruto we have to go." His voice was cold, causing Tenten's eyes to widen slightly in surprise, and he simply stared at her until she backed off a little.

"Oh, sorry," she said slowly, "I didn't mean to hold you up…"

"Yeah," agreed Sasuke, "Bye then."

Naruto lifted his hand to wave but she was already gone. He blinked once, before turning on Sasuke. "What the fuck?" he demanded, "There was no need to be rude, she was saying hello! We weren't rushing anywhere."

Sasuke continued walking at a fast pace, and Naruto hurried to keep up. "Sasuke!"

"I left Suigetsu in charge, a terrible idea trust me," said Sasuke coolly, "Besides, are you that dim? I'm pretty sure she was aiming for more than just a hello."

"What?"

"They say ignorance is bliss," he continued, furious at his own fury, "But that's taking it to a whole new level. You ought to pay more attention to people's intention."

Naruto laughed. "Oh you're lecturing me on intention?" he spat.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" quipped Sasuke.

"I don't know," said Naruto, "You tell me? I'm sure it's all fun and games for you, but I actually thought you liked me enough as a friend not to play with me."

Sasuke stopped, standing there in the middle of the street for a moment, before turning to him. He stared at him, studying his face closely. When all was said and done, Sasuke was very good at reading people. God, did Naruto really think so little of him? That hurt more than it would have hurt from literally any other person.

"You don't get it, do you?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion. "No, I don't," he said honestly, "Why would you kiss me? If not for- oh… Oh! I'm sorry!"

"Naruto-"

"You were just calming me down," he laughed sheepishly, turning red with embarrassment, "There I go, over-thinking everything again-"

"Naruto."

Naruto proceeded to shut the fuck up. Good. "I didn't kiss you out of pity," he said coolly, "Yes it was to calm you down, but I wouldn't just kiss you to help you. I'm not that good a person, I'm afraid."

"… What?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Really? Clicking his tongue, he stepped forward, raising one hand to his face before closing in and kissing him firmly, before drawing back and looking him in the eye. There. A no-strings-attached kiss. When Naruto didn't say anything, he simply turned and continued walking.

After a moment, Naruto fell into step beside him.

He was smiling.

He switched the amp on, standing back and moving to the mic once again.

"Testing, testing," he said.

"And again Deidara, please," called the coordinator.

Deidara nodded, coughing lightly. "Itachi has a massive-"

"Don't," warned Sasori, "Or I'll end your life."

Turning his head, he smirked in amusement at Sasori, who was currently sat on a box tuning his guitar. The redhead was wearing lilac eyeshadow upon Deidara's demands, and he strummed lightly. "How'd we get chosen to play at a Versace aftershow again? We have like three songs we wrote when we were like, twelve."

Deidara shrugged, before pointing at Itachi who was over by the bar talking with some important looking person. "Uchiha."

"Which one?"

"Sasuke is friends with this model guy, and Tobi funnily enough too, guy knows everyone, it's weird…" he said, "Stop questioning it, okay? You're looking for plotholes where there are none." He raised his hands dramatically. "The Uchiha get whatever they want."

"And to think some bands try for years to-"

"Shut your bitch mouth, Sasori," growled Kakazu.

Deidara pointed at Kakazu with approval. "I like that attitude. Okay, okay, soundcheck." He turned, the light hitting him, and he felt nothing less than the king of the world.

"Ladies and gentlemen, hold onto your underwear, because we're about to rock your world," he said with a smirk.

"Too much," muttered Sasori into his mic.

Deidara ignored him. "One, two, three!"

As Tobi's bass guitar kicked into action, Deidara began to sway, his fingers sliding up the neck of his guitar, and he smiled.

This was only the beginning.

Kakashi sat on his black leather couch, staring at the bare brick wall for at least fifteen minutes. He had papers to mark, but he had zero motivation right now to do so. So let her go…

The buzz of his phone snapped him from his daze, and he looked down at his phone. It was her.

We need to talk.

… So it seemed he was not the only one having doubts… Of course she would, she was as intelligent and worldly as she was beautiful. She must have known the impracticality of their arrangement. Did he want to let her go? He didn't think he'd ever wanted something less. But something Asuma had said definitely struck a chord. Looking back over his own life, there'd been some pretty amazing experiences. Things anyone with Sakura's soul would adore. Could he deny her all of that? All the things she had to look forward to in adulthood? Usually, he would. He'd always been a selfish man. Yet in the face of Sakura Haruno, he could not find a selfish bone in his entire body. It wasn't even about his career anymore.

He texted her to meet him in the park, and she replied she was on her way. As he drove there, he was filled with remorse. He never should have let it get this far.

His focus snapped back to reality as he noticed pink hair from across the park. She was sat on a bench, and he walked slowly over to her, sitting beside her. She was wearing blue jeans and a soft grey duffle coat, and he had to resist the urge to take her hand. She didn't speak, though he could tell she wanted to, and so he broke the ice.

"I know you wanted to talk," he said calmly, "I know we needed to… We had to talk eventually."

"What?" she asked, looking up at him suddenly in confusion. He didn't let her wide jade-green eyes deter him. He had to do this.

He exhaled slowly. "We can't do this anymore."

She said nothing. He continued.

"We both know it was only ever temporary," he said, "But it's getting dangerous. People are starting to put two and two together, and I can't risk you getting found out."

"You mean you can't risk you getting found out," she replied softly.

He looked at her. She misunderstood completely, but if it helped for her to think that was the case… "Yes."

Her expression was unreadable for a moment, and then her eyes filled with tears. "It's okay," she said softly, "I understand."

"Sakura-"

"No," she said, getting to her feet, "It's fine. It's fine."

He reached out for her. "Come on, don't be silly."

"I'm not being silly," she said quickly, "I'm walking away with my dignity, I'm sure I'll see you at uni-"

He tried to reason with her, but she was already walking away, and he felt his heart lurch as he watched her go. Of all the years he'd spent on the Earth, of all the women he'd been with…

Why did he have to fall in love with her?

As she walked away, she felt the tears stream down her face. Her heart shattered as soon as she slammed the door of her car, and she let out a sob. She had been naïve to think she had ever meant something to him.

Her hand moved to her stomach. What was she going to do? Who could she tell? How would she even know where to begin with the story? There was a baby inside of her.

And she knew she couldn't keep it.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she started the engine. Nothing was ever simple in her life, was it?

Thank you so much for reading! These poor babies just can't catch a break, can they?

As always I'd love to hear your comments and feedback- they make my day. Take care my lovelies and till next time! 333