Author's Note: I explain what's been going on for me (sort of) at the end of the chapter. Enjoy! :D
Big Changes
Chapter Ten
At The Uchiha Compound
"He's getting so big." Ino commented.
"Big? He's enormous." Tenten interjected.
"His cheeks are quite puffy." Hinata poked his cheek. "Has he gotten into any trouble?"
"Uh, well…" Sakura stammered, leaned in, and said in a quiet voice, "I found him basically halfway up the stairs the other day but I haven't seen him crawl yet."
"Halfway?" Ino exclaimed.
"Ino, keep your voice down!" Sakura put a hand on her shoulder. "Sasuke doesn't know he did that."
"You said he's training outside, I'm pretty sure we're fine." Tenten said and glanced at the other girls as if telling them to say something. The shy Hyuga looked away and Ino nodded.
"It's a nice day today, you two should go for a walk." Hinata said.
"I'd love to but who's going to watch Daiki?" Sakura said and stroked her son's hair. She'll admit that anyone would like to but she realized it'll be hard to say goodbye to him even it was for just an hour.
"Well…" Ino trailed off and looked at them. "We were given a few days off."
"We were going to have a sleepover but then we decided that we should watch Daiki instead!" Tenten nodded. "I'm pretty sure you guys don't get your eight hours."
"It all depends on this guy." Sakura retorted and poked his cheek. "You guys are so generous but I don't know if now's such a good time. He's been fussy because he's teething and-"
"Oh, but hear me out!"
"Okay, fine."
"I've been going to the hospital and some newborns and babies Daiki's age had fevers and they let me help them and they told me I did great. They said the babies liked me but I think they had gas. The nursery didn't smell right." Ino scratched her head. "It's normal, I guess."
The thought of an eight hour sleep excited Sakura. But then not having to check Daiki during the night seemed weird to her. It's pretty much stuck in her and Sasuke's routine. "Well I mean-"
"Go ask Sasuke what he thinks." Ino ordered. "I'm sure you and him would like the alone time."
"Ino I think me and Sasuke-"
"-haven't done it in a while." Tenten finished. "Sasuke wants to restore the clan doesn't he? I'm sure he would just love the opportunity."
That's the last thing on my mind! Sakura laughed nervously. "No, no, listen-"
"Will you at least ask Sasuke?" Hinata asked softly.
The pink haired mother sighed. Hinata gets through to anybody when she speaks all gentle. "I guess so."
"Yes!"
"But be prepared to function on five hours or less of sleep. Don't say I didn't warn you." She got up from the living room floor and went outside. She knew where Sasuke goes to train by himself; way out in the yard. She walked through the soft grass and found her husband throwing kunai at the wood post. Deciding to stand a couple yards behind him, she gulped as she saw his bare upper body.
He threw four more with one hand and then noticed his wife standing patiently. "Is something wrong, Sakura?"
"Well," she bit her lip and then had to look away from him. "They offered to watch Daiki for a couple days."
Sasuke scratched the back of his neck and crossed his arms as if deciding more than mocking. "Are they really up to it? Do they know Daiki's quite a handful to take care of?"
"Ino's been helping at the hospital." Sakura said quietly. "Question is if we can let him go so easily."
"I wouldn't mind some alone time with you." He said.
I wouldn't mind either. "I-it'd be nice to get at least eight hours of sleep." She cleared her throat and looked back. "Should I tell them it's fine then?"
"Go ahead."
Sakura turned and started walking back when he called again:
"See you tonight."
She's positive he's smirking.
Blushing madly, furiously, and horribly, she walked faster.
Getting ready for bed, Sakura felt like a fool. Saying goodbye to Daiki didn't seem as bad as she imagined it but at the same time, her son didn't cry or look the least bit worried. It worried her a lot. Does he know he won't be seeing me early in the morning? Does he know he won't be looking at his mother's face when his diaper's being changed? She got under the thick blankets and faced the window blocked by curtains. Does he know I won't be putting on his pajamas tonight? She sighed. The pajamas with the different kinds of food on it…the one Naruto got him. Hearing footsteps stop in front of the closet, she turned over and her eyes widened at the sight of her husband in a towel.
Really, she should be used to this. Is this how newlyweds feel? Do they constantly have butterflies in their stomach? She shut her eyes as he dropped the towel that was already hanging low from his waist. She heard him as he got into his night shorts and walked back into the bathroom. Closing her eyes, she let the warmness of the sheets overcome her as she ignored the lights as they turned off suddenly.
"See you tonight."
Shaking her head and quietly chuckling at what he said not too many hours ago, she changed her position so she slept on her back. Closing her eyes again, she sighed as her husband climbed into bed. She moved her arm to link her hand with his but felt nothing. Puzzled she opened her eyes and saw something on top of her. She took her hands out of the comfort of under the blankets and roamed her hands on her husband's face in the darkness. "What are you doing?"
"It's still early."
Sakura sighed and turned to her left side, blushing but wanting to keep her guard up for all the obvious reasons. "It is but I'm tired." She didn't know where to put her hands all of a sudden. His upper body is bare. I don't want to… I'm in a weird position. She bit her lip and mustered up all the courage she had.
"Lay down next to me." She said.
"Sakura-"
"I'm nervous-"
"You don't have to be-"
"Sasuke-"
"What?"
Sakura covered her face with the blankets. The awkwardness came over quickly. If someone walked in (heaven forbid) they would see something out of a weird love story that Kakashi-sensei would probably read. A girl with her face covered and a man on all fours towering over her.
Calm down, Sakura, breathe. She calmed down as Sasuke basically plopped down next to her. She took a peek out of the blankets to see his bare back facing her. Coming out of hiding, she tried to think of something to say but nothing came to mind. She turned to lay on her right side, away from her husband. "I just wanted to relax tonight, I didn't realize…"
She heard Sasuke turn over, probably to face her and she stopped talking for a second but then continued when she felt his index finger make circles on her upper back, "…I didn't realize you really wanted to."
"It's fine. We can do it some other time, when Daiki's sleep trained."
Sakura turned to face him and his left hand slid down from her arm to her waist. "It's going to be hard to sleep train him. He's also kind of a light sleeper so…" She trailed off and then shook her head. "Anyway, we have tomorrow to ourselves."
"You're right." He pulled her closer. "Get some sleep, Sakura."
Hearing the rumble of his voice through his well-built chest soothed her in a way. It made her feel safe. She inhaled his scent with a smile on her face and fell asleep a few minutes later.
Sakura woke and she knew it was still dark outside. Sometimes she would wake up at this hour just to check her surroundings if she had slept on the couch with Daiki sleeping soundly on top of her. When she was slightly younger, she would either wake up to start her shift at the hospital or she'd be barely coming out of some sort of emergency.
She found herself in the same position but Sasuke changed his to sleeping on his back with her hand resting comfortably on the middle of his chest and her head just a bit under his shoulder. She remained in that position, feeling content.
All of a sudden, a flash of light came through the window followed by a loud crack. Sakura immediately sat up and saw lightning in the distance. She looked at the clock on her nightstand.
It's barely half past midnight? What the hell?
Sasuke sat up and brushed his wife's hair so it fell down her back. "What is it?"
"Ah, it's nothing. I didn't think it would get stormy outside." She said quietly.
"Lay back down." He kissed her under her ear and because of the light of the full moon outside; he noticed her sleeping top came a little low on her back. He wondered how he didn't notice her top undergarment missing. "It's only midnight."
"How long are we going to sleep? We went to bed four and a half hours ago." Sakura plopped back down in frustration.
"You're asking that as if it's a crime to sleep over five hours." Sasuke went down calmly. "It's not a bad thing to let friends help you out. Let's try to get the most of Daiki not being here."
"Don't you miss him?"
"Of course I do, Sakura." He shifted almost uncomfortably. "…I'm just used to the feeling." He mumbled.
Sakura cringed just a little. I'm so stupid. "I'm sorry Sasuke-kun…" She whispered and trailed a hand down his arm.
"You don't have to apologize." He said and lifted her hand to kiss it. "Let's get some sleep."
She let her hand rest where he left it. Her mind drifted to wondering how Sasuke got by on these types of nights after the massacre. Cold, stormy, flashes of light coming through the window once in a while followed by a loud boom. It still scares the hell out of her.
He must've felt-
"Don't dwell on it, Sakura." He said in a tone that implied that the subject be dropped immediately.
She remained quiet and put it in the back of her mind. Letting her mind meander to the thought of sleep, she listened as the rain came down steadily outside their window.
The next morning, Sasuke watched as the rain came down in what looked like the equivalent of puddles outside. A bitter look came upon his face. He had hoped to at least do some type of training even if it was just basic.
Honestly, it wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't a father.
If he was still under Orochimaru or still in the Akatsuki, he would train for hours and hours. Kabuto usually had some type of mixture that seemed to combat whatever it was that made people sick when it rained. Sasuke would rely on that and then he'd feel fine after vigorous training. Of course, there were side effects to consider.
Now he's a father. If he gets sick, he can't be near Daiki. He supposes that alone can help him get through the day.
Then he smirked. It got him through the morning. It was still early when they both woke up; Sakura cuddled up against him but surprised him by gently kissing his chest. In return, he pinned her down, chuckled when she laughed because it was something he hadn't heard in a while, and he started kissing her neck and then traveled to a little above her navel where her night tank top ended. He took in the way her skin looked.
A scar was on her stomach. One he didn't notice the first time they got intimate.
"It was from a long time ago…"
"Who did it?"
"…Sasori."
Sasuke's smirk fell. All of a sudden, he didn't know what was in him the first time he and Sakura were intimate. He still did notice her other qualities but her scar stood out to him just this morning.
"Sasuke-kun, it's okay. It doesn't bother me anymore." Sakura put a hand on his cheek.
"Looks like the rain won't be stopping anytime soon."
He turned to see his wife coming towards him. "I'm going to clean the house today." A skeptical look came upon her face. "At least as much as I can cover…" She trailed off as she looked all over.
"Just do what you can, it's no big deal." Sasuke walked to the sink and dumped his tea.
Sakura didn't question her husband's behavior. The reality of not being that intimate caught up to her (for some reason) when she was showering this morning. Letting the tension linger, she cleared her throat. "I'll get started now."
"Eat something first."
"I'll just do something light. If I were to eat right now I'd get hungry." And with that, she headed upstairs.
A/N: GOD, I'm so sorry this is late. Truthfully, I meant to update this at the end of last year but my anxiety took a turn for the worse but I'm okay now! There's just a lot of stuff that I have to figure out, mostly the responsibilities of growing up and stuff. I'm still in high school, in case you didn't know~
But I have been working on another story (that won't be published for a great while) and it's turning out pretty good and I have so many ideas for future stories. It's mostly just a matter of finding the right times to write and making sure some scenes aren't too uncomfortably short, which I have a habit of doing… ;D (even in this chapter)
I hope you guys are having a great year so far! See you in the next chapter~