I actually thought today I'd post my favorite chapter so far from this sequence, but then I realized I skipped this one.
As usual, do send requests and prompts if you have some!
Twins Timeline: sleep; pregnancy i; pregnancy ii; pregnancy iii
LOZ AU: Triforce
x: Pregnancy iii
Sakura sits in bed as patiently as she can, smoothing her palms over her round stomach and occasionally glancing at the red numbers of the clock on her husband's bedside table. She does not know where he will find oyster sauce, rice cakes and chocolate ice cream at three twenty-two in the morning, but she has a bad case of cravings and, well, she is pregnant. It gives her the right to boss him around a little more than usual.
"You don't want them to look like rice cakes smothered in oyster sauce," she told him when he rolled over and simply told her to go back to sleep. That was nonsense, of course, no baby would ever look like the food the mother was craving, but she said it in such undignified way that it left him no choice but to stand, change out of his pajamas and hunt for her desired food – not without stressing how troublesome she is, at least four times before finally exiting the room.
She smiles down at her babies, reassuring them that their father is going to return soon, and looks out the closed window in a particularly chilly night. She feels protected under many layers of beddings, and even more so when Shikamaru is holding her so tightly in their sleep. One of the baby gives a kick, as if sensing the direction her thoughts were leading her to, and she wonders for a moment which one of them did that.
Keys are jiggling outside and then the door is pushed open. "Troublesome woman," her husband says loud enough for her to hear, on purpose, and after seconds of shuffling, he steps inside the bedroom with a plastic bag dangling from the crook of his elbow.
Clasping her hands together, she grins brightly and innocently at him, causing him to scoff at first, but he gives her a lopsided smile later as he passes her the goods he has just fetched. She eyes the bottle of oyster sauce and quirks an eyebrow once she realizes there is only half of it left.
"I got it from Chouji. All of it, actually." He gives her a nonchalant shrug before taking off his sweater, and Sakura feels a pang of regret for dragging someone else so close to her to help him satisfy her craving. Shikamaru senses the shift in her mood and quickly strides over, planting a full, however brief, kiss on her mouth. "Don't worry, he was awake."
Sakura hums under her breath as she tentatively opens the container of chocolate ice cream and uses a rice cake to scoop some of it. "I find it hard to believe."
"Don't even start," he says with an over exasperated sigh, and her gaze swivels up to his defined ass when he bends his knees to untangle his pants from around his ankles. "Just eat this monstrosity you like to call food."
Shikamaru returns to bed and instead of sleeping, he stays awake with her, running his fingers through her rose hair whilst she takes her sweet time to eat, savoring each bite as if it were the finest of dishes. He entertains the idea of taking her out to a nice restaurant, ideally the fanciest one in Konoha if his finances agree to it, once her pregnancy is over. He should have done it sooner, more than just once when he proposed to her back then, but Sakura did not care much for these big displays, though she did enjoy rubbing it in Ino's face just for old time's sake.
Pressing his lips to her temple and letting his chin rest on her shoulder, Shikamaru glances down at her stomach and smiles fondly. He places a hand over it, swears he feels the babies moving underneath as if they know he is there with them, traces patterns over her cotton covered skin as his eyes close in bliss. Soon the time will come, soon they will be born and everything will change once more. Sakura offers him a scoop of ice cream from a silver spoon and he only accepts because it is not served with rice or sauce.
A beat of silence passes. She is licking her lips when he presses his mouth to the curve of her neck and says, "Sakura."
"Hmm?"
"Have you thought of names yet?"
She returns the empty plastic bottle and container to the bag and lowers it down to the floor. "I have, but I don't think they're fitting."
"And why's that?"
"Well," she makes to lie down and he allows her to, though he remains close, fingers massaging her scalp as his other hand remains on her swollen belly. "There's the formation. It's not easy to think of names that start with Shika." He contemplates her words with lines creasing his forehead, and just then, she chooses to turn around in his embrace, eyebrows pinching as she spots his frown. "What's wrong, darling?"
He shakes his head slightly and clears his throat, "It's nothing." Pause, then he adds when her eyes shoot him a menacing glare. "Really."
Sakura touches her fingertips to his cheek. "Talk to me."
"I just–" His voice fails, he tries again but it just will not work. He tries to control his breathing, tries to swallow the knot that found its way to his throat, but his vocal chords just will not cooperate.
She smiles, a sad little smile of understanding and no pity at all, and pecks whatever spot of skin she can reach, smiling against his flesh and placing her hand over his own, feeling one of the babies kick out once again. "I may have an idea of what you're thinking," she murmurs, efficiently bringing his emotional stare to her face, "and I think it's wonderful."