You Can't Plan Love

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and a special thanks to Uchiha-no-Hime for their amazing suggestions. Some of which I will be attempting to incorporate into this chapter. Happy reading.

Chapter 10

Sasuke Uchiha had faced many great dangers in his life, but today might very well be the biggest of them all because he was officially meeting Shikaku Nara for the first time. The Father Jutsu was terrifying.

"You know, traditionally the man does meet the woman's parents BEFORE he proposes." The older man chuckles.

Right. He probably should have done that. Why Sasuke hadn't was a bit beyond him.

It seemed like something that he should have instinctively realized, but he hadn't. Probably because he was so used to living on his own. That and he had never really had to interact with the parents of those he cared about before outside of battle.

So Sasuke rubs the back of his head sheepishly in response. "Yes, but since when has anything about the Leaf Village ever been traditional?" Nearly the entire village was either outright crazy or bordering on it, if one didn't count the children.

"Touché." He laughs again as he shakes his head. "I never thought that I'd see the day when you were so nervous around me."

Sasuke hadn't either, but then again he hadn't been planning to marry the man's daughter a year ago and those shadows could be annoying. When it came to raw power and Jutsu diversity, Sasuke had the elder ninja beat hands down. Though it would only take one small slip up to be caught in those shadows and to be fair, Sasuke would have to let the man have his victory.

"Me neither." There was no point in lying. "I'm surprised you haven't tried to throw a Jutsu at me yet. I can't imagine that you approve of the match."

One day, he'd be a father. That was of course, assuming that the process of childbirth wasn't too much of a 'drag' for his intended. If/when that day came, he wanted the boy asking for his daughter's hand to be terrified of him. So Sasuke would extend the same courtesy to the Jonin standing before him.

"I'm not going to waste the energy." Shikaku shakes his head. "I trust my daughter's judgment and despite your colorful reputation, one thing that you have never been known as is someone who leads women on."

Well, that was accurate enough. Sasuke couldn't really argue with that. So he just smiles and nods as he struggles to come up with a coherent response.

He was an Uchiha damn it. "Thank you. How does your wife feel about the matter?" Uchiha didn't stutter.

"Surprisingly, she's more interested in grandchildren than anything." The other man lets out a hearty laugh at that observation. "She's never mentioned them before, but now that the possibility exists…well, she's interested. I do want to thank you though for one thing."

Sasuke raises an eyebrow at that. What could the other more respectable ninja possibly have to thank him for? Shouldn't Sasuke be the one thanking him for helping to bring Shika into this world instead of the other way around?

"You stopped my daughter from picking up her fallen Sensei's bad habit." He sighs as he places a hand over his heart. "Asuma was a very good man, but smoking isn't the healthiest thing that one can indulge in." That was certainly true.

"Shika, put that down." Sasuke barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "Picking up your Sensei's bad habits isn't the best way to honor him."

He knew what she was trying to do. Contrary to popular belief, Sasuke Uchiha did have emotional range beyond anger.

She glared at him. "You're really going to lecture me about bad habits?" Alright. She had a point there, but still.

"In this case, yes." He captured her lips with his own, silencing any further protests before she could make them. "I'll be damned, if I lose you to avoidable causes."

Really, it was something of a miracle that Asuma hadn't been killed before he had. Only instead of by the Akatsuki, the cancer sticks as Sasuke liked to call them could have taken him down just as easily.

Shika kissed him back. It was instinctive at this point. Though Sasuke knew that he was in for a real 'drag' later due to distracting her from her 'new hobby,' he didn't care.

Kissing was something he enjoyed. A lot and so did she. No matter how mad at him, Shika pretended to be.

"That's true." Sasuke smiles at him. "Well, I'm glad that you're both taking this so well. I'm sure the Loser will never let me hear the end of it though.

Shikaku snorts at that. "I can't believe you still refer to Naruto as a loser." Well, of course Sasuke did. Once a loser, always a loser.

"AHHH-CHOO!" Naruto sneezes on the other side of the village.

It took Taka and Sakura exactly two seconds give him funny looks for doing so. Honestly, what was the big deal? People sneezed all the time.

Karin smirks at him. "You know, they say when you sneeze that it means someone is talking to you." Yeah. Naruto had heard that before, but it was just so silly.

That couldn't actually be for real. Right? Otherwise, people would be sneezing all the time and that would be so creepy.

"Yeah." He shakes his head. "I doubt that's accurate. So what were you saying, Suigetsu?"

Suigetsu was looking even more smug than normal. "I was just saying that I'm pretty sure Sasuke proposed to his girlfriend." Which was certainly saying something.

Wait. What was that last part? No way.

"W-What makes you say that?" Naruto blinks.

It would make sense. They seemed so happy together, but it was all just weird. Sasuke had never even really looked at girls before Shika got assigned ot help him with readjusting to the Leaf Village and now, he might be getting married.

Jugo chuckles as if the answer was obvious. "He saw Sasuke taking Shika to the Academy the other night." Okay. Naruto still didn't get why that meant anything though. "When they arrived, she didn't have a ring on her finger. She did when they left though."

Ohhh. Yeah. That would do it. Well, this was awesome!

"We've gotta make sure that they have the awesome wedding party ever!" He grins at everyone.

He couldn't lie though. It was a bit awkward to do that in front of Sakura. She used to have a major crush on Sasuke and now, the woman had just found out that Sasuke had proposed to someone else.

Sakura sighs and smiles. "Yes, we'll make sure they do." Apparently, she was taking it pretty well though. Then again, perhaps that was only to be expected. The pinkette had had months to get used to everything.

"Yeah!" Naruto grins from ear to ear at the thought of what this meant. "So I'm totally going to be Best Man."

This was going to be so awesome. They'd probably let them plan the entire wedding. Shika was lazy and Sasuke probably wouldn't care about that type of thing anyway.

"Do you think they'll let us have ramen at the reception?" He smiles.

Smack! "You're such an idiot." Sakura rolls her eyes. "Seriously, who has Ramen at their wedding?"

Owe. That hurt. Naruto really didn't understand why Sakura had to go and do that either. It was a very legitimate question.

"Oh come on." He laughs. "Ramen is amazing. So why wouldn't someone want amazing food at their wedding?"

Shika smiles as she watches Mirai play with the neighbors' cat. The toddler was utterly fearless. At her age, Shika wouldn't have gotten near anything with claws. It would have been too much of a drag to get scratched.

"She's growing so fast." The lazy prodigy laughs.

It was hard to believe that Asuma had been gone for so long, but it was true. The passage of time was easily marked by his daughter's increase in height and vocabulary.

"Kitty!" Mirai giggles.

Children could be so cute sometimes. Things were easier when you were smaller. Well, most of the time anyway.

She damn well knew that Sasuke's childhood hadn't been nearly as easy as her own. The young woman couldn't help, but feel a little guilty about not being there for him sooner. That was in the past though.

Kurenai smiles and nods at her daughter. "Yes, kitty." Before turning her attention to Shika. "So are we going to talk about that ring on your finger?"

Right. That was the elephant in the room that they hadn't addressed yet. Well, it was now or never.

"Sasuke proposed." She bites her lower lip. "I said yes. It probably isn't the smartest idea, marrying someone you haven't been dating for a year." What would Asuma think? "But it was a beautiful moment and it would have been a drag to say no."

Kurenai nods at that and pats her on the shoulder. "I understand." Her ruby red eyes follow her daughter's every move. "At a certain point though, don't make the same mistake that I did. Don't waste time."

Shika winces at that. The underlying implication hung heavily in the air. Neither of them would dare to address it directly, but they both knew what she meant.

"Yeah." She swallows hard as the message sinks in. "I won't, but you're really doing great with her."

There was no denying that Kurenai was an excellent mother. She was a great teacher too. That had probably been part of the appeal for her Sensei.

Shika wouldn't know. Asuma had strove to keep his relationship with Kurenai pretty discrete. Probably for good reason. They were both well known ninjas had and had more than their fair share of enemies.

"Thank you." Kurenai laughs softly at that as though Shika had said something funny. "Though I've been lucky. You've been a great help and she has her father's easy going nature."

That did make sense. Though it also makes Shika pause. What was she going to do if their children took after Sasuke?

Hopefully, his house was actually fireproof. What if their children started breathing fire during their Terrible Twos?!

"Good." She smiles at Kurenai, trying to push that thought to the side. "I'm glad."

They both deserved better though. If it wasn't for the Akatsuki, Asuma would still be here. Driving Kurenai crazy with his smoking and probably petting the cat right along with his daughter, but he wasn't.

It was a painful reality, but Shika had mostly grown used to it. What else could she do really? Few ninjas would end up dying of old age.

"I know you'll be happy with him." Kurenai suddenly looks at her and giggles. "After all, they do say that opposites attract."

Yeah. Shika had heard that as well and she was starting to believe it was true. She didn't think there was a man out there who was more her opposite than Sasuke Uchiha was at first glance and yet, they somehow still complimented each other in ways that she could barely articulate.

"Thank you." It was hard not to blush at that comment. "Knowing him, Mirai will likely have a playmate before long."

She couldn't imagine Sasuke not trying to talk her into a family almost immediately after they exchanged vows. It was obviously what he wanted most in the world and while Shika had never given it much thought before, she had always assumed she'd have one or two kids at some point.

Kurenai laughs at that. "You'll have to put your foot down early on." Yeah. "Otherwise, he'll likely try to talk you into double digits and I'm not sure there are enough shadow clones in the world to deal with that many Uchiha children running around."

True. Though obviously, the village had managed it at one point. The Uchihas had been a large Clan out of necessity. Otherwise the Sharingan would have died off due to lack of genetic diversity.

"You're right." Shika finds herself laughing despite the potentially complicated situation. "I'm definitely cutting him off before we hit double digits."

Shika wasn't exactly sure what her limit would be, but she knew that there was no way she'd allow them to be outnumbered five to one. That would be a major drag to say the least.

"Good idea." Kurenai winks at her. "Though since you accepted his proposal, we should probably find your mother and go out shopping for a dress."

Shika barely suppresses a groan at that. Dress shopping was so troublesome and her mother could be such a perfectionist.

"He so owes me for this." The lazy genius sighs and nods. "You're right though. We probably should." After all, a bride could hardly be expected to show up to her own wedding wearing her Jonin uniform. She needed a dress. Whether she liked it or not.