Hey, me again. It's taken me a little while to update and I'm sorry about that. I've been going through major crap lately. My family is practically falling apart and I'm in the middle of all this, so please forgive me. Okay now that that's out of the way, thanks for all the reviews! They made me smile for the first time this week!

Oh! Major apology for the um spoiler… -scratches head- I forgot that most people don't read the Naruto Manga. Heh, sorry.

Disclaimer: I managed to obtain full ownership of Neji. I apologize if you never see him in the series again.

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The following two weeks were the longest weeks in Sakura's life. She rarely received any missions, and if she did they were mainly patrolling the border type mission. During her free time she took up cooking lessons with Tenten and Neji. At first it surprised her that Neji knew how to cook but then again he did live with Hinata who was a cookaholic.

The lessons were… interesting to say in the least. She managed to make the stove burst into flames twice before she mastered the art of using the oven. The rest was all downhill from there.

Smiling triumphantly she held out her newly made plate. Neji apprehensively tasted a little food off the edge. His stoic expression was slowly replaced with a steady smile.

"I think she's got it." He said to his grinning girlfriend.

Tenten clapped her hands merrily "Alright! Wait till Sasuke comes home! Won't he be surprised?"

Sakura's grin matched both of her friend's. "Thank you, I don't know how I would've survived without you two."

It was true, her mother never taught her basic skills such as cooking. She was always busy, and Sakura was always off on a mission. It broke her heart to know that she had to go to friends to learn how to cook.

"Here," Sakura blinked and looked down to see Tenten holding a cookbook out to her. "It's a gift, from both of us. Try some new recipes out, okay?"

"You might want to hurry." Neji caused both females to turn in his direction "I heard that Sasuke's team will be coming home between today and tomorrow."

Sakura's whole face brightened "REALLY?" she pulled both of her friends into a brief embrace and pulled back quickly. "Thanks again guys! I gotta get home now, see you later!"

The pink haired girl quickly sped off leaving both adults in a state of confusion. Tenten broke out of it first and grinned up at her boyfriend who shook his head slowly. She punched his arm playfully before jogging off leaving the Hyuga to his thoughts.

'Sakura… I wish you the best with your marriage…'

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"Is everyone alright?" Sasuke called out to his team who was trailing behind him as he leapt through the trees. They responded with a weary 'Hai.' He nodded before picking up his pace. The mission was relatively easy. They battled with a few jounin level rogue ninja, nothing they couldn't handle.

The real problem came after they succeeded with their mission. Sasuke felt his fists clench at the very thought of what happened. How was it even possible that the rat was still alive? He wondered.

Flashback

"G-good work ev-everyone…" Hyuga Hinata smiled at the rest of the team as she prepared a brief meal of vegetable stew over an open fire. Shino nodded while Sasuke 'hnned'. He didn't need the Hyuga girl to tell him that. He did an outstanding job. The only big problem was Princess Ayu's obsession with the stoic Uchiha.

A kunai came flying out of nowhere and lodged itself in the ground beside Hinata's leg. She 'eeped' in surprises before activating her Byakugan.

"We have company!" she yelled, all shyness forgotten with the foreboding threat of battle. Sasuke smirked while activating his own Kekkei Genkai. "Let's hope that this one is more challenging than the last."

Shino adjusted his glasses calmly. To the naked eye he did nothing. Secretly he released several of his insects, sending them towards their attacker.

Their assailant leapt into the clearing making himself known to the trio. A brown hood covered the majority of his face. Sasuke caught sight of slick black hair and narrowed his eyes.

"Hello Sasuke…" Sasuke's body stiffened at the smooth voice.

"No way."

The hood was thrown back to reveal… 'Orobuto? Kabumaru?" Hinata wondered as she caught sight of a familiar face. "It's you again!" she cried.

It was really an awful sight to behold. Half Orochimaru, half Kabuto. Sasuke felt his stomach churn at the mere sight of him.

"What happened to you?" he asked calmly, folding his arms.

The fusion said nothing as it charged in to attack. "Get ready!" Sasuke yelled, bracing himself in preparation for the oncoming attack.

End Flashback

That fight was one of the hardest fights in Sasuke's life. If he didn't have that team, he might have been able to take Orochimaru/Kabuto down. However, the Hyuga and Aburame only managed to get in his way during the majority of it. Okay, he had to admit that during two points they did save his life. Like when the shy Hyuga girl struck one of Orochimaru/Kabuto's chakra points preventing him from finishing his attack which would have ended Sasuke's life. Besides that, they were still useless. In the end, the freak had escaped with a strange grin on its face.

He cringed in pain as he landed too heavily on a branch. His legs felt as though they were on fire. He definitely needed to see Sakura after this. Sasuke felt his lips quirk upwards; it would be nice getting back home. He had some research he needed to do.

"Sasuke-san!" he turned his head to the right to glance at the Hyuga. "K-konoha's up ahead!" she said happily in her squeaky little voice which always managed to make him cringe. Her sweetness and innocence made him look like the devil in comparison.

"Good." He nodded towards her. He could almost feel her beam behind her mask. The poor girl was always looking for some form of approval. He didn't mind giving it to her either, she seemed like the kind of person that he'd like to call friend.

"Let's speed up!" he called back to his anbu team. 'I don't want to be out here any longer!"

"Roger!"

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Gazing out the Hokage's window, Sakura sighed before turning back to her teacher. "Neji-kun said they'd be back home by today." She said softly "What do you think is taking them so long?"

"Like hell if I'd know!" Tsunade slurred from he slumped over position on her desk. Sakura sighed; talking to a drunk Tsunade was about as helpful as talking to Gai about the Birds and the Bees. You end up hearing a lot but all of it is worthless.

"Never mind." She whispered while turning to gaze out the window once more. "I can wait."

She didn't mind waiting in the Hokage's office. The highness of the building gave her an advantage. She could see all over the village. A smile crossed her lips as she caught sight of the only orange wearing shinobi heading towards the ramen stand. "You and that ramen." Her eyes softened as she watched him fondly.

"I'm going to the gate to wait for them. Okay?" she got no response from her drunken teacher. Her gaze shifted over towards Tsunade's exasperated assistant.

"Don't worry!" Shizune smiled weakly "I'll cover for you."

"Thanks, I owe you big."

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Sasuke almost smiled in relief as he reached the village gates. 'Its still afternoon.' He felt a little better knowing that they made good timing. He turned to his exhausted team and nodded before entering in.

He barely took one step in before he was tackled by a giant pink blur. "What the-" he managed to gasp out before having the life squeezed out of him.

"You're back!" he opened his eyes to gaze into familiar green orbs. 'Sakura.' "I'm so glad you're back! You don't know how good it is to know you're home!" she squeezed him some more. His eyes widened as he felt his rib cage give in. Not good.

"Sakura!" he wheezed, "You're killing me."

"Oops!" she loosened her grip and smiled guiltily. Sasuke glanced towards his team who watched him with equal smirks on their face. He just wanted to go inside the village, get healed, go home and do his research quietly. But no… his wife had to make a scene at the village gates, where several people were watching.

"Can you get off me?" she blushed before climbing off his bruised body.

"Sasuke! You're hurt!" she cried in shock, her finger pointed towards his visible injuries as he pulled himself up into a sitting position.

His eye twitched in annoyance. "Yes, I know I'm hurt. Now can you heal me?"

Sakura nodded her head quickly before activating her healing jutsu and slowly patching him up. "Things were real quiet in the house without you." She murmured as she focused on her job "I mean, you're always quiet but things were super quiet. It got to be pretty lonely."

He watched her and nodded. What the heck was he supposed to say?

"I… well what I'm trying to say is…" her blush put Hinata's to shame "I…" her eyes wavered. Sasuke gulped, was shy crying? "I-I missed you…"

He felt his face heat up as the girl blinked tears out of her eyes. Several passerby's stopped to observe the couple. 'Great… just great…'

"A-and I kn-know it sounds stupid… because we were like enemies…" she hiccupped "B-but I really missed you… and I just…" her voice gave out.

He stretched out a hand awkwardly and patted her back. Inwardly he was killing himself with a kunai 'Pat her back, real smooth.'

"Sakura…" he said softly before pulling her to him. Emerald green eyes flashed open as she was suddenly surrounded by warmth. She tilted her head up; his dark eyes were filled with uncertainty.

"I… missed you too." Her eyes fluttered closed as she leaned against his chest. Shino motioned towards Hinata for her to follow him. She silently obliged, leaving the couple to themselves.

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"…I see..." Tsunade leaned forward on her desk as Sasuke related the entire tale to her. Her hazel eyes narrowed as soon as he mentioned the Orochimaru/Kabuto fusion. So the rumors were true… she remembered the dying man's words and sighed.

"Who seemed more predominant?" she asked tiredly.

"Kabuto. Definitely." Naruto, who stood behind Sasuke, nodded his head. He, Sasuke Sakura, and the two members of Team Eight stood inside the office as they gave their full account.

Tsunade's enormous chest heaved as she gave a heavy sigh. "Things just get better and better…" she sat straight up "Well it seems that he's after the same thing that these lords are." She pulled out a stack of scrolls.

Sakura's eyebrows rose as the scrolls poured off her desk and onto the floor. "Wh-what?" she asked, vocalizing what was on everyone's minds.

The Hokage gave a sadistic smirk as she watched the shinobi's shocked expressions. "An Uchiha."

Sasuke picked up a scroll and read it quickly. He rolled it shut and grunted. Stupid lords.

"What does it say?" Sakura asked, reaching for the discarded scroll. She read it's contents and dropped it on the floor as well, her emerald eyes wide in shock.

The door to the Hokage's office opened as Tenten and Neji entered in. "We're here for our… oh…" Tenten grinned nervously before turning around.

"No." The blonde Hokage stopped them "As friend's of Sasuke and Sakura, I suggest you two stay as well."

The two nodded in unison before stepping forward. "What's in the scrolls?" Tenten pointed to the enormous piles.

"Offers." Sakura, Sasuke, and Tsunade said as one. All three shared the same disgruntled expression.

"For what?"

"An Uchiha of any sort. Preferably their child."

"SAY WHAT?" Tenten shrieked, ripped a scroll open. She read its contents and held it out for her stoic boyfriend to see. His eyes widened visibly "That's… strange…" he managed to say before shaking his head slowly.

The rest of the shinobi took turns looking through each scroll and exclaiming over the ridiculousness of it all. "So are you pregnant?" Tenten inquired innocently while closing her fifth scroll.

A scroll bounced off the back of her head "Okay okay," she shrugged "Can't blame me for asking."

"So what should we do?" Sakura questioned as she passed a scroll to Naruto.

Tsunade shrugged "Like I said before; I can't interfere with clan business and all that crap." Her tone was deadpanned but her eyes filled with concern. "However, I can help ward off Orochimaru."

Sakura gave her teacher her most sincere smile. "That'd be appreciated. I still can't believe all these people already planned out my having a child."

"You'd be surprised how many lords and rulers were after Sasuke. I have a bunch of old scrolls here with offers for him and his brother."

Sakura mentally noted the tension of Sasuke's muscles as he heard mention of his brother. She nodded her head quickly "I guess everyone wants an Uchiha, huh?"

The Hokage gave a rare grin and nodded before telling them to pick up the scrolls. After they had cleaned she sent them out but held Sasuke and Sakura back. "Now, I want you two to start considering having a child. Understand?"

They both glanced at each other and turned pink. "Yes."

"I know it's pretty awkward, but we can't keep Sasuke alive forever. Like it or no, this village needs an Uchiha around. I didn't say you guys have to rush home and jump on each other, although that would be appreciated." Her eyes twinkled mischievously as they turned an even darker shade of pink "However, it would be for the benefit of the village and yourselves that you start considering this. Okay?"

They nodded once more. Sakura whispered a brief goodnight before heading towards the door. "Oh yes, Sakura?"

The pink haired girl paused and turned "Yeah?"

"Make sure that Sasuke gets some rest, okay? You did a great job on his wounds but his body still needs rest." Sakura nodded "You get some rest too."

Smiling, Sakura turned and headed out the door. Tsunade glanced up at the only shinobi remaining. "What do you want?" she asked, wondering why the Uchiha chose to linger around her desk.

"I need to borrow something."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. This was interesting.

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As soon as Sakura got home, she raced inside the kitchen and pulled a plate out of the oven. She had kept it in there to preserve its warmth. Tapping the side, she smiled in relief. It was still warm. She quickly covered it with a napkin and left it in Sasuke's place. She turned and raced upstairs.

A few moments later she heard the sound of Sasuke opening their new door. He paused to look at it appreciatively before catching sight of his plate.

She giggled and covered her mouth before sneaking into her bedroom. This was her first time cooking for him, and she had to admit that she felt a little giddy about the whole thing. Sakura suddenly stopped, her eyes wide. Since when did she get all giddy over Sasuke? She covered her pink cheeks in shock. She couldn't… could she? 'NO! There's no way that I…'

She quickly blocked out all thoughts and plopped onto the bed. Shutting her eyes, she willed herself to sleep.

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Sakura woke an hour or so later. Sasuke was home, but why wasn't he in his room? She could sense his chakra but it was downstairs. Blinking in confusion and sleepiness she crept downstairs and into one of the side rooms known as 'Sasuke's study'. There he usually wrote down mission reports and did whatever he does best.

She peered in curiously, to see Sasuke with his head on his desk. Beside him were several scrolls. After watching for a moment she could tell that he was sleeping. She crept up to his sleeping form and peered over his shoulder. 'Human Genetics' she stared in a sleepy daze. Why would Sasuke be studying that?

Her curiosity got the better of her as she looked over the other scrolls. One was on Haruno family history and information, the other about Uchiha. There were two other scrolls; another one on Human Genetics and a medical scroll about birthing and XY chromosome and how that worked.

Sasuke was… trying to find out what their child would be like. She covered a mouth, but couldn't fully cover the giggle that came out. Sasuke awoke in a snap, his head jerked up and he looked at her. She gasped; even with his hair mussed he was intimidating.

"I…" she fought to hold his gaze "I was wondering why you weren't upstairs."

"Hm…" he ran a hand through his messy hair and yawned. "I fell asleep?" he asked, blinking several times. Sakura fought back a giggle. Sasuke was almost precious when he was sleepy.

She nodded slowly "Yeah. Say, how was your dinner?" she asked, taking advantage of his sleepiness. She noticed that he was very honest when sleepy. Maybe she could get some info out of him before he fully awoke.

"It was… good." He said, still blinking heavily. She smiled.

"That's great, you know I made it right?"

"It's a big change from that other meal you made." He yawned loudly. Sakura inwardly cursed as his eyes became clearer. She saw him instantly change back into his normal stoic mode.

He slowly rose and walked past her, towards the stairs. She followed behind him, her green eyes never loosing sight of him. A sudden roll of thunder caused her to jump in fright. He turned and gave an arrogant smirk. She glowered.

Sasuke headed towards his room and dropped on his bed. Sakura watched as he rolled over, she was about to go inside her room when she heard a sudden 'CRACK". She shrieked in terror, causing Sasuke to cover his ears.

"Its just thunder."

"I know," she whimpered "But it's… so frightening."

He watched her for a moment before rolling over and facing the opposite wall. "Just go to sleep."

A flash of lightening caused her to hold her breath as she awaited the coming bang. She was not disappointed. The lights immediately went out. "Sasuke…" her voice was shaky with fear.

"C-can I … stay with you?' she asked timidly.

The question caught Sasuke by surprise. He stared at the opposite wall as he thought over her question. Most married couples shared a bed anyway, but they were a special case. He also didn't believe that their relationship was strong enough for them to make such a giant leap ahead. Another roll sounded before he could refuse her. He listened as a small whimper emitted from her trembling form.

He sighed "Fine."

Sakura wasted no time in throwing herself beside him. She cocooned herself in her blankets and whispered a brief thanks. They lay like that for a while before:

"Sasuke?"

"What?"

"W-what kind of hobbies do you have?" she asked timidly.

He rolled over to glare at her. She seemed to find his glare amusing as she continued, "I mean, I already know that one of them includes knocking out teenage girls to betray your village and join gay old men." His glare intensified "But, what do you do for fun?"

"I don't have fun."

Her eyes widened "Never?"

He rolled over with his back facing her; he silently hoped that she'd let the topic drop. She didn't. He felt her finger poke his back. "Sasuke, do you NEVER have fun?"

"Depends on what you define as 'fun'" came his clipped reply.

Sakura's eyes never left her husbands back. Never have fun? She had never heard of such a thing before. She couldn't help but pity the Uchiha. In all his life of avoiding fan girls and wanting revenge he never had time for fun.

A sudden resolution caused her chest to swell up. She knew now that she could not let this go by unheeded. Sasuke would have fun no matter what.

"Let's go out tomorrow."

"What?" he seemed to ask that question a lot whenever he was around her.

She sucked in her breath "You heard me," her green eyes were earnest "we're going out tomorrow. We'll pick different places and stuff."

"Why?"

She looked at him with the most innocent expression she could muster. "Because, we never do anything together. C'mon, it'll be fun!" A huge grin spread across her delicate features.

Sasuke narrowed his dark eyes at her. The effect as lost in the dark. He let out a slow sigh "Fine."

"Yay! We'll have fun, believe it! We can go to different places, maybe catch a movie, go out for dinner, train together, it'll be great! We can even-"

Sasuke rolled over and covered his head with his pillow as she prattled on. He was already starting to regret it.

End Chapter

Wow I'm so glad that I got that chapter out. I really enjoyed writing it, I just hope you guys enjoy reading it. I couldn't resist the call of SasuSaku. Something was telling me to add a little fluff. Don't expect it in every chapter now –points finger warningly-

Okay, my goal this time is… 180 or more reviews. –grins- please and thank you! So if you want me to update review! Or I'll never update again –evil laugh-