Hey! I was going to post some soft smut today, but I didn't think it was good enough, so have more of the twins and some announcements.

I don't know if some of you saw, but I participated in Shikasaku Week; the work is named Sunshine if you're interested. I also made an askshikasaku blog on tumblr which I'm very slowly putting up, but I'm always updating the masterlist of fanfictions page, so check it out!

Also, regarding requests and future works. I'm having a lot of ideas lately. I have about four pieces on the way that I plan on being longer works. I'm going to mention the titles here and you can tell me if you want to see a snippet or a preview: Heroes; No Vacancy; The Burden; The Last. These last two are quite obvious, I think.

For those wanting to see more of the Zelda AU: I can post previews here, but it's one of the ideas that I plan on transforming on its own work.

: I'm thinking up ideas for your request!

WhiteOceanPrincess: your request is already on the works. Harder than I imagined it would be; try as I might, I can't quite make it seem too original yet

As usual, hmu if you've got a request and I'll do my best, and please enjoy!

Twins Timeline: sleep; pregnancy i; pregnancy ii; pregnancy iii; birth; visitor

LOZ AU: Triforce

xiii: Visitor

The streets of the Nara Clan district are lined on both sides with trees, their canopy rustling gently in the breeze and protecting him from the sun. He walks silently, listening to the birds and the sounds nature makes, studying the houses by which he passes with little interest, eyes set on finding the right one. It is the bigger one he seeks, of course. Just as his had been the biggest home in the compound, it is expected that they both live in the biggest of them. Shikamaru is, after all, the current head of the clan.

The house he is looking for is located at the very end of the street. A two-story building with a big fenced garden in the front and an even bigger backyard that leads to a path in the woods, and she is there, her back turned to him as she tends to some flower bushes, her children playing with their toys on a thin, cream colored blanket placed over the vibrant green blades of grass. He watches them for a moment, and then directs his gaze to her form, listening to her hummed melody and watching her careful motions, her hair tied up in a ponytail. He cannot help but smirk at the sight. Not only did she take his name, she adopted his hairstyle as well.

He decides to invite himself in, pushing the wooden gate open but not going much further than that. His body just will not move and respond to him, and glancing down with his eyes only, he finds out why. The two of them are connected by her stretched shadow, snaking its way towards him and keeping him rooted in place, well away from her and the kids. She got that from him, too.

Slowly, she turns, first looking at the twins to see if they are alright and unharmed, then letting her eyes fall on him, her hands together forming a seal. Her eyes widen, her hands fall apart and the jutsu is broken. They stare at each other, immobile and hesitant, careful as if they are strangers to one another and not once teammates. The air stirs uncertainly around him and he discovers he does not like it.

"Sasuke-kun," she says finally and approaches him with quick strides, searching his form with an analytical eye, looking for any injuries. "Are you alright?"

He hums his agreement and takes a step back and away from her searching gaze. "I'm fine, no need to worry."

"It's been so long!" Eight years since they last saw each other and he may have forgotten his own birthday once or twice, he muses. "How long are you staying?"

"Just a couple of days." He glances at the gardening tools, all of them bright orange and lying forgotten by the plants. They have to be a gift from Naruto; he did mention that she was trying to make gardening her new hobby now that she has lots of space for flowers and grass and not only potted plants.

Sakura wipes her hands clean on her worn out pants and graces him with a bright smile. "You should stay for dinner."

Sasuke slowly returns his focus to her, eyes sweeping around to take in the environment. "I'm afraid Naruto was faster than you, so I must decline." Her expression turns crestfallen drastically sudden and she rubs her palm up and down her arm self-consciously, gaze averted to the side. "But he did tell me to invite you, too, so that's why I'm here."

She changes moods just as fast as the now Hokage can eat his ramen, which, hopefully, will not be the main dish of tonight's dinner. "Oh, you'll love Hinata's cooking." He does not doubt it, but after having simple meals for so long, he is not sure his stomach can handle much of it. "She actually made Naruto enjoy vegetables. Have you ever seen him eating broccoli before? It used to be a rare sight."

"Sooner or later, someone would have to put him on the line."

A squeal catches their attention and he looks at the babies from over her shoulder, noticing her now rigid form and taut back, muscles locking in place in only a split second. He cannot just ignore the babies and pretend they are not there. Naruto never mentioned much of Sakura's personal life in his letters and when she did write something to him, she kept those details hidden as well, but when he entered the Hokage office and both Naruto and Shikamaru were slightly off, he knew something was up. And when the blond told him where to find her and the Nara man turned around to look out the windows, not even putting some effort into pretending he was ignoring his gaze, he knew just what the problem was.

Naruto, more than any of the villagers and close friends of theirs, had been expecting them to end up together. Sakura too, up until a point in her life, had believed they were destined to be with each other, and maybe, maybe a small part of him had hoped that was true. However, his need for redemption was bigger than any other desire he could have, outweighing even any possible deep romantic feelings he could ever harbor for the pink haired kunoichi. Sasuke was aware that, the moment he chose to leave again, she could change her mind and fall for someone else, and he would be fine with that as long as they treated her right.

He never expected her to hold on to her feelings for him forever, he never relied on the fact that he would return home and she would be waiting for him. If he came back and she was alone, then they were meant to be; if not, life goes on. He will never hold it against her. After all, she deserves someone much better than him and he never deserved someone like her, and if Shikamaru is the man she chose to marry, even if they only ever tolerated each other when boys, Sasuke is honestly content for the both of them.

So he approaches the blanket and crouches down to better look at the kids with the same hair color and skin tone as their father's, but with eyes as vivid and bright as their mother's, looking up at him curiously, and Sakura still is frozen in place and very quiet behind him, barely making any sound whilst simply breathing. It is obvious now why they never mentioned anything of her personal life; they did not know how he would react and if he would ever accept losing her, even if she was never his to begin with.

Eventually, Sasuke returns to her side and touches her shoulder briefly, drawing her eyes to his face. "I'm glad Naruto has a family and that Hinata was finally noticed by him," he starts, hesitantly and awkwardly, because he still is not good with words and feelings and bonds. "And I'm happy for you. Genuinely so."

Her eyes water, shining under the sunlight, and he finally gives them his blessings. It was silly of them to think he would react badly, but understandable due to the amount of time and effort she dedicated to him, yet in the end, none of it matters to him if she is fine with the path her life has taken. And moments later, Shikamaru arrives out of breath and red faced, and finds his wife tending to the rose bushes and their twins crawling all over their dark haired uncle, tugging at his long hair and cape. Sasuke does not seem very comfortable, but lets the twins have their fun, and Shikamaru smiles before entering his home to greet them all, finding that their fears were not big of a deal.