Heart of Ice
Chapter 13
(Shown as 14)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Pairing: SasuSaku

A.N. I know there was one review that wanted me to skip my morning scene, but I want to include it because I feel that it's necessary to continue on with it! Enjoy this chapter from the help that I gathered from all the hints!

Warning: The content of the lines for Kiko and Noroi are very out of place because of the age difference, but for now, they'll have to work! Noroi is supposed to be only about 18-20 months old, while Kiko is only 15-17 months old...

Sakura stretched contentedly. "Umm...good morn-" she stopped speaking, realizing that the bed was empty. "Sasuke?" She sat up and pulled the blanket closer to her body.

The door opened and Sasuke came in wearing her pink, lacy apron holding a tray full of food. "Good morning." He placed the tray down and kissed her.

"Yes, it it. Be careful! I could definitely get used to this!" Sakura said, eyeing him up and down.

"So could I." He took off the apron and revealed his naked body to her gaze.

Tearing her eyes away from his body, she asked, "What's for breakfast?"

"I made eggs, toast, sausages, and pancakes. I also put together a bunch of fruits: strawberries, pineapple, grapes, and kiwi. Hope you don't mind, but we're sharing." he said, getting into bed with her.

"Not at all." She picked up one of the forks and stuck it in the eggs. "Open." He opened his mouth and she put the fork into it. He bit down on the fork and she withdrew it.

"Open." He said to her, smiling as he stabbed a strawberry. She opened her mouth much the same way he had.

They continued eating breakfast, marveling in the simple things they were discovering together.

After cleaning up their breakfast dishes, Sasuke took her to the girls' old room. "Sakura, I hope you don't mind, but I changed things a little after you left me."

When he opened the door, she gasped. It was different. Very different. They had a lot more toys than before and they both had bigger and better beds than what she ahd provided for them in her spare time between caring for them and caring for him. "Thank you."

He gave her a quick hug, then said, "I was thinking, would you like to move?"

She turned to look at him, a puzzled look on her face. "Why? Where would we move? When?"

"Did you forget where I come from?" he asked, chuckling.

"No! I just never imagined you ever wanting to move back to that huge mansion." she replied, silently chastizing herself for forgetting abuout his ancestral home.

"Well, all of the staff is still there..." he trailed off, letting her give the final decision, yet not wanting to push her, either.

After thinking about all the facts surronding the move, she finally answered, "If you feel we must, then by all means, please go ahead. I wouldn't mind moving there. We need to tell the girls."

"Are you sure you're okay with it, though?" Sasuke asked, really wanting to make sure she was okay with it.

She rose up on tip-toe to kiss him lightly. "Of course. Haven't you figured out by now that as long as you're with me, then I'll be okay? Well, now that we have the girls, I can't be happy without them, either."

Sasuke hugged her and said, "You know what? I finally figured that I'm the same way."

They continued to talk, exploring different ways about moving. Wanting to do it quickly, they decided to enlist their friends for help. But in the back of Sasuke's mind, he never forgot the look of terror on his daughter's face when she saw him. Is it because she remembers me from when she was little? Either way, I need to change that. he thought, unable to wait much longer for his other two girls to be home with them.

Making the most of his time alone with Sakura, he picked her up and carried her to their bedroom, ignoring the look of shock and silencing her protests with kisses.

After messing around with Sasuke in their bedroom, Sakura sat in the kitchen in her robe drinking water. She was anxious for the girls to be home so that they could be a real family this time.

She heard the start of the shower then realized that Sasuke was probably going to have to go into work today. As she got up to put the glass in the sink, strong arms came from behind her. "Wanna take a bath with me?" a deep, husky voice asked.

"Well, I would if the girls weren't coming home soon." she answered breathlessly. He had his hands trailing up her stomach to her breasts.

"How did you stay so thin?" he asked, placing his other hand on her waist.

"Excercise. Mostly chasing after Noroi. And running all the errands helped."

"Hn." was all he said, but began to nibble on her neck.

"Sasuke-"

"Hello! How are-!" Temarie began, but stopped when she saw how these two people were dressed and behaving. "Oh my!"

"Um...hello, Temari." Sakura said, she broke away from Sasuke who, thankfully, had on a towel. She got down on her knees and opened her arms, but only Kiko ran into them. Noroi was hiding behind her Temari.

"Hello, Kiko! Did you miss mommy?" Sakura asked, hugging her youngest child to herself.

"Me misseded you, Mommy!" Kiko answered, hugging her mother tightly around the neck. Then as if sensing the man behind her looking at them, she looked up into his eyes. She whispered in Sakura's ear just loud enough to be heard by the other three people in the room, "Mommy! He looks like Noroi!"

Noroi looked even more closely at Sasuke from behind Temari's legs. Yes, he does. She thought. But I still can't forgive him for what he did to Mommy! Images of her mother, in a bawl on her bed or on the floor came flooding back to her. Never again will he heart her!

"Kiko, honey, um...this is Sasuke...Sasuke Uchiha..." she paused to breathe, then added, "Your father. The father of both of you."

Kiko, not scared at all by Sasuke, stepped away from her mother and walked closer to Sasuke. She regarded him silently, then declared, "Up!"

Sasuke, not knowing what else to do, awkwardly picked up his younest dauhgter who so closely resembled Sakura. "Hello there." He just looked at her, not sure what else to say.

Kiko, undauntered, threw her arms around him and said, "Dadda!" in a very happy voice.

Sasuke let out a sigh. Thank you! he thought, hugging his daughter to himself very much the same way Sakura had done, but with him, it was even more special because it was his first hug with his daughter. The one that he didn't want to see-ever!

Sakura watched Sasuke's face: pain flashed, hurt, and then contentment. It's nice to see them getting along now...

"I'm going to get back to Shikamaru now because he doesn't know that I brought the girls here." Temari said, and Sakura walked her to the door.

"Thank you, Temari." Sakura said, hugging her friend. "For everything."

"You're welcome, Sakura. I'm just glad to see you so happy now." Temari answered, hugging Sakura back.

"I am. So very happy. And Kiko is, too! But that's because she takes after me in having a huge loving heart!" Sakura said, watching her friend walk down the path to her house.

When she got back towards the kitchen, she heard Sasuke talking to the girls-Kiko, really, and heard that he wanted them to go to the fair with him. That sounds like fun!

"Yes! Mommy! Please!" Kiko shouted, noticing that her mother had come into the room.

Sakura looked at Noroi, and seeing that she wanted to go, too, made the decision for her. "Sure! Why not?"

Sasuke shot her a grateful look. "Let's get ready to go girls!"

At the fair, they walked around, proudly letting everyone know that they truly were a family now. No one could tear them apart and that was final. It shocked some people to see that they could all get along and that...believe it or not...Sasuke has really changed.

There was one person in particular whom it bugged more than anyone else, and that person was watching them very closely.

Sakura and Sasuke went to play all of the games, and he slowly started to melt Noroi's heart by winning her stuffed animals and trying to talk with her. He also showed her that he is really starting to care for them. Really care for them.

"What do you guys think? Should we find some rides?" he asked, looking from one daughter to the next, then to their mother. She just nodded, smiling at their enthusiastic replys to his question. Shouts of 'yahoo!' or 'yes!' or 'yipee!' filled the air as the quartet made their way through the fairgrounds to the rides.

As they went towards the rides, their shadow never strayed from them, always making sure that he was far enough behind to go undetected but still be able to follow them.

After riding the ferris wheel and a lot of other cook kiddie rides, they decided that it was time to eat something. Sasuke asked what they wanted, and then went to go get it for them. As he was gone, Sakura asked her daughters if they were having fun.

"Yes, Mommy! Hav'n fun!" Kiko answered, smiling and clapping her hands.

"Yes, I am..." Noroi said, but she didn't look like it.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, coming to hug her daughter.

"I just don't want him to hurt you again..." Noroi said.

How much does she know or remember? What has she heard? Before she could ask her a question, something hit her on the head. Before she went unconscious, she heard a familiar voice say, "I don't want him to hurt you again, either." Then she heard her daughters crying for her to wake up, then blackness consumed her...

TO BE CONTINUED...
needed to add some...excitement...to it! hopefully it wasn't horrible and that i didn't diappoint anyone. i am going to continue with some of the ideas, i just wanted to publish this chapter. i'm hoping to have the next one published by tomorrow if all goes well...at the latest tomorrow...

NightBeast