Part 20

I had to act quickly; if I didn't, I would miss out on it.

But my hands were trembling as I buttoned Tsubaki up. I wanted to cry, but somehow kept control of myself. With some effort, I got her jacket on and we were ready.

"All right then," I said quietly, picking her up. "Let's go."

I quickly opened the front door. Sasuke was there to greet me. "You ready?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

He nodded, too. "All right, then."

We took off running as quick as we could. It was still early morning; the sun hadn't risen yet and Tsubaki had made a fuss when I'd woken her up. But her surprise couldn't match mine when Sasuke called for me earlier.

"They're leaving. Right now."

Naruto and the others were leaving for their mission against the Akatsuki very shortly. It hadn't become public knowledge as much of Konoha was still asleep; Tsunade obviously wanted each team's departure to be as secret as possible so no word leaked out.

But Sasuke had found out in spite of this. Or, as he'd put it, "I overheard Hokage and Shizune talking about it last night."

I was surprised I didn't hear Naruto blab about it, the loudmouth he was. Then again…Naruto still hadn't talked to me much. I hoped to remedy that very soon.

We had to hurry if we were gonna make it in time. Tsubaki was crying again, my running very rough on her. But I didn't dare slow down, and Sasuke wasn't slowing either.

Finally, we reached the front gates to Konoha. It was quiet…too quiet. For a moment I thought we came too late and they'd already left. My heart dropped and I quickly became too sullen to comfort Tsubaki.

Then I heard a familiar hiss, "Scatter!!"

I nearly screamed as several people landed all around us, all of them in crouched combat positions.

"Shit!!!" yelled Naruto, jumping back to his feet. "Where'd you guys come from?! You scared us!!!"

"Quiet!!!" hissed Shikamaru. "You'll wake the whole village!!!!"

Naruto quickly slapped his hands over his mouth.

"Why are you here?" asked Neji coldly. "We have to leave right now."

"We know that," said Sasuke. "But we also want to say goodbye."

"Who told you we were leaving together?" asked Sai. I had time to look around at all the people in this group, and…everyone was there!!

"Are they…sending you all out together?" I asked disbelievingly.

"If you must know," said Neji. "We're leaving together now, but will divide separately as we travel. Technically we're one team, but we'll attack the Akatsuki from different points. Other teams are doing the same; surely you understand this?"

"Neji-san, do not insult her intelligence!!!" demanded Lee. "Sakura-san is wonderful to want to see us and look out for us, and—"

"I get it," snapped Neji. He gave me a cold glance. "We have to leave right now, so if you insist on saying goodbye, then make it quick."

I didn't know if Neji was the whole group leader or not, but some of the other guys looked pretty annoyed about his outspokenness. But no sooner did he say those words did all the girls rush over to me.

Ino threw her arms around me. "I'm really glad you came, Sakura. And you even brought Tsubaki with you!!"

"I wanted her to say goodbye too," I said, trying to make sure Tsubaki wasn't squashed between Ino and me.

Ino let me go and gave Tsubaki a quick peck on the top of her head. "She's really adorable. I hope I have a daughter as cute as her!!" there was an anxious edge to her voice. I could tell she was hoping she would be alive to have children.

"I'm sure you will," I said encouragingly, forcing a smile.

A dark glint entered her eye. "Although…don't think you'll easily get away with having Sasuke-kun's child!!"

"What?!" I glared back at her. "You're still on that?!"

"Of course!! I pride myself on being better than you and look what you did!!!"

My anger quickly subsided. I could tell how much the situation was stressing her and she needed some annoying way to distract herself.

So I played into it. "Too bad for you, then."

"You—"

Tsubaki was suddenly lifted out of my arms. "It's still very nice to see you again—even if it might be for the last time."

"I'm sure it won't be, Tenten-san," I said firmly. She certainly looked better than she did a few days ago. Maybe she was able to focus on her training?

Tenten smiled at me. "I know. We're certainly going to fight for victory."

I leaned in close to her to talk so no one else could hear her. "Have you talked to him yet?"

She quickly shook her head. "No. But…he's acting like it didn't happen so that's a start. If we survive this it'll be something we'll have to work on, but…right now it's not too important."

I glanced over at Neji. He seemed to be focusing on Sasuke, who was under the scrutiny of the other guys. He was pointedly ignoring us. "…I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I guess it's better we're avoiding the subject entirely than letting it get in our way. I just won't make that same mistake again."

I gave Tenten a quick hug. "I'm still sorry."

"Um…" I was startled by the soft voice next to me. "May I…may I hold Tsubaki-san, Sakura-san?"

"Hinata, you're on this mission too?!" I cried as Tenten passed Tsubaki over to her. "B-but your wound!!!"

"I feel all right," said Hinata quietly, cuddling Tsubaki to her. "Truthfully, Hokage-sama doesn't recommend me for field duty, but I also know she doesn't do so because of my status. But…I don't want my friends to be risking their lives while I go through a long recovery."

I felt the same way as her. But I knew having an infant daughter tied me to the village more than having been recovered from a life-threatening injury. "Just be careful, all right?"

"Yes." She handed Tsubaki back to me. "I'll certainly be careful. I don't wanna disappoint my team."

"I-I meant—"

"Sakura-chan!!" I nearly fell forward as Naruto tackle-hugged me from behind. "Don't you worry!!! I'll make it back safe!!!"

"Thanks," I grumbled. "Now get off me!!"

"Oops, sorry!!!" he did get off me, but then he snatched Tsubaki from my arms. "Aww, cute little Tsubaki-chan!!! I'll be back, I promise!!!"

Tsubaki started crying. I heard Sai mutter, "The apple doesn't fall very far…"

I quickly took Tsubaki back. "Naruto, please show a little restraint!!!!"

"Oh, sorry!!!" Naruto laughed and ran a hand through his hair. "But I do promise to be back!!!"

I smiled, though it felt painful. I took him off guard by giving him a quick hug. I'd come there to clear up any bad feelings between us, but he acted like normal. And he must've had a lot to think about; that seal on his stomach wasn't as strong as the one his father put on him. Who knew when it would break again?

But the fact that Tsunade was allowing him to return to active duty for this mission despite the seal proved her faith in him. I knew I had to have a lot of faith in him as well.

"I know you'll be back," I said confidently. "Thank you…for being a good friend."

"Yeah…no problem." He didn't sound so cheerful anymore. He seemed more anxious about this current situation than about his mission. I knew about his crush on me. I'd always been annoyed by it, but despite everyone he was still a loyal friend to me.

"Thanks, Naruto." I kissed him on the cheek. "I know you'll make it through."

Naruto's whole face lit up and he looked beyond happy. He laughed and rubbed a hand on his cheek. "You betcha, Sakura-chan!!!"

"Sakura-san!!!" Lee jumped forward and puffed out his chest. "I swear that I will be back as well!!!"

I laughed and gave him a quick hug. "I know you will, Lee-san." I wanted Lee to be happy as well. Being Tsubaki's stand-in father made us both very close, and although he wanted to have a deeper relationship with me than I wanted, I still considered him a deep close friend.

As I let Lee go, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Sasuke was squarely facing Sai. Both looked stiff and poised, as if expecting the other to attack. All of a sudden I felt uncomfortable. Would they fight and draw attention to themselves?

Sai seemed to wonder the same thing. "You still want to kick my ass, Sasuke?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment before he spoke. "You tried to kill me before; I know you were acting on orders. And then you killed my brother to spite me. So…no, I don't want to fight. But we still have a score to settle when you return from your mission."

Sai smiled thinly. "Sounds good to me." He walked past Sasuke and straight towards me. I imagined he had something sarcastic to say to me.

He didn't disappoint. "Make sure your ass doesn't get any fatter before we return." Then he walked away.

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?!?!" I roared, my yell echoing for miles.

"Shit," cursed Neji. "We'd better get going."

"Yeah!!" yelled Naruto, pumping a fist. He stopped momentarily and went back over to Sasuke. He'd been over there earlier, but I could only assume they didn't say anything to each other. Maybe they would now?

They faced each other, but without hostility. Naruto raised a fist and held it out. Sasuke smirked slightly and raised his own fist to touch Naruto's.

"Thanks for living," he said cheerfully. Then he turned around. "ALL RIGHT, let's go!!!"

Very quickly, everyone took off out the gates; no doubt we seriously sidetracked them. But I couldn't bring myself to feel bad. We'd gotten to say goodbye to them, knowing it might be our last time.

Don't think like that, I ordered myself, wagging Tsubaki's puffy arm with a hand. "Here honey, wave bye-bye to our friends!!"

Tsubaki laughed loudly, shaking her other arm feebly on her own.

I stood there and watched them all until they disappeared. I could feel Sasuke standing right next to me, but I didn't look his way for a while. When I did, I was taken off-guard.

He wasn't watching everyone leave. He was watching me. I could've easily dismissed it as saying he was looking out for his daughter, but he didn't glance at Tsubaki once. His eyes were on my face.

I couldn't think of anything to say; I just stared right back at him. Unexpectedly, my heart started beating really fast. I didn't quite understand why he was staring at me and not saying anything. My mind was coming up with different reasons, but I didn't believe them.

"I refused to go through with it if it was anyone but you."

I gasped slightly, and involuntarily took a step back. That seemed to be enough for Sasuke and he took off, leaving us alone.

"Oh Tsubaki," I said quietly, hugging her tightly to me. "I still don't know what's going on…"

Tsubaki only cooed happily in my ear.

---

I never realized how painful it was to be without my friends until they were all gone on their mission. Konoha just seemed so…empty without them. And my house seemed empty without their unnannounced visits.

It wasn't just Naruto and the others who'd left; it seemed like some of the most skillful ninja were sent out into separate teams with the same mission. The rest stayed behind to watch the village.

I wished I had gone with them, even with Tsubaki to consider. I could've left Tsubaki in Sasuke's full-time care; he loved her so much and I trusted he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. The kunoichi in me felt so helpless that I was unable to do anything more for them.

But…I also knew that I wouldn't be much help to them in my current state. I worried about Tsubaki constantly, even while I played with her. And this mission wasn't something that could be done overnight. Who knew how long they would be gone? I'd probably drive everyone nuts from my worries.

Just being separated from her on the days Sasuke had her were painful. I almost had to force myself not to interfere in their alone time together In all honesties, I began to question my worth as a ninja. How could I possibly return to active duty if my feelings were this jumbled up?

I tried to keep myself busy. I reapplied at the Konoha hospital for my former job. They didn't exactly re-hire me on the spot, but they didn't outright reject me. I knew they wanted to run it by Tsunade to see if I should return to work.

I just…didn't know what to do. It was just as bad as when my parents died, but at least then I had my friends to stand by me. Now they were all out in the field and Tsubaki was still so young. She was entirely dependent upon me and she had no comprehension for my tormoil. It was…I felt so childish, but I didn't know what else to do.

Perhaps it was because I was so wrapped up in myself, but nearly two weeks after everyone left, I got a surprise. I finally got the gull to venture upstairs by myself and followed Sasuke's suggestion to make his old room Tsubaki's room. I put most of the furniture in storage and was busy redecorating it to suit a baby girl's room. Well…I was mostly painting it pink.

"Ugh."

That noise startled me so bad, I nearly stepped into the paintcan. I quickly turned around, paintbrush still in hand, to see Sasuke standing there with Tsubaki. He didn't bother hiding the disgust from his face.

"Um…hello," I said awkwardly. "You're a day early, Sasuke-kun." Indeed, he'd just picked up Tsubaki yesterday. I'd been preoccupying myself with her room to keep myself distracted.

"…Yeah," said Sasuke after a long moment, staring all around us. "But…you've been acting strange, Sakura."

"Strange?"

"Yeah. You just about started crying when you gave Tsubaki to me yesterday. I just thought…" he shrugged. "That you wanted her back early."

I dropped the paintbrush on the paintpan and knelt down on the floor. "It's not like that, Sasuke-kun. I'm just…stressed at the moment."

Sasuke slowly sat down as well. "I understand. I wanted to do something for everyone, even help them with their mission. But…I'm not a ninja. I can't do anything for them. And I only have myself to blame." His voice hardened slightly. "I don't know why, but Tsubaki…she makes me feel better. I like being around her."

"Sasuke-kun, she's your daughter. You love her. Of course you would like being around her."

Sasuke didn't look at me, just focusing on our daughter. "…I dunno, I thought that you might feel the same way as I do."

"And I do," I said. "I want to help our friends so much. But Tsubaki…right now, I don't want to be without her. I consider all our friends to be my family, but she's my last true family. If I lost her…" my throat tightened and tears burned my eyes. I couldn't bring myself to finish.

"Yeah…" Sasuke seemed to be struggling even harder for words. He continued to focus on her. "I guess…I've been full of hate for so long it's strange to actually care about someone."

"I think your hate has just blinded you."

He finally looked at me. "You just said it; that Tsubaki was the firs thing you've cared about. As sweet as that sounds, we both know that's not true. You cared about us, Sasuke-kun. Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, me…" I looked away. "You cared enough about Naruto to try to sacrifice your life for him numerous times. You cared enough that you couldn't kill him for the Tsukiyomi. And me…you helped me out a lot too, even when you didn't even have to. So don't tell me that you're not a caring person, because I know you are. It's just…" I glanced back at him. "Tsubaki brought out the better person in you that we couldn't reach."

Sasuke was silent for a long time. I didn't say anything either; Tsubaki's gurgling and gibberish filled the void of silence in the room.

Finally, he stood up. He walked over until he stood over me. He held Tsubaki out. "Here. We'll be going back to my place soon, but I know holding her will make you feel better."

The tears returned, but I could only smile as I took her into my arms and gave her a hug. Somehow, it was comforting knowing that Sasuke was struggling as much as I was to deal with this. More and more of the real Sasuke was coming out and back to us.

---

I got my old job back at the hospital (yay!!!) and was able to occupy my days tending to the sick. Tsubaki was tended to in the hospital daycare during the day, except for when Sasuke had days off.

Naruto and the others never left my mind. But I started getting less anxious for them. They were all powerful ninja and could handle anything that was thrown at them.

Everyday I saw the mountain with the faces of the Hokage on them, as I'd done so all my life. But my eyes always strayed to the Yondaime Hokage. Naruto didn't carry his last name, but it was still puzzling how nobody in the village seemed to make the connection between the two. Or maybe they did and just didn't care?

Please, just bring him home safe, I thought up to the Yondaime. I doubt he'd listen to someone like me, but it made me feel better about Naruto. I almost wished I'd given him a better goodbye than just that; show him that I really did accept him, Nine-Tailed Fox and all.

But, he's still my friend. He must know that I do accept him.

Even with most everyone gone, Sasuke and I still remained. And with everyone gone, we only had each other to keep company. Not that I was complaining; even now I felt comfortable around him. He didn't seem too comfortable around me, as though my reaction to him in light of everything he'd done to me disturbed him.

"I love you, Sasuke-kun."

Or maybe the fact that I could still love him in spite of everything disturbed him. But he seemed to tolerate me—even if for Tsubaki's sake—so I was all right.

But…But I was still troubled about him. Even after everything, I still didn't know where I stood with him. We conceived a child together, but even in her presence we acted less then as friends, but more than as strangers. A lot has come out about him, but he still hasn't answered the fundamental question: why. Why, when choosing between Hinata and his own choice, did he choose me to carry his child? Was it really simply because I was his teammate?

"Just because I didn't fawn over you like Naruto and Lee did didn't mean I never liked you."

I knew he liked me, but not in what way. I just didn't know anything and it was frustrating me!!!

It was even more frustrating when I got mixed signals from him.

"Sakura."

One day I'd just gotten out of work when Sasuke startled me. It was one of his days with Tsubaki, but she was currently struggling in his arms, crying hysterically.

"What happened?" I cried, forgetting my own weariness to rush to his side.

Sasuke shrugged helplessly. "All of a sudden she just started crying. Nothing I've done has made her stop. I changed her diaper, I tried to feed her, and I tried to play with her…" his voice was full of exhaustion. "Please…I know you just got out of work, but can you do something about her?"

"I-I'll try." I quickly took Tsubaki into my own arms. "Here, honey. There, there…"

She wouldn't stop crying. I could see where Sasuke was getting frustrated. I walked over to a nearby bench and started singing softly, rocking her gently back and forth. Nothing seemed to work for her. I just about wanted to cry myself. I couldn't wait for her to grow up and be able to control herself a little better.

Sasuke took a seat next to me. "What song are you singing?"

"A lullaby," I said, trying not to sound irritated. "Trying singing it with me."

Sasuke looked perplexed, but I sang a few lines for him. He looked incredibly embarrassed, but he started singing along with me. A few people walked by us and gave us strange looks, but I ignored them and focused completely on Tsubaki.

Finally, that seemed to be enough for her. She calmed down and went right to sleep. Sasuke didn't bother with pretenses; he let out a huge sigh of relief and fell backwards against the bench. "I don't think I can do that again."

"Yeah…" I hugged her close to me. "But that's just about what's I've had to deal with her whole life."

"Sakura…" Sasuke sat straight. "Please. I really am trying. She's been carrying on for three hours. After nothing else worked, I thought she would just exhaust herself. But she wouldn't stop."

"She's got a lot of energy. Sort of like us."

Sasuke was quiet as he took her back. He wiped the tears and snot from her face and I was embarrassed I hadn't done that.

Then he spoke. "She only stopped when we both hushed her."

"Yeah." I didn't say anything more.

"This might happen again."

"Yeah." My heart was beating harder. What did he mean? Did he…?

He stood up. "I should get going now. I'm sorry for bothering you."

"But—" I tried to speak, but just as quickly he was gone. "Sasuke-kun!!"

He didn't look back. I climbed to my feet, feeling more dejected and angrier than before. What the fuck was that?! What kind of point was he trying to make?! He shouldn't make implications without following up on them!!!!

"Just tell me what you want, you bastard!!!!" I screamed. I started kicking the bench in frustration.

"Just what do YOU want, Sakura?"

I froze and quickly turned around. "Tsunade-sensei!!! Were you listening in?!"

Tsunade looked incredibly annoyed. And I noticed Shizune wasn't with her. "This is a public area and I'm Hokage. Don't I have a right to be here?"

I felt my face burn and I ducked my head. "I'm sorry."

Tsunade sighed heavily. "You two are a couple of idiots."

"M-Me?!" I cried. "How am I an idiot?! I'm providing for my daughter as best as I can!!! And Sasuke-kun…I don't know what he wants!!!"

"Have you asked him?"

"Uh…" I didn't answer that because the simple answer was 'no'.

"Before you can ask him, you have to think about what you want. Do you want him to live with you? To marry you and become a family with you and Tsubaki?"

"I told him I loved him!!! Isn't that enough of a message?!"

"You can love someone and still not want to be near him. But do you want Sasuke to be near you? With you?"

"I…" I closed my eyes, tears spilling out. "Yes. He loves Tsubaki so much. And I do love him and wouldn't mind if he was with me. But he…I don't know how he feels."

"Then I guess you should ask him then."

I scrubbed at my face. "But why do you care what we do?"

"Because your dancing around this subject has created a lot of gossip here and frankly it's quite annoying. Sort your issues out without hurting your daughter."

---

I didn't have much longer to wait to confront Sasuke. It'd been two and a half months since everyone else left and things were still tense between us. Sasuke stopped looking me right in the face anymore and he said very little to me when he came to pick up or drop off Tsubaki.

And Tsubaki…she was becoming a mess. I don't know if our feelings were being projected onto her, but she started getting more and more unhappy. We were depending too much on her for happiness and I think it was taking its toll on her.

And more and more, we as individuals couldn't calm her down. Only together could we do it. It was very telling, but Sasuke refused to say anything about it.

I knew I had to.

"Here you are," said Sasuke one evening, returning Tsubaki home. "She wasn't too much trouble for me."

I looked down at her. She looked up at me with her big eyes. I knew I couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"Come inside, Sasuke-kun." It wasn't an invitation; it was an order.

"Why?" asked Sasuke, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

"For tea." I knew he couldn't give the excuse of feeling uncomfortable on the Uchiha compound anymore; he walked freely to and fro here.

"I…" his eyes darted all around. He was looking for an excuse and wasn't finding one. After a moment, his usual cold mask snapped into place. "All right. Let's have some tea."

He followed me inside and sat quietly as I prepared tea. Tsubaki bobbed happily in her seat next to the table. It felt weird servicing Sasuke in his former house with him as the guest, but I didn't let it get to me. Sasuke for his part waited patiently as I poured our cups. Once I was settled, he started the conversation.

"So what did you want to talk about? I know you didn't just invite me in here for tea."

I drank a big gulp of tea, despite the heat, before I started. "We have something we need to settle, Sasuke-kun."

"If you believe so. What is it?"

"Why did you get me pregnant?"

His face twisted up, mostly in annoyance. "I already told you—"

"Yes, you followed orders. But you never told me why it was ME you chose. You've never even dropped a clue."

"I just assumed it wasn't important—"

"It is important!!!" I cried. Tsubaki abruptly stopped cooing. "I've ALWAYS wanted to know why!!! I want to know where we stand now!!!!"

Sasuke took a sip of tea, probably to distract himself. He was probably contemplating his words.

Well, what he said didn't make me feel any better. "We're raising our child with the mutual understanding that we love her and want her best interests. Why? Do you want more?"

My temper was rising very quickly. "Sasuke-kun, you already know the fucking answer to that question!!! Yes!!!! I DO want more, as does Tsubaki!!!!"

"Well, what do you want from me?!" he snapped. "You wanted me to live, I lived!!! You wanted me in Tsubaki's life, I'm in Tsubaki's life!!! What more do you want!!!"

"You idiot!!!" I punched the table in frustration. "Why do I have to keep repeating myself!!!! I love you!!!! I want to know what you're feeling!!!!"

Sasuke rubbed a hand over his face and stood up. "I have to leave now."

"You're not going ANYWHERE until I get answers!!!!" I screamed. "Why did you get me pregnant?!?! Why did you choose ME?!?! These are VERY simple and completely UNREASONABLE questions that you should be able to answer!!!!!"

Sasuke shook his head and waved his hand. "Have a good night, Sakura." He started towards the door.

"Don't you walk away from me!!!" I chased after him. "I wouldn't be this confused if you didn't make the implications that you wanted to live with us!!! Do you love me?!?! Is that why you chose me?!?! Just tell me the truth!!!"

He slammed the door shut behind him. I stood there in the entryway, unable to chase after him. From the other room, Tsubaki was crying again. I couldn't hold back my own tears as I went back to comfort her.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed, rocking her close to me. "I tried, sweetheart. I really tried…"

Thankfully, I didn't need Sasuke's help to calm her down; she went right to sleep. I took her upstairs and put her in her crib. I was proud of the job I did in her room; the furniture and the colors made it clear it was a room made for a little girl.

But now…now everything seemed so twisted.

I had no stomach for dinner. I cleaned up the tea that neither of us finished and got ready for bed. Even though Tsubaki slept upstairs, I still slept on the ground floor. I locked both Itachi and Sasuke's parent's room and I swore to myself never to go near them again. So I chose an empty room downstairs to sleep in. From the looks of it, it must've been a former sitting room, but now it was my bedroom.

I rolled out my futon and climbed upon the covers, my insides all up in knots. Was I being too unreasonable? Why couldn't he just give me those answers? I wasn't asking him to love me back, no matter how much I wished for such!!!

Somehow, I drifted off to sleep. I don't know how long I slept for, or even if I dreamed. But I was startled awake in the middle of the night. I slowly opened my eyes as I heard rustling outside. My outer door led directly to the garden. If an intruder came onto the compound, all they would have to do was open one of the doors to find me. It was a risk I chose to take over taking a bedroom upstairs. But now I regretted it.

Very slowly, I withdrew a kunai from underneath my pillow. My back was to the outer door, and I shifted as carefully as possible in my futon to make it seem like I turned over in my sleep as to not distract the intruder.

Yes, there was someone there. There was a full moon out tonight and no clouds. Moonlight was flooding the garden and I clearly saw a shadow over my door. I swallowed carefully and slowly sat up. I was far in the back of the room, so the moonlight didn't touch me. But I was still careful.

The door slid open. When I saw the intruder, I dropped my kunai and fell back in shock and relief.

"Sasuke-kun!!!" I wanted to hug him and punch him at the same time. I kicked aside the kunai and jumped to my feet. "It's late!! What are you—"

I didn't get to finish. With quick strides Sasuke was standing in front of me. His hands reached out and grabbed my arms at the elbows. Before I could react, I was pulled forward into a kiss.

I felt my knees weaken unexpectedly. All too easily I gave in, closing my eyes and returning the kiss. It felt wonderful, right. I'd wanted this to happen, to be my answer…

But then I panicked. This wasn't like Sasuke. Well, raping me wasn't like Sasuke either, but this wasn't like Sasuke, not after the shouting match we had earlier.

I gained control of my arms and pushed him away. "Wait, are you really Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at me. "Do I really need to answer that?"

"Why are you here? Is this your answer to me? Sneaking into my room and kissing me?"

"Sakura…" he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "I don't know what to do. But…I feel good around you and around our daughter. If that's what it takes…I'll be with you."

That sounded too good to be true. Too good. "How do I believe you?"

"How do I prove myself?"

"Um…" I thought about it, though it was difficult. This Sasuke just offered me exactly what I'd been hoping for years. But I couldn't just accept it. This wasn't like Sasuke. "Why can't we get Tsubaki to stop crying?"

Sasuke looked annoyed. "Because it takes the two of us to stop her."

My heart started beating faster, but I forced restraint upon myself. "And how do we calm her down?"

"By singing to her."

"And what kind of tea did I prepare tonight?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question!!!"

"How should I know?! It tasted way too sweet for me!!!"

That was enough for me. This really was Sasuke. I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. "Do you really want to be with me? Or is it because of Tsubaki?"

"Sakura." He ran a hand through my hair. "You should've already known that I cared about you. That's why I chose you over anyone else. I trust you and I…care. I couldn't just let any girl have my baby."

"And…now?" I felt nervous. Sasuke came here in the middle of the night and the first thing he did was kiss me. There was some intention behind it. "What do you want now?"

"…I'll do whatever you want." I saw some nervousness in his face. Whatever his "plan" was, it was obviously spontaneous. "But I want things right between us. I want to…" He didn't finish, but I saw the implications.

I couldn't help but smile and slid my arms around his shoulders. "I know. I want the same thing, too."

Slowly but surely, his arms slid up my back and returned my hug. My heart was still beating really fast, but his was equally as strong. Maybe, just maybe, we could get through.

His face turned towards mine and he kissed me again. Maybe we could. It was certainly a nice idea.

It's been a long road, but the next chapter is the last one. I can't wait to see you then!!