Title: A New Era

Author: Shera

Disclaimer: I think somebody used this tinfoil already…

Chapter 26

The room was dimly lit when her eyes fluttered open. Sakura pulled herself up in a sitting position as she rubbed her eyes. Being in her own bed must of made it easier to sleep longer than she intended. With a stretch she found her feet and left her bedroom.

The newest addition to their family finally came home the day before. Her feet softly moved on the floor as she made her way to the nursery. The door moved easily to the touch as she inched her way inside. She wasn't at all surprised to find Lee exactly where she had left him. He was sitting in the rocking chair going back and forth easily. His bandages had been discarded so her little fingers could wrap around his bare one.

Sakura smiled a little despite herself as she wandered onto the scene. Gently she put an arm around her husband as she crouched beside him. Kameko sucked on her fist and was more or less unconcerned with the new arrival.

"Lee, she needs to sleep sometime or she won't grow."

He gave her the most innocent look he could muster, "She did but even sleep could not separate her from her daddy for long."

"So in other words you heard her cry and jumped into action?" Inwardly she sighed as she recognized his protective spirit already taking over.

"Did you get enough sleep?"

She let her head rest on his shoulder briefly before answering, "I think so." She had been up most of the night with the baby. Lee would get up as well for moral support but she had to be the one to nurse her. Kameko wasn't so much a crier as Sakura had suspected her to be. When she needed something she would whimper more but if she found herself alone her wails would fill the apartment. This being the case it was the perfect reason for Lee to cuddle up with her like this.

"Have you eaten?" she asked as she felt her own stomach clench.

"No," he replied simply, "we have been too busy getting to know one another." Sakura smiled to herself as she watched him give a tender kiss to the infant.

"Alright then, I'll go reheat something," even as she said it she knew he wasn't listening to her.

Lee must of cleaned up the kitchen earlier because it was tidier than she remembered it. Her mother had stocked their refrigerator with various dishes while they were in the hospital so they wouldn't have to cook for awhile. Trying to prepare a meal while handling a newborn, though not impossible, would be difficult for these rookies. "My mother is a mad genius," she thought to herself while pulling out a pot.

She had just put the pot of beef stew on the stovetop when the sound of knocking caught her attention. Quickly, she ran her hands though her pink hair to fix it a little before answering the door. Various balloons of pink and "It's a girl!" drifted in first before she saw Naruto's beaming face, "Hello, Mommy."

"Naruto, what is all of this?"

"These?" he asked pointing at the balloons currently trapped on her ceiling, "I feel bad for not being here for you so tah da!"

Briefly she paused, "That was very thoughtful. Why don't you find a place to tie them down and join us for dinner?"

"Ah no, I know you guys are busy."

"Naruto," she said in a stern voice, "You aren't leaving my house until you have something other than ramen in your belly."

He put his hands up as if to defend himself, "Alright Sakura, whatever you want." The blonde disappeared into the living room just as Lee was coming down the stairs still holding Kameko.

"Did I just hear Naruto down here?"

"Yep, he just got back from his mission so we're going to have dinner together."

Lee watched as she went back into the kitchen. Since she hadn't given him a direction he decided to join Naruto in the living room. He found him wrapping the balloon strings around a book to weight them down. Then he placed the book on the coffee table and let the balloons float freely. It wasn't until after he was satisfied with his work that he noticed Lee standing there.

"'Sup, Bushy Brow?"

Lee felt himself half smile at the crude nickname that his friend had bestowed on him as he answered, "Oh, there have been a few new developments around here." Naruto felt his eyes become drawn to the wiggling bundle in Lee's arms.

"Is this her?" the blonde asked as curiosity drew him closer.

"Kameko, say hello to your uncle," Lee murmured to her. She squinted her eyes as if the orange of his clothing was too obtrusive for her delicate eyes to bare. With a finger he pulled the blanket away from her face so he could see her better.

Now that they were face to face she blinked at him as he grinned, "You have your mother's forehead." Then he used a finger to brush the little hair she had off her forehead.

"Would you like to hold her?" Lee asked tentatively even though he would much rather never let his precious daughter leave his arms for an instant.

Naruto hesitated before gingerly taking the little girl from her father. Her frail body made him nervous even with Lee helping him put his hands in the right places. A moment passed and for the first time he felt the magic that came with holding a new life in your arms. Carefully he sat down so he could support her better with his knees if he had to. Her chubby fingers reached out to pat the whiskers on his cheek. The little action made him laugh a little at himself because he could barely stand how cute she was.

Sakura entered the room with a tray weighed down with filled bowls and silverware. Her heart skipped a beat at the scene before her. Lee watched her wordlessly put the tray down on the table before joining him. After she had taken a seat beside him, Lee started to talk, "We have something to tell you."

Naruto looked up in interest because he usually heard that tone of voice from Sakura. He was just surprised to hear it coming out of Lee's mouth and had to double check to be sure. Sakura remained still as Lee continued on, "We have been thinking about this for awhile and sometimes you do not make certain decisions until you have to. That being said we-"

"We want you to be Kameko's godfather!" Sakura interrupted.

"I thought we agreed I was going to tell him?"

"Oh you were taking too long," she faced Naruto directly, "How about it then?"

Naruto found himself at a lost for words as he blankly stared at the two of them. That was not what he had been expecting. Hell he didn't even know he was in the running for the title.

"You want me to do what?" he asked still unsure if he had heard right.

He watched as Sakura's face softened and she carefully got up to kneel in front of him, "Naruto, we have been though so much together that I already feel in some crazy way that you are part of my family. I want to make it official by making you the legal guardian of my child if something should happen to us."

Her eyes were filled with such clarity that he knew that what she said had to be true. Shamelessly he ducked his head to hide the various emotions passing over his features. This was his family. A little pat on the cheek brought him back to the room. That sweet little face was looking directly at him. She hit him again as if to say, "I choose you too." This time he took her little hand in his own and gently kissed it. Damn, he could already feel himself falling in love with this little girl.

"Nothing would make me happier than to be her godfather except for becoming Hokage one day." All the adults laughed at the comment. The infant was returned to her mother before they settled into their meal.

They swapped stories even after the dishes were empty and they had drained the last of the tea Lee had brewed. Kameko listened along with her parents as Naruto told them the unclassified parts of his last mission until her eyelids became too heavy to hold up any longer. Sakura noticed this and decided to make a trip to the nursery.

Kameko fussed a little as her mother put her in the crib but didn't wake. Carefully she wound the under the sea mobile and let the music play. She covered her with the quilt that hung over the side. Then she took a step back and waited. The infant stayed sleeping. She tip toed out of the room and extinguished the lights.

When she got back downstairs Lee was telling Naruto about Gai and Kakashi's duel at the hospital. Naruto was laughing but doing it quietly so he didn't rouse the newborn. "So if I had been there I could of gotten the kid named after me?"

Before Lee could reply Sakura said, "Not on your life."

He smirked at her, "So you're willing to let me raise your child but not name it after me? That seems a little odd."

"Lee, we didn't put this in our wills yet have we? There's still time to change it, right?"

"Oh come on I was only kidding," Naruto huffed in response.

Lee shook his head at the familiar sound of their bickering, "Should I make another pot?"

"No thanks, my apartment has probably aired out by now and is suitable for humans again."

She hit her forehead clearly making a d'oh face, "I knew I had forgotten something."

"It's okay, Sakura. You've clearly been distracted lately," he said brushing it off as a mere inconvenience but not a real problem.

"Still it was my responsibility."

"Well how about this," his face grew thoughtful, "name me Kameko's godfather and we'll call it even."

She shook her head and playfully punched his arm, "Get out of here you goof."

He clasped Lee's hand and gave her a hug before leaving, "Congratulations guys."

Sakura sighed wistfully before Lee asked again, "So tea?"

"I could have another," she replied.

OOOOO

Sakura's lips formed an 'O' as she blew over the top of her tea cup. Despite the drizzle it was cozy in the little tea shop. Lee had introduced her to the place during the early weeks of their courtship and if he hadn't she would never have found it on her own. It was buried deep in the business section of the village but with its uninteresting store front no one paid it any mind. Which was really a shame since the woman that owned the shop made the best homemade candies in the world but she seemed to do alright with the regulars she had acquired.

Lee sat across from her with a hand under his chin and an unfocused look on his face. Whenever they were here she had noticed that daydreaming came easily for him. With all the comfortable furniture and the quiet conversations surrounding them it would be difficult to not feel at ease. In a sense it made her feel closer to him because he had shared this sanctuary with her.

She took a sip from her cup and sighed appreciatively at how perfect it tasted on her tongue. The little noise seemed to pull Lee back into the physical world, "I am sorry Sakura."

She waved he hand in dismissal, "It's okay. You weren't gone that long besides you have such a cute face when you daydream. I didn't want to ruin it."

His cheeks became pink as he took a sip from his own cup to awkwardly cover up his own embarrassment. The days had been stressful lately for the two of them both being busy with their respective duties to their village. It was nice to finally have a little downtime with their favorite person.

He nervously put down his teacup as he tried to form the words he wanted to say without offending his girlfriend. Even though they had been together for a few months now he still felt nervous talking to her. Lee was still in disbelief that this was the real world and that made it all the harder to speak the thing pestering his thoughts.

"Sakura," he started. She perked up at the sound of her name. "I wanted to talk to about something. It has been difficult for me." She sat up straight and put down her cup to let him know that he had her full attention. "The other day, actually it has been longer than that…"

There was something amiss with him. As she listened to his quiet voice as he rambled on she realized he was going through some emotional turmoil, "Is this about Naruto?" He made it seem like he was having a raging debate about which cookie to take off the plate in between them. Of course that was it and why shouldn't he be upset that his girlfriend had confessed her feelings to another?

She looked guiltily into her lap, "It's not as though I lied exactly. I do love Naruto even if it isn't romantic." The cookies lay untouched between them.

He wasn't sure how to feel so he let his emotions go until he could sort them out later, "I do not blame you for what happened. I understand why you did it I just -" he broke off trying to be as reasonable as possible. "It hurt that you would say those words to another when you do not say them to me."

Sakura hadn't meant to cringe but it may have been less painful if he had slapped her. When she had formed her plan there was little consideration for anyone else's feelings but her own. In her mind she had a job to do and that was the most important thing. Now for her lack of consideration she could loose something precious.

Once again she took a sip from her teacup. When she imagined this inevitable conversation it was always louder than this but there was still time for that. She forced her herself to look into his face so he would believe in her confession, "Now that I'm older I realize that words have a power all of their own. You shouldn't just throw them around carelessly. I said I 'loved' someone before and all I got from it was grief." Her eyes dropped down and he could clearly see the sorrow there, "I still get associated with him and most people only know me for that one thing."

A moment passed as he drank from his own cup to give her time to collect her thoughts. She sighed more to herself than anything, "It must of hurt you when I said to keep our relationship quiet." It was true that joy had been practically excreting itself from every pore of his body when he could finally call himself Sakura's boyfriend but he had respected her wishes to keep it between themselves. "I was a-afraid."

"Afraid?" he asked her, "afraid of me?"

She shook her head, "No, never of you. I'm constantly in the public eye and their scrutiny. That alone made me scared to love you and have everyone know about it. I just wanted to keep it between us in case it didn't work out." She paused and laughed mockingly to herself, "Wow, I never realized how selfish that is until I said it out loud."

He couldn't stop the half smile that played on his lips, "You are not selfish, Sakura."

Her face still held a look of disbelief at his words, "You are always so kind to me. Better than I deserve."

"No, I treat you exactly the way I think you should be. I just wish there was more I could do." To empathize his point he took the teapot resting on the table and warmed her now cold tea before doing the same for himself.

"If you really want to know the truth I've wanted to tell everyone for awhile now because I find that I'm falling-" she stopped suddenly. His eyebrow quirked in interest as he waited for the rest of her sentence.

"You are what?" he asked earnestly.

Then he was taken aback by the sudden sob that came out of her, "Oh Lee, I wanted this to be perfect. I had this exact scenario planned out in my head. I knew exactly what I was going to say and practiced over and over. I even thought about how you would react." She rubbed the wetness from her face to clear it, "I'm not like you. I can't divulge my feelings with so much…absolution."

He patted her hand, "Then do it the Sakura way."

She couldn't help but smile at the wonderful man before her. Her fingers gently entwined in his. With her eyes shining she met his, "Lee, I want nobody but you because I love you."

His body relaxed as his worries left along with the breath he wasn't aware he was holding. A peace fell over them as the tension they had been mutually harboring melted away.

He put his free hand behind his head, "I already knew that. I just wanted to hear you say it."

Her boyfriend laughed a little to which she took the opportunity to stuff a cookie in his mouth, "Rock Lee, you are a terrible tease." Even though she felt a little annoyed to his reaction to her confession she couldn't help sharing in his mirth. Maybe once things settled they could confide in their friends. For now they could just be happy drinking in these sweet moments together.

OOOOO

A cry filled their eardrums as Kameko announced that she was awake. They shared a glance before playing rock, paper, scissors in order to decide who to tend to their darling daughter. Lee lost which Sakura suspected he did on purpose. Before he left the room she blew him a kiss which he caught and stuck in his shirt pocket, near his heart.

Upstairs he found the baby red in the face with tears streaming down it. Gently he pulled her to his chest. A few sniffles later all was calm again. She looked up at him with her bright eyes.

"I love you," he murmured to her.

In response she leaned into his chest as if she had said, "I know."

A/N: Have you guys all died from the cuteness yet? I don't know why it took four months to update…something about finals, other projects, and rotten writer's block. I can't really remember now. I hope this makes up for it! -She-Chan