A/N: Hey, everybody! I think you're getting rather tired of reading this, but…sorry for the long wait! School got in the way…again. Anyhow, here's chapter twenty-eight. Enjoy!
One of you asked me whether I had a Naruto Forums account – I don't. As for Sakura's reaction…I admit, it might have been a little too dramatic, but look at it this way: she's hurt, confused, and the news took her by surprise. Her relationship with Sasuke isn't very stable, and she doesn't want to ruin their still fragile bond. At least that's the way I saw things when I wrote the scene; I thought this could help you understand her better. Hope it worked!
P.S. Thank you all so, so much for all your support – for your reviews, for your patience, for your wonderful words that never fail to bring a smile to my face. I love you!
Incomplete
By The Terrorist
Chapter twenty-eight
Easier Said than Done
"Miss Sakura!" Yuki's overly-excited voice greeted her upon her entrance in the dining room, forcing any last trace of sleep out of her system. "Shall I bring you breakfast?" she chirped happily.
Despite not being in the best of moods, the pinkette couldn't help but smile at her obvious enthusiasm. She and Sasuke didn't always have breakfast at home, and Yuki wasn't always there, but when they did and she was, she liked to serve it herself.
"Yes, Yuki," she agreed, nodding lightly as she took a seat at the table, next to her husband, who seemed to be engrossed in checking his e-mails on his Blackberry. "Thanks."
A few days had passed since Sakura found out that she was pregnant, and she had yet to gather her courage to tell her husband about it.
She had had a few attempts, but all of them had failed miserably, gone to hell before she could even get the first word out of her mouth. Every time she walked up to him, determined to lift this weight off her shoulders, she ended up stuttering, looking away and changing the subject, blaming everything on stress and tiredness.
And the worst part of this whole situation was the fact that she knew that it was all her fault. She was the woman – it was her job to protect herself. That night…she had known what they would end up doing. She should have started taking the pill right then and there, no matter how strange it would have seemed to her husband. Because, how in the world was she now supposed to explain this mess to him? He had obviously assumed she was protecting herself, since it was painfully obvious that a child had no place in his life right now.
His possible reaction freaked her out, really. She didn't know what to do, and as if that weren't enough, she was afraid that the extent of this situation had not reached her yet. She didn't feel like a mother. She didn't feel like someone – a little human being – was growing inside of her. Where was the radiant happiness every woman talked about? Because all she felt, all she saw…were problems. And it hurt so damn much, knowing that she could not enjoy these little moments, that this child's fate – this creature that, honestly speaking, was not at fault for anything – was uncertain.
Sasuke, on the other hand, found his wife's behavior to be particularly weird nowadays. While they had never been the inseparable type, he was not at all pleased to admit that he had not seen much of her over the course of the past few days. He only saw her in the morning – and that, only when he was lucky enough; when he arrived home in the evening, he usually had the unpleasant surprise to find out that she was not waiting up for him, like she once used to. She went to sleep early, locked herself up in her room, and call him a coward, but he never really dared to knock, to enter, to see what was happening.
She never invited him, seeming to refuse to spend some quality time with him, the physical contact between them limited to the occasional kiss and accidental touch, and she felt like she was slipping away from him, further and further with each day. And it worried him, really. It worried him, because he knew something was wrong. What he did not know was how exactly to approach the problem. He was not good with this. Dealing with upset women and awkward situations were not his thing, and even though he was trying, his efforts didn't seem to pay off much.
Take this situation, for example. It was one of the first times he had actually bothered to have breakfast with her, and he had honestly expected her look a little happier – or at least show a little more emotion. But she looked plain tired. And she had come downstairs dressed in only a robe…seriously, when did Sakura do such things? Maybe in the evening, when it was hot outside and her usual clothes suffocated her, but at the beginning of the day, she was always dressed nicely, and had her hair and make-up done… Just what exactly was going on with her, huh?
"What are you cooking, Yuki?" he asked, despite the fact that he already knew, hoping to lighten the mood with his question. After all, Sakura seemed to be rather fond of sweets lately.
Yuki's answer was immediate, cheerful and happy as always. "Pancakes, Sir," she announced.
The pinkette felt her stomach make a weird flip at the mere mention of the sweet breakfast, but she ignored it, choosing instead to focus on Sasuke's concern-clad voice.
"You feeling any better?" he addressed her.
She nodded without hesitation, even though it was a lie. "Yeah," she said.
"You look sick," he pointed out in that blunt way of his. Had the circumstances been any different, she would have smiled.
"Well, I…" she tried to explain, but ended up trailing off, unable to find the right words. "I just don't think I can eat any more sweets," she finally said, avoiding his gaze.
Sasuke frowned. "You've been eating a lot of them lately."
"Yeah," she agreed, "but I'm kind of sick of them." She shrugged, looking up at him. "I mean, it's good to eat sweets while you're on your period, but too much is too much, even for me."
One would say she was digging her own grave by feeding him such lies, but Sasuke was so innocent and so entirely clueless when it came to women's problems, that it had proved incredibly easy to blame all of her pregnancy symptoms on her supposed period. She could probably tell him anything right now, and he would still believe it.
Of course, the way he seemed to back off every time this came up was another advantage, one that ensured she wouldn't let the cat out of the bag without even realizing it. Because, no matter the circumstances, her husband would always be paying attention to the most insignificant of the details – that was one of the things that defined him the best.
Little did she know that he was not that stupid, and that he was already beginning to question her behavior and the motives she kept giving him.
"I see," he said at length, his attention returning to his Blackberry. "You can tell Yuki to cook something else for you, then."
Sakura shook her head. "No, that's alright," she said, reaching out to take a sip of her water – grimacing, because for some reason or another, her mouth felt bitter.
Yuki chose that particular moment to appear with their food, placing the plates in front of each of them. Strawberry pancakes used to be her favorite food in the past. She used to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and then dinner, in the days when she did not have the mind to worry about her weight. But right now, the mere concept of it seemed unfathomable.
With a groan, her hand came up to cover her mouth, and before Sasuke's brain could even register the action, she had flown out of her seat, making a dash for the bathroom.
For a moment, the Uchiha just sat there, unable to make sense of what had just happened. Then he recovered and quickly followed her, calling out her name.
He found her in the nearest bathroom, bent over the toilet as she threw up, the door left wide open in her haste to get there faster. Flabbergasted, his actions were automatic as he reached out to hold her hair back for her, his other hand resting reassuringly over the small of her back. When she was finished, he wordlessly helped her up, flushing the toilet for her as she languidly washed her mouth into the sink, her small hand gripping the edge of the counter tightly, as though that was the only thing that was keeping her up on her feet at this point.
"You alright?" he asked as he thoughtfully handed her a towel, frowning at the way she seemed to deliberately avoid meeting his eyes. "You're worrying me, Sakura."
"You don't have to be worried," she murmured softly. "I already told you – "
"Oh, so this is another side-effect of your period? Don't play with me, Sakura! I may be clueless, but I am not stupid," he snapped, but immediately regretted having lost his temper when he saw her lower her eyes once again, her pink hair obscuring his view of her face. With a soft sigh, he reached out and titled her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Please talk to me," he whispered. "Tell me what's wrong."
"I don't…I don't know," she stammered. "I think it's something I ate."
Sasuke dropped his hand, burying it into the pocket of his pants. "Maybe you should rest," he suggested.
"I can't," she spoke without even thinking about her answer. "TenTen and Neji are coming back from their honeymoon today, and I – "
"Shh," he hushed her, placing a finger over her lips. "You nothing," he said. "You're staying home."
"But Sasuke!" she whined, traitorous tears springing to her eyes unwanted. The simplicity he had spoken with showed that he had no idea how serious this entire situation was, and that was once again proved when he blinked in surprise at the sight of her glassy eyes. He had no idea what had happened, but his wife had changed. The Sakura he knew was strong – she wouldn't cry for little nothings like these.
Gently wiping her tears away, he cupped her face within his hands, forcing her to look at him. "Sakura, this is not such a big deal. There'll be other days to meet up with TenTen."
"Yes," she whispered with a sniffle, trying to subtly mend her mistake. "You're right. I don't know what's up with me…"
Sasuke watched her for a moment more, a skeptical – yet gentle – look in his eyes, before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and slowly beginning to lead her out of the bathroom.
"Come on," he urged. "Let's go upstairs. You'll stay in bed until you feel better. You can tell TenTen to come over if you want. Hell, you can even go out to meet her! You're twenty-two years old. You can do whatever you want." He stopped in front of the staircase, cupping her face in his hands again. "But make sure you feel better first, alright?"
Sakura nodded, swallowing heavily. "Yes," she whispered.
"Alright," he sighed. "I have to go. Take care." Bending down, he kissed her forehead, before quickly walking out of the room.
The front door closed after a minute, and the pinkette took that as her cue to make her way upstairs and start getting ready for her date with TenTen, completely disregarding her husband's sweet advice. She couldn't even bear the thought of touching any kind of food right now, so before disappearing upstairs, she took her time to let Yuki know that there was no need for her to keep hanging around in the kitchen.
Once in the confines of her room, she took a long, hot shower, styled her hair and applied her make-up, before she started raiding her closet for something to wear. After a minute, she pulled out a short, grey dress; it flared a little just below her breasts, so she figured it was perfect. Her pregnancy was not that advanced, so no one but herself could notice the little changes in her body, but her abdomen did have a small bump that had not been there before. Call her paranoid, but she was terrified of somebody noticing it. Pregnant or not, though, she was still not ready to give up her high-heels.
She met up with TenTen a little over ten in the morning, in what had now become their usual café. Despite the obvious worry she held for her, the brunette was glowing, radiating happiness, obviously content with her life as a married woman. Had the circumstances been any different, Sakura would have felt bad for ruining the happy moment in which she told her friends all about her honeymoon – and on top of that, also guilty for calling her on said honeymoon to burden her with her problems.
But given the current situation, she could not find it within her to do anything but cry her heart out, craving the comforting presence the brunette had always represented for her. No matter how an outsider would view them, it was clear to Sakura that TenTen was the most mature one of their little group, always knowing what advices to give, even though she had never experienced the problem in question herself – that had been clear to her ever since their first intimate conversation, in that car, in front of that nightclub that had, one way or another, changed her life forever once she entered it.
During the past few years, she had been trying to convince herself that she could make it on her own, no matter the circumstances. But sitting here now, with that burden on her shoulders… 'Grateful' could not even begin to describe what she felt towards TenTen at this point.
"We're not ready for this, TenTen," she sobbed quietly, looking down at the table. "We're really not."
The brunette let out a soft sigh, one of her hands reaching out to grab hers. "Honey…" she whispered, at a total loss of what to say.
"He's so possessive…" she continued, shaking her head. "I don't think he sees me as a woman, as his wife…rather than some kind of trophy, a goal he has set for himself." She paused for a moment, drawing in a shuddering breath. "He doesn't trust me the slightest bit…"
TenTen bit her lip. "You're afraid that he's going to accuse you of cheating on him?" she asked hesitantly. "That he's not going to recognize this child as his?"
Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "I don't know," she confessed in a broken whisper.
"Sakura, the two of you have been sleeping together for like, what? – two months. He cannot just say things like that."
"Yes, he can," she argued, glancing at her from across the table. "He can, because he is Sasuke, and because sleeping together is all we've ever done!"
Although she would like to fool herself into believing that there was something else, something more to their relationship than just sex, Sakura found herself unable to do that. Because she knew that would be all she would do – fool herself. Their relationship was based on sex – nothing else – and there were moments when she regretted having given herself to him so quickly, without waiting to get to know him better.
There was no denying the fact that, over the course of the past few weeks, they had learned a variety of things about each other – at least, she knew she had. But even that had not been done in the 'traditional way'. Normal couples went out on dates, held hands, kissed and made out, but for a while, went no further than that. They found other ways to entertain themselves, activities whose only purpose was to make them get to know each other.
She and Sasuke were not like that – they had never been like that. Anything they might have learned about each other had been through small conversations and different situations they had found themselves in. There was nothing purposeful about that. The only thing that the two of them initiated consciously was sex.
She had always had the feeling that something was not right in their relationship, but she had never realized just how full of mistakes it was until she was put face to face with the concept of bringing a child into this world, into this environment.
"Have you…?" TenTen's hesitant voice snapped her out of her thoughts, bringing her back to reality. "Have you thought about…you know…?"
The pinkette shook her head, knowing exactly what her friend meant by that. "I would never be able to pull that off," she said. "And TenTen…this child has no fault in this. I made a mistake, and now it's time for me to face the consequences. But I am his mother…and I will protect him. No matter what happens, I will have this child, TenTen."
The brunette smiled, squeezing her hand tighter. "And I will be right next to you every step of the way," she assured her, earning a small smile in return. A smile that, sadly, disappeared after only a second.
"I'm scared," she whispered brokenly, biting down on her lower lip.
TenTen's eyes softened. "I know, honey, and I understand, but – "
"TenTen, think about it!" she interrupted her. "I've been drinking – I've been drinking a lot. And I've been stressing over your wedding and over Sasuke…and God, I've been running around so much. Hell, I've been jumping around! And all these sudden pains…" she trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut. "TenTen, what if something really is wrong?"
"Shh, calm down," she soothed, gently patting her hand. "I have a friend who's an obstetrician. I can call her right now if you want me to. We'll get an appointment as soon as possible – because, God forbid, if something really is wrong, we need to find out. Okay?"
Sakura sniffled, nodding. "Call her," she urged.
"Alright," TenTen said. "Just calm down, okay? We'll figure this out, I promise."
~•~
Meanwhile, Sasuke was in his office, looking over some files, trying hard to keep his mind off his pink-haired wife. Still, he couldn't help but wonder how she was doing…
Was she alright? Had she thrown up again? Had she gone out to meet up with TenTen, like they were supposed to? Ever since they had gotten together, worry had become a common emotion for him, and it was more than once that he found himself reaching for his cell-phone, only to catch himself in time and snatch his hand back. He may be concerned about her well-being, but he was not desperate.
Sakura was a grown-up. She knew how to take care of herself – after all, if she had survived all these years without having anyone by her side, why would this situation be any different? That was the one question he had an answer to, and it sounded like this:'It wouldn't.'Short and meaningful, just like he liked them.
The door to his office opened, and he glanced up for a second to see his secretary enter the room with the cup of coffee he had requested earlier in her hands.
Katya was a tall, twenty-year-old woman, with curly brown hair and hazel eyes. She was capricious and ambitious. Ego and pride above everything – that was her motto. She had been working as Sasuke's secretary for almost three months and had, ever since then, been trying to get into his pants. It was not an easy task, and that was not necessarily because the Uchiha did not show the slightest bit of interest in what she had to offer. It was mainly because she refused to be extremely obvious with her intentions, even though she was fairly certain that he had realized, by now, what exactly she wanted from him.
Truth to be told, Katya was not one to stick around for long, so she had never quite had a problem with being her usual blunt, demanding self – especially when she was sure that no one could deny her what she wanted – but this situation was different. He was different. Uchiha Sasuke had everything she had ever looked for in a man – looks, brains, and money – and she felt like it was finally time to settle down and be with a man who deserved her, a man who could give her everything she wanted, everything she needed.
She was tired of working, no matter how well-paid she was. She wanted more. And she knew for a fact that Sasuke could give her that.
"Here's your coffee, Sir," she said as she placed the cup on his desk, smiling sensually.
His dark eyes rose to meet hers, and he grunted in dismissal, but she did not miss the way his gaze remained fixed on her figure for a moment longer than normally. And although there had not been a flicker of emotion in them, not even the subtle glow of lust she was accustomed to seeing in other men's eyes, Katya knew exactly what that little slip meant: he was falling – slowly, but surely.
She was not stupid, nor was she blind. She had done her homework before making her plan, so she knew he was married. The only problem was, she could not care less about it. She had set a goal for herself, and there was nothing stopping her from achieving it – her stubbornness was unbreakable.
And she had decided, long ago, that she wanted him.
And so, Uchiha Sasuke would be hers.
~•~
"TenTen, I can't believe this!" the pinkette exclaimed as soon as she stepped inside her house, her green eyes alight with happiness for what seemed like the first time in a very long time. "Did you hear it, too? Did you hear his little heartbeat?" she asked as she turned around to face her friend, a breathtaking smile lighting up her features.
The brunette smiled softly. It was hard to explain how relieved she felt to see her friend so happy, when only a few hours before, she had been unable to stop herself from crying.
"Of course I did, Sakura," she said. "I was right there, right next to you."
Sakura smiled, her hand coming to rest on her abdomen. "I don't think I've ever felt so relieved, TenTen," she confessed. "I was having doubts, I was feeling weird. But now…everything changed. I feel…I feel alright. I feel like things will finally be okay."
"You have no idea how happy I am to hear that," the brunette told her. "Now you can finally relax – your child is perfectly fine."
With a sigh, she nodded, her smile fading slightly. "Almost by a miracle, though," she said.
"Well…" TenTen smiled. "He is a little miracle in himself, is he not?"
Sakura unconsciously ran her hand over her abdomen. "I guess," she said.
A moment of silence passed, silence which TenTen broke with a question that was dreaded by the both of them, but that needed to be asked, regardless. "Are you going to tell him?"
"Yes." The pinkette's answer was surprisingly firm and prompt. "Yes, I will. Tonight," she specified, and then paused for a moment, shaking her head as another smile crept on her features.
"I never thought…I never thought I would end up pregnant with Sasuke's child, TenTen. But I did. And if he…if he really cares about me, about this relationship, about the life we've been trying to make for ourselves…if he really cares about all that, then he will accept things as they are and make the best of them. And if not…well, I'm not sure what will happen then. But I'm going to have this child."
Dropping her hand, she lightly shrugged her shoulders. "And that's that."
~•~
Later that night, Sakura found herself sitting on the couch in the living room, dressed comfortably in a pink tank-top and matching panties; her hair was neatly pulled back in a high pony-tail, her face cleaned of any cosmetic product. A bowl of chocolate ice-cream rested on her lap, a spoon in her hand, while her apple-green eyes were fixed on the flat screen attached to the wall, sparkling with amusement as she watched the cartoon characters dance around. After so many tears, she figured that some heartfelt laughter would do good to her baby.
Seeing her like that, however, made Sasuke want to laugh for what felt like the first time in years. He had sensed something different about the atmosphere in the house from the very first moment he stepped through the door. He had no idea what could have happened, but the air was calmer – the thick layer of tension that had accumulated over the past few days was now gone. Things seemed to finally be back to where they had been before, and that was proved to him once again when he entered the living room, his eyes immediately catching sight of her.
She was curled up on the comfortable couch, quietly watching TV, the scene greatly resembling that of a few days ago. There were certain differences, though, and Sasuke was grateful for that. She now sat straighter, prouder. Her eyes, instead of being void, were the glittering emeralds he had grown accustomed to, dancing with happiness and amusement. She was once again eating ice-cream, while the television played softly in the background; from the angle he was standing at, he could not see it entirely, but the familiar tunes of Tom and Jerry clued him in on her current source of amusement.
With a smirk he did not bother to conceal, he unceremoniously dropped his jacket on a nearby armchair, the dull thud it made startling his pink-haired wife. It had not been his intention to scare her, but seeing the adorable way she reacted in made him silently congratulate himself for his actions.
"Sasuke!" she exclaimed, placing a hand over her racing heart. "You can't go around scaring me like that! Do you want to kill me?"
His smirk widened as he slowly made his way towards her. "What are you doing?" he asked, sounding rightfully amused, as he took a seat on the couch, by her side. "You have chocolate all over your mouth!"
Frowning, the pinkette reached for the coffee table before her; setting the bowl on the wooden surface, she quickly fetched a napkin, which she used to wipe at her mouth.
"Is there anything left?" she asked, looking at her husband with curious green orbs.
"Yeah," he answered, unable to contain his smirk as a devilish idea popped into his mind. "A little bit here…" he indicated vaguely, touching his lips with his fingertips.
"Where?" she prodded, only slightly irritated, "Here?" She wiped the corner of her mouth, searching his eyes for approval.
"No," he denied, shaking his head. Inching closer to her, he subtly closed in on her, bending his head so that his forehead now rested against hers. "Here," he whispered huskily, licking her lower lip.
Her heart-rate increasing dramatically, the pinkette's breath hitched. She could feel her husband's hot breath fan against her lips, and despite the growing temperature in the room, she couldn't help but shudder. All of a sudden, before her brain could even register the action, he slashed his mouth against hers with a fierceness and desperation that made her gasp in surprise. His tongue took advantage of her reaction and quickly invaded her mouth, tangling with hers, forcing her to respond to the kiss with the same hungry passion.
"God, I've missed you," he rasped against her lips, cupping her face within his hands and pulling her impossibly closer.
"Sasuke," she gasped out, half trying to pull away, half wanted to pull him right through her skin. She had missed this – she had missed him. Going so long without touching him, without having him touch her, now seemed like an impossible task. "Sasuke, I really need to tell you something." But at this point, her priorities were another.
"Later," he muttered dismissively, not interested in the least, as he attacked her mouth with yet another round of hot kisses.
"Sasuke, no," she whined, her hands pushing against his chest languidly – and quite uselessly. "Sasuke, I really do have something important – "
"I said later, Sakura!" he snapped, tearing his mouth away from hers. Grasping her hips, he roughly pulled her into his lap, his hand making quick work of releasing her hair from its confines, before burying into the thick, pink strands. His forehead came to rest against hers, his accelerating breathing fanning against her lips. "You have no idea how much I need you right now."
Sakura tried to protest, but as he slashed his lips against hers once more, she found that she couldn't resist him. Things were alright at the moment – or at least they were going to be alright. Her husband was with her. He would be there in the morning. They were together, and as long as they remained that way, nothing bad could happen.
So she figured that giving him the unexpected news could wait for a little while longer. After all, just because she had finally accepted the situation, didn't mean that she could be sure that her husband's reaction would be a positive one. And if him finding out that he was going to be a father turned out to be the end of their relationship, then at least she had the opportunity to enjoy being in his arms one more time.
The thought that the end of them could be so close terrified her…but admittedly, it had no place here and now. Not while his warmth was enveloping her so comfortingly, so protectively, so thoroughly. At this point, there were only three things that mattered – him, them, and the connection that existed between them. Nothing more, nothing less.
A/N: I know, I know. Sasuke has yet to find out about Sakura's pregnancy, and none of you like that. But things are planned out down to every last detail, so I promise the wait will be worth it.
As usual, you can find pictures of Sakura's outfit on my profile.
That being said, please review! I have cookies for everyone!
