A/N: hi you guys I really missed this story so even though (as you can tell by my updating uh schedule) im very busy w real life stuff i pushed myself to finish this chapter ajdakjs so it is what it is. Before I thought maybe I'd add an extra scene of Pining but im just a bit tired and didn't want to throw something mediocre in there for the sake of it
"Don't do anything Itachi wouldn't," Fugaku warned Sasuke before heading out. The small party walked slowly off into the distance and Sasuke squinted when he realized they were taking a route that would surely delay their journey. Perhaps that particular path was longer and more roundabout, but flatter and easier on Izumi's swollen feet. He shut the door when he couldn't make out any of their features beyond the signature dark hair.
"They have a son, that means we're off the hook for a while, right?" Sakura joked weakly from behind him. The clan had already become obsessed with young Ishida, clamoring all over each other to hold him.
He purposely ignored thinking about producing another heir. He turned away from the door and lightly placed a hand on her shoulder, "You did well," he praised. "You should rest now." As much as everyone cooed over the baby, they weren't willing to actually do the heavy lifting like Sakura. Izumi's body was, naturally, still recovering and she needed all the substantial help she could get.
Sakura chuckled lightly to hide her shyness, "I'm not the one who had the baby, but thanks. And how are you feeling about it?" This new development seemed to push Itachi onto an even higher pedestal in Fugaku's eyes even if the sex of the baby was completely random.
Sasuke shrugged, "I'm an uncle now." He didn't want to think about it much beyond that.
They settled into separate routines: Sakura resumed her regular training with Tsunade and Sasuke picked up his father's work wherever he could. Because of the extra work, he couldn't walk her to her destination anymore. It was strange how little they saw of each other. It felt like every time Sasuke put one thing down, Sakura picked another one up and he was getting restless. He expected to appreciate the peace and quiet, but he was feeling a little ignored. He was lonely. He looked for hints of pink and green everywhere, and grew frustrated when they were nowhere to be found.
"Going out?" he'd ask her after she prepared breakfast and packed a lunch for him. He didn't even ask her to, but she always did it and always included his favorites. Having the house to themselves meant they didn't have to compete with everyone else's food preferences, and even then, she added extra spice to his food and never offered him sweets because she knew he'd always turn them down. These small acts of intimacy were strange to him.
"Yes, don't worry about it," she'd answer pleasantly in that sweet voice of hers. But something in the tone of her voice was reassuring, as if she assumed he wanted to make sure she'd be out of his hair when in fact, it was the opposite. Would it kill her to stay home and rest one day? No, it wouldn't, just like he knew no patients would die without her flitting over to her mentor's home for the day. But he wasn't sure how to say all that, so he stewed in his own bitterness. He watched her back as she walked out the front door, taking note of how long her hair had become.
All the extra time alone made him question his own daily activities. Why did he follow in his father's footsteps again? As he braved the more-chaotic-than-ever marketplace on his own again, he couldn't come up with an answer. The face reflected back at him from his family's shiny knives seemed to laugh at him. He looked like an Uchiha, but lately, he wasn't feeling like one.
Sakura didn't seem to have this problem.
Their routines were suddenly disrupted and they both were forced to stay indoors when a storm threatened to dump water and lightning all over the village. Sakura peered out the window at the heavy gray clouds rolling in, "It's not even worth trying today if I get caught in the rain." She didn't know it, but Tsunade was curled up on the couch with a cup of sake, already expecting Sakura to stay home.
He had plans to sell some things at the market, but surely this weather would drive all the customers away. It seemed that he had to stay put too. Sakura proudly declared she was going to catch up on some reading, so he took the time to look over their financial documents to make sure all was in order. Maybe Father was just getting old, but he thought he noticed some discrepancies last time he glanced at them.
Sasuke didn't realize how long he'd been sitting in one position until a clap of thunder and lightning stirred him. He was sitting on one side of the table and looked up at Sakura, expecting her to still be turning pages in her book.
Instead, she was draped across the book, totally asleep. In the fading light, her hair became a dusky rose and it spilled across the table like a pile of petals. He tsked to himself, what a silly woman. How could that be comfortable?
He stood up, readying himself to wash up before bed. But he hardly took one step out of the kitchen area before looking back at his wife.
Her neck would become sore. And she would become cold. What was he going to do, leave her there all night?
He sighed. His decision was made. Gently, as not to wake her up, he slid his hands under her body and scooped her up to carry her to the actual bed. She was light, but he stiffened briefly when he felt her nestle into his chest. He held her a little tighter, a little closer. She was warm, too. He wouldn't say he breathed in her scent, but he couldn't help but notice the way she smelled of fragrant jasmine tea when he was this close.
She didn't stir again until he had finally, delicately, placed her on their bed.
"Wha's going on?" she mumbled, still half asleep.
"I'm taking you to bed," he said quietly.
She turned over onto her side and Sasuke draped the covers over her body, bringing them all the way up to her chin. She settled deeper into the mattress and before knocking out again, sighed, "Ah, that's nice, darling."
Sasuke was wide awake all night, acutely aware of the warm body slumbering next to him.
Something snapped two days later.
He was watching from their bed as she tidied up some of her hair ornaments on the dresser. Her hands were dainty, but he knew they had become a bit rough lately. Her head was bowed and she couldn't see him, but he was staring very intently.
Why was the curve of his wife's neck so alluring? When did he start noticing these things? It was just skin, just a body part. But no matter how hard he tried convincing himself that her anatomy didn't affect him, his mouth still became dry and his heart still beat a little faster.
When she started changing her clothes in front of him, he had to speak up.
"What are you doing?" he asked, more surprised than anything, but his words came out with a harsh edge.
"Uh, changing? I'd like to get into my sleep clothes so I can go to bed soon." It was incredibly sweet of Sasuke to bring her to bed the other night (something she couldn't help but blush over), but she woke up feeling a bit yucky that she was wearing her normal clothes in bed.
"Next time give me a warning," he grumbled, turning away to stare at a random spot on the wall.
Sakura walked over and put a hand on his broad shoulder, but he jerked at her sudden touch. She frowned down at him, "Why are you so jumpy?" She really only meant to talk to him.
"It's too quiet in here," he grumbled.
She pulled back as if she'd been burned, "Sorry, maybe we can get a chaperone again."
"There's no need to be dramatic."
"Oh please," she snorted, "try taking your own advice." For at least a week he had been leaving the house with a dramatic flourish of his cloak.
"Don't be difficult."
She laughed without humor, "Really, Sasuke? I think you're the difficult one."
His eyes narrowed, "What makes you say that?" For someone who often babbled when nervous, she sounded quite sure of herself.
She smiled to herself and it filled his chest with an unnamed emotion. "I think you miss me," she said haughtily.
"And just why the hell would you think that?" he growled, standing up and walking closer to her, invading her space as if he scared her anymore.
She continued even as she got backed up against a wall, "You like spending time with me. You like it when we're together. So you get grumpy when we're apart and it's easier to blame me for being somewhere else than to accept that you miss your wife."
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh really? Well, then how could I? You barely ever talk to me!"
"There's no need." He thought their communication had been fairly decent, to be honest. What was there to talk about?
"You're sullen and closed off."
"And you're annoying," he seethed before swiftly leaning down to pin her against the wall and kiss her harshly. She made a small noise of surprise, but didn't struggle. His eyes were screwed shut, and hers first widened in surprise, then fluttered closed. She would have evaporated if he looked at her with that intense stare she had come to know so well.
She wasn't very annoying to him when he was kissing her, she thought hazily. Rather, when they were kissing, he was very attentive. Despite his earlier stormy aura, he pulled back so his kiss wasn't so bruising and his hand carded tenderly through her hair.
"Sasuke-kun," she whispered against his lips.
A shiver wracked his body. She had never called him that before. He licked his lips and pulled away to look into her seaglass eyes. "What is it, my wife?"
She looped her arms around his neck and scratched lightly at his scalp, "I just want you to talk to me." She felt his shoulders relax even more. Hm, who would've thought to use her womanly charms to get her husband to open up?
"About?"
"Anything, everything. You and me, maybe."
He contemplated this and sighed. "It wasn't supposed to be like this."
"Like what?"
His brow creased deeply before he rendered her breathless with another kiss. "Like this. You're the one who moved here. My life was supposed to stay the same. But no, you've come in and changed it all."
"That's not necessarily a bad thing." She never wanted to intrude, but if he stayed in the same place for his entire life, Sakura had a feeling Sasuke would be deeply unhappy.
"No," he breathed deeply, "it's not. It's just hard to get used to." He used to think he always knew what to do, there was always someone to show him his path, but now he wasn't so sure.
"I just want us to be comfortable with each other."
He pressed himself impossibly closer to her and smirked, "You're feeling pretty comfortable right now."
She gasped hotly, "Excuse me, I didn't realize I married a pervert."
"I'm just telling you what's on my mind, I thought that's what you wanted," he said before capturing her lips again in a searing kiss.
She pushed him away for a moment and became serious, "Ask me. Just ask me what I want."
He studied her face carefully before nodding. "Okay, okay. I will."
And then before wrapping her arms around him again to resume the kiss, she whispered, "Thank you."
A/N: Aliss chose the baby name so thank her :* also when writing the Argument scene I kept laughing thinking about those memes that are like ooh I know you wanna kiss me so bad!