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Read Equinox and come back!

A howl echoed through the forest.

Sakura jolted upright, her eyes flying around in the darkness. Hana eased her feet up onto the dashboard.

"It's still gonna be a while. Go back to sleep," Hana called back to her. In the driver's seat, her husband, Ren, glanced back too.

"Are you sure you're not cold?" he asked her for the millionth time.

"I'm okay," Sakura insisted, shaking her head. Hana and Ren exchanged a look. Blowing out a sigh, Ren reached back to hand her a thermos of hot tea. And then Hana threw a blanket on top of her.

"Kiba would kill us if you get sick," Hana sighed, crossing her arms behind her head.

"Are you sure he's alright? What if he runs into a bear? A Bobcat?" Sakura continued to fret, even as she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders.

"Then I feel sorry for the bobcat. He'll be ok," Hana replied.

Hana and Ren's jeep sat parked in the forest behind Sakura's house. The engine was silent. But the woods weren't. Even at night. The crickets chorusing for miles at miles without end. The occasional frog croaked in the darkness. And then there was the anonymous rustling of other creatures moving about in the night.

"Hey, seriously. You can go inside and sleep. We'll wake you if anything happens," Hana told her for the millionth time that week.

Sakura pretended not to hear her. It was spring, but the nights seemed to think that it was still winter. She stuffed her hands in her pockets, rubbing her fingers against the warmers she had stuck inside. Shook them a little like tiny maracas in her palms.

For the past five days, Sakura had stubbornly sat out here with Kiba's sister and brother-in-law. Just waiting.

And it had all started with the most mundane visit.

"I brought pie!" Kiba exclaimed as soon as she opened the door.

"O...kay?" she replied.

Past her leg, a black, wet nose poked out. And then another. Sakura looked down.

"Boys," she warned.

Pakkun and Shiba skittered back into the house, their tails wagging.

"Oh, is Kakashi here?" Kiba wondered. Sakura opened the door wider, shaking her head.

"He got a call so he's out doing... sheriff...ly things. I think that's right?" she replied. She took a step back to let Kiba into the house. Laughing, Kiba handed her the pie.

"Yeah. Sheriffly. Sounds right to me," he agreed.

Sakura peeked under the foil top and gasped.

"Apple pie, again!"

"Yeah," was all he said before he went to greet the dogs. Bull sniffed at him, butting against him. Kiba bumped him back before Shiba tackled him and began licking his face.

"Kiba..."

"Yeah?" He rubbed Shiba under the ears, making his tail a blur. Kiba laughed when Pakkun butted his way in for some love too.

Sakura pressed her palm to her mouth. Thinking. And then she sighed, "Kiba... you didn't have to. This probably takes you forever."

"What are you talking about? It was only, like, two hours," Kiba snorted. He reached into his pocket to look up the recipe on his phone. This stopped when Bull placed his front paws on Kiba's legs, begging for more attention.

"No, that means you make, like, a million pies. And you only bring the best one, didn't you?" she guessed.

"Uh..." His hesitation was an answer in itself as he rubbed Bull behind the ears.

Sakura sighed. She placed the pie on the kitchen counter and then stood there. Hands on her hips as she watched Kiba play with the dogs.

"You're... so sweet. You know that?" Sakura declared. Wrapping her arms around him from behind, she kissed him on the cheek. Kiba turned his head to the side so she could kiss him on the mouth this time around.

"Anything for my girl," he replied. And maybe if someone else had said those words, it would have sounded like a corny joke. But it was special when Kiba said it. So special that she felt compelled to kiss him again.

Kakashi had returned a few hours later to the smell of something bubbling away on the stove. Kiba stood at the sink peeling potatoes while Sakura chopped carrots. Her knife tapping away.

Kakashi hung his keys on the hooks Kiba had mounted by the door. It was just one of the few additions Kiba had made around the house. Including a pot rack above the kitchen island and a new sink that could actually fit more than a couple dishes at a time.

"Hey, Kiba," Kakashi greeted him, patting him on the shoulder.

"Sheriff. Out catching the bad guys?" Kiba said in return.

Kakashi scoffed. "Helping Tsunade get her cat out of a tree, you mean?"

Kakashi waited until Sakura set the knife down before he kissed her. He leaned over her shoulder, peeking down at the ingredients on the cutting board.

"I felt like stew," she explained before he could ask. And then she pointed at the pie on the counter.

"Kiba brought pie again, so I figured we should have something good for dinner too."

"Oh... he did?" Kakashi mused in return. He glanced at Kiba again, forehead wrinkling. He plucked a slice of carrot off the board and crunched it between his back teeth. Then, he reached out stroke the top of Sakura's head a few times. She turned to him, a little confused, but not unhappy at the affection. When she smiled, he returned the expression, the corners of his eyes crinkling.

"I gotta make a call. I'll be right back," he told her.

"O...kay? Weirdo," Sakura replied, laughing a little as he leaned in to kiss her cheek.

"I'm glad the Sheriff called us. Although, Kiba could've just told us himself. That idiot," grumbled Hana. Her husband reached over to pat her knee.

"Hey, this is hardest for him. Kiba's always had a hard time with wolf stuff," Ren replied.

Because apparently Kiba bringing her food all the time was a warning sign. One that Kakashi had learned after his many years of observing all different kinds of monsters. It didn't take long for Kiba to take a week off of work and to disappear into the woods.

He had randomly dropped by her house one night. Knocking on the back door when he already had a key. Hands bracing against the stair rails, Kiba kissed her before she could say anything. The kind of kiss that left her a little breathless as she tried to figure out what had gotten him so worked up this time. Especially given that she was in sweatpants and an old t-shirt.

"Hey. I'm gonna be... not around as much for a few days," he told her.

"Um... okay?" she replied. A little perplexed by the vagueness.

"But it's nothing dangerous," he added, his eyes widening as he waved both his hands in front of him. Sakura giggled.

"Alright, Slick. Whatever it is, good luck, I guess," she replied as she pulled him in for one last kiss.

Huddled in the back of the jeep a few days later, Sakura wondered why she hadn't asked him for more details. And then, for the millionth time, she sighed. It wasn't like she could go back in time to change things. And each time she asked, Hana and Ren tried to reassure her that everything was fine.

Still, she couldn't help but ask again: "This is normal, right?"

Neither of her companions jumped. Hana glanced at her in the rearview mirror to nod. Her husband twisted around to look at Sakura.

"Kid's establishing his territory. Even though the order's a little backwards. It's fine, though," he assured her.

"The thing is that Kiba's got himself a mate. And a hot one at that. He's gonna want to make sure he has the space to provide for you and any future pups," Hana elaborated. Ren looked at her, scratching the stubble on his cheek.

"I took down a bear trying to get Hana'a attention," he recalled.

"That was pretty cool," she agreed.

Sakura wasn't really in the mood for laughter. Her anxious eyes returned to the woods. Staring at the bushes and leaves. Hoping that he wasn't out there getting himself hurt. Or worse.

Shivering a little, she snuggled down deeper into the blanket.

Sakura didn't know when she fell asleep, but she jolted awake when the car door slammed shut.

"Sak! Get up!" Hana whispered, reaching into the back of the jeep.

"Wuh?" Sakura mumbled. But she was obedient, following Hana's hands as she pulled her up and out of the car. The older woman pulled her through the darkness. Sakura blinked, trying to clear the blurriness out of her eyes as they hurried through the woods. Twisting and turning to avoid scraggly branches.

Somewhere ahead, she could hear panting. Ren was running ahead of them.

"Wait. Isn't that my house?" Sakura wondered as they hurried ahead.

They found Kiba sprawled on her front porch. Scratches covering his legs and arms. There was a huge scrape running up his left shin that oozed blood. Which seemed horrific to Sakura until she noticed a deeper gash on the sole of his right foot. He was covered in dirt. His chest rising and falling- like he had just collapsed there after running and running.

"How much longer will this last?" Sakura whispered. She watched as Ren took off his jacket to cover Kiba's naked body.

"Not much longer. I promise," Hana said, putting her arm around her to give her a squeeze.

The couple lingered for a while, but Sakura eventually sent them home. They both had work in the morning. There was no sense in them being exhausted too.

"Oh. Just one thing," Hana called, stopping halfway down the gravel path. She turned to look at Sakura. "He's gonna be sleeping pretty deeply. Don't try to force him awake. Right now wolf-brain and human-brain are kind of fighting. If you wake him before he's ready, you don't know which will respond first."

"Oh," Sakura said, taking a step to the side, away from Kiba. Hana laughed.

"It's not like that. Just don't rattle him around," she told her before she hurried after her husband. Boots crunching on the grass and the sound growing farther and farther away.

Kiba sat up in the morning, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands like a little kid. He looked over and found Sakura curled up beside him in a tight ball. There was a blanket on top of him. It smelled like the laundry soap that Sakura used.

"Hey," he said, giving her shoulder a little shake. And then immediately regretted it because he had no idea what time it was. Or whether she'd gotten enough sleep at all.

Still, she roused with no complaint. Rubbing her hand through her hair, she slowly sat up. Her eyes were red.

"Are you okay?" she asked, interrupting herself with a yawn.

"I should be asking you that. Why aren't you in bed?" he wondered, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. It was cold out here.

"Well... Hana said not to move you. But I didn't want you to be out here alone," she replied. And then she sneezed. She lifted the edge of the blanket to peek at his injuries. They were already scabbed over. It was still bizarre whenever she saw how quickly weres healed.

"You're gonna get sick," Kiba sighed, reaching out to touch her forehead. He stopped himself when he saw that his nails were caked with dirt and what looked like dried blood.

"I'm gonna borrow your shower," he announced. Sakura ran a hand through her hair.

"Sure," she yawned in return. And then her eyes popped open when Kiba wrapped the blanket around her and hoisted her into his arms.

"I can walk!" Sakura protested.

"I know," he answered.

"You stink."

"Sorry."

As he stepped into the house, Sakura searched his face. Despite the healing, he still looked battered and bruised. Like someone had stuck him inside a giant cement mixer and rattled him around.

She leaned in to kiss the tip of his nose. Which looked like the cleanest part of his face.

"It's okay. You're my stinky," she assured him.

Three days later, a single, drawn-out howl pierced the air.

"Finally," sighed Hana.

Sakura jolted upright. "I wasn't sleeping!" she exclaimed. Because she had definitely nodded off.

"It's over," Ren told her, glancing over his shoulder at her. And then he added, "He sounds far off. Just how much land did he claim?"

And feeling relieved, Sakura finally managed to sleep in her bed for the first time in over a week. Because according to Hana, it was over. Kiba had established his territory and fought off whatever lone wolves were wandering around in the area. Which explained all the cuts and bruises that he came back with.

Kiba went back to work, just as cheerful as ever.

Only, there was something slightly off about him. Which Sakura knew she wasn't imagining because even Itachi noticed it.

"There's... why do you have so much food in your fridge?" he wondered as he glanced through the shelves.

"It looks like Costco in here," Itachi muttered half to himself. And then he opened a cabinet to find it stocked to bursting with canned vegetables and tuna. In another there was a ridiculous amount of dry pasta of all shapes and sizes.

"Kiba keeps bringing groceries. He's been really on me about not eating out because it's unhealthy," Sakura sighed. Which she knew was true. And she really couldn't complain because Kakashi and Kiba were always cooking for her. And even Itachi cooked vegetarian meals when he came home on the weekends.

It also didn't help that Kakashi wrinkled his nose as he clomped up the front steps.

"What?" Itachi asked.

"It reeks of werewolf piss everywhere," Kakashi coughed into the collar of his shirt as he raised it to cover his poor nose.

A week later, Sakura shrieked when she spotted a dead deer sprawled across her lawn. Kiba stood next to it, a smile on his face as he waved at her.

"Morning!"

"Kiba, what the hell is that!" Sakura yelled through the screen door.

Kiba looked slowly from the carcass to her. "It's... a deer? Have you never seen a deer before?"

"Of course it's a deer! I mean why's there a dead one at my house!" she snapped, her hands bunching into the bottom of her shirt. She could see blood oozing from the teeth marks all around the animal's limp throat.

"Venison! It's good for you," Kiba replied, still unbelievably cheerful.

He jogged up the gravel path to open the door.

"There's tons of nutrients in deer. It's really good once you get used to it. Here, let me show you something," Kiba went on, taking her hand.

Sakura dug her heels in.

"Seriously? What's up with you lately?" she demanded, wrenching her hand from his. Kiba stopped.

"Am I being weird?" he asked.

"Yes! You're being super weird! Why are you being all... all... just weird! A dead deer? Also, the groceries? And you're peeing everywhere. Again!"

He scratched the back of his head.

"I just..."

Sakura opened her mouth to yell more until she saw that he was really thinking. Eyebrows pinching together, mouth twisting as he tried to come up with an answer.

"I just feel like, I have to take care of you. Make sure you're eating a lot. Get more territory. Make sure that I can provide for you," he muttered, half to himself. He rubbed the back of his neck as he thought.

"Why? You know I'm fine even without that," Sakura reminded him, taking his hands in hers. Heaving a sigh, he shook his head.

"No idea. It's... wolf-brain, I guess. It's almost like..." Kiba lifted his head, staring off into the distance. He stopped talking mid-sentence.

"Kiba?"

"Holy shit, Sakura. I think you're pregnant," Kiba whispered as something clicked in his brain.

"Congratulations. You're three weeks along," the doctor said as she settled in her chair.

She flipped through the clipboard. "I'm glad you came so early. Most people don't catch on until they've missed their first period." And then she looked up. She looked from Sakura's face to Kiba's.

"...I'm guessing this wasn't planned?"

Sakura found Kiba's eyes. He reached out to grasp her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"A happy surprise, I guess," Sakura told the doctor.

Kiba drove them back to her house, grinning the entire way. Even at the stop signs and the red lights. "Man. This is... it's crazy!" he kept saying to himself, shaking his head. And then he would glance over at her, shaking his head again.

It wasn't that she wasn't happy. But Kiba's reaction was more subdued than she had expected. Or at least, that was what she thought until they got a few blocks from the hospital. As they sat at a red light, Sakura watched his face. She could see it actually sink in.

Throwing his head back, Kiba exclaimed, "Shut up! YEEEEAAAHH!" And he dissolved into laughter. Slapping his palms against the steering wheel and stamping his feet. Sakura found herself laughing too as Kiba wiggled around in his seat. Pumping his fists into the air as he whooped.

The light turned green and the car behind them blared its horn. Even as Kiba resumed driving, he was still cheering and laughing the entire drive back to Old Pines.

They debated about how to break the news to the other members of their family. But Kiba took one look at her and chuckled. He flipped on the signal to make a left turn. In the direction of the police station.

Kiba waited in the car, waving for her to go in alone. He had gotten the news first. He could at least give Kakashi a little privacy when he found out.

Kakashi stood in his office, a cup of coffee in his hand. His head jerked up as soon as she walked in. Sakura was sure that if he had been in his dog form, his ears would have perked up. Tail wagging. It was rare that she came to see him at work, after all.

Sakura headed straight into his office. She closed the door and drew the blinds, before she faced him. Her hands clenching and unclenching as she tried to contain her excitement. Sensing that this wasn't just a quick hello, Kakashi set his coffee aside. He leaned against his desk, bracing one hand against it to keep balance.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked, half-smiling and half-not as he tried to read her expression.

"A baby," was all she managed to whisper.

Kakashi's hand slipped. He tumbled to the ground, dumbstruck. And all he managed to do was continue to stare at her as he sat on the floor. His legs splayed out the way he had landed. Ignoring the pain in his butt.

"A... what?" he asked. Even though he had heard her perfectly.

"A baby, Kakashi. In here," Sakura said, resting her hand on her abdomen.

Kakashi laughed. His eyes growing even larger. "Are... are you... sure?"

"I just came back from the hospital. Yeah," Sakura replied. She slowly knelt beside him. Smiling so hard that her cheeks were starting to hurt a little.

"A baby," whispered Kakashi.

It took him a long moment. But it finally seemed to sink in. Kakashi wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head over and over. She could feel his smile each time he kissed her.

"Wow. A baby," he breathed as he held her close.

Itachi was just as surprised when she called him that night. It was a Monday and he was in Empire City working on some big multimillion dollar project. She could see from his expression that it hadn't been a pleasant day at work.

"A b- baby. Like... wah wah?" Itachi asked, imitating an infant's crying.

Sakura nodded.

"Holy shit. A baby," Itachi whispered. Both his hands on top of his head.

She watched him walk around his kitchen once. And then he approached the computer again. Hands clasping on top of his head, Itachi began running through all the calculations. "We have to start a college fund now. And the cost of diapers. Daycare? No, maybe a private school."

"Itachi," Sakura called. His head snapped up as he refocused on her.

"Should I drive up now? I can call out sick. And... oh my god a baby."

Sakura laughed. "You can't miss work. You just told me you have a ton of meetings tomorrow," she reminded him.

"Yeah. But that was before I found out that... ah man. I don't care. I'm coming over," Itachi decided. And Sakura saw that there was no point in trying to convince him otherwise.

Sakura called Tobirama right after. It took him a while to pick up, which meant that he was probably working on a song.

And when the call connected, she saw that she was right. He sat in his studio, headphones dangling around his neck. The lights in the room were soft purple and blue. He wore a lapis lazuli ring on his fourth finger.

"Hey," he greeted her. She saw him muss his hair. Fix the collar of his shirt.

"Tobirama," she called. And then she bit her lip, smiling.

"Yeah?"

"Tobirama... do you wanna be called daddy or papa?"

A long silence answered her. Tobirama was so still that she wondered if the call had frozen. But then she saw him raise both hands. He rubbed his eyes, in slow, deliberate motions.

Tobirama sniffed. When he lowered his hands, tears glistened in his eyes.

"Sakura."

"Yeah?"

He sniffed again. Wiping his eyes, he blinked a few times. His lashes heavy with moisture.

"You craving anything? I'll buy it on my way down," he offered, trying to keep his voice steady. As tears continued to drip down his face.

Sakura beamed at him, feeling her eyes stinging at the corners. "No. Just hurry up, you big idiot," she said before she burst into tears too. Laughing and crying together with Tobirama. Who wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket as he tried to find his keys and wallet.