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Read Equinox and come back!
"Ooh. I think I see a lil bump!" Temari cooed as she flopped down on the sofa next to Sakura. When she reached over, Sakura slapped her hand away.
"Don't just go around touching people's bodies, Tem!" Sakura scolded.
"Alright, alright. Sorry," Temari sulked. But she looked up when Madara flipped the page of his magazine in a deliberate, sharp sound.
"You won't be able to feel anything anyway," Madara told her. And then he glanced over the magazine at Sakura. Scanning her face for a moment. "Are you feeling alright, Bunny?" he asked. His voice a little less crisp.
"It's better. Still a little queasy," sighed Sakura. She shifted on the sofa. Hugging one of the throw pillows to her chest. Her phone vibrated and she swiped her thumb across the screen. She tilted it to show Temari the photo that popped up.
"Hey. It's Aquaman," Temari remarked, leaning against Sakura's shoulder.
It was a selfie of Kisame at the airport. He wore reflective sunglasses, along with a heinous tropical print shirt. There was a departures board behind him.
"Is he visiting for the summer again?" asked Hidan, craning his neck to peek from the other end of the sofa. Until Sakura turned the screen toward him.
"Yeah. Says the water's too cold the rest of the year," answered Sakura as she typed a response to his message.
"Remind me why he's not part of your nest? I thought you said he was okay," Kakuzu inquired, turning away from his computer to face them. He crossed his arms across his chest, spinning the chair back and forth.
"Sharks are sort of..." Sakura trailed off, trying to find the best words.
"They're 'hit it and quit it' types," Hidan supplied.
Sakura wrinkled her nose. "Gross. But yeah. They don't stay to raise their kids. And that was a no-no for me. He's cool with the guys and me, though."
Everyone looked up as the door clicked open. Tobirama stepped inside, plucking at his shirt. He took off his sunglasses with a sharp sigh.
"It's June. Why's it so hot?" he grumbled. He grunted in greeting when Madara waved at him. Crossing the room in a few steps, he placed the cardboard tray of drinks down on the desk. He plucked one out- the one with slices of lemons bobbing among the ice. And then he moved a few more steps to kick Hidan's foot.
"You're in my seat."
Hidan grimaced, like he was about to snap something in return. Instead, grumbling, he got to his feet and moved to sit on the arm of the sofa instead.
Tobirama pushed his hair out of his face. Sweat beaded on his hairline and down the back of his neck. Sakura fanned him with her hand. Shaking his head, he pushed her hand down. "The AC's on. I'll live," he told her. He handed her the cold drink.
"Are you feeling better?" Tobirama then asked. He ran his hand over her stomach, rubbing just below her belly button as she took a sip.
"Still sore. I called the doctor and she said it's normal," Sakura answered. She smiled when he leaned in to kiss her. And when she opened her eyes, he was pulling her legs up to drape across his lap. He rubbed his hands up and down her calves.
"Maybe we should get you one of those pillows," he suggested.
She knew exactly what he was talking about. "You mean those giant ones that looks like a weird worm?" Laughing at the very thought. Tobirama smiled in return.
"I'll think about it. I might need a bigger bed, though," she warned.
Later that day, Sakura sat at her kitchen table. She leaned against Kakashi's shoulder, watching as he scrolled down the tablet screen with his pointer finger.
"Mm... this one looks okay," she suggested. Kakashi pulled his finger away to let her swipe up a little bit. She selected one of the movies. And then they both took a few seconds to read through the synopsis.
"That sounds good. Oh. Hold on," he said. Sakura watched as he hurried to the stove. A dutch oven sat on the burner. When Kakashi lifted the lid, the aroma of ginger wafted over to her.
Sakura raised her arm to cover her nose. More out of habit than anything. But after a moment, she took a tentative sniff. And then another. Kakashi glanced back at her before he stirred the broth a few times.
"You alright?" he asked.
Sakura took a deep breath. "Yeah. Wow. That smells good."
"Thank goodness. The mayor swore by this recipe," Kakashi sighed. Replacing the lid on the pot, he returned to his seat. He rubbed Sakura's back a little.
"I wanna eat garlic without puking, Kakashi."
"I know."
"And fries."
"Yeah."
"And coffeeeee, Kakashi. I want iced coffee," she whined, collapsing against him with a dramatic sigh. Kakashi wrapped his arm around her, chuckling.
"That must suck. I'm sorry," he replied.
And she liked that so much about him. How he didn't try to tell her to look at the bright side. Or to remind her that it would all pay off in the end. She knew there was a bright side. And of course it would pay off. But it was nice to have him sit and listen. And then to acknowledge that it sucked in the moment that every delicious food in the world currently made her stomach as rowdy as a mosh pit.
But the wave of self-pity passed and she peered up at him. Kakashi smiled as he returned her gaze.
"Sorry. I'm not much fun to be around when I'm like this, huh?" she mumbled.
"I think you're allowed to complain. Don't be sorry," Kakashi comforted her.
"...okay." As her mouth curled up at the corners, Kakashi leaned in and kissed it.
Three days later, a boat pulled into the single, lonely dock down at the beach. Kakashi spotted it during his early rounds of the town. His misty tail swirling behind him as he squinted down at the white shape bobbing on the morning waves.
Later that morning, Sakura traveled the wooden walkway down to the beach. Itachi right ahead of her, stamping on suspicious planks to test them before she set foot on each of them. And even as she insisted him that he was worrying too much, Sakura appreciated all the care.
The seagulls screeched overhead. Waves lapped at the rocky shoreline. When they approached the pier, Itachi stood on top of it with a frown. He shaded his eyes with his right hand, squinting out at the water.
"Careful," he warned. He eyed the waves.
"Will you relax?"
Itachi lowered his hand and put on his sunglasses instead. He let out a heavy sigh.
"I'll be fine," Sakura laughed. As she spoke, Sakura dunked both feet into the water. It felt cool in the muggy, end-of-June heat.
The boat tethered to the pier creaked a little. Bobbing on the rising tides.
Slowly, a black shape drifted up toward the surface. It wavered underneath the ripples. Before a dark fin sliced through the surface. It drifted towards them before abruptly changing direction. It did this a few times, rising up, circling closer, and then moving away.
Until finally, the fin cut a path directly to Sakura. Webbed hands slapped down on the pier before Kisame hoisted himself out of the water. His sharp teeth gleaming as he demanded, "Wow. Why do you smell amazing?" Droplets plinking back into the waves, onto the worn wood, sliding in cool trails down her thighs.
"Hey-" Itachi began to protest. But before he could finish, Kisame grasped her forearms and sank back into the water. Or at least, he tried. Because before he could, a shadow coiled around Sakura, dragging her further back on the pier, away from the water.
"Kakashi," she sighed. Half-relieved and half- no. Just relieved. Because even if she knew Kisame was always joking around, she wasn't keen on the idea of letting him drag her into open water like that. Even if he didn't mean any harm.
The black mist tightened around her. And it reminded Sakura, oddly enough, of what it felt like to have Kakashi's arm around her. If she concentrated, she could even feel his body heat in the curve of the darkness.
"Hey, Sheriff," Kisame greeted him. Elbows on the end of the pier, he lifted his torso out of the water. The black dog snarled, baring sharp teeth in response. Hackles raised as he glowered at Kisame.
"Woah. Seriously. It's just me, Kakashi. Don't act like we're strangers," Kisame tried again. His mirth fading altogether.
Sakura twisted around in Kakashi's embrace. Her hands touching the sides of his muzzle, waiting for his eyes to find her. Eventually, they did. One black and one red- sparkling like strange jewels. She smiled at him.
"Hey. I'm okay," she told him, keeping her voice low and soft.
"I'm safe. And Itachi's safe. We're all okay. It's just Kisame, right? He's our friend," she went on. She stroked her hands down his back. Feeling the bristling fur under her hands. Rubbing up and down before she heard him huff.
Kakashi's shoulders slowly relaxed. The mist swirled around him. Pulling and stretching upwards. When he rematerialized, his arms were wrapped around her.
"You're okay?" Kakashi asked.
"Yeah," Sakura replied. She felt him nuzzle against the top of her head.
"Sorry," he mumbled. Probably too embarrassed to let her see his expression.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't be sorry. You're getting better every day," she replied, still rubbing her hands up and down Kakashi's back.
"But what was it this time?" she asked. She felt his arms tighten around her. She shook him a little.
"I won't know if you don't tell me!" she insisted.
Kakashi heaved a sigh. He whispered, "I can't protect you if you're all the way out in the ocean."
It was only then that he pulled away to look her in the face.
"Please don't go where I can't keep you safe... Please."
Maybe if she hadn't seen his expression, she would have laughed it off. Told him not to worry. But his eyes told her everything that he didn't know how to explain in words. Sakura felt her heart contract.
"Okay."
They both looked up as they heard Itachi's sandals slapping against the pier. He walked over, both his hands in his pockets. As he crouched down beside them, he rubbed his jaw. Sakura recognized the gesture- he only did it when he was thinking hard about something.
"I'm getting hungry. Should we have lunch?" he suggested, putting one hand on Sakura's back and the other on Kakashi's. And then he looked over Sakura's head to Kisame, who hovered in the water. Clearly unsure whether it was safe to approach or not.
Itachi got to his feet and walked to the end of the pier. He offered his hand to Kisame, who grasped it.
"The sheriff should be fine," Itachi then assured him. And just as Kisame mustered a smile, Itachi dropped his. His irises tinging red at the edges.
"But don't ever touch Sakura without her permission again," Itachi added in a flat voice. He shoved Kisame back in the water with a terrific, uncoordinated splash.
"...He's a merman, you know. That won't hurt him," Kakashi pointed out.
"I know," sniffed Itachi. And then he turned back around to help Sakura to her feet.
"You need to relax. I've got my hands full with the four of you already," Sakura said as she watched Itachi help Kakashi to his feet too.
Itachi put his arm around Sakura's shoulders, pulling her against his side. "Oh, I know. I trust you. That was just for me," he responded. Sakura rolled her eyes as Kakashi and Itachi exchanged a high-five behind her back.
That night, sitting around the kitchen table in Sakura's house, Kiba guffawed as Itachi recounted the story.
"Niiiice!" Kiba crowed. He reached across the table to slap Itachi his second high-five of the day.
"Seriously unnecessary," Sakura grumbled into her pasta.
"No, this is normal," Tobirama informed her from her right.
"Really?"
"Nest dynamics include defending territory," he explained. All eyes were on him now. It was helpful that out of the five of them, at least one understood what was going on. Sometimes, anyway.
"The arrival of a single male is threatening. Wolves do it too, I'm assuming," Tobirama went on. He looked to Kiba.
"Hm, yeah, I mean, I guess. It's mostly just biting for us, though," Kiba answered after some thought. He grinned at Sakura before demonstrating his bite for her. She laughed.
"It also explains why Kakashi's been so..." Tobirama trailed off as he glanced at Kakashi. Who went on placing more salad on Sakura's plate.
"Growly?" Kiba offered.
"Sure," Tobirama sighed.
"I feel bad about being so rude to him, though," Kakashi finally spoke up for the first time that night.
"I don't," muttered Kiba, taking a big bite of his food.
"We should invite him for dinner sometime," he went on, ignoring Kiba's snickers.
"He better not get handsy again," Itachi remarked. Kiba grunted in response.
"He won't," Tobirama said. And Sakura caught him wielding his knife in a very deliberate way as he sliced his chicken into very small pieces.
They did the dishes and cleaned up. It all went so much faster with so many hands helping. Kiba had work early in the morning and Itachi had a meeting in the city, so they were the first to leave. Kakashi lingered for a while, too before he headed home to feed his dogs.
That left Tobirama, who sat on the edge of the tub as they brushed their teeth together. He watched her, one hand on his hip. And Sakura was used to his stares, so she didn't ask him about it. Just waited for him to gather the words. She could tell that he was thinking carefully as they took turns washing their faces. And he only complained a little when she applied some of her lotion to his face.
Sakura climbed into bed first. She watched Tobirama leave the bedroom. Listened to him double-checking the locks on all the doors before he returned to crank up the air conditioner. After he turned off the light, he crawled under the covers with her. His end-of-day stubble scratching against her face as he kissed her.
"Dinner was okay?" he asked her, stretching his arm across the pillow so that she could snuggle close.
"Yeah."
"You don't feel sick?"
"I'm good."
He kissed her again, like he was rewarding her for her responses. The very thought made her giggle softly against his shirt. Her eyes drifted shut as the air conditioner rumbled to life in the backyard. Cool air rushed through the vents, just the way she liked it.
"Sakura?" Tobirama asked into the darkness. Finally.
"Mm?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to say your name."
She giggled even harder. She slapped him on the side, listening to him pretend that it hurt. "Come on. Didn't you want to ask me something? Why've you been staring at me all night?" she pressed. She knew the curiosity would keep her up all night if she didn't ask now.
"Oh. That?"
There was a pause. And then she felt him move his hand. It began stroking her hair.
"I was just having a moment. I couldn't decide whether this was real or not. Like whether I'm allowed to be this happy," he sighed. Sakura knew he was only half-serious. Still, his flattery was always welcome.
"Well, this very real pregnant lady needs to pee. Again," she announced nudging at his chest. His arms tightened around her.
"Don't go. Stay here with me," Tobirama whined.
"You won't be saying that when I pee the bed. Move," Sakura urged, poking him again.
"I don't care."
"You're disgusting," Sakura laughed.