Warning: Character death. Mentions/depictions of illness.
"Ugh, I miss this," Moans out Ino as she stretches out along her towel. Her body was completely relaxed and she had no problems getting comfortable in the bright purple bikini she was wearing. Sakura loved how confident the other woman was and admired how that confidence didn't falter even as they near their thirties.
"The sun does feel nice," Hinata says softly as she finishes laying out her towel. The smaller woman was wearing a one-piece that matched the swimming trunks that she placed on Boruto. It was really cute, Sakura had to admit as she watched Boruto move around in the sand. The boy was super curious about the world and fussy to boot - the perfect copy of Naruto if there ever were one. She knew that the dark-haired woman had her hands full, especially with another baby already on the way.
Tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, Sakura smiles as her eyes travel from her two friends to further along the beach down by the water where Naruto was pointing at something wildly. Beside him she could see Sai and Itachi looking exasperated (as much as the two could allow to show) as Kiba just laughed. She knew, from experience, that it was probably Akamaru related. He probably tried to poop on Naruto again.
"Why didn't Temari come again?" Ten Ten asks as she takes a long sip from her water. She was down visiting for the summer, but she would be going back to traveling soon. After staying in one place for so long, the brunette had made a decision a year back to travel the world. Sakura was more than happy to receive the postcards she sends every now and then, but it still didn't beat talking to her in person.
"She had to take the baby for a check-up," hums Sakura and the rest of the girls nod.
Meetings like this weren't as rare as they once were. Ino had moved back to Konoha a couple months ago, Hinata hadn't ever left and neither had Kiba - the only ones who didn't live here were Temari, Gaara, Ten Ten, and Kankuro though Temari and Shikamaru were currently saving up money to build on his family's land about thirty-minutes out. It would mean they were closer and she would love that. In the end, all of her friends were still close enough.
"Your husband is an idiot," howls Kiba as he plops down onto the sand without a care. Hinata doesn't even blink at that statement nor did she question that it was directed towards her. Instead, she swiftly keeps Boruto from eating some sand. "He totally fell for my prank. He actually thought Akamaru's shit was just an odd sea creature. All I had to do was add little rocks as eyes and he was sold!" He couldn't hold it in and Sakura rolled her eyes as Hinata shook her head.
Some people never did quite grow up, but that was okay.
They were all still very much loved.
"Anyway, like I was saying. That was nice," Ino mouths off. It didn't take a genius for them to figure out that she was referring to the nice, light atmosphere that the women had before Kiba joined them. Said man only pouts before a loud shriek is heard from Naruto down by the water as he finally realizes what he was actually touching. Akamaru lets out a pleased yip and scampers towards Kiba.
Some things would never change.
"Here is her bag," Karin says as she hands the bag over to Sakura and Hana comes running through the door and effectively attaching herself to Sakura's waist. The girl was getting tall and growing up so fast, she couldn't believe it. "Here is Genki's.. Are you sure you don't mind?" Karin asks for the millionth time. The pinkette could see the worry on her face and she offered a reassuring smile as she accepted the other bag.
"We'll be fine, won't we kids?"
"Of course! Aunt Sakura is the best," chirps Hana and Genki is just as fast to agree with her.
"Now, please, go have fun. You and Kankuro won't have to worry about a single thing," Sakura says reassuringly and reluctantly Karin gives both of the kids a hug goodbye and a kiss to the top of their heads.
"You both be very good," the red-head says sternly and both children nod their heads so fast it makes Sakura light-headed watching them.
"Always," Genki promises and Karin gives him a soft smile.
As Karin finishes her goodbyes, Sakura couldn't help the swell of happiness from bubbling in her chest. She was so happy that Karin was able to overcome being a single mother and even happier that her love for her child extended to others. Her and Kankuro were the oddest couple, but they were also the cutest. Kankuro worshipped the ground she walked on and Sakura knew neither she nor the children would ever want for nothing. They were all a good match for one another.
"Alright, come on kids. Uncle Itachi will be home soon, lets get dinner and some movies going!"
When Itachi came home later on, he paused at the sight that welcomed him. Sakura was allowing Hana taste test the soup she was making while Genki was adding in the chopped tomatoes that were on a paper plate. It was music to his ears hearing their voices joke and laugh with one another and it made his heart beat in a weird way when he caught sight of the look of pure bliss on her face. She was in her element.
"I'm home."
"Uncle 'tachi!" He watched amusedly as Sakura helped Hana off of the counter and the little girl ran straight into Itachi's open arms as he kneels down. He stifles a cough that tries to escape him from the impact of her colliding with him. Itachi eyes Genki as Sakura nudges him towards him. He could tell that the little boy wanted to be involved but didn't feel quite comfortable just yet. Giving him a smile, one he hoped was comforting, he extended his arms out even further.
"Would you like a hug, too, Genki?"
The boy nods shyly and Sakura helps guide him. Letting him control the hug, Itachi hums softly. He adored his niece and nephew to pieces.
Dinner was a light affair with laughter and joy being spread throughout the dining room. It wasn't long before they were all on the couch with blankets and movies playing. The two kids barely made it to the second one before they were passed out.
Hana was on Sakura's lap while Genki was in between her and Itachi, resting his head against Itachi. Sakura's heart was melting at the sight of it all and a shared look between her and Itachi convinced her that he was thinking the same thing.
"Let's get them to bed, huh?" She whispers and he nods in agreement. Together, they quietly maneuver the two kids and carry them up the stairs into the spare room that they had set up their stuff in. Tucking them in, Sakura presses a small kiss to their forehead and Itachi watches from the doorway. His eyes soften as he watches how gentle she was with them.
Taking her hand in his own, he and Sakura make their way to their own room. As they settle in for the night they share a kiss before moving to embrace one another. A couple of heartbeats are shared between them as the silence in the room takes over. As his breathing evens out, he nearly has to catch it when Sakura interrupts the silence.
"I think I'm ready."
"They didn't cause you too much trouble, did they?" Kankuro asks as he shoulders the bags on his shoulder. Karin was loading the kids up into their suv. They were going to dinner before Kankuro had to go back to the city and take Genki to his mothers.
"They were perfect," Sakura smiles. "Congratulations, by the way."
"Thank you," Kankuro says and they finish their goodbyes. Sakura was happy for the two of them. She knew that the family they have and will create will be one of the happiest. Lost in her thoughts, she jumps slightly when she feels Itachi's arm winding around her waist. Relaxing into him, she tilts her neck as he presses light kisses.
They needed to get started on their long night.
Sakura pauses in reading her book when Itachi lets out a soft cough before taking off of his shirt. Her eyes noted the way that he seemed thinner, but not worryingly so. He did just get over the pneumonia so she tried not to worry about it too much. That with work as the business was getting increasingly busier lately. She was sure he was more than stressed and stress was a contributor to weightloss.
"I wish I could smoke," he groans out as he collapses on the bed. At this point he was nearly a year free of not smoking. She was beyond proud of him. Bringing her hand up to his head, she lightly strokes his hair and she could hear his breathing even out with a wheeze every now and then that usually occurred when he was asleep.
Sighing, she sets the book down and closes her eyes before an unsettling feeling creeps into her stomach. Faster than she had ever moved before, she is ripping her hand away from his head and running towards their bathroom. As she hurls what she had for dinner into the toilet, she could distantly hear Itachi getting up from the bed.
He kneels down beside her and starts rubbing her back. He gently soothes her until she stops and she groans, leaning back into his chest as they sit on the floor.
"Are you okay?" He asks after a moment and she thinks about it.
She wouldn't deny that every now and then she had been feeling a little nauseous or light-headed, but this was the first time that she had actually gotten to the point of throwing up. It surprised her but it almost surprised her in a good way. It gave her hope.
They had been trying for a while now and it almost seemed like they would never conceive. Even Ino got pregnant faster than she did - it only took her a month! Though she was happy for her friend, every single negative of her own she got she couldn't help the slight bitterness she felt.
"Do you think..?" Itachi trails off and his hand rests on her stomach. It was as flat as it normally was and he knew that, realistically, he wouldn't catch any movement until later on. Still, it brought their attention to the possibilities just a tad more than before.
"Do we have any more tests?" Sakura asks shakily. She had almost stopped buying tests altogether, but there was a small nagging voice in her head that told her to keep doing it. That one day it would happen. Itachi pulls away from her and rummages through the cabinet underneath Sakura's side of the bathroom. He pulls out two tests.
She nervously eyes the test and Itachi's eyes soften.
"We don't have to do this right now," he says and sets the tests down on the counter. "We can hold off, if that's what you want. The answer won't change."
Sakura nods and shakily stands.
She brushes her teeth and washes her hands, flushing the toilet to get rid of the vomit that was in it. She eyes the tests with temptation but also fear. She didn't know if she could do it right now. Sakura didn't want to face the disappointment that she knew would be written in not only her face but also her husbands. They both wanted this so bad.
"Another day," she answers his unspoken question and he says nothing as he guides her back to bed. Another day and they would be parents, they were sure. They had to be.
The tests stay on the counter for a full week of Sakura throwing up before she finally gives in one late night. If she were pregnant, she really hoped that her 'morning' sickness would change course and not occur at all or atleast actually happen in the morning. It was hard to sleep.
Closing her eyes, she waited and prayed for the results to come back positive.
She didn't know if she could take another negative, much less two of them. She had gone ahead and taken both tests so she could feel more sure of the results. When the timer on her phone went off, she couldn't breathe or even stand to take a glimpse of the results. She was too scared and that was how Itachi found her when she didn't return to the bed for twenty-minutes.
"Sakura?"
Hesitantly, she opens her eyes and she watches as Itachi picks up the tests. She gets to watch all of the emotions pass through his face and she didn't see disappointment cross through his eyes even once. There was shock, relief, and happiness. It all crashed down on her all at once, with those feelings reflecting in his eyes as his own orbs made contact with her own. Sakura couldn't contain her tears or the sob she choked back.
"We're pregnant," he breathes out and the tests are being gingerly set on the counter before his arms are wrapped around her tightly. They cling onto one another like their life depended on it and in that moment it felt like that was the case. They were each other's lifeline and soon enough, they would have a little baby to devote their lives to.
"I can't believe it," Sakura cries out and Itachi peppers her face with light kisses. "We're going to be parents." She sighs out and she gives him a sloppy kiss that she was sure had some of her tears in it. "I'm pregnant, I'm finally pregnant.."
They fell asleep in one another's arms that night with more than hope brimming within their dreams for the first time in awhile.
The couple had been over the moon for the last few weeks and it didn't go unnoticed by people. They figured it was about time that they shared the news with their loved ones and so they called forth their family and friends to a cookout. It wasn't too often that they did this but it was often enough that no one suspected anything.
As they were all laughing and having fun, the hours ticked by and eventually they were all sitting around in the living room when Sakura and Itachi shared a look.
"We wanted to take this time to give a very special gift to our parents," Sakura says as everyone focuses their attention on her. For a moment she feels self-concious and as if they could see right through her - that maybe they knew. That was a ridiculous notion though as she was barely showing just yet and wouldn't be for a bit. Taking in a deep breath she watched as Itachi gave both of the couples a box and she watched anxiously as they opened it.
The silence was deafening in the room as they all gathered around to see what was being given. The silence didn't last long enough though because soon Mikoto and her own mother shared a look before looking over in Sakura's direction and screaming, pulling her into a huge hug.
"I'm going to be a nana again!" Squeals Mikoto and she is already going around showing everyone the ultrasound that they had framed as a gift to both sets of grandparents. The way they announced it wasn't super special or cute, but it fit their family and as they all celebrated, Sakura didn't have a single regret about it.
"Congratulations, you're going to make a great mother," Gaara says as he gives her a quick hug. "You were always so great with Genki that even back then I knew you would fill that role quite well." The unspoken message between them was clear as day. That you would have made a good mother to my children was loud and Sakura forced a smile in the uncomfortable situation. It would seem that Gaara still clung to some of his feelings but for the most part it never caused problems outside of small things like this.
Sakura didn't really blame him. She strung him along unfairly and he had deserved better. She just wished he would actually look for better instead of hoeing around like he did before her.
"Thank you, Gaara, please get home safe."
Itachi was playing his guitar at the beach by the rocks where he and Sakura first kissed when his thoughts drifted away from him.
He could remember how conflicted he used to feel about his feelings towards Sakura and now he couldn't imagine a life without her. Her smile gave him purpose and the child that they created was the product of their love for one another. They had gone through so much to be together and as he strummed along the strings of his guitar, he told their story.
The song he had written for her all those years ago had many different reposes, but the newest one was his favorite. It told of the day they found out she was pregnant and the many different emotions they felt about it. Despite the tears and redness in her face, she had never looked more beautiful than in that moment with the way her face lit up. He replayed it over and over in his mind as he composed the melody for it.
He had taken to recording his own songs with a recorder so that he could look back on days like this where his tunes carried with the wind and his voice was accompanied by the waves of the sea. He also hoped it would be something he could pass down to their children.
Something for them to listen back on.
"So? Is it a girl or boy?" Ino prods and Sakura rolls her eyes as she bats the very pregnant woman away. The blonde was having a boy and Sakura almost hoped she would have a girl just to even the amount of girls to boy ratios they had in their friend groups children. Temari and Shikamaru had a boy, Hinata and Naruto had a boy and a girl very soon, Karin and Kankuro had Hana and Genki while Ino had her little boy. The numbers just weren't looking good.
Still, the thought of a mini Itachi warmed her heart.
"We don't know yet. The baby has been very stubborn at the doctor appointments so they haven't been able to tell just yet," Sakura muses and Ino lets out a laugh.
"Just like their mother then."
"Hey, watch it - you're pregnant, not invincible," Sakura jokes.
"Oh I'm so scared," giggles Ino and the two women enjoy each other's company a little while longer. Ino was due in the next two months and Sakura herself was only fourteen weeks. Placing a hand on her small baby bump, she compared herself with Ino's. She really hoped she wouldn't get too big. Ino was handling it all with grace that Sakura prays she will have herself.
As much as she wanted to have a baby, it was still scary and she wasn't afraid to admit it.
"I can't believe your son ended up being twins - a girl and a boy."
"I know! I still can't believe I actually got both of them out," groans out Ino as she switches out the baby she was feeding for the other one. "But it was all worth it, though I can't say I'd be willing to do it again."
"Understandable," Sakura laughs softly as she watches the gentleness present in her bestfriends body as she nurses her little girl. Sai was mirroring her gentleness with their son as he softly whispered to him. They made a beautiful family. "So, what's their names?"
"Inojin for the boy and then.. Saino for the girl."
"Oh, what a creative way to combine both of your names into their names," Sakura says and Ino gives her a smile. She stays around for a little while longer but eventually she feels tired and heads home.
Itachi comes home later on out of breath from the day.
He was just feeling so much more tired lately and he chalked it up to working overtime and then coming home to work on the nursery. Thankfully, though he missed performing, he hadn't had very many gigs as of recently. He just didn't have the time or the energy and seeing his wife passed out on the couch, he figured she had just as much reason to be as exhausted as him. She was creating a baby after all.
Hanging up his coat, he moves to the kitchen quietly after pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. He sets to work on dinner but he gets distracted momentarily every now and then. His head was killing him and he would feel dizzy. He would have to work on getting more sleep soon. Stifling a cough that has just refused to go away, he continues making a small dinner. Once it was done, he sat down for a moment to regain his energy.
Stealing himself to walk to wake his wife, he pauses when he notices she is already awake and already staring at him with a calculatory expression in her eyes. He offers her a smile but she ignores it as she comes up to him and presses a hand to his forehead to check for fever.
"You aren't running a fever, but you don't look well. Why didn't you come home sooner?"
"I am fine, dear. I made us some food, please, let's just eat and go to sleep. I think rest and some cuddles with my loved ones will help me." Itachi knew she gave in as soon as he assured her he would be resting. He wasn't running a fever so there was nothing to worry about.
As Sakura progressed further along in her pregnancy, the more she seemingly worried over everything. At eight months and she was waddling around the house, freaking out whenever Itachi did "too much."
"I am fine," Itachi reprimands her when she gets up to try and help him carry in some groceries. "The doctor said that you need to be taking it easy, I can handle taking in groceries." He adored the cute pout that formed on her face and it made it all the more worthwhile when she childishly crossed her arms. She was too easy to rile up and even more so now with hormones.
They were at the beach when a sudden wave of dizziness overcame Itachi and he had to take a moment to sit on a rock. They were just going on a walk for Sakura's "daily exercise" like normal but it just seemed like too much. He was out of breath and he could feel those dreadful coughs starting to come up again. He hadn't coughed in a couple of months so he thought he was in the clear but that was thrown out the window when he coughed into his hand a light pink substance greets him.
He dreads having to face his wife with the problems that just wouldn't go away and especially so far into her pregnancy. He didn't want to stress her out and Itachi knew that this would do exactly just that. So, he makes the decision to quickly clean off his hand.
"Are you ready to head back home?" He asks, a slight wheeze in his voice but Sakura attributes it to him being out of breath. They had walked pretty far today.
It was another night filled with Itachi hacking up his lungs in another room while Sakura pretended she was asleep when in reality anxiety and worry crawled up through her chest and invaded her mind. Her sleep was filled with nightmares and she knew that she couldn't wait for him to tell her before something was done. At this point, he would rather waste away before telling her and it kind of hurts.
With her mind made up, she gets up out of bed and slips on her slippers. She slowly creeps out of their bedroom and down the hall where their nursery was. It was the room he had been going into the most often recently and as she neared, she could hear his hacking even clearer with the occasional wheezing. When it quiets down, she calls out his name.
"Itachi?"
There wasn't an answer and she bites her lip. Peeking into the room, her heart drops into the bottom of her stomach. It could have been the lack of lighting or maybe it was her memories messing with her, but he had looked almost ghostly in that instance. He was in the rocking chair hunched over and as she listened closer, she could hear him wheezing.
Rushing over to him, she tries to catch sight of his face.
"What's wrong?" She asks hurriedly and she is immediately looking for what is causing the paleness and frailness that she was seeing in her husband. He had been losing weight but not overly so, he was lethargic and tired a lot but it could have been from stressed - except it wasn't and she was so scared.
"Deep and slow breaths," she tries to coach with her heart in her throat. She couldn't unsee the look in his eyes as he struggled to try and breathe - he just couldn't catch his breath.
Sakura was sitting in the waiting room of the emergency room as they tried and figure out what was wrong with her husband. Worry and fear ate at her chest and she could barely think straight. All she was thinking of was the paleness of his face and the way that he looked at her - like he was sorry.
And for what? For being sick?
Or maybe it was for not reaching out for help.
She didn't know and she didn't care. Sakura just wanted him to be okay and she wanted him back home with her. She wanted this all to be a nightmare and she wanted it over.
Hours pass by before she hears any word.
They had to revive him twice and that was one of the most frightening things to hear. It scared her more than Sasuke ever had.
"We also found traces of cancer in his lungs as well as deterioration in the tissue. With swift action, it may be treatable but I would advise you to prepare for the worst. I am deeply sorry."
And then Sakura was alone, but she wasn't. With her hand on her stomach, rubbing at it like her husband used to do to try and quiet down the child within her, she used her other hand to hold the hand of her unconscious husband.
The room was quiet but it wasn't their kind of quiet and it was that thought that bothered her the most. Soon other people would be here to see him before the ultimate decision on where to go from here would be made.
Just the thought of it all made a sharp pain in her stomach act up.
Groaning, she pushed it to the back of her mind. Instead she focuses on Itachi's sleeping face. She gently cups his face and gives him a gentle kiss before brushing his hair away from his face. He looked unwell, but he didn't look that unwell and it unsettled her.
How long was he dealing with this before she found out?
It ate her up and Mikoto found her weeping hours later.
"It will be okay, dear, it has to be." The older woman tries to console her while keeping her own emotions in check. "He still has so much to live for, this isn't it for him, I promise."
It was a big promise, but it was one that everyone had clung onto as the days went by. He hadn't woken up for more than a couple minutes at a time and when he did, he hacked up this weird pink flym. Sakura, if she were thinking straight, might have thought there was blood or something in his lungs but as it were she was barely eating outside of when her mother or Mikoto forced her to.
"Sakura.." his voice croaks and her world tilts as she rushes to his side.
"Itachi!" She cries and she is clinging onto him. She is mindful to not make it even more difficult for him to breathe but it was rough when she wanted to never let him go again. "I love you so much, so, so, so much," she sobs and he closes his eyes before letting out a cough he aims away from her.
"I love you, too."
Pulling away, she wipes her tears to no avail. "Why?" She asks after a moment and she knows, despite his loopy mind, that he knows exactly what she means.
"I didn't want to worry you," a cough and a wheeze, "and it came in waves. It seemed to get better."
No matter the reason, the only important thing was that he came out alive.
"They revived you twice, you know," she breathes into his neck when she embraces him again. "I was so scared - still am."
"I'm here now," he tries and soothes her and she doesn't have the heart to ask him, 'but for how long?'
They tried chemo first to kill the cancer.
It just made him appear sicker. His hair was thinning and his bags under his eyes had never been so discolored. He looked like a zombie and it broke her heart. The only thing that kept her going was the way he would gaze at her, smile, and talk to their baby who had yet to be born. The baby that may not get to really know their father.
She had to stop herself from crying.
Itachi was back at home with scheduled appointments filled out in a calendar. He would be taking time off from work and taking this time to rest. Sakura just hoped it all helped.
She was washing the dishes when she felt it.
That telltale cramp and trickle.
"Itachi.." She calls out and she doesn't hear an answer. Slowly, she walks to him and she gives him a shaky smile. "It's time."
Giving birth was easily one of the most painful things she has ever gone through outside of watching the chemo slowly fight against Itachi's body. It was hours of strenuous labor but she got through it because she had him with her. He held her hand the whole time and he never left her side.
The wail that broke through the room caused a wave of relief to flush through her. She did it. They did it. He would get to meet her - their darling baby girl.
"She's beautiful," he wheezes out softly as he catches his breath. Sakura couldn't stop the smile on her face as their baby was brought over to them.
"Yes, she is. Our darling Hinami."
Settling into being parents and going to all of Itachi's appointments on top of working was tiring. Sakura had never felt so drained before in her life.
Quietly entering the nursery, she pauses as she listens to him sing to Hinami softly. It was such a sweet moment and it would be forever ingrained into her mind. Off to the side, she notices he had set out a camera and that he was recording it.
A more innocent part of her was thinking that it would be cute to look back on together as a family.
A more dark side of her mind said it was so Hinami would have something to remember him by.
Sakura didn't know which one she would rather believe or what would cause more relief. She didn't even want to think about it. She wanted him to get better, to live. He had to. Not just for her but for their daughter.
Everything wasn't always light in the Uchiha house but no one expected it to be.
The atmosphere after chemo appointments were tense and it was difficult to break. The only thing that has succeeded so far was the cute little noises that Hinami would make. Looking down at her daughter she gave her a smile that was returned with a gummy one.
Hinami had Sakura's eyes and Itachi's hair. She looked like the both of them, a perfect mix, but a part of Sakura had hoped she would take after Itachi more. It was a selfish wish and for a selfish reason. She just wanted something to remember him by.
After Hinami is long asleep, Sakura sits at the end of their bed.
She wasn't tired. Well, she was, but she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. This particular treatment seemed to take the worst toll on Itachi yet and she couldn't stand it. Medicine was supposed to help, to heal - not destroy. She couldn't bear it.
"It's killing you," she says softly and he comes up behind her. He gently moves her hair away from her neck and presses kisses along her jaw and down her shoulder. He held onto her tightly and she let herself fall into his embrace.
He didn't say anything in response to her but he didn't have to. They understood one another just fine.
Hinami was growing bigger by the day and Itachi couldn't believe it. He was so thankful to be able to watch her grow and he took advantage of it every moment he got. He recorded everything and he took pictures of everything. A part of him wished he would have started doing this sooner. It would mean more things to look back on.
"You're the most beautiful creation on earth," he says softly as he presses a kiss to his daughters forehead. She only looked up at him in wonderment with those big emerald eyes. If anyone asked him, he would say she was the spitting image of her mother and he loved it.
As she grew, every now and then he would have a moment of not feeling bad. It would last a day, maybe two or three, and sometimes even a week but never for longer. It gave them false hope but he appreciated that little spurt of energy all the same.
"Thank you," he kisses Sakura's cheek that night. "Thank you for giving me this wonderful life."
"You say that like it's already over."
He doesn't respond. Instead he hovers over her and they make eye contact. This was the third day in a row that they had managed to get Hinami to sleep in her own room with the baby monitor. She was a few months shy of a year and it had been too long since he had been able to have more than five minutes with his wife.
"We shouldn't - you haven't been feeling well all day," Sakura starts but is interrupted by a kiss from him.
"I feel fine."
And she made him feel even better than fine.
It was on Hinami's first birthday that Sakura felt a familiar feeling creep up through her throat. She had spent most of the early morning in the bathroom and a worried Mikoto stepped inside.
"Are you feeling alright, dear?"
"I'm fine.. Just not feeling one hundred percent," Sakura jokes. "I haven't felt this bad since I.." She trails off and Mikoto looks both confused and worried.
"Since what?"
"Since I found out I was pregnant with Hinami," she finishes quietly and the bathroom stilled. They hadn't been trying and neither of them had really entertained the thought since he had gotten sick. It would be cruel to one another to even think of it but for some reason, it felt even crueler when it actually happened. "Could you.. Could you give me a moment? And maybe don't say anything to Itachi?"
"Of course, dear. Just let me know if you need anything."
Hinami wore the cutest little dress for her birthday party. Her hair hadn't quite grown in just yet outside of little bits of black hair that was growing pretty strongly on top of her head. Mikoto had said that both of her boys had taken a while to grow their hair so not to worry about it too much.
"Happy birthday!" Cheered Hana loudly and causing Hinami to blink owlishly at her before erupting into tears.
"You scared her!" Genki shouts and that just frightens her even more. Hana looks apologetic as Itachi scoops her up from where she was propped on the couch. He quietly shushes her, slowly getting her to calm down.
"I'm sorry, Uncle Itachi. I just got so excited. She's my only cousin after all," Hana explains hurriedly and Itachi shakes his head. He knew how kids were. After a moment, he notices Sakura coming down the stairs looking pale like she had seen a ghost. A forced smile was on her face and worry pitted itself in his stomach as she came near him.
"How's my darling girl?" She asks and Itachi wordlessly hands her the baby. Sakura's hair has gotten much longer lately and Hinami busied herself with it by grabbing it by the fistfuls. "Are we almost ready for cake and presents?" She asks the baby who just gives her a slobbery grin.
"I think so, but are you? You don't look too good," Itachi says and he fixes Sakura with a concerned look. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She says cheerily and then she's taking his hand. "Come on, she only turns one once."
The rest of the party went by in a blur and soon it was time for bed. She knew she couldn't avoid the topic for very long. She was an open book to him and one that he has read a million times at that.
"Spill," he says as he sits on the bed beside her.
She stares down at her lap and chews on her lip. She was worried. She didn't know if another baby was what they needed or wanted right now. Before he was sick, they had entertained the idea of two or three children but after everything has happened she just didn't know anymore. The thought of raising them with him made her insides gooey, but the prospect of not being able to do it with him turned her insides cold.
"You can tell me anything, Sakura."
"I know, I'm just scared," she admits. "I'm scared for the future." Sakura takes in a deep breath and she looks him in the eyes before resting her forehead against his. She closes her eyes and basks in just being close to him. "You have had your good days but your bad days outweigh them by a lot. What do I do if they win? The mere thought terrifies me, even more so now."
"You would raise our daughter and find happiness," he answers simply.
"You are my happiness."
"And you are mine, but I would never wish for it to end with me."
A silence falls over them.
A beat and nothing more.
"I'm pregnant again."
She didn't have to wait long before her lips were captured into a kiss. He made love to her that night like she had given him the world and perhaps in a way she had.
"How have you been feeling Mr. Uchiha?"
"Better," Itachi answers and he squeezes Sakura's hand. It was true. He was finally feeling more like himself again and not like he was a second away from dying. It was a nice change to the life he had been living for the last year. They were hoping it was a sign that he would live and survive. That they wouldn't have to face the possibility of death any longer.
That would be nice, they thought.
"I'm glad to hear it," and then they continued on with the tests and chemo.
He felt the worse he had in months afterwards.
"I think I want to stop chemo," he says quietly as he gently traces shapes on her belly. She was only three months along but already showing so much more than when she was pregnant with Hinami. Itachi loved it. "I feel better in between rounds than I do during the rounds."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Sakura answers honestly as she plays with his hair. "I think that it's too risky. We've been doing so good, why risk it?"
"You have a point," he says but he still doesn't go to the next chemo session and she doesn't make him. If he had a slight more pep in his step no one mentioned it.
"Come on, open up wide for me," Itachi tries to persuade Hinami to eat her food but to no avail. She was just as stubborn if not more so than her mother and it both amused Itachi and frustrated him. "It's really good, I promise."
Hinami eyes the green goop on the spoon suspiciously and Itachi really couldn't fault her for it. He wouldn't eat it either.
"Fine then, but you can explain to your mother why we decided to have the strawberry banana mix instead of this.. Whatever it is."
She only claps her hands and he couldn't ever refuse her anything.
He was starting to feel drained again and perhaps that should have been the first warning sign he heeded. He didn't, in true Uchiha fashion. In fact, he didn't heed any warning signs until he landed himself back into the hospital and this time with a ventilator. He could see the worry on Sakura's face and the way she anxiously traced shapes on his hand or the way her hands would rub her swollen stomach every so often.
He wished he had the energy and means to tell her how much he loved her and how sorry he was for everything.
Wiping away some tears from yet another scare, Sakura squeezes his hand tightly. "We'll get through this," she whispers and he has to wonder before he drifts to sleep if she was talking to him or their unborn baby.
"The cancer is spreading," the doctor said and she felt like her whole world was crashing down on her. Everything was going so well. He had more energy, they were having another baby, and they were happy - it was all perfect. "There isn't much we can do except make him as comfortable as he can be. He may live a few months or maybe even another year. It's hard to tell."
Sakura sniffled, listening to the doctor intently.
When they got home, Sakura couldn't help the sobs that wracked her whole body that night as she held onto him. She couldn't help the way her heart broke when he joined her silently. She couldn't help but feel so upset by how unimaginably cruel the world could be. What did they do to deserve this?
Hinami was with her parents and that was the only thing they had organized right now.
Neither of them were thinking that well. They were too caught up in one another and the possible grief. They cried for what could have been and what has been. They talked about their past and their present. They talked about their love and oh how they loved.
It was late at night one night when Itachi woke up with a start. Everything had been relatively calm the last few weeks and it created a false security. He should have known better as a feeling unlike one he had felt before crept into his bones.
"Sakura."
"Yes?" She asks groggily as she sits up. "Are you okay?"
"Do you want to go to the beach?" He asks her and she is more awake now. Glancing over at the clock, she squints.
"It's three in the morning," she states.
"We could take Hinami. She loves the beach."
That was how they found themselves sitting in the sand by those rocks that they kissed by. It was how they laid down on a blanket and stared up at the stars together. It was how Itachi had sang to them so sweetly and softly. It was how their life together flashed in front of their eyes.
The ocean was beautiful when Sakura woke up. The smell of the salt and the sound of the waves were therapeutic. Looking down at her husband and the way he held their daughter as they both slept filled her with the same feeling.
Whatever was, would be.
It was an ordinary day when something felt off.
Sakura didn't know what it was or what it could be. It was frustrating and it drove her mad. She didn't feel like she was forgetting anything. She had picked up Itachi's medicine for the pain in his ribs and Hinami was staying with Itachi's parents for the weekend.
She just couldn't pinpoint it and as she walked into her house, the feeling only got stronger.
"Itachi?" She called out and got no response.
Carefully trudging through the house and up the stairs, she tried to listen for him. She didn't hear anything and it worried her. Opening their bedroom door, her heart momentarily calms down at the sight of him on their bed. It lasts for a split moment though as she comes closer and realizes he isn't breathing.
Her whole world stops and spins in reverse.
The tears start falling and they don't stop after the shock sets in. The calmness he had been exhibiting in the last few days made sense now in the most horrible way. As she collapsed beside him, she shakily checked for a pulse. Not finding one she cried out hysterically.
"Please, please don't do this to me.." She cried, tears flowing from emerald, her head bowed and a pink halo of her hair surrounding her head. "I can't do this without you.." She hiccupped, a sob escaping as she bowed her head ontop of his chest. "I love you, I love you. Please come back to me."
Her heart was broken beyond repair and she couldn't fathom any thought other than that he was gone.
"Come back.." She cries, trying to perform cpr. "Come back!" It was to no avail and at some point, her tears dried out to where she wasn't even actually crying. She was broken and she didn't know what to do.
Her husband had died.
Her soulmate was gone.
She didn't know what she was going to do without him. She didn't know how to live without him, she had forgotten how.
She didn't want to, but she knew she would have to. For them.
"Mommy! Play it again, I want to hear it again!"
"Alright, Hinami, just a moment. I have to reset the video," Sakura says softly as she adjusts her arms around her youngest child and oldest to restart the video. On the screen Itachi was smiling at the camera with a small, infant in his arms.
"That's me!" Hinami chirps and Sakura presses a kiss to the top of her head in response as she tried not to cry. "And that's daddy!"
"It sure is," Sakura answers softly as he begins to sing in the video. He had recorded so many videos and Hinami and her had watched many of them many times. There were some that she just couldn't get through though and those were the ones he had left for her. It was so thoughtful but it was so painful at the same time.
Adjusting her youngest in her arms, she turned her attention from the video to her son.
He was the spitting image of his father at just three years old. It hurt her to know that her little Isui would only know his father from video and by voice. That he never got to meet him. Holding back her tears, he brings both of her children close.
It was hard now but it was even harder back then.
It was so difficult explaining to Hinami that Itachi wouldn't be with them anymore. It was so hard when Hinami would forget and cry out for him in the middle of the night. It became less frequent but it was still awful; especially when it was Sakura crying out for him first.
She had loved him with all of her heart and it was that love that had created these children. It was that love that carried her through the days. Sometimes, on days she felt even more lost, she would go to those rocks. She would sit down there and close her eyes.
Sometimes it felt like he was there with her.
That he was gently caressing her face and telling her that it would all be okay.
She believed him, too.
Authors note:
There we have it, guys. The end of this story. I cried writing this. Thank you guys so much for reading this and giving my writing a chance. All of your support has been such a huge contribution to the finished product of this. I appreciate you guys. Thank you.