Another Important Question
They were settling in for the night, their sleeping mats pushed together by the softly crackling fire and their sides pressed to each other in comfort. The newlyweds sat atop their cozy sleeping arrangement and worked their routine. Sakura was writing a message to send to Konoha and Sasuke was reading a small scroll when the medic heard it: the sound of rustling leaves.
Chhchhchh.
Sakura whipped her head in the direction of the disruption, a rhythm out of synch with the forest's usual beat. Back stiff straight, she waited for it to sound again.
Sasuke, who'd become attuned to Sakura's reactions, froze in the middle of his task and trained his gaze on her. Silently, she turned her head for their eyes to meet. A wordless message passed between them, and he broke their gaze to activate his sharingan in the noise's direction. His eye erupted blood red while the tomoe spun lazily into place. He blinked once. Twice.
"What is it?" Sakura asked, instinctively reaching her hand out to place it atop his knee.
Sasuke blinked again for his eye to flicker back into its onyx hue. The corner of his mouth twitched with nearly-imperceptible amusement, though Sakura was sharp with his movements. The medic followed his gaze back toward the brush. "Oh," she breathed, immediately relaxing.
Skulking timidly out of the forest's foliage was a slinky, midnight cat. It's sunshine yellow eyes gleamed in the firelight as it looked carefully between the pair, assessing their trustworthiness.
Sakura pulled away from Sasuke to dig into her travel bag. Moments later, she extended her hand, for between her fingers was a small helping of rice and shredded salmon. She clicked her tongue softly to coax the slinky feline closer and gave a delighted smile when it obliged. It took a few bites, its eyes darted towards the medic, and then it pivoted and scurried back into the brush.
"Aw," Sakura deflated in disappointment. "There's still more in my bag."
"Wait," Sasuke murmured next to her ear, prompting her to turn towards him, eyebrow raised curiously. Their breath mingled between them tantalizingly, but his eyes were still trained on the spot where the cat disappeared. In response to her curiosity, he nodded in the direction of the brush. "Just watch."
His wife turned back and gave another little gasp when the cat came back. Behind it, two kittens splotched with calico colorings pranced at its hind legs with obviously less tentativeness.
"Oh," Sakura gasped. "A mommy!"
Sasuke snorted at her enthusiasm before reaching into her bag for more of the salmon and rice mix. He placed it in Sakura's awaiting palm and watched as the little family followed the mother's lead in munching away at the dinner.
Sakura patted Sasuke's knee, and he instantly knew to turn and allow her to settle between his legs. As he leaned back onto his arm for support, she leaned back against his chest, shuffling slightly to adjust for comfort, before settling into position. As she cooed softly at the kittens, Sasuke leaned forward and brushed his lips against her pink tresses, breathing her in. He almost didn't realize the question that slipped from his mouth.
"Do you want one?"
Sakura peeked behind her and raised a curious brow. "A cat?" she asked before tossing more of the rice and salmon. "I don't think that it'd be happy with a couple of vagabonds."
"Not a cat."
The medic hummed her confusion, for she was normally quick to accurately guess his thoughts. "A...kitten? I think that would be even harder," she snuggled further into the cradle of his chest.
"Not a kitten," he replied before lowering his voice. His tone changed to soft, timid curiosity. "A baby."
Sakura froze before turning as much as she could toward Sasuke to look him in his eyes. Her heart seemed to arrest in her chest for a moment while she ran her gaze over his features. It began to race as she realized he was serious. "A baby," she echoed, her voice barely audible.
He didn't avert his eyes from hers to confirm her wordless question. Her verdant gaze grew glassy with tears almost instantly, spurring her to look down as a blush bloomed across her cheeks. She seemed to shrink into herself shyly before she gave a small, timid nod.
His own heart stoked loving flames at the sight of her like this. Sasuke pressed his lips to her temple, to her cheek, to the corner of her mouth, coaxing her to turn to him. When their lips met, he had to keep his head from swimming in her sweet touch to murmur, "Okay," against them.
She giggled and sobbed before turning to face Sasuke. She cradled his face in her hands. "Okay."