Come What May
Cause all of me
Loves all of you
Love your curves and all your edges
All your perfect imperfections
~All of Me by John Legend
Warning/Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto and very slight language
'Soldiers found and brought back for treatment' is what he read on a bright and chilly Saturday afternoon. Sasuke set his coffee down as he read the rest of the article. Shikamaru Nara and Naruto Uzumaki had hobbled to their base after escaping from enemy territory…both were later transferred to Solider House for treatment…families are overjoyed to see them safe. Sasuke set the newspaper aside and decided not to dwell on it any more. At least Sakura would be happier and not so depressed. He hadn't seen her in a few weeks; however the last time he saw her should looked incredibly irritated- though that also could have been from the pregnancy.
"Daddy!" His daughter shouted as she slid across the wood floor over to his spot at the kitchen counter. "Can we go shopping today?"
He felt a smile pull at his lips as he looked at her curiously. "For what?"
"Well, I was told at school that when a friend gets pregnant that you give her gifts that she can use for the baby. Ms. Sakura is a friend so I should give her a gift!"
Though her logic wasn't flawed, Sasuke didn't know how he felt about buying a gift for his ex-girlfriend. "Maybe you could make her a card."
"I did!" She grinned, holding up the card she made on light yellow paper. She explained that since she didn't know the gender of the baby that yellow was the best way to go. "But I still want to get a toy or something for her. Please, Daddy?"
He sighed, unable to say no to the adorable look she was giving him. "Alright, get dressed and then I'll take you out."
That was all she needed to hear. She was out of sight in a matter of seconds and he could hear her drawers being pulled open and then the sound of the shower. He waited only for about ten minutes, responding to emails on his laptop, until Akane came sliding back out fully dressed in jeans and long sleeved purple shirt. She barley gave him enough time to put on his shoes and jacket before she was out the door and running down the hall to the elevator.
"Akane what did I tell you about running ahead of me?" He chastised.
She ducked her head down in shame. "Not to. I'm sorry."
He sighed, understanding that she was just excited to go shopping. "It's fine, just don't do it again,"
She smiled, taking his hand in her small one. Akane was so happy to go out and shop with her Daddy for someone she cared about tremendously. Sakura had been a mother figure for her- replacing the biological woman that wanted nothing to do with her. It hurt her deeply that Karin disliked her, however she was still happy with her young life. She had a father that loved her unconditionally, an uncle that was her hero, grandparents that she didn't seen often though she knew they loved her, and Sakura who she looked up to.
When they arrived at the baby store that was a few blocks away from their apartment, Akane let go of her father's hand to explore her surroundings- leaving him to awkwardly walk around the store. He hadn't been in a baby store since Akane was born and even then he didn't say for long- opting to let his mother take care of the shopping.
"Sasuke?" He turned and saw Hinata Hyuuga, Sakura's co-worker, standing next to him- looking at him curiously. "What are you doing here?" Her pale face then turned red in embarrassment. "Not that you can't be in here, but-"
Sasuke shook his head, to cut her off. "Akane wanted to get a gift for Sakura's baby."
Hinata's face slowly turned back to normal. "Oh? That's so sweet of her! I'm here for that as well."
Sasuke shrugged. "I guess."
"Hi Ms. Hinata!" Akane greeted as she skipped over to the two adults with two toys in her hands.
"Hello Akane," Hinata smiled. "What do you have there?"
"Presents for Ms. Sakura," She replied. "I just don't know which one to get her."
"Well those toys might not be good for a baby, those are meant for a toddler. Would you like me to help you?" Hinata asked.
"Yes, please!"
Sasuke stood back and let Hinata lead Akane to the appropriate section of the store. Hinata's natural charm was not lost to him, and neither was the small ring on her left hand. He never paid much attention to her when he stopped by the nurse's office to drop more of Akane's pills off; however there were times where Sakura was not present which forced him to give the pills to Hinata. He noticed that Akane had become attached to Hinata as well, but was much more attached to Sakura.
"Look I found a better toy!" Akane announced to him, holding the toy up for him to see. "Well Ms. Hinata helped me, but I found this one on my own."
"Good job," Sasuke replied. He looked at Hinata who was smiling lightly at Akane. "Thanks for helping her."
"No problem!" She replied earnestly. She then looked thoughtful for moment, as if pondering whether to tell him something, before saying: "Since Naruto is back, some of Sakura's friends and I decided to throw her a baby shower. I'm sure she would love for Akane to come and she can give Sakura her gift. Is it okay if I take her?"
Akane looked at him with hope filled eyes. "Please, Daddy?"
Sasuke sighed, wanting to fight the look his daughter was giving him, though he never could fight it for long. He was sure Sakura, like Hinata said, wouldn't have a problem with his daughter being there; but he was still worried about her spending time with his ex-girlfriend and her husband. Hinata, seeing his troubled expression decided to try to bring him some kind of comfort.
"I'll be there the whole time and you know she'll be safe with Sakura," She said. "Though if you really don't want her going, it's fine."
"Daddy!" Akane whined to him, hoping for a positive answer.
Sasuke sighed, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Alright, she can go. When is the party?"
"Next Saturday," Hinata replied, happy she could bring the little girl with her. "Thank you for letting me take her."
The two adults quickly swapped information such as phone numbers and addresses, bought the items they had selected and went separate ways. Akane talked about Sakura and the baby shower the whole way home, while he pretended to listen.
"Daddy you're not listening to me…"
"Of course I'm listening to you."
Akane pouted. "Liar, I asked what we were eating for dinner and you never answered."
Sasuke looked down at her pouty face and smiled in amusement. "Alright you caught me. Do you want me to make grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner?"
"Yes, please!"
The next week went by and the next thing Sasuke knew it was Saturday afternoon and Akane was waiting for Hinata to pick her up.
"Remember to be on your best behavior and say please and thank you," Sasuke lectured. He wasn't worried about her being disrespectful, but felt like he still needed to remind her.
"I know!" She replied, putting the toy and card in a gift bag. "I'm almost six Dad; I'm a big girl!"
Holy crap she didn't call me Daddy, was all he could think. Oh my God she's growing up, what do I do? Luckily the buzzer from the down in the lobby brought him out of his thoughts before he had a panic attack. He walked over to the speaker and pushed the button, saying: "Sasuke Uchiha."
"It's Hinata," A nervous feminine voice replied.
"We'll be down in just a second," He replied. He checked to make sure that Akane had everything she needed before leading her to the lobby of their apartment complex.
"Hi Miss. Hinata!" Akane grinned, running to the women.
Hinata smiled back and gently patted the girls head. "Hello Akane, are you ready to go?"
"Yes!" She replied. She turned back to her father, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I'll see you later Daddy!"
"Bye Akane," He said, relieved that she had reverted back to calling him 'Daddy'. He wasn't ready for her to grow out of her little girl stage. He looked at Hinata. "Do you need any money for food or anything?"
"Oh no that won't be necessary," Hinata replied.
Sasuke watched his daughter leave with the young women, happy to see Akane looking up to people who set good example for her.
Sakura had not expected to arrive home from brunch with Scarlett to see her closest friends and family there with smiles and presents. She also did not expect to see Naruto out of Solider House (currently he was only allowed out for the birth of their child which was only days away). Aside from Naruto being present, she also did not expect Akane to run up to her-trying her best to hug her; however her enlarged stomach made it difficult.
"What's going on?" She questioned, trying to be stern however a smile made its way to her face.
"We decided since Naruto's safe and you can truly be happy about being pregnant, why not throw a baby shower?" Scarlett replied, with a grin.
"You little sneak! You took me to brunch to get me out of the house!" Sakura laughed.
Sakura soon made herself comfortable on the couch, Naruto's arm draped around her shoulders. She was talking and laughing with the people that meant the world to her. Occasionally she'd look over and watch fondly as Akane colored by herself. She would then walk over to her and talk to her about what she was drawing or simply ask how she was or if she as hungry. Watching Akane made her excited to see her own child grow up. Near the end of her party, after presents where opened and most of the guest had left, Hinata pulled Sakura aside nervously.
"It was okay for me to bring Akane along right?" She asked. "I know you two are close and-"
"Of course it was okay!" Sakura laughed, cutting her stuttering friend off. "She's such a sweet kid."
Hinata looked relieved. "Oh good. I saw her with Sasuke when she was buying you a present and felt like I needed to extend the invitation so she could give it to you."
"Don't worry about it. Thank you so much for this party."
"It was mostly Scarlett and Ino; you know how they are amazing at planning parties. I just pitched a few ideas in the brain storming process."
"That's still something though!" Sakura replied.
Meanwhile, Naruto was cleaning up a few things in the living room and putting the furniture back in place. Once he was done he stood back and looked at his living room, wishing he could stay; though he knew he just had a little bit of time left in Solider House. He could feel himself becoming normal again- his nightmares slowly becoming less frequent as well as his panic attacks.
Suddenly, he felt a tug at his shirt, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked down and saw the little girl that had come in with Hinata staring up at him with eerily familiar onyx eyes. With a smile he crouched down to her height and smiled: "Hey, you're the little girl that came in with Hinata. What's your name? Are you two related?"
Akane shook her head, clutching the picture in her hands nervously. "No, she's just a friend of mine. My name is Akane Uchiha."
Naruto had to stop himself from falling on his butt in shock. He vaguely remembered Sakura telling him stories about her ex-boyfriends daughter; however he never thought he'd meet the girl. "Akane huh? I'm Sakura's husband, Naruto."
"Oh you're the man in the photo Ms. Sakura has on her desk at school!" Akane said.
Naruto chuckled. "That's me."
Akane looked at the picture in her hand nervously. "I drew a picture of you and Ms. Sakura. If you don't want it it's okay, but I just thought I'd show it to you…"
Naruto motioned for her to give it to him. Sure enough, it was a stick figure drawing of him and Sakura sitting on what looked like their couch. "Thank you Akane, it's good!"
Akane smiled, but then looked down nervously. "So…you like me?"
Naruto looked at her in confusion. "Why wouldn't I like you?"
"Well, I know that something happened between Ms. Sakura and my Daddy a long time ago and I didn't know if you would dislike me because of my Daddy." Akane replied, trying her best to articulate how she felt, however her five year old vocabulary kept her from being as clear as she wanted.
Naruto smiled kindly at her, placing a hand on her wavy hair. "Of course I like you. You're Akane, not Sasuke. Besides, Sakura adores you, so there's no way I could dislike someone Sakura adores so much."
Akane grinned at the blond man in front of her- overjoyed that he liked her. She followed him to the kitchen where he placed the picture on the refrigerator.
"What's that Naruto?" Sakura questioned, from the kitchen table where she talked to Hinata, Scarlett, and Ino.
"Akane drew us a picture," He replied, moving so she could see it.
"It's so cute Akane! Thank you," Sakura said, making the five year old grin from ear to ear.
"You're welcome," She replied.
Hinata looked at her phone then at Sakura. "I should get Akane home. Sasuke didn't give me a specific time to have her back, but I'm sure he wants her back soon."
Sakura nodded, standing up to give her friend a hug. "Thank you so much for coming." she then moved towards Akane, bending down slightly. "And thank you for coming as well. I really appreciate you being here."
"You're welcome Ms. Sakura," Akane replied. "You mean a lot to me and I hope that we can be good friends!"
Sakura looked at her surprised for a moment, before wrapping her arms around her as best as she could. "Of course we can sweetie."
A few minutes later Hinata and Akane were gone leaving Naruto, Ino, and Scarlett.
"I don't mean to bring you down off your good mood Sakura, but you do know the closer you get to Akane the more you'll have to interact with Sasuke," Ino said.
Sakura sighed. "I know, but that little girl needs me. I know she looks up to me and I'm her go to person when Sasuke isn't around."
"Why take on that reasonability?" Scarlett questioned. "Why get close to her when you know that means getting close to that asshole?"
Sakura shrugged, unable to explain. "I don't know…it just sort of happened."
"I might not like her father, but Akane seems like a good kid. She has a heart and really worries about what people think of her. She even asked me if I liked her, because she knows that you and Sasuke aren't on the best terms," Naruto commented.
"What did you tell her?" Sakura asked curiously.
"I told her that since you adore her, then I have no reason not to like her," He said.
Sakura smiled at his response, thankful that she had such a kind hearted husband. She moved towards him and leaned to give him a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, it means a lot that you said that."
Ino and Scarlett backed off the subject and switched topics to something much lighter. About an hour later they were gone too, leaving Naruto and Sakura to cuddle on the couch together and enjoy being in their apartment.
"I can't wait until you permanently come back home," Sakura said in a soft tone as if afraid that if she spoke to loud she would ruin the light atmosphere around them.
"Me too," He replied, softly rubbing her stomach. "Then we can spend as much time together as we want. And we'll have little Leo here."
"Hey! It could be Kiyoko!" Sakura giggled.
"Either way, as long as I'm here with my family I'll be the happiest man alive."
[Author's Corner]
~Well...been awhile since I've updated...SORRY! And apparently I can only focus on writing past midnight, fantastic...
~I noticed that Sasuke and Akane didn't have much "screen time" so I figured, why not give them some?
~Have a great day! :)