Okay, yes it has been a year. I am sincerly sorry. I'm pleading for your forgiveness! Did you read the Manga?... shit... lol This is for princesshyuuga01 I know you're struggling, but I thought this might cheer you up. To all my lost reviewers please don't hesitate to yell at me for being gone so long, I just wanna read your words and hear from you!

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO (If I did this is probably how it would play out)

Restoration

Chapter 5 : Always Away

After all three of them had been cleared by Tsunade, now head of the hospital directory, to be released from the hospital, the three family members finally got to go home. Getting used to an infant was diffucult for Sasuke and Tenten, it was quite an adjustment from when it had just been the two of them.

Sasuke was currently allowing Tenten to rest, she was sleeping on the couch in their livingroom, and he could tell she was rather spent. Nanami had been asleep for a few hours, but Sasuke's ears perked when he heard the faint sound of their child waking in her bedroom. He glanced at his brunette beauty who lay sloppily on the couch flat on her back. One of her arms hung completely off the couch and her head was slowy sliding off as well, her thick brown curls dangling loosly to the floor and her mouth slightly hanging open. He didn't want to wake Tenten, but he was nervous about checking on Nanami on his own. He'd never been around small children, let alone babies in his entire life, especially being the younger brother. Frowning when he heard her let out a tiny cry, he forced himself down the hallway and to her nursery.

Slowly, he walked crept into her room, not allowing himself to make a single noise as he peered into her crib. When she spotted her father, her dark eyes widened and she kicked her tiny legs in excitement. His heart nearly lept out of his chest when he saw her do this. He'd fallen in love with her at the hospital, but this, this was even more than that. Her small arms reached above her head and she let out a tiny grunt as if to tell Sasuke that she wished to be held.

Sasuke reached down into the crib and delicately picked her up, still feeling a little awkward with the miniature human in his arms, but after a few moments, he gained a little more confidence with his child and cradled her in his arms. A small smile crept onto his face that he had hardly been aware of as he stared down at her. They both seemed entranced with each other for what seemed like minutes until she frowned and furrowed her brow. Her little hands made their way to her mouth, and Sasuke deducted that she was probably hungry. Of course he could not feed her, but he didn't want to wake Tenten either. But soon, Nanami began to cry, and sob.

Sasuke's entire body tensed as the child in his arms began to cry louder, kicking her legs in discomfort. Small tears fell from her eyes as she sobbed, and the poor young man began to panic. He held her out, away from his chest as though she were a broken toy, or something poisonous and foreign. "N-nanami, calm down.." He tried, but she only cried more. "Good God child, stop it." He grumbled under his breath as he looked around frantically for some type of solution. "Uhh..." His eyes darted all about the room in search of something that may keep her quiet until Tenten would awake, but it was too late. The brunette was already standing in the doorway with her arms crossed as she leaned against the frame of the door.

"Having fun, are we Sasuke?" She asked curiously as she looked at her helpless partner.

Sasuke rolled his dark eyes and handed his child off to her mother before a sigh of relief escaped his lips. Some day, maybe he would be able to comfort a crying infant, but he was not good at this. He could barely comfort Tenten when she was upset, which was why he was thankful she didn't act nearly as emotional as most of the other women her age in Konoha.

Nanami fell silent as soon as she was in her mother's arms, Tenten wasn't struggling to comfort her child in the least, in fact, she was a natural. The way she gently soothed the little one was uncany. Sasuke knew she didn't grow up with a mother, and he knew she was beyond nervous when their due date approached, hoping that despite she had no mother of her own, that she could still be a good one, and sure enough she was. She was excellent. Sasuke wondered if it had anything to do with the simple fact that Tenten was a woman. It couldn't simply be upbringing, but maybe. Sasuke's mother was always gentle, and soft spoken. Similar to Tenten, aside frm the fact that Tenten wasn't really all that soft spoken at all. But sometimes, the young brunette kind of reminded him of his mother.

"Aren't you going to be late?" Came Tenten's voice, totally shattering the thoughts that Sasuke was currently quite engaged in.

He furrowed his brows and tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Late for what?"

"It's Naruto's birthday. He and the guys are all meeting up at Ichiraku." Tenten informed as she crossed the room and sat down in the rocking chair adjacent to the crib.

"Oh shit." Sasuke mumbled and gave her a sypathetic look. "I forgot, are you sure I-"

"I'd be more angry with you if you didn't go. It's an important day for him."

He nodded and crossed over to her as well, kissing her forehead breifly before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Ichiraku Ramen was relatively packed with the many companions and friends of Naruto Uzumaki, who had very recently earned the title of Hokage after their Sensei Kakashi had stepped down. He had finally achieved all of the dreams he'd been after for so many years.

"Sasuke, Teme!" Naruto chimed happily when he saw Sasuke walk into the restaraunt with somewhat of a scowl plastered upon his face. He'd been deep in thought about Nanami, and having left Tenten at home once more despite not having been there for a while. Sasuke raised a hand and waved a little as he took the seat beside the blonde shinobi who still had a smile upon his face.

"Oy, how's the baby?" Naruto chimed as he slurped up his ramen, eyes crinkling in a smile.

"Yes how is fatherhood, Sasuke?" Came the smooth voice of the previous Hokage, Kakashi as he glanced over at his previous students.

"Interesting." He answered shortly as a bowl of ramen was placed before him. He gave Ayame a grateful nod as if to say thank you.

"Ah? Is it not as fun as you thought it would be, teme?"

Sasuke shrugged, not particularly in the mood to discuss his family with anyone else, dispite the fact that Nanami and Naruto were second cousins. "Guess you'll find out when you and Hinata have one." He said with a shrug of the shoulders.

Kakashi's eye crinkled in a smile, shaking his head in disbelief as he looked at his former students and how they had grown up and made something of themselves. Still, though, he sensed that something may be bothering Sasuke, but he didn't dare ask. Sasuke wasn't one to open up. In fact, Kakashi was rather shocked to find out that he had a child with someone he didn't seem to even have a particular interest in all those years ago. Then again, Sasuke was only interested in himself back then. Kakashi wondered if it might be strange for Sasuke now that Neji Hyuga had been reintroduced to the villiage seemingly out of nowhere. It came as quite a shock to the entire villiage, especially the Hyuga clan.

Neji, however was seemingly content with his newfound flame, Ino Yamanaka, so Kakashi assumed there was no competetion. Most of the students he had seen grow up in the academy, that had survived the war, were settling down and getting married. But Sasuke and Tenten were amung the last to do so.

"So you ever gonna propose to Ten-Nichan?" Naruto inquired, nudging Sasuke in the ribs with his orange clad elbow.

Sasuke hadn't given that much thought, though quite pressured by his older brother, Naruto, Hinata, Lee, Neji and everyone else he stumbled across. They all asked. Almost on a daily basis. When will you propose? "I don't know." He offered.

Naruto wasn't satisfied. "Well, you two have a child together... Don't you think-"

"I haven't thought about it." Sasuke responed, dryly. "I don't want to right now."

"And why-" Naruto started before Kakashi darted a warning look in his direction and he looked down at his ramen with a quiet sigh. "Well someday, maybe. So.. you remember how you mentioned something about when me and Hinata have kids?"

"Yeah?" Sasuke glanced over at the blonde and quirked a dark eyebrow.

"Well we're gonna have one in like seven months."

The front door to their home creaked open slowly, the moonlight from the sky flooding in and illuminating his footsteps as he made his way in. His red eyes scanned the area, where he found the young girl sleeping on the couch with his neice laying upon her chest, she too, fast asleep. Itachi smiled fondly before reaching down and scooping up the infant, walking her to her room and gently laying her in her crib. She lay completely undisturbed. Just like your old man. He thought to himself as he smiled down at her, she certainly could sleep through anything. Much like Sasuke when he was just a bean sprout.

He turned his back to her and walked back out to the living room, where Tenten still hadn't budged either. Itachi looked down at her sleeping form and for a moment, he longed for her, but that dissipated quickly and he shook his head as if to throw off the thought. Sasuke had simply ask he check on she and Nanami, as he had to rush out on a last minute trip to Kirigakure to deliver something to the Mizukage, Mei Terumi.

Itachi hadn't been assigned, oddly enough especially because he was the Captain of that particular team. But Naruto said that Sasuke needed some time to think. Hopefully to muster the courage to propose to the girl that Itachi was looking at now. Slowly he bent down and scooped Tenten into his arms gently, careful not to wake her. Her body hung limply in his arms as he carried her down the hall to she and Sasuke's room. He lay her down gently and covered her up with a blanket before placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Did he.. have to go?" Tenten whispred quietly as her deep brown eyes slowly opened and she looked up at Itachi. She was almost taken aback and she blinked a few times making sure that it was Itachi and not Sasuke, they looked so much alike these days.

Itachi nodded and brushed a piece of hair away from her weary face. "I'm sorry. He'll be back in the morning."

Tenten sighed sadly and frowned. "He's gone so much lately... do you think.. that he doesn't want to be with Nanami and I anymore?" She asked quietly as she sat up slowly.

"Not at all, Tenten." Itachi assured. "Give him time. You know him as well as I."