Chapter 7
"Sakura, I have some baby clothes for you!"
Said woman gave a sigh, before picking herself up off the couch and heading up the stairs of her parents' home.
Her mother had been in the attic most of the time, trying to find every last bit of Sakura's baby clothes. Knowing her daughter was going to have twin girls made Mebuki begin cleaning up the dusty attic in an attempt to save Sakura and Sasuke some money on baby clothes. Mebuki knew all too well how hard it was to refrain from buying every last piece of baby clothing, spending every dime she had with her at the time. She came home to Kizashi numerous times with several bags full of pink and red and purple dresses and rompers, with the oddly thrown item meant for a boy, which she just shrugged and said was 'just in case'.
"Mom, why don't you have a window open?! All this dust will make you suffocate!"
"Oh, Sakura, calm down! I have an air filter."
Sakura rolled her eyes, taking a seat on the floor beside her mother. "So, what did you find?"
"Oh, I found all the dresses and rompers I bought for you! There's so many here and I really want you and Sasuke to use them."
"Ma, what if one of them, or both, turns out to be a boy?"
Mebuki gestured to the box behind her. "When I was pregnant with you my mother was convinced you would be a boy. She bought so many things and I threw in a set of boys clothes every now and then when shopping just in case she was right. You can take that with you as well, if you want."
"All right. Thanks, mom."
"Anytime, dear!"
"Your mother gave us way too many boxes…"
Sakura giggled as Sasuke set down a fourth box of baby and toddler clothes. "Mom wants us to be prepared. We can throw out anything that moths have absolutely destroyed, she said to. Anything that looks somewhat good but still old we can donate. The stuff looks really nice we'll keep and the girls can wear."
Sasuke nodded, sitting down on the couch and sighing as he leaned back. After completing his mission for the day, he headed off to the Haruno household to pick up his wife, only to be told there were a number of boxes for him to carry home. Sakura very well couldn't carry them, being nearly five months pregnant and finally, according to her mother, showing that she was definitely pregnant. Sasuke had to calm Sakura down earlier that day when she finally realized she was showing and started complaining that she was 'fat', even though it wasn't that bad.
Well, not as bad as it will be.
Sasuke laughed earlier when he made that comment, prompting Sakura to try and punch him the face, yelling at her 'dear' husband to 'get back here so I can tell our daughters what a rotten husband you are!'
As Sakura went through the boxes of clothes, Sasuke watched her for a bit, before turning to the box he had brought in a few moments ago. It was the very last box and Sakura told him it probably wasn't going to be used, so, he wondered just what was in it. Sasuke tore off the packing tape and opened it.
"…Sakura."
"Yeah?"
"Why did your mom send baby clothes for a boy?"
Sakura looked over at Sasuke, who seemed like he was frozen after finding out what was in the box.
"Grandma thought I was going to be a boy, so, she bought my mother a bunch of baby clothes for a boy, and my mother made a 'just in case' pile herself. She said we could take it for the future."
After a minute, Sasuke nodded, rifling through the box a bit. There were going to be more boxes like this one soon, though, they would thrown in the basement of their home until they had a son. Sasuke's mother was planning to bring some back tomorrow, and he knew Asuna was going to start giving them anything Keisuke outgrew in the next couple of months.
"I really want a boy, Sasuke."
Sasuke blinked, looking from the box to Sakura, a little bit stunned at her statement. "…huh?"
"I want a son. I just… I don't know. I really want a boy for some reason…"
Sasuke nodded after a minute. "I get it. trust me, I do. I want a boy too, but, I think twin girls will be good."
"Why?"
"Keiko."
Sakura blinked, sighing and laying back on the floor. "Keiko…"
Having twin girls would make it almost like they hadn't lost Keiko, in Sasuke's mind. Sakura thought the same, but knew it was impossible to believe that. Keiko would've been a year old already if the miscarriage hadn't happened.
"Maybe we should reconsider using her name."
"No, Sasuke."
"But-"
"No!" Sakura threw a pillow that was on the floor at Sasuke, before standing up. she shot him a glare and left the room, leaving Sasuke no indication of where she was going.
"…me and my big mouth…"
An hour later, with Sakura showing no signs of leaving their room, Sasuke headed in there himself, finding his wife laying on her side of the bed, looking at nothing in particular. Sasuke sighed, before making his way to their bed and crawling in beside Sakura.
"Hi."
"Shut up."
Ouch…
Sasuke gave Sakura a half-smile, setting his hand on her cheek wiping away the remains of her tears. It was obvious she had been crying, and even if it hadn't been, Sasuke would have known. He knew everything about Sakura, especially what she acted like when crying.
"I'm sorry."
"You should be… Sasuke, we can't use her name… it's not fair to Keiko."
"I know, Sakura, I know. I just… I thought it would be a nice tribute to her."
Sakura sniffled a bit, nodding. Although she had been the one carrying Keiko, Sasuke had been just a broken, if not more so, as her when they found out the miscarriage had happened. It was Sasuke's idea to name her Keiko, while Sakura had given the plan to never name one of their children after her.
Yet he was bringing it up, as if their daughter meant nothing anymore.
"I can't do it. I can't name one of them after her, Sasuke. I'm sorry."
Sasuke smiled, shaking his head and pulling Sakura to him. "Don't be sorry. It makes sense, trust me. I thought it would help, but, if you don't want to name one of them after her, then we won't, I promise."
"…maybe in the future, if we have another daughter."
Sasuke nodded. "Absolutely."
The next day, after dragging all the boxes from his parents' house to theirs, Sasuke was watching as Mikoto and Asuna both gave Sakura any advice she needed, as well as told her what all they had brought for her and Sasuke.
Mikoto had, mainly, brought the majority of the baby clothes she had bought before Sasuke was born, as well some toys that were in good shape that she figured the twins would be able to play with.
Although Keisuke was only a month old, Asuna had brought a few pieces of clothing that he had already outgrown because they were meant for newborns and Keisuke had gotten big quickly (which Asuna attributed to her son eating every hour on the hour).
"Thank you both so much for all the clothes. I'm sure the girls will, any boys we have in the future, will look adorable in them!"
Mikoto nodded, laughing a bit. "But of course! Since they are your children, Sakura, I'm sure they'll be absolutely beautiful!"
"Mom!"
Mikoto waved Sasuke off. He knew she was joking by not mentioning him, but it was still annoying that she didn't bring it up.
"Well, I better go. Fugaku is probably wondering where I am and why I haven't started on dinner yet."
"I need to go too." Asuna sighed, running her hand through her hair. "I let Keisuke with Itachi and I need to get back before something goes wrong."
"Ouch." Sasuke laughed as he came up behind Sakura. "You don't seem to trust him."
"Oh, I trust my husband, all right. Keisuke and Itachi haven't been able to spend much time alone together, so, I just want to make sure my kitchen hasn't been burned down!"
Sakura laughed, shaking her head. Mikoto and Asuna bid their farewells, as Sakura closed the door and Sasuke sighed.
"No more clothes."
Sakura giggled. "I need more maternity clothes."
"Oh, good grief…"
END CHAPTER 7
Author's Note: ...I'm so sorry for updating last week. I had been sick all weekend and I had Government to get through because I had a quiz yesterday (please do not ask how it went) and I've got more this week, but I have a plan for my work and writing, don't worry.
Well, anyway, I had no clue what to do for this chapter, so, I decided to address Sasuke and Sakura's feelings about losing their daughter.
If anyone has a chapter suggestion, I would LOVE to hear it. My mind has not been working well with chapters. xD If I end up using your idea, you will get proper credit.
So, yeah. I hope everyone's had a good two weeks and will have a great rest of the summer. I shall work on writing and reading my way through my new copy of Naruto vol. 58 (ITACHI. :D).
Hopefully, I will see you all next Monday! :)