"Started Without You" Chapter 2
Sakura felt awkward as she and Sasuke walked through the village to the hospital where the baby was being kept. Surprisingly, Sasuke was being his cool self about all of this.
"You said that the child is a girl?"
"Yes. She's three days old now, and since she's healthy enough to leave the hospital, Kakashi-sensei says that she should be in my care full time until he can figure out something else to do with her."
Sakura watched his face. It was so hard to tell what he was thinking, especially when it came to this whole situation.
He stayed quiet after that until they reached the neonatal ward in the hospital where the nursery was.
"Miss Sakura, you're here on your day off." One of the nurses looked surprised to see her, then her eyes widened when she saw the Uchiha at her side.
"We're here for the baby from a couple of days ago. Lord Hokage was supposed to let everyone know she was going to be released into my care until her mother was lucid."
"Oh... I heard the other nurses saying that they didn't have a lot of hope for her. Are you sure about this?"
Sakura nodded. "It's what the Hokage wants."
To be honest, Sakura didn't know what to think of the woman's condition. If this was a permanent placement, she could see how come Kakashi thought she would be a good fit. After all, it wasn't a secret that she and Sasuke were sort of engaged. Well... Not officially.
They weren't even "together" in the normal sense, either. They had just made a silent agreement to care for each other no matter the circumstances. Sasuke was bad with his words, and Sakura had the patience of a saint. She would wait for him to make things official when he was ready.
"We're going to go ahead and go in," Sakura spoke, opening the locked nursery door with her ID card.
The nurse nodded, watching in awe as Sasuke followed her superior inside.
There were five babies in the room. Sasuke's eyes scanned over each one, then rested on the smallest one in the far left corner.
"Is this her?" He asked, looking to the pinkette who was quickly checking the others as they passed their cribs.
Sakura nodded. "I'm surprised you could tell. Most men say babies all look the same."
Sasuke scoffed. "Sakura, you know better than to compare me with most men."
She giggled. "I suppose I shouldn't."
They looked over at the little baby. She had a signature pink hospital hat with little black hairs escaping in the front. She had rosy cheeks and her fists were balled up as she stretched her arms over her head. Her onyx eyes fluttered open, unable to quite focus on the two adults watching her.
"I read in books that even though most children are born with blue eyes, those that have kekkei genkai like the Uchiha clan tend to already be born with their natural eye color," Sakura said as she gently picked up the baby. "The dominant trait of the Uchiha clan are black eyes."
Sasuke nodded. "And no one else knows?"
Sakura shook her head. "As rare as it sounds, it's actually pretty common for children to already be born with dark eyes. It's just more common for them to be blue at birth. Her mother has dark eyes, so no one has suspected anything yet."
Sakura cradled the baby to her chest and looked up to Sasuke.
"Does she have a name?"
Sakura frowned. "Her mother doesn't speak. It's usually standard for a person without a name to be called Hanako Yamada. She's been known as baby Yamada since her mother's name is unknown, too."
Sasuke frowned. That wouldn't do.
"You know, since you're technically the head of her clan, you have the authority to choose her name."
He looked to Sakura, a little shocked by her words. He forgot about that for a moment. Any time that a clan leader wanted, they were allowed to redact the given name of a child and give them a new one.
"Do you have any ideas?" Sasuke asked.
Sakura shook her head. "No, actually."
He looked at the baby and clicked his tongue. "Her cheekbones look like tiny mochi."
Sakura giggled at his observation. "She'll be teased with a name like Mochi."
Sasuke looked at her in annoyance. "I wasn't saying that was her name."
Sakura smiled down at the baby. "Momo sounds cute, though. It's more proper, anyway."
The Uchiha looked at the squirming baby. "Momo, huh?"
"It's just a suggestion," Sakura spoke up, feeling suddenly flustered. Her cheeks turned bright pink as she looked away from Sasuke's stare.
"Her name is Momo," Sasuke stated, causing Sakura to look up at him again. He seemed determined and satisfied by his decision.
After changing the baby and signing her discharge paperwork, the pair left the hospital with the newborn in tow. Sakura felt even more awkward than she did on the way to the hospital now as they walked through the shops to get the baby's necessities.
Sakura had wrapped the baby against her chest so her hands were free as they looked around. Sasuke kept glancing down at her, obviously uneasy about the situation.
"Don't worry," Sakura reassured him. "She's not going to fall out or anything."
"Hn." Sasuke tried to make it seem like he hadn't been worried, which would have worked on anyone else but Sakura.
She giggled and gave him a warm smile. "If you're like this now, I can't wait to see when you're a father."
"Tch." Sasuke turned his face, trying to hide the pink tinge to his cheeks by looking down at a small baby trinket.
Sakura frowned as she looked through some of the clothing options the shop had available. Momo was so tiny, it was hard to think that a baby her size would fit into some of the things she went through.
"Oi, Sakura!" Sakura tensed when she heard a familiar voice coming from the entrance.
She turned to see a heavily pregnant Hinata, along with Naruto and all of his obnoxiousness.
"Hey, Teme is here too!" He beamed as they came closer to the two. "What brings you two here?"
"Actually, I'm here because of a mission Kakashi-Sensei assigned me to," Sakura explained.
Naruto raised his eyebrows, looking at the bundle against Sakura's chest. "Hey, Hinata. Weren't you talking about doing that when you had the-"
He blinked a few times after stopping himself. "Wait a sec! Don't tell me you and Teme have a kid all of a sudden?!"
Sakura flinched at the noise, hoping it didn't disturb the baby.
Naruto tried to grab at the bundle for a better look, but Sasuke grabbed his wrist instead. "Weren't you listening you dobe?"
"Oww!" Naruto whined, pulling his arm away. "Okay, so it's a mission from Kakashi-Sensei. My mistake. It just has black hair, so I wanted to tease you is all."
Hinata gently reached out a hand to the baby and smiled. "How old is it?"
"Three days." Sakura returned the smile. "Her name is Momo, and she's going to be staying with me for a while."
Hinata stared in awe at the child as she placed her other hand on her stomach. It wouldn't be too long until she had her own child in her arms.
"Hey, do you guys wanna go get lunch with us? We actually only stopped in because we saw you in here, Sakura." Naruto said, putting his arms behind his head. "It's been a while since we've all been together, you know?"
Sakura looked to Sasuke, who sighed and nodded.
"Yes!" Naruto cheered. "Let's go!"
He led the way out of the shop. Sasuke gave the shop owner money for the few things they had purchased and followed the blonde and his wife to Ichiraku.
Sakura smiled down to Momo as they walked. Naruto's yelling didn't seem to phase the baby one bit, which made her more impressed with the infant. It must have been something about the Uchiha in her that made the blonde's outbursts tolerable. She was completely content with snuggling up to Sakura's breasts and snoozing away.
When they sat down to eat, however, that was when things started to go awry.
Sakura lifted up her chopsticks to her mouth when she heard Momo let out a little whine.
She sighed and put her food down and shifted the baby to where she could tend to her. Momo was smacking her lips and her tongue would stick out as if she were trying to find something to latch on.
Sakura nodded in understanding, realizing that she was probably hungry because she had eaten two hours prior. She rummaged through her backpack that she had put pre-made formula bottles from the hospital in.
It was like Momo became instantly impatient with the pinkette and let out a loud cry. Sakura's face turned red from the five sets of eyes on her as she frantically continued to rummage through the bag. She was becoming louder when suddenly Sasuke reached into the wrap and lifted the baby out of it so that Sakura could quicken her search. He awkwardly held Momo away from his body, scared that he was going to break her.
"Aww. Look at Teme being all nurturing." Naruto laughed, earning a glare from the Uchiha. "She can't bite you."
Once the bottle was made, Sakura reached to take the child from Sasuke. He handed Momo over and continued with his meal as if nothing had happened.
Sakura expertly balanced the bottle so Momo could eat, and allowed Sakura a free hand to eat her own food as well.
This was the most domestic she and Sasuke had felt in a long time.
Later that evening, Sakura and Sasuke had gone to Sakura's apartment with Momo after telling Naruto and Hinata their goodbyes.
Sakura grabbed a pillow from her room and laid it on her couch. As light as the newborn was, the pinkette's back was still sore from the extra weight she had been carrying around her for the last few hours. She laid the baby on the pillow and freed her from the swaddle she was in. She smiled as the infant stretched out her arms and legs and let out a huge yawn before staring up at her caretaker.
Sakura sighed and sat down. She didn't know how she was going to do this. She had never cared for an infant overnight before, and she didn't have anywhere for Momo to sleep.
Sasuke sat on the opposite end of the couch from Sakura, watching her and the infant carefully.
"So..." Sakura began, the awkwardness returning to her. "Have you decided when you're leaving?"
Sasuke scoffed. As if he'd leave right now of all times. This child changed all of his plans for the foreseeable future. He didn't want to leave Sakura with all of this responsibility by herself, especially since she wasn't even an Uchiha. As head of the clan, it was as much his responsibility as hers to make sure that the baby was safe.
But, of course, he wouldn't say that out loud.
"Not yet." Was all he could bring himself to answer to her.
"Where have you been staying? I know that the Uchiha compound is still under construction and all. I've been helping Kakashi-Sensei oversee it while you've been away."
Sasuke looked surprised at this information. He tried to hold back a smirk at the thought of her choosing the layout of his future home. She was definitely the perfect person to assist on the project.
"I've been staying with Naruto." He answered. "It isn't the most desirable situation, but it's shelter where I'm welcome."
Sakura huffed, giving him a slightly annoyed look.
Sasuke raised his eyebrow in confusion.
"You know she's going to give birth any day now, right? You saw her." She put her hands on her hips. "I know Naruto is your best friend and everything, but he has more things to focus on at the moment. Hinata is also a very doting hostess, and she really shouldn't have to worry about your arrangements."
The Uchiha rolled his eyes. What else did she expect him to do?
Sakura sighed. "Look, I guess I'm just trying to look out for one of my patients. I know you don't have many options." She looked down at her hands, suddenly feeling shy. "But... Like I told you before... You're always welcomed here."
Sasuke allowed himself to smirk. So was this her real problem? She wanted him to rely on her a little more.
He reached over the infant and brought his fingers to her forehead, causing her to jump a little in surprise.
"Sakura..." He gave her a slight smile. "Do you mind if I stay with you for a while?"
Her face heated up more at his question. "I wouldn't have said anything if my answer was going to be no."
Momo squeaked, bringing their focus back to her. Sakura smiled down at the infant, who was blowing bubbles at her lips. She affectionately stroked the top of her head where most of her hair gathered.
"She really is something special, isn't she?" Sakura hummed as the baby squeezed on to the finger she offered.
Sasuke smirked, a bit of pride welling up inside his chest. The child wasn't his, but she was still an Uchiha.
"Sasuke..." Sakura started to ask him something, but she changed her mind.
"Hm?"
"Ah... Never mind. It wasn't that important." She waved off the thought.
In all reality, she was going to ask him how he felt about the child and the fact that someone had started restoring the Uchiha clan without his knowledge. Not only that, but there was a question that was nagging at her to ask, but she knew she'd never been able to bring herself to do it.
When did he want to start contributing to his clan's restoration?
She pushed the question away from her thoughts, hoping that he would say when he was ready.
Sakura leaned back and brought her knees up at an angle and put Momo there so she could check over the child.
"Such a strong girl, aren't you?" Sakura cooed as she moved her fingers over the infant's arms. She lightly ran a hand over Momo's stomach, causing a twitch to come from the child.
Sakura giggled. "A bit ticklish, too."
The infant made slight grunts as she scrunched her face together. She was creating a mess in her diaper for the medic to change later.
Sasuke looked on as the woman played with the infant. He didn't understand the delight she had, seeing how the baby wasn't old enough to smile or babble in response. It made him think of his own future family.
He imagined Sakura with a swollen belly, then giving birth to their child. A child that would one day grow, and possibly encourage the thought of having another one a little after its first years of life.
Sasuke swallowed. He didn't deserve that kind of life. Not with her.
But she deserved to be happy, and he knew that her happiness was with him. It was just so damn hard to reciprocate her feelings.
The Uchiha was never the affectionate type, but Sakura knew that. She was always the best at reading him. That was why when she made eye contact after looking up from the tiny infant, her cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink as if she knew what he was thinking.
"You know... Everyone seems to be settling down now." She said as she put the infant back on the pillow between her and the man. She picked up her backpack and got the supplies she needed to change Momo. "Sai and Ino are getting married. Naruto and Hinata are about to have a child. It's just so crazy. Especially the thought of Naruto being a father."
She laughed as she unbuttoned the onesie at the bottom.
"Hn." Sasuke nodded. "Let's hope the tame nature she has outweighs the idiocy of the Dobe. The world can't take another Naruto."
"There can never be another Naruto. You know that." Sakura smiled.
Sasuke watched her gentle movements as she changed the baby. It was like she was used to doing things like that. He guessed it was because of her chosen profession. He could never see himself being that comfortable handling a baby. Then again, all he felt like he knew how to do was subdue or kill and not nurture or soothe.
"Sasuke... You know you'll have to face your fears sooner or later." Sakura suddenly spoke up as she snapped the buttons back. She held up the infant to him, causing his eyes to widen. "You held her earlier when she was fussing, so why not try it again? This time, try not acting like she's going to harm you."
Sasuke gave her a wary look. Was she being serious?
"Come on, you've been watching me the whole time I've had her. You know that deep down you really would like to." She gave him a daring smirk.
"Tch." Sasuke looked away. How was he supposed to say no after the way she was practically taunting him?
She motioned for Sasuke to situate himself before she placed Momo in the crook of his arm.
"There we go." Sakura smiled. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
Sasuke stared down at the infant, completely captivated by the calmness of the child. She yawned and met her onyx eyes with his. The man swallowed. She didn't hate him.
He had become so accustomed to children fearing him. Maybe it was because of the energy the parents gave off as he passed by. His reputation as a traitor made him hated everywhere he went. He was barely earning the trust back of his own village. His travels had proven that he still had a lot of work to do to earn trust from the outside lands.
"Look, she's falling asleep." Sakura smiled as the infant cuddled closer to Sasuke's chest.
Sasuke's chest tightened. What was this feeling?
Sakura reached over and stroked the baby's hair. "Sasuke, just because other people have taught their children to fear you doesn't mean that all of them do."
"She's a baby." He sighed. "She doesn't understand the blood on our names."
"No one that doesn't know you will ever be able to." Sakura got closer to him and ran her fingers through Sasuke's hair. It was a bold move on her part.
"Hn," Sasuke smirked at her. "Is this why you insisted I hold her? So I don't have a free arm to protest your touch?"
Sakura's face turned red at his words. "I-it's not that!"
She retracted her hand and looked down at her fists in her lap. "Sasuke... I just want you to know that I'm ready whenever you are."