Heart of Ice
Chapter 5: A Happy Family
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…
Pairing: Sasu/Saku
Sakura was getting very tired. I'm eight months pregnant, and I just want this baby to be born already!
She walked around, picking up toys that Noroi had strewn about her room. I really hope this baby's a boy! She felt that Sasuke was finally opening up to her and Noroi. She remembered when she'd walked into the house a couple months ago...
"Sasuke! I'm home with dinner stuff! I added a few more items to the list, but we should be set for a little bit!" When she didn't hear any response, she turned her attention to the stairs. "Huh. I would have thought that Noroi would have been crying or at least awake." She paused, then ran up the stairs. 'I hope he didn't do anything rash! I know he didn't want a daughter, and didn't want to be around her but...' All thoughts stopped when she turned the room to find Sasuke tenderly holding their daughter and she was laughing up at her father. Sensing her presence, Sasuke looked up at Sakura. "Sasuke?"
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for ignoring you two and not wanting to be a part of this little girls life." He looked tenderly down at Noroi. "I can't believe I ignored this second chance you've given me for a family."
Sakura was shocked. 'What happened to him? What made him change?' Sakura cautiously went to him, and knelt down beside him and Noroi. "Oh Sasuke. It's ok. All I wanted was to make you happy, but as soon as she was born, I wasn't even upset that she wasn't the boy you wanted." She touched Noroi's cheek affectionately. "I just wanted you to come to love her like I do."
"I think I already do." He looked up at Sakura. "She's so perfect and tiny. A perfect blend of you and I." They both looked at their daughter, who smiled up at them. Noroi reached for Sasuke's face. "Dadda!" She exclaimed happily. Reaching over to Sakura's face, she said, "Momma!" Sakura started crying.
"Sakura! What's wrong?!" Sasuke asked, not knowing what to do. He was stunned that Noroi had just said her first words!
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This moment is perfect!" She said, smiling through her tears. "These are tears of joy and happiness. Our little girl just said her first words! And I couldn't be more happy that her first word was Dadda!"
"Oh Sakura." He put his arm around her shoulders, hugging his family close to his chest. "Thank you."
Sakura blushed furiously at the memory. So many things have changed since that day. Sasuke was playing more and more with Noroi, and he started to be more intimate with her. Throughout the day he'd come to the house and ask her if she needed help with anything, or take Noroi out with him to the training grounds. "She needs to start learning somehow! If that's by watching me practice, than that's how it's going to be!" Sasuke was becoming the doting father. And she couldn't be more happier.
Sasuke went through his training rituals, this time with his weapons since Noroi was at the house with Sakura. He smiled, remembering the first time that Naruto had stumbled upon him training while Noroi sat in her bouncer a safe distance away from any harm.
"Sasuke! Whatcha doin?" Naruto asked, coming up to the training grounds, looking questioningly at Noroi. "You're not..." he left the sentence hanging, clearly insinuating that Sasuke had brought Noroi out here to hurt her.
"Oh! No!" He paused, wondering how to tell Naruto his revelations. "You see, I think I've finally decided to try to let go of the past and I'm looking to the future." He paused, looking at Noroi, and his face lighting up in a true, genuine smile. "I still want a son, but I'm fine with her being the first born. She's just like her mother - stubborn, beautiful, and knows how to grab onto your heart - giving you no choice but to love her."
Naruto was stunned. "Seriously?!" Naruto went over to hug Sasuke, getting excited, but forgot that Sasuke wasn't one for affection. Within seconds, Sasuke had flipped Naruto onto his back on the ground, pinning him down with his hand.
"Um, sorry..." Sasuke seemed like he was in a daze. "Natural reaction." Noroi seemed to have thought it was funny because she was laughing and gurgling in her cute baby way.
"She's very much like Sakura - which I'm thankful for. She finds the joy in a lot of things. I'm glad that she only looks like me, and doesn't have my personality." Sasuke went over to her and picked her up. "If it weren't for you and Shikamaru opening my eyes to what I didn't want to think about, who knows where we'd be at this moment in time." He looked at Naruto. "Thank you for helping me and being one of my best friends. You guys definitely saved my marriage and family."
Naruto seemed to be embarrassed. "Let's just settle it over a bowl of ramen, yeah?!"
Sasuke just laughed at that. "Sure."
Sasuke stopped training for the day, wondering what Sakura was up to. She is 8 months pregnant, and probably shouldn't be doing much. I should probably go to the house and help her with Noroi. He cleaned up a little, liking to go home clean, especially since he'd been trying to help out more around the house. He hated being dirty for long, and with Sakura needing to rest frequently, he stepped in with the cleaning and cooking.
He went to the side door, and smiled when he heard Hinata and Temari's voices. I'm glad she has such great friends to stick by her side. He stopped at the door when he heard Hinata ask Sakura about their relationship. Is it wrong to stand here listening? He honestly didn't care. He wanted to know what her opinion was, and how she felt about everything. I'll let them know that I'm here before it gets too out of hand...
Sakura was resting at the kitchen table, enjoying the sound of Noroi's baby talk as she was playing with her toys. She heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" she shouted.
"Hey Sakura! How goes the pregnancy?!" Temari asked, setting her son down to play with Noroi. "It's so hard to believe that she's 10 months old! Tsuyoshi is already 4 months old! It seems like yesterday that they were born. They're growing so fast!" Her daughter Mayumi was already at the toy chest. "She's already 3 and a half!"
Hinata set her son on the play mat. "I know what you mean. Eiichi's going to be a year old soon! Time sure does fly!" Her twin girls Kaiya and Yuri sat nicely at the toy box with Mayumi, digging out some toys for themselves. "And they're almost 3! I feel like before I know it, they'll be out chasing boys around. They definitely have their father's energy and outgoing nature!" She laughed at that statement, going to join Temari and Sakura at the table.
"Sakura? Are you okay?" Temari asked, looking at her stomach worriedly.
"Oh! Yeah, I'm great. Just enjoying this time with Noroi. I love when she talks to herself. Well, makes noises at herself. Not to mention, she was playing nicely for a change. I try to treasure these days, when she's playing calmly. They are very few and far between! Especially now that she's started to crawl. At first, it was only from one spot to the next. But lately, she's started to be adventurous and crawls all over the house! I dread the day that she starts to walk!" She rubbed her hand over her rounded belly. "This little guy can't wait to get here. I keep feeling him move around, and he gets extremely active whenever he hears Noroi playing." She smiled affectionately at her baby girl. "I'm also trying to spend these last few weeks having one-on-one time with her. When this little guy gets here, she won't have Mommy and Daddy's undivided attention."
"Speaking of Sasuke, what's going on with you two? He seems to be a lot better with you and Noroi." Temari asked, bringing a tea pot over and some tea cups.
Hinata poured while Sakura moved to get up. "What else would you like me to grab?" Temari asked, motioning for Sakura to sit back down.
"Can you grab a snack for us?" Sakura motioned to the children. "Something we all can enjoy?"
Temari prepared a snack for all of them. "Now, answer my question! We're dying to know!"
"Alright alright. I'll tell you." She took a deep breath, looking at her two friends, and said, "I think that things are looking up. He has definitely been more attentive, both as a husband and a father." She blushed, and Hinata and Temari snickered. "It's so cute. He takes her with him to the training area, and talks to her normally, as if she understands everything that he's saying. He never practices with weapons while she's there, just lifting, running, and the different equipment he has out there. Before I found out I was pregnant again, while he was away, I used the training grounds, and took her out there with me. I can see potential to put up some baby exercise courses and wouldn't be surprised if he did." She laughed at her friends' expressions. "I think my favorite thing tho, is when he comes in during the days and offers to watch her, clean the house, or cook. It's nice to be able to take a break and put my feet up." She paused, not sure if she should go on.
"That's wonderful news Sakura! I'm so happy for you!" Hinata said, putting her hand over Sakura's.
"What aren't you telling us tho, Sakura? What's bothering you?" Temari asked, covering Hinata and Sakura's hands.
"Well, I guess I'm nervous about this pregnancy. I'm scared that I might have another girl, and it'll drive him away from us." She looked at her daughter, then at her friends. "I barely managed to get through the day when he wasn't acknowledging her, but now that I know what it's like for us to be a family, I don't think that I can handle him shutting us out." She rubbed her belly lovingly. "I don't care what gender this baby is, I just want the baby here healthy, not missing any fingers or toes, and ready to be loved by her Mommy, Daddy, and big sister. And her aunts and uncles." She smiled at Temari and Hinata.
"Oh Sakura. Don't let it worry you. I can't imagine that Sasuke would be so cruel as to repeat what happened after Noroi was born." Hinata said, looking at Temari for confirmation.
"He wouldn't. We've seen how he is with you and Noroi now, and even Naruto and Shikamaru have added to our belief that he wouldn't revert back to his old self." Temari said. "You can't let that stress you out. It's not good for you or the baby."
"I know, I just can't help but think about it some times." Sakura said, blinking away tears. "I love being pregnant, but I hate the hormones!" She laughed at herself. "Thank you guys. I'm so glad that you stopped over and kept me company!"
The girls kept talking about the little things going on in their lives, sharing the news of Neji and Tenten's upcoming marriage. "Did you tell Sasuke about it?" Temari asked.
"Ask me about what?" Sasuke said, coming into the kitchen just then. Noroi instantly crawled over to him. "Dadda!" He bent over to pick her up, kissing her on the cheek.
"About Neji and Tenten's wedding." Hinata said, observing his reaction.
"Oh, yeah. She ran into him a few months ago at the market and told me about their wedding. They also gave us a nice gift for Noroi." He said, looking to Sakura, smiling. "I think it's wonderful that he's moved on, and realized that Sakura wasn't the one for him. Tenten will make him way more happier." He stated, matter-of-factly. "I believe, depending on how Sakura is feeling and if the baby isn't here yet, we were planning on going?" At Sakura's nod, he gave Noroi one last kiss on the cheek and her back down on the play mat with the other kids. "Do you need anything, Sakura?"
"No, thank you! I'm good." Sakura answered, smiling at Sasuke warmly. Her friends watched the exchange, happy to see how nice he was being to her. Not that they thought she would lie about it, but it was reassuring to see it for themselves.
"Actually, I think it's time we were going." Hinata looked at her girls. "Start cleaning up. I'm sure your father is looking for us." She bent to pick up her son. "I can't believe how much time has passed. Thank you for having us over! We'll get together again soon." She stood up. "We're having a birthday party for Eiichi next week, to celebrate him turning one. We'd like to have you guys there."
"We'd love to be there!" Sakura said, hugging her friends good bye. "That was a nice visit. I'm honestly really glad that they came by."
"Sakura, you should go rest. See if Noroi will take a nap with you." He smiled at Sakura, moving to clean up the rest of the toys that Noroi took out.
"I'm ok for right now." She got up to rinse the dishes out from the tea. "Thank you for picking those toys up."
Sasuke didn't answer, but next thing she knew, Sasuke had reached around her, turned off the water, taken the dishes from her hands and placed them in the sink, and turned her towards him. He bent down to pick Noroi up, and placed his arm around Sakura's shoulder. "Let's go take a nap." Noroi seemed to love the attention, because she clapped her hands gleefully.
Sakura, having no choice but to follow, secretly admitted to herself that she was super tired. "Alright. It's nap time."
They got to their room, and she was surprised that Sasuke didn't put Noroi in her crib. "Um, Sasuke?"
"She can sleep with us. It should be ok, right?" Sasuke said, gently putting Noroi on the bed, then picking Sakura up and putting her in the bed. She tried to protest, but he shushed her. "Sh. Just let me help you into bed." He tucked her in, and settled their daughter up against her. Within moments, they were both asleep. He climbed into bed with them, putting his arm around both of them. I swear to you, Sakura, that I'm not going to resent this baby. Even if the baby is a girl, we will keep moving forward. There will be no going back. You, me, Noroi, and this new baby. We WILL be a happy family. I promise you.
To Be Continued...
AN: I hope that you like it! I made it a little longer since I missed last Friday!
Post AN: I also realized that I didn't give any of their children names! I know they have children in Boruto, Next Gen. I know that the children they have in this story do not matter because it's not anywhere near the manga/anime. In this story, in my little world I've created, this is how I'd see them. Please take that into consideration with any comments you have. And please, enjoy! :)
~HRD