"Prep for C section!" A nurse yelled as Ino screamed on the table.
"C section? What's the complications?!" Sakura's mind went into overdrive worrying as she wheeled herself to the bedside. Kei insisted on the chair and since it actually got her here faster she agreed.
"No complications chief, she requested it," the nurse said absently.
"Requested it?" Sakura asked the room then frowned at Ino "you requested a C section?!"
"Yes! AHHH!" Ino smacked Sakura on the head as she flailed about "give me your damn hand. I'm not going to be the only one suffering!"
"Yeah like I'm that stupid," Sakura said but gave Ino her hand anyway. She opened her mouth in silent agony and thanked God that Ino didn't have her strength. Though she was close to it. "You requested a C section?"
"Yes, I'm going to give up a lot of these damn kids but that's not one of them!" Ino glared at her through foggy pain filled eyes. Her hair stuck out in all directions and she had an evil seen of sweat on her that made her look crazed.
"What was the dosage painkillers they gave you?" Sakura asked genuinely confused at the amount of pain Ino was in.
"None, I'm doing it natural. My mother said that's what real woman do-OOOO!" Ino swore colourfully and clenched her teeth "oh god I forgot what a bitch she was! I bet she's pissing herself laughing in heaven!"
"No drugs?" Sakura said shocked then tried to pull her hand away. Ino was crazy!
"Oh no you don't!" And Ino clutched tighter onto Sakura's limb and dragged her into her face so they were a hairs breath away "you did this, I'm not suffering alone," she growled menacingly.
Sakura did not have the courage to bring up the point that it was Ino who started the whole impregnation thing. She just nodded dumbly and slumped back into her wheel chair. She might need it more than she thought.
"Ah, who the hell are all those people?!" A doctor said as he was blinded by a flash of light. Sakura and Ino turned in horror to the doors where half the village was assembled with camera's and banners. After reading 'Welcome to the world the legends little legends!" Sakura turned to grin sheepishly at Ino. She had no idea what to do. Ino stared at her dumbly before another contraction was highlighted by a flashing camera.
"Kei!" Sakura called.
"Tenten's on it! I'll help," and Kei ran to cover the windows desperately.
"Where the hell's Shizune? You think she would stop a mob storming the hospital," Sakura grouched.
A doctor popped up from the tent of Ino's legs and pulled down her mask. Shizune glared at Sakura's reddening face "she's so busy delivering her ungrateful students kids, after filling out all the damn paper work I might add, that the very orderly gathering of support and well wishes didn't seem to be a huge concern. But hey that might just be the double shift I'm pulling," and Shizune yanked her mask back up and came around the tablet to make the incision.
"Busted," Ino groaned still managing to sound gloating.
XxXx
Sakura had been told that child birth was one of the most wonderful sights a person can experience. She had watched as fathers grew misty eyed as they recalled the first time their child entered the world. A miracle of life they called it.
They forgot to mention the unbearable screaming, the disgusting fluids and the fact that a little body was being yanked like a Russian doll from a crazed woman who had the strength of ten men. Sakura sobbed heavily as Ino grinded the bones in her hand together. Shizune was extracting the first twin from it's 'fish tank.' Sakura stood feeling lighter than she had ever felt before as Shizune handed one of to a nurse and went for the second child.
"That's our daughter," Sakura said fully as she stared at the tiny wriggling form. It, no, she was like a wrinkly old man and was the most beautiful and ugliest thing Sakura had ever seen.
"And this is your son," Shizune said as the second twin was set down beside his sister.
At once the children began to wail and Sakura felt her heart swell up until it clogged her throat. She smiled back at Ino. Ino was soaked in sweat and seemed to melt into her bed but they had never been closer at that moment.
"They're not an exhibit," Shizune said as she snapped off her cloves. "You can hold them."
Hold them. That seemed like a scary yet exciting prospect. Sakura looked at Ino eagerly and Ino just smiled exhaustedly and pulled herself up on the bed. She was given her son to hold after the nurse cleaned him. She sat back in her wheel chair at Ino's side. His light yet warm weight was oddly comforting. She stroked the deep creases of his skin and he lent into her touch falling asleep.
"They smell so nice," Ino said lifting their daughter closer to her face.
The new baby smell was euphoric and Sakura could stop her face from smiling. Sitting in that room with Ino and her children…she felt whole. She even dared to think Ino felt the same.
"I wonder if that's what your womb smells like all the time?" Sakura questioned suddenly.
Ino turned to slowly glare at her "break the mood why don't you?"
"Sorry," Sakura said sheepishly "wanna switch?"
The switch was clumsy and awkward. Sakura nearly lost an eye but eventually she held her baby girl for the first time. That little one was wide awake. Her watery green eyes shone brightly and while Sakura knew logically that she wouldn't be able to see much it seemed as if she was aware and taking all of the world in. Her daughters features changed and the old man wrinkles became a scowl as Sakura settled her into her arms. A tiny fist lashed out to strike Sakura's cheek and her eyes widened "you're the little bugger that kept kicking me!"
The child hit her again and began to wail. She woke her brother up and he decided to join in with the cry. "What did you do?!" Ino demanded.
"Nothing!" Sakura anxiously defended rocking the baby frantically trying to calm her down.
"Switch!" Ino ordered and they awkwardly exchanged babies again.
The quite was almost immediate. Both children snuggled into their parents arms contentedly "she doesn't like me," Sakura accused hurt.
"She's the smart one," Ino snorted but noting how hurt Sakura was she became serious "some babies just form attachments with their mother. I carried them for nine months but she's going to see how wonderful you are and fall in love with you."
Sakura smiled but it was slightly sad. Ino never did that.
XxXx
Sakura wheeled into Ino's room and quietly checked on the sleeping twins. Ino was also sleeping soundly. Sakura smiled lovingly before she cracked open the coffee cup lid. Like a dog hearing a silent whistle Ino's eyes fluttered open and she sniffed the air. She turned and didn't look at Sakura but at the coffee cup in her hands. "Gimmie," she ordered.
"You're breast feeding," Sakura teased at the withering glare she got. She relented and held the cup out. Ino snatched it and drank it quickly sighing like a drunk that happily fell off the wagon.
"I'm not breast feed I find the whole ordeal disgust," Ino said after coming back from her happy land of coco.
"It's natural," Sakura said with no real argument. She knew Ino wouldn't breast feed. It would ruin two of her best assists.
"So's your period but that's not pleasant either," Ino said darkly "god I have to put up with those again. Bring on the menopause. I'm done. You can carry the next set."
Sakura laughed but it trembled slightly in terror. "These guys are enough for me."
Ino glance at her side ways over the rim of her cup "chicken. Did you pick your name?"
Sakura nodded. They had decided that they would each name a child and the other couldn't object. Sakura won the coin toss to name the first born so their little girl was now named "Toshiko. It means aware. She was so bright when she came out like she knew what was going on."
Ino grimaced but let Sakura fill out the naming card anyway. "Well our boy's going to be called Ayame. I like Irises."
"You're naming him after a flower? Ino I don't want my son to grow up gay," Sakura said annoyed "he'll get picked on at school!"
"A little hypocritical of you don't you think Sakura since he has two mommies?" Ino said equally annoyed.
"I don't mean that," Sakura rolled her eyes. She had no leg to stand on to be homophobic "it's just the way they flap their hands and have high pitched voices."
"Way to generalise sweetie," Ino shook her head and let the subject drop as she filled out her name card.
"Fine. Toshiko and Ayame Yamanka," Sakura huffed folding her arms.
"Actually its Toshiko and Ayame Haruna," Ino said staring at Sakura intently.
"You're giving them my name?" Sakura said surprised and touched.
"Yeah," she wanted Sakura to have a concrete bond with them and to feel specially connected "they'll get better service that way."
Sakura laughed then a loaded silence fell over the room. Sakura feelings bubbled until she couldn't take it and she said "Ino you know I-"
"Hey Mummy!" Temari said walking into the room with a wrapped gift. "I came to see my god children!"
Sakura cursed and glared at the blonde but Temari didn't take any notice of her. She wheeled out stewing in her vexation. Shikamaru stood out side the door pensively. She looked at her oddly "Shika wouldn't come in. He's sitting outside. Ino said you would talk to him."
"He still not back to normal huh?" Sakura asked concerned.
Shikamaru nodded and his distress was noticeable. "I'll go to him now," Shikamaru nodded to her in thanks.
XxXx
AS the doors of the hospital were held open for her she took a moment to study the boy. He was on a bench across the yard his little legs couldn't reach the ground. He sat stiller than any child had the right to and stared morosely at his shoes. She furrowed her brow and stood with renewed determination. Her first few steps were shaky and she was glad the child didn't see them. His little face held a sadness that was much to big for it.
She made it across the yard and instead of sitting beside the boy she sat down on the ground in front of him. She really hoped he didn't notice her controlled fall rather than the powerful descent she had tried for. She sat on the ground to give him the height advantage which would give him some comfort. Shika's eyes darted up to hers then quickly away.
"Guess you know why I'm out here, huh?" She said. Shika nodded his head subdued "smart kids usually run circles 'round us grown ups."
"Smart," Shika snorted with a bitterness of a man twice his age.
"Your not smart?" Sakura questioned.
"Being smart didn't help mum when those bandits-" and the brief fire in Shika's eyes died as he cut himself off.
Sakura rocked backwards in understanding "you couldn't help her-"
"-It was my fault! I went to far ahead of her and got captured. She only gave up because they had me. She had to do what they said or else they beat me up," Shika snapped "I was useless."
"Boys have always had this really stupid idea," Sakura said ideally using the bench to lever herself up. Sitting on the ground was murder on her legs. "They think that just because they're boys they have to be really strong and beat the world. But they're just human. My friend Naruto never thought he was good enough, he always kept thinking 'I need to get stronger,' 'I need to protect everyone' but I wasn't his friend because he could protect me. I was just his friend, no reason. It's unfair for all boys to think they need to be strong. It's also cruel because you can't do anything yet Shika. You can't fight or run or even carry anything heavy. You're pretty useless."
Shika seemed to flinch with everything she said and she placed her hand on his shoulder. She was actually trying to comfort him "the point is. You couldn't be strong you're just a kid right now. You couldn't have helped your mum and the mere fact you were there made her a worse fighter."
"I should have helped! I could have escaped or did the shadow trick my da-" Shika was cut off as Sakura surged to her feet and grabbed him by his ankle. He squealed as he was dangled upside down. He thrashed about but her grip was like iron and she held him out so his small limbs couldn't reach her. When her arm began to subtly tremble in exhaustion and her knee's gave warning pains she roughly dropped the child in the dirt before sinking down on the bench with hidden gratefulness.
"Why'd ya do that for?!" Shika snapped picking himself hurriedly up of the ground and turning to face her his chubby face set with anger.
"What could you have done there? You're a kid against a much stronger grown up there's nothing you could have done there and there was nothing you could have done back then," Sakura made her voice sound deliberately cold and harsh. Shika stared at her for a long time before he turned his head away to look spitefully at the ground. She suddenly remembered standing in this very yard with the same helpless frustration on her face.
She had just been knocked to the ground by Tsunade again. She had spent the entire day being pushed around by the older woman and no matter how many times she got to her feet she was put on her back. Eventually getting to her feet took longer and longer until she spent more time trying to rise than fighting. She had thought herself brave by refusing to give up. Her knees had been jelly and her lungs burned as her sides screamed and her head thumped. Every muscle in her body felt like liquid but she had risen again and again. When it got so dark that it was only possible to see Tsunade by street lights as she squinted through her swollen eye she tried to push herself from the ground but kept falling to weak to succeed. She kept on trying to get up, her muscles bulged and protested but she wouldn't give up, she was determined to rise. Eventually she did and Tsunade wasted no time in flooring her again.
"You think your being noble? Envision yourself as the under dog idol of some stupid romance? You'll win by simply refusing to give up? You think this is somehow heroic?" Tsunade glared down at her standing tall and formidable above her "it's not. Its damn well pathetic. Having heart, having guts and stubborn will can only carry you far but it will never be a substitute for strength experience and technique. I am better than you because of all those things. Pointlessly rising to your feet won't change that because you still have no way to get me off mine. You are no where near my level, you will never win. "
The angry speech had given her strength to get up one last time. She didn't even make it to her knees before she was slammed back to the ground and Tsunade was pushing her head into the dirt. "What changed? You still don't have the power to make a difference in this fight what will getting to your feet do? Nothing. It's a pointless action that creates martyrs."
"Then what am I supposed to do?!" She screamed angrily at the dirt, finally at a loss.
Tsunade smiled and yanked her face up by the hair to look her in the eyes "you give up. You don't have the power to do a damn thing in this fight. You give up you regroup, you get stronger and you come back to kick my ass."
"I can't run away," she said with all the youthful conviction of foolishness.
"And what difference are you making with your face in the dirt?" Tsunade said and the words seemed to echo with importance. "Accept your weakness and then overcome it. That, chibi-doc is the first lesson you have to learn."
She had watched her teacher walk away bitter and frustrated just as Shika looked now. She knuckled her forehead then leaned over to place both hands on Shika's shoulders so she could look him in the eye. "You're weak right now. You couldn't have did a thing to help your mum but that doesn't mean you have to stay that way. Grow up and become strong but in the mean time there's two kids in there and I need someone to protect them from the other kids. Since their mine and Ino's kids they're going to be smart and beautiful so they'll need some even better to look after them, you up for the job?"
Shika frowned "you'll trust me to protect them?"
"I've train a lot of young people but you've more potential than all of them. If you're willing to work. Part of that is letting go of the past and becoming stronger, can you do that?" Sakura queried.
Shika thought about it, his face looked very like his fathers, he nodded seriously "I'll do it."
"Good, now lets go meet your new charges," Sakura said standing up. Shika took her hand and smiled at her. She had no real idea of what she had done but she smiled back and hoped she had helped.
XxXx
"Well…" Ino said awkwardly standing in Sakura's living room with a twin on the floor in a seat either side of her "this is it."
"Yeah," Sakura nodded at a loss of how to react.
"This is stupid. I'm only a few streets away. We'll see each other all the time. You'll be over everyday to see the kids and-and why do I feel like this is goodbye?" Ino said pulling Sakura into a hug. She was moving back to her place today.
"I know," Sakura said but felt the separation too.
"Auntie Ino! Mum spilt a box of you things out into the street and it turned out to be your underwear! It's real pretty and soft! Except this leather thing which mum snatched back and went all red so that means it's probably about sex which I'm not supposed to know about yet but only happen's when two people are in love so does that mean you'll use it on Sakura?!" Shika stopped to take in a big breath while the adults stared horrified at him.
They broke apart limply as Shika said "well does it?"
"That black thing was that the harness…?" Sakura whispered in horror.
"God I hope not," Ino answered mortified.
"I don't know why you would wear that, I thought you had to be naked to have sex," Shika shrugged looking non pulsed.
"Stop say that word!" Sakura ordered. It was just so wrong.
"Go back to being sulky!" Ino said picking up the twins to strap one to the front of her and another to the back.
"What? Sex? Sexsexsexsex-ah!" He squealed in delight as Sakura tossed him head first over her shoulder. He tried to giggle out the word but she jerked him every time and he had to laugh.
Temari was waiting outside with the cart filled with Ino's things. It was odd, Sakura didn't notice how much stuff Ino had brought over until it was now about to burst form the cart. It had just fitted in her home. "Are we ready to go?" Temari asked.
"It depends if you want to embarrass me by showing your son my 'special' collection of manga," Ino rolled her eyes in annoyance and Temari coughed embarrassed.
Sakura raised her eyebrow at this, it was the first time she had heard of a 'special' manga set. She went over to Ayame who happened to be the twin strapped to Ino's back. She stroked his fuzzy blonde hair and he grumbled in his sleep. After the novelty wear's off she suspects she will be quite bored with all his tiny grumbles and gurgles but right now she found them to be the most important thing ever. She kissed him lightly. She had already said goodbye in the house but just wanted to be near them a little longer. She ducked around Ino's front to say goodbye to Tosh who was fighting to stay awake. She stroked the side of her face. They were just so soft! The new baby smell had worn off leaving just the normal baby smell mixing with slightly sour milk. It was the sweetest thing she had ever sniff. She lent down to kiss Tosh and jerked back "I swear she tried to bite me!"
"She has no teeth Sakura," Ino said plainly. Ino thought she was crazy but Sakura knew that kid was out to get her.
She paused before Ino unsure of how to say goodbye. An awkward tension hung between them before Sakura finally kissed Ino on the cheek "I'll be by first thing in the morning to check up on you guys. Are you sure you don't want me to come over and help you unpack?"
"I can't keep relying on you for everything. It's best I learn to stand on my own at first," Ino nodded.
"You can depend on me Ino. They're my kids I'm going to be there to help them," Sakura said placing her hand on Tosh's back. Her whole hand could cup the little body. She was so small!
"I don't mean about the kids," Ino said rather cryptically as she stepped away.
They started off down the road but the cart jerked to a stop and Temari came running back. "What's up?" Sakura asked wondering what they forgot.
Temari pointed to her shoulder and Sakura jerked as she realised Shika was still draped over her. "Oh!" She lifted him and passed him to his mother "there you go." She had been clutching his warm body in comfort like a teddy bear and felt cold without him. Temari turned and caught up with Ino as Shika waved goodbye over her shoulder.
She watched until they were out of sight then walked back into her apartment. She sighed as she noticed all the gaps and bare spots. She tried to sit in the living room but the things that were missing annoyed her too much and she left. She went into the nursery. A blue ceiling and half way down the walls was supposed to be the sky with floating white clouds in it while the bottom half was painted green with a few strokes to show grass. One giant cot sat net to the window, empty. A wooden cupboard, changing area and draws were scattered around the room while the middle of the soft carpeted floor, a darker shade of green than the walls, toys and a circular play area resided. A few hours ago the room had been fully of activity as she and Ino had been in competition changing the babies nappies. It had been funny as they were both so unused to children they had put them on wrong and squealed through the whole cleaning process. Sakura bitterly commentated that she had the harder baby as Ayame had more bits to clean that Tosh. Ino had called her a sore looser but stopped grinning when Tosh's nappy fell off.
Sakura sat in the middle of the playroom and clutched the battered rabbit that Ino had left behind. She wondered what she should do now.
XxXx
"You're of on maternity leave," Kei rebuked from the door. She entered and left files on the desk.
"I know," Sakura said without looking up "but Ino is at the newspaper office. They're taking pictures of the twins maybe that way we can walk down the street without half the village crowding around the pram."
"They're new little legends," Kei said with a smile "the people love you and your kids, I can see how you would be suffering."
Sakura glared at her briefly then looked away "the house is empty with them gone…" she admitted in a mutter.
"You have a right to see your children chief," Kei said.
"I know, I'm practically camping at Ino's so it's not like I don't its just hard…" when she had to go home to the silence after laughing with Ino and tickling Ayame and getting beat up by Tosh. The child was a terror but it was only her that seemed to notice. "Mina left today with the rest of the actors so I don't really want to be around Ino," she didn't want to comfort her and be the rebound.
Kei smiled in sympathy then turned around and announced "I'm telling Shizune-sama your checking up on her if you don't leave in five minutes."
"Didn't you use to be in awe of me?!" Sakura called out furious "go back to that!"
XxXx
Sakura held Tosh in her arms as she lay on the couch. A bottle in her mouth stopped the little terror trying to snap at her . She watched as small green eyes drew together and the lids droop. She moved the bottle and the eyes jerked wide remembering that they were in the middle of a feed the sucking that had stalled a moment ago returned in earnest. A few seconds later the eyes drooped again until shutting for a final time despite not emptying the bottle. Sakura didn't wake her as she too was lulled into sleep. The warm and light weight was hypnotic as the even breathing rocked the older woman to sleep.
Ino walked out of the kitchen after putting away Ayame's bottle. She patted his back softly winding him. She was just about to ask Sakura were Tosh's bottle was so she could put it away when she saw them sprawled on the couch together. Sakura curled protectively around Tosh who had somehow managed to get a grip of her strawberry locks in her tiny fist. She smiled "they've did it again Aya, I swear they have a knock out affect on each other…"
XxXx
"So how's the kids?" An old woman smiled at her as she stood in Old Man's sandwich bar.
"They're great," Sakura nodded. She was the eighth villager to ask today and it was only lunch.
"Sleeping well?"
"All through the night. Feeding good also seven ounces three sometimes four times a day," Sakura anticipated the next question.
"That's good. And how are you finding them? Have they got boring yet?" The old woman chuckled as Sakura became reluctant in her answer. They had actually "yeah the first few months is dull weight until they start moving around then you'll know your arse from your elbow!" And the old woman chuckled somewhat evilly.
Sakura smiled unsurely and was never more grateful to face the old man's sullen service. She gave her order and at the sound of her voice the old man looked up. It was remarkable, Sakura actually took a step back in shock. The old man never paid attention to customers unless absolutely forced to. He seemed to be scanning the area at her sides. His familiar frown took its rightful place. "Kids?" He asked roughly.
Sakura nearly died of shock. She blinked stupidly before stuttering "th-there with Ino at the house."
The door opened and Sakura was shoved out. She turned annoyed to see the old man walking away "you can't seriously be offended that I didn't bring them?! You hate children! You make mother's leave them outside!" When the old man didn't come back she stuffed her hands in her pockets and marched to Ino's house. She was grabbing the kids and cleaning them up to come and visit the old man. She was not getting cut off from the best sandwiches in the world. Damn kids were more trouble than they were worth.
XxXx
"You!" The door burst open abruptly.
Sakura jerked around as the sense of de ja vu overcame her. Then frowned as she realised she was actually in her house and the angry woman in the door way was Tenten not Ino. "What?"
"It's all your fault! Everyone was perfectly straight until you jumped fence!" Tenten raged stalking forwards. Sakura backed away confused. "You infect the rest of us!"
"Tenten what the hell are you talking about?" Sakura said confused and angry as she was pinned to the wall.
"You made me gay!" Tenten accused insanely. Her eyes were wild with the conviction of madness.
"Huh?" Sakura's face fell in shock.
"I never wanted to screw girls! I was like an arrow!" Tenten pushed away from the wall and ran her hands through her hair.
"Okay, you're going to have to walk me through this slowly," Sakura said taking a seat in the arm chair allowing Tenten the room to pace.
"I've been screwing Kei for three weeks," Tenten confided.
"What?!" Sakura's eyes bulged in surprise.
"It started that night she had to stay at my place and she was drunk and vulnerable and stripping in my living room," Tenten babbled.
"That was months ago," Sakura said.
"Yeah that was when I realised she was cute. I just put it down to me going for so long without sex. And then we started to meet up to moan about you-"
"Hey!" Sakura objected but Tenten carried on as if nothing was amiss. "And I kept noticing she was cute and then I kept getting really drunk. And then I started to remember how you would go on and on about sex with Ino and then Kei had to stay at mine because she was about to pass out and then in the morning-" Tenten broke off to take a huge breath as she had said all that in a short burst "she told me how she and her girlfriend weren't getting back together and she was going to try and make her jealous so somehow I managed to volunteer to pretend to be her new girlfriend and it was going great until we slept to together."
"If this has been going on so long why are you telling me now?" Sakura asked still not sure why she was responsible for 'converting' Tenten.
"Because it worked. Yuna wants to get back together with Kei and I don't want them too!" Tenten said furiously.
"You've fallen in love with Kei?" Sakura said in disbelief. It explained why Kei was suddenly a lot more outspoken and she had been wearing make up and looking more attractive recently.
"No!" Tenten looked horrified at the prospect "…maybe," she admitted slumping her shoulders in defeat.
"Wow, and I just got out of my saffic love triangle," Sakura noted and Tenten glared at her.
"This is not funny," Tenten sunk down on the couch miserable. Sakura decided to do what Tenten usually did when she was going through problems "lets go get drunk," she said.
"Oh, yes please," Tenten moaned.
XxXx
"Sakura they're screaming I need your help," Ino's frazzled voice begged down the phone at her at three o'clock in the morning.
"'Kay," Sakura yawned "be right there."
She didn't even get the chance to knock on the door before Ino had it yanked open and a twin was desperately pushed into her startled arms. Ayame wailed like someone had set his little lungs on fire. The ear splitting shriek woke her up from the daze she had been in and she rocked the baby boy soothingly with no result. Further in the apartment she could hear Tosh screaming just as loud as her brother.
"Have you fed them?" Sakura asked.
"They won't take a bottle!" Ino snapped back. She had dark circles under her eyes and her hair was rumpled from the bed. Her night dress was wrinkled and stained. She looked like she had been up for hours before she called Sakura.
"Changed them?" Sakura asked.
"They're not dirty," Ino answered nearly in tears.
"I have an idea," Sakura said suddenly "where's their pram?"
Ino got out the wider than normal pram and set both twins in. They were small enough that they could both fit in the one pram for the moment. The cries lessened in volume as the twins were reunited but it didn't stop. "I'll take them a walk around the block a few times, hopefully the motion will make them fall asleep."
Ino nodded and grabbed her coat and put on shoes without socks "I'll come with you."
"You sure? You look beat," Sakura said with a frown.
"Such flattery, no wonder you got me into bed," Ino said drolly. Sakura just smiled and pushed the pram out the door careful of the stairs.
The early morning was crisp but not unbearable. Even so Sakura made sure the blanket firmly covered both twins. Tosh had a habit of stealing it. After a few steps the wailing was reduced to sniffles. Sakura smiled victoriously at Ino who looked like she was going to kiss her in gratitude.
"So," she said to the darkness after walking in silence for awhile "Mina left."
Ino's step didn't even falter as she nodded "she did."
The silence came back but Sakura had no idea what she wanted to say but she knew she wanted to say something. She halted the pram and turned to face Ino fully. "You know I'm in love with you," she stated, she was so tired of the games they had been playing.
Ino looked surprised and for a horrible moment Sakura thought she hadn't known. "I know, I'm just surprised you admitted it, of all places, in front of the old man sandwich shop," Ino eventually said then as the babies began to shuffle in discontent furiously waved to Sakura to keep pushing.
When Ino didn't speak again Sakura said impatiently "well? What do you plan to do about it?"
Ino looked at her with a raised eyebrow affront at her boldness "I was going to plan an elaborate seduction with candles and frilly underwear since I know how much you like my breasts. After I lose the baby weight though."
"So that's it?" Sakura questioned a little annoyed "Mina leaves town and you come back to me."
"Technically I never left you, we weren't dating back then," Ino said but relented when Sakura glared at her. She placed her hand between Sakura's on the pram stopping them. "Mina came to me when you left for your mission. She apologised and asked for another chance. She said she didn't want to end up alone and wanted to settle down. She said that if there was any woman she would want to be with it would be me. She said you came to see her and made her realise all of that. And then she left," Ino stared deeply into Sakura's eyes "…because I told her to go to hell. Mina is very important to me, she was my first in a lot of things but she's not you. I've thought you were sexy since you were a self righteous know it all and would have fucked you given half the chance since I was 16. I had to make sure that I actually loved you because I'm not going through all this trouble to lose you."
"Oh," Sakura breathed just for some response.
Ino lifted her hand to cup the side of Sakura's face "I love you but right now I'm not sure I can be with you honestly like I want. Give me a little time I promise I'll be ready soon."
"Okay," Sakura said because she couldn't not agree. She wore a small pleased smile as she pushed the twins home. Ino smiled indulgently at her before placing her hand over Sakura's to help her push their kids.
XxXx
A/N: and we're nearly finished! yay!