Mebuki tells Sakura they're going to the park however she doesn't mention the two little boys they're meeting there. After several texts between the mothers going over schedules and a very nagging and persuasive Sasuke, Mikoto cleared their day so they could make it to the park to see his pink-haired best friend. And Naruto. To Sakura's surprise, the two boys are already spinning on the merry-go-round; she moves as fast as her little legs will let her, yelling their names. Sasuke is the first to jump off the metal contraption even though it's still spinning; he zooms over to her and stands there, admiring the flower personified in front of him. She's wearing black pants and a red top that matches the ribbon in her pink hair, which is pulled back into two plaits. She blinks, her cheeks a light pink; it's been forever since they've seen each other at the library!
Naruto quickly joins them and asks Sasuke why he's staring at Sakura, causing Sasuke to turn a shade of pink that can't quite be blamed on being out in the sun as he's only arrived 5 minutes before her. He turns to his friend, punching him in the shoulder, glaring at the boy. Naruto grabs Sakura's hand and the two run from the harsh stare they can feel in their bones.
"Run Sakura! I think his panties are in a twist!" Naruto exclaims, pulling Sakura behind him as he speeds towards the row of trees on the edge of the grass. Sasuke continues to glare at the other boy, but his face softens as Sakura laughs; the sound Sasuke has been secretly waiting to hear for what seemed like ever.
Naruto's comment fuels something in Sasuke; it was more than a typical annoyance. It felt hot, but not like when Sakura smiled at him. No, it felt heavier, like when Kiba tried to sit next to Sakura. That should be him holding her hand. That should be him making her laugh. That's his best friend. And Naruto's best friend. But Sakura is his. And then Naruto's. He pushes the feeling away and chases after them.
The trio continue to run through the trees until Kushina calls them over to the table. The mothers have been discussing school; all three will be attending the same school in a few months, which may mean they'll be put in the same class. According to Kushina enrollment is down at Konoha Elementary which means instead of having two separate classes per age group, there may be one. Either way, the mothers agree that the poor teacher who gets at least two of their kids in the same class will need a raise and ending up with all three? Take up boxing.
Sasuke picks up an orange slice and offers it to Sakura who scrunches up her nose and shakes her head. "I can't eat them if they have seeds in them. My mother says if you eat a seed a tree will grow in your tummy!" Naruto turns to her with an uneasy look, "I've already had five."
She shrugs and gives him a sympathetic look. The boy looks like he's going to pass out. Sasuke gets busy examining the fruit, picking out the seeds, making sure she would not have any trees grow inside of her. "Here." He offers it to her again and points at the seeds on the table. She smiles at him before taking the orange from him. He turns away, hoping to hide his pink cheeks.
"Hi dear. How was your game?" Mikoto asks her eldest son as he approaches the table in black shorts and a black shirt; the white and red Uchiha crest on the back. "Where's Shisui and Obito?"
"Hi mother. It was good. They're still at the fields, said they'd be here soon." He gives his mother a kiss on the cheek as he gives her a side hug.
"Nii-san!" The boy ruffles Sasuke's hair, making him huff in annoyance.
Sakura stares at the boy, who looks like Sasuke, or maybe not so much. He has longer hair than Sasuke's, but it's not quite as dark and it doesn't stick up in the back like his. His skin has some color to it and his voice is softer. Sakura stares in awe. If this is what his brother looks like when he's older, what will Sasuke look like? She blushes at the thought.
"Hello Kushina." He gives her a side hug.
"Hello. Forgive me, I'm Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother." He says to Mebuki, who nods politely at him.
"Hello. I'm Haruno Mebuki, Sakura's mother." She points in the direction of the pink-haired girl who is still mesmerized at the eldest Uchiha brother. Her cheeks become a deep red as Itachi smiles at her and waves. He grabs some fruit from the table and makes himself comfortable next to Sasuke.
Sasuke may be younger than his brother, but just like Itachi he is always aware of his surroundings. After seeing the way Sakura looked at Itachi only seconds ago, the way her green eyes froze starstruck by his older brother, her cheeks only turning a deeper shade of red with each passing second, he huffs in annoyance.
As Itachi adjusts next to him, Sasuke scoots closer to Sakura. She doesn't seem to notice if anything she naturally relaxes; her shoulders falling. Sasuke looks to his left, glaring at Itachi as he aimlessly eats his fruit. Sakura can only have one Uchiha best friend and that's him. Besides, Itachi probably has cooties or something he thinks. He saw him talking to some girl in the neighborhood a week ago and Sakura is not going to die from cooties, not if he can help it!
Shisui and Obito join the group awhile later, the three younger ones already off to play on the playground. They're playing tag and as usual, Sakura is it. She chases Naruto, mainly because he's an easy target especially after eating his weight in animal crackers and fruit. Sasuke is fast, and being the competitive boys they are, Naruto will always jump at any chance he gets to beat his best friend.
This time, Sasuke slows, telling Naruto his grandmother could do laps around him causing Naruto to grunt and yell. Sakura laughs and tags Sasuke, who runs in front of her at a slowed pace. Most would contribute to running out of energy, but nothing gets past the young Uchiha boys sitting at the table. The mothers and Obito are discussing Mebuki's work schedule while Shisui and Itachi watch Sasuke look at his pink-haired friend with twinkling eyes; Shisui will never let his younger cousin live this down.
Shisui nudges Itachi, who looks at his older cousin. A smirk forms on Itachi's face, before Shisui starts laughing. "Sakura." Shisui calls out to the pink-haired girl laying in the grass next to an inflated Naruto and stilled Sasuke, whose ears perk up at the sound of his cousin calling his best friend's name.
She sits up and looks over at the boy who is gesturing her over. As she leans to get up, she feels a tug at her wrist. She sees Sasuke sitting up next to her, glaring at her telling her not to go. "Sakura no." She looks at the boy next to her and his brother calls her this time. She looks at the table and sees Sasuke's family looking at her, her mom and Kushina nowhere to be seen. "He has cooties. You want that?!" His voice is strained, in a low whisper. Her eyes widen. "C-c-cooties? What's that?" "Sakura dear." Mikoto is calling her over this time and Sasuke knows she can't ignore his mother. He sighs annoyed at his family. Sakura is his, this is their time. And Naruto's.
"I'll be right back. Promise." She shakes his hand off her wrist and gets up, walking towards the table of Uchihas.
"Sakura, I want you to meet Shisui and Obito." The dark-haired lady introduces her to her nephew and cousin (of sorts). Sakura takes 3 of Obito's fingers in her tiny hand and shakes it gently as she looks up at him with admiration, her vibrant green eyes reflect his own image back to him. Her cheeks are rosy pink, partly because of the heat, partly because the Uchiha men are prettiful she thinks.
"Hi Mr. Obito. Nice to meet you." The man smiles back at her; he can see why his nephew pesters his cousin about seeing the girl so much, she looks like a real-life fairy princess mythical creature of sorts. The small girl moves towards the lanky Uchiha with a lopsided grin on his face. Shisui's hand is in hers, shaking it once before letting it go.
She looks up at the taller boy, who seems miles away from her. She stares at Shisui; she thought Itachi was pretty, and Obito is prettiful, but Shisui is beyond them both he's prettiful times ten! His hair is shorter, perhaps because it falls in waves and his skin is tanner than both Sasuke and Itachi's. He's slim, just like them, but he's taller and he smiles a lot more than them. How can she have a favorite Uchiha?
She smiles at all of them.
"It's nice to finally meet you Sakura." Shisui says, a playful grin on his face.
"Wanta orange?" Shisui offers her. She hesitates, afraid of what could grow in her tummy if she eats it. Before she knows it, Sasuke is in front of her, taking the orange out of his older cousin's hand, carefully inspecting it. He picks out the seeds before offering it to her, nodding as she gives him an uneasy look. She takes the fruit from his hand and throws it into her mouth, giving him a smile full of orange as a thanks. She pats his head twice before running back towards the still inflated Naruto, her pink hair fluttering past her face.
"Thank you Shisui!" She calls behind her, waving her hand. Sasuke's ears and cheeks are red as his brother and older cousin burst out laughing, Obito stares down at his nephew smiling as he ruffles his hair.
"Awwwww Saaaaaucy-kins." Shisui exclaims, causing his auntie to roll her eyes but secretly, she's 'awww-ing' right along with him.
"She can't eat them because there's seeds and they will grow in her tummy!" He yells at them, his face an even brighter red. He glares at all of them, letting them know it's a serious matter before running after his pink-haired best friend. After a while the trio jump up, continuing their day at the park.
The sun is starting to set, and they all bid their farewells; Naruto is in Kushina's arms asleep snoring as loud as ever. Itachi and Shisui are eagerly waiting to see what the youngest Uchiha will do to bid his blossom goodbye, especially after his escapades during hide-n-seek.
After Sasuke's protective seed scanning, Itachi and Shisui join the trio and play hide-n-seek around the park. Shisui ends up the seeker more times than not and during the third (and last) round, Sakura has decided to hide at the top of a tree on the other side of the park. Thirty-five minutes later and an 8 people search party strong, they find her sleeping in the fork of the tree. Sasuke has only had two meltdowns when they can't find her, one more than Mebuki, and two less than Naruto. Some best friend he is!
"Found her!" Itachi yells. Sasuke runs as fast as he can, pushing Itachi out of the way. Naruto is quickly by his side. "Sakura I'm coming!" Naruto yells.
"What?" she asks, opening her eyes, frantically grabbing a branch so she won't fall out. Her sudden movement causes Sasuke to panic, and he hits his friend in the shoulder. Ends up she can get up there, but she can't get down and Obito having a fear of heights, refuses to climb up there. Shisui offers to help since he is the second tallest boy, but Sasuke doesn't trust him around her. After five more minutes of Sakura sitting in the tree and Sasuke freaking out, he reluctantly nods towards Shisui as he is the best option (but only because of his height.) His cousin climbs up the tree and puts the girl on his back. Her arms wrap around his neck, her legs around his abdomen. She squeezes her eyes shut as he climbs down; as he places her on the ground Sasuke rushes to her, unwrapping her legs and arms from his cousin. She's finally on the ground, the same ground as him and he squeezes her with his arms, her arms at her side.
"Sasuke I'm okay! Really!" She giggles, which annoys him a considerable amount. What if she fell? Or they didn't find her? She could have been made into a bird's nest. He finally let's go and Mebuki hugs her, but not for as long.
"Bye Obito! Bye Shisui! Bye Itachi!" Sakura waves to the older Uchihas, "I'll see you later Sasuke! I promise!"
"Ok." He smiles, his ears turning pink.
They part ways and Sakura hears Shisui tease Sasuke about something pink, probably how his ears have been red so much today, she thinks. He needs sunscreen.
"Did you have fun today?" Mebuki asks Sakura to which she nods.
"How's work Mebuki? You mentioned in the group chat it was getting busier." Kushina asks her now dear friend. The red head is fanning herself, Mikoto listening while she applies sunscreen. Obito takes a sip from his water bottle, listening to the three women.
"Oh, where do I start? Work has been great! We've had lots of tea sales in the past month, mostly in other cities. I didn't think it would happen so fast, but the numbers keep increasing."
"What?! That's great!" Kushina exclaims, Obito nods in agreement. "So will you be out of town a lot?" She wonders if the trio will break up sooner than any of them want.
"I think so? With all the sales and production and wanting to expand, this could be it. I haven't mentioned anything to Sakura, she loves it here. She hated it back in our old village. The kids picked on her. Sasuke and Naruto have been so kind to her."
"Well, Sasuke asks every day if Sakura can come over and play. I think Sakura is good for him too." Mikoto smiles at Mebuki, squeezing her hand.
"And Naruto loves that he found someone who can rival Sasuke with him. He keeps asking if she can still come over during the summer." Kushina rubs Mebuki's shoulder.
"I don't want to tear them apart. She hasn't even started school yet! She needs a stable environment, at least that's what the books say. But I'm afraid I'll have to leave for a week at least, but only every few months for now, just to fulfill the orders and continue our contracts." Mebuki sighs frustrated. "She needs to stay in one place until graduation at least."
"Well if it's just a week here or there, I'm sure Mikoto and I won't mind splitting the days taking care of her. It's no problem. She's been so great with the boys, it's the least we could do. And with them about to start school, it'll be good to keep her in Konoha."
"Yeah! It'll be no trouble Mebuki. You know how much I love her."
"And if you're okay with it, I'm sure I'll be around I can always keep an eye on her." Obito adds, surprising Mebuki. She didn't think she'd find such a support group so fast when she moved to Konoha, yet she's found a village who's willing to help her. She nods towards him.
"It won't be very often, promise. It'll just be until I can hire people to help with the orders and deliveries."
It's now late April and Mebuki, Kushina and Mikoto decided to sign the trio up for t-ball. They knew it would be cute but didn't realize how cute it would be. The oversized pants on Naruto causing him to trip whenever he tried to run around the bases, the helmet that fell over Sakura's eyes whenever she stepped up to bat and then there was Sasuke whose glove was three times too big and made it hard to catch anything, even if it was rolling on the ground at a snail pace.
Practice is every Monday night, their games every Thursday night and Saturday morning. Sasuke's uncle Obito and his old friend Kakashi take up the fulfilling roles of coaches which really mean assigning someone to every kid on a base so they can be told what to do, with a few sprinkled in the outfield so they can make sure the kids out there don't get too bored. With the trio's fathers all working during practice and games, others have to step in; enter Itachi and Shisui.
Most practices entail Naruto missing the ball placed delicately on the tee, Sasuke hitting the ball into the outfield and Sakura making contact with the ball at least once. Kushina, Mikoto and Mebuki vowed to never become sports moms at the beginning, however, their babies look too precious in their uniforms on game days. Sakura is almost always at third base; she may be small but when she can catch the ball, she always taps the base. Kakashi had to teach her how to throw a ball properly, but she got caught on quick. Shisui is almost always paired with her, his knowledge of the great pastime known as tee ball as well as his kid-like nature helps boost her confidence when playing, that and he loves seeing his younger cousin fill with rage whenever he bends down to help explain something to her. Whenever she laughs or says his name, he can feel Sasuke shooting daggers into his lanky frame, even from the outfield.
Itachi is always in the outfield with Sasuke, who like his older brother is lean in build and can run miles if needed (but this is teeball so it isn't needed). Every time he sees Sasuke turn red with rage at the sight of Sakura and Shisui he chuckles. He never took his little brother to be so jealous then again, he never took his little brother to find someone be so precious to him this young, especially a girl. Just a few months ago he was telling him how gross girls were; guess girls with pink hair are the exception. Naruto is unfortunately paired up with Kakashi behind Homeplate as catcher. At first Naruto was unsure of the position, he wanted to get in on all the action like his best friends. But when Kakashi told him his role was important, almost more important than either Sakura's or Sasuke's due to it being the last chance the team would get to tag out the other team, Naruto had to take on the role. He's pretty good at it; except he gets hit a lot. Who would've thought four- and five-year-olds have horrible hand-eye coordination, even when the ball was placed on a stick right in front of them.
They can usually get 5 minutes of peace before Naruto and Sasuke start yelling at each other, which often leads to them rolling around on the ground hitting each other. Sakura never hesitates to jump in to try and break them up, often getting hit herself. "Aren't we trying to hit the ball?" Sasuke taunts, his arms crossed on-top of his knees that are against his chest.
"Shut up!" Naruto has been desperately trying to hit the stationary ball on the tee for the past ten minutes. He sighs one more time, before lining up with the plate. Just as he swings the bat he hears someone sneeze, causing him to completely miss and hit the tee stand; he looks to his right to see Sasuke rubbing his nose. Naruto sees red; grunting in anger the four-year-old throws the bat down and lunges at the dark-haired boy sitting on the ground, shoving his shoulders back to the dirt. "Get off Naruto!"
Sasuke yells, hitting the boy in the face with his right hand, before attempting to use his left foot to kick his best friend in the shin.
"Stop it!" Sakura screams, launching herself towards the boys who are exchanging slaps to the face. She triea to grab a shirt in either hand, separating the two boys who easily overpower her. Naruto's left hand chops through the air aimed for Sasuke but instead, lands on the right side of Sakura's head. Sasuke attempts to ram his elbow into Naruto's chest, missing his target and hitting Sakura in her shoulder.
"OW! Now Knock it off!" She screams, using all her strength to grasp both boys' shirts.
"Sak—" Sasuke tries to apologize, his eyes big and full of regret but before he can verbalize his apology Obito and Kakashi pull the boys up, a woman with brown hair has her hands in Sakura's armpits, pulling her to her feet.
"Are you okay?" The woman's soft brown eyes stare down at her, her voice calm and soothing. Sakura nods her head. The trio's mothers have all come onto the diamond to see what the commotion is, Kushina and Mikoto scolding their sons into oblivion. Mebuki approaches Sakura and the woman who saved her, comforting Sakura with a hug before leading her off towards where the mothers set up their chairs.
"I'm Rin," The woman says as all three sit down in chairs. "Obito and Kakashi are two of my oldest friends, they asked me to come and help. You're Sakura, right?" The green-eyed girl nods, examining the brunette's face. Her soft features are welcoming, she's sunshine in a person. "Well nice to meet you Sakura, I hope we can be friends." Sakura smiles at her, nodding excitedly.
Practice is called off early, Naruto and Sasuke apologize to each other and then to Sakura before Mikoto and Kushina force them away into their car seats. As he sits in his car seat, Sasuke feels sad but a heavy sad; if he had a tail it would be between his legs. He thinks back to only moments ago: He bows his head as Sakura accepts their apologies and hugs them both. Naruto hugs her back before Kushina pulls him away, cursing under her breath. Sasuke stands still, Sakura's dainty arms wrap around his shoulders. As she pulls away, he takes her left arm in his hand and pushes her sleeve up.
"It's okay Sasuke, you didn't mean to." She smiles at him, her green eyes still beaming with adoration for the young Uchiha, despite taking his elbow in the shoulder only a few moments ago.
"I promise I will never hurt you again, Sakura. Never ever." He's serious, from that moment on until he dies and after. She doesn't say anything, instead she sticks her right hand out, her small pinky extends vertically towards the stars. He wraps his pinky around it; he will never let anything happen to his precious friend again. Never.
The next few months are the same for the three; they go to story time at the library together, the park another day and then tee ball Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Game day victories typically start with Naruto and Sakura taking their thrones upon each of Kakashi's shoulders, Sasuke on Obito's with his arms crossed, a glare at the world (but deep down he actually kind of liked it.) The last week in May Mebuki tells Sakura she will be leaving for 8 days; just for work and then she'd be back. Due to Minato's schedule, Kushina has to be out of town with him which means Mikoto has the trio for 8 whole days. Sakura isn't sad, she knows her mother will be home plus it's pretty much a never-ending sleepover with her two best friends.
When the morning comes, Sakura stands on Sasuke's front step before the sun is even up. This house is huge, technically it's probably a castle she thinks. She has a white and blue slug shaped backpack on and her rolling suitcase next to her. Mebuki knocks on the door and Mikoto opens the door, Sakura embracing the woman's legs with a laugh. Over the past months Mikoto and Kushina welcomed Sakura and Mebuki into their lives and homes; Sakura is the daughter neither women have. Sasuke and Naruto are the sons Mebuki didn't know she needed. Sasuke appears down the hall, running towards Sakura before taking her hand in his and dragging her away from the talking mothers.
"Be good Sakura. I love you." Mebuki calls out, waving as she keeps talking to Mikoto; they already said their goodbyes at home and in the car. Her mom finally leaves and Mikoto closes the door, realizing the lack of noise. She leaves the pink rolling suitcase by the door and goes to find the duo. She enters the living room and finds the two wrapped up together in Sasuke's green dinosaur blanket on the sofa. She's leaning against him, her head resting on his shoulder, his head on top of hers. Her arm across his stomach, his right arm behind her back, holding her close.
Mikoto takes her phone out and takes a picture, sending it to Mebuki with the ZZzzz emoji. Her heart warms at the sight; Sakura will always have a home here.
a/n (authors note): i wrote this in one tense then hated it and changed it but didnt really proofread this as i wanted to get this uploaded before the naruto pp results tomorrow so i apologize for the mistakes! (really hope itachi wins but i'll be okay with whoever does!)
reminder; this story will move achingly slow and i really have no plot besides sakura and sasuke will end up together! also i think i'm finally learning how this website works but as always, you can find me on ao3 (same user) if you prefer that layout/i've made some mistake on here!
ok bye3