Pink and Blue
Wedding Dress Trauma Series
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Partner in Crime, Best Friend & Babysitter!
Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep. Beep beep.
Smack!
Drop. Crash!
"…."
Well…there goes the alarm clock. Into pieces. That's nothing to worry about since that's not just the ONLY one. At times.
Oh well, it's time to wake up. I could hardly pry open my eyes and boy, I could hardly feel my arm! It was completely numb all because Sara was sleeping on it whole night long and Sosuke on my chest.
The three of us shared the same bed on this at-home-without-mommy occasion since they were indescribably out of control last night. Sosuke entered WHERE-IS-MOMMY mode and cried all night long while Sara went all hyperactive; jumping on beds, watching television and screaming!
These kids were so opposites of one another and that made it harder to keep up with their mood swings. It took me hours just to calm down my little boy and when he did, I had to tend to the hiccups!
It was like...the whole night!
I hardly got sleep. Three? Two hours?
Sigh…
I needed to get out of bed immediately and before I could;
BAM!
"SASUKE! WHERE ARE YO—OMIGWAD! YOU'RE STILL IN BED?!"
Argh…That's Uzumaki Naruto alright;
The blue-eyed blonde male is of the boldest, noisiest, annoying best-friend-forever in my friend's list. Correction; I should say that he's the only friend I had. Why? Let's just skip that for a while now. The never-ending loud mouth blonde has his natural guts to barge into someone else's room without bothering to knock!
Not the first time though.
He's the other alarm clock which I mentioned.
And he's also a personal, personal, very personal assistant in my office; keeping a close eye around the building during my absence and a first-class information snooper to whatever-is-happening anywhere.
The guy was self-employed at the office despite he should be in a more appropriate position in his wife's company, the Hyuuga Corp.. Another of those 'giants' in the city aside from the Uchihas and they were a formidable foe since grandfather's time. But we managed to maintain fair terms during the time of peace.
Well…many gossips about that about him being some internal spy. I doubt that. Why again? Because I knew this guy as much as he knew me.
"I have no idea that you have no shame in what you do, Naruto…"
I mumbled darkly under my breath; I am out of it due to the shortened hours of sleep and I started feel half of my brain aches.
"Ah! You'll be thanking me when I came all the way to bring you good N-E-W-S!" dragged the word he said with a proud grin and flashed out a couple of magazines.
Oh yeah, I could see my face all over the covers despite my eyes were blurry in the morning since it was so BIG including the daily newspaper where my face replaced far more important headlines for the day; all concerning how 'spartan' I was at the train station and standing at the ladies' entrance.
Great.
I wouldn't want to recall moments of it and my great escape from being crowded. The feeling was traumatic!
"I like this angle pretty much. Makes you look like a pervert. If these weren't your kids, you resemble a pedophile! BWAHAHAHAHA!"
That blonde. Never the peacemaker. If my arm weren't so numb, I would have socked him mercilessly.
"But on the bright side, your popularity went through the ceiling. The women loved how fatherly you looked and some even commented that you're just so freakin' hot in casual clothes, with a backpack and kids," he whistled admiringly.
Duh! I AM the Uchiha Sasuke.
Dust my chest off the flattery, I think I could be pretty fatherly at this age. Moreover, I felt that the aging edges on my face had accentuated my manly features quite well. Oh, since when did I have an additional wrinkle?!
Nevertheless and conclusively, I am overall a HOT man.
Sorry for being full of myself but I just do.
"Oh and another news is that Mr Yana agreed to consider the project that we proposed."
I immediately bounced off bed in that instant my ears caught the information. If Naruto had the guts to forget about telling me, I'd swear I would sock him; numb or not. I no longer felt the fatigue, moreover, I was overjoyed that all that hard work was finally underway to be paid off!
Oh, forgive me for ranting my joyous moment away; to cut the story short and happier than my soaring popularity chart and all, this project certainly was an important feat in order to take the Uchiha Company to a higher level. I've been working months and sleepless nights without getting the chance to go home in order to get to this so-called Mr Yana. He's a respectable man of great wealth and his approval to invest in our project would create a guaranteed success!
Not many could meet him. I would be considered as the youngest CEO to have his corporation. My name would be painted in many colours in this achievement! It's one in a million thing. Get the picture? Listen to the glorious trumpets in the background?
MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAACKACK…COUGH COUGH COUGH…..!
"…"
I must reconsider doing that in the future.
"Splendid! Splendid!" I almost danced in my pyjamas.
"But." Naruto paused; that little twitch didn't sound good. "He demanded a brief meeting since he coincidentally came to the city."
"When?"
"In two hours-time."
"WHAT?!"
My voice pitched high as in H. I. G. H.!
"Don't just stand there, Naruto! Call Louise! Make sure the twins are taken care of."
Half undressed, I rummaged into my closet to find the best suit in the collection. I had to look good in front of an important client wouldn't I?
"Nope can do! He's got his back sprained minutes ago and is on the way to the hospital. The maids downstairs are doing their best to keep things organized since he's not in."
"W-h-A-t?!"
I swear I do have a girl's voice somewhere in my voice box. Maybe I could be in the Sopranos. Never mind that for now; as for Louise, the Head butler, I wish I could pay him a visit but right now it's such a crucial time. Poor Louise… He's the proud butler of the Household and cared for the twins wonderfully.
Since he couldn't perform his duties from this moment; I had trouble assigning whom to look after the boisterous duo. The maids definitely were out of the question. Why? These two were rather picky on their babysitters and they definitely never get along with the new maids or some run-of-the-mill nanny. They'll scream and cry.
Monstrously.
It was always been Sakura who took care of them since they were babies and Louise of course. I couldn't figure any other suitable person who could—
"Say no more, man. I'll be in charge of the kiddos and you go get Mr Yana!"
Out of the blue spoke the blonde.
"You?"
I didn't know why but my tongue made myself sound so uncertain about his volunteerism;
I've known this guy like…what…since we were fresh teens when our adrenaline started to develop into the next stage and we would itch for some fierce action. I may be part of the proud Uchiha family but I had my fair share of 'fun' during that rebellious age and it was a mess.
Splendid youth that was...with this guy of course.
"Yeah!"
Naruto's everlasting enthusiasm felt so ever-lasting.
Without a choice to say 'no', well, as if I had the time to think about another option; I straight away nodded my head and rushed into the showers to do whatever I need to do without thinking twice. It didn't take me long before I left in my chauffeured vehicle; Naruto assured me with his confidence as we waved at me from the front door.
Okay.
I could at least place some trust in that guy for old friend's sake.
.
So there it went; the long awaited meeting with this so-called-and-the-proud Mr Yana who I had been waiting to meet. He was just as proud and snobby as he appeared to be; I've seen many businessmen like these and none of them would surprise me with that 'special' attitude of theirs. It's hard to deal with but for the sake of the company and everyone who have worked sleepless nights to pull through this project has to pay off.
Mr Yana and I had small talk at the beginning; I learned nothing much about him but only some of his fortunes he described before we meant business. It didn't took us long to reach to an end of our brief meeting and much to my delight the man immediately agreed to our partnership.
It was one of the many moments that could make my emotions this light aside from the day of my marriage and the birth of my children.
"Thank you, Mr Yana," at the end of a handshake I happily said while I accompanied him to his aerial transport on the rooftop of our proud Uchiha building.
He nodded and I watched the elderly man left without looking back another time just like this opportunity; a-once-in-a-life-time feat. At this point, I could say that the future I hold would be shining brightly and as the CEO of the company, I felt indescribably…unexplainable.
Like the view above as I stood facing this magnificent panorama where the horizon was lost behind the mass of giant towers. All of them; every one of them were enemies in my eyes and we competed endlessly on this shared plane.
I need to win.
Therefore, I worked hard and harder in order to place the Uchihas to the topmost of the charts there exists.
For the sake of the proud name, the many people under me and the family I love. I would do anything to prove that I am capable despite young.
And speaking about the children, I hoped that Naruto is doing well at home. Well, let's check it out, shall we? Now where's my phone, ah, yes.
Oh! Messages!
23 missed calls
5 unread messages.
Hmm…I couldn't remember there were any vigorous vibration coming through my pocket during the meeting even when it's on 'silent' mode though and all coming from the Uzumaki guy…didn't quite felt so assuring.
Did I just felt a baaaaaaaaad vibe….?
Without thinking twice, I quickly viewed those texts:
Message 1: Hi ya, just dropping a message to say good luck on your way to the meeting. Be sure to pray before you enter the room and ensure your breath is good. Don't forget to smile. You're such a sourpuss most of the time. Oh! The twins are waking up, gotta go. Bye!
Is he my mother or what?
Okay…fine…
Flick.
Message 2: Sasuke, the twins started crying when they knew their papa and mama weren't around. My face didn't seem to have any calming effect and they somehow forgotten about Uncle Naruto here. Broke my heart though. They are pretty loud, I hope they didn't disturb the neighbours…
What does that blonde think my house is? It's a freakin' huge mansion on a private land surrounded with extra landscaping and a golf course backyard. I couldn't see the neighbours without a binoculars damn it!
Additionally, I couldn't recall that his face had any calming effects since I met him.
I rolled my eyes and flipped to the next text.
Flick.
Message 3: Haha, I forgot that there were no neighbours until like kilometres away? If there would be a criminal in the house, it's totally a goner. Oops, me and my bad mouth. Heheh. I don't think the twins had any plans to stop crying. The maids came to help but it got worse the second they tried to cheer the two up. Frankly, are all maids in your house hot beauties? Well, aside from pleasing the eyes they were pretty useless in a way like babysitting… Thank goodness there were no neighbours!
Now that he mentioned it, I recalled they were many young maids and many of my undergarments went missing these days…
Mysterious, eh?
Flick.
Message 4: Oi, Sasuke. Are you still in the meeting? If you're not, pick up the phone. Your kids are screaming their lungs out! I don't wanna see their organs on the floor or my ears either. Moreover, were your glass assets in the house insured? I ain't gonna pay for broken property!
Hn. Those two are known as the 'Screaming Banshees of Uchiha Manor' between me, Sakura and Louise. So sorry Naruto, he wasn't well informed of that.
And.
Everything in the house ARE insured under private insurance that is.
Next!
Flick.
Message 5: Uchiha Sasuke, if you're done with the meeting hurry up, quit dilly dallying and call me back! I had no idea in handling the twins. It's one second Sosuke's case then Sara's then back to the little boy. Your lil girl is one tough cookie, I doubt she is girl! I'm going insane. Help!
Alright, bad things are happening. I knew that my instincts were accurate; I should have called a professional babysitter instead of nodding off casually at Naruto's confidence. He could be reliable at times…whenever I'm late for anything; he's the best option for a driver.
And for his information, my dear sweet cute little loveliest adorable princess Sara is absolutely girl! Papa's girl! P-A-P-A'S! ME!
Fine.
I was about to make a call in response to Naruto's desperate messages, however, a new one came flying in with a high-pitched 'Ping!'.
New message: My capability as Uzumaki Naruto is beyond the powers of the Uchihas. Since it has come to this, I had no choice but to bring them to your office! Come up to your office ASAP when you're done. Ciao!
W-h-A-t?!
Oh, The voice again and my eyes almost rolled onto the floor upon reading the message.
Never mind that; why on earth would that useless blonde bring my kids to the office? I particularly specified that my office is off limits. I wouldn't want them screaming around the building and creating an image.
Hurriedly, I rushed to the top most floor of my office suite; hoping that I'd be there before they do. Taking the elevator doesn't seem to budge any faster during desperate moments like this.
I stormed out as soon as I got out and ignoring my private secretary, I swung open my office door to see what I had to see.
"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Two little squirrels running about screaming their lungs off and playing with whatever they could reach; from trophies to files and papers. They even drew on the wall with my favourite, prized, limited edition and the-one-and-only fountain pen! The nib! They wrecked the nib of it!
Jumped on the sofa with dirty shoes, swirled on my armchair and even spilled juice on my beige carpet! How am I supposed to change that? And where did they get the juice?!
I was so furious; so, so, so, ultimately furious at the wreck of my office that I made it perfect to the way I wanted it and now ruined by the twins! I love my kids but when they did this to my office I would simply erupt!
Didn't the secretary stop them? What was she doing?!
And where's that damned Naruto?!
I became so angry that I was prepared to scream until,
"PAPA!"
"PAPA!"
"PAPA! LOOK, PAPA!"
The twins came rushing with their usual cheery faces and showed me one of my documents scribbled with their proud child-ish drawing.
They drew a 'human-match' man with a cape and above written 'I LOVE PAPA' in the most beautiful way I'd see it.
"This is papa. Like Supa-man! Fly like weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Sara tip toed and raised her hands high into the air. She spun around and then flopped right into my arms like she knew I would catch her.
"Yea! Yea!" Sosuke jumped excitedly beside her sister. "Mommy said papa loves us and we love papa."
My little boy as well; he fell into my arms. My two adorable twins stared at me with beautiful eyes that shimmered despite it was jet black.
Awwwwwwww… Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww… Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…!
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
Weren't those two the cutest things on earth or what?
I couldn't resist them whenever they would run over to greet me like that with their innocent baby smiles and beautiful souls. Despite I was on the verge of erupting from the sight of the wrecked office a second earlier; who cares about some shitty document when it's recomposed to be a masterpiece of my children.
Get a frame; I got to hang it up!
My kids just expressed their love for their dearest papa: Me! What an amazing feeling it was and I bet not many men got to experience the taste of such pure innocence of love; like a smooth gelato and finely whipped cream! All frothy and fluffy!
I cuddled my twins and gave them each a peck on their puffy cheeks. They were extremely tender and springy.
Sigh…I felt so…well…look at the sight of my office; now not only my house needed a makeover but this workplace as well. It's not much when it could use a little redesign but…where the heck was that blonde anyway?
To leave my precious babies to themselves in this dangerous office, what happens this building caught fire or the ceiling came crashing down or perhaps the window shattered and they fell off or they hit themselves or maybe someone stole them away!
Many things!
Moreover, how long were they here anyway to create such ruckus?
"Oh! You're finally here!"
Finally, I heard the loud-mouth at the door and he had guts to act as if nothing bad has happened. I eyed daggers at him but he fended himself with casual care-lessness.
"May I know where have you been?" I asked darkly and he knew I had snapped for his disappearance and for bringing the children here.
"I had many unfinished businesses in the mens."
"Then finish it before you'd show up."
"Saving it for later. Now where was I…" Naruto poked his forehead; thinking hard, "Ah yes! WHY THE HECK DIDN'T YOU PICK UP YOUR BXXXXY PHONE?!"
"I was in the meeting and you expect me to pick it up?!"
I snarled when our faces were inches apart. I had no intention of letting that Uzumaki having the best of me. We ARE best of friends alright. Since who-knows-how-and-how-long was it. However, one thing I could clearly remember was this guy saved my behind during teenage mess.
Long story short: He made me make him my first friend.
And don't ever let that single-celled male know about how much appreciate him for hanging around most of the time despite annoying. Running errands, driving me around and kept me occupied during the bachelor days.
Land, sea or sky; he's the driver.
"And you'd say you were COMING. Your message said so but since when were you already here!?"
"Excuuuuse me. That message was like…half an hour ago? You just received that? Too bad…," he smirked.
That blondie dared smirk back at me as if this was nothing part of his fault. Irritated at his carefree attitude towards the 'disaster', I pulled him by the collar and we were closer than ever. I had totally forgotten that I had my two children who were watching their superman papa misbehave before their eyes.
"Naruto. My office is at stake! You dare bring those two weasels to wreck my sacred work place."
And at the slip of a tongue,
"Papa, what's a wiisel?" Sara tugged my trousers, asking adorably; before I could answer,
"Weasels are naughty little swimming destructive animals like you."
I nudged Naruto hard. How dare he called my daughter a weasel!
"I am a nawty little wiisel?" she blinked acceptingly.
Stupid, Naruto! The poison to pure, innocent children's minds! I wonder what it would be like if he'd ever raise children of his own in the near future with that attitude of his! But first thing first, I quickly crouched over to my daughter in hopes to correct her like a good papa would,
"Of course not, sweetheart. Weasels are cute little swimming animals that had silky fur and whiskers. They are lovely animals, like you my dear," I said smilingly to my loveliest Sara.
She smiled at me as if she understood until,
"Like a b***h?"
O-H-M-I-G-A-W-D!
****************************CENSORED********************************!
UZUMAKI NARUTO! WHAT HAVE YOU ****censored**** DONE TO ****censored**censored****MY PRECIOUS ******censored***** DAUGHTER?!
YOU ******censored****censored****censored**censored***censored****!
GOOD FOR NOTHING **********************CENSORED*******************!
Although she did pronounce the word cutely in big eyes and chubby cheeks; if her mother would ever hear this moment, she'll divorce me!
I dangerously eyed the irresponsible male who had no idea he had just committed crime. It was only two hours. TWO HOURS! And my daughter was tainted by some blue-eyed blond criminal with a foul mouth!
"I'm a bi—"
"No. No. No. Never. No. Nuh uh, Sara! That's not for ladies to say," I quickly cupped my cute daughter's mouth. Definitely, if Sakura heard this, the dream of having an Uchiha Junior Soccer Team is over!
I sighed helplessly; I didn't realize that taking care of the kids could be as physically and mentally exhausting. Sakura never complained about it and smiled at me as if it was a piece of cake. She never requested for extra help aside from Louise assisting her. As a mother, she invested all her time in this rambunctious duo.
Come to think of it, we hadn't have our honeymoon yet since the day she spoke about it at the doctor's; it was the scariest days of my life and later she was pregnant with the twins and shortly they were born and time flew past they were little kids and I was busy along the way.
Yeah, he missed our honeymoon altogether!
We were so busy, individually.
Sigh…I wonder if she would blame me for being care-less as a husband and father…and when time passes more; we'd probably be old and the kids will be all grown up.
It's kind of depressing to mention it that way…Sigh…
"Papa. Papa. Papa!"
I snapped back into reality when my little Sosuke tugged my sleeve. Up close, my little boy was just a splitting image of me with an elegant mix of his mother but overall, me. I patiently waited for him to speak; as parents we just had to be patient towards our children, right?
"PaPAACHUUU!"
"…"
I didn't quite see that coming.
Ugh, Sosuke must be the one who drank juice. I smell carrot!
"I'm hungwy, papa," he said rubbing his nose.
That reminded me that the twins must have gotten here without breakfast since Naruto must have brought them over to the office out of desperation. I nodded and quickly dug for my phone; what am I doing? Call the best restaurant in the city and have them send food over and voila! Problem solved.
But,
Naruto scooped my son off my hands and swung him around; Sosuke liked it and laughed.
"No problemo kiddo! Uncle Naruto's gonna take you little pip squeaks stuffed onto something good!"
Again, that blondie always cut me short in many ways. Moreover, he tries to act like a cool adult but fails to do so afterwards when things didn't seem to go smoothly. I sighed and tried to retrieve my little boy not when the Uzumaki guy refused to hand him over.
"Nuh uh, papa. I know you're going to feed these kiddos with some rough stuff that tastes dull!"
I eyed the guy,
"What do you mean rough stuff? I have the chef make the finest salmon; steamed, fresh salads and yogurt dessert. A well balanced meal for growing children. Now hand my son over."
Sadly, Naruto stubbornly fought me.
"Yuck!" he stuck out a tongue and Sosuke mimicked.
Uzumaki Naruto: a child's bad example! Stop teaching my babies the wrong etiquette!
"No way, papa. I'm not going to let you torture these poor innocent children with bad food any further. Since mommy isn't here," Naruto grinned widely with that good-for-nothing cunning eyes directed towards me. "Hey, Sara-chan. Want to have yummy food?"
Oh dear…my little Sara nodded happily. INNOCENTLY!
That sly blondie! He tricked and stole my pure precious adorable and beautiful little Sara away! There he goes running off with my twins to some place—
.
.
I am extremely familiar with…
Loud music blaring though the ceiling speakers, people around talking loudly though not loud enough than the brain stomping music, the thickened air composed of the smell of grilled meat, oil-soaked fries, buttery crusted pocket pies with a variety of jam filling and sweet, sweet caramel topped sundae. Oh and the root beer!
Smooth vanilla ice cream bubbled on top of that gassy root beer with less ice; it's THE float!
Sluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp!
AHHH!
BUUUURRRAAAPPPP!
Had I not done that in ages!
Oh yeah…this is what I was talking about during those youthful adrenaline days when papa's all rough and gruff and a major bad boy teenager. Well, best that the kids shouldn't take that as an example. However, this place…it's the same old place where the blondie and I usually hang out during those days.
This place in my opinion served the best burgers and root beer float in the city. And look at the size of those fries! It's nothing more than a stinky old place behind the skyscrapers and out of sight on the main stream but no doubt, business was just as good.
The smell of history just sits as still as I sat here watching this world pass by and— Oh no, this wasn't a good time to be admiring life while on the other hand the twins got dirtier by the second. Those two were like puppies; they had yet to grow up from their messing eating habits when food was all over the place.
Mash potato and tomato sauce, everywhere!
Now I get why Sakura specifically told me to feed them instead of having them eat themselves especially Sosuke. The little guy was all play and no eat; little picky eater! I grabbed hold of his mash potatoes which there was only half left after he had fun with and I tried stuffing it into his mouth.
"Open up, Sosuke. Open. Come on, goooooood boy," he tightened his lips when a spoonful of mash potato was right before him. "Oh, how many teeth do you have? Can you show papa?"
I tried to trick him now. However, the little boy didn't seem to show much reaction, in fact, he turned his head away. He was smarter than I think he was: That's my boy!
"Ack! Sara! Don't play with sauce! Naruto! Stop it!"
My little girl had her ten fingers dipped in tomato sauce and scribbled messily on the table and that wasn't just it when the blonde brainlessly joined her sort of fun. Is he an adult, I questioned.
I suddenly began to worry about my baby Sara; if this continues, would she ever be a lady? Look, her undies were showing from her flipped skirt of her dress. AH, I mean DON'T LOOK! And that dress, I specially brought it from a limited edition store overseas and currently it's redesigned with patches of red on the yellow of it.
"Papa. Look, papa. I drew papa!" she pointed at the sauce-drawn 'me'.
It's nothing like me with hair stood up like that and my mouth isn't as crooked and my nose; where is my nose, Sara? Anyway, I smiled from the bottom of my heart and out of the love for my precious daughter.
I don't know how many times I've felt this particular sensation which felt like melted cheese and hot fluffy pancakes drizzled with maple syrup; I felt so touched! Many times yet it never fail to make me fluttery on the inside. I'd identify it as 'living in sheer happiness of a family'.
I gave my little precious girl a peck on the forehead and she returned one on my jawline where she could quickly reach.
See. This is what true love is all about.
DESPITE it came with a price; now my designer suit finally got ruined with a signatory Sara and Her Five Saucy Fingers on my cuff. White, that is.
Oh well, I shrugged my shoulders.
"Papa! Papa! Me too! Me too!"
Awww…my little boy…
We didn't get to exchange kisses when my phone began ringing to that specific ringtone I specially set it for my wife and I would let it sing:
.
I love you baby
And if it's quite all right
I need you baby
To warm my lonely night
I love you baby
Trust in me when I say
Oh, pretty baby
Don't bring me down I pray
Oh, pretty baby
Now that I found you stay
And let me love you
Baby let me love you ~~
.
Before the call could end, I quickly picked up the phone.
"Hello, baby."
I was tuned into the mood for romance; I picked up the call with a husky voice when I did think that I sounded manly enough to charm the woman on the other side of the line and probably some passing female. I could have a little devilish moment once in a while but let me get this straight:
There would be no other person could make me turn my head twice, stare mesmerizingly, experience mind-blank-heart-pounding seconds and dance in the middle of the street except for that one pink haired woman.
No other person, I said it; no one could sound so musical to my ears and had me craving more; like a wonderful symphony, I could listen to all day long and her voice could sound so angelic,
"You're still living with that ringtone, aren't you?"
Sakura continued,
"It's so old fashioned. Change it, you might not want someone listening to it, don't you?"
This IS the only woman who knows me well enough to guess or read my mind as though answers were written on my face; when at times could be dangerous. I love that ringtone and the lyrics said it all. A jolly song very well matched for a man madly in love.
I think it's quite the suitable song, no?
"Baby, I'll sing it as long as I can and as loud as I please. Why would I be shy to tell everyone how old my love is for you?"
She giggled more and I wish I was there to witness her glowing red cheeks from her bashfulness receiving all the love I could give her. Hey, I love that woman. In and out. No offence, but I love her so much that I confessed my love in public, in bed and even in my dreams. No one, I mean NO ONE would ever understand the love I had for my dearest Sakura, not even the song of my ringtone could describe the value of my love for her.
As we all knew, that she isn't a woman with the perfect outlook or special in any aspect. She's just simple plain female that anyone could miss. But not me. Fate had me heads over heels for this simple woman and I was right. She made me a happy man, I needn't feel that I had a pride to uphold or an image to keep. Being by her side just allowed me to be a simple man with no name or fame; I could slouch beside her all day on the couch at the veranda and we would whisper in the wind, watching the day fly by.
It's one of the things I do during my day off.
Erm…that was before we had the twins.
Even if it was after, we did steal some time for ourselves in a quiet corner when the children had naps. Sigh, I am starting to miss Sakura already.
"You sugar coat a lot, Sasuke."
She added.
"Only when it is true."
Sakura sighed helplessly at me; I know there's a smile behind the phone. Her voice seemed so near yet we were so far away.
"I love you."
I uttered; forgetting the noisy world and everything around me, I could only hear the voice of the woman I love in my mind. She paused;
"How are the kids?"
Must she always spoil the moment?
I know she is shy but that isn't the way to kill our lovey dovey moment. Why must she bring them up and not give us a moment more through the phone. Our distance was great enough and now…ahem…the kids just created that little 'mommy gap' between us.
I am freakin' jealous alright!
"Great!" I replied hyperactively.
"Did they sleep well?"
"Of course!"
"Did you put on their socks before bed?"
"Duh!"
I immediately lied; I wouldn't tell her that I had a hard time keeping them under control during the night when they underwent serious mood swings. Who would care about putting socks on for them in the midst of the turbulence?!
"Are they eating well?"
Crap!
"Uh huh!"
Ouch, I could feel my tooth growing loose at each lie I made.
"Make sure you spoon feed Sosuke or he'll be playing with his food without touching it. Be sure to keep an eye of Sara, she'll put anything in her mouth."
I unconsciously nodded.
True, true, very true!
"Why is it so noisy on your side, dear? Are the twins with you? Where are you?"
Sakura. Sakura. Sakura. Could she PLEASE not ask too many questions I couldn't answer?
"We are outside and the twins are with me. Don't worry."
"Oh, what did the children had for breakfast?"
"Breakfast? Oh, erm, they—"
"Hi ya, Sakura-chan!"
Before I could lie another lie, Naruto had slipped the phone off my hands, disengaged me from my communication with Sakura. I wanted to scream but I realized that that guy was trying to save me. I watched him chat happily over the phone with my wife; after all, she was rather smitten with Naruto and the blonde could tell jokes anytime unlike me. No offence but…I did envy him for the qualities I couldn't possess. He's not only funny but bright and the brimming smile could just blow someone away which made him the centre of attraction among his friends.
Many, I mean. He had way better friends when he chose to stick to me.
I didn't know the reason neither I bothered to asked now that I gave it a thought. We just…glued to each other ever since.
When I said that this guy saved my behind; he did it countless of times and right now, he's doing me a favour as well.
Naruto ended the conversation with Sakura without bothering to pass it back to me; the sound of him hitting the 'End' button allowed me to sigh in relief. About lying, I wouldn't want Sakura to worry. It has been a long time since she went home and I would want her to enjoy herself just a little more without bothering to think about home for a while.
A mommy's job is tough and she deserved a good time out.
The Uzumaki blonde smirked at me when he returned my phone. It's all well done, his crooked smile said.
"Thanks, buddy."
He grinned widely like he always would then said,
"Well, it's not like I'm doing it for free!" he joked.
I smiled, knowing what he meant.
.
And that evening, I decided to let myself loose a little…with my two juniors no doubt.
We, the four musketeers, all headed to some cramped old restaurant for noodles and barbeque; again, it's one out of many of mine and Naruto's teenager-days hang-out place where the skewers were excellent.
Rephrase, the blonde and I declared it as the best!
Really, I wasn't being biased but check out all these fancy skewers; they had meat in a long list of flavours in the menu. And my favourite part was 'Today's Special' at the far most corner of the menu; the day's menu could be REALLY special and somewhat exotic.
Very.
Okay. So I currently had my eyes drooling all over the skewers on the grill set in the middle of our table and the aroma…ummm ummm!
Aside from that and this time, I was sure to feed Sosuke and strap Sara up properly. The twins were actually easy to handle after I managed to catch up with their little habits.
Tonight had tonnes of meat over the charcoaled grill, a balanced diet of salad and strictly no booze on the table when the kids around so we had a variety of juices lined up.
Sosuke was all carrot; the picky eater just loved that orange vegetable in particular. I had no idea where he got that healthy favourite from and definitely it didn't come from me. I bet he could drink that all day.
Sara was better as I knew her but I didn't know that she would reject the entire fungi family in her menu and had the tendency to flick it off her plate. Well, it wasn't just mushrooms I noticed she wasn't too fond of capsicums too.
They went…one…fly…two…fly…three…somersault…and fly…four, five, six, blah, blah…!
Sweetheart, princesses wouldn't behave as such!
She stared at me with her big round eyes, batting her lashes innocently after I told her to quit that habit of hers. She pouted her lip and rolled her eyes away from me.
Erm...She's mad at me?
My, my, my…I never knew my princess IS a little princess to begin with. Papa wasn't home much to see many other sides of his babies. But definitely I knew that the twins had personality opposites of their genders.
.
Alright!
We had a full belly but we're not headed straight home but the bowling alley. Whistle! That rhymes. Hmm…it was such a wonderful night with the moon shining and without Sakura whining. Oops.
Okay, let's make it sound this way. I would like to have some fun with the kids and spending this quality 'papa time' wouldn't hurt, right? Moreover, I've gotta show the juniors how cool their papa was.
We head to this bowling spot unfortunately this wasn't the one Naruto and I usually loiter at back in the days. The usual ran out of business and was transformed into some shady arcade.
How sad.
I'm not boasting. I'm not boasting. But just let me state my record that I'm THE 'Bowling Prince' once; not just handsome on the outside but I had the quality to swipe down those pins with one strike. Oh, not forgetting to mention that the girls squealed all over me at my striking pose?
Oh, wonderful times.
Now it's time to recall that sweet taste of fame and show it off to my twins!
Here goes nothing. Ready, steady, I'll just have to make the ball spi—
ACK!
M-My back!
Oh crap, I'm not joking about this; age had just caught up on me and I couldn't feel as flexible as I was. Not that I am at the age I could move as I please. Moreover, office work has its consequences. I hardly went to the gym for the past year due to work and fancy dinners. This was just bad.
"Yay! Papa! Yay!"
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
The twins cheered at my 'performance' from the side lines while I was here worrying about my own condition. They sure were excited I could see.
Lucky me everything was fine. I wouldn't want to end up like Louise and get myself stranded in bed for like…weeks? Poor Louise.
"Hey, are you okay, bud?" Naruto rushed up to me after he got a strike. I was impressed when he could still bowl like it was nothing.
Fine. I admitted to the fact that I am growing stiff. In the end, I got kicked out of the game and sat alongside with the twins; we watched Naruto play with some other random players who so happened to be interested in a match.
Despite I didn't get to participate, I enjoyed watching the other players and their game this evening although I think sitting at the side lines looked lame. But, I had my own fun; sharing a close bonding moment with the kids when we, no, I was given the opportunity to snuggle with my children while we spectated.
Both Sara and Sosuke cheered for their Uncle Naruto very much. We had more juice, yes, carrot was no exception.
Naruto played well, I'd say. He hadn't lost his touch ever since we hardly had time to spare for the sport and the guys he just met weren't shabby either. The scoreboard was intense to watch when everyone was closely matched to one another. I grew excited as well.
Conclusively, Naruto didn't manage to win. Lost by a couple of points. The guy was just as carefree and laughed over his defeat. Well, not totally when he earned a few friends in the process and exchanged numbers. I had not forgotten that this has happened at the end of any random match we undergone in the past. The norm just never dies.
I smiled away.
And this time, we all headed back to the mansion…including Naruto that was; he decided to come with us and helped himself to a sleep over without me agreeing. I had nothing to mind about that guy since it wasn't the first or perhaps I should say I had forgotten the day since he began to make the Uchiha residence his second home.
With him around, the mansion was all noisy and less rigid. That was BEFORE, the twins were born. Now,
I had no idea and I could least anticipate on Sosuke's mood swing issue; the boy suddenly switched on to 'Mommy Mode' and got into his serious whining business. Additionally, it's getting late into the night and aside from the fact that the neighbours were miles away from the mansion I wouldn't want him to cry all night long.
He's tired and I am as well.
"Sosuke, awww, don't cry baby boy. Mommy will be home soon. Good boy."
Words didn't help; I sighed watching the young child cried with reddened eyes and runny nose. Oh, the poor thing. His little tummy will get ballooned up filled with unnecessary air and later the hiccups. That aside, the sight of him made me want to cry as well. Sara was all quiet by my side staring at her baby brother before she turned to me.
She said nothing but bat her thick black lashes while staring at me…as if I was the guilty party! Baby, I'm trying. I'm trying real hard ya know.
Kids. I still got a long way to understand them I realized. Sigh….
"HEY! HEY! HEY!"
Out of the blue, just, out of the blue!
Naruto popped out of nowhere and without me noticing that he snuck into the room unannounced. Perhaps I was getting stressed to hear anything else at the moment…And to my astonishment;
I promise that wasn't hallucinating despite the dim bedroom light that might cause deceiving images to look REAL. I had full confidence in my pair of eyes that the blonde was in a pink tutu, holding a wand with that kind of magical star at the end and had glittery fairy wings.
Additionally, he adorned himself with a set of long blonde wig. And lipstick.
L-I-P-S-T-I-C-K!
Seriously…I expected the least out of him and I was in no shape to keep up with his unreasonable charade or whatever fancy he was up to at this moment!
The guy looked utterly stupid. I wouldn't want to know where he got the outfit. He could have sniffed it out of some old junk or wandered into some of the mansion's historical belongings in which I didn't bother to sort out myself. It was part of his hobby whenever he dropped by. But right now the sight of him in PINK was just horrible!
"Naruto, please. Can't you see this isn't the right time for something like that?" I sighed, holding my head from the growing headache at the sight of the jester.
If I had the mood, I would be more than happy to accompany him, however, I was about to reach my limit for the day…
The sapphire eyed male winked at me with a crooked smile. I was too tired to depict his hidden message, well…it wasn't so hidden after he began spinning around the room, ballerina-tiptoed and dancing while swinging that wand here and there.
Before I knew it, orchestral music started playing from all four corners of the room!
Ahem, let me brag that the room was installed with audio systems of the highest quality, controlled from the tip of a finger. Sakura requested especially for the kids; at first I didn't quite understand the value of it and now I do.
With Naruto singing along with the music and dancing, Sosuke copied. The little guy accompanied the blonde in spite that he had different movements.
What should I say?
My boy spun around, tiptoed and performed his routine GRACEFULLY! Like in a ballet.
Oh, heavens. I wanted to cup my face off the scene. No I didn't, I watched. Far from being embarrassed initially I grew up to be a proud father of the boy.
Sosuke was a softie all along. I knew. It was a fact since he was still sucking his mommy's milk. I just so didn't want to express the thought that he loved the PINK side of life. Whereas his sister swapped sides with his,
My princess Sara was the knight of the evening. She threw a white cape over her shoulder, wore a His majesty's crown and wielded a sword.
It seems other than having a musical theatrical display, they played a story where the fairy (Naruto), the knight (Sara), the princess (Sosuke) and,
"Papa! Papa! Hurry up wear this!" My little girl approached me with a red cape. "You are the Supa-man. You're supposed to save the pwincess!" she said.
I got the picture I should be Superman but I didn't get the idea why would there be superman in a historical era. Anyway, I shouldn't think too much and play along since bedtime stories never made sense in my opinion.
It's the kids' thing. Yeah.
And so I was to play Mr Superman, the good guy and Sara as the bad guy. Aww, wasn't she adorable to have her papa being the nice guy?
I smiled to myself, happily; the joy that bud from the bottom of my heart drew a smile on my face despite I didn't like the Superman costume of a red cape and red OUTER underpants. I even jumped on the sofa and bed just to have myself 'flying' into the air to defeat the evil white knight and save the princess captured by the fairy.
Hmm, I didn't know that the fairy was a villain from the beginning or just so suddenly they changed their minds and made a twist.
Now that I noticed, there was a trunk full of these toys at the corner of the room. A collection of costumes both large and smaller sizes brought an unconditional smile to my face. It was silly of me to have taken such a long time to understand what was on and about in this room and the hours spent during my absence as a father.
It was all Sakura, Louise…and Naruto.
They were the ones who kept the twins company and taught them things both significant and insignificant. They kept my children as children. Preserved their innocence and allowed them to grow as children of which I missed the chance to.
No way have I done this before during my entire childhood. Jumping onto the sofa, running around the room and playing endlessly were impolite in mother's eyes. Therefore, I had never done this before and…it was fun.
Tonight, I felt…free.
And it was all thanks to the twins…and Naruto.
I couldn't have done it without him.
The night was late and the mansion had nothing but the merry voices from us having fun; playing until we drop. Before I knew it, everything turned quiet, Naruto was snoring away on the floor and so did I and the twins who snuggled under my arm each. I was getting too exhausted to move another muscle or think but I knew today had ended.
"Sara…So…suke…yawn…put on…your…soooo…c…ksss…..Zzzzzzzzzz…"
The last thing I remembered, it was all pitch black and I didn't realized that I was fast asleep.
It was long day…
.
Okay, that's all for the chapter!
Hope you enjoyed it and I had to confess that I didn't had much time to check thoroughly for mistakes and I knew my grammar sucks as ever. So please forgive me for now.
It took me quite a while for this one so I am sorry about the delay and thank you so much for the review(s) that I've got in the previous chapters. Many thanks again.
So…I'll see you in the next chapter. I hope you had fun reading this and hope I could get some feedback or reviews throughout the story. Let me know what you think; it's all welcomed. :D