Disclaimer: I don't own it. Datte-freakin-bayo. My Naruto equivalent of BOOYAH! GO RED SOX BABY!
Life Restored
It was chilly, as she walked briskly towards her best friend's place. It always seemed to work out where she would get all worked up in a fit, and the weather outside would calm her down.
The quiet evening air filled her lungs as she made her way through the pouring rain. She'd thankfully remembered her oversized umbrella this time, and she felt a little smile of joy tug at the corner of her lips as she leapt over a large puddle, successfully sticking her landing with grace that could only come from a kunoichi.
Ino's place wasn't too far from the hospital, she noted during her lengthy trek across the village. Sakura herself had once looked at the fancy upscale apartment homes back in the aftermaths of Pain's attack on the village. Konoha Gardens had been among the first to pop up from the disaster, a happy beacon of hope for the good citizens of the village. Even now, a few years later, Konoha was still rebuilding and recovering from the damage done.
But Sakura, ever careful and frugal with all aspects of her life, had elected for an older, more modest apartment complex on the further reaches of the village near the old Team 7 training grounds. Being out there reminded her of a happier and simpler time of her life, one where she had smiled and laughed a lot more often.
Though her straight laced sense of rational had seemed to have taken a trip to La La Land recently, hadn't it? The last six months surely had been a testimony to that. Her interruption at Sasuke's evaluation, Tsunade-sama sending her out on that two month long mission to study the effects of poison antidotes on war survivors, Naruto coming through her front door one sunny afternoon after her return and announcing his official succession to Tsunade.
So much had taken place in just six months.
Her eyes lifted from the sidewalk as she passed through the reconstruction area. The rain had slowed down production of the rebuilding, but the smell of fresh wood and sawdust filled her senses as it carried on the breeze. The old and destroyed buildings had been eradicated, and newly restored in just the few short weeks she'd been gone. Her mind still recalled how everything had appeared before she'd left. The buildings had been leveled, destroyed beyond recognition. The old memories they had held nothing more than fragmented and splintered wood.
She hadn't realized she'd stopped walking until a rather heavy raindrop splattered on top of her umbrella. Her mind came back to the present and her eyes refocused now on the nearly completed framework in front of her. The wreckage had been cleared, and the ground rebuilt, creating a strong foundation on which the new buildings could stand.
Even the Uchiha district had been slowly rebuilding itself.
Sakura hadn't known too much about who was responsible for the beginning of the rebuilding, but she hadn't been able to stop herself from wandering over there a time or two after her shifts at the hospital. A shrine dedicated to the lost clan members had been set up just in front of the district, with names engraved into a small memorial which stood beside the shrine. A lump always formed in her throat when she saw it.
The world was rebuilding around her. Yet her thoughts seemed to have stayed locked in history. She thought back to the report she'd incidentally walked in on a couple of weeks ago. The Uchiha had been assigned menial tasks throughout the village, completing D-rank assignments and helping with the reconstruction of the village. Every time she'd catch sight of him, she would hastily avert her eyes.
Her mind flashed back to the kiss that she and Sasuke had shared earlier. The feel of his strong embrace, the warmth radiating from his body as he'd held her...the feel of his lips on hers...
BAM!
Sakura's yell echoed through the chilly air and she found her balance sorely gone as she suddenly walked herself right into a lamp post. She barely managed to catch herself, muscle memory kicking in to save her at the last possible second. She reached out to grab the lamp post, steadying her balance.
The world spun for a long moment, the splitting pain behind her right eye little more than an annoyance. But she held herself still until her brain could process what had just happened. Regaining her composure, Sakura grumbled about her stupid clumsiness and how Tsunade would be ashamed of her pathetically uncoordinated apprentice.
This is what happened when she got lost in her own head. Stupid ruminations leading to a monstrous headache...
When she finally banged her fist on Ino's door a few moments later, she had to be careful not to knock the damn thing off its hinges.
Shikamaru answered the door, his eyes widening a touch before he stepped aside, calling out for his fiancée.
A mass of blond tackled Sakura a moment later, coming close to knocking her off of the manicured porch on which she stood. She pulled back to meet the vibrant smile of a very pregnant Ino. Blue eyes dancing with delight and happiness, Ino tugged her inside the condo-like apartment before shooing Shikamaru away. Her eyes raked over Sakura before they leveled on Sakura's forehead and widened.
"You're bleeding?!"
"Nice to see you too, Ino-chan." Sakura found her voice and her smile as her very very pregnant friend wobbled towards the kitchen, barking out orders to her fiancée. "Shika! Get me the ointment and a Band-Aid from the bathroom!"
Sakura caught up with her friend easily, gently placing a hand on Ino's shoulder and giving her friend a warm smile. "Honestly Ino, I'm all right. I just had a little slip on the sidewalk."
Ino's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. "You're hardly ever clumsy anymore, Forehead." She said, her tone half serious. "Unless you just weren't paying attention..." Ino's voice trailed off and her eyes got massive as she exclaimed, "Something happened between you and Sasuke, didn't it?! OOOOOOOH! SPILL!"
Her fingers dug tightly into Sakura's arm, and the medic had to practically haul her friend over to the couch before she non-too-gently plopped Ino down into the posh cushions. Shikamaru chose that moment to return with the ointment, scratching the back of his head in a very Naruto-like fashion. "We seem to be out of Band-Aids, Sakura, I'm sorry."
She shook her head. "Actually I think just some ice will do the trick. I'll heal myself once the swelling goes down. I can barely feel it now anyways, which generally means that just the nerve endings were damaged. Besides, it's really minor, head injuries always have a tendency to bleed more than any other part of the body, but that's because there are so many tiny—"
"Oh can it, Forehead! You're rambling medical nonsense again!" Ino griped, propping her feet up on the equally posh ottoman.
Sakura felt herself smile. Out of nowhere, she burst out laughing. "I swear, Miss Piggy you've grown far more impatient in your engorged state!"
Before Ino could properly retort to the jab, Shika returned with a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a dish towel and Sakura grinned. "My mom always used to do this too."
The smile faded from hers and Ino's faces just a little as the moment grew somber between the two kunoichi.
"Your mom was always good for a laugh," Ino said softly after a long moment. "And I miss her apple cobbler. When she would make it for the Harvest Festival...oooooh man. Remember how when we were kids we'd sneak some right before bed when I'd spend the night? How we managed to never get caught is still a mystery!"
Ino's voice trailed off and her eyes turned to her oldest friend. Sakura's gaze was far off, remembering the times they had shared together when they were little. The faintest of smiles had touched her lips as she reminisced. "She's watching over us now, Sakura-chan." Ino whispered. "She and your father."
Sakura pressed the frozen peas a little tighter to her forehead. "Yeah...I know they are. It just...doesn't make missing them any easier, you know?" Ino leaned over and wrapped Sakura in a very affectionately sloppy side-embrace. "I know. But you have me and my family to watch out for you. And Naruto, and now, Sasuke-kun too."
Sakura's shoulders slumped. "Not Sasuke." She muttered, saying his name for the first time again since this morning.
Ino felt her eyes narrow a little, but she hugged her friend a little tighter. "Doesn't he know, Sakura? Haven't you told him?"
Sakura laughed hollowly, but she held the embrace just a little longer. "Would it change anything if I did?" She murmured bitterly. "I still sometimes wish I'd been able to avenge my parents, Ino-chan. Parts of me still hate Pain and what he did to our village. I'll never know how he met his end finally, but I feel like I should kiss whoever made it happen."
Ino lightly released Sakura and pushed herself upright. She studied her friend for a long moment before her face split into a wide, Cheshire cat worthy grin.
"Something tells me that you probably already have." Ino winked at Sakura and she waited a beat, feeling the anticipation build, uncertain if her little jab would be taken seriously or not.
Right on cue, Sakura's cheeks blazed and she turned her head. "You know what? I'm pulling rank on you and closing the subject." She said, forcing her features into a somewhat serious expression. Pushing herself to her feet she pegged her friend with a hard look. "How much do we have to do to get ready for later? Obviously you've vetoed my best friend status and gone ahead to plan this whole thing without me..."
Ino's eyes danced and she batted her eyelashes at Sakura a moment later. "Can you blame me, Forehead? I mean, there's really not much else I'm allowed to do except sit around on my derrière waiting for something exciting to happen at my parent's shop!"
Sakura crossed her arms. "Not helping your case any, Pig."
Ino chuckled. "It got you out of your office, didn't it?" A bright smile had crossed her friend's face, and Sakura couldn't keep her frown in place for long. "Yeah, it did, you're right. Thanks for sending Naruto to deliver it. I can't imagine I'd have wanted to see anyone else." Her eyes shielded the news she had discovered that morning, thankfully.
Nothing could have prepared her for what she had been called in for this morning. No sooner after she had left the blonde's flower shop, a little bird had been sent to her with an urgent message from Tsunade, and had her running at top speed to the hospital. The staff had all gotten out of her way, each holding sympathetic looks on their faces as she rushed past them. No level of equal emotion had been able to take hold in her heart, while the torrid of confusion, worry, excitement, longing, happiness, hurt, and righteous fury had filled her mind the moment she'd opened his file.
Coming back to the present, she shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind, ready and willing to wait until tomorrow morning to confront them once more. She smiled at Ino, feeling her happiness for her best friend return to the forefront of her mind once more.
Ino smiled her ever famous "I'm-always-right" smile as she pushed herself to her feet. "That being said, SHIKA!" Sakura winced at her friend's sudden shout.
The lazy genius came around the corner, looking a little annoyed by his future wife's method of summoning.
"We still have about an hour before everything starts, and there's still a few more things I need you to pick up for us!" Ino cheerfully chirped as she wobbled over to the kitchen table.
As the couple made a list together, Sakura let her eyes wander the room. Ino had started decorating her place in varying shades of blue, a sheer sign that she was thrilled to be having a little boy. Sakura felt the corners of her lips tug up into a smile. She had always imagined her friend having a little girl, especially given how much they had spoken about kids when they had been younger.
Ino sent Shikamaru off and joined her once more, this time kneeling on the floor in front of the coffee table.
"That'll get him out of the house for a little bit." She smiled. "I've been driving his ass nuts the last couple of days." At Sakura's inquisitory look, Ino smirked. "He's my lazy man, Sakura. A simple trip to the store to get milk takes him at least an hour, sometimes two. There's at least ten things on that list. We probably won't be seeing him for a couple of hours."
Sakura shook her head as she smiled. "Only it's pouring outside right now, so there won't be any clouds for him to stare up at."
Ino waved her off. "C'mon. I need you to help me get everything set up."
Their friends began arriving about an hour and a half later. Hinata and Tenten had arrived ahead of schedule, volunteering their services to help in the preparations. The two kunoichi were in the kitchen preparing the food when there was a heavy pounding on the door.
Ino pulled it open to find a very soaked Kiba standing there with two armfuls of booze.
"Kiba! This is a baby shower! Not a Bachelor party!" Ino laughed as she ushered him inside. He plopped the bottles on the kitchen counter and offered Ino a very toothy grin. "C'mon Yamanaka, how many of the guys are gonna want to stick around sipping on those damn blueberry sparklers that you women are serving up? That shit's fucking emasculating."
Sakura couldn't stop the snort that escaped before she burst into a fit of giggles. "Kiba you sound like Naruto. All he plans on doing is drinking Sasuke under the table!"
Kiba grinned. "Damn right. Tell me where I can set this shit up Ino. You've been overruled."
Ino waved him over to the wet bar, doing her best not to look upset. Sakura soothed her by gently guiding her friend over to the couch again. "You need to be resting. Shikamaru is due back any minute now, and the rest of our friends will be arriving soon." She gave Ino a grin. "Besides, you need to look forward to all of the cute baby things people are going to be bringing for you!" She giggled. "Have you and Shika found another place to live yet?"
Ino sighed. "We're still working on it. His parents want us to move in with them so they can be there when he has to teach at the academy, but my parents want us to move in with them too." She rolled her eyes. "I want us to have our own place. Is that selfish of me?" Her eyes held a mixture of irritation and longing.
"Of course not!" Sakura shook her head. "You're going to be a new mom in just a few short weeks, and then married soon after that for goodness sakes! You and Shika are going to be starting a family and you need your own space, I completely get it." She gave Ino's hand a gentle squeeze.
Just then, Tenten came out with a tall glass of blueberry lemonade. "And besides, you know your parents would smother the hell out of you if you guys moved in with them." She winked at the blond as she handed her the glass. "Drink up! You may not be allowed to drink in front of your physician," Tenten smiled unabashedly at Sakura, "Or...at least a couple of weeks still, but you can enjoy the emasculating concoctions Hinata-chan and I created!"
Sakura raised her glass. "Hell yeah! These things are good! As soon as we have this baby, I say we spike these things for the wedding reception!"
Ino snorted, but she raised her glass in agreement.
Tenten's eyes grew wide. "That's RIGHT!" Setting her glass down on the coffee table, her chocolate gaze locked on Ino in mock seriousness. "As soon as you have the little guy, we need to start planning for your wedding! There's so much we need to do!"
Ino cut her off. "Forget the wedding! I'm not getting married until I lose all of this baby weight! Can you image how much I'd look like a whale in a wedding kimono?! HELL NO!"
Hinata giggled softly. "Ino I'm sure you'd look very lovely, no matter how much you weighed."
Ino suddenly burst into tears and she threw her arms around the Hyuuga heiress. "Oh Hinata, you still think I'm beautiful? Even though I'm as big as Hokage Mountain?"
Poor Hinata didn't know what to say. Her lavender eyes turned to Sakura, a pleading look written in them.
"You are gorgeous you crazy woman!" Tenten chortled as she pried Ino off of Hinata. "Right Sakura?"
Ino's big watery blue eyes turned to her best friend. "I'm hideous, aren't I Forehead? You're my doctor, you can tell me."
Sakura crossed her arms and gave Ino a very serious look. "I think that is quite possibly the most ridiculous question I have ever been asked! You are gorgeous and beautiful no matter how you appear! And you're effing pregnant, Ino! What new mom doesn't want to show off her baby bump, huh? Come on, stand up and give us a little show!" She reached forward and pulled Ino to her feet.
"Tenten, you got the camera right? Shoot this hot mama for us." Sakura winked at the weapons specialist.
The girls cheered as Ino got to her feet, her confidence returning as she strutted her stuff across the living room.
He was going to a baby shower.
He was so dumbfounded he couldn't speak. Though he didn't really have to, given the fact that the future Rokudaime did most of that for him. Even still, Uchiha Sasuke found himself without words as the two trudged through the now falling snow to Ino and Shikamaru's place. Sometime during the afternoon, the freezing rain had turned over to snow, and the stuff was falling in fat flakes that fluttered beautifully from the gray skies like massive tufts of cotton.
"Ne, ne, Sasuke! You think Kiba's gonna have anything good there to drink? I heard baby showers usually are full of girly shit."
The Uchiha turned a disbelieving look at the blond shinobi. "Dobe, you really think I know anything about things like that?"
Naruto shrugged, his face adopting an expression he used to wear when they were kids and he found himself without an answer. "I thought your punk ass knew everything! Sakura-chan just told us to show up tonight! Fuck, if Shikamaru wasn't gonna bail I'd say we all should meet up at a bar and have a party with just us guys!"
Sasuke couldn't help the smirk that tugged at the corners of his lips. "She did ask us to come, dobe."
The blond stopped in the middle of the road, his red cloak billowing at his feet before he cocked his head over his shoulder. Sasuke decided he didn't like the smug look he was receiving. "Since when are you so attentive to Sakura-chan's requests, eh?"
Carefully keeping his features blank, the Uchiha shrugged and kept up his pace. "She seemed pretty upset Yamanaka went ahead without her with this. It just sounds like it's something that's really important to her."
Naruto grin widened. "Uh huh."
Sasuke arched an eyebrow at his teammate. "You would disagree?"
Naruto's smug grin immediately turned puzzled as he thought about Sasuke's inquiry. "Hold up, you mean Ino planning this whole thing behind her back?"
Sasuke grunted. "Hn."
Naruto waved him off. "Ya know, Sakura-chan loves to do things for other people, but sometimes..." He looked up at the cloudy sky. "Sometimes I wish she'd do more for herself." His gaze seemed to fade for a moment as he lost himself in his thoughts. "She always seems so caught up in the world, you know? Like she forgets she needs taking care of too."
Sasuke stayed steadfastly quiet, but a small smirk graced his features as he silently agreed with the blond. The wind swirled around them as they continued their way through the wintry weather.
"You ever think about having kids, Teme?" Naruto asked after a long moment of silence. He turned a bright grin to the surviving Uchiha, and without waiting for a reply, he exclaimed, "I sure as hell do! I wanna have like, ten of them!" He thumped his chest proudly. "They'll know their papa is the Hokage of the village too. I'll raise 'em all up to be really strong shinobi!"
Sasuke threw him a derisive look. "You consult your girlfriend about this yet?" Naruto beamed. "Hinata-chan knows I want a lot of kids! She comes from a big family, so she gets it."
The Uchiha smirked.
"So what about it, Teme? You ever see yourself as a papa?"
He carefully concealed his expression as he let the question sink in. His goal had always been to restore his clan. It was one of them main motivations he'd had for returning to Konoha, after all. But he'd been so focused on the restoration of the Uchiha honor that he'd not given himself much of a chance to really think about starting a family.
Not yet...at least.
He was spared any kind of response, however, as he and Naruto reached their destination. They landed on a very pristine and decorated porch, the sounds of laughter and music already permeating through the front door. Naruto's fist pounded hard on the wood as he knocked. "Oi! Open up! I'm freezing my ass off out here!"
Sasuke chuckled quietly. "Idiot."
The door opened almost immediately and Kiba greeted them with a fang filled grin. "Hell yeah! You guys come right on in! We're just getting things started! You see Nara out there anywhere?" The guys made their way inside the warm apartment and gratefully closed the door behind them.
Naruto shook his head as he fist-bumped Kiba. "He dip on this joint already?!" Kiba shrugged. "Yamanaka sent him out a minute ago to get some things but dude's been gone an hour and-"
Sasuke barely had the chance to get out of the way as the door burst open again, and a very frozen Shikamaru entered. "Damn troublesome woman..." He grumbled as he moved past them and made his way into the living room. A large bulging shopping bag was tightly clutched in one hand.
There was a rustling sound, a squeal, a collective "aww!" a few moments later, and then the sound of female laughter soon after.
Sakura couldn't help herself as she doubled over in a fit of giggles. Poor Shika had been bullied into wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt that matched the pink one that Ino was now wearing. "Daddy To Be" was scripted across the chest of his sweatshirt and "Mommy To Be" was scripted onto Ino's The idea was so freaking adorable but poor Shikamaru looked downright miserable.
Kiba looked positively as revolted as Shikamaru felt as he returned to greet them. "Duuude." Kiba chuckled. "That's...just nice!" He filled his lungs and shouted, "HEY! SOMEBODY GET A FUCKING CAMERA!"
"I need a drink." Shika grumbled, shoving by Kiba roughly.
Naruto clapped Shikamaru on the shoulder as he passed. "Hey man, I think it's awesome." He gave the perturbed genius a big grin.
Shika popped the cap from a bottle of Sapporo and upended the damn thing like a parched man would a bottle of water in the middle of the desert.
Running the back of his hand over his face, he pegged Naruto with a look as he leaned back against the counter.
"What the fuck is nice about this?" He asked, gesturing unhappily to the powder blue sweatshirt. His dark eyes full of shame and embarrassment.
Naruto punched a still cackling Kiba in the gut, doubling the smartass over. "I think it's nice you're willing to do that for the girl that you love." He smiled brightly at Shikamaru. "Ino's having a baby! That's reason enough to celebrate! But you're not just celebrating the kid, you're celebrating her. And I respect the hell out of you for it." He lightly clipped Shika's shoulder with his fist. "Not many of us guys here would have the balls to do something like that, after all."
Somewhere during all of that, Shikamaru found his spine straightening a little bit, and he set his beer down on the counter. His eyes had looked to all of the male shinobi standing around them, and each one, save for the two men from Team 7, had averted their gazes. Turning a grateful look back to Naruto, he found his voice once more. "Thanks man." He muttered, the barest of smiles reaching his face.
As the lazy genius went over to embrace his fiancée, Sasuke chuckled. "You sure have a way with people, dobe."
Naruto beamed. "It's what I do! I am going to be Hokage after all!"
Shaking his head, Sasuke found himself growing silent as he watched on. The rest of the guys from Rookie Nine were all happily enjoying themselves. A drinking game of some sort had started up, only thanks to Naruto's little speech, it was focused on what each man would do and what he wouldn't do for his wife or girlfriend.
It had proved to be entertaining at first, but when the "wouldn't do's" started turning into "would like to's" it started becoming a little too much to handle. Sasuke silently turned his attention to the women, one in particular, as they all had gathered in the living room with Ino. She was full of laughter as he studied her, her eyes sparkled with happiness as she smiled at the Hyuuga Heiress, and clearly enjoying something the soft-spoken kunoichi had said.
Sasuke found himself relaxing a bit as he leaned against the door panel that separated the dining area from the living room. Sakura was in rare form this evening, he observed, and he found himself smiling before he could stop it. It had been awhile since he had seen her smile genuinely at anyone. He'd forgotten how much light it had brought to see her smile. It lit her whole face up, bringing out high cheekbones and fair skin...soft lips surrounding tiny perfectly white teeth, and shining eyes the deepest of emerald green...
"You're staring at her, Teme."
Sasuke didn't move. He'd sensed the blonde's chakra signature get closer, but he definitely hadn't been ready for the verbal observation. "Hn."
Pushing himself off of the wooden paneling, he stepped around Naruto and headed towards the balcony attached to the kitchen, drink in hand.
Sakura was happy. For the first time in a while, happy. She was surrounded by her friends, people who had known her and had supported her for almost her entire life.
Her best friend looked so damn perfect, all swollen up and pregnant, but so very jubilant and so very loved as she looked up to smile happily at her future husband when he brought her a fresh beverage.
Those matching shirts had been a brilliant call. Especially given for how Naruto had stood up for the couple. Sakura smiled, feeling a little more giggly than usual thanks to whatever the hell Tenten had put in her drink. Her fingers were warm and so were her toes. Her lips had begun to tingle, and Sakura knew then that she'd gotten delightfully buzzed. But she couldn't bring herself to mind too much, as the shower had promised to be stressful without the alcohol. She could kiss Kiba for thinking ahead...
...Wait a minute.
A dark shape took form in the corner of her eye, and she tore her gaze away from the happy display before her just in time to see Sasuke slip out the back door. Their blond teammate was staring after him, a sad and slightly exasperated look on his face.
Sakura pushed herself to her feet, and excused herself from the group. Naruto caught sight of her and smiled as she went over to him. "Heya Sakura-chan! You having fun?" He asked, chuckling at her slightly tipsy state.
"I'm not drunk, if that's what you mean." She retorted, embracing him for a moment before she pulled back, smiling up at him. "Where's Uchiha-san?"
Naruto nodded with his head towards the outdoor porch. "Teme's out there. Contemplating the ways of the world or something like that. Take your coat if you're following his crazy ass out there." He grinned at her.
Sakura smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you, Naruto." She said, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him down to her smaller frame.
"For what?" He asked, looking down at her again as they pulled away.
"For giving me strength." She said softly. "And for keeping me sane throughout the last couple of years."
Naruto's normally cheerful expression faded into a shadow of something more serious. "You've had a lot happen, Sakura-chan. But we're a team. Together, we can pull through anything that comes at us!" He smiled brightly at her once more, punching his fist into his open palm for emphasis.
Sakura smiled softly as she drew her coat on over her shoulders.
The wind was chilly. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out there, staring off into the distance as the snow continued to spiral down in great big flakes from the charcoal sky.
Small footsteps were heard from behind, but he did not turn. He would have felt her presence a million miles away.
She silently joined him there on the balcony, the wind lightly playing through her pink tresses as she looked out over the darkened streets.
"Are you tired of the party already?" She asked softly.
He turned a little to face her, but didn't answer.
Sakura leaned against the railing, tipping her head back to look up at the darkened sky. "It was getting a little ridiculous in there." She admitted, a slight smile taking over her features. "Only so much babying a girl can take before it becomes too much."
Sasuke felt himself smirk as he murmured, "And what about when she isn't at all?"
Sakura took a sip from her glass. "Then maybe she needs to be babied." She muttered into her cocktail. "Damn this stuff is good!" The rum had burned her throat delightfully and her lips were starting to become numb.
Just the way she liked it.
Sasuke felt himself chuckle before he could stop it. "And if she doesn't want to be?"
Sakura gave him an annoyed look, and waved her hand at him dismissively. She moved to set her glass down on the railing before she propped a hand on her hip. "Don't be such an idiot, Sasuke-kun. Every girl wants to be babied. We just want you stupid guys to figure it out. It's in how we act, and how we feel. We can be strong on our own and we want you to recognize that, but at the same time we still want our prince charming to come in and sweep us off our feet, you know? Pull that 'all super-strong-and-manly' routine. Am I making any sense?" Her face was an open book tonight, and he knew without a shred of doubt that she was speaking honestly and from the heart.
Sasuke's face had split into a very wide smirk that bordered on the edge of a grin. He couldn't believe how loose her tongue had gotten as she'd spoken, and he closed the distance between them in the work of a second. Clearly the booze she had been drinking had loosened her up a little more than she'd probably realized.
Too. Fucking. Bad.
"So," He started, cupping her cheek in his hand as he stared deep into her pooling emerald eyes. "You're saying every girl wants to be swept off her feet?" Sakura could only stare up at him, her mind sluggish and unable to distinguish what was happening right in front of her.
His eyes were making it very difficult for her to concentrate on her words, much less remember to breathe, her heart was pounding against her ribcage. "Well, I guess so, I mean—!"
Sasuke moved so fast she couldn't track him. One moment she had been preaching her ass off about the philosophy of women, and the next...she found herself wrapped in the arms of the only man she had ever loved, and being kissed completely senseless a moment later.
He was good. In no area of his life had the Uchiha been unskilled, and she now was experiencing unlike anything she'd had with any of the guys she'd casually dated after the war. His arms were warm as he held her close, and his lips sensual as he gently coaxed hers apart. There was no resistance on her end, only encouragement and elation as the alcohol demolished the remaining inhibitions she might have had.
It was like a dam had broken, as she kissed him with equal measure. He was so tender and gentle with her, holding her against him and shielding her from the frigid wind. All she knew, was that she never wanted him to stop.
When they broke apart, she was breathing hard. Her eyes met his in a flurry of emotion that fluttered within her heart. She felt him cup her cheek in one hand, his thumb gently brushing away the tears that were now trailing from the corners of her eyes.
His gaze was intense, and she struggled to understanding the meaning behind the coal black of his eyes as she looked up at him. It was as if she were seeing him in a different light for the very first time.
Sasuke leaned forward, gently kissing her again before he pulled away. "Don't stay out here too long, Sakura." He murmured softly to her, brushing a light kiss to her forehead where she'd hurt herself much earlier. He smirked at her one last time before disappearing into the night, leaving her to her thoughts...with him at the forefront.
A/N: Hi everyone! Thank you for reading! Over 6k in this one, guys! Phew! ;) I'm so thankful the semester is over now and I can FINALLY have the time to sit down and write!
So what did you all think of this one? Definitely a lot more in depth than the last one. I'm not so pressed to write legal analysis and crime theory papers, so I actually can focus on the direction!
So my Red Sox took home the World Series Title. I was jumping up and down, doing back flips in the front yard kind of happy. I think I freaked my boyfriend out when he saw me. Clearly he doesn't appreciate the thrill of baseball and how AWESOME it is when your team takes home something as big as the WORLD SERIES, AT HOME IN BOSTON for the first time in NINETY FIVE YEARS! Jeez, I'm STILL excited! Best early Christmas present EVER!
All right, so get to movin, kids! Let me know what you thought and any critiques you might have feel free to drop them in my inbox! ;) Let's keep it classy though, k?
Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and Merry Christmas!
~Konoha no Uchiha Sakura