Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

A/N: Okay, minna-san! Chapter 17 is now here! As always, don't forget to give me a comment about the story later on.

Chapter 17: Meet Mama and Papa!

"Okay then," the principal proceeded to pick another name from the other box. "The nerd boy's partner will be…" As soon as he read the name, his eyes widened and his hands trembled as he began to read the name.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO?????????"

…………

"No way!"

"Impossible!"

"This couldn't be happening!" Sasuke screamed. He was not yet recovered from the shock. 'Naruto? Naruto's going to be my partner for the whole week?'

No way!

Naruto beamed. As if on cue, a loud drum roll could be heard and he was showered with rose petals. He sashayed himself towards Sasuke then placed his palms flat on the desk.

The Uchiha only glared at him. Naruto let out a girly scream then wrapped his arms around his neck. "Looks like we're going to be partners for a week, Suke-chan!"

Tenten rose from her seat. "Don't you dare touch him, foxface!"

"No way! It's been decided!" To everyone's surprise and to Tenten's horror, he nuzzled Sasuke's cheek. "Suke-chan's my partner and it's permanent!" He stuck his tongue out at her.

"No he's not!" Tenten shrieked as she lunged forward and attacked Naruto.

Kurenai sighed as she turned to Jiraiya. "If I'm not mistaken sir, I think Naruto slipped his name into the wrong box. There is no way a boy could be a mother."

The principal sweatdropped. 'Of course it is. Boys are not born with a uterus, ya know.' "Right. We'll just pick another name then."

He reached inside the box then pulled out another paper. "All right! Since there was a big misunderstanding, we decided to have another name picked out from the box. And this time, we will make sure that this will be a girl."

"Awwww…and here I thought I would be spending the rest of my life, ehem, the rest of my week with Suke-chan," Naruto pouted. He gave Tenten a sly look. "Looks like it's going to be your huge breakthrough, T!"

Tenten bonked him on the head.

"Uhm…anyway," Jiraiya peered at the inside of the paper. He gave a small smirk as he announced the name.

"His partner will be…"

10:00 PM

Uchiha Household…

Itachi watched his brother pack his things inside a small duffel bag. Running a hand through his hair, he sighed idly. "What the hell are you doing? Don't tell me that you're spending the night with Naruto and Tenten again."

Sasuke zipped his bag shut. He gave his brother a wry look. "Look, I'm not going to spend the night with T and that rambunctious dobe. You see, I'm…" he gulped. Truth be told, he wasn't sure if his brother would allow him to have a weeklong stay outside their house just because of a silly Home Economics project.

"Well? I'm waiting, ototou."

He sighed in defeat. Well, Kurenai-sensei told the entire class to secure consent from parents and guardians so… "All right, I'll tell ya."

The older Uchiha looked at him with inquiry shining in his onyx orbs.

Sasuke gave a weak smile. "I'm going to spend the night with…with my wife, 'nisan. For the entire week."

"Oh, I see. Well then carry on and wait," All of a sudden, his brother's eyes widened. "YOU SAID WHAT?" He grabbed his brother by the collar and glared menacingly at him. "Repeat what you just said earlier, Uchiha Sasuke!"

His brother looked at him confusingly. "I'm spending the night?"

"No!" he snarled. "After that!"

"…With my wife?"

"Yes!" Itachi pressed his face closer to his brother. "How did you end up with a wife? Don't tell me that you hooked up with some hussy then got her pregnant!"

Sasuke blinked. 'What has gotten into his brother?' Suddenly an idea hit him. 'Oh, he thinks I got married for real…' He smirked as he decided to further annoy his brother.

Zipping his duffel bag shut, he slung it over his shoulder, his expression that of a proud man. "Yep. And haven't I told you that we even have a baby boy?"

The look on Itachi's face was priceless. Add the bulging eyes and pale face; it was really an awesome sight.

He laughed as he waved a hand dismissively. "I was just kidding, 'nisan. We have a project in Home Economics about sex and early pregnancies. We're assigned by Kurenai-sensei to take care of an infant simulator for a week. That's all."

"So you're going to be makeshift parents of a doll for seven days?" Itachi covered his mouth with his hand. "You've got be kidding me! And who in the right mind suggested this painstaking idea?" He laughed.

Finding himself in the hot seat instead of his brother, Sasuke scowled. He crossed his arms. "So? It's that stupid principal's fault! He kept on talking about the increasing number of pregnancies then BAM! I'm now a father of an electronic baby with a wife to boot!"

"I see," Itachi commented. "Would you mind telling me who is the lucky girl to become the mother of your 'baby'?"

Upon hearing his question, Sasuke's cheeks tinged pink. He stared hard at his hands then mumbled. "Haruno."

"Who?" Itachi cocked a hand to his ear then leaned closer to him. "I can't hear what you're saying, Sasuke."

"It's yours and Neji's favorite pet," he snarled as he eyed the clock. 'Yeah, and she's the one who caused me the dreaded cooties. She's also the one who…' he gritted his teeth.

His brother reduced his laughter to chuckles. "Oh, with the lovely Haruno-san? That's really cool, ototou. I've always wanted you and Sakura-san to end up together at the altar. It's fate."

Sasuke glared angrily at him. "No way! We've only been paired up together because of the project!"

"Hai, hai. I understand." Itachi looked at the clock then pretended to wince. "Aren't you supposed to be on your way now to your new wife? It's already 10:00 in the evening, ototou."

Sasuke glared at the clock too and upon seeing the time he cursed loudly. He then dashed to the door. "Shoot, I'm late!" Yanking the doorknob, he turned to his brother who was still laughing. "I'm going! See you after a week, 'nisan!" he shouted out as he finally left the house.

Still chuckling, the older Uchiha sat on the sofa. He pulled out his bottle of purple lame' nail polish and lots of cotton balls. Untwisting the cap, he began to coat his fingers with the polish while humming a tune from a wedding song.

"How cute. Even after the wedding ceremony they're still paired up as husband and wife?" he mused as he remembered the picture he took of them then put it as a screensaver for his computer.

"Maybe she could be the key in helping my brother come out from his façade."

10:45 PM

Konoha Academy…

"Gather round class!" Kurenai motioned the students to come forward to where she was standing. They were now standing in front of the school's dormitory. She was holding a list in her hand and she had the students grouped into their respective pairs. She looked into her list then eyed her students.

"Before you receive your respective babies, I will assign each of you your rooms for the week. You have to pick out your careers," she motioned to a small box she was carrying in her other hand, "from this box."

Kiba raised a hand. "But why do we have to pick careers? I thought the only thing we have to do is to take care of an electronic kid!"

"Because Mr. Inuzuka, your careers are going to play a major role in raising your baby," Kurenai regarded him sternly. "Aside from taking care of the infant simulator, you and your wife are going to write a five-page report regarding your experiences with the baby and your plans of raising it through the use of your careers."

She tapped the box with her hand. "Think of it as having a real job and taking care of a real family. As Jiraiya-sama had said earlier, we're living in a real world. The numbers of early pregnancies increased rapidly and as a matter of fact," she regarded her students with a serious look, "Teenage parents chose not to go to school but instead had to look for jobs."

As the teacher continued to drive the students crazy with her drone-like voice, Sasuke muttered curses under his breath. He was getting agitated. The thought that he and Neji's girlfriend had to live under one roof meant one thing.

He wasn't safe from the cooties!

Next to him, Sakura fidgeted. This was her first night out and her first time to be alone with a boy. And that would last for seven days. Despite the anxiety she was feeling right now, she was thankful enough that he wasn't Neji. She didn't want to deal with the yelling and the slapping and certainly not the cursing either.

Smiling slightly, she tried to strike up a conversation with her 'husband'. "I'm…scared of the entire thing. Are you?" she asked.

When he didn't answer, she briefly touched his shoulder. "Are you all right?" she asked again.

He blinked then smiled weakly. "Y-Yeah. I'm all right. It's just the nerves."

'It certainly doesn't looked like it's the nerves to me,' her inner self ranted. Sakura smiled back as they watched their classmates began picking out their careers from the box and their rooms assigned. 'This entire week would be a blast!' she thought as she curled her palms into a fist.

…………

After putting his bags into a corner, Sasuke took a deep breath. Sakura had gone out to get their baby from Kurenai. While waiting for her to return, he sank back on the lounge chair then surveyed his entire surrounding.

All in all, their room wasn't so bad. It was a suite, with a bathroom, kitchen, living room and two bedrooms. However, they were going to share one bedroom since the other would be used as a nursery. It was like they were playing house with pretend roles and pretend family.

"Just play along for a week. Just for a week," he reminded himself. He removed his glasses then rubbed the bridge of his nose. While waiting again for Sakura to return, his thoughts drifted to one important matter.

How would he be able to hide his true self?

As if on cue, the door suddenly opened. He immediately sat up to see Tenten and Naruto enter the room. "Dobe! What in the hell are you doing in my room? And you even brought T along!" he exclaimed.

Naruto smirked. "T and I are partners! And well, we just wanted to drop by and see our new neighbor! Also," his smirk widened, "we're kinda worried about you!"

"Neighbor? Worried? Feh," he sank back to the sofa. "I think you're just here to see my new wife so that you can terrorize her."

Tenten blushed upon hearing that statement. Naruto on the other hand laughed weakly. "Oh ho, not really. I know Neji's pet won't cause you much trouble! And especially since," he wagged a finger in front of Sasuke's face. "You have to keep your geeky appearance intact as usual."

"How can I forget that very important fact, dobe?" he retorted dryly.

Tenten snapped her fingers. "I know! We can switch partners! You can have the pink hussy for a wife, foxface!"

"No way! You're a sneaky bitch, T! You just want to hog Sasuke-chan all to yourself, but I'm not going to let you," the blond snapped then wrapped his arms around Sasuke for emphasis. He stuck his tongue out at her. "Beat that!"

"Why you little…"

"Ehehehe…"

"Oi, stop that. The last thing I want to do right now is to listen to you two goading each other to death," Sasuke sighed as he placed an arm above his forehead. Remembering something important, he turned to his friends. "Yo, I think it's better if you guys leave. Haruno may be here any minute now and I don't want her to engage in another bitch fight with you, T."

Tenten's blush increased ten-fold. Was Sasuke thinking about her like some other boy and not a girl? "I'm a girl in case you didn't notice, Sasuke! Don't even think I'm a cruel bitch and about to gnarl an innocent girl's ass. She's not even innocent to begin with, you know."

Sasuke only smirked at her.

Naruto stretched his arms. "Okay, since it's late…I'm afraid we also have to get our baby from Kurenai-sensei too, T."

Tenten nodded and they headed out the door. "Guess we'll just see ya tomorrow, Sasuke."

He only raised a hand. Even after he heard the door closed he didn't move from his spot. He was too caught up with his thoughts.

11:00 PM

Sakura gulped as she clutched the doll close to her chest. She was too afraid of going to the room that she would be sharing with her new 'husband'. Glancing down at the object in her hands, she smiled. Kurenai-sensei gave her a male infant simulator and for her, it was the cutest electronic thingy in the entire world.

"I wonder what name we're going to give you," she cooed to the doll. After reaching the door, she opened it slightly seeing that it was entirely dark inside. Sighing in relief, she quietly tiptoed inside.

"You're late." A light flickered open.

"Eep." She looked behind her back to see her husband sitting on the sofa with his arms crossed. She bit back a smile. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you up?"

Sasuke stood up then adjusted his glasses. "Nope. I was waiting for you."

Waiting?

"W-Why?" she blurted out.

Instead of answering, he stood up. "Dinner's waiting."

Dinner?

Sakura followed him to the kitchen and the sight she saw took her breath away. She slowly made her way to the table then pointed at the food. "You made all of these? They look so delicious!"

"Nah. Just something I whipped up from the fridge," he said, opening the refrigerator for her to see. "They fully stocked it with food. "

She sat down, admiring the products of his culinary expertise.

He also sat down. "Shall we eat?"

"Uhm…yes!"

"Okay…" Then something caught his eye. "Uh…how could you eat if you're holding that doll?"

Okay, she acted like a protective mother. Instead of getting embarrassed, she gave him a goofy smile. She cuddled the doll as if it was the real thing. "This is not a doll. It's our child and he's your son."

He? Son?

"Oh. Uh…right," he mumbled in reply. "Let's just eat."

While they were eating, Sakura decided to strike up a conversation. "Um…" she began, sipping her soup. "Since we're going to do this project for a week, don't you think this would be the right time for us to know each other better?"

He stopped eating. "What do you mean?"

"Well…let's start by introducing ourselves." She put down her spoon then stretched out her hand at him. "I'm Sakura, nice to meet you."

Sasuke hesitated in taking her hand. But since he had to make his façade as perfect as possible… He briefly touched her hand then muttered, "You can call me Suke."

She brightened up instantly. "Suke-san? That's a cool name!"

Cool? He didn't quite grasp that idea. "Nah. I think I know what you mean. The name's too cool for a nerd like me, am I right?"

She looked at him, confusion shining in her green orbs. "No. Why would you think about that?"

Now he was the one making a fool of himself. "Sorry. That just came out of my mouth."

"No. That's okay. Don't worry about it."

…………

After washing the dishes, Sasuke placed it on the rack to dry. Sakura had gone off, saying that she would be in the nursery with the baby.

He ran his hand through his hair. "This was a rough night. What could that girl be thinking?"

He decided to leave the kitchen and get some rest when he heard a noise. 'Hn, now what?' he thought as he headed to the source.

He stopped in front of the door right next to the bedroom. 'The noise is coming from behind this door.' He twisted the knob then opened the door, shock marking his features.

"What are you doing?" he snapped.

Inside, Sakura was pounding a mangled piece of furniture with a leaf-engraved paperweight. At the corner of the room, the baby lay sobbing his electronic chip out. He heard her mumble a soft "Eep!" then ran towards the source of the noise.

Hearing Sasuke's voice, Sakura fumbled with the baby for a few minutes until his incessant crying stopped. She hugged the baby to her chest as she answered. "I was trying to assemble that crib". She pointed at the dismantled wooden structure. He rolled his eyes.

Afraid to look at him in the eye, she frowned. "When suddenly 'he' started crying," she added, gesturing to the wailing infant.

Sasuke crossed his arms. "So you decided to pound the furniture with a paperweight in order to make the job easier?"

"I…I'm sorry. I'm not that good when it comes to woodworking," she admitted sheepishly.

"You could've asked for my help."

"I-I didn't want to bother you with the dishes."

He sighed. "That's not the point. We're supposed to work together here. The next time you're going to do something extreme, call me. The first thing I never wanted to hear in my whole life is a baby crying."

Sakura nodded. With that said, Sasuke moved to the unfinished crib to continue what she started. When the baby began to make cooing sounds indicating that he was pleased with the cuddling, she went outside.

At the living room, she placed the baby on the sofa with pillows propped on either side of him. "Safety first," she said to herself as she went back to the nursery. Once inside, she began to ponder why boys do all the hard work without even breaking a sweat.

While observing, she noticed that he didn't use a paperweight to secure the legs of the crib together. He just twisted them together and presto! The crib was done. Sakura then decided to do something special for her 'husband' for doing a good deed.

…………

Sasuke almost shed a tear.

"My first carpentry. And it's so beautiful," he said to himself. The crib was finally finished and he was extremely proud. In fact, he was not that adept at such projects and this was the first time he put his heart out into making one.

Sakura entered the room and saw the crib. "Wow! It's so great," she remarked. She stood next to Sasuke then ran her hand at the smooth wooden railings. Turning to him, she smiled. "You're good at this, Suke-san."

He tensed up as if electric shock coursed from her body through his. Taking a step back, he shied away from her. "Uh yeah…thanks."

The pink-haired girl didn't notice his sudden aversion. Instead, she walked to where a tray laden with tea and biscuits lay. She poured tea on two cups then handed one to Sasuke. "Here. Have some."

He accepted the tea, carefully avoiding their fingers to touch. "T-Thank you."

They sipped their tea quietly. After a few minutes of quiescence, Sakura spoke.

"Uhm…" she began, catching the boy's attention.

"What is it?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

She fiddled with her empty cup, her head bowed. "I…I wanted to thank you for helping me. B-Back then, at the rooftop…I really didn't know what to do."

Oh. He really didn't do much at that time. He only listened to her bawling out her feelings about Neji.

'But still…it sure felt good when you at least helped someone out,' he thought. He gulped his drink before replying, "Don't mention it. It's not like I did a big thing for you. So don't push it."

"Y-Yes. I understand," she nodded as she also finished her tea and is pouring herself another cup. She lifted it to her lips, savoring the bitterness of the tea. "You know, even if you act like you hate me…" she spoke then added, "Deep down, I know you're a kind person, Suke-san."

Him? Kind?

Was she making him laugh?

He decided to drop down the subject. "Aa…right. By the way, it's already late. Why don't you put that toy right here in the crib and then get some sleep? We have a lot to do in the morning."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Oh, I almost forgot! You're right, we have to tuck the baby in for the night!" She dashed out of the room, returning back a few minutes later with the infant simulator on her arms. Sasuke tried to hold back a laugh when he saw how she fussed over the baby.

"There, there little fella! It's time for beddy bye," she cooed. She placed him inside the crib and propped pillows on either side of him. "Nightie night!" she leaned over then kissed its cheek. The infant simulator made a giggling sound. Sasuke only glared at the little critter with lack of interest then Sakura ushered him out of the room.

"Well then, now it's time for us to sleep," she told him. Sasuke couldn't agree more.

But now he wish he hadn't.

…………

Staring at the bed before him, he couldn't think of anything else but to bolt out of the room.

Sakura stood next to him.

"Uhm…I don't understand. Why is there only one bed?" she asked.

He couldn't think of any other answer.

"One bed. Sharing. You. Me." He answered in between clenched teeth. What the hell was that perverted principal thinking? A boy and girl sharing a room? Wasn't that supposed to be a bad idea?

Instead of being alarmed, she smiled at him. "Neh, so we're going to be roommates Suke-san?"

How can she be so stupid at a time like this? "I g-guess so…"

She clapped her hands. "Then it's settled! It's my first time to have a sleepover and I'm so happy that we're going to sleep together!"

The boy next to her didn't even move. He was petrified.

Sakura didn't even notice his discomfort. She went to pick up her bag sitting next to the sofa. Sasuke still stood dumbfounded as she hauled the bag inside the room. When he heard the door closed, Sasuke did the only one thing he knew he was capable of.

He screamed.

'There's no way I'm going to sleep on that bed with her!'

A/N: Well…that's the end of our chapter! Apparently our hero is facing the biggest crisis of his life. How to hide his identity while doing a school project? Sounds easy? Nope! And by the way, I'm proud to introduce our Beta Reader's Note! Here, my beloved beta reader will voice out her opinions about making the story and ripping my head off when we're reaching the deadline. It's the least I can do since she's been with me from the 2nd chapter. No evil thoughts there people! Well, here she is!

B/N: What the hell! I can't believe I'm doing this already! Actually, I'm not yet planning to proofread this chapter but oh well, since you beloved readers gave me inspiration, I'm going to do my best! Don't forget to support our story or the author gets it!

A/N: Ehem…well that's it for our beta reader. The next chapter will be in a few weeks again so please be patient. And as a treat for our readers, here's an excerpt from our next chapter:

…………

'Darn it, he's walking away! I should tell him now…or else, I would never ever have another chance again!' she scolded herself. Her palms became sweaty. She instantly closed them into tight fists. His back was further retreating so she took a deep breath and called him back.

"Wait!"

To her surprise and bad luck, he stopped. He turned around to look at her, his onyx eyes filled with inquiry…and unmistakable tenderness. Needless to say, his expression took her breath away. "What is it?" he asked.

"I…"

'Damn! Why can't I say it? Why can't I say what's in my heart? He's here right in front of me with no one around to watch us! Why can't I just spit it all out in front of him? Why can't I tell him that I…'

"I…"

"I…." She opened her eyes.

"I like you."

…………

A/N: Well…there you have it! Sorry to leave you again with another cliffy guys, but that's what my beta reader does (all the time). If she doesn't do it, she wouldn't have a job! Anyways, it's now time for the question and answer portion!

Who said these words, "I like you." from the next chapter?

a. Sakura

b. Naruto

c. Tenten

d. Temari

e. Others (please specify):

A/N: Well, if you guys get a really good guess, then you win a cool imaginary Sasuke plushie! With the glasses on! See yah on the next chapter! Ja ne!

B/N: Waaah! Give me one, give me one! I should have a reward, ya know? Please read and review.