To Love and to Love Again Chapter 14: For the Kids

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER AND AUTHORS NOTE: I do NOT own Naruto. The awesomeness of the Naruto Manga and World is the creation of Masashi Kishimoto. This is Purely Fanfiction. All things Medical in this entire fanfiction should not be taken as serious medical advice or facts. PLEASE CONSULT AN ACTUAL DOCTOR FOR ANY MEDICAL INFORMATION/QUESTIONS. THANK YOU AND ENJOY!

Sasuke entered Suki's room at promptly 10:00 am. Today was his little girls fifth birthday and he had to wake her up if she wanted to get ready on time. He knelt beside her bed and watched her sleeping figure for a bit. As usual she was curled up in the corner and suffocating her stuffed pig Tonton.

"Suki," he whispered as he gently shook her awake. She just shifted away from him and curled up even more with her stuffed animal. "Suki… today's your birthday."

She immediately bolted out of her slumber.

"Yay!" she shouted. "Daddy, today's my birthday!" Sasuke smiled and lifted her out of bed.

"Yeah, now go and get cleaned up. Everyone will be here soon."

He took her to the bathroom and put her down to let her brush her teeth and wash her face before heading downstairs and leaving her to get ready.

Sasuke was already dressed in black pants and a dark green sweater. The party was being held in the back yard. Naruto and Hinata had come over last night to set up the decorations and such. The weather was holding up so it shouldn't be too cold.

The doorbell rang and he went to answer it. He opened the door to reveal his parents.

"Hello Sasuke," his mother Mikoto greeted as she stepped inside. His father Fugaku followed her inside and placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Where is Suki?" he asked.

"Getting ready."

"I can't believe my only grandchild is turning five years old today," Mikoto said as she sat down on the stool by the counter in the kitchen. She was a beautiful woman with long black hair and dark eyes like Sasuke. She was wearing a red dress with a black sweater.

"Has Itachi arrived?" Fugaku asked. He was a strong looking man whose hairstyle was clearly adopted by Sasuke.

"He said he'd be here," he answered. Mikoto went upstairs to help Suki get ready for the party. It was part of her grandmotherly duties after all.

"How are the preparations for the conference going?" his father asked when she left.

"Everything is set. We leave for Kyoto one week before Christmas." He and Fugaku continued to talk about business and such. It was all they ever really talked about anyway.

Naruto cursed as he failed to think of a way to transfer his "gift" to Sasuke's house. He was currently outside in the garage where he had been working on Suki's gift for the past three months. Hinata came outside with some coffee.

"We need to get going soon," she said as she handed him the cup. "I need to get there early and finish decorating the cake."

"Yeah I know, but what are we going to do about that?" he asked, pointing to the gift. Hinata sighed and looked at her watch. They had about two hours to get ready and go, and knowing Naruto, it would take that long.

"Maybe you can call Neji," she suggested as she hugged Naruto from behind. "I'm sure he can come over and help you get that to Sasuke's house." Naruto turned around and placed his arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, but he'll be a smart ass about it, but I guess I have no other choice," he sighed as he pulled out his cell phone.

"Neji?" Tenten called as she stood in front of the mirror.

"Yes?" he asked as he stepped into their room. He found Tenten in front of the mirror, wearing black pants with a pink silk top. It was form fitting, so the baby bump was clearly visible.

"Do these pants make me look fat?" she asked as she examined her backside in the mirror.

"…" was Neji's response. The parenting magazine didn't say anything about what to tell your wife when she asked those kinds of questions. Tenten was looking at him expectantly but he gave no response.

"Well?" she pressed as she faced him. Neji was going to respond, but the ringing of his cell phone stopped him.

"Hello?" he said, silently glad for the interruption. He listened as Naruto complained about his gift to Suki. "All right, I'll be there. You should have thought about this before Naruto," he chastised before hanging up.

"What's up?" Tenten asked, forgetting about her wardrobe for a second.

"Naruto needs us to help him transport Suki's gift to the party."

He grabbed his coat from the closet and helped Tenten into her own coat.

"What did he build her?" she asked curiously.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's unstable. Let's go."

"Sora are you almost done?" Sakura called out from downstairs.

Sora was still upstairs trying to get ready for Suki's party, while she was already good to go. Sakura decided on wearing a simple white dress with a black flowery pattern printed all over it and a dark red cardigan over it.

"Mommy, I don't want to wear this," Sora whined as he came down the stairs. Sakura turned around and smiled at him. He was wearing a little black suit with a blue tie, which he was tugging on constantly. He looked like a little businessman and it was just too cute for Sakura to handle.

"Ohhhhh Sora you look so handsome," she cooed as she kissed his cheek. "But you have to dress nice for Suki's party. Everyone else is going to dress nicely too. Now let's go," she said as she grabbed the gift they bought and headed out the door.

Sakura was a little nervous about seeing Sasuke again. After their "almost" kiss, she didn't know where his feelings about her stood, and it was bugging her. She figured she might as well get to the bottom of that as soon as possible, and what better time than the present?

Sasuke and Fugaku were in the back yard getting all the last minute stuff done. Fugaku turned around when he heard Suki shouting.

"Grandpa!" She ran up to him happily.

She was wearing a little white and red dress that went all the way down to her ankles. There was a pink ribbon in her hair that held it up. She was also wearing the chain that Sakura had given her at the recital.

Fugaku smiled and picked up his only grandchild. "Hello Princess," he said as she hugged him. "Happy birthday. You look really pretty."

"Grandma said so too," she giggled before turning to Sasuke. "Daddy! When is everybody coming?"

"Soon."

Not a minute later, the first of the guests had arrived.

"Suki!" shouted Akira as she ran to them. Akio was close by followed by both Shikamaru and Ino, who was carrying the gift. Suki was placed back down and she and Akira went off to play.

"Sasuke," Shikamaru greeted as he and Ino approached. He turned to Fugaku and nodded his head in greeting.

"Where should I put the gifts?" Ino asked. Sasuke pointed over to a table in the corner and Ino left in that direction.

Sasuke turned to Shikamaru. "Has the Dobe called you?"

"No, why?"

"He said he would be having trouble getting his "homemade" gift here. I don't want any accidents."

They heard the sound of a car horn honking from out in the front and both Sasuke and Shikamaru went out to investigate. When they got there, they saw Naruto, standing besides Neji's SUV with Tenten in the front seat.

"Hey Sasuke, Shikamaru," Naruto waved.

They were both too preoccupied with what was hanging by a thread on top of Neji's car. There was some sort of huge box like structure covered in a pink sheet that Naruto was trying to keep in balance.

"What the hell is that?" Sasuke asked as he and Shikamaru approached with caution.

"Naruto, hurry up and get it down," shouted Tenten from the inside the car. Neji had parked and gotten out of the car to help get the contraption down.

"A little help would be nice," Neji growled to them. Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Naruto each covered a side of the gift. Tenten got out of the car and became the voice of motivation as the guys struggled to get the gift off the top of the car and into the back yard.

"Come on guys, almost there," she encouraged as she led them into the backyard. The guys were breathing pretty hard with sore hands as they finally settled the device on the ground towards the back of the yard.

"I didn't think it would be that heavy," Naruto breathed as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"You didn't think is more like it," Sasuke mumbled as they moved away from the gift. They heard the sound of a dog barking followed by the sound of kids laughing.

"Hey guys. Long time no see," Kiba said as he approached the guys.

"Hey Kiba," Naruto waved. "Glad you could make it. Where's Jun?"

"Over there with Akamaru." He pointed to his son and his large white dog. The kids seemed to be enjoying the enormous animal, especially Suki.

Over the course of twenty minutes, the party really started to get going. More guests had arrived and Hinata was in the kitchen with Tenten and Ino, trying to finish up the cake.

"Almost done," Hinata said as she piped the last of the flowers onto the large pink cake.

"Wow Hinata, you should have become a pastry chef. That cake looks amazing," Ino complimented as she admired the cake.

"Seriously" Tenten nodded. "But then again, you were always a good chef in general. Heck, you can come and live with Neji and me. We could use a good chef around." She leaned back in her chair and placed her hands around her belly. "This one needs some good food for now."

"Exactly how far along are you Tenten?" Ino asked as she eyed Tenten's belly.

"Almost five months," she answered, although she looked a little more than that. Ino looked to be in deep thought.

"Really? You look farther along than that. I would say at least six months. I was pretty big when I was pregnant too, but then again we were having twins so it all made sense."

Tenten suddenly became nervous. Was Ino actually figuring it out? NO! She couldn't. Ino had the biggest mouth in the universe. She would surely blab to the whole world including Neji.

"You're not having twins, are you Tenten?" Ino asked jokingly. Hinata stopped piping and looked over at them. Tenten froze, but soon relaxed as she figured she might as well tell a half-truth.

"No guys. I am NOT having twins," she confirmed as she leaned back into her seat. "I can't wait until Suki cuts that cake. I haven't seen anything that pink since I met Sakura," she said to distract them from the topic.

Hinata laughed and looked at the cake. "I was hoping you and Neji would have twins," she confessed. "I was looking forward to as many new babies in the family as soon as possible."

"Well Hinata," Ino grinned. "I guess you and Naruto will just have to get busy making your own kids."

Hinata blushed a deep red and actually began to fidget with her hands.

"Have Kids? Oh no, Naruto and I have only been married a few months. It would be way too soon," she mumbled, looking away. Secretly, she really wanted to start having kids as soon as possible. But she knew that it would be better to wait. Naruto had to be ready too.

Tenten snorted. "Yeah well I guess you've already got one big kid to look after anyway," she said looking out the window from the kitchen. Hinata turned to look to and saw Naruto trying his hardest to move the gift in place after the guys had abandoned him. The kids were having a blast watching him on the sidelines and cheering him on.

The doorbell rang and Tenten volunteered to open it. She opened the door to reveal Sakura and Sora standing outside.

"Hey Tennie," Sakura greeted with a hug.

"Hey Sakura. Hi Sora!" she beamed as she bent down to hug her adorable godson. She had some difficulty since her belly was in the way.

"Hi Aunty Tenten," Sora said as she ruffled his hair and made a fuss about how adorable he looked in the suit.

"Everyone is in the back yard Sora," Tenten said when she released him. Sora ran past her in escape. Sakura and Tenten closed the door and went into the kitchen.

"Hello beautiful people," Sakura sang as she walked into the kitchen. "Hinata… that is the most gorgeous cake I've ever seen," she said as she took a seat by Ino.

"Thank you. I saw it in a gourmet magazine. It's called the Pinkcherryblossom225 model (:D) and since Suki is little pink princess, it was only fitting."

Sakura chuckled. "True. So where's the birthday girl?"

"Outside… with her father," Ino teased. She didn't forget to bug Sakura about showing up with Sasuke at her house a couple days ago.

Sakura gave her a pointed look as she walked towards the back yard. "Blast, she didn't forget!" she thought as she stepped outside. She was amazed at the size of Sasuke's backyard. Then again, she was amazed at his house all together. She even thought she had the wrong address when she drove up to the huge house.

She spotted the table that contained all the gifts and placed hers on the top of the pile before turning around and observing the party. There were around twenty or so guests having a good time chatting and watching their kids play. Sakura scanned the area where the kids were playing and spotted Suki in a cute little dress playing with her friends.

"Fancy meeting you here," came a voice from behind her. She turned around and was met with a familiar face.

"Oh, hi… Kiba was it?" she asked as she eyed the tattooed man. He just grinned at her and flashed his smile that revealed white teeth, with rather large incisors, almost like a dog.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you remember me, Dr. Haruno."

"Sakura. We're not in the hospital. Are you a friend of Sasuke's?" she asked smiling.

"You could say that," he replied as he took a sip of his drink. "But my son over there is friends with the birthday girl." He pointed to the group of children playing with the big white dog.

"Oh, well I'm glad to see that Jun is doing just fine," she said as she eyed the dog. She didn't forget that Jun's case was about a parasite and was curious about that dog.

"Don't worry," Kiba said knowingly "Akamaru over there is clean. There aren't any bugs on him."

She blushed. "Oh, sorry," she said sheepishly. "My son just got over a bad fever and I'm a little cautious right now. Will you excuse me Kiba?" she asked looking up at him. Everyone was so much taller than her.

"Sure." He watched her leave towards the kids. He wasn't the only one watching her, as he didn't fail to notice a pair of dark onyx eyes that had been observing him and Sakura for a while.

Sakura strolled over the kids. "Suki," she called out. Suki turned around and smiled as she saw Sora's mommy coming towards her.

"Happy birthday sweetie!" She bent down and gave Suki a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you Aunty Sakura," she giggled. "Look." She brought the necklace Sakura gave her into view.

"Oh you're wearing the necklace. Guess what though."

"What?"

Sakura pulled out her necklace that her own father gave to her and showed it to Suki. "You and me are matching again," she said indicating their attire. They were both wearing white and red.

"Oh yeah! Cool! Look, I have pink in my hair too," she said spinning around to show her pink ribbon. Sakura laughed at her cute antics.

"Aunty Hinata is done decorating your cake. You think we should cut it soon?" Sakura asked. She smiled as Suki bounced up and down and shouting "Yes," again and again.

"Okay, but first," she said as she pulled a camera from her purse. "It's time for pictures."

Sasuke was talking to a few of the guests that had arrived. As they talked, he noticed Sora run out of the house and into the back yard. Sasuke thought he looked like a little businessman dressed in that suit. But if he was here, then that meant that Sakura was also here.

He hadn't spoken to her after the "date" since she had to take care of Sora. He didn't know how to approach her after all that. What he was really curious about was whether or not she would mention their close encounter the other night.

After a few more minutes, he saw Sakura walk out. She headed over to the gift table and placed her gift on top. Sasuke smirked at the dress she was wearing. She almost matched Suki's outfit except for the fact that Sakura's dress stopped above the knee, revealing her slender legs. Sasuke had to keep his eyes up north. Something about her legs just got him so… distracted.

He raised his brow when he saw Kiba walked up to her from behind. She looked surprised to see him but it looked like he knew her. He watched them converse briefly and for some reason, Sasuke found that even though Kiba was considered a friend, he didn't quite like him talking to Sakura.

Not that he had anything to worry about. Kiba was married. But still, Sasuke didn't like seeing Sakura talk with him like that. But he couldn't complain. It's not like Sakura belonged to him so to speak. They went out on one "date" if you could even call it that. He had no claims on her.

That's what he kept telling himself as he watched her excuse herself, with a microscopic blush on her face, and walk towards the kids. It didn't make him feel any better when he saw that Kiba was still watching her as she walked away from him. Wasn't that fool married? Sasuke glared in Kiba's direction before looking back at Sakura.

He watched as she came up to Suki, who seemed excited to see her. He gave a small smile as he saw Sakura bend down to give Suki a big hug and kiss and talk about some stuff that he couldn't hear from this distance. He decided to walk over there when he saw Sakura pull out a camera.

"Okay, Suki, Sora, Akira, Akio and Jun stand next to each other," Sakura ordered as she called out to the five kids. Sora and Akira reluctantly came, as they were disappointed to be away from Jun's dog. Akio just looked bored.

The five of them looked so cute standing next to each other like that. They were just short replicas of one of their parents.

"Okay… smile!" She snapped the picture. "Perfect," she said as the kids tried to scatter. "Wait a minute, Sora and Suki. I want one of you guys next to each other."

Sora pouted and came back.

"Mommy, can I take this off?" he asked, tugging on his tie.

"But you look so handsome with your tie on," she said over a flat out denial. Sora continued to pout. Sakura smiled on the inside. Sora was just not the suit and tie type of kid. "Just like his father," she thought. "Okay, you can take it off after we cut the cake… alright?"

"I like your tie onii-chan" whispered Suki so that Sakura couldn't hear her. "My daddy wears it all the time," she added. Sora stopped fidgeting, but scowled nonetheless.

"Okay come on, picture time." Sakura positioned the camera as Sora and Suki stood next to each other. "Smile" she instructed before taking the picture. Suki looked behind Sakura and smiled.

"Daddy!" she shouted as she ran up to him.

Sakura turned around and stood up from her crouched position. Sasuke was standing a few feet away from her with a bouncing Suki at his side. She hadn't seen much of him since their non-date or whatever it was. Not to mention that kiss they almost had was still floating in her mind.

"Daddy, me and Aunty Sakura are matching!" Suki told him as she held onto his hand. "And we have the same necklace."

"That's interesting Tenshi," he said as he smiled down at his daughter. He turned his attention to Sakura, who looked like she had an idea in her head.

"Hi Sasuke. Hey, hold Suki. I want to get a picture of you two." She held her camera up as she eyed his attire and thought that he looked rather nice wearing green. He and Suki looked like Christmas time.

"I'm not one for pictures."

"Oh come on. Capture the moment. Suki only turns five once."

"Yeah Daddy, let's take a picture!" Suki held her arms out for Sasuke. He sighed and picked her up and held her close to him.

"Smile," Sakura ordered as she held the camera up in front of her.

Suki flashed a big toothy smile as Sasuke remained stoic. Sakura sighed and placed the camera down. "Sasuke, can you move the ends of your mouth in an upward motion?"

She laughed when he did the opposite and frowned.

"Just take the picture Sakura."

She turned to Suki. "Suki, can you make your daddy smile?"

Suki nodded her head and placed her small hands on Sasuke's face. She tried to force the ends of his mouth upward, making Sasuke look ridiculous… but still ridiculously handsome. Suki giggled at her father and Sakura had to resist the laugh in her throat.

She began to take as many pictures as she could of the two of them like that. Each frame had Sasuke slowly move Suki's hands away, but eventually, he placed a small but real smile onto his face towards the end.

"Ah ha!" Sakura declared as she looked at the pictures in the digital camera. "I caught Sasuke smiling."

Sasuke placed Suki down and Sora walked up to them. He stood near Sakura and sort of hid behind her.

She looked behind her and smiled. "Sora, do you want to say hi to Sasuke?" she asked pulling him in front of her.

This was the opportunity for him to start being polite. Sasuke looked down at the kid and saw his hesitation. He also saw that Sora didn't want to keep his blue tie. It was wrinkled and partially pulled out of place.

"Hi Mr. Uchiha," Sora said quietly.

"Just call me Sasuke."

Sora nodded. "Okay." He looked up at Sakura with pleading eyes. "Mommy, I don't want to wear this," he whined as he continued to tug at the tie.

"I already said you could take it off after we cut the cake," she reminded. "Just hold on a little longer."

Sasuke smirked at the kid. He remembered when his mother made him wear those ridiculous suits as a kid. His family was always going to fancy parties and Mikoto insisted that he and Itachi wear those stupid neckties. Sasuke figured if he was going to get on Sora's good side, he might as well start now.

"Just let him take it off." Sora looked up at Sasuke, surprised at his suggestion. "He looks more like a business man that a kid anyway."

"He can… after I take more pictures when Suki cuts the cake," she replied. "It'll be awhile until I can get him into a suit again so I'm keeping him like this as long as I can."

"…You're annoying even to your own kid," he said making her glare. Sora looked like he was suppressing a laugh at his mother. "I guess we'll just have to cut the cake now then."

Suki squealed in excitement and Sora looked relieved that he would be free of the tie soon.

"Yay," squealed Suki. "Cut the cake! Cut the Cake!" she shouted as she ran off to tell her friends. Sora ran off with her as well leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone.

"Hmmm," she hummed as she assessed Sasuke. "Is someone trying to get on my son's good side?"

"Hn."

Sakura just gave him a frozen look. "You know… if we weren't surrounded by people, I would have punched you again," she said nonchalantly as she flipped through the pictures in the camera.

Sasuke raised his brow. "I thought you felt guilty about that. Not that it hurt anyway."

"Please," she huffed putting her hand on her hip. "The bruise is solid proof it hurt. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still there."

"Hn."

Sakura just rolled her eyes at him and sighed. "Well, I guess I better help Hinata bring the cake out," she muttered as she turned to the house.

"Sakura," he said suddenly. She stopped and turned back to face him.

"Yes?"

Sasuke looked her over briefly before making eye contact with her. "You look… nice." He shoved his hands in his pockets and looking away. Sakura blinked twice before allowing a small smile to appear on her face.

"Oh…thank you. You're not so bad yourself," she grinned before heading back into the house. Sasuke watched her leave. Her legs caught his attention again and it took quite a bit of effort to tear his gaze away from them. He couldn't get caught eyeing her or anyone for that matter.

He turned around to get back to the party and his smirk faded. He caught Neji's gaze. He was giving Sasuke a look, and he couldn't really tell what it was. But one thing was obvious: Neji had been watching him and Sakura for a while. He watched the Hyuga make his way over.

"Hyuga," he stated as Neji stopped in front of him. Even though they were friends, Sasuke and Neji were sort of rivals back in their high school and college days. They would normally call each other on more familiar terms, but occasionally, they would revert back to the last name basis.

"Uchiha," Neji returned as they glowered at each other. "What was that I just witnessed?" he asked as he looked directly at Sasuke. They were exactly eyelevel as far as height was concerned.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know you're not a fool. I saw you looking at Sakura," he accused. "Don't try to deny it."

Sasuke gave Neji a hard look. "And what has you so on edge?" What was with all these married fools and their perimeter around Sakura?

"Watch it Uchiha," Neji warned narrowing his eyes. "Sakura is like family to me. She's been hurt and I don't want to see her get hurt again. Don't toy with her."

And with that he walked away. Sasuke glared at his retreating form.

Who the hell did that damn Hyuga think he was talking to? As if Sasuke was one to toy with people. He looked at the entrance of the back yard and saw Naruto carrying out Suki's rather large and ridiculously pink three-tiered birthday cake.

"All right everyone!" the blonde shouted at the top of his lungs. "Time for cake! Believe it!"

All the kids cheered and ran to the table. Sasuke saw Sakura, Hinata, Ino and Tenten come out from inside the house and stand around the kids. Sakura had her camera out and ready.

Naruto placed the cake down on the table and lifted Suki on a chair so that she could stand right in front of it. All the other kids crowded around her and stared in amazement at the cake.

Everyone sang happy birthday to Suki, who was blushing with all the attention. After they were done singing, Sakura shouted to Suki.

"Make a wish Suki." She held her camera up, ready to snap away. Suki looked at her for a second before looking back at the candles. She closed her eyes and wished really hard for something that she's always wanted more than anything.

"I wish I had a mommy."

She opened her eyes and blew out the candles. There was a flash of light from the camera and Suki looked back at Sakura, who was smiling at her. Suki smiled right back and turned to her father. He smiled as well and helped her cut the cake.

"Mommy!" Sora shouted as he ran up to Sakura. She knew what he wanted.

"Wait, I need a few more pictures," she delayed as she took him over to the kids and the cake. She snapped a good fifty or so picture with all the kids and their parents. Tenten insisted that she keep the camera away from her because she was too self-conscious with the baby bump, but that sure didn't stop Sakura from snapping pictures of her anyway. She had the camera taken away from her by Neji.

"You should be in some of those pictures too," he said as he shoved her towards the kids.

Sakura went over to Suki, who was still standing on the chair and had Neji take a picture with her. Sora joined them later on and then several more pictures were taken at random. Somehow, Sasuke got dragged in there by Ino, who was smiling way too much in Sasuke's opinion.

"Let's get one with all four of them," Ino suggested as Neji reluctantly positioned the camera.

Sakura was silently glaring daggers at Ino for being blatantly obvious. As the pictures were being taken, Sakura noticed two people in particular watching them from the back. There was a tall, proud looking man with chicken hair just like Sasuke and a really beautiful older woman with long raven hair and onyx eyes.

"Could they be Sasuke's parents?" she thought as she turned her head towards Sasuke. Sasuke caught her gaze for a second before the flash went off, capturing the moment. Sakura briefly studied his face and then went back to the older couple. There wasn't any doubt that they were his parents.

"Mommy, I wanna take this off now," Sora begged, tugging on her skirt. He was getting pretty fussy.

"Oh all right," she sighed in defeat. She took the tie off and placed in her purse. Sora smiled in victory and went about playing with Akio, Jun and his dog. Sasuke took Suki off the chair and allowed her to roam around.

"Had enough pictures?" he muttered. His eyes were still seeing stars.

"You can never have enough pictures. I could give you some copies if you like, even the ones with Suki forcing you to laugh. I bet Naruto would love some copies as well."

"Delete those," he ordered. Sakura stuck her tongue at him childishly and shook her head. She looked behind Sasuke and saw Hinata and the girls get started on the cake.

Hinata came and cut the whole cake into pieces for everyone. Tenten and Ino helped her along with the older woman with the dark hair.

"Girls, who is that woman talking to Sasuke?" Mikoto asked as she eyed the two.

"Oh her name is Sakura," Tenten answered. "She was my best friend in college. She's a doctor now, working for us at Konoha Medical."

She nodded in understanding and continued watching the pair from afar.

It was an interesting sight to see, because for all she knew, her son was never one to associate so freely with a woman before. And this particular woman had a very interesting appearance with that pink hair and green eyes, highly reminiscent of her granddaughter.

"And that child that was standing by her, might I assume that he is her son?" she asked as her eyes traveled to Sora, who was playing with Akio and Jun. Mikoto couldn't help but notice how much the boy looked like Sasuke at that age.

"You assumed correct Mikoto," Ino nodded. "His name is Sora and he is just a handsome little man. I wonder if I could betroth Sora and Akira." They all laughed at the thought.

"I don't think so Ino," Tenten mused. "Sakura is a die-hard believer in love. Believe me, she's the farthest thing from accepting when it comes to arranged marriages. I'm surprised you would consider it."

"Lighten up Tenten, I was only joking."

The three continued to cut the cake and chat. Mikoto continued to watch Sasuke and Sakura interact. They seemed natural around each other, and by natural she meant that Sakura wasn't throwing herself at him and he was actually making eye contact with her and engaging in conversation.

Perhaps she was making something out of nothing, but the Uchiha Matriarch had a feeling that there was probably something more going on between the two and if there was, then she herself really didn't know what to make of it. She never met Sakura and therefore, couldn't make an instant opinion.

But there was something that she didn't need an introduction to notice. Sakura was obviously a very beautiful woman.

"Daddy, can I open my presents now?" Suki asked as she finished of the last of her cake. Sasuke nodded and all the kids and parents gathered around the gift table. Suki sat on the grass and all the kids sat in a circle around her.

Her grandmother handed her the gifts. She opened several presents and received various toys and clothing from all the guests. Now it was coming down to the last of the gifts.

"And here's the last one from… Sakura and Sora," Mikoto read from the card. She handed the pink wrapped gift to Suki. Sasuke glanced at Sakura, who had her camera ready. Suki tore through the wrapping paper and held up the gift.

"Coooool!"

In her hands, was a small toy doctor's kit. "Thank you Aunty Sakura, thank you Sora," she said happily as she held onto the doctor's kit.

Naruto grabbed Suki and lifted her onto his shoulders. "All right now, I saved the best gift for last," he said as he walked over to the "gift". All the kids and parents followed him towards the back of the yard. He placed Suki down and walked over to the tarp.

"Okay Suki, here it goes." He pulled the cover off.

Everyone gasped and Suki squealed with delight when she saw his gift. Naruto had built Suki her very own mini dancing stage. It was actually nicely done. The stage was around five feet long and even had a curtain in the back.

All the parents stood dumbstruck that Naruto could actually build something like that. It was the perfect gift for a little ballerina.

"Is that thing stable?" Sasuke questioned as he came and inspected it closer.

"Of course it is. I told you I didn't build her a screaming metal death trap!" Naruto scoffed. Suki ran and grabbed onto his leg and hugged it tight.

"Thank you Uncle Naruto!" she cried as Naruto grinned.

"Anything for you."

Suki let go and climbed onto the stage. Akira joined her too and Sakura came and began taking various pictures.

"Wow Naruto. This is impressive," she praised as she watched the girls play.

"Thanks Sakura. It's nice to know somebody appreciates my work." He threw a look at Sasuke. Sakura chuckled when he glared. The rest of the party went by smoothly. Suki and the kids played with her new toys. She seemed to be particularly attached to her new doctor's kit.

By the time 6:00 pm came rolling around, many of the guests had already gone home. The only people remaining were Sakura and Sora and Ino and Shikamaru and the kids. Neji and Tenten went home because Tenten was tired out and Naruto and Hinata left with them.

"Well, that was a great party," Ino sighed as everyone lounged around in Sasuke's living room. "But we should really get going. The kids burned themselves out with all that sugar," she said looking at the four sleeping children on the couch.

Ino and Shikamaru picked up Akio and Akira and headed towards the door. Ino turned around to hug Sakura and whispered into her ear as they walked out.

"I'll call you later for all the juicy details," she whispered as Sakura quirked an eyebrow. "You and Sasuke, who knew?"

"Nothing happened Ino."

"Or did it?" Ino replied with an inquisitive look. Sakura sighed. Ino was the gossip queen; always had been and probably always will be.

"Whatever Ino pig." She watched them walk to their car. She closed the door and went back into the living room where Sasuke was sitting across from the kids.

"I guess I should go too," she thought out loud as she walked towards Sora. The sound of her stomach growling made her stop and blush. Sasuke smirked at her embarrassment and walked towards the kitchen.

"Or you could stay for dinner," he suggested as he went to the fridge.

"Oh no, that's okay Sasuke," she said following him in. "I'll just cook something when I get home."

"Or you can cook right here," he persisted. "You can use whatever you want in the kitchen."

She chuckled nervously. "That's nice of you but really, you don't have to do this."

She had a weird feeling about staying at his house for dinner. Ever since that mix up with the date she had no idea where she stood with him, especially since he said it wasn't a date, and then he almost kissed her. So what was she supposed to think now?

"Suki would like it if you stayed here."

Sakura looked back into the living room where the two kids were still sleeping and then turned back to Sasuke. "I can use the kid card too," he smirked.

Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed.

"…One of these days I'll wipe that smirk off your face," she vowed before shoving him away from the fridge. She foraged through the fridge and was fascinated at the contents in it. "You sure do keep your fridge well stocked."

"That's my mother doing. I don't have time to shop for groceries."

He went over to the cabinet and pulled out a small CD player and pressed the play button. The soft music that played made Sakura turn around and look at him with her eyebrows raised.

"It's a habit," he explained. "My mother likes to listen to this instrumental music when she's cooking."

"It's nice. She seems like a really loving mom," she said recalling the sweet looking woman from before.

"You didn't meet her? She was here today."

"I know, I was just too busy taking pictures to actually meet her." She brought out various vegetables and things from the fridge. "Is there anything Suki likes in particular?"

"Tomatoes," he answered with the tiniest hint of pride. "What do you plan on making anyway?"

"I guess roasted tomato and red pepper soup will do."

She brought a pan hanging off the side of the wall down on the stovetop. "So what did you think about Naruto's gift?" she asked trying to make conversation.

"It's stable," he replied looking out the window into the back yard. He could see the stage with a large tarp covering over it.

"Just give Naruto some credit," she said as she placed a few tomatoes into the searing hot pan. "What he did was really sweet and thoughtful."

She brought out another pot and dumped some chicken stock in it to boil.

"Hn."

He saw her stiffen and glance in his direction before going back the tomatoes. "No punch?" he asked trying to egg her on. "We're alone now, so what's holding you back?"

She faced him with a neutral expression, although you could clearly see the restraint as well. "The kids might see it and then think it's okay to be violent," she answered as she turned back to her work.

"They're asleep," he reminded.

"They might wake up any second now. Actually, they should wake up by now. If they keep sleeping like this, then they'll never be able to go to bed later on."

"Just let them sleep until the soups ready."

Sakura sighed and turned back to her work. She placed the now fully roasted tomatoes into the boiling pot and closed the lid. Then she brought out several vegetables and began chopping them into small pieces.

Sasuke watched her skillful hands cut the veggies. It really was a sight to see someone working in his kitchen besides his mother or himself. But watching Sakura work just seemed so natural. His eyes traveled up from her hands to her porcelain arms and shoulders. She removed the red jacket a while ago. His gaze then stopped at her face. A few strands of pink hair fell from behind her ear and in her face.

She brushed them out of the way and in doing so, caught Sasuke staring at her.

"Something wrong?" she asked as he straightened himself. He shook his head. "Well then, care to lend me a hand?"

She brought out another knife from the counter top. Sasuke looked at her, surprised for a minute, before taking the knife. He went to stand next to her as she gave him a big red pepper to chop.

"You are skilled with a knife aren't you?" she teased. He just narrowed his eyes as he took the pepper from her and began chopping with expert precision and ease. Sakura raised an eyebrow at his skill and was actually impressed.

They stayed silent for a few minutes before Sakura spoke. "So I've been meaning to ask you about something," she began as she continued chopping. "I couldn't help but notice that you have a tattoo."

Sasuke looked at her from the side of his eyes. "Something wrong with that?" he asked, not stopping his task.

"No, not at all," she replied. "Personally, I love tattoos. Well, at least the decent ones anyway. You just don't strike me as the type to get one that's all."

"Is that so?" he asked. "Care to tell me what, "type" I fall into?"

"Well at first glance, you seem very… corporate." She stifled a laugh at his expression before continuing. "You're a successful businessman that follows the rules and focuses on getting the job done; basically a workaholic. Not really the kind of man you see in a tattoo parlor. But it doesn't really matter. The fact is, you got one and it's a very interesting design. What's the story behind that one?"

"Nothing… just a mistake," he said vaguely. Sakura didn't feel like she should press the history behind it. He clearly didn't want to tell her.

She shrugged. "Well, even if it was a mistake, it's still cool. Having a tattoo is a pretty big turn-on."

She stopped chopping when she realized what she just said. She could feel him smirking at her side.

"Does that mean you're turned on by my tattoo?" He smirk grew at how fidgety she became and she refused to make eye contact with him.

"No," she huffed, dumping both their veggies into the pot and closing the lid. "I meant that generally, tattoos are…very appealing." That didn't sound right either. "Stop smirking," she ordered.

He tilted his head. "You don't strike me as the type to like tattoos."

"Yeah well, I was married to an artist. Body art comes with the territory."

She lifted the lid to stir the soup. "The soup should be ready soon," she said before clearing the counter and putting the remaining veggies back into the fridge. Sasuke went over to the coffee maker to pour them each a cup.

They took a seat at the counter, coffee in hand. Sakura thought back to their date. The confusion about where they stood with each other was getting to her. She glanced at him from the side of her eyes. He was so calm and composed all the time.

He's a successful CEO and a powerful businessman, not to mention her boss.He had a presence that demanded respect from his peers yet at the same time, radiated nothing but love and adoration for his daughter. He was obviously a family man, but you would never guess he was on a first meeting.

"When we were in the park… we talked about helping each other out with the kids," she began as she stared into her coffee. She knew he was looking at her, but she just couldn't meet his gaze with what she was about to bring up. "But… what did that mean for us?"

Sasuke straightened himself in his seat and looked ahead. "Could you be more specific?"

"I mean, well what I want to know is…well," she hesitated and took a deep breath before blurting it out. "Were you going to kiss me?"

She stopped staring at her coffee and slowly looked back at him. Sasuke could only look at her in surprise, though his face didn't show it.

He looked at her expectant face and could see the subtle shade of pink making its way onto her cheeks. It seemed too good to be true for her to forget that he was trying to make a move on her. He himself couldn't even believe that he almost did. But now she wanted him to point blank say it out loud. She was so annoying.

"Did you want me to?" he asked, turning it around. He enjoyed seeing the pink blush turn into a red one as she gaped at him.

"Wha—just answer the question and if you say "Hn" again, I swear I'll punch you this time," she threatened. Sasuke kept staring and making her more uneasy by the second. She already felt like an idiot for asking him anyway.

The lid on the soup pot was boiling over with steam and Sakura used the opportunity to get up and turn the stove off. When she turned around, she found Sasuke standing behind her. His eyes were boring deep into hers as if they were trying to read her mind. Sakura crossed her arms over her chest in a subconscious effort to shield herself from his piercing gaze.

She felt exposed, and right now that really wasn't helping her. "Well? Were you going to or not?" she asked quietly.

Sasuke moved took slow steps towards her.

"…What would you do if I said I was?" he asked, as he got closer. Mentally, he was wondering why he was behaving the way he was. He's not one to flirt, but that's exactly what he was doing now. His body was acting on its own. "You didn't seem like you were going to push me away anytime soon."

"I-I…" she stammered and shifted as he got closer. She was backed up against the counter. Sasuke was being very… flirtatious? How did that come on all of the sudden? "How would you know I wasn't going to push you away? You're pretty arrogant in thinking that I wanted it to happen."

By this point he was no more than a foot away from her. "Are you sure you weren't… turned on by my tattoo?"

He saw her eyes briefly dart to the left corner of his neck, where the tattoo was currently hidden in his sweater, before coming back to his eyes. He looked at her lips and remembered the softness of them on his cheek the night before. He now began to wonder how they would feel against his own.

All of the sudden, he found himself oddly attracted to the sight of her trapped in the corner of his kitchen with that mesmerized expression on her face. She was making him feel things that no other woman was ever able to make him feel and it alarmed him somewhat. What was it about her that made him feel this way?

"Maybe I was," she allowed as she stood as tall as she could, which was nothing compared to his height. "Do you think I wanted it to happen?"

"Hn."

He was able to catch her fist before it collided with his shoulder. He smirked as he kept his hold on her tiny wrist, which felt as if he could snap it easily. "I think you did," he said calmly as he gently pulled her toward him. Sakura gasped as his other arm went to circle behind her waist, intimately holding them together.

"Sasuke…we should…" she trailed off, unable to get the words out as she noticed that yet again, his face was descending down towards hers. She closed her eyes and waited for it.

She felt his forehead make contact with her own. Their noses were almost touching. They stayed like that for a few seconds. It wasn't a kiss, but he was holding her. He loosened his grip on her wrist and brought her arm to rest on his shoulder as his now free hand went to her back.

"We should what?"

She was so rigid in his embrace. It was almost as if she was afraid of him. Sasuke on the other hand, was just getting used to the feel of her against him again, and this time with no earthquake. She was so small. Her petite frame against his strong toned body made him feel as if he was holding onto glass.

Not really knowing what else to do, Sasuke just held onto her a little tighter. Sakura remained stiff in his embrace.

"He's…holding me," she thought incredulously. It had been so long since she's been held like this. She almost forgot the feeling. The only one to ever hold her this intimately was Sai. He made her feel so loved when he held her like this, and she missed the feeling. She missed having someone to hold on to. Keeping her eyes closed, Sakura began to relax in his hold and lean into him.

Sasuke felt slightly relieved when he felt her relax. She leaned her head against his chest and hesitantly brought her other arm up to his shoulders. "So…you wouldn't have pushed me away," he concluded.

"What are we doing Sasuke?" she whispered as she played with the cloth of his sweater. "Where is this going?"

"You asked what it would mean for us. And that's something that I can't answer right now. But I'm not going to complicate it by trying to figure it out now," he said, increasing his hold on her. "You're the only woman, besides my mother and our friends that I would trust with Suki, even though you can be annoying," he added making her chuckle.

"And I know I can trust you with Sora," she said quietly. "He's warming up to you, in his own way. He can really learn a lot from you. That is, if you actually talk to him."

"Hn."

Sakura rolled her eyes. It was almost 7:00 pm and they should have been eating dinner. The kids should have woken up by now, but here they were in the kitchen, hugging. If anything, it should have been random and awkward but… this was nice.

They stayed in each other's arms and after a minute or two, began to sway to music that was still playing. Sakura couldn't help but chuckle.

"What?" he asked. He was a little too preoccupied with the smell of her hair to notice their movements.

"I didn't know this would be dinner and dancing. Is this a date?" she joked as she looked up at him. He just gave her his signature smirk. Her eyes caught his attention again, and he became locked onto her gaze.

He never focused too much a woman's looks before, and looking at Sakura was like opening his eyes for the first time. Something about her was just so right. She was like the missing puzzle piece that looked so different from the rest of the picture yet somehow, it fits right in.

Sakura could see herself in the depths of his dark orbs. They once again became lost in their own little world and only snapped out of it when they heard an innocent little voice.

"Daddy?"

Sasuke and Sakura quickly broke apart and looked over at Suki, who was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "I'm hungry," she said as Sasuke approached her. Sakura smiled and tried to recover from the emotional vacation she was just pulled out from.

"I'll see if Sora's awake," she mumbled as she went into the living room. She returned minutes later with a very worn out Sora holding her hand. "Let's eat shall we?" she said as she walked over to the kitchen table. "I made tomato soup."

Suki smiled at her as she took her seat at the table. "Daddy, I want to change," she said as she tugged on her now wrinkled dress. Sakura brought the bowls of soup over to the table and placed them in front of everyone.

"I'll help you with that sweetie," she offered holding out her hand. Suki smiled and grabbed her hand, almost dragging Sakura out of the kitchen in her excitement. Sakura looked back at Sasuke and caught his eye. She noticed the small smile tug at the corner of his lips.

Once they were gone, Sasuke looked at Sora, who was sitting on his left side at the small square table. Sora was swinging his legs back and forth underneath the table and stirring his soup. Sakura was helping Suki now, so he should get started on helping Sora.

"I hear you have a karate match coming up soon," he said as he stirred his own soup. Sora continued stirring but he looked up at Sasuke anyway.

"Yeah."

"Are you nervous?" Sasuke as he took a sip of his soup and was briefly distracted at how good it tasted. Of all the things to do to a tomato, this was something he had been seriously missing out on.

"I'm not nervous," Sora replied as he straightened up in his seat. "I can break a board with my fist."

"That's good," said Sasuke. "Next, you'll learn how to break it with your foot. I used to take karate too."

"Reeeeallly? Then do you have a belt too?" he asked excitedly.

"Yeah… a black one," he answered, smirking when Sora gapped at him.

"Coooool," Sora awed. "Lee sensei said I can get a black one too, but he said I have to work hard and be youthful."

"He's right… about working hard. Karate is hard work and it takes lots of practice and discipline to become good. If you want, I could help you train."

Sora looked thoughtful for a minute before he looked at Sasuke in an analytical way. "Can you break a board with your foot?" he asked curiously.

"I can break more than one with my foot," he answered. He enjoyed seeing Sora's amazed expression. He was clearly scoring points with him. "So what do you say?"

"Okay," he agreed. "Let's train!" He bent his neck back to look up at him. He was so short, and Sasuke was so tall.

"Well you have to ask your mom first. In the meantime, eat your soup."

Sora consented and began eating the soup. He had some difficulty seeing as how he was so short. The table came up to his chest, and he would surely spill on himself. Suki had a booster seat for herself, but Sora would need something to access that table better.

Sasuke got up from the table and went over to the counter. He took out a couple of large phonebooks and brought them back to the table. He told Sora to move off the chair before placing both phonebooks on the seat and then lifting Sora back on top, elevating him to a proper height at the table.

"You can tell your mom you grew up a little," he said as he took his seat at the table. Sora laughed and began eating his soup again.

"We're back," Sakura said from the doorway. Suki was holding her hand and playing with her hair, which Sakura saw fit to put into a short braid. Suki was now wearing a light green cotton pajamas.

"Daddy, look at my hair," Suki beamed as Sakura lifted her into her booster seat. It was obvious that that was Suki's spot.

"It's nice Tenshi." He glanced at Sakura, who took her seat across from him. She looked over at Sora and smiled.

"Have you gotten taller sweetie?" she asked.

Sora nodded his head while slurping his soup. Sakura leaned over a bit and saw the phonebooks he was sitting on and laughed. Sasuke noted that her laughter had a comforting ring to it. She began eating her soup and as the night progressed, the four of them gradually talked about small things; mostly about the kids. Sora told Sakura about wanting to train with Sasuke, and Suki wanted Sakura to show her how to play doctor with her new doctor's kit.

Sakura and Sasuke constantly caught each other's gaze during the entire evening. They were both happy that their children were now getting the extra attention that they deserved from their missing parental figures. Seeing their smiling faces was all they needed to keep going and continue helping each other out. It was a promise between two friends, and it was inevitable that the two families would eventually grow attached to each other.

Even though Sasuke and Sakura were still uncertain about their own relationship, their children came first. What started as a work relationship, soon turned into a friendship of convenience, and now there may be something more to it.

But for now, it was all for the kids.

Onyx orbs locked onto emerald green counterparts across the kitchen table with this silent understanding. A smirk formed on one face, a shy smile from the other.

…Or is it?

Authors Note:

New characters and a thicker plot in the next two chapters. Looking forward to your brutally honest reviews.