Sakura nervously paced back and forth in the living room, tongue clicking as she gazed at the clock on the wall. Her fingers reached inside her pocket, wrapping around the fifth pregnancy test she took that day. Not that she needed to take five; her own medical knowledge was enough to tell her what she needed to know. The white plastic thing weighed like a brick, but it was nothing compared to the fear that had begun to form like a dark shadow around her.

This was the first time she had completely forgotten to take measures and what frustrated her was that she could have done it before or even a few days after - and still she failed to do so. Hands shaking, she ran the hand that wasn't holding the pregnancy test over her forehead, brushing the cold sweat that had begun to form. They haven't talked about having children and to do it now given the current circumstances was like forcing a spoon of his least favorite vegetables down his throat.

Speaking of throats, there was definitely something bitter there and the next second she was running towards the nearest sink and throwing up what little of the breakfast she managed that morning. Somehow it became possible for her to feel more guilty than when she opened her eyes to Naruto's kisses before he left earlier that morning. She did not have a hectic schedule this week, yet it took her four days to figure out she was delayed; long after she had consumed all the food in the fridge, and after she had repeatedly asked Naruto to bring her different flavored daifuku every single day.

"Oi Forehead!"

Ino had easily made her way inside the Hokage's Residence without bothering to knock. Not surprisingly, she had set a foot inside the kitchen as if she had somehow sniffed the presence of her best friend.

"You will NOT believe what your husband had called in this morning. Daffodils aren't in season! How does one explain to the Hokage that I can't just make them bloom in the middle of autumn?" she sat atop the counter and crossed her legs. "And what exactly have you been doing the poor man?"

Confused, Sakura turned to face her blonde friend who was busy observing her nails. "What do you mean?"

"Don't what do you mean me! He simply won't shut up about you! And I'm not just talking about the regular kind of not shutting up; you can see it in his smile, his walk, his whole body is just screaming like some love-sick puppy! Come on, spill it," her voice dropped to a whisper. "Did you try a new position?"

Sakura threw her head back and sighed, feeling nauseous about something that had nothing to do with her little bun in the oven. She lowered her head, pinching the bridge of her nose at the sudden awareness that she had just addressed her pregnancy with cliched affection.

"Say that again, Ino?"

"Wha… Are you alright, Sakura?"

"I was beginning to think you'd never notice despite the fact that I did call you here."

"Hey… What are you snapping at, Forehead?" Ino jumped off the counter and stepped closer, crossing her arms. "It's not like I always bug you about your sex life. I feel like I'm always at a disadvantage because I can't seem to get anything out of you. For all I know you're using my experiences as personal tips, judging by the way the Ho-"

Sakura held up the pregnancy test showing two distinct horizontal lines, causing a gasp to escape from Ino's lips. "H-how? When?"

"Today."

"How many?"

"Five."

"FIVE?"

"Yes. Five and not even a single glitch to make me doubt," she bit her lip and placed her hands in her pocket; the cardigan she wore not even giving off the slightest warmth that her body was looking for. Her eyes locked on a spot on the floor, and she wasn't even sure why she had called Ino in the first place.

"Uhm… Have you told him?"

"No. I don't know how. We haven't talked about having children."

Ino could not suppress her giggle. "What's there to talk about? You're married!"

"Since when did being married equate to having kids?" she ran both hands up her hair, gently pulling at the roots to ease her tension as she led Ino out the kitchen and into the living room.

"Well, okay you have a point. But what's the big deal, Sakura? Your husband is so in love with you I highly doubt he'd mind getting his hands off you for nine months if it meant he gets a baby version of you or him," she shrugged, grabbing the plate of grapes from the counter and popping one in her mouth. "Oh but I heard you can still have sex as late as your actual due date so-"

"Ino! This isn't about sex!"

Ino stretched her legs on the couch, unfazed. "Well what is it about? Might as well spell it out for me because I am clearly not getting your point. You might want to sit down, too. You could break the floor with your pacing."

"I don't know if he's ready," she declared, pausing in her tracks and hugging herself. She can imagine that her baby was a mere size of a prune, swimming inside of her. The thought that something so small was made of a little bit of her, and a little bit of Naruto, was enough to make her heart melt. Yet she could not shake off the fear that the small thing was going to grow inside of her till she gives birth, and that it was going to be a real, actual baby that breathes and eats and sleeps…

Ino turned her head and shrugged. "I don't know Sakura, I mean, he kinda runs a whole village. What's a small baby gonna do to him other than maybe turn him into a more sticky piece of goo?" She laughed, clearly enjoying the chance to tease her best friend.

"That's not funny, Ino. This is a baby we're talking about. Our baby."

"Exactly. Your baby. Sakura how can you not see that he will be over the moon about this news? I really don't understand what you're so worried about! Or did you forget the man you married?"

"I just… I don't even know if I'm ready yet!"

Ino took the opportunity to throw a grape at her face, hitting her square on the forehead. She got up and placed the plate on the coffee table, standing in front of her pink-haired friend.

"I only have one question."

Sakura met her eyes. "What?"

"Do you love it?"

She lowered her gaze, hands protectively wrapping around her flat belly. "I do… I can't even explain how much right now," she croaked, eyes brimming with tears.

"Well, then… Do you remember what Naruto did the last time you declared your love for someone?"

Her green eyes widened and Ino could tell she was going to be speechless for a little while. "Yeah, that's right," she poked a finger at her seal. "Wasn't he your knight in shining armor with all those promises that he almost gave his life to keep?"

Wrapping her arms around her in a tight squeeze, she wasn't at all surprised to see Sakura's smile.

"I thought you said only one question."

"You should be glad that you're pregnant, I don't have the energy to reply."

"It's because I'm right."

"Sure," she mocked. "Except you weren't just moments ago. Well then, why don't I leave you to wait up for your Hokage and be the one to tell him because I sure as hell can't guarantee to keep my own mouth shut," she released her and made her way to the door. "Seriously, Sakura. The only thing you need to be worrying about it how heavy you will be in the next months and the limited positions available."

"PIG!"

"Bye!"

The rest of the afternoon was spent in an attempt to create her best imitation of his favorite miso ramen from Ichiraku. It was a good thing her taste buds were in order even though she was craving for roasted seaweed; so it seemed her initial cravings had turned a complete one eighty.

"I'm home!"

Naruto peeked at the kitchen, hungry from the smell of ramen filling his nostrils and entranced by the sight of his wife in an apron with her hair up in a bun as she gazed over her shoulder with a warm smile. He came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her before placing a kiss on her cheek. "Wow. My favorite!"

She tensed a little when his hand brushed her lower belly, enough of a reminder that there was something up for discussion over dinner. Her free arm reached up to ruffle his hair. "Get a shower first," she planted a kiss on his neck. "I'll have this ready for you."

"Oh… Do I stink?" he asked, reaching for his collar and giving it a whiff. Not smelling anything, he resumed cuddling while Sakura chopped onion leeks and he watched behind her shoulder.

"You don't, but it will be refreshing," she lied. For some reason her senses are heightened and the earthy smell that she didn't used to mind was an unbearable stench now. She shook her head and reminded herself that her hormones must be going on haywire, and it was not fair to lash out on Naruto since he didn't know.

"Nah… I think I'll just stay here and watch," he sighed into her hair.

He emerged to find her hand close around his nose, pinching. She had turned around in his arms with brows furrowed, one hand still holding a knife. "Shower. Now."

"Okay, okay!" he yelped, slowly backing away.

Naruto emerged from their room and watched as she set the table quietly; taking the opportunity to check out her behind, especially when she took off her apron; he found it so sexy. Still slightly shaken after her turnaround at the kitchen, he approached the dining table and sat down without another word. Instead of a stern and hard look that he expected, she met him with a big smile as she sat and took off the lids of the bowls; the scent of the broth filling his nose and making his mouth water.

"Eat up," she said affectionately, brushing the back of her hand on his cheek.

He did. The first mouthful was pure bliss, and he wondered what magic was done in the kitchen to make this meal equal to, if not greater than the ones he had at Ichiraku. He noisily slurped the soup and finished his first bowl only after a few minutes. Her eyes lit up when he quickly asked for more.

She had a moment or so to think in the kitchen, fingers shaking as she scooped the broth. At the very least she was glad he enjoyed his meal. Perhaps it would soften the blow of her little announcement. Unconsciously her left hand wandered above her belly, trying to subdue her nervous feelings. She came back with his bowl filled to the brim, and his smile was as always, very reassuring.

"How was your day?" he inquired, eating a bit slower this time. He noticed she barely touched her bowl and was smelling everything that she put in her mouth.

After eating all the naruto fish cakes, she decided that the rest of her bowl did not taste good at all. Her spoon almost slipped in her hand at the sound of his voice; she almost forgot that this was supposed to not be a silent dinner.

"It was good, I just relaxed the whole… half-day," she replied truthfully. Really, there was no point in lying now. Her lips had touched the spoon but it was a bit of a pain to swallow the broth. She simply didn't like it. Meanwhile, Naruto was about halfway done with his, and while she observed his face crinkle with satisfaction at every slurp, she decided it was more enjoyable to stare at him instead.

"Why aren't you eating? This is the best you've made! Here," he gathered all the naruto fishcakes and transferred them to her bowl. "Maybe this will make you eat a bit more."

She grinned, picking up the small slices and putting them in her mouth. "Thank you. Had I known I'd love these so much I would have stocked up and filled my bowl."

Swallowing another mouthful of soup, he placed his empty bowl on the table. "What's so different about them now? You always have them in your ramen and I don't remember you ever loving them that much…"

"Well…" she moved her bowl in between them, gesturing at him to help her finish. He gladly obliged, dragging his chair so he was that much closer to her face. "I know! Maybe this brand is much better than the ones we've bought before."

His head lowered, trying to scoop up the noodles with his chopsticks. Inhaling his fresh out of the shower soapy scent, she bit her lip and leaned on her hand with her elbows on the table. "Maybe. They also say that when a woman is pregnant her sense of smell and taste are heightened, so maybe it's just the same naruto fish cake but more… tasty."

"Yeah I suppose so," he gave a nonchalant shrug before slurping another mouthful of noodles.

"You suppose I'm pregnant?" she blinked, straightening in her seat.

Naruto slowly leaned back, eyes locked on hers, a solitary piece of noodle dangling from his mouth. He quickly shifted his gaze below in a rather pointless fashion since he could not see beneath the table, before meeting her eyes again. She figured his brain wasn't processing as fast as she wanted.

"I'm pregnant, Naruto," she said softly.

His mouth opened a little, then closed and opened again. "What?"

"I'm pregnant," she said, emphasizing each syllable.

"Oh," suddenly becoming aware of the dangling noodle in the corner of his mouth, the slurped it and swallowed, her words slowly replaying inside his head. "You're …"

"Preg-nant."

"Yeah, yeah I know I just…" he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, causing her to grimace. "You're pregnant."

She pursed her lips, unable to read the expression on his face. He looked uncomfortable, twisting in his seat and staring at the empty bowl in front of him. He lowered his head and rested both hands on the table, balling them into fists as he took a deep, slow breath.

"Naruto, I…"

"Sakura-chan,"

His eyes glistened with tears as he met her gaze. "We're going to have a baby," he spoke with so much tenderness that she was moved, her hands reaching across the table for him.

"Yes, we are," she nodded, an unbearable bubble of joy spreading within her.

"You're pregnant!" his voice gradually rising in volume, he got out of his seat and kneeled in front of her. "We're having a baby!"

He couldn't help his hands from reaching beneath her shirt and she laughed, wrapping her arms around him. "You won't see it yet, sweetheart… I just found out today!"

Naruto buried his face in the crook of her shoulder, inhaling her scent. "I'm going to be a father," he smiled.

Sakura cupped his face in her hand, her eyes darkened. "Do you want to be, Naruto? So soon?"

He surprised her with a kiss, pulling her from the chair to straddle him. She kissed him back with as much passion, allowing his lips to soothe her fears. Her arms wrapped around him and he broke the kiss, eyes searching hers as he held her, his fingers tracing her jaw.

"I want to be the father of your child, Sakura. But if you're not ready, then I won't-"

She placed a finger on his lips. "I'm keeping it. I want it but I'm scared and I…"

"Sakura-chan," he whispered in between kisses, "I'm also scared but I want it too."

His eyes bore deep into hers and she knew it now like she knew back then; that with the two of them, fear always present but love came first. She could not help the tears well up again and she embraced him tighter against her chest. An understanding had passed without a need for words and in the next moment they were giggling in between tender kisses as an air of excitement had begun to fill the room.

Naruto brushed the hair on her face, planting a kiss on the seal on her forehead. She felt him lean onto him, before suddenly jerking backward, the bridge of her nose crinkled with irritation.

"Wash up," she threatened, getting up on her feet.

"Wha-"

"You smell like ramen,"