They were a two day walk away from the village. Kenji was extremely excited. They'd be passing by the village that they had first stayed in, and Kenji would get to visit Kara and Kyou. He could not stop talking about them. He blabbered on and on about them to Sakura, who had already heard the stories multiple times, though Sakura could tell that Sasuke was listening with veiled interest.

Sakura bit her lip. Maybe she should tell him.

Sighing, she wondered if it was a good idea at all. Sasuke really still didn't seem like father material. Or even family material. Hell, even Jin was better than he was, and she swore up and down the house.

Casting a glance at Kenji, she frowned, her forehead wrinkling. She wasn't even sure if Kenji wanted Sasuke to know, or even if Kenji would accept Sasuke as a father figure. Kenji was still being nice to Sasuke, but he was definitely keeping his distance.

She heard Kenji excitedly giggle and run in place. "We're here!" he screamed, and with all the energy of a whole army, he sprinted toward the village. Sakura snorted. She hoped that Kara and Kyou still remembered him.

She heard a trio screaming. They definitely did.

She turned to Sasuke, finding him massaging his temples with two fingers. Her eyes softened. "Sasuke, we have an old house here. We can stay there for now, and you can get some rest."

Sasuke scoffed. "It's fine; I'll be okay."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "Sasuke, it's more important for the body to rest than even eat sometimes," she said curtly.

"I'm fine," he rasped gruffly, but the dark shadows underneath his eyes said otherwise.

Sakura, exasperated, huffed and went off to find some of her old acquaintances.

As it turned out, some of the people in the village were in need of healing. After a quick lunch with some old friends, Sakura did a few healing sessions and some checkups. The village had not had a doctor since she had left. She gave out prenatal advice, diagnose arthritis about fifteen times, and healed up major flesh wounds that would take too long otherwise.

On her way out of the last person's house, she noticed Sasuke was still there waiting for her while keeping one eye on Kenji, who was playing with the other "two k's" in the middle of the village. They were rolling around doing something inexplicable, and Sakura just laughed underneath her breath.

"Kenji," she called out. "You ready to go home?"

He shook his head excitedly. "Kyou's mom said I could stay there for tonight!"

Sakura tensed a little. Would that be a good idea? She didn't know if anybody was still following them. Clenching her fists, she decided that she would have to stay awake tonight. After she got Sasuke to sleep. She wanted Kenji to have fun with his friends. She didn't know when he'd get to see them again. Smiling, albeit nervously, she laughed, "All right, Kenji. Be good and don't give Kyou's mom too much trouble."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Yes, yes. Whatever." They then scampered off to Kyou's house. Sakura pursed her lips. Oh, he was getting cheeky. Shaking her head, she patted Sasuke's shoulder. He flinched, as if startled.

Sakura gritted her teeth together.

"Sasuke, let's go. Come on," she muttered, rubbing his back.

Sakura forced Sasuke into the bath first, saying that he was far past his due date for a shower. He begrudgingly complied, but he let her know that he was not happy about it. Sakura looked around the house.

Everything for the most part was still here. After they arrived in Konoha, she'd probably get some friends to move all her junk back to her old house. When they had left this village, they had done so in a hurry. They didn't get a real chance to say proper goodbyes. They had to leave most of their belongings here.

Sakura turned her head when she noticed Sasuke coming out of the shower. Giving him a half smile, she said, "My turn now."

Sasuke sat in the living room as Sakura showered, drying off his head halfheartedly with a towel. Looking around, he noticed there wasn't much. Just a couple of book shelves and decorations, with mostly medical supplies. Underneath the table there was a binder just slightly open, and he couldn't help himself. He opened it and could not tear his eyes away.

There were pictures, a lot of them. It started off with Sakura and a baby Kenji being released from the hospital, being pushed out by Ino. Though he suppressed a grin, his eyes softened. Sakura and Ino had the biggest smiles on their faces. He flipped through the photo album, noticing more and more of Naruto. Eventually, there were pictures of Sakura and Naruto kissing, and he chuckled at that.

There were pictures of Kenji with Tsunade and his grandparents. Tsunade was giving Kenji a piggy back ride, and his grandma was hugging him tightly alongside his grumpy grandfather.

The most were with Sakura, of course, he saw one where they were in the kitchen, completely dirtied up and laughing, obviously having failed baking a treat. There were more of her tickling him or kissing him. There was one where Kenji had drawn all over her face while she was sleeping. Sasuke cracked a smile at that one. However, there was a woman with them in many, many of the pictures, more than Ino or Naruto. His eyes narrowed. He recognized her from somewhere. He was embracing her neck tightly in one, the girl's eyes bulging out. It was labeled, "Kenji's fourth birthday." Another particularly striking one was the woman playing catch with Kenji where she had gotten hit in the eye.

Sasuke put the album down and sighed. He didn't spot a single man in the pictures that could have been Kenji's father. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he tried to think up possibilities. Who on earth could it be? It obviously wasn't Naruto, though now he knew that Sakura and Naruto had been together for a while. Sakura wouldn't tell him.

His head hurt.

Sakura exited the shower, shaking out her wet hair. She looked around for Sasuke and found him in the living room, intently staring at the photo album. Her lips quirked a bit.

"Having fun?" she asked, and Sasuke jumped a bit.

He closed the cover of the photo album. "Sorry," he mumbled. Sakura giggled.

"It's there for a reason; I don't mind you looking at it," she assured him, taking a seat next to his side. She saw how tense his shoulders were, the veins in his arms popping out. His fists were clenched. Hesitantly, she brushed the hair away from his neck. A tiny shiver traveled up his spine.

"You need to relax," she muttered softly. "You're too tired, and you need to rest."

"You're still recovering," he bit out, irritation clear in his voice. "I can't let anything happen to you."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. "Sasuke, I can take care of myself. Really, I can. And how are you supposed to protect me if you're so tired you can't walk straight?"

Sasuke was silent, but the conflict was clear in his eyes. "What if you are Kenji get hurt tonight? I couldn't-" he choked, unable to say anymore. Sakura felt her heart skip a beat.

Wrapping her arms around him and snuggling herself against his back, she buried her face in his neck.

"Nothing will happen," she soothed him, her breath hot against his ear. "Tonight I will watch over us, and I'll wake you up if I need you, okay?" Sasuke felt her lips quirk against his back. "I was in ANBU, I have been trained for this." She smiled at him. "Get some rest. For me." Sasuke stared at her long and hard for what seemed like an eternity.

Then he kissed her.

The kiss was brief, just a simple touch of the lips. But Sakura felt every moment of it. His eyes softened, and he rested his head in the crook of her neck.

"Okay," he gave in, his lips tickling her skin.

Sakura beamed. "Thank you."

Green eyes shone through the dark. Someone had knocked at the door. Sakura knew Sasuke had woken up at the noise, but he had simply rolled to his other side. Obviously, he trusted her enough to handle it.

Readying herself, Sakura slowly opened the door. It was Kyou's mom, Kenji grabbing her hand and clutching his chest. Sakura's stomach flipped.

Kyou's mother shook her head. "I'm afraid he doesn't feel good. I thought he might just have some heartburn, but he's been complaining of chest pains the whole night." Sakura's stomach twisted, and she bent down to Kenji's level. Kissing his forehead, she noticed he had a bit of a fever.

Standing back up, she inclined her head. "Thank you for bringing him to me." She took Kenji's hand. "I'm afraid we'll have to leave tomorrow now, though."

Kenji looked as if he would burst out into tears. "Tell Kyou and Kara I said bye," he sniffed, and Kyou's mother smiled warmly at him.

"Will do."

After a short healing session, Kenji was feeling much better. He had fallen asleep on the bed, curled in the fetal position. Sakura exhaled heavily. They would have to return to Konoha by tomorrow. There would be no more time for leisurely walking. They were going to have to pick up the pace.

Peeking in on Sasuke, who had finally fallen back asleep on the couch, she let a smile slip past her lips. He really had seemed to change a bit. He was still an ass, but...this was the Sasuke she had been with on team seven. Not the monster she had seen a few months ago.

She really had missed him.

Sakura had gotten about two hours of sleep once daylight had broken. Surprisingly, both Kenji and Sasuke were still sleeping. Shaking Kenji awake, he muttered a grumpy, "Wha-at?"

"It's time to get up. We've got to get you to the hospital, honey. Okay? You're not getting better, and we need to get you some help."

Kenji grumbled but complied, swinging his legs over the bed and heading to the bathroom. Sakura didn't know what to do. What if he didn't get better? No, she mustn't think like that. She had to be positive. Kenji had been sick before, and he got better. He could get through this.

She headed over to Sasuke, and gently, she tapped his shoulder. He slowly opened his eyes. Sakura didn't know how to ask this.

"Sasuke..." she started out, averting her eyes from his gaze. "Is it okay for you to come back to Konoha? Because...I don't think Kenji and I are going to leave the village again." The unspoken words 'we'll probably never see each other again' were understood clearly.

Sasuke pinched the crease between his eyes. Finally he stood up. "I'm ready to go home, Sakura."

Sakura's eyes lit up with unshed tears, and she hastily pulled Sasuke into a hug, though it was not returned at first. His arms slowly came up to circle her shoulders and pull her flush against him. The two of them stood there like that for a few moments before Kenji's "ew" drove them apart.

Kenji had fallen asleep on Sasuke's back, still exhausted from the attack he had the night before. Sakura rubbed the boy's back soothingly, cooing softly. Sasuke and Sakura had decided to take a quick break, having run for an hour already. They were only thirty minutes away from the gate. Sasuke was looking at her strangely, and Sakura didn't know how to react. His stare was questioning, curious. She narrowed her eyes at him. Did he want to ask her something?

Upon finding shade, Sasuke set Kenji down, disturbing the boy from his slumber. He protested, but Sakura told him to stay awake; they would be home soon.

"Sasuke, come with me to get some water please. I need to gather some herbs for Kenji's medicine, all right?" Sasuke grunted, and Sakura took that as a yes. They went to a stream and refilled the canteen while Sakura quickly plucked the herbs from the ground. "The root from this plant has a good effect on heart health, but the leaves are poisonous." She chuckled mirthlessly. "How cruel of Mother Nature."

"Sakura," Sasuke interrupted, his fists clenched at his side, knuckles turning white.

Sakura gulped and stammered out, "Y-yes?"

"Who is Kenji's father?"

Sakura felt as if she might faint. Why was he asking now? Taking a few deep breaths, she replied, "I can't tell you that."

"Do I know him?"

"Yes."

Sasuke looked a bit angry. "Are you embarrassed of the father?"

Sakura smiled a bit. "Not anymore."

She walked back to where Kenji was, leaving behind a Sasuke that was more confused than he had ever been.

They were now walking at a brisk pace, and Sakura knew it wasn't far.

She was feeling conflicted. Should she tell Sasuke? She felt he had redeemed himself. Kenji didn't seem to hate Sasuke, but she couldn't tell if he liked the man anymore. He had barely talked to him in the past few days. However, this wasn't solely about Kenji. She felt that Sasuke had a right to know. She had kept it from him for many years because she worried for Kenji's safety. She looked at Sasuke's face, which was no longer as bitter or hardened as it was before.

Now, she trusted him.

An excited squeal from Kenji alerted his parents, both of them deep in their thoughts, that they had arrived at the gates. He began to sprint forward.

"Be careful, Kenji!" Sakura chastised, but the little boy paid her no mind. Sasuke started to go forward as well, but Sakura curled her fingers around his wrist. "Wait."

He did, not looking at her. Inhaling sharply, Sakura imagined all the outcomes of this confession. Would he be angry? Would he be happy to find that Kenji was his son? Or maybe, he wouldn't care at all. Sakura deemed that the worst one out of them all. Relaxing her shoulders, she looked Sasuke in the eyes with determination. She was ready.

"You asked me who Kenji's father was."

"I did."

Sasuke was obviously confused, and Sakura nearly laughed at his expression, one she had never seen before. However, she was almost shaking in her spot, and she opened her mouth but it wouldn't come out. She took a deep breath.

"It's you."

Then they heard Kenji's bloodcurdling scream.

Words: 2462

wow, okay so now he knows. he knowknows. for all you who didn't catch it, Tobi actually told him, but Sasuke blocked it out because he was in too much pain, and it was a bit traumatizing to hear.

I don't know when the next update is sorry. tehe.

Hope you all enjoyed it!