Chichi - father

Hahaoya - mother

o.O.o

Chapter 17

Hinata took a deep breath before entering her chichi's study. She had to get this just right otherwise she wouldn't make it to Sakura's dinner. It would chew her up on the inside if she wasn't able to go and even though she didn't want to incur Hiashi's wrath, she was going to do whatever it took to get to the Haruno's.

Hiashi sat at his desktop computer writing an email. His clothes were slightly rumpled but his hair was impeccable – dark lustrous hair that all his children had inherited. She watched him work for a moment, dreading the coming conversation, before gathering her courage and stepping inside.

"Chichi…" she said slowly.

"What do you want?" He sighed tiredly, spinning around in his chair. Dark bags stretched under his eyes, complimented by sallow cheeks. How long had it been since he'd had a decent-nights' sleep? He worked too hard.

"I know I'm grounded and not allowed to leave the house… but…"

"But?"

"Sakura's baby was born and she invited me to her house for dinner tonight. I need to be there to show my support."

"You're grounded." Normally Hiashi was incredibly stubborn and argumentative, but today it was merely resigned blandness.

"I know, but Kiba won't be there. The only boy there will be Lee. It's just dinner to support to a dear friend. You know them."

"I'm busy. I don't have time to drive you."

That stung, as he always seemed to have enough time to drive Hanabi around. "I can ride my bike. It's not that far, really, and I haven't hung out with Lee and Sakura in ages." Okay, that was technically a lie, but how else was she going to get out of the house? She was going stir-crazy.

Hiashi was silent for a long moment, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Who will be there?"

"Sakura, her parents, Lee, Gai, Ino and Tenten."

"You can ride your bike," he said finally, "but I want you to call when you get there so I can be sure that's where you're going."

"I will. Thank you chichi." Hinata bounded to her chichi and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing gently. He rubbed circles on her back.

"You can hang out with your friends again, but I don't want you seeing that boy. It's for your own good. Hinata, if this boy really likes you he can wait until you're eighteen before he has my permission."

She moved back and stared at him. "So you're saying… if we wait until I'm eighteen… we can go out then?"

"I want you to have an idea of what you want to do with your life before worrying about things like relationships. It's the same with Neji. I want what's best for you."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" She hugged him tight again and suddenly couldn't wait until she was eighteen.

o.O.o

"Honey! Your guests are arriving! Get out here!"

Sakura stared down at Keiko as she suckled before glancing at the door. "Keiko's just eating. I'll be down in a moment." She heard a car pull into the driveway, the front door opening and Mebuki welcoming… Ino inside. Sakura looked down at Keiko again, noting how the sucking had become more forceful, and switched breasts so she could drink her fill.

Lee stuck his head in the door. "Ino is here and Hinata just arrived. How long will you be?"

"It depends how hungry this little tyke is."

He closed the door behind him and knelt in front of his girlfriend and daughter. "I still love watching you feed her," he said softly. "There is no sight more beautiful, except perhaps your expression when you moan my na-"

"Lee!" she hissed. "Not in front of her! Babies are smarter than you think."

He grinned, leaning in to kiss her. "Keiko is busy feeding." The kiss changed when she opened her mouth, allowing him better access, but the pressure on her breast faded as Keiko finished eating.

"She's done." Sakura pulled away hastily, wiping saliva from her lip. Lee smiled triumphantly and took Keiko, moving back so Sakura could clip on a bra and pull on a shirt. "Now let's go and say hello to our guests."

The pair exited the nursery with Keiko nestled in Lee's arms. They were greeted by Ino and Hinata, who hugged them both and cooed over the baby.

"She needs to get bigger," Ino exclaimed.

Sakura stared at Hinata. "How did you escape your chichi?"

"I can meet with you as long as I don't date until I'm eighteen. I just hope Kiba can wait that long…" She looked worried.

"No sweat!" Tenten called, sauntering through the front door. "Any guy with sense would wait for you. Sorry I'm late." She grinned and enveloped the parents in tight hugs. "Traffic wasn't the best along the main road."

"Tell me about it." Ino rolled her eyes. "Chichi had to take the long back-route."

Mebuki walked into the living room, smiling at the teenagers. "There are some snacks in the dining room if you're interested."

"I'm hungry!" Sakura exclaimed, rushing to the table eagerly, where she was greeted by fruit, an assortment of cheeses with biscuits, and several dips. She dug in hungrily and when her friends joined her they completely destroyed the food. Hinata left for a minute, as she had to call her chichi, and asked Mebuki to assure him that she was at the Haruno house.

"You wouldn't believe how tough school is right now, and it's only second term!" Ino munched on some cheese and biscuits. "We've got assignments for every subject but Numeracy and the stuff we're learning in that class is brutal!"

Sakura's gaze was drawn to Keiko, who wriggled in her chichi's arms and stuffed her hand in her mouth. Lee was cooing over her in between eating and Keiko squealed with delight as he poked her stomach. Her tiny hands grabbed his finger and she pulled it into her mouth, biting down with her gums. Sakura knew that this alertness wouldn't last for long and Keiko would gradually drift off to sleep. When that happened, Lee would take her to the nursery and set her down to sleep for a couple hours.

"I take it you're glad you're not going back to school," Tenten said.

"No, I couldn't handle it. Keiko wakes at all hours of the night and we're losing sleep by the hour." Sakura rubbed her eyes in reflex. She watched fondly as Lee stood and went to the nursery, Keiko nestled in his arms. She'd never get tired of watching him with their baby – it filled her with warmth every time she saw them together and allowed her to understand why she'd fallen for him in the first place. He was, simply put, amazing.

"Sasuke was glad that everything went okay," Ino told her. "He was really concerned about your pregnancy, which is kinda weird considering how he treated you."

"I know our break-up was harsh, but we did go out. I actually respect him because he didn't go behind my back with Naruto. He broke up with me first and then went with Naruto. So I think we have some sort of bond… but I don't know what… and I'd feel the same in his position." She was rambling. Dammit. Hopefully they understood that she was tired and didn't want to think too hard about Sasuke.

"Maybe he did care a little bit," Hinata pointed out. "I mean, he cared enough to tell you the truth. Not every guy does that."

"But he was a jerk," Ino protested.

"Any guy who dumps your friends are jerks, Ino." Tenten rolled her eyes. "Look Sakura, he's happy for you and I won't be surprised if he comes up and asks to see Keiko. I think all the boys want to see her."

Hinata fidgeted. "Um… everyone at school knows now. They're talking about you."

"Let them talk," Sakura said fiercely. "I have my family and friends beside me and that's all that matters." She tilted her head. "What have they called me?"

"You don't want to know…" Tenten muttered darkly.

"That bad, huh?"

Lee entered the room and sat beside Sakura, proceeding to dig into the cheese and dips. "Keiko is sleeping," he said through a large mouthful of food. "She will wake in a few hours so you can see her then."

"She's such a sweetie," Hinata gushed. "I'm wondering if you two freaked my chichi out."

"Eh, well you're not on lockdown anymore." Tenten looked a bit disgruntled, as her boyfriend was in the same boat as Hinata. "That's something to cheer about."

"I'll bet you're not happy about the whole thing," Sakura sighed. "We all know how you feel about Neji. It's not fair that you have to be separated."

"I thought chichis weren't as tough on their sons! But we didn't tell Hiashi about us… so he's pissed. Still…"

"We're both going stir-crazy." Hinata ran her hands through her hair. "There's only so many video games you can play."

Mebuki entered the room and began to clear away the snack plates, which Sakura noticed were completely empty. She hadn't remembered eating that much, but Lee was rubbing his belly appreciatively (that was probably where it'd all gone). Sakura stood and automatically began clearing platters, returning her hahaoya's glare. Yes, it was Sakura's dinner, but this was her house and she was going to try and help around a lot more to repay her parents for everything they'd done.

She was in the kitchen when Gai arrived, so she was able to avoid his initial greeting of enthusiastic embraces and hand-shaking, but she didn't escape it as Gai rushed into the kitchen to sweep her and Mebuki into a huge hug.

"Here are my favourite girls!" he cried, releasing the gasping pair. Sakura pressed a hand to her stomach, smiling.

"Be glad I don't have a little one in here," she grinned. Gai shook his head.

"I wouldn't hug you nearly as tight!" He jumped over to the stove where chicken soup simmered away. "Chicken? I thought you'd go for a seafood theme."

Sakura laughed sarcastically. "Some of us can handle variety. Chichis in his study. I'll-"

"No worries! I'll fetch him myself." Gai rushed from the kitchen and Sakura, shrugging, went back to join her guests.

o.O.o

Dinner was a raucous affair. Everyone enjoyed the soup and the homemade bread that went with it. They were like a huge family with Mebuki, Kizashi and Gai as the parents and Lee, Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Tenten as the children. It seemed quite strange to Sakura, as she and Lee were definitely not siblings anymore. There was a time when they were brother and sister but that was years ago.

After dinner was finished and the plates cleared away, Sakura fetched Keiko and handed her to Hinata, who really wanted to hold her. She forced herself to pass Keiko to Hinata but nothing could prevent the pang in her stomach when she handed her baby to someone else.

"She's so light," Hinata exclaimed.

"Can I hold her?" Gai asked hopefully.

Sakura and Lee exchanged a glance. "No."

Kizashi chuckled. "I can't even hold her yet. Mebuki's the only one she trusts."

"But I raised Lee as a baby," Gai protested.

"And how many times did you almost drop him?" Mebuki asked mildly. "I think you actually dropped him around… a dozen times? That's what you said. Then you got me to come in and show you how to hold him properly and all that." She giggled. "How did you manage to convince the orphanage that you were a good parent when you couldn't stop dropping him?"

"I was an amateur parent." Gai looked suitably chastened.

"It is alright chichi! I turned out fine." Lee stepped in to defend his chichi and everyone smiled.

"You turned out perfect," Sakura assured him, patting his knee. The atmosphere in the room abruptly changed. Lee's eyes flicked to Kizashi, who was giving him a death-glare, and Mebuki and Gai suddenly looked incredibly awkward. She glanced between all the adults, confused, and her friends seemed uncomfortable too. "Uh… what's going on?"

Kizashi nodded slightly and Lee turned to stare at Sakura as she pulled her hand back.

"Sakura…" he murmured, grabbing her small hand between his larger ones.

"Lee… what're you doing?"

Before anyone could blink, Lee moved swiftly from his chair and onto one knee. Her heart began to pound as he rubbed his thumbs over the back of her hands. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't possibly…

"Sakura Haruno…" He paused and took a deep breath, sweat breaking out across his forehead. Her entire body was trembling. "Your parents and I agree that we should do the natural thing after having a baby together and I can think of no better way to promise to never leave you, so… will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"

The entire room was silent except for shaky breaths and pounding hearts. Sakura watched as Lee pulled a ring from his pocket and stared up at her with hopeful eyes. She suddenly felt like crying. Damn post-pregnancy hormones. A million thoughts of the future ran through her head and she forced it down, realising that everyone was waiting for her to speak.

"Yes," she whispered. "I want to become your wife."

Smiling, Lee slid the ring onto her finger. It was a plain gold band with an emerald and pink diamond embedded in the top. Everyone leant in to admire it and Kizashi nodded his approval.

"You picked a good ring. Remember, you're not getting married until you're both eighteen!"

"What? Chichi!" Sakura shot her chichi a glare and he shrugged, grinning.

"It's a compromise. You need money for a wedding – two years gives you plenty of time to save."

"I guess…"

"We're the bridesmaids!" Ino declared. "You have no say in the matter."

Sakura looked at Lee and ignored everyone else, focusing all her attention on him. They were engaged. They were going to get married. She couldn't explain how she felt but it was sort of like floating on clouds and standing in a dark cave at the same time – absolutely wonderful and nerve-wracking. Marriage at eighteen had never been on her bucket list.

Exclaims of delight filled the room when they kissed slow and sweet, sealing the deal. Sakura's heart raced as he pulled away from the kiss, smiling, and Ino wolf-whistled.

"You guys are the cutest couple," Tenten gushed. Sakura grinned as Lee retook his seat beside her.

"Looks like Rock gave you a rock," Ino joked. The adults groaned.

"That was so bad," Mebuki moaned. "I'll go get dessert."

"I'll help you," Kizashi said immediately, following his wife to the kitchen.

"Show me the ring," Hinata said, leaning forward while being careful not to move Keiko too much. "It's so pretty!"

"Can I take her now?" Sakura asked, holding out her hands. Hinata handed Keiko back over and Sakura stared at her daughter in adoration. This was the beginning of something beautiful, she was sure.

Here she was, surrounded by her best friends in the world, parents who supported her and a man that loved her with everything he had. There was nothing she could do or say to express her thanks, so she decided to be there for her friends and family when they needed it. She was going to honour their faith in her and Lee by loving Keiko completely and being a good, responsible parent who put her child's needs first. All her personal desires had either been achieved or taken a back-seat to parenthood, so that was a good sign.

While her friends discussed the wedding and compared themes, Sakura leant close to Lee. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you." He kissed her temple and cupped Keiko's small head in his large hand, rubbing his thumb on her forehead. She looked sleepy and was actually nodding off in Sakura's arms. Sakura stared out at her family and smiled as she felt that everything was as it should be.