____________//FANFICTION ♥

 
The Uchiha Restoraionn: chapter 6 - One Week
By Kristen

Sakura was not particularly surprised when the following Thursday rolled around and Sasuke had yet to return from his mission. After all, he had said it would likely take up to a week. She was, however, just a little worried, but that was nothing new. She always worried about her active shinobi friends when they left the village. There were plenty of places in Konoha that were far more dangerous than anything in the outside world could be, such as the fenced in training areas, but it was still comforting to know that the people close to her were safe within the walls of the village. There was a sort of strange double standard when you were a ninja. The idea of yourself dying for a mission was perfectly acceptable when the sacrifice was meaningful and necessary. But the idea of losing your comrades--that was truly horrible. Sakura was confidant in her comrades, though, so it wasn't even a big worry. Just a little nagging feeling in the back of her mind that reminded her how long her friend had been gone and when said friend should return.

She had a highly tuned Sasuke-Meter (and a highly tuned Naruto-Meter, for that matter. Why did her boys refuse to take care of themselves?), which insisted that she not get antsy for at least another three days. Of course, listening to said Meter is a good deal harder when there's the possibly she could be carrying his child. Because it had never seemed particularly important, Sakura didn't know her rhythm beyond when she should be menstruating. There was a just as good a chance she hadn't even been ovulating on their wedding night. Or Sunday afternoon. Or Sunday night.

Yet the possibly remained. Very close to the front of her mind when it could manage it, actually.

What it all amounted to at the moment was that at 6:45 on Thursday evening, Sakura was horribly lonely. Sasuke was on a mission. Naruto was on a mission, a 'good' one, too, that he shouldn't have complained about, but did anyway because Hyuga Neji was on his team and it was hardly a secret that they couldn't stand each other. Since she didn't like the idea of not going to Ichiraku, as was their custom, whenever neither of them could make it, Sakura always just invited another friend. The tradition wasn't so sacred that only the three of them were allowed to participate. But even that wasn't appealing. Ino had been distant since Saturday and Sakura didn't want to risk alienating someone else. There just was no good way to tell people that you'd spontaneously married someone that you'd never even dated.

Thus the pink-haired kunoichi sat alone at the counter, dejectedly stirring a steaming bowl of ramen with single use chopsticks she hadn't even bothered to snap. She just didn't feel hungry. She felt alone. And though Sakura really wanted Sasuke by her side right now, she wouldn't be picky if someone else decided to show up.

Entertaining thoughts such as those were always a bad idea, because the worst possible person was likely to be the one to appear.

And appear Rock Lee did.

And it wasn't that Sakura disliked Lee, far from it. She was very fond of him, she just wasn't fond of the idea of telling her number one admirer that she got married. She wasn't fond of telling him, who trained so hard that it was physically painful to watch him, that she married he who could do any technique he'd ever looked at with the right eyes. She'd been through so much more with Sasuke than she had ever been with Lee and even to her it felt like a betrayal now that she was face to face with him. She didn't want to imagine what it would feel like to him. And she couldn't sit here with him and not tell him, could she?

But, he did deserve to hear it from her, not whoever he happened to be with when the rumor mill started grinding.

Once they were past the greetings (a part of Sakura wondered why she still used '-san' with Lee, but another part answered that 'Lee-san' was just who he was, just like Naruto still got no suffix and Sasuke had always been 'Sasuke-kun.'), Sakura decided that she would only mention it if a natural lead-in to the subject came up. It didn't pass her notice that she kept the conversation centered squared on his life. What was new with him. How hard he'd been working on anything, on everything. How Neji and Tenten had been lately. How much weight was hidden on his person today. How his hair had been getting longer...this cut suited him better, she could see his ears for once. How he was rediscovering his own personal style, departing from Gai's, just a bit. How he saw Gai so much more than she and Sasuke and Naruto saw Kakashi.

And there it was.

The last time she saw Kakashi..it was with Sasuke.

"But, still," Sakura could hear herself saying, "that wasn't the way I meant it. We see him all the time, just not when he's being the Hokage. On Friday, Sasuke-kun even made an appointment."

How sad, that you would need an appointment to see someone you care about.

Sakura slurped her ramen as Lee spoke, chewing and swallowing creating a pause in the conversation.

Precious people.

Her chopsticks perched on the edge of her bowl, one had holding them there idly, while the other gestured.

"There was more to it than that," she said, words coming easier than they should have considering what she said and what she thinking weren't really lining up. "It was a ceremony, so we had to go to the Hokage. I guess we're just lucky that it was Master Kakashi."

"A ceremony?"

"For Sasuke-kun's clan, the Uchiha."

Uchiha, a paper fan.

A clan, one that needed her.

Sasuke needed her and she would always be there for him.

He was a precious person to her, precious for so long, she almost didn't notice it anymore. He was just Sasuke, dear to her like no other had ever been.

Sakura almost didn't hear Lee's question and she certainly didn't register it. When no response came, tentatively, Lee asked again. Perhaps it was upsetting to her?

"Why would you go to a ceremony for the Uchiha?"

This time, there was an answer. Simple. It was all so simple.

"I love him."

~*~*~

Though he was aware there was a difference between a house and a home, Sasuke was not the sort of person who would be able to put it into a clear, distinct definition. The difference was intuitive and as far as he was concerned, only knowledge needed to be defined. Intuition was for acting upon and trusting, but not words. Once upon a time, he lived in a home. And then it became a house. And then when he returned to it one Friday afternoon, the one week anniversary of his marriage, no less, nursing a shuriken wound to the shoulder, it seemed to have decided it wanted to be a home again.

It wasn't so different as to be intrusive. Just a little warmer, like the thermostat was pushed up a few degrees, a few knickknacks on the shelves along with the books, but still plenty of surface space. It looked like someone other than himself lived there. All in all, it suited him quite well, as he'd never much cared for living alone and a part of him had wondered why anyone would do so out of choice. Of course, there was a whole need people felt to distance themselves from their caretakers, but he'd never quite understood that, being as his died long before he reached the age of asserting one's independence.

Though..he would have to speak to Sakura about room temperature. It was just a bit too warm for his taste.

He was in the process of pushing down the temperature gauge just a tad when she entered from the bathroom, her hair in a messy bun that it was really too short for and a bucket of cleaning supplies in her hand. Her whole countenance lit up when she saw him and he smiled just slightly in return.

It had been quite a long time since home had been a place he particularly wanted to be.

She took his traveling bag and asked if he wanted something to eat or a bath, like the housewives on television. It was strange and irritating, but since he did want to clean the wound on his shoulder and change the bandage, Sasuke accepted the bath without any fuss.

Afterwards, she was rewrapping his bandage for him, as it was difficult to apply a bandage with one hand with much success. He wanted to tell her that he didn't expect her to be some sort of domestic servant, but somehow it came out "I like your hair better short."

Sakura apparently hadn't seen that coming either and started. It jolted his shoulder, causing Sasuke to hiss in pain. She looked on apologetically. Sasuke consciously relaxed his muscles and gestured with his other arm to continue. She began wrapping again, careful to keep a steady hand.

He tried again. "I don't expect you to do all the housework." Better.

She grinned. "Good." A pause. "But, while you're on missions, I'll still be here teaching and taking care of our children. I'm not going to live in filth and I won't have you or our babies living like that, either."

Speaking of the children... "Do you know--"

Sakura cut him off. "Not yet. It's much too soon to tell."

Sasuke nodded. He didn't think they'd know after just a week, but he had to admit, at least to himself, that he was rather anxious. He had been mulling over the idea of Uchiha heirs now for a long time. He was so close now, he wanted to know for sure that he had them, wanted to see them, raise them, train them, teach them to be something better than himself.

He wanted to see others who bore his symbol.

"You have to start wearing the Uchiha fan," Sasuke said, and it occurred to him that he hated the simple white circle that was on all of her dresses. It was such a meaningless design. It was like long hair; it didn't suit her at all.

He wanted to look into eyes green like hers and see them turn red, watch them swirl.

"I think that would surprise a lot of people," Sakura said wryly. The bandaging finished, Sasuke tested his arm, flexing the shoulder. She really had done a much better job of fixing him up than he had.

He snorted. "There are a lot of people who should mind their own business."

Sakura busied herself packing the extra cloth back into the first aid kit. She knew Sasuke well enough to know he'd need it again before long. They were seated on the couch in the living room and when she was done, she settled back into the cushions. "It's some people's business," she ventured. "I'm worried about what Naruto will think. We've been a trio for so long, it's like we're cutting him out."

Sasuke didn't dwell on this long before replying, "I don't think anything honestly surprises Naruto anymore. He's more perceptive than you give him credit." She was clearly doubtful, so he continued. "We haven't hidden anything from him. He's known for a long time that I intend to restore my clan--"

"Our."

A smile. "Our clan. He knows we're close. It makes sense. No one who knows us should be surprised."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Can I stop you?"

Sakura sighed. It wasn't a sad sound by any means, just a deep intake of breathe. "Did you ever think we'd be here?"

There was probably a part of him that enjoyed answering questions with another question because he said, "Where else would we be?"

She sighed again, a slightly irritated sound this time. "Married, though..."

Sasuke leaned back into the couch cushions as well. "No one who knows us should be surprised," he repeated.

There was barely a beat of silence before: "I probably am pregnant."

He leaned into her and smiled.

Next