SSMonth15: Day 22
Title: Blue Shoes, Pink Shoes Summary: In which shoes are a perfect way to say, “You’re pregnant.” Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto. But Kishi fuckin’ owned that shit. Prompt: Baby Shoes from day twenty-two of the SasuSakuMonth Prompts. Rating: K Words: 3,106 Date Completed: 7/28/15 Warning(s): None Author’s Note: Agggh! I’m so far behind!!! Make sure to brush your teeth after all this sweet fluff!! (and also awkward!Sasuke)
They were enjoying breakfast when he felt it.
It was an ordinary morning for the traveling duo. The night had been mild, so Sasuke and Sakura decided to make camp half a day’s walk from the next village he wanted to return to and make amends in. Tall, strong trees provided shelter from any strong winds that came their way, and both shinobi agreed there was something about this forest that felt a little bit like home.
So they had stayed.
Generally, Sasuke preferred to sleep in, but Sakura had a hard time sleeping more than six hours; she’d been lucky enough to snag eight hours the previous couple nights. Nonetheless, she was still awake and moving around before Sasuke even entertained the thought of returning to consciousness. He could hear her moving around, humming and clanking some of their tin dishware around as she made breakfast.
Rolling over languidly in his cocoon of blankets, Sasuke smiled. There was something about this tranquil routine that he loved. The fuzzy haze of sleep had yet to be lifted from his mind and a comfortable laziness settled deep into his limbs. Since he wasn’t on his mission, and his reason for returning home was just outside the tent, there was no reason to rush from the tent and start the day—no overwhelming sense of urgency.
Just this peaceful morning, the prospect of their adventures, and Sakura’s familiar chakra washing over—wait.
Sasuke bolted frantically upright and practically threw himself out of the bed. Kusanagi was in his hand and his sharingan was spinning as he flew outside, expecting to locate the ninja who suppressing his chakra.
No one but Sakura came into view—and the chakra was practically on top of her! A quick scan with the sharingan proved that no one was hiding in the ground below her or the trees above her. So, where was that damned flicker of foreign chakra coming from?
“Morning Sasuke-kun!” Sakura greeted him cheerfully. She was stirring a boiling bowl of something that smelled delicious while a kettle whistled merrily in the background. Her smile faded as she took in the wild panic in his eyes and Kusanagi in his grasp. “What’s wrong?”
The foreign chakra moved closer as Sakura did, and, reluctantly, Sasuke deactivated his sharingan. A delicate hand brushed away the sheen of sweat that had appeared on his brow while she stared up at him worriedly. Although he was still feeling uneasy, the sense of an imminent threat had passed, and he forced himself to take a calming breath. For her sake.
“No, I just—I thought I sensed foreign chakra heading this way,” Sasuke explained, cupping the hand on his face with his own. “Sorry for worrying you, it was probably nothing.”
“Oh!” The worried furrow disappeared from between her brows and her sunny smile returned. “Probably just a faraway ninja who flickered within your sensing range for a second.”
“Probably,” he agreed. He forced a half-smile onto his face so as not to worry her.
Except it wasn’t an errant ninja. He did sense a close, foreign chakra; he still sensed the foreign chakra. It was in this campground, and it was somehow attached to Sakura.
Why? Why was it different? Had she eaten something? Had she gotten sick? Had someone poisoned her? Sasuke sat down and continued to run through possible explanations as Sakura served him some of the porridge she’d been cooking.
When Sakura leaned down to give him a bowl and cup of green tea, the answer hit with so fast—and so hard—that he nearly dropped his bowl.
Sakura was pregnant.
The chakra wasn’t a flicker because someone was suppressing it; it was a clicker because that’s all it was—a flicker. A tiny flicker of a human being only barely coming into existence. In hindsight, it seemed so obvious. Even though he’d never encountered the chakra before, he felt familiar with it. There was the tight control that Sakura possessed, and there was his overwhelming reservoir of strength.
Their child would be a force to reckon with, Sasuke could already tell.
Their child.
Numbly, Sasuke shoveled spoonful after spoonful of porridge into his mouth. They were going to have a child. He nearly choked and coughed several times before he could swallow it correctly. Sakura had chosen to sit on the log across the campfire—whether because she could tell he needed space or the log had just looked comfortable, Sasuke couldn’t tell—and sent him several worried glances as she ate her own breakfast.
How can she be so carefree and collected when we’re having a baby? Sasuke wondered, forcing down the last remnants of the porridge with a swig of tea. The porridge was having no problems down her throat—she was on her second bowl. And she was still humming and smiling! How long had she known?
Did she even know?
Sasuke’s spoon froze on his way to his mouth. That had to be it. The little spark of chakra was so tiny and new, Sakura probably hadn’t even had time to notice it. It was too early for her body to be showing any of the signs that might have tipped her off—morning sickness, for example. Hints like sore breasts could be explained away by other…common activities.
Should he tell her?
Unaware of Sasuke’s piercing gaze on her, Sakura began to clean up the campground. Sunlight filtered through the trees and illuminated her petal pink hair in a soft glow. Her expression was tranquil, peaceful in a way Sasuke still had a hard time believing was linked to his presence. But for the better part of a year—for the better part of his life, really—she’d been assuring him it did.
Watching how calm and happy Sakura was took the edge off his panic and allowed him to focus more clearly. He took a deep breath, gathered his breakfast dishes, and joined Sakura in packing up. Her mint green eyes flickered across his face and posture as he approached her, searching for signs that he had conquered whatever was plaguing him. Apparently finding what she was looking for, she beamed up at him as he took up his place at his side.
It was ridiculous to think that her happiness was so linked with his.
But he kissed her forehead nonetheless.
---x---
As they neared their lodgings for the next couple of days, Sasuke began to feel decidedly more agitated. He had made peace with the fact that they were expecting a baby. Perhaps peace wasn’t the best description. Sasuke’s muscles tensed as if prepping to run every time he thought about his family growing, but his chest and limbs felt lighter at the same time. When Sakura smiled at him, which was often, Sasuke couldn’t answer with anything but a full grin—even his trademark half-smirk felt out of place.
He was excited. Excited for the baby. Excited to have a family. Excited to start a new life with Sakura.
But he was not looking forward to telling her.
For a while, Sasuke actually contemplated letting her find out on her own. She was a capable medic, after all. It probably wouldn’t take too long—a week at most.
It took half a day for Sasuke to decide that wouldn’t be possible. As they walked to the village, Sakrua chattered beside him. About the weather. About the village they were going to. About their friends back home. About the medicinal herbs that grew in the area.
But not about their baby.
Which, Sasuke discovered, was what he really wanted to be talking about.
Would they raise their child as a ninja? Did Sakura want to have the baby in Konoha or did she want to keep journeying? When did she want to go back to Konoha?—before the birth or immediately after? Or a couple years after? Did she think the child should take her name instead of his?
His mind was buzzing with about a thousand questions, and Sasuke decided he couldn’t go through this alone for much longer. It was a testament to his character growth, really.
Still, it brought back the problem of how he was going to tell her.
“Are you okay, Sasuke-kun?” Sakura finally inquired. They had just paid for their room and were putting away their supplies. “You’re acting a little—faraway. Is something on your mind?”
The fact that she asked meant she was worried and had been worried for a while now. In the past it would not have been unheard of for Sasuke to lock himself up in his mind and brood over whatever was bothering him. Things were better these days, and Sasuke talked his problems over with Sakura more often than not. If he did start to brood, Sakura had no issue giving him some space to work it out. After all, her patience seemed to be infinite when it came to him,
When the mood continued, however, Sakura had taken to asking if he was okay. Her inquisition both alerted him to the fact that he was brooding and gave him a couple of options. He could either use her question as a starting place for a conversation, or he could decide to take a little more time to think over it by himself.
This time Sasuke chose the latter option.
“I just need to take a walk and clear my head,” Sasuke declared, grabbing his bag. As this journey was still partially dedicated to his path to redemption, such a conclusion was not odd. “You should take a bath and relax. I’ll be back in time for dinner.”
“I’m not going to turn that offer down,” Sakura agreed, stretching languorously out on their bed. It wasn’t much. The sheets were worn but clean, and the pillows seemed flat. Still, anything was luxurious compared to a camping roll. “We should go out to eat though. I hear this place has great sukiyaki.”
“Deal.” It would be a perfect time to tell her.
Now, he just had to figure out how.
---x---
There’s was only a half an hour until Sakura expected him for dinner, and Sasuke was nowhere near prepared.
He had quickly decided simply telling her was not an option. Sasuke didn’t trust himself to stumble over the words. Generally, Sasuke was decent at articulating his thoughts. The moment he entered an emotional situation, though, all bets were off. That lesson had been adequately learned after his proposal. Sasuke winced at the memory.
So, this time, Sasuke wanted to do it right. It definitely needed to be romantic, and maybe a little bit creative.
How did women do this?
After wandering around the village for hours in hopes that something might pique his interest, Sasuke walked into the local bookstore for ideas. The pregnancy section did advertise creative ways to tell your husband the good news, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t instructions for a husband looking to inform his wife.
He supposed his situation was slightly unusual, but he had thought more shinobi would be able to sense the difference in their wives’ chakra. Apparently not.
Eventually, Sasuke purchased several medical texts on pregnancy and the interaction of pregnancy and chakra. The clerk had wrapped each book in shiny, white paper and sent him off with a heart “Congratulations!” Sasuke had smiled and nodded, but the dissatisfaction with his gift persisted.
As a medic, Sakura would definitely enjoy her gifts. Yet, something about presenting his wife with books to tell her she was pregnant felt—clinical. Detached.
With fifteen minutes until dinner, however, Sasuke was out of options. The books weighed heavily on Sasuke as he reluctantly walked towards their inn. Well, it was still going to be better than his choppy proposal. Although Sakura insisted to this day that it was sweet, absolutely nothing had gone according to his plan.
Just before Sasuke rounded the corner to their inn, something caught his eye in the window of the shop he was passing.
Tiny shoes off all varieties were lined up behind the glass. Miniature running shoes, sparkly shoes, dress shoes, sandals—they were all there. But, right in the center, was the pair that had caught his eye.
They were pale pink, a couple shades lighter than Sakura’s hair, and reminded Sasuke of a ballet flat. A strap ending in a buckle secured the shoe in place just after the ankle. The black buckle matched the black sole of the tiny shoe, making the only two items on the shoe that weren’t pink. What sealed the deal, though, were the miniscule flowers decorating the top of the shoe. They didn’t represent any real type of flowers. They were a simple five petal flower attached to the shoe by a darker pink gemstone.
Innocent and cute.
Suddenly, Sasuke knew exactly how he wanted to tell Sakura the news.
---x---
As it turned out, the restaurant with the best sukiyaki was extremely formal. His wife had done both her research and her shopping, however, and Sasuke was greeted with a new, black umanori hakama and white kimono laying out on their bed. The kataginu had been neglected, for which he was thankful. The evening was shaping up to warm one.
The bathroom door opened, and a faint floral scent floated out of it. A silver hairclip was in Sakura’s mouth and her hands were up in her hair as Sakura peaked out the doorway. The clip made speech impossible, but the grin behind it said “welcome home” just as clearly.
Obviously, Sakura was nearly ready. Rose eyeshadow served to highlight her eyes and a light blush and cerise lipstick had been applied. Sakura had already donned her white kimono; it went well with her new grey and on hakama with raspberry silhouettes of flowers decorating the bottom. Seeing the designs, Sasuke couldn’t help but grin as he thought of the small shoes he had wrapped in his bag.
“Welcome back, Anata,” Sakura greeted him once she had swept her hair up with the pin, “I got you some clothes to wear to The Charming Dragon.”
“I didn’t realize it was going to be a formal occasion,” Sasuke commented, examining the silk hakama with the pads of his fingers. Sakura had put a lot of time and effort into picking out this effort. Concealing his gift was going to be difficult, now, though. The ensemble didn’t have pockets, and he had a feeling that his worn, over-the-shoulder bag wasn’t going to be welcome at The Charming Dragon.
“Neither did I, but I walked by the restaurant when I was exploring the town, and I’ve really been craving sukiyaki lately so I didn’t want to leave without trying some,” Sakura explained with a shrug.
Still pondering where to hide his gift—secured in his sleeve somehow?—Sasuke flinched at Sakura’s oblivious demonstration of another sign of her pregnancy. Would it be better just to give it to her now?
“I was going to give this to you at dinner,” Sasuke began, digging in his bag for the shoes, “But I think it would be uncomfortable trying to smuggle it in in these clothes.”
One of Sakura’s eyebrows arched in confusion as she accepted the small, silver bag Sasuke presented her with. He waited patiently as she removed the white tissue paper, and reached into the bag to retrieve her gift. Even though he was the one who had bought the gift, which meant he knew what it was, he was equally excited for Sakura to finish unwrapping her present.
She froze once the shoes had risen far enough out of the bag for her to make out what they were. The small flowers were still partially obscured by the bag, but Sakura seemed to understand the significance of the gift immediately. Slowly and carefully, as if she might damage them by moving them too fast, Sakura withdrew the shoes completely and examined them by the lamp. Awe shining in her eyes, Sakura looked up to Sasuke for conformation.
“Congratulations.”
He had a hard time choking out the word, which made him extremely thankful he hadn’t planned out a speech to go with this moment.
With a gleeful laugh, Sakura ran and threw herself into his arms. He caught her easily, and buried his head in her hair. Sasuke wanted to memorize this moment and cherish it forever. Sakura’s almost-too-tight hold on his neck, the smoothness of Sakura’s silk hakama against his arm, his unsteady breath, the tears threatening to spill down his cheeks—all of it. He never wanted it to end.
As always, it was over too soon.
Sakura wiggled from his tight hold, and placed the shoes in his hand with a quick order to “hold this” before disappearing into the bathroom once more. He could hear her rummaging around, and it wasn’t long before she returned with a navy blue box in her grasp.
“Trade,” she declared, taking back the pink little shoes and replacing them with her own gift.
Quirking his eyebrow much like she had done, Sasuke flicked open the corners of the neatly wrapped present with his thumb and parted the wrapping until the box beneath it was visible. From there it was easy to open the cardboard clasp, and Sasuke’s breath faltered as the cardboard flaps parted to reveal his gift.
Tiny, navy blue ninja sandals—much like the ones he had word as a genin—rested at the bottom of the box.
Sasuke didn’t say anything, just held the tiny shoes and marveled at the way they barely covered the length of his fingers. He might have been content to hold them all night had Sakura not thrown herself at him once more. It seemed another hug was in order.
“So how long have you known?” Sakura asked, finally peaking up from his chest. Her forehead hit his chin, and he readjusted so his nose pressed against his forehead.
“This morning,” he rumbled against her hair, “You?”
“Just this afternoon.”
Only a couple of hours difference, then. Sasuke grinned against her forehead, enjoying the feeling of success—he had known first.
“We might have to save your pink shoes for the next baby, though, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura teased from under his arm, “I have a feeling about this one.”
“Perhaps,” Sasuke allowed with a shrug. He didn’t think so, though. Something about the way those pink little shoes had stuck out to him in the window told him he was right.
He couldn’t wait to meet his daughter.
