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They lay in bed one night as the sun went down. Both of them under the covers, Sakura’s growing belly between them. She was six months pregnant, her belly full and round with their child.
Sakura had just completed her last full time shift at the hospital. She would only be going in for consults from now on. Kakashi had banned her from performing surgery, worried that the long hours and stressful environment would make her pregnancy harder. She didn't mind it as much as she thought she would. To be honest, her feet had begun to swell and she couldn't do the long hours without her feet going numb.
Sasuke had also been placed on leave. All of his missions from now on would be inside the village or at least close enough to the village that he could run home if anything were to happen.
Kakashi had taken every precaution possible. He would make sure this baby was born without so much as an inkling of danger surrounding it.
So the soon to be parents lay in their bed, not speaking, enjoying each other’s company.
As she lay there staring at the ceiling, Sakura said “I hope she has your eyes.”
Sasuke turned his head, surprised at the sudden conversation topic.
“What?”
“The baby. I hope she has your eyes.”
Furrowing his eyebrows he asked “you mean the sharingan?”
He wasn't sure how he felt about passing on such a burden to their child.
With a snort Sakura replied “No, just... your eyes. The shape of them, the color.” After a pause “I hope she also has your hair color and your nose and your--”
“Why?” he interrupted, worried she would continue to describe every part of him.
“I don't know. I just do.”
“Don't mothers always wish their daughters looked like them?” he asked.
Turning her body towards him again, she reached out and laid her hand on his neck, weaving her fingers into his hair.
“Not me. I don't want her to be picked on when she gets older. Pink is not exactly the most common hair color.”
“What’s wrong with pink?” He breathed out, his eyes closing out of habit. He had never thought that he would be the kind of man to enjoy having his hair played with, yet here he was.
“Nothing… I just want her to look like you. I mean, she likes you better anyways.” This she said with a spark of resentment in her voice.
By this she was referring to a recent discovery they had made.
Sakura always enjoyed being around Sasuke. She always craved his attention, wanted to talk to him, wanted to spend time with him. However, when she passed her four month mark she noticed that the urge to be near him had not only increased but it had become so all encompassing that she often found herself distressed whenever he was out of her sight. She would wrap herself around him at night, much to Sasuke’s surprise. She would follow him around the house on their days off, sitting so close to him on the couch she was practically on his lap. She hated going to work without saying goodbye to him and she waited up for him to get home when he was on missions. Her heart dropped to her stomach everytime he had to leave the house and she got butterflies every time he returned. She was caught staring at him by all of her friends, coworkers, family and even Sasuke at least once a day. Naruto had teased her to no end when he caught her, though maybe not as bad as he had teased Sasuke for being the recipient of the attention.
At first, Sakura thought she was simply being more open about her feelings for him. They were married and were expecting a child. How could she not feel these feelings?
Then, one day while Sasuke was practicing his kata in their backyard, Sakura felt something inside her move. At first she thought it was nothing, her stomach settling in. Then, there it was again. Frozen, she sat there, hoping to feel it again.
Sakura was a doctor. She had treated many pregnant women before. She knew the timeline for pregnancy and its milestones.
She had just passed her fourth month so the idea of the baby being able to move was not only plausible but expected. She quickly called Sasuke over to let him feel the baby's movement. He walked over, placing one hand on her stomach hesitantly. She would never forget the look in his eyes when he felt the first kick. Awe. Fear. Love.
As the days passed by it became easier to figure out that Sakura’s encompassing need for Sasuke’s presence was not entirely hers. She knew now that the butterflies were in fact not butterflies but the baby wiggling around. As her belly grew and the baby developed, her kicks grew more frequent and almost always at their most insistent whenever he was around, which was a lot.
However, nothing ever compared to when they were in bed. Sakura could sometimes swear the baby was trying to break out of her womb to be closer to him.
When she presented her theory to him Sasuke had looked at her skeptically. He had definitely taken notice of her growing affection for him and while not exactly bothered by it, he wondered how long it was going to last. Sasuke enjoyed having personal space.
One day, tired of Sasuke’s skepticism she decided to prove it to him once and for all.
So she stood in their living room, shirt rolled up to the top of her belly and asked Sasuke to move across the room. The baby was big enough now that one could see her move from the outside.
Rolling his eyes but amused just the same, Sasuke humored Sakura, moving from one side of the room to the other.
His eyes widened as he saw how her belly became distorted as he moved. Sakura’s stomach began to expand on one side so that her belly was no longer round but more oval like. He moved to the other side of the room. Again, her belly distorted and reshaped. It was obvious now. She was following his movements like she knew he was moving around the room.
Sakura stood there, smirk on her face. Triumphant.
“See! I told you! It’s her!”
Sasuke had made a bigger effort to touch Sakura’s belly after that. He knew that while the baby’s sudden movements were not painful for Sakura, they were not exactly pleasant either. If being closer would help both her and the baby’s anxiety, he would try his best.
“Sasuke..”
Sasuke had nearly dozed off, her fingers in his hair not helping his fatigue.
“Hm”, he replied drowsily.
“Is that okay?”
He could feel her hands in his hair, her scratching and massaging coming to a sudden stop. He wanted to tell her to keep going, but he answered instead, “is what okay?”
“That she looks like you. Is that okay?”
He opened his eyes. The emotions in her eyes surprised him. He didn't know why she felt like he wouldn't want their child to look like him. Maybe she thought he wouldn't want to be reminded of those who had also looked like him but were no longer here. For a second, he tried imagining it, a child with his eyes, with hair the color of night. He didn't hate it.
“Yeah, it’s okay.”