Coming Home

  Sasuke slipped silently through the gate and into the village. Even in the dark, he could see that the village had changed very little in the five years he'd been gone. Closing his eyes, he draws in a deep breath of the cold night air before moving on into the village. Feeling himself growing nervous with each step he took, Sasuke glared off into the shadows, forcing himself to continue moving forward. Lifting his hands, he tugs his hood more firmly in place over his head, blocking out most of the wind's cold bite. Fear had kept him from coming home for the past three years. He'd decided that he wasn't going to let that fear keep him away any longer. He'd never know for sure if he could win Sakura's heart again if he never tried. She'd tried so hard to keep him from leaving, he felt that his chances of gaining her forgiveness and love was pretty good.

  Stopping in front of the house that Sakura had just moved into shortly before he'd left, Sasuke looks at the dark windows and draws a deep breath to settle the last of his fears. Closing his eyes, he let his memory drift back to the night Sakura had moved in.  He'd stayed with her that night, and they'd made love for the first time. He stayed with her every night after that for the next month. He'd been ready to propose when the news had arrived that Itachi had finally been found. He'd been torn between his love for Sakura, and the need to avenge his family. He'd tried to explain his feelings to her, but in the end, he thought it for the best just to sneak out in the night. When he was honest with himself, he knew that the one he'd thought it was best for was himself. It was still the hardest decision he'd ever had to make, and Sasuke still wondered from time to time if he'd made the right decision.

  Opening the door, Sasuke slips silently into the house and closes the door behind him, cutting off the cold bite of th wind. Moving quickly and silently through the house, Sasuke heads straight for Sakura's room in the back of the house. Stopping for a moment outside the closed door, Sasuke rests his hand on the doorknob, settling his racing thoughts before slowly pushing the door open.  His heart immediately begins to race when his gaze settles on Sakura's sleeping form. Her pink hair tousled from sleep. One arm draped across the pillow over her head. Blanket laying askew across her body. She'd never looked more beautiful. Moving across the room before he even thinks about it, Sasuke reaches out a hand, stopping just before he touched her.

  Standing perfectly still, Sasuke listens carefully for the noise he'd heard to come again. Looking back over his shoulder, he peers put the open bedroom door, noticing for the first time that the door from the rooms across the hall stood slightly ajar with a soft light glowing around the edges. Hearing a quiet murmur of noise coming from that room, Sasuke frowns. Moving silently back into the hall, he steps up to the door and peers around the edge. When his eyes adjust to the light, Sasuke is confused at the sight of the room. Decorated in pink and over-flowing with toys, it looked like a little girl's room. His gaze finally settles on the little pink bed, and the small form of the child sleeping there.

  Feeling slightly dizzy from the shock and confusion, Sasuke moves dazedly across the room to stand next to the small, pink bed. It takes a few minutes for his mind to even register what he was looking at. It was a little girl, but she looked so much like him, he thought he was looking at a shadow clone of himself as a child. When the girls stirs and opens her eyes, Sasuke's breath catches in his throat. Moving backward to fade into the shadows of the doorway, Sasuke doesn't so much as breathe again until the child closes her eyes and settles back to sleep. Green eyes. She had green eyes. Eyes the color of a fine jade. Sakura's eyes.

  Sasuke stiffens when he feels a kunai pressed to his throat. Not moving, not speaking, Sasuke waits for his chance. Patience was a virtue he'd always had, but it was also one he'd had to hone over the months it took him to actually track his brother down when he'd left Konoha. He didn't know who it was holding the blade to his throat, but he wasn't going to let whoever it was have the upper hand. He didn't want to have to resort to violence in Sakura's house. That wasn't the way he wanted their first meeting again after five years to go. When the wielder of the blade speaks, Sasuke relaxes, a smile touching the corners of his mouth.

  "If you so much as breathe on my daughter, you're dead. I don't know what you think you're doing here, but I do know it's not going to happen. You picked the wrong house."

  Smiling in spite of himself at Sakura's hissed threats, Sasuke remains silent, thinking now wouldn't be a good time to speak. When he feels the pressure against his throat, Sasuke steps back and allows himself to be guided back out to the front room. The faint moonlight coming in the windows lit the room well enough that when Sasuke turned to face Sakura, he got his first good look at her. Feeling his breath catching in his throat, Sasuke has to swallow hard several times to clear the lump that had suddenly risen in his throat, making it difficult to breathe. Her beauty had grown more than he could have expected, and he knew he was more in love with her than ever.

  Sakura had been nineteen years old when Sasuke left, and already showing signs of the woman she would be. Now, five years later, time and motherhood had washed away the last soft traces of the child Sakura had been, leaving in it's wake, a beautiful and confidant young woman. Sasuke felt his heart breaking again for the pain he'd caused Sakura, and himself. Regret clawed at his chest, but he made himself remain still. Until Sakura knew it was him, and had a chance to decide how she felt about his return, Sasuke knew it was not wise to push her.

  "Alright damn you, take that hood off! Stop hiding and at least let me see your face before you tell me what you're doing in my house. What do you want with my daughter?"

  Sasuke pauses for only a moment before slowly lifting his hands and grabbing the edges of the hood. Ducking his head, he pulls the hood back and lets it rest on his shoulders. Dropping his hands to his sides once more, Sasuke lifts his head to look at Sakura, ready for anything, but not sure what to expect. However, when all the color drains from Sakura's face and she begins to sway slightly on her feet, Sasuke is unprepared and can only reach out toward her with a hand. He drops his hand back to his side as quickly as he lifted it however, and remains silent as he watches Sakura balance herself against a chair back. The kunai she held dropped from nerveless fingers as Sakura reaches out to grip the back of the chair, making it creak softly on the pressure of her grip. Sasuke feels his heart kick into a gallop as Sakura frowns in confusion, tilting her head to the side and peering at him from across the room. She was more beautiful than ever, and Sasuke knew at that moment that he'd not quit until he'd won her heart once more.

  "S... Sasuke-...kun?"