Started this as a short drabble but it turned to be a huge one-shot. Drop in a review once you are done reading. Thanks in advance.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, if I did then there would be a lot of SaiIno in it.

Little Bud

The sky looks as though an artist has thrown all shades of yellow, red and orange on it, making it dazzle like a golden jewel with the wind carrying musky smell of the newly bloomed flowers. The light brown Hokage monument with the spring sunset is the perfect ambience for a picnic. Of course it is my wife's idea. She suggested that we need to utilise my two day break from missions to the fullest. I was delighted with the idea until cleaning the house was scheduled in the morning of the first day. She says when the baby comes the house needs to be clean and blah blah. An angry Ino is terrifying but a pregnant and angry Ino is the end of one's life! So I agree to my wife most of the time and tweak her plans to my liking without her realising it, almost all the time.

So here we are, for a small picnic. Only the two of us. It's been ages since we spent time together. Not that we talk a lot or have things in common. It's just the peace that we get when we are next to each other. Just the mere presence that calms us from our routine and separates us from the rest of the world. I'm sitting on a blanket which Ino has laid neatly. She is lying on my lap and the food basket is adjacent to me. I'm still admiring the sky trying to memorise the strokes of colours on it by running my fingers through my wife's luscious blonde hair while she's making a small bouquet with the flowers around us. Her breathing is calm and even as I can feel her chest rising and falling against my lap. She's changing the alignment of the flowers each time she's done creating a beautiful mini-bouquet and humming my favourite melody that soothes my heart whenever I listen to it. Even the sun that's shining above refuses to leave as her melody vibrates around us trapping everything in our vicinity.

Pregnancy has made her more delicate, moody and extraordinarily beautiful. Not to mention that she has put in a lot of weight that is natural for any woman in her phase. But she feels like a balloon ready to burst. Some nights she wakes me up asking if she would ever become thin again or if she would burst. Most of the time she's like a child throwing tantrum, asking for peculiar kind of food at the middle of the night. In eating she finds pleasure and also pain for gaining weight. I tell her that she looks amazing no matter what. But she would never believe me as I'm never convincing with my words. I cannot find the right word to describe how she looks these days. But today, as the final rays of sunlight strike at us, I can see her hair dancing with full of life as it matches with the colour of the sky. Her face and her entire body have absorbed whatever light is left and she's literally glowing like a celestial being. Glowing. That's the word. "You are glowing" I say without knowing when my thoughts escaped from my tongue. She looks up at me with the flowers still in her hand and tilting her head with her eyes sparkling with curiosity. I continue playing with her silky hair until I get the right words to say. "You are really beautiful Ino. When the sun was leaving, it made you glow. It gave you all of its light" I say tasting every word that leaves from my mouth. Ino tells me that when a person says something, they should really mean it. And I swear I meant every word I said. She gives me that smile which says that she agrees with me. It is an unspoken language between us. I take her hand that is still holding the flowers and give it a gentle squeeze. Her hand is as so soft and yet so strong. It sends a spark that spreads to every part of my body causing a fire that burns me with a desire. A desire to never let to go. "Maybe it is because of little bud" she says pointing her finger at her growing belly where our baby is there for 8 months now. Little bud is a nickname that I came up with for our unborn child. Mentioning the baby that way makes it even closer to us. She has that smile still on her face as she gently massages her belly. "In that way little bud is making Mama look even prettier" I say as I lower my head to kiss her forehead. She takes this as a chance and gently cups my face. She begins planting soft kisses on my chin and around my lips teasing me to make the first move. I tease her back by enjoying every little kiss that she gives me and make no effort for this to end. We both break into laughter seeing what the other one is trying to do. I notice how her cheeks are now sparkling red and her lips turning brightest of all pink. Like a blooming rose petal. I wonder if it is the laughter that brought the colour. If it is so, I want every bit of that on me. We lean in even closer until only the breath of us touch, and our lips finally graze slightly. Her soft and rosy lips against mine tastes like sugar and spice. The kiss began slow and tender. But the fiery passion that's locked inside us takes a new form and our lips move in sync with the other as though they have created a pattern on their own. Realising this sends an electric impulse to my spine that speeds up our kissing. I trace my tongue against the contour of her velvety lips and she caresses the back of my head which brings her intoxicating lavender scent closer to my nostrils. As I continue to move my lips around hers relishing its taste while she moans my name, I decide that this is that one moment I would trade my life for. When our lips finally break apart, my need for her has increased by another infinity.

I gently push her back to lap and I'm holding on to her with my face buried near her neck. We are wrapped around each other for god knows how long, until Ino breaks the silence. "Do you want to talk with little bud?" she asks offering it as a suggestion to break this long impending silence. "Hmm" I say still refusing to change from my current posture. She guides my hand and rests it to the spot where our little bud is. She moves my hand over her belly where I can feel her baby bump. I smile at the thought of this and finally lift up my head to witness it. "Hey little bud. Your Papa wants to talk to you" she says this in a sing-song manner. That's her. She's totally at ease with things regarding the baby; I'm the one that's hesitant. I still haven't tried talking to little bud as I'm terrified. I'm afraid at this whole prospect of a new creation that I feel as though I'm not ready for this yet. Creating a new life is something so foreign to me when all I only know is destruction. To share my world with Ino was very difficult and emotionally taxing for me. But now that is the only thing that's keeping me sane. And now to share it with another person may not be possible for me. But she understands me and made this entire thing easy by leaving this in my pace. She never stressed me to talk about the baby until I myself initiated it. Sometimes I hated myself that she had to do this for me. Unlike me, she began to love little bud even without knowing anything about it. How can someone love something that they don't know about? I wondered. But seeing Naruto and Shikamaru with their sons gave me an idea that maybe even I could love someone as much as I love Ino.

Ino's done introducing me to our little bud, now it's all left to me. Suddenly everything makes sense. "How are you doing my little bud?" I ask my unborn child without any expectation from the other end. I keep my hand where my child lies so that I'm closer to it. I look at my wife and she smiles at me approvingly, for a good start. As though my child heard me, I could feel a kick on the belly as a response in disguise. For a second, I'm speechless and amazed at myself as to how such a tiny being can understand my thoughts. "Did you feel that? Little bud kicked! He responded to you Sai" she exclaims in surprise and she slipped from my lap in that process. "Yeah. Little bud is doing great" I say smiling and I think this is what the kick had meant. I continue talking with my baby as I want to feel more of those kicks. "Don't trouble Mama. Okay?" I worded it as a gentle request rubbing my palm gently around her belly to get a response. Few minutes pass and I am disappointed for getting none. It is immature of me to assume the kick as a reply, maybe it was a pure coincidence. Ino sensed my discomfort as I am about to draw my hand from her belly, I get two long kicks instead of one. I am wide-eyed and laughing now as I am surprised. This child did understand my request, and Ino's enjoying the moment that I'm having as she is watching the reactions on my face without a word. I think I'm going to love this child more than life itself. Now I can exactly understand how she feels. Before I could continue talking to my child, tears rolled down from my eyes. How did I doubt this innocent life all this time when the fault is on me? A hollow fear captured the realms of my heart where the past of my life flashed before my eyes. How can I give my life to something as pure as my little bud when it has nothing but lies? How can I guide a child when I can't even figure out my emotions? What if I fail to love this kid? These questions were always in the back of my mind, whenever I try to love this child. Today it took a new form and brought me tears that reflect my weakness. Ino has already gotten up from my lap and is patting me. She's hushing sweet words and cooing my name in different modulations. She's shifting unsteadily as she cups my face making me look into her eyes but I continue to cry. I had cried when I discovered that I'd be a father and now I'm crying that I've found something that's mine. Mine and Ino's. But what if I cannot give my best? I feel weak and vulnerable now. But this woman sees me as someone strong and has given me a life more than I deserve. She continues to give her love and I continue to take it. I am ashamed at myself for shutting her away from all of my thoughts. Finally I let my guard down and hug her tight so that the only certainty in my life is at least real.

"What if I am a bad father? What if I cannot love little bud?" I ask my wife these questions that have been locked in the darkest part of my mind for 8 months. She looks into my eyes with the purest sincerity in her voice she says "You'd be a great father". She gently strokes my hair and kisses my forehead which sends a mild heat to my body that stops me from shivering. I want to believe her at the same time I wanted the truth. "How do you know?" I ask her tracing my trembling fingers on her cheeks. "I know it because I love you Sai"she says it like that's the surest thing in this universe with her pond like eyes glowing brightly and she comes closer to me. "Besides, little bud has been kicking the entire time you doubted yourself. Little bud wanted you to stop. Little bud loves his Papa" she says wrapping her hands around my neck and planting gentle kisses around my neck which clears my clouded thoughts. "Really?" I ask her almost convinced. "My belly is aching you jerk! And little bud kicked me super hard each time" she is yelling at me and punching my abdomen. That's when I really laugh. My wife can be lovable one minute and scary the next. "We are in this together" she says and pats me gently. Yes indeed we are. When she became a mother, I became the father. We've been doing everything together for our little bud.

I have always believed in my wife and now in my child. I would love them more than life itself. If I get stuck or make mistakes, they would help me because that's what a family does. In her I find relief and hope as I bury my face in her chest, breathing slowly. I strongly conclude that this baby would make me a better man. "Thank you, Ino. I love you. Both" I say stressing on the last word. She doesn't have to reply, as we both know what comes next.