Alright, confession. I'm nowhere near done w/ Naruto. I stopped but with "the end" i decided to get back into it and right now im on the fillers. but i've seen the spoilers and i got some mixed feelings. it has been years since i've written for this and for those who read the first few chapters and had to sit through my middle school writing, congrats.

one thing that bothered me was Sasuke and Sakura. When I heard they got married and had a daughter, at first i was psyched. but then i thought, that's what 12 year old Sakura wanted. I have no idea what went down in Shippuden and how many times they fought. that being said if i ship Sasuke with anyone, it's with either Naruto or Sakura.

And this is a SasuxSaku fic, so I wanted to put down my own interpretation on how they eventually go together. So here it is. Also im really salty about Neji ok i almost didn't wanna finish when i found out what happened to him but he's alright here ok he's still alive.

Ages Suoh - 18, twins - 17, triplets - 3, Sora less than 1 year old

Among the adults who used to be called the Rookie 9, there was an unspoken rule: Never bring up bad things about the past around the children. Which wasn't difficult. It had been years and most of what occurred had either been forgiven or just accepted. If the past was talked about, they made certain it was either good things, or the right context.

No one was reminded of Sasuke's defection with disdain or without mentioning he was twelve years old and being played around with by adults much more devious. It was because of this rule, that Tokoiyo was reluctant to ask her question. Even though the memory should be happy, the adults treated the past as if it were cursed. She wasn't sure what would be the trigger.

It was lunch and she stared down at her soup, wondering how to proceed. Luckily, her considerate twin sister was always there to give her the push that Tokoiyo needed to move forward.

"Mom, Tokoiyo wants to ask you a question."

Tokoiyo squeaked and looked up, frowning at Tomoko while their mother turned to face them. She had been focusing on breastfeeding Sora. Their father was silent while he ate but you could tell he was paying attention, mostly to the triplets so they didn't make a mess.

"What is it?", Sakura asked.

Well now she had to say something. Her father would know if she was lying. She just had to come out with it. Worst case, they got upset and she was grounded. Less worse was they look a little mad but don't do much else. Best case they tell her without getting angry. Tokoiyo took a deep breath.

"Actually, it's for dad. How did...how did you propose to mom?"

They weren't expecting that, by the looks on their faces. Sakura figured it would have been something more volatile. But then again, it didn't take much to make Tokoiyo nervous. She smiled while stroking Sora's head.

"Well, he didn't", she answered.

Tokoiyo blinked in confusion and looked to her father for a more elaborate answer, which didn't happen often.

"I asked. You just refused the first time."

"Ah, that's right. I was remembering the second time. When I asked if you still wanted to marry me."

"That was your proposal?", Sasuke raised a brow. "You didn't even let me answer."

"I was busy."

"Wait a second, how many times did you guys 'propose' to one another?", Suoh asked.

Both parents thought it over for a moment. Sasuke crossed his arms as he thought about it and Sakura even counted on fingers before giving up. "What are we counting as proposals?", she asked.

"By the strictest definition, you only proposed once", Sasuke said. "And that was when we were children."

"What exactly are you remembering?", Sakura questioned.

"You guys are mess", Tomoko commented.

"It would have happened sooner if I wasn't so sure you were in love with Naruto", Sasuke complained.

Sakura huffed and removed Sora from her breast to burp her. "I could say the same about you."

"One of these days we have to talk about your relationship with that guy", Suoh interjected.

"You guys!", Tokoiyo yelled, getting everyone's attention. "Please..." She hadn't considered it would be that complicated, but considering the history taught at the ninja academy plus the pieces their family friends gave, this was probably the tip of the complication iceberg.

"Please", she repeated. "Just...just give me the story of when someone said 'yes' and you two got married."

"At one point I was certain your mother didn't want to marry me at all. The first time I asked, she rejected me, and I could understand her feelings. At the time, I just needed to revive my clan and your mother was the only woman I trusted to carry out the task."

Tomoko rolled her eyes. "So romantic."

"He got better", Sakura defended with a fond smile. "I said 'no' because at the time, marriage wasn't right for me. We had a lot of rebuilding to do and I didn't feel comfortable starting a family in that world. It was no surprise that your father didn't make any strong bonds with any other women who might do the job in my stead."

"Do you guys even love each other now?", Tomoko asked.

Sasuke and Sakura looked to each other, the gaze holding for a few moments before the both answered with a soft 'yes'. Sasuke turned to Tokoiyo to continue. "I realized she wouldn't accept me the way I was, so I tried to become a man she would happily marry."

"It was very sweet of him. I almost couldn't believe it. I didn't want to. We had been against each other for so long and I wanted to see the world in black and white. Even though he'd been absolved of his crimes, I wanted to believe he didn't care about me or anyone else, just himself."

"Along the way, I noticed the person your mother grew into. She already had admirable traits as a young girl but when I came back to the village and began pursuing I had realized she had blossomed."

Suoh nodded. "Being a sannin's apprentice will do that for you."

Sasuke shook his head. "It wasn't her skills as a ninja. I was drawn to her. Sakura was already near the top of our class at the academy. What made me fall for her later on was that she had respect for herself. She recognized her own value and wouldn't lower herself to me. So I rose up to meet her."

Tokoiyo sighed dreamily while Tomoko gave them a thumbs up. Suoh just sighed, thinking just how close they were to not existing. Sakura smiled at her three eldest children.

"I think every once in a while, we should talk about our childhood more often. Our own kids are afraid to ask how we got married."

"I wasn't scared", Tomoko denied. "I just wasn't interested."

"I was about eighty percent sure it would devolve into a sex story", Suoh admitted.

The triplets weren't really listening, their food taking up most of their attention. Sora was asleep, cradled in her mother's arms.

"Still, you're right Sakura", Sasuke agreed. "If the past is taboo like this, it could happen again. You should all feel free to ask us about that time."

Sakura grinned. "We can start with the fifth time your father proposed. He tried to hijack a wedding."

Sasuke was busy trying to forget that time while their children listened on intently with curious faces.