Sakura woke up and rolled over in bed to find nothing. She groaned into her pillow as she sat up. Kankurou was always there when she woke up. Unless he was away on a mission then when he got back they'd wake up in a mess of tangled sheets. It's what she loved most about mornings, his warm body next to hers. But this morning he was MIA. She smiled though as she sat up and looked down at her left hand. She never got tired of seeing that beautiful ring. The simple diamond set in the darkest jade stone wrapped in intertwining silver. She loved it but she loved her wedding band more. Because it was made of simple silver just like his. Except while his was engraved with her name and the fire nation symbol hers was engraved with his name nestled in-between the fire nation symbol and the wind nation's symbol. The rings where a reminder of their work. If the rings were returned to the one named on them then it meant that he or she was no longer apart of this world. It was as sad as it was sweet. She remembered when he had proposed to her.

They were all at the lake. Temari had managed to get Gaara and Matsuri to come to Konoha for a visit. Temari was making Shikamaru teach her how to swim. Kiba was trying to get Gaara to build a sand castle and Naruto had just challenged her to a game of chicken.

"Are you sure you want to do this Hinata?"

Sakura watched the girl closely form atop Kankurou's sturdy broad shoulders. She was surprised to see determination in her ivory eyed gaze.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Sakura interlaced her fingers against hers, palms touching and smiled at her. The quiet girl had changed so much from being with Naruto. She glanced down to see Kankurou and Naruto in a heated glare. She shook her head as Temari yelled go. It was over quick enough. Hinata was strong but Sakura was stronger. Hinata landed with a splash only to come up giggling in Naruto's arms.

"Let's do it again!"

The blonde beamed at her, "That's my girl!"

Naruto easily coaxed Ino and Kiba to join them which gave her time alone. Sakura bent over her lover's head as she tugged on fist full's of hair. He kissed her quickly before throwing her off his shoulder and into the water. She was furious. She pulled him under. After they tired of trying to drown each other she wrapped her legs around his waist, letting him support her as she floated on her back. She felt his hands skim by hers under the water. She smiled up to him as she secured her fingers around his. He smiled down at her softly as she felt the cool feel of metal on her ringer finger. She pulled herself up as she pulled her hand in front of her face. The ring dazzled her almost as much as his smile.

She nodded vigorously because she couldn't speak and she didn't need to. His lips were against hers as hungry as ever. She wrapped her hands around him not caring that he was losing his balance. After he managed to right himself they walked hand in hand back to the shore to smiling faces. She frowned at him. He planned this all out the smug bastard.

"What if I hadn't said yes?"

"Then I'd go tell Lee he can have his chance."

He smiled at her fierce grip on his hand. He pulled her closer to wrap his arms around her.

"Like I would leave…"

She held onto him tightly. He could feel her smile as she kissed the crook of his neck.

"Did you ask Tsunade?"

"It took two cases of sake to keep her quiet."

"And what about Kakashi?"

He leaned back from her to brush wet hair behind her ears, "He took me to his jeweler."

She beamed at him, stretching to her tippy toes to plant another kiss on his lips.

Now she looked out the window smiling as the sun began to rise. She pulled herself from bed and made her way to the kitchen where she could smell something delicious. She buttoned the last hole on her husband's shirt closed as she leaned in the door. She smiled at Kankurou. He wasn't wearing his kabuki paint but he was wearing pancake batter.

"Mommy! We didn't wake you did we?"

Sakura shook her head at her six year old son. She smiled at him and his green eyes sparkling under dark brown hair styled like his sensei's.

"No Kashi, I just got lonely," she looked around the kitchen and smiled at the sight she saw next. "You might want to help your sister."

The boy quickly turned around and frowned at said sibling. She was dangerously close to falling off the stool she perched on to watch her dad flip pancakes. Kashi rushed over and hooked an arm around her.

"Reina be more careful. I won't be here to catch you all the time you know."

The little girl with rosette tresses smiled at her brother with innocent jade eyes giving him a syrupy kiss on the cheek.

"Daddy put chocolate chips in my pancake. Wanna share?"

She smiled at her family as she made her way over to her husband picking up a kitchen towel. She caught his face in her hands and began to wipe away the pale globs. He snaked an arm around her, pulling her in closer for a kiss.

"If you're going to make another baby can I have a little brother?"

Kankurou chuckled as he stopped kissing his wife and turned his attention to his pancakes. The flustered kunoichi at his side could handle this.

Sakura shook her head. She wondered if it was a good idea to let Kakashi teacher her firstborn son. He was already aware of things he shouldn't be aware off but on the other hand he was about to take the Chuunin exams. She was proud and excited and scared all at once when she heard the news. But she couldn't scold the boy. He had her chakra control and his father's protectiveness. He was always helping his four year old baby sister, teaching her, looking out for her, studying her lessons from the academy together. She smiled up to Kankurou as he handed her a plate.

The man had to learn how to cook when the kids were born but he still made the best pancakes. She sat next to her daughter and pulled a chunk of pancake from her hair. If she was ever a messy eater as a child she couldn't remember. She ate her breakfast quietly watching something she'd never thought she'd have… a family.

"Hey guys go get cleaned up. We're going visit Uncle Naruto and Aunt Hinata today."

Two pairs of green eyes lit up the whole room. Kashi almost dashed out in his hurry but stopped short and helped his sister down off her stool. Sakura laughed as she put the plates in the sink. Kankurou came up behind her securing his arms around her.

"You're worried about her."

She leaned back into him. "I just want to check her over again. I'm sure she's fine but that's my godchild."

He kissed her cheek, "It's mine too."

She sighed as he held her tighter before he left to take a quick shower. Pancake batter would not hold kabuki paint well.

"Naruto-oji!"

Kankurou could only watch with a smile on his face as his daughter all but collided with the blonde Hokage.

"Hinata, look what I caught! A little bug. She says I'm her Uncle!"

Hinata laughed as she went off with Sakura giving Kashi a quick hair ruffle. Reina giggled throwing her little arms around the blonde's neck to hug him. "You ARE my Uncle!'

She only got a laugh out of the smiling man. Kankurou remembered when he and Sakura had taken their kids to meet their other Uncle just a month ago. Kashi had met him before, Gaara was his godfather after all. He quickly waved his hello and then was out the door with Kara, Gaara and Matsuri's seven year old daughter. And Reina, bold as always, clambered up on Gaara's desk and stared at him with clear green eyes.

"Hello Reina."

Kankurou watched in amusement. His daughter surprised him almost as much as his wife.

"Hi Uncle Gaara." She reached up, touched his eye lids, and squealed. She turned to her smiling father.

"Daddy! It's real! It's real! It's not like your paint!"

She turned back to Gaara, eyes wide as she leaned forward hands on his cheeks to look at his eyes. Even after Shukaku was extracted the dark rings around his eyes stayed. Sleep did nothing to lift the darkness. The Kazekage smiled at his niece.

"You look just a beautiful as your mother."

She smiled up at him, eyes finding the kanji on his forehead with renewed awe.

"Can I have one?" she asked pointing to the symbol of love.

Kankurou panicked. Sakura was going to kill him. But he shouldn't have worried. Gaara pulled out a pen and drew the design, a smaller version, on the back of her right hand. Gaara sent him an amused grin. Like he would cause his precious niece pain. He focused once again on Reina.

"I have a present for you."

He green eyes light up even brighter as he used his sand to present her with a fluffy teddy bear. Now it was Kankurou's turn to give Gaara an amused grin as slender blue chakra strings made the bear walk around on his desk. Gaara looked to Kankurou whose hands were in his pockets then back to the little girl in front of him. She was making the bear dance. Kankurou was flooded with pride at Gaara's wide open mouth.

Kankurou chuckled as Naruto put Reina down and they both watched as she bounded down the hall to the twins room to play with her brother and her almost cousins.

"So is Kakashi filling your kids' heads with how adults make babies?"

Naruto grunted shaking the puppet master's outstretched hand, "I caught him before he actually told Minato and Tsudae about the birds and the bees. I swear that old man is as perverted as ever."

They sat in the living room in the vast house that Naruto had built for Hinata. It met and even surpassed Hiashi's requirements. But Hinata was head of the clan now. Kankurou smiled at the blonde catching his nervous movement of tugging at the knot on his hitai-ate.

"Hinata's going to be fine. There wasn't even any complications with the twins."

The blonde slouched on the sofa, "I know. I have the best medic looking after her but still… she's my wife, the mother of my children, and the women I love. I worry."

Kankurou could agree with him. Sakura was everything to him, the reason for getting out of bed in the morning and most times getting back in, the reason to come back in one piece after a mission, the reason that made the sun rise and set. She was his wife, his lover, his best friend. And for six years she was his and now she was also his children's. He would always worry when it came to Sakura and his kids. Marriage doesn't necessarily change a man but kids, that'll break you of every bad habit. He for one never had the patience for kids, now hand him a baby and he could make goo-goo faces with the best of them. He grinned at Naruto. Somehow they had turned their rivalry into a somewhat friendship. It made Sakura and Hinata both extremely happy. Then the knucklehead actually became the hokage after Tsunade retired. Kankurou was still pulling babysitting duty for losing the bet.

"So Kashi already mastered the Chidori huh?"

Kankurou grinned widened to one of the proud daddy he was, "And Sakura is showing him how to control his chakra. He already uprooted one of the trees in the back yard. I heard the byakugan is coming along."

Now Naruto beamed his fox like grin. He loved to talk about his kids. They were the prodigies of the Hyuuga clan. The twins both had their mother's raven hair but their father's ocean blue eyes. Everyone thought that they were passed over for the bloodline trait but they were all proved wrong when they told Kakashi that they could see his face, behind the mask. The Hyuugas' set up a massive celebration. These were the first children to ever have use of the infamous byakugan without ivory eyes.

"They are doing well. Lee's kid got out of the hospital yesterday. They told him that they wouldn't go easy on him. Neji's training is definitely helping them."

Kankurou and Naruto chuckled listening as the kids played down the hall. They spent the rest of the day talking, well boasting, about their children until their wives pried them off the couch.

"Mommy do you think Kakashi-ojisan would help me with a new technique?"

Sakura ruffled her sons hair making him pull away to fix it back into its unruly style. "He doesn't like it when you call him grandpa. Call him sensei. And I think he'd be pretty happy to help."

He took off down the road when their house was in sight. And Reina was trying to do the same except she was having trouble climbing down from her dad's shoulders.

"Here you go bug."

He lifted her off his shoulder causing her to laugh at the change in height and put her down. She rushed after her brother, a swish of pink hair flying behind her in the wind.

"So how's Hinata?"

She wrapped her hand around her husband's, smiling at her kids running down the street. She had thought that the irregular heart beat was due to a heart condition but she was wrong. Today's check up proved that. It wasn't one irregular hearts beats. It was two normal ones, strong and steady.

"She's having twins again. I think two boys but it's too early to tell."

He laughed, "As long as their all healthy I don't think Naruto would care."

She smiled up to him the same time she felt the ground shift. "Please go make sure Kashi doesn't knock the door down again."

He sighed but did as he was told. He really did like that house too much to let his own son trash it.

Sakura walked down the street slowly, smiling to herself. She had everything she wanted. She fell in love and she had two amazing kids to prove it. She was the head of Konoha's hospital and went out on the odd mission. And Kankurou had fit right in. Tsunade might have made him work a little hard in the beginning to make him earn his spot but Naruto was a fair Hokage. He gave out missions by who was best suited to do them. She stopped just outside of her garden gate. Wildflowers were always in bloom. She never had to garden or pull out weeds. She was sure it was some long forgotten Jutsu but she liked it so she never minded. She stood with her hands in her pockets and stared at the house that had become her own. Naruto was so pissed when Kakashi gave it to her as a wedding present. It was one of the Hatake clans and it still sat on Hatake grounds. Kakashi's own home he lived in as a child a few hundred yards away.

"How come she gets a house!"

"Because Hinata get's my mother's wedding kimono." Secretly he would have given it to Sakura too but she was too tall for it. Kakashi just grinned at his awestruck student. He would have let it go there but he wanted to punish him for thinking his old sensei was negligent.

"That is if you ever ask her to marry you." The blonde turned beet red. He had bought the ring but it had been three years. He squabbled that he was waiting for the perfect time. Then he deemed Sakura and Kankurou's wedding reception that perfect time.

"I was hoping to find you alone Sakura."

She turned slowly at the calm voice.

"It's been years, Sasuke."

The stoic man nodded, "I would like to talk to you."

She checked him over. He wasn't carrying weapons but that didn't mean he was adverse to using Jutus's or his sharingan. She felt his chakra calm and low, almost completely not there.

"Are the four ANBU tailing you going to stay to listen?"

The slightest smirk spread on his face. "I made an agreement with Tsunade while she was still the Hokage. I was to wait until she retired to come back to Konoha. She wanted nothing to do with this."

Sakura nodded, "So you know that he's the hokage now?"

Raven hair rustled against the neck of his white shirt, "I would like to come back but only if you and Naruto allow it."

Sakura arched her eyebrow, "Even after knowing what happened here, to your clan? Konoha's part in it?"

Inky eyes widened, the first reaction she had seen on his face almost as long as she knew him.

"Of course I know all about it. I was her apprentice."

He nodded and Sakura looked him over. He wasn't here to harm anyone. He came back peacefully and under Tsunade's protection. A feat within itself was astounding for him to even consider let alone do. She stared into his cold eyes and found something behind them. Something she never saw in those eyes, something she never thought she'd see, guilt and pleading.

"I'm making yakisoba for dinner."

That smirk appeared again. "I didn't know you cooked."

She gave him a friendly smile, and it was genuine, "You don't know a lot about me anymore."

Then just like a mother protecting her cubs she turned on him. She looked him dead in the eye, any fear of his deadly eyes completely hidden, "If you do anything that I don't like…" She pressed her finger to the metal garbage can near her side. It was clumped into a ball of metal on the ground in a second flat.

"I will make sure you never do it again."

The four ANBU disappeared. Sasuke didn't stand a chance against Sakura, the legendary ANBU Captain Desert Blossom. Sasuke nodded calmly following her into the yard and up the stairs into the house. Once the door was closed she called out in the hallway.

"We have company."

Kankurou was the first to walk into the room. She watched as her husband's whole body stiffened and radiated with pure unrelenting hatred. Even muscle in his body was tensed. He was seconds from ripping Sasuke apart. She held up her hand.

"He's here to talk Kankurou. He's not going to hurt anyone."

He nodded but didn't drop his dark glare at the Uchiha. Sasuke just bowed at the Sand ninja slightly confused that he was in Sakura's house. He watched as Sakura's head shot up, he followed it and found himself staring at a little boy with mischievous dark green eyes.

"Kashi get down from there right now."

"But Mom he was escorted by four ANBU! He must be some kinda elite ninja."

The boy was around seven years old. He shouldn't have been able to sense them. He watched as the young boy flipped from the ceiling and landed gracefully in front of them.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

Green eyes widened, "You're mom and uncle Naruto's old teammate? The last Uchiha?"

He nodded still feeling Kankurou's eyes on him, watching his every move.

"I bet my Chidori is better than yours." White lightening began to swirl in the palm of the young boy's hand. Sakura smacked him in back of his head and the Jutsu fell away.

"Never inside Kashi. Now where's your sister?"

While Sakura wasn't looking the little girl had already climbed in his arms. Kankurou had crossed the room and was only stopped from ripping the Uchiha's head off by Sakura's gentle hand on his arm.

"Mommy said that you have the Sharingan like Kakashi-sensei."

He nodded as he held the girl awkwardly in his hands.

"Can I see it?"

"I am afraid not."

The little girl seemed disappointed and looked like she didn't want anything to do with him anymore. And Kankurou was happy to take her out of his arms, death glare in full force.

"Kashi you and your sister go play while me and daddy make dinner and catch up with Sasuke."

The little boy opened his mouth and closed it from the look he got from his mom. He took his little sister's hand and tugged her up the stairs.

"Come on."

Sasuke followed Sakura as she walked toward the open kitchen but was cut short as Kankurou stood in front of him, "I swear to god I will not hesitate to kill you Uchiha. Just give me a reason."

Sasuke was so used to malice and the aura of hatred that Kankurou's didn't faze him even as strong as it was. "Your wife has made it perfectly clear what would happen if I over stepped my bounds."

"Damn fucking straight."

Sasuke followed them both into the kitchen and sat at the island watching the pink haired medic as she began to cook. She had let her hair grow out again. It looked good on her.

"You have beautiful children Sakura." He finally caught glimpse of her elegant wedding ring and the kids looked like her too much to not be hers. And Kankurou's reaction to him holding the girl… everything made sense. Him being and living in Konoha however, that would be an interesting story to hear.

"Thank you. Now why the hell would you ever want to come back here?"

He smirked as she cut up vegetables, she used to have all the patience in the world for him.

"This is the only place where I was ever happy, even for the slightest of seconds. And it's were the only people I've ever called my friends live. I want to come back here but only if you and Naruto agree."

"I was half expecting you to ask me to help you revive your clan." He heard Kankurou mutter none to quietly, "over my dead body."

Sakura quickly kissed him to soothe the anger bubbling up and started to add things to a huge pot. Sasuke would have asked her that but they way her eyes softened when she looked at her husband… an idiot would have seen it.

"I don't know if I ever will get married but I hope I can find what you've found in Kankurou."

The once sand ninja eyed him critically as he leaned against the counter next to his cooking wife. "You hurt them when you left. Naruto and Sakura, especially her."

"Kankurou-"

He leaned over the counter to stare directly into cold eyes ignoring his own wife's icy glare, "If she wants you here I'm fine with that. I trust my wife and right now she's putting a whole lot of trust in you and a hell of a lot of faith in me for not killing you where you stand. If you hurt my family, if you hurt her again…"

"No harm will come to your family. Not from me. And I won't touch Sakura. It took me years to figure out just how much I hurt them both, how much I've hurt this city. I'm here to make amends, if you'll let me."

Sakura smacked her husband in the chest at his little outburst. "What do you plan on doing if we allow you to come back to Konoha?"

He handed her the plate she was reaching for across the counter, "I was thinking of teaching a genin team," he looked up to Kankurou untrusting eyes, "But it seems like not a lot of parents would let their children near me."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I'm more than capable of being in ANBU. I've been told to seek out a Captain called Desert Blossom. If I can convince her then I can be put on the roster for the exams."

Kankurou gave him a smug smile which received another smack form his wife.

"I have no problem with you coming back. I believe everyone deserve a second chance," she jerked her thumb in her surprised husband's direction, "kami knows I gave him enough."

To everyone's shock Sasuke smiled. Sakura relaxed. This was Sasuke. He was still the boy that watched her back once, the boy that she had once loved, the boy that was seeking a home. He had changed but she knew if she looked hard enough she'd still find a few of those things except one. She didn't love him. Her heart didn't speed up when she looked at him outside of her house the first time in years. Her legs didn't turn into jelly at his smile. She turned to watch her husband frown at her. He made her heart race. He made her knees quiver.

She sighed, "And Tsunade actually let you tell her all this?'

"Not all at once. The first time I saw her I was put into the hospital, in the high security ward for two weeks. Then we had smaller meetings after that. But yes, she agreed but only if you and Naruto allow me to come back."

Kankurou rubbed a hand up and down her back. He knew what she would say. She wouldn't be the women he loved if she didn't say yes.

"I'm warning you right now my kids are going to ask a lot of questions. If you want to answer them you can but keep it PG alright. They're smart but their only kids."

The Uchiha blinked and Sakura laughed at his blank face. She could tell he was confused.

"Meet me at the hospital tomorrow morning and I'll take you over to talk to him. It's better if we do it in the Hokage tower. We don't want to put any stress on Hinata. She only just found out she's having twins again."

This time his eyes widened enough for Kankurou to smirk at him.

"A lot of things changed when you left Uchiha."

He didn't miss his insinuation, "Like Sakura marrying you."

He turned his cool eyes back to the medic as she plated up dinner. "So Naruto married the Hyuuga?"

Sakura nodded, "they have twins the same age as Kashi and Hinata is pregnant with twins again. I just confirmed it this morning. Naruto's probably running around town shouting it from the rooftops. Hiashi is probably just grinning like a fool.'

She chuckled and found it funny how at ease she was around Sasuke, one of the deadliest ninja in the world. But she had seen remorse in his eyes and him sitting there was enough for her to forgive him. But she wouldn't forget.

"Come on let's go eat."

Kankurou took the huge plate from his wife stopping long enough to give her a slow kiss. A predator was in his house and he'd be damned sure to make his territory clear, though Sakura would kick his ass later for thinking of her as property.

"Kashi, Reina! Dinner!"

The kids came rushing into the dining room and smiled when they saw that their visitor was staying.

"So Sasuke-san were you really that much of a prick when you were on mom's team?"

Sakura sent her son a dark glare but Kankurou was smiling widely.

"Did your mother say that?"

"No but it sounded like you were."

He tucked into his dinner and nearly yelped in surprise. The last time Sakura cooked for him back in team seven's starting days he was sick for a week, now it was as if he was eating at a five star restaurant. He looked to Sakura to find a smug smile across her face. Then he turned to her son.

"I was a prick. And a smug bastard. And your mother used to be a horrible cook."

"Did she make you eat broccoli too?"

He laughed lightly at the boys disgusted look, "Thankfully no."

Dinner was passed with many questions being asked by her children all of which Sakura was glad to hear answered with extremely watered-down explanations by Sasuke. She let her rambunctious son and still pouting daughter have ice cream for dessert and then sent them up to bed, sealing their rooms from hearing the conversation and alerting both parents if either left their beds. Kankurou relaxed into the sofa and pulled his wife close to him.

"Well Uchiha you have a story to tell and we don't have all night."

Sakura didn't chide him but leaned into him and his embrace. She knew that it would be a long story and she wanted to hear all of it.

Throughout the tale Sakura had shaken with rage, cried in pure anguish, and laughed whole heartedly. And Kankurou was there to ease her pain with a gentle kiss, to calm her rage with a warm embrace, and joined in her laughter. Sometimes she would tell part of her own story, matching it up with his and filling him up on the missing gaps, like her marriage to the once sand ninja. When the conversation dwindled down only a few things were left to discuss.

"I assume that people will not like the idea of me returning?"

Kankurou snorted and ignored his wife's elbow in his ribs.

"They'll want your head. But," he nodded to his wife, "with her backing you up and probably Naruto too, they will accept it…"

Sakura gave Sasuke a kind smile, "But that doesn't mean they will accept you, or trust you."

The raven haired man stood and smiled down to her and her husband.

"The only acceptance I need is from my friends."

Kankurou grinned at him and the Uchiha felt nervous about the spark that danced in the puppet master's eyes.

"And the acceptance by a certain ANBU Captain."

Sakura swatted her husband away from her as she stood.

"Of course I'll give you a chance. If you can go toe to toe with me in a fight then the other captains can't find a fault with you."

A surprised look took over his face once again and she couldn't help but smile at his astonishment. She lifted up the edge of her shirt and tugged the waist band of her pants down just enough to let him look at the black lettering there. His eyes widened even more.

"I told you a lot of things have changes since you left Uchiha."

Kankurou's hearty laugh helped him to snap out of his semi-shocked state and into the present.

"I shouldn't be surprised. You were always a remarkable kunoichi."

She looked up to him, "And you were always a great friend."

That word seemed to cast a look over his face that rarely crossed his dark eyes. He was unsure of that fact. Kankurou took notice of his doubt and the soft sad smile that took over the medic-nin's face. He silently left the room to give them space. Sakura stepped forward and placed a hand on his arm.

"No matter what anyone says, what I have said in anger, or what you have done, I will always consider you a friend. I will stand with you when you meet with Naruto. I will stand by you as you announce your return to Konoha. I will always have your back just like you've always had mine. Naruto will feel the same. He won't turn you out Sasuke. He knows where your heart lies and so do I. It's here, in Konoha. It always was."

The Uchiha hugged the pink haired girl that had changed so much since the days she had mooned over him. She was stronger now, wiser, uncompromising in her believes, a mother, a fierce fighter. He was proud to call her friend, honored to still have her love and trust and faith.

"Thank you Sakura."

She smiled at him and grasped his hand and led him to the door. His long fingers grasped the cool brass of the door handled and gently pulled the oak open to the cool air of the Konoha night. Sakura peered into the street in front of her.

"I have a guest room, if you don't want to go back there."

She watched him closely. The Uchiha compound was the last place she would want to be. But as he looked back to her, one of the few people he called friend he smiled once again. His eyes were filled with something she hoped that he would always find, peace.

"There's nothing left to haunt me there Sakura. I'll see you in the morning."

He gave her a silent nod goodnight and stepped into the dark night and disappeared. All but one ANBU remained. Sakura nodded her head to the Hawk.

"I feel better that Neji's guarding him, but not by much."

She leaned back into Kankurou's warm frame. The only support she needed right now.

"I'm glad he came." They were in their bedroom now preparing for bed.

Kankurou stopped moving the pillows and didn't meet her eyes, "Really?"

His voice was soft and she knew what he was thinking. Did she still harbor feelings for him? She walked over to him and cupped his face in her hands.

"Yes and do you want to know why?"

She didn't give him time to answer. Her lips were on his in a gentle kiss.

"Because he reminded me of what I wouldn't have if I would have stayed infatuated with him. I would have never found you. I would have never had two amazing children. I would have never found true love."

His brown eyes peered into green ones and she was lost in them. She forced herself to focus. She tugged his hand to her and held it over her heart.

"I love that you make my heart race like this."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer until she couldn't tell which breath was hers.

"I love the way your lips feel against mine."

She kissed him again passionately, pulling away just enough to look him in the eyes.

"I love the way your eyes smolder. Just like that."

By now all thoughts of Uchiha Sasuke was far from Kankurou's mind. He was focused completely on his wife, the beautiful pink haired kunoichi pressed against him. He picked her up swiftly and lowered her onto the bed leaning down to return her passionate kiss.

"I love that you wear my shirts around like it's the prettiest dress in the world."

He slipped a hand under her black tank top.

"I love the way you feel in my arms."

He caressed her neck with his breath as hers hands traveled up his arms to his chest.

"I love the way your eyes smolder." He pulled back to stare at her. "Just like that."

He was about to crawl on top of her and to get rid of that pesky shirt hindering his exploration when he felt the kids coming closer. He immediately stopped but Sakura tugged him back down into a fierce kiss. He pulled away, his voice husky.

"The kids."

She let him go her voice just as husky, "I know. I know."

They both slid to their respectable sides of the bed. He loved that she could never get enough of him because he would never be able to get enough of her. They were insatiable. It was a wonder they didn't have half a dozen kids by now.

The kids didn't even knock they just walked in blinking against the bright lamplight. It was nearly two in the morning.

"Reina had a bad dream."

Kankurou held out his arms to his sleepy baby girl, "Bug."

She half ran half walked to bed and he lifted her into it, letting her snuggle against his chest. Sakura did the same for Kashi except he climbed in by himself. He rested his head on her stomach while Kankurou flicked off the light. Sakura smiled, her husband liked to rest his head their too. Like father, like son. She looked over to her daughter, her eyes adjusting to the dark. She was tucked into the crook of his neck. Like mother like daughter too. Silently as to not disturb their kids Sakura and Kankurou found each other's hands in the night.

This epilogue was long overdue. I apologize for that and I hope that you enjoyed reading Desert Blossom as much as I enjoyed writing it. - Aphiria