Leap

by cristofori's dream

It wasn't intentional. Neither knew what was happening. It just so happened that they followed their instincts to be closer to each other. Closer. Closer... And then lips met and the deed was undoubtedly done. Of course, they would have to face the consequences. Sasuke x Naruto, Mpreg, Language.

Title: Leap

Pairings: Sasuke x Naruto

Warnings: Yaoi, OOC, Mpreg, Language. If you cannot stomach any of those... well, you've been warned. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto - oh, I can only dream. But I do own my OC Masayuki.

...

LEAP

It wasn't intentional. Neither knew what was happening. It just so happened that they followed their instincts to be closer to each other. Closer. Closer... And then lips met and the deed was undoubtedly done. Let's just not blame Naruto's birthday party and alcohol that was distinctly a huge push. But hey, what's to push if the instinct wasn't there, right?

The next morning found the blonde to wake up first. He noticed his nakedness, noticed the clothes littered on the floor – he thought he was a flasher kind of drunk and vowed never to be that drunk again to save his dignity. He mechanically put them back on before going back to his apartment, his mind still up in the high that he never vouched to look back and check where the heck he was. He never even noticed the other body that was on the other side of the bed which he was laying on before. And he ignored the pain on his backside, thinking it was just another fallout of being hung over. By the time he was sober, the angry red marks that littered his skin was already healed by the demon within him.

An hour or so later, the raven that was left alone blinked awake. Of course, he noticed his nakedness too and definitely noticed his clothes on the floor. He just blamed it on the alcohol. Well, he did feel a little relaxed so he guessed he was uncomfortable at one point when he was drunk, and thus removing his own clothes. It was a good thing that no one was there to see him. Still, he swore never to drink again. Being naked was dangerous in so many ways than one. So with a groan, he pushed back up and marched to his bathroom for a much needed shower. When he saw a few red blotches in his skin, he frowned and cursed the bed bugs – he never saw the red scratch marks on his back. He never even noticed the bright blonde strand of hair that was nestled on the pillow, not even when he folded his sheets ten minutes later.

Their days went on as usual. They trained together, they bickered together, they ate together. Days passed without either of them remembering what they did. Or if there was a fleeting memory somewhere, they discarded it and labeled as one of the collections of their wet dreams about one another. A collection that could be compared to Kakashi's Icha Icha books, so of course, they didn't think much about it – it wasn't that unusual anyway though they'd be dead first before they admitted it to anyone even to themselves.

It was only 2 months later that everything started to progress.

Naruto's morning became hell. He would wake up, feeling that there was something wrong and then there would be a sinking feeling in his gut only to rush in the bathroom and retch whatever he ate last night. More than that, the retching would come randomly, he was always dizzy, and he didn't know what to eat anymore. The sugar on top of his hellish life: he was getting weaker and weaker.

Sasuke, of course, noticed. The Dobe was still his best friend after all even if he was often annoyed with him especially those times of his probation right after he returned here in Konoha. He chose to ignore it a week ago, thinking that whatever was wrong would pass – but it didn't mean that he wasn't watching and noticing things. And notice he did – he noticed a lot of alarming things. But he thought it wasn't any of his business and that the Dobe would inform anyone of them if really needed. A week had passed, the Christmas party had come and gone, and still, Naruto didn't tell a soul. When he couldn't stand it any longer, he confronted the blonde.

"Dobe?" he tentatively called out. Said blonde was currently lying on the grass and curled upon himself (terribly pale too), while they waited for the arrival of their teammates. "Are you alright?"

Naruto looked about ready to lie and deny, but it seemed he didn't have the energy even for that. "No", he croaked. "I'm just so... so tired." Before he even finished what he was saying, his voice had been reduced to a whisper and ended with a sigh.

Sasuke, on his part, was startled to hear an admission. He was actually expecting a huge denial and for Naruto to throw tantrums - not this. "For how long have you been feeling that way?"

There was a pause. "For a while."

Sasuke snorted. "How long is 'a while', Dobe?"

Naruto licked his dry lips. "About three weeks..."

Again, Sasuke was startled. More so when Naruto's face turned a sickly green before bolting up, running to the nearest tree and retching his gut out. Sasuke was by his side in an instant, his hand automatically rubbing Naruto's back. It was all spur of the moment, really. Because when he realized what he was doing, he immediately retracted his hand.

However, Sasuke knew that this couldn't go on especially if this had been happening for a few weeks now. No normal disease could last that long and it might affect his seal. "We have to go see Tsunade."

Naruto predictably shook his head as he wiped his mouth. "Don't worry about it. This will go away soon."

Sasuke was about ready to haul the blonde over his shoulders and bolt to the Hokage Tower, even if the idiot would be screaming and kicking and bawling. But when the blue of Naruto's eyes rolled up in his head and his stance became slack, Sasuke's breath caught and he vaguely discovered his new speed as he dived to catch the blonde. Heart thudding and his head running a mile per second, he forgot to haul Naruto over his shoulders. He carried the blonde against his chest instead as he ran like crazy to the Hokage Tower. Kakashi and Sakura and the bloody training were all forgotten.

When he was at the base of the tower, no one dared to stop him from barging in – probably because they knew Naruto and Sasuke too much, and for that, he was thankful.

The Hokage was unusually doing her paperwork when he got there but Sasuke didn't pay it any more attention. Tsunade also didn't need for him to speak up and inform her of what he wanted, because the unconscious package in his arms was enough. She immediately stood up, her paperwork carelessly forgotten with the ink splotching the documents.

"Lay him down here," Tsunade rushed to the mini-clinic that she had in her office which was especially made for emergencies, Sasuke right behind her heels. When the blonde was comfortably laid on the inspection bed, Tsunade had assumed her examination and Sasuke was left to quietly walk out and sit on the couch outside.

Not more than ten minutes later, Sasuke heard Tsunade curse along with the lines of how something could be remotely possible.

Sasuke didn't like the sound of that.

He waited some more, his heart on his sleeves, his wits on the end. Whatever was wrong with Naruto surely was something because there was another curse from the inside.

At the back of his mind, he remembered his two other teammates that without a doubt were waiting for them, and really, he attempted to focus on that, maybe even send a bunshin to Kakashi. But for some reason, his mind kept wandering back to whatever was happening inside.

Now that he thought about it, he couldn't even remember when was the last time Naruto caught a virus. He was always energetic, vibrant, bouncy, healthy… Being a jinchuriki had its advantages no matter how pint. But now... Now, Naruto was vomiting, practically a walking dead, and miserable. Sasuke wasn't a medic so he didn't know if there were some specific viruses that the fox couldn't cure but he sure hoped it would pass. He hoped that Naruto's immune system was just adjusting itself to fight whatever was ailing him, and he hoped that it was just taking its damn sweet time.

A hand went to his shoulders and he visibly jumped, ready to grab a kunai, when he realized it was just Tsunade.

"Uchiha," she called with all the seriousness he had never seen on her face before. "I have a few questions for you."

In all honesty, Sasuke didn't know if he could answer her, but he nodded anyway.

Tsunade paused for a second, constructing her question better in her mind before voicing it. She cleared her throat. "Did you notice any of Naruto's symptoms?"

Like the trained ninja that he was, he quickly raked through his memory for anything and everything, detaching his soul in his body as he recited what he observed. "He's vomiting, and he said he had been for a few weeks – around three. He claimed he's also tired and it was getting physically obvious. I noticed his appetite even dropped. He wouldn't eat ramen these days even when Kakashi offered. There were even ramen prepared at the Christmas party the other day but he wouldn't touch it – not even go near it. He said he doesn't like the smell. There were also times that I caught him gripping his chest, as if it's ailing him. I'm not sure about the rest but that's what I noticed these past few weeks."

Tsunade groaned and suddenly plopped down beside him. "I can't believe this... I honestly can't believe this!"

Sasuke felt the bob of his throat and realized he just swallowed nervously so he fixed his Uchiha glare as a compensation. "What's wrong with him?"

She shook her head. "I can't tell you."

That was when Sasuke heard a very distinct snap which he knew was his patience. He growled. He didn't have any time for any roundabout things, he wanted answers and he wanted it fast. "What is wrong with him?" He threateningly asked.

The Hokage, of course, was not in any way intimidated. She knew whatever she found was only for Naruto to hear; it was protocol – especially for something like this. But still, she knew that if no one was there for Naruto, no one would be able to protect him – especially now that he was so vulnerable. So with a new plan in mind, she turned to the young Uchiha.

"Sasuke," she called out and she noticed his involuntary twitch. "I'm giving you a new mission. You are to watch over Naruto for the duration of seven months – heck, let's make it eight months."

Sasuke nodded once but then he asked, "Why eight months? Isn't that too long of a duration for his treatment?"

"You don't understand, Uchiha. There will be no treatment. There isn't even a disease."

"Then what is wrong with him? I've been asking you that since earlier!"

"Yes, what is wrong with me?" A weak voice came from behind them and the two jumped in surprise. There Naruto was, wobbly, pale, his dazed eyes trying to focus, his sight probably swimming. Tsunade looked at Sasuke and Naruto caught the drift of what she was secretly asking. "You can say it in front of the Teme, he's my best friend."

"Well, Naruto, that's good and all. Especially since I assigned him to be your bodyguard for the next months," she said with a grimace.

"Next months?" The blonde echoed. "Why?"

Tsunade wondered if there was any correct way of delivering her news so she opted to say it straightforwardly. "You're pregnant."

Two sets of eyes widened at that: one set of onyx and another set of blue. There was a rush of memory reflected in their eyes and both of them knew the other was remembering a dream they thought was just that – a dream. They heard Tsunade say something of being two months along and the memory just intensified: Naruto's party, the dance, the alcohol, the noise, more alcohol, and then that night…

There was a gasp somewhere, from someone, from either of them, or maybe both. Sasuke's mind after hearing the news blanked in an instant, or maybe his thoughts were just too chaotic that he thought he wasn't thinking of anything. He was wrenched out of his stunned silence though when he saw blue eyes roll up again for the second time that day. And again, he marveled at how fast he was at catching Naruto.

…

Naruto sat on the park bench, his shoulders slumped, his fingers twiddling. He didn't know what to think and to be honest, whatever Tsunade had said wasn't settling in yet. Blue eyes turned on his side where Sasuke was sitting beside him, eerily quiet. He was slumped too, an unusual thing for Sasuke, and Naruto understood that.

He chose to spare the poor boy.

"I think," Naruto started. "I think we should both cool our heads for a while. To be honest, right now, I don't even know what to think."

Sasuke nodded robotically.

No one said anything anymore although it wasn't an awkward one; it was of contemplative silence. Another moment again, Naruto stood up, ready to go home when Sasuke's soft voice stopped him.

"Just tell me one thing," Sasuke quietly said. "That night… it was your first." It wasn't a question, he just wanted a confirmation.

Naruto snorted at that, honestly finding it funny, not an ounce offended. "Obviously," he answered before walking home. It's not like I looked at anyone that way other than you.

The words were left unsaid.

That night, Sasuke was lying on his bed, his eyes unfocused. What Naruto said at the park before they separated was true to him too: right now, he didn't know what to think. How could a guy possibly be pregnant? That was biologically impossible. Females were there for that. But he couldn't deny that Tsunade's reaction was genuine. She was startled and she cursed, she wondered how it was possible, she wondered what the heck was happening – and she was the medic-nin.

In reality, he had already forgotten his childhood's second goal of repopulating his clan. He wasn't interested in any girl. He wasn't interested at anyone, period. Well, aside from Naruto. But Naruto was special ever since they were kids. He had always been different from all others. While the rest was worshipping the land he walked on, Naruto was there, seeing him as he really was even if he himself didn't dare to look at himself. Naruto was the one who didn't give up on him when he had gone astray, when he made all the fucked decisions in life, and Naruto was the one to welcome him home with a bright smile even when they were both tattered and bloody. That's right; Naruto had always been special – an exemption to all his rules.

When his wet dreams started, he was rattled. He thought he had gone insane. Why did he dream of Naruto that way? He had no idea and he was irate. That was when he was still in Orochimaru's wing. Imagine how many years that had been. He was especially annoyed at the jinchuriki when expressive blue eyes started to haunt him. In return, he treated Naruto worse. But the dreams didn't stop no matter what he did, and in the course of time, he learned how to deal with it: deny and ignore. It had always been his style anyway.

Now though, things are different. He was being forced in a situation that he had never even imagined before. Sure he had imagined being with Naruto before, and his fantasies even came true that one particular night, but being forced into parenthood?

Sasuke would admit it, but only to himself: he was terrified.

He wasn't a hypocrite, he knew he was far from perfect. He had made shitty decisions in life. He didn't know anything about relationships – he even tried to sever his bonds! He didn't know about anyone else, but to him, that wasn't very parent-ly. If his life had been a continuous web of chaos, what could he possibly hope to teach his child? He would be a shitty parent, and just like that, his child might turn out shitty too. What if Itachi's case happens again because of his incompetence? Besides, he honestly didn't know how to be a parent. What memories he had remaining was of a cold indifference from his father and a familiar hum from his mother. That was it.

So, really, how could he be fit to be a parent?

More importantly though was Naruto. He wasn't blind. He knew Naruto had done so many things for him, sacrificed too many, and received so less. Any damn sane person would have been fed up by now. Especially now that he had… has… impregnated – he flinched – the guy. If Naruto was forced to live a life with him, as partners for eternity, well, actually, Sasuke didn't know if Naruto would be able to handle that. He was a bastard after all. He also didn't know if he could change, and if he continued to be the same bastard that he was, he was sure that Naruto would leave him as fast as a ticking clock with their child in tow. Sasuke didn't know if he could handle that kind of abandonment once he entered the commitment.

What to do then? Would it be better for them to remain as they are, as friends, and just be best friends caring for their child?

For once, Sasuke didn't know what to do.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the town, his Dobe was lying on his bed, thinking things through. In all actuality, Naruto couldn't get his mind wrapped around the news. There were just so many wrong things in that scenario: he was a guy, there was no possible way that he could be pregnant; he only had one night with Sasuke even if they had done the deed not just once; he was a guy! More importantly, he didn't have any idea what a parent was.

He didn't have any parents, he didn't know what parents do to their children, so how could he be a parent? He hoped there was some sort of a memory to serve, but no, there was only blank. When he was a child, he would go about things himself, not even knowing whether they were right or wrong. Of course, they had been corrected by Sandaime and Iruka when he was old enough. But still, Naruto lacked the idea of what a parent should be doing. And now, he was becoming a parent?

He was scared.

Would he be able to raise his child just like a normal person? He didn't know, but he sure hoped so. Would the people call his child a demon brat? He didn't want that. He would rather pack and leave should it ever happen and no one would be able to stop him. But… would it be worth it if he didn't have anything good to offer his child in the first place? Would it be better if the child would be unborn to spare him the pain? On the other hand, there were still beautiful things that he could show his child: the rising sun when standing on top of a tree, the setting sun when walking on the water, the feel of the wind when speeding up. There are numerous jutsus to teach, true friends to gain…

His arm instinctively went to his abdomen and he curled to himself – an instinctive protection for his child. No, he couldn't abort. He wouldn't be able to do it. He would rather face the world and bare his fangs against anyone who would dare to taunt his child.

But Sasuke… What could Sasuke be thinking? Would he want the child? Would he take the child away from him? Or would Sasuke ask him to abort?

Naruto shook his head. He loves Sasuke, has been in love since almost forever. But he would never allow Sasuke to take his child from him or if he would be asked to abort. Should Sasuke decide that he doesn't want the child, then Naruto would raise it on his own. He had survived being alone as a child so he was sure he could survive being a solo parent too. He wasn't stupid, he knew it would be difficult. Heck, he was even thinking about having no memories of a parent to guide him just now, but he would suck it all up for his child – his and Sasuke's child, even if it turns out that Sasuke doesn't want it.

Yeah, Naruto would do that.

When sleep finally came to him, he dreamt of white-skinned, black-haired, blue-eyed boy.

…

The next time the two met, it was two days later, in that same park bench they had separated before. And yes, Naruto was afraid to confront Sasuke. He had already made his decision to carry on this task of being a parent alone, he had already conditioned his mental and emotional self and he was as ready as he could be. Since he wasn't sure about Sasuke, he had omitted the guy in his equations. He wouldn't force Sasuke to any commitment.

They didn't know how much time had passed since they arrived there, and this time, the silence was full of awkwardness. When Naruto couldn't handle it any longer, he sighed and decided to just go for the kill. "I'm keeping it."

He got Sasuke's attention in an instant and Naruto smiled. "You're my best friend Sasuke. I'm not going to force you in a life time commitment. I can do it, believe me!" He laughed. "I just hope that nothing would change between us. You'd still be the Teme."

Naruto wasn't his best friend only by name. And Sasuke would be damned if he didn't see the pain behind the understanding mask, behind the determination. He saw it as clear as the day. He saw the sliver of abandonment in those eyes, the fear of what was to come and the knowledge that he would do it alone, and he saw the resignation – resignation to not involve Sasuke.

He didn't want to see Naruto looking like that. The blonde was looking best with all smiles and laugh – not this. But Sasuke didn't know what to do. His face might have been schooled to be expressionless, but he was torn inside. He wanted to support Naruto, but he wanted to run away too. He didn't want to see that pathetic look on his best friend's face, but for the love of God, he couldn't say anything!

So when Naruto got up with a forced smile saying he had to do his research on raising a baby, Sasuke let him.

Not a beat later, Sasuke found himself in the midst of the Forest of Death in a killing spree of all creatures he saw and raising havoc. He had never loathed his pathetic self so much before now.

…

When Naruto reached his apartment, the first thing he did was collapse on his bed and cry his heart out. He had to admit it to himself that somewhere inside him, there was this flicker of hope that Sasuke might not act as the bastard that he is about the whole thing. He actually, actually hoped for Sasuke to say that he would be there, that he would support Naruto, that he wouldn't leave.

And Naruto couldn't believe how much of an idiot he was for letting that flicker of hope ignite only to be snuffed in an instant.

But then again, he wasn't kidding when he said that he had already conditioned his mind for doing everything alone. He was damn scared, yes, but he wouldn't let it keep him down. Still, that didn't make t the pain any lesser, and so he cried. He cried his eyes out and vowed that he wouldn't cry again for the same reasons.

An hour later, when the sobs and tears all stopped and he was finished in wallowing in self-pity, he started to think about what to do first, but there was nothing in his mind. What did pregnant women do? Would it be the same for him?

What do I do?

He didn't know. So he thought maybe he could ask for advice from his friends. Different names floated in his thoughts, but Iruka was a guy and never had a woman impregnated; Kakashi would be more of a pest than a help; Sakura was a medic-nin, sure, but he was also sure that she would panic first before blurting it out to Ino – and when Ino knows, it wouldn't be far before the whole of Konoha would. He crossed out Sakura in his list with a silent apology.

Maybe Tsunade really was his only choice. She already knew his condition anyway so there was no hurt to go to her with the exception of her lectures. So after taking a relaxing bath and making sure that his eyes weren't as puffy as they felt, he set out to meet the Hokage.

Normally, when Naruto barges in on the Hokage's office without so much as a knock, there would always be a flying paper weight coming his way. This time though, when he stepped in the office, there was no flying paper weight and Tsunade was already looking at him expectantly. He offered her a tentative smile before walking towards her and situating himself on one of the free seats in front of her desk.

"Baa-chan," he greeted.

Tsunade unusually didn't violently react and Naruto was left to stare at the floor beneath his feet. A few terse moments later, Tsunade spoke. "You here to tell me anything?"

Naruto looked back at her and nodded. "I'm keeping it."

That instant, Tsunade's outer shell crumbled and her mother-instinct came out with a bang. She stood up and took the other free seat in front of Naruto, her hands reaching out to his. "Oh, Naruto," she almost sobbed. "How are you going to keep a child? You're too young… too inexperienced…"

Naruto softly laughed. "Baa-chan, there are other mothers out there much younger than me."

Tsunade knows that, of course. Still, her heart ached for her Gaki. Parenthood changes people so much, and she didn't know how this would affect Naruto. But before that, how in the world would this kid raise a child of his own? He didn't know a love of a parent. He didn't experience the loving slap from a reprimanding parent to correct him, he didn't experience the loving embrace of a parent when he was scared or sad, he didn't experience a mother singing to him at night. There were just too many things that he didn't experience, so really, how could he do this? However, it was still true that he could be guided by instincts. He could still learn firsthand from experience. Besides, Naruto was known for his trial and error ways without giving up anyway.

"But…" Naruto licked his dry lips. "How did this happen? I'm a guy."

Tsunade settled down on the chair without releasing her hold on Naruto's hands. "To be honest, I can only assume that Kyuubi is a Hermaphrodite – or demons are. They are both female and male enabling a sexual reproduction in which they can act as any – for endangered species like them, this is an easy way of repopulation. However, this characteristic was sealed along them – and so long as there will be no trigger, no reproduction will occur. Still, if you were the one to have sex with a female and your sperm was released, I can assume that no pregnancy will happen since your sperm would have been coated by a mix of yours and Kyuubi's chakra. And if you may remember in the Kyuubi attack seventeen years ago, no other human could handle its chakra except you. I'm not sure, Naruto, but we can assume that there will be violent side effects on the female. Since you had sex with a guy and were the receiver, we know that your sperm hit the air – but there were no reports of a violent death two months ago so it might be that the violent effect occurs only if your sperm gets inside the human body and hit anywhere near a chakra line. To be honest, I'm so glad that this didn't happen as we had no knowledge whatsoever of these. But we're getting a little bit off track…

"Since having sex with a female is dangerous, the only other way for a trigger to happen is for you to have sex with a guy and be the receiver, your sperm being that of a Hermaphrodite too ever since Kyuubi was sealed inside you, and thus allowing you to be impregnated – which happened since you're obviously pregnant now. And to be perfectly honest, I never imagined that you would willingly have sex with a guy…" Naruto blushed at that. "Anyway, when I was checking you up a few days ago, there was this cocoon of chakra inside you. It was a very solid wall of chakra, Naruto, and I can assume that inside it is the fetus since there was a very quiet pulsation – a heartbeat. This may also be the reason why you're experiencing fatigue a little bit worse than normal."

Naruto didn't say anything after her explanation. To be honest, he still couldn't believe that he was pregnant, and now, Tsunade was explaining it to him even if most things were just assumptions. But she mentioned a heartbeat! The life inside him was very real, there's a heartbeat! He didn't know what to feel first; should he perhaps be worried that he just discovered he was a freak? After all, no other male can be pregnant. Or maybe the other jinchuurikis can – but they obviously didn't have sex with another guy! Should he feel elated because now, he has something that was his and Sasuke's?

He actually didn't know. He felt fear, anxiety, happiness, excitement…

Tsunade, on her part, remained quiet as she watched her gaki sit there in wonder. She also noticed that Naruto had covered his abdomen on instinct alone and begun to absently rub it. However, there was something wrong with the picture. Or rather, there was someone missing…

"What about the… the father?" She asked so quietly, almost afraid of breaking something – maybe breaking Naruto's sanity.

Naruto snapped back to reality and it took him a minute to understand what she was asking. Afterwards, he turned away from her with a nervous laugh. "Well, he's…" he scratched his face. "He's… out of the game."

"What? Do you… do you even know who he is?"

Naruto snorted. "Of course, baa-chan. I know that he's a bastard but really –"

A gasp. "Wha- It's that brat? Uchiha Sasuke?!" But it made sense. Whoever could suppress the Kyuubi's raw chakra except Uchiha Sasuke himself? So that's why there were no casualties.

It was then that Naruto realized his little slip-up and he inwardly cursed his stupidity. He was just pulled out of his self-berating when Tsunade growled and made to stand up, presumably to go and have a talk with said bastard. Naruto immediately squeezed her hand to prevent her from moving. "Baa-chan, please. Don't. Don't go to him."

"Does he know? No, of course he knows! He was here when we found out! That little… and he's bailing out?!"

"Baa-chan, baa-chan! Please. You have to understand. This is different…"

Tsunade growled, her chakra spiking. "Tell me, Naruto. Oh God, tell me, how in the world is this different?"

Naruto shook his head. "Please, baa-chan. Sasuke experienced traumatic events with his family. Plus, he did terrible things –"

"Yes, things that he willingly did!"

"And he's not proud of it!" Naruto sobbed and Tsunade stilled, her honey eyes watching as Naruto doubled over as he cried, his trembling hands squeezing hers as if his life is on the line. She couldn't believe how fast he cried when he was so somber just a while ago. It's the hormones, she thought. "I'm his best friend, Tsunade. I know him pretty damn well no matter how much he denies. But I know that he's scared. He's scared that the whole Itachi thing would happen again. He's scared because he knows what terrible things he did and he doesn't know if he could be a good parent because of that!"

Hot tears leaked out of closed eyes and Tsunade watched as the kid trembled. His shoulders shook as he cried and Tsunade didn't know what to do. Especially even before her explanation on how he got pregnant started, a flicker of a familiar chakra already arrived by her window. She didn't mind the interruption at first. After all, she was the one who bestowed the bodyguard mission. But now, she really just wanted to wring that stupid kid's neck for making Naruto cry. Still, she didn't say anything. It could be a good lesson for that kid outside the window that arriving unannounced and eavesdropping is never good. Although it might be good this time.

"You weren't there, Tsunade," Naruto continued, apparently oblivious to the presence, a set-back for being pregnant. "You weren't there when we talked earlier. You didn't see how torn he obviously was! The usual indifferent mask that he was so used to wearing wasn't even up an inch – and he didn't even notice! Oh, God… he was so torn, Tsunade… But I didn't want to force him into a life time commitment. He doesn't deserve that. Sasuke doesn't deserve that."

Tsunade swallowed and quietly asked, "And you deserve to do this alone?"

Naruto sniffed and gave a wet laugh. "Hey, I've pretty much raised myself so there's no worry on that."

"Right," came Tsunade's clipped reply, although her gentle hands wiping the tear tracks on Naruto's face was an obvious give away on how she really was feeling. "That's why you came here."

"Well…" Naruto got quiet. "I didn't know what to do…"

Tsunade hugged the boy at that before releasing him and going back to her own seat. She pulled at one of her drawers and retrieved a pouch. "I figured you would want to keep the child, having no family and all, so I prepared these things for you. You'll be taking the vitamins twice a day – when you wake up and before you sleep. These ones, you'll be taking once a day; and also this one." She picked out the medicines one by one. "I also wrote the instructions down on a paper so you won't forget."

Naruto nodded at what she was saying, taking all information seriously.

"And another thing," Tsunade continued, "You'll have to be taken off from missions and training. No using of chakra even just a bit."

"What?! Why?"

"Because, idiot, you're very much… pregnant." Tsunade rubbed her temples. "And if you don't want to risk a miscarriage, then I suggest you lay-low until after you give birth. By then, you can hire a nanny to assist you."

"But Tsunade," Naruto panicked. "How am I going to pay for my bills? And with the baby on the way, I know my expenses would double, if not triple! There's no way I can afford that without a job!"

"Shut up, Gaki!" She snapped. "Who told you to have unprotected sex in the first place?"

"We were drunk!"

"Still your fault!" She sighed. "Look, Naruto. I'm still you're grandmother no matter how much I don't like you calling me that. And I'm not going to abandon you like how your boyfriend did."

"He's not my boyfriend," came a muffled reply but Tsunade ignored him.

"So I'm assigning you to be my assistant." Naruto looked up at this, obviously startled. "You will be assisting me on paper works and all of my Hokage duties, and this will also serve as your training as my successor – training that will continue even after you give birth, in which by the time, only a few more months and you will be eighteen; your inheritance from your parents would be unfrozen and everything would land to you."

"Baa-chan-"

"But even then, we shall go with this arrangement as soon as possible. This way, you will still continue to have a stable job for your kid. At the same time, we can start your training which was, by the way, supposedly started three weeks ago as per the Council's decision – but you were almost nowhere to be found, turns out that you were sick."

Naruto couldn't keep it in anymore. He cried again, this time out of joy and relief. He was pregnant, yes, and he was scared. But Tsunade was still here for him, supporting him even if Sasuke wouldn't, and for that, he was grateful. Furthermore, his pregnancy had given way to his dream of becoming a Hokage.

"Baa-chan…" He choked. "I… I don't know what to…"

Suddenly, Tsunade was embracing him again. "Ssh, enough, Naruto. It's bad for the baby." The boy looked at her with a watery smile and Tsunade couldn't stop her own smile from showing. "Now, why don't you go shop baby books and have a rest for the day?"

"Okay. Okay." Naruto nodded and wiped his tears, though a few drops still relentlessly fall down. "Thank you, baa-chan."

When the blonde enigma was gone, Tsunade slumped back on her own chair with a shake of her head. At the same time that the door clicked shut, she noticed that their eavesdropper had gone too. She frowned at this. Trust the Uchiha to sneak around instead of facing the world head on. She would have to commend on him still, because he was trying to see how Naruto is no matter how roundabout his ways are. If not, then he should have left as soon as he realized that Naruto was here.

She shook her head again. Maybe lovers these days really are just complex for me.

…

Sasuke looked up the starry skies and cursed for the umpteenth time. He didn't know what to think and it seemed to be his trend these days.

It wasn't intentional. He didn't even know that Naruto would be there at the Hokage's office. He just wanted to ask for an expert's explanation on how it could happen. And then, when he arrived outside the window of the Hokage's office, Naruto was already there, announcing to Tsunade that he's keeping the kid. He suppressed his chakra as much as he could upon recognizing Naruto's voice – he didn't want another confrontation so soon.

Then Tsunade started her explanations.

To be perfectly honest, Sasuke couldn't believe what he just heard. He scoffed when he heard the term Hermaphrodite, and he mentally reminded himself that all of those were just assumptions. Still, it was the closest explanation that he could probably accept because really, there was no denying that Naruto is pregnant. With his child… A child that neither of them knew how to raise.

Yes, he heard Naruto's quiet admittance that he didn't know what to do and he also heard how Tsunade pointed out that he abandoned Naruto. Sasuke had to admit his feelings – not that he had any brother left to prove his strength to by not feeling anything; but he was shaken when he heard that accusation – he never intended to abandon Naruto. More than that though, he couldn't repel from his mind the sound of the dobe's small voice because Naruto should be exuberant, full of life, happy. He shouldn't be this lost, this unsure… But then again, Naruto never had parents.

Unlike me.

Sasuke groaned and rolled on the ground to turn on his mother's tombstone which was on his right. It was a long time since he last came here, and for what? Because he didn't know what was the right decision. A decision that Naruto didn't force him to make because he 'didn't deserve it'.

He scoffed.

He had to admit though, that aside from those things, he was also rattled at how good Naruto read him. In a sense, what Naruto said was right – he knows him so much better no matter how much he denies. And deny, Sasuke did. He had denied it for so long that he started to think Naruto was bluffing, but he was proven wrong earlier. And Sasuke was stunned at how precise Naruto's thoughts were. Once again, the blonde was proven to be special – an exemption to all his rules because, really, who could guess what he really was thinking inside aside from Naruto?

And he was now having a child with that special person.

In reality, he couldn't understand why he was being so hesitant. Naruto had already agreed to shoulder the responsibility alone. He didn't force Sasuke to be with him, to be a father, to commit. So then, why in the world was he still over thinking things?

Sasuke didn't know and he couldn't find any answers even when the first rays of sun was already peeking the horizon.

With a grunt, he reluctantly forced himself off the ground because even though he didn't like his current mission of being Naruto's bodyguard, it was still a mission that he had to do. So with one last bow to his mother and father, he set off to the boy's apartment.

He arrived at the perfectly hidden position on a roof directly overseeing Naruto's open bedroom window fifteen minutes past six.

Really, why doesn't he close his window?

But then again, anyone who knew Naruto wouldn't dare sneak up on him with the intention of a fight. That would just be plain suicide. However, the situation now is different from before. According to Tsunade, Naruto wasn't allowed to exert any amount of Chakra. Add the fact that he couldn't do any rigorous movements, then the blonde Dobe was as vulnerable as a newborn.

He heard a groan coming from the inside and Sasuke stilled in an instant. Naruto squirmed in his sleep and, even without the sharingan on, Sasuke saw how pale the blonde was, how beads of sweat rolled off his forehead, and how dry his lips were. He kept writhing against his blankets and Sasuke thought the Dobe was having a nightmare. He was surprised though when, not a beat later, Naruto bolted out of his bed and ran out.

Sasuke quieted his breathing, his neck craning over the edge to hear what was happening inside the apartment. Everything was quiet for a while sans the banging of the doors. And then suddenly, there was a loud retching sound that made Sasuke's skin crawl.

It sounded so painful…

His thoughts whirled a thousand thoughts a minute. According to what he read the last few days, pregnant women – well, man, in this situation – has a tendency for morning sickness. Sasuke actually doubted that the normally lively Dobe would get so weak as to puke every morning, but he had seen him vomit before and if there was still any lingering doubt in his mind before, then this one clears it up. The Dobe was very pregnant, sick, and no one was there with him. As usual, he was alone. There was a clenching inside him, knowing that he should have been there.

When Naruto got back to the bedroom, Sasuke's frown deepened. Especially because the dobe pathetically crawled back to his bed with glistening tears in his face.

Sasuke couldn't stand the sight of that so he turned away with a curse.

…

Again, Naruto's morning started with a queasy feeling followed by vomiting. He instantly got up without much of a thought when he recognized the symptoms and ran to his bathroom. It was painful, he felt dizzy, and his body felt so heavy. He crawled back to his bed, feeling pathetic and lonesome and he just couldn't fight the tears that escaped. Doubt started to fill his mind – he honestly didn't know if he could continue feeling like this.

However, the sudden thought of abortion was suddenly snuffed out as soon as it came and he cried more, apologizing to his baby profusely. Maybe it was the hormones talking, or maybe he really thought about giving up, but then his sanity came back almost instantly and he felt awful for even thinking that.

"I'm sorry, baby." He whispered, his hands rubbing circles in his abdomen. "I won't do it again."

When he closed his eyes, he saw a black-haired, blue-eyed boy laughing merrily with him.

The next time that he opened his eyes, he noticed almost immediately the dark sky and he vaguely realized that he just slept the whole day. A few moments later, a knock resounded throughout his dark apartment and he knew it was the knocking that woke him up.

He didn't bolt up his bed immediately like he was prone to doing before. Instead, he evaluated his body first. He checked if he felt queasy, if he was dizzy, and if he needed to visit the bathroom again; but no, he felt fine although sluggish. With a care that no one knew him capable of, he sat up straight and carefully trotted his way to the door. Usually, he never bothered to check who was on the other side of the door, but this time was different so he bolted the chains first before opening a small space enough for him to peek.

"Naruto!" It was Sakura.

"Sakura-chan!" He smiled at her before closing his door and removing his chains. This time, he opened his door wide to let a smiling Sakura in. "Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?"

Sakura was absolutely glowing as she smiled before she pounced on Naruto with a tight hug. Naruto, startled beyond belief and wary for his position, maneuvered himself and took a step back until he was against the wall. He didn't want to fall off the floor on his butt; that would just be risky.

"Oh, Naruto!" Sakura squealed from his chest. "Congratulations!"

The moment that word left her mouth, Naruto immediately stilled. Did she know of his condition? He didn't want anyone to find out for now. He wanted to savor his moment and be alone with his thoughts – and he really didn't want anyone to know. Did Tsunade tell her then? No, Tsunade wouldn't do that no matter how much Sakura would pester her. Patient's confidentiality was protocol and Tsunade wouldn't ever break that.

"W-what do you mean?"

"Oh, silly!" Sakura laughed and detached herself from him. "I came straight from Tsunade's office, you know. And she told me to remind you that you had just ditched your first day of lesson as her assistant!"

Naruto's eyebrows rose. Right. He forgot that his training started today.

"I can't believe you did it, Naruto!" Sakura continued to gush. "Your dream is coming true! Oh, congratulations!" And she pounced on the poor blonde again.

There was a chuckle from Naruto's doorway and the two teenagers whirled to face Kakashi. He was standing there, his orange book in his hands, but his single eye was smiling at them. "Sakura, you really shouldn't do that to Naruto."

Naruto's heart thudded painfully at his chest. Kakashi knew…!

Sakura looked confused at first but then carted it off to the back of her mind. She thought maybe it was just one of Kakashi's weird tendencies. And for that, Naruto was grateful. He really didn't want anyone else to know. Not now.

"Well, Naruto," Kakashi continued with a certain glint in his eyes. "Here is a gift from us." He held up a basket from behind him – a basket full of assorted fruits.

Naruto's throat suddenly felt dry and he could feel the beginning of panic consume him. Kakashi definitely knew!

Kakashi noticed the internal chaos in Naruto though and he frowned. "Now, Naruto, no need to fret. It's bad for the health." Naruto's hand immediately flew to his stomach – Kakashi definitely saw that – before giving a nod.

"Kakashi," Sakura interrupted the staring contest. "What in the world are you talking about? Is Naruto ill?"

It was Kakashi's brow to rise. He couldn't believe that Sakura missed all of Naruto's symptoms. But then again, who would normally think a sick guy is pregnant? He supposed it was sort of understandable, but really, she didn't notice how ill Naruto was these past few weeks? Kakashi shook his head. "I'll put this in the kitchen."

The two watched their sensei made his way to the kitchen and the two mechanically followed.

"But Naruto," Sakura frowned. "Are you really sick? We actually bought the fruits because knowing you, you might not be eating something healthy."

Naruto nervously laughed at that and scratched his face. "No, don't worry Sakura-chan. I'm not sick."

She looked at him apprehensively for a long time, not really buying everything he said – he was pale. But then she thought that maybe she was just getting paranoid. So she shook her head and smiled. "Well, if you say so. Just tell us if you need anything, alright?"

He laughed. "Okay."

The two of them stayed for dinner after that and Naruto was glad to have company. Normally, he was the one seeking people out for dinner. This time though, Sakura and Kakashi were the ones to purposely come to him. They talked about everything and anything over dinner, they laughed and threw jives here and there – mainly at Kakashi, all the while, Naruto was careful of his bearing.

"By the way, Naruto," Sakura started. "Does Sasuke know of the good news?"

Naruto almost choked on his food. Really, the way she said it could be misleading. But then again, she didn't know of his condition. His eyes accidentally turned to Kakashi and Naruto was peeved to see amusement in his single eye. He shook his head and turned to Sakura instead. "I haven't really seen him yet."

Sakura frowned. "I really don't know what's happening to that guy. We rarely see him the past few days too, starting that time that the both of you skipped practice." She sent him a glare at the end of her sentence.

"Maybe he just has a lot to think of," Kakashi offered with a mysterious smile.

"Really," she scoffed. "Hasn't anyone ever told him that sometimes, over thinking things through won't get him anywhere?"

"Maa, maa, Sakura. The guy will come around."

Naruto saw the not so subtle look that Kakashi threw his way and he was about to retort back when there was a pounding on his door. It was so loud that Naruto actually jumped from his seat with wide eyes.

"What the heck? Does this guy want to break my door or something?" He grumbled all the way as he stomped his way towards the door. When he was there, he yanked it open with more force than necessary, ready to snarl at the rude bastard who was getting in the way of his good time. Unfortunately for him, all words got stuck at the base of his throat when he recognized the shadow standing on his front door.

"Sasuke," he breathed.

…

Sasuke was normally known for his patience. Between him and Naruto, he could almost say that he got an endless patience. However, in reality and in the face of something really important, the patience that he was normally known for would always, always vanish.

He wanted to wait. Really, he did. He had almost perfect control as he watched Naruto slept, unconsciously writhing in pain, curling against himself in an attempt to alleviate what pain he was feeling. At that, Sasuke was proud that he didn't lose his head.

However, when two very annoying teammates woke Naruto up with Kakashi waving at him, Sasuke felt his patience cut almost immediately. Maybe the patience that he had was just because Naruto was still asleep; maybe it came from the knowledge the he wouldn't be able to talk to Naruto with the dobe sleeping like a log. And then, when said blonde was woken up, the patience that he had thought he had control over thinned at the same time his mind screamed for a talk.

But he endured the call. He didn't want to have a confrontation in front of Sakura and Kakashi; Sakura because he knew that the girl would blab off to Ino – and with Ino knowing, everyone in Konoha would soon know; Kakashi because the weird mentor would probably tease him until the day he dies – and he wanted to stall as much as possible.

He waited for an hour. An hour which turned to two but the two annoyances were still hovering inside.

Sasuke didn't want to wait any longer. He didn't want to have more time of thinking that would probably have him second-guessing things again. So with his mind damning his two teammates, he stalked over Naruto's front door and banged.

While he waited, he thought of different tortures that would sure make Kakashi learn his lesson. The guy knew that he was out there, waiting, he even waived at him! And still, he had the guts to stall inside when he knew that Sasuke never wanted audiences in his personal life! That irked him to no end. He thought of burning all Icha Icha books available – but Jiraiya was the author and Naruto would probably be sad by the loss of it even if he doesn't read them himself. It was out of question. Then maybe he could go send all of Kakashi's perverted books to Iruka? God knows how much Iruka loathed the thing. And if what he witnessed was true, then Kakashi would have a hard time wooing back the normally docile teacher – who often turned as the devil himself in the rare occasions that he gets pissed.

Sasuke smirked.

If booby traps and such have no effect on Kakashi, then Iruka's wrath would undoubtedly do the job. After all-

All thoughts running inside his head halted the moment the door was wrenched open and his smirk fell. He just hoped that his mask was intact. Last time when he was talking to Naruto, he didn't know how open his face had been – only to be discovered a little later by accident when he heard him talking to the Hokage.

"Sasuke," Naruto breathed and Sasuke felt that painful squeeze in his chest again. Naruto had bags under his eyes and a little red on the edges, his complexion pale, his lips almost blue, his hair matted down. If it was any other person, they might think that Naruto was just out of his wits, that maybe he was just experiencing a bad day. But Sasuke wasn't any other person. He saw as clear as day how Naruto was being affected.

And then Naruto smiled at him. In that instance, Sasuke knew that he was doing the right thing.

"Hey, Teme," Naruto said. "What are you doing here? You look pathetic."

A scowl made its way to Sasuke's forehead. If he was pathetic, what about him?

Not a single word left Sasuke's mouth however, and Naruto immediately got that something was wrong. "Why don't you come in? You look like an idiot standing there."

Sasuke robotically entered the apartment without looking away from the blonde Dobe. This, Naruto noticed, and it made him uncomfortable. He supposed he would never get used to Sasuke staring so hard at him – maybe no one would. Sasuke's eyes just naturally made anyone squirming under that intense gaze. A flash of memory of that night passed through Naruto's thoughts for an instant and he blushed, mentally shaking his head to repel the image.

His eyes darted to look at his stunned guests. Sakura was standing near his couch, her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open, and her stance was tensed – as if she was getting ready to break a fight if necessary. But Naruto knew that it wouldn't lead to anything physical – or at least he hoped so. He didn't know if he would ever forgive Sasuke should he lose his child because of him.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was leaning casually in the hallway leading to the kitchen. He looked relax, but really, the tension hanging over his shoulders was almost palpable.

"Um," he called out to his earlier guests. "Would you mind leaving us alone for a while?"

"No," Sakura instantly answered. There was a glint on her eyes as she glared at Sasuke. "I'm not leaving you alone, Naruto."

"Sakura-chan…" He pleaded with his eyes but Sakura wouldn't turn to him. He looked at Kakashi, but his previous mentor was no better. Naruto sighed. "Then would you at least give us some privacy? You can stay here in the living room. Sasuke-teme and I are gonna go to my room."

"What?!"

"Really, Sakura-chan. You will know if anything bad happens from here, right?" Naruto exasperatedly said. "I just need a few moments alone with him."

There was a minute of terse silence before Sakura grudgingly nodded. Naruto smiled at them before leading Sasuke to his room. It was a bad move though because the moment he entered his bedroom, memories kept resurfacing. He remembered the heat, the sweat, the musky smell, the groans, the movements, and the pleasure. A mad blush covered his face in an instant and he felt ashamed for remembering those in such a time.

With the way Sasuke smirked though, it seemed that his remembrance was so obvious.

"What?!" Naruto snapped, a poor attempt to hide his embarrassment because it only amused Sasuke more.

"Nothing, Dobe," Sasuke chortled. "It wasn't me who was remembering."

"Shut up, Teme!" The blonde flushed at the acknowledgement from his best friend. He took mouthful of air and tried to settle down but the red hue just wouldn't go down. So with as much dignity as he could muster, he bravely proceeded with the matter at hand. "Really, though, why are you here? Is there any problem?" Numerous scenarios ran through his mind and Naruto sobered. "Are you alright?"

Sasuke couldn't believe how Naruto had come to the conclusion that there was something wrong with him just because he went here. It seemed that Naruto really was trying to keep things between them on how they used to be. Naruto didn't even consider that he might have been here because he wanted to talk to him regarding their situation.

"Come on, Teme," Naruto frowned. "You didn't come here just to stare at me, did you?"

"Naruto," Sasuke's voice came out wrong. It was raspy and deep. It was so surprising that the two of them immediately froze. Sasuke for accidentally coating his word with emotions, and Naruto for hearing said emotions.

Tension hung in the air and no one bothered to talk at all. Naruto was left staring at the young Uchiha with wonder, his heart pounding against his rib cage. He didn't know if he liked seeing Sasuke like this – because Naruto just had a feeling that something was happening. Something that he wasn't prepared for. Or was he just getting awkward? He wasn't kidding when he said that he wanted things to remain as they were between the two of them – but what's this? Why was he feeling uncomfortable in the silence when usually, he would just beat the information out of the bastard?

"Naruto," Sasuke tried again. This time, all of coherent thoughts left Naruto. "I'm… I'm still confused."

The blonde immediately understood. Wide-eyed, Naruto shook his head. "I'm not stringing you along, Sasuke."

"You don't understand! I…" Sasuke frowned and looked at Naruto's feet. He had practiced what to say when he was watching Naruto sleep earlier, so where are the words now? How come he didn't know how to start, what to say? He took a deep breath and combed his hair back, stalling time as he searched for the words inside him. "You know me, Naruto. You know that I'm a bastard. I don't… I don't know if I can change that. For you."

Naruto, still confused, took a shaky breath. "I don't understand, Sasuke. I don't… I'm not demanding you to change or anything."

"I know," Sasuke took a step forward and Naruto gathered all courage to remain rooted to where he stood. "I know. And I'm grateful to you for that."

The blonde was really starting to feel uneasy. It wasn't normal for Sasuke to admit what he was feeling, never mind voice it out. He tried to laugh it off, but his eyes were still wide. "Sasuke, y-your soul is showing."

"Shut up and listen, Dobe," Sasuke growled and closed the remaining distance between him and the blonde. With speed, he grasped on Naruto's wrist and held it in place. "I… I don't know if I'm going to be a good parent." At this, Naruto's mouth opened as if to say something, so Sasuke covered it with his free hand. "I told you to listen." He quietly hissed and Naruto nodded. Still, Sasuke didn't remove his hand. "I'm not good with this emotional stuff so shut up before I change my mind. I'm not going to repeat this again.

"The thing is I'm not exactly the… perfect model… for a kid. You know all the shitty things that happened in my life. And you know me… I snap at you more often than not. I beat you up when you're being stupid." Naruto glared at this and Sasuke smirked. "And you know how much we fight. I know that we're not going to stop fighting in the world, Naruto. I'm a bastard like that. But…"

Sasuke unconsciously dried his lips, an action that immediately caught Naruto's eyes. For a moment, Sasuke watched as Naruto kept on staring at his lips and God only knew how much he took delight at that. When blue eyes crawled back to his eyes again, the flush was almost instantaneous. Sasuke liked that too. He guessed this wouldn't really be that difficult. After all, he already liked Naruto aplenty. He really was the only person he could stand to be with and really, if he was to imagine being together with anyone, he guessed Naruto was the obvious answer. The attraction was already there, the comfort in his presence, the willingness to be open… and that really was all that Sasuke needed for now.

He smiled at the thought, something that got a wide-eyed reaction from the blonde again.

"But," he continued, "I want to try this."

The raven felt Naruto stilled against him, and even with his free hand covering the dobe's mouth, he still felt the sharp intake of breath.

"Naruto, it will be difficult – maybe even more difficult with me there. It will be a trial and error with the both of us. I might do something stupid with raising the kid, so you'll have to correct me. But I want to try." When Sasuke still couldn't get any other reaction from the blonde, doubt started to fill his mind. Maybe Naruto really just didn't want to be with him in this life-time commitment? What if he didn't appreciate Sasuke barging in his life like this? They are best friends, sure, but who's to say that Naruto wanted to have anything to do with him aside from that? After all, he knew himself that he was a bastard. "That is," Sasuke's mind whirled, "if you would take me?"

Naruto's mind immediately went back to his body when he heard the insecurity in Sasuke's voice. So what he was feeling earlier was right, something that he wasn't prepared for really was happening. But this is good, right? Sasuke was willing to be with him, to try things together with him. Still…

He removed Sasuke's hand covering his mouth with his free hand and he noticed how Sasuke unconsciously held that hand too. "Sasuke," he weakly called out, his brows in a frown, his eyes searching obsidian eyes. "Sasuke, this isn't a one-month mission. Do you… do you realize that this is a thing for life?"

"I know," Sasuke whispered, unconsciously leaning his forehead against Naruto's, either of them not noticing, both of them not closing their eyes.

"Sasuke…" Naruto gulped. "This isn't something that… that when you don't want it anymore, you can easily leave…"

"I know."

"Y-you'll be stuck with… with me…" Naruto wondered why his sight blurred and his voice croaked. He just absently noticed that Sasuke freed one of his hands to cup his face.

"I'm not doing this if it were anyone but you."

"But it's… forever. I don't..." Naruto sniffed and he was horrified to realize that he was sobbing like a woman. He raised both his hands to wipe his eyes and he sobbed harder. At the back of his mind, he damned the hormones for turning him into such a pathetic sap. He ignored a traitorous voice inside him that sounded terribly like the Kyuubi, telling him that he would still cry even without the hormones affecting him – all if it's because of the Uchiha. "What if… what if you realize that you don't… that you don't want to be with me, to be with us anymore? Y-you're still young, Sasuke… What if… what if you find someone…? I don't know if…"

"Naruto," Sasuke didn't like seeing tears in Naruto's face. It was a foreign thing that was unwelcome. More so because it was causing him pain with Naruto like this. He didn't know what to do, really. He had never comforted anyone in his life. The only thing that he cared to know before he even defected was how to cheer-up, placate, or surprise Naruto by buying him Ramen – which is out of the option right now. With much deliberation, he slowly wounded his arms around the shaking blonde. However, the blonde wouldn't stop crying.

Sasuke cursed his pride this one time and sighed. "Dobe, listen," Naruto didn't look at him, his face still buried against his chest but Sasuke knew the blonde could hear him. "I'm not going to repeat this again, alright? But…" Sasuke inwardly cursed again and if Naruto looked up, he would've seen the faint pink in Sasuke's cheeks – a sure sign of his embarrassment. "I've never imagined myself to be with anyone but you. Not before, when we were young, or when I was with Orochimaru. Not now, and I'm fairly sure not in the future. And if, in the eighteen years of my life, I've never met anyone I'm willing to be open with except with you who I've known almost all my life, do you really think I would let some idiot I would meet in the streets – who wouldn't even last in a sparring session with me and couldn't even possibly bear my faults – in my life?" Sasuke suddenly felt Naruto trying to look at him – he didn't want that, for the sake of what remaining pride he had – so he held the blonde head further against his chest. "Don't look!" he hissed.

Naruto tried to comprehend what had just been said. When he realized what the teme was saying, fresh bouts of tears escaped his eyes. But he nodded. "Okay," he whispered. "Okay."

The two of them stood like that, pressed against each other, for who knows how long. When Sasuke noticed that the trembling of Naruto's shoulders stopped and his stance slackened, he was first startled. He thought the blonde had passed out again – something that he was really prone to doing in Sasuke's presence. Fortunately, upon closer inspection, he looked like he was only sleeping.

Carefully – and Sasuke wouldn't admit this to anyone – he maneuvered Naruto and cradled him against his chest before gently laying him down the bed. He noticed the blonde stir and Sasuke all but stopped moving. When he was sure the blonde was in deep sleep again, he pulled the covers over the blonde. And, in a spur of the moment, his hands – as if it had its own mind – gently caressed scarred cheeks.

Yeah, I think being together with him wouldn't be that difficult.

When he stepped out of Naruto's bedroom, Sakura and Kakashi's head immediately whipped towards him. Now, Sasuke was a very private person. He didn't want outsiders butting in his own business. That was for the usual stuff though – this is different. These two are a part of Naruto's pseudo family and Sasuke knew that his usual ways wouldn't cut it – he would have to tell them something. Although Naruto never demanded him to change, Sasuke knew that he had to adjust and compromise. He wasn't a child, he knew what he had to do and he was set on achieving that no matter how hard. He had been hell-bent on revenge before and he achieved it – these things would just fall under the very same determination.

"Sasuke," Kakashi's voice cut through his musings. "I hope you didn't do anything stupid."

Sasuke glared at that and was immediately offended. Here he was, thinking of ways to adjust and Kakashi just had to rub him the wrong way. "I didn't do anything stupid, Kakashi," he spat. And then, with a softer tone, he said, "I'm going to stay here. With him." He didn't know if Naruto wanted them to know of his pregnancy immediately so for now, the only thing that he could do was announce that he would be with Naruto.

"Sasuke," Sakura whispered with a frown, "what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said, Sakura. I'm staying here. And I want to be together with him."

"As in… together-together?"

Sasuke watched in wide eye as Sakura's eyes glinted before whirling to Kakashi with a smirk. "I think you owe me fifty bucks, Sensei. They got together within the year of Sasuke's return. You said it would be in two years!"

Kakashi groaned and fished his wallet, grumbling all the while about cheaters and bad luck as he retrieved the required amount. It didn't take a genius for Sasuke to know that he had been the object of a bet.

He scowled. "What the fuck is this?"

"Tsk, tsk," Kakashi waved a finger. "Language, Sasuke, language. You should practice while it's early. You don't want little kids picking it up, do you?"

Sasuke was startled again. Kakashi knew! But then again, when was the last time that Kakashi didn't know of anything? His glared intensified at this. "I don't appreciate you meddling into my affairs, Kakashi."

"I'm not meddling, Sasuke. I'm just reminding you of what's to come."

"What are you guys talking about?" Sakura asked, confused. Her earlier victory dance had stopped when she heard of a peculiar talk of her two teammates. When none of them answered, she just rolled her eyes. This particular action caught Sasuke's attention.

"Don't tell this to anyone for now," he demanded. "I'm not sure if Naruto would want this known."

Sakura actually laughed at that. "Gosh, Sasuke, you talk as if no one ever saw this coming!" In Sasuke's blank stare, she continued. "Oh, for the love of… I mean, even before you defected, you guys always had been inside your own little world – a space where no one else could come in. Not I or Kakashi – and we were your teammates! And then, when you left, Naruto had been running after you – and he says that he was in love with me? Oh please! Who was he kidding? You don't say that and then do something else entirely. As for you, during those times, he really was the only one that you talked to. You scoffed at me, you insulted Kakashi, but you talked to Naruto. He was the only one to ever break your silence, Sasuke. So, really? You don't think we didn't see this coming? We practically saw this a mile away!"

"One can even say it was prophesied," Kakashi quipped in.

Sasuke felt something warm bubble inside him, something that he recognized as embarrassment. In the deeper parts of him though, he felt some sort of contentment. They just practically announced that he and Naruto were meant to be together – it was embarrassing and satisfying at the same time. When he saw the knowing grin and raised eyebrows from the two before him though, he immediately froze his facial muscles before clearing his throat. "Anyway, for now, it's better if no one else know. Not until we know what Naruto wants. But right now, he's sleeping and I want to keep it that way."

"Maa, Sasuke," Kakashi chuckled. "Is that a heart I'm seeing?"

Sakura laughed with him. "Don't glare at us, Sasuke. We might've seen this coming but we're not used in seeing you care. Naruto might be used to it but not us, so you'll have to forgive us."

"Whatever, you guys go home. Your noise might wake up the dobe."

"Aww," the girl cooed, "I didn't' peg you to be a sweet boyfriend."

"Okay, okay," Kakashi immediately butted in when he saw Sasuke's glare turned up a notch again. He held Sakura's shoulders and stirred her towards the front door. "We're not going to tell anyone else. It's your business after all. So, we're leaving now. We don't want your dobe waking up, do we?"

There was a whistling sound as a Kunai hit the door frame.

"Bye, lover boy!" Sakura teased some more, her laughter echoing down the hallways as they walked away.

…

Sasuke immediately grabbed his kunai and rolled down the floor. He stayed in a crouch as his mind caught up to that something that woke him up. Sharingan swirling, he looked at every corner of the living room but only silence greeted him. His eyes turned to the clock – it was 5:13 in the morning. He was about to stand up and lay back down on the couch when he heard a groan.

What's that?

With the kunai in front of him, he waited for the sound to resurface again and this time, he followed where it came from. To his immense surprise, the groan came from inside the bedroom. It was then that Sasuke's mind reeled and remembered Naruto, the situation that he was in, and the pain that he must be feeling. He all but barged in the bedroom and found the blonde curled against himself, beads of sweat glistening against the morning sun, and complexion a sickly green.

Sasuke bolted out to the kitchen and opened all cabinets and drawers looking for a basin but couldn't find any. When his hand got a hold of a glass, he wondered if that would be enough but mentally punched himself for being stupid.

Of course it's not enough!

A little bit panicky, he ran to the bathroom and found a small orange pail that was used for mopping and, with the speed of a ninja, he all but threw the things inside, rinsed the pail, before running out. While he was running, he saw the kitchen again and thought about a glass of water which Naruto would undoubtedly need. So again, with speed that was not supposed to be used in a narrow space – and so he banged on each corners that he passed through, although he didn't notice – he filled the glass with drinkable water before dashing back to the bedroom.

Naruto was still on the same position that he saw him earlier.

He placed the pail beside the bed and the glass of water on the bedside table before turning to the blonde. With gentle hands, he shook Naruto's shoulders while the other wiped the sweat off his face. "Naruto," he called out.

Blue eyes peeked and the green in his face intensified. The blonde tried to sit up, but his body felt like a lead; the only thing he could do was to cover his mouth with his hand.

"Here, sit up. Slowly," Sasuke helped Naruto. He reached his free hand and grabbed the pail off the floor before placing it in front of Naruto. When the blonde took it in his grasp, Sasuke shifted so he was sitting behind the blonde. One of his hands was clutching Naruto's arm while the other was gently rubbing circles on his back. Lo and behold, the retching started.

When he was sure that Naruto was finished with his business, Sasuke noticed that he failed to remember to bring a towel. He knew that he couldn't leave Naruto alone without cleaning him first because the blonde would roll back to bed without doing it, so Sasuke removed the shirt that he was wearing and used it to wipe Naruto's face.

Naruto, of course, was shocked although only a bit was shown on his face. He didn't know that Sasuke would do these things for anyone – much less him: the deadlast. He was too tired to question though so he just let his best friend do his work.

He was again pleasantly surprised when a glass of water was presented before him, and really, Naruto tried not to cry, but his will failed him and a few tears lingered in his eyes. "Thank you," he weakly muttered after rinsing his mouth and drinking what was left of the clean water.

"It's fine," Sasuke's tone was firm, but Naruto heard the gentleness. "Do you have anything planned today?" He asked as he helped Naruto lay back down on the bed.

"I have a meeting with Tsunade at ten," the blonde answered.

"Hn," A hand unconsciously brushed golden locks. "I'll wake you up at nine. It's only pass five right now. Do you want to eat anything in particular?"

"Uh…" Naruto looked away, a pink tinge on his cheeks. "It's… it's fine, Sasuke… I'll make my own."

"Dobe," Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Y-you wouldn't like to hear it…"

"Just tell me. It's not ramen, is it?"

Naruto's face scrunched. "No, I don't like that stuff for now."

"Then what do you want to eat?"

"F-fish…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "So that's-"

"Fish cooked in soy sauce with… with s-strawberry jam…"

Sasuke froze. "You're kidding."

Naruto blushed at this and attempted to cover his face with his blankets but Sasuke was sitting on it and he couldn't pull it more. Cornered with no escape, he looked back at Sasuke's wide eyes and shook his head. "That's what I've been eating in the mornings…"

The two of them stared at each other for the longest of time until Sasuke couldn't help it any longer. He laughed at the sheer absurdness of Naruto's cravings and at the deer-caught-in-the-light look in Naruto's face.

"Teme!" Naruto growled but with his face flaming red, the viciousness was all but gone. "It's not funny!"

"Sorry, sorry," Sasuke's laugh was reduced to snickers. "But really?"

Naruto frowned. "I can't help but have strawberry jam or strawberries in any food that I eat… Yesterday, I even fried the meat in strawberries… I swear, this pregnancy is turning me in such a weirdo."

"Dobe, you're already weird even without the strawberries," Sasuke smirked in which Naruto glared at. "I'll make it. Now, sleep. I'll wake you up at nine."

Naruto brightly smiled at him and for a moment, Sasuke forgot to stand up. "Okay," the blonde breathed out with closed eyes.

Sasuke shook his head when he saw that the blonde was already fast asleep. He stood up and grabbed the pail before making his way out of the room. He had some serious cleaning to do and some freaky food to prepare. He snickered again.

…

One early morning, Sasuke was woken up not by a pained groan but by Naruto softly shaking him. It was six in the morning and Naruto wanted to go to the market. Sasuke mechanically did his morning routine with a sleepy blank stare. And really, he was actually out of it that when he was back to his wits, he just realized that Naruto was already spewing fire at the strawberry vendor.

"I told you not to remove the stems!" Naruto growled.

"B-but, Naruto-san," Sasuke's ears perked up at this. He didn't know that Naruto was well-known even among the non-ninja population. "The stems are dirty a-and we have to remove it."

"Didn't you hear me?" Naruto's eyed narrowed further. "I don't care! Don't remove it!"

Sasuke thought it was uncharacteristic of Naruto to be that rude to anyone – especially a civilian. When he felt Naruto's chakra fluctuate though, he immediately stepped in. "Just give him what he wants," he emotionlessly told the vendor.

"U… Uchiha-san!" The guy stuttered. "B-but the stems are soiled, Uchiha-san. We don't want to offer a dirty product!"

"Tsk," Sasuke's eyes narrowed when he heard Naruto's low growl. "Just give me the damn thing. We want it just the way it is."

Of course, whoever survived the Uchiha glare without withering? So with a defeated sigh, the vendor packed the strawberries and handed it to the now beaming blonde.

On their way home, Sasuke pondered what was wrong with the Dobe. It wasn't really every day that he saw Naruto genuinely angry to the point that his chakra fluctuated. Was Naruto really going to attack that vendor? It was all too unreal in Sasuke's opinion – and absurd. Naruto was never one to actually hurt anyone except perhaps if they were enemies. The merchant earlier was hardly an enemy though.

He tailed Naruto to the kitchen when they got back, and to his surprise, Naruto took a stool, sat up comfortably, and started to remove the stems of the strawberries.

Sasuke frowned. What was the point of arguing with the merchant earlier if Naruto was going to remove it anyway? He carefully sat from across Naruto and watched the blonde happily pluck the stems and leaves from the strawberries. However, the surprise didn't stop at that. After making sure that no more stems were there, Naruto stood up to wash the strawberries. That wasn't surprising. What was surprising was what he did next: he grabbed a kunai – kunai! – and sliced the strawberries in small even proportions.

When he was done, he removed the uneven edges and focused on the tiny squares of the same size. He stared at it before nodding to himself with a smile. That was when he looked up to meet Sasuke's inquiring eyes. Sasuke never noticed but he actually flinched when blue eyes twinkled at him.

"Eat it," Naruto demanded with a smile.

"What?"

The blonde gestured to the perfect cubes. "Go on, eat it."

Sasuke didn't know what to do. Again. He couldn't understand this peculiar behavior from his Dobe. Naruto kept staring at him with expectant shining eyes though so Sasuke carefully inched his hand closer to one of the cubes. Blue eyes followed his hand movement and when he almost touched the cube, Naruto slapped his hand away with a laugh.

Sasuke was confused. Didn't Naruto ask him to eat it?

"Use the toothpick, teme," Naruto smiled.

Toothpick?! Sasuke was visibly flabbergasted. He wants me to use a toothpick?!

"Dobe," his eyes narrowed.

Again, Sasuke was floored when Naruto immediately teared up. "Y-you don't want it? B-but I… I made it for you…"

"Uh, right," Sasuke quickly stood up and looked for the toothpick inside the drawers and cabinets. All the while, he was wondering what the hell was happening. He swore that he read something like this somewhere, but for the love of God, he couldn't remember where and what exactly it said!

He found the toothpick and resumed his position across Naruto. His hand – with the toothpick – slowly inched closer to the unsuspecting cube. Onyx eyes, meanwhile, never left the blonde's face to watch for a reaction. When the pink, juicy cube was almost stabbed by the toothpick and Naruto was yet to bawl his eyes, Sasuke sighed and carefully brought it to his mouth.

Naruto beamed at him after he swallowed the thing, small tears still clinging at the edges of his eyes. It was then that Sasuke remembered what the book he lately read about pregnancy said about mood swings. He mentally cursed for forgetting.

He was having a mood swing!

…

Tsunade refused to believe that the damned paper works that she had difficulties sorting out – which she would sometimes in two days' time – was already finished within three hours at Naruto's hands.

So with a carefully blank face, she stomped her way to Naruto's desk, her honey eyes carefully taking in the neatly stacked papers at one corner of the desk. "Naruto," she called out, "Are these the finished documents?"

She watched blue eyes looked at her before the kid smiled and enthusiastically nodded. "Yep!"

"I see," she quietly said. However, she refused to believe that the documents that he finished oh so quickly were really done. She reached out at the top of the documents without a care and brought one of the reports in front of her face. She skimmed the thing from top to bottom, checking if all the things important were filled out and none was missing. Her eyebrows shot up though when she didn't find anything wrong. "Wow, Naruto, I'll have to say: you did go- Naruto?"

The other blonde was staring at the stack of papers. To Tsunade's shock, Naruto began to sniff and large droplets of tears cascaded from his eyes. "N-naruto!"

Big blue eyes full of tears looked up at her. "Y-you ruined it."

"What did I ruin?" The Hokage was panicking.

"The a-arrangement! It was… it was perfect before. But you… y-you ruined it!"

Tsunade's mind whirled. Ruined? 'Ruined' how?

Naruto stared at the stack of papers again – neatly arranged before but now a little bit disarrayed. Tsunade gasped. "O-oh, sorry about that. I'll arrange it for you." So she did. She carefully arranged the papers one by one in a way that all edges came straight together – corner by corner. "H-here. Is this okay?"

Naruto sniffed for one last time and checked the edges. Satisfied, he looked back at her and grinned – which was immediately replaced by a frown. "Ugh," he stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom. My bladder is killing me."

When he was gone, a chuckle echoed in the now quiet room. Tsunade turned to the young Uchiha sitting in the couch, her eyes still wide. When she realized that the boy was laughing at her, she scowled. "What are you laughing at, boy?"

"Nothing," Sasuke replied with a smirk.

The Hokage stared at the Uchiha before her before deflating. "If this is how he reacts on a disarrayed stack of papers, I shudder to think about his reaction if his cravings are not given. I just hope he's not craving on something weird. He doesn't have strange quirks, does he?"

Sasuke's smirk dropped. "You have no idea."

…

When Sasuke woke up, he wondered why the sun was already glaring from up in the sky. He sat up on the couch that he was bunking on here in Naruto's house and thanked whoever was up there that Naruto didn't wake up with a bad disposition.

There was a clinking sound from the kitchen and he warily went there. He was pleasantly surprised though when he saw his dobe cooking something normal for once for there were bacon and eggs on the table. Sasuke quickly regretted thinking it though when the blonde turned around with a plate in hand full of his own fish and strawberry jams.

"Morning, Sasuke," Naruto greeted with a warm smile.

"Morning."

"Come on, sleepyhead," Naruto laughed. "Breakfast is ready."

Sasuke sat down to his usual chair with a yawn. He was about to dig in when he saw a faint movement from across the table: Naruto just nudged a small bowl full of strawberry jam in front of Sasuke.

"What?" The raven asked, not really getting what the dobe wanted.

"Why don't you try dipping your food here?"

Sasuke bit back a remark, thinking how it was one of those days again. He steeled his will and, when he was sure that he wouldn't barf as soon as the food touches his mouth, he dipped his egg in the jam.

Naruto smiled. "It's good, right?"

He mentally grimaced, although his face showed no emotion. "Of course," he answered. Sasuke wondered where the hell he got this seemingly never ending patience from.

…

Sasuke threw a kunai at Kakashi, knowing full well that it would be evaded anyway. Still, it was a good tactic to push the guy to where he wanted him to be. When Kakashi was at the designated 'x' area – in Sasuke's head, anyway – he crouched low and jumped.

That was when a deafening shriek echoed throughout the training grounds. In an instant, Kakashi vanished in front of him. His mind wasn't on that though, he instead looked at where the shriek came from. It was Sakura.

Much to his surprise, Kakashi was behind the girl, gripping both her hands, refraining her from – from what? That was when he saw the hunched figure of his dobe. In the blink of an eye, his arms were already wounded around the blonde.

"You idiot!" Sakura yelled. "What did you think you were doing yanking my hair like that?! Kakashi, let me go! I'm going to slug that idiot over there!" She tried to get away but Kakashi just tightened his grip more. Jade eyes looked back at Kakashi. "What are you doing? Let me go!"

"Sakura, calm down," Kakashi said.

"Calm down? Calm down?! He yanked my hair!"

"B-but…" At Naruto's stuttered words, Sakura looked back at his idiot of a teammate. The only thing she could see though was a little bit of a mop of blonde hair and big blue eyes staring wide at her because Sasuke had conveniently hidden the blonde in his embrace. Now, in any other day, Sakura might have seen this cute and she might have captured this using her camera. But not today. Because Naruto just dared to yank her hair!

"But what?!" She snarled. "You don't pull a girl's hair violently, Naruto."

"I-I just wanted to have a… a taste!"

Sakura gasped. Naruto did, too, and he suddenly looked horrified. She watched as panicky blue eyes looked up at Sasuke.

"Sa-Sasuke! I… I wanted to… to eat it?"

"W-why in the world would you want to eat my hair?" She inquired with a grimace.

"But it looks so pretty. Like a strawberry…"

The girl frowned. Strawberry?

"Dobe," she heard Sasuke's calming voice. She watched too as Naruto looked back at Sasuke – and at the back of her mind, she noticed the difference in their height. "You don't eat a person's hair. Not any hair, really."

"But Sasuke…" To Sakura's surprise, tears leaked out from Naruto's eyes. "Strawberry…"

"Okay, okay," Sasuke whispered before tugging at Naruto's knees so he could carry the blonde. "We're going to eat strawberries."

Naruto nodded and sniffed, his arms wounding around Sasuke's neck. And then the two left in a gush of smoke.

Sakura stood there, her eyes still staring wide at where the two had vanished. She couldn't believe what she just witnessed. Naruto wanted to eat her hair! She knew that Naruto was an idiot most of the times, but to eat her hair? Even Naruto wasn't that weird! And really, who the hell eats hair because it looks like a strawberry? She looked at Kakashi with wide eyes and that was when Kakashi finally released her.

"Kakashi," she whispered, afraid to break the silence. "What the hell is wrong with Naruto?"

"Well," Kakashi snickered. "I'm not really sure."

…

After that little incident, Sakura took it to herself to watch over Naruto any time that she could. It just so happened that an opportunity presented itself a few days later when Chouji invited them over for dinner at the barbecue house. As usual, Shikamaru and Ino was with him – Kiba as well, the glutton – and Sakura didn't know if she could do her observations without anyone noticing. But then again, if another weird thing happens (like The Hair Incident), then she was sure that not only she would stare.

She almost laughed out loud though at the look of their friends' faces when they watched Naruto be attentive to Sasuke. Well, they didn't know of the two's relationship so she guessed being shock by the sudden development was acceptable – even if they did see this one coming, but hey, they thought it would happen in the near future, not now. It was only a year after Sasuke's return after all.

But really, after the initial shock of seeing the two in some sort of action, she discovered it was endearing to look at. Naruto was learning how to be spoiled and Sasuke was learning how to give. It was a good thing because Naruto never experienced being doted upon and Sasuke never attended on anyone aside from himself.

When Ino gasped, she thought of how the girl was over reacting. However, when she was about to nudge Ino, she saw that it wasn't only her who was gaping. Practically everyone in their table was, even Shikamaru. And the reason: Naruto just nudged a strawberry jam to Sasuke – which no one knew where the hell came from.

"Err," Kiba scratched his head. "Where did you get that from? This place doesn't offer that."

Sasuke didn't even blink. "I have it stored in a scroll."

"Huh?" Ino frowned before she looked at Sakura and whispered, "Why would he carry it with him?"

Sakura shrugged, but she figured that with The Hair Incident, Sasuke made a good move carrying strawberries around – or strawberry jam in this case.

There was another bout of gasps and Sakura looked up only to take a sharp intake of breath too. The strawberry jam that Naruto nudged at Sasuke's direction was being used as some sort of a dip by the stoic Uchiha – for the barbecue!

"Uck!" Kiba exclaimed. "That's disgusting!"

Naruto looked at him, shocked, before looking back at Sasuke and asking in a quiet voice. "Y-you don't think it's disgusting… right?"

Sasuke glared at Kiba before discreetly placing his hand behind the blonde. Everyone noticed that though. "No, dobe, it's not disgusting."

"B-but Kiba said…" Naruto's voice croaked. This time, Sakura herself glared at Kiba. She didn't want a crying Naruto. She already saw it once – even if it was because of her – and she didn't want to see it again.

"Don't mind him, Naruto," she said with a sharp look at the dog-boy. "Kiba's an idiot."

When Naruto grinned at her with no trace of sadness in his eyes as if that tension with Kiba didn't really happen, that was when something clicked at the back of her mind.

"Here, Chouji," The blonde nudged another bowl of strawberry jam-dip to the brown-haired boy. "You heard them, it's not disgusting. Try it!"

"So troublesome…" Shikamaru whispered as Chouji hesitantly accepted the jam, a mysterious look in his eyes glinting behind the mask of indifference.

Sakura exchanged a look with Sasuke and she knew her hunch was right.

…

Sasuke stared at the blonde who was sitting beside him, watching a comedy movie. Naruto had an off today and instead of leaving the apartment, the both of them vouched for staying in and have a movie marathon.

It was a good day, if Sasuke could say so himself, and it was a good time to break the news to Naruto.

"Naruto," he called out as he pretended to watch the movie.

"Hmm?"

"I think Sakura and Shikamaru know. Oh, and Kakashi."

"Know what?"

"That you're expecting."

It was amazing how Sasuke – even though his eyes were carefully trained at the movie that he was pretending to watch – saw the flash of movement that Naruto did when he stood up.

"What?!" Naruto screeched. "H-how did-? They know?!"

Sasuke sighed. "After you tried to eat Sakura's hair, of course she was bound to feel something wasn't right. With Kakashi, well, when did he not know anything? And Shikamaru knows anything with the smallest of hint." He tore his eyes away from the TV to watch Naruto's reaction.

The dobe looked confused first, and then horrified, and after a look of epiphany crossed his face, he laughed. "You're right," he said as he carefully sat back down the couch. "Well, since Sakura and Kakashi already knew, I don't see a reason why I should hide it any longer. But! I'm not going to announce it to the others."

Sasuke let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding in before he turned back to the TV again. "That's fine," he said. "It's none of their business anyway."

That night, they invited Sakura and Kakashi over for dinner and officially announced Naruto's pregnancy. Sakura and Kakashi tried to look shock in order to make Naruto happy – because Naruto wanted them to pretend that they didn't know – and really, that was the hardest thing they ever did.

…

One evening, Sasuke came home late due to a meeting with Tsunade about the Uchiha complex and his inheritance. These days, he really couldn't think of anything else to do with it aside from using it for his future family with Naruto. Even that thought alone sent him into a spiral of warm and fuzzy emotions, something that he found out he didn't actually hate during his stay with Naruto.

His good mood was ruined though when he reached the apartment and found no lights open. It shouldn't be because Naruto wasn't in Tsunade's office all day, and Naruto wouldn't go out on his own without Sakura with him – and even then, he would inform Sasuke of his whereabouts in advanced.

Sasuke grabbed his kunai and masked his chakra before moving without any sound. His heart almost stopped though when he opened the front door and he was greeted with messy living room, all furniture weren't where they should have been. The couch was even toppled over. He immediately rushed to the bedroom and found no blonde figure there.

He cursed. His mind thought of so many different things, not one he liked. The Akatsuki had been disbanded, so there was no one now who would want Naruto. The Alliance of Konoha to different countries are still standing, so there could be no enemy from there, could there? Was it new enemy then?

There was a rustle from the kitchen and, with his eyes red, he whirled towards it. The very moment he stepped foot on the kitchen, there was a weak explosion near his face and he felt a fleeting touch of something raining from above. With exact calculation, he maneuvered his body and grabbed the body from where he supposed it was. There was a groan as he pinned the body against the wall and he placed the kunai against where he supposed the other's neck was.

Big blue eyes wide in shock stared back at him and Sasuke jumped back with a growl.

"What the fuck?!" He cursed. "Naruto! What the fuck did you think you were doing?!" Too overwhelmed by sudden burst of anger, Sasuke threw the Kunai he was holding on the floor. "I could've killed you! Don't you ever stop to think things through?! God, I can't believe this. Please, use your fucking head! You don't fucking sneak around a trained ninja! And with your situation right now, you won't be able to fight back! What if I didn't stop that fucking second back there to look at your face? Huh? Do you know that your head would've rolled right off your shoulders?! Fuck!"

"I-I didn't think-"

"That's right," he hissed. "You didn't think! And with the way the living room was a mess, of course I thought there was a fucking intruder!"

"I was c-cleaning…"

"Cleaning?!" Sasuke couldn't believe it. "You called that cleaning?! The couch was toppled over! The table wasn't in place!"

At that moment, the light of the moon happened to illuminate the dark kitchen, allowing Sasuke to finally see leaking blue eyes from that distance and his mouth closed with an echoing click.

"I… I'm sorry…" Naruto sobbed. "I just… I just wanted to surprise you…"

Sasuke whirled around to take in the kitchen and sure enough, different type of normal food was on top of it. There was still a jam somewhere though. However, the most distinguished item was the unlit candles at the center of the table. When he looked back at Naruto, some small bits of paper fell from his head. It was confetti, and Sasuke realized that the little exploding sound earlier was a party popper.

"Sorry…" Naruto's hic caught his attention again and the sight of him with flowing tears pained Sasuke to no end. He didn't mean to lash out at Naruto, but he had been worried and… and scared. He didn't know what he would've done if he accidentally slashed Naruto's throat earlier. Maybe he would've killed himself shortly after. And then there was Naruto's pregnancy. It was such a good thing that Sasuke didn't think of throwing his thought to be enemy down the floor or Naruto could have suffered with miscarriage. He didn't know if he could take that too and he didn't know if he could take seeing Naruto after that.

"I just…" Naruto continued. "S-sorry…" He was about to walk away but Sasuke couldn't allow that so he immediately wrapped his arms around the sobbing idiot.

"Ssh… I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to shout at you. I was just worried."

Naruto chuckled without mirth. "It's fine, Sasuke. Y-you don't have to force yourself to be with… with me…"

"No, no," Sasuke shook his head. "Don't think that even for a second, Naruto. That's not true. I'm not forcing myself to be with you. You know that I'm not a person that could be forced into doing something I don't want."

The blonde, however, continued to sob against his chest and Sasuke couldn't really blame him. When Naruto had settled down, Sasuke tipped his chin up so their eyes could meet before offering a smile while wiping the tear tracks with his thumb. "Now, why did you want to surprise me?"

Naruto averted his eyes. Sasuke was concerned to see that there was no sparkle in blue eyes though. "I wanted to thank you for… for putting up with me. You comforted me during those times that I wasn't feeling well. And… and you kept eating things I asked you to, even though it's not normal. So… so I cooked a normal food for you."

Sasuke felt even more like an ass at that. "And the living room?"

"Well…" Naruto got red at this and Sasuke was glad that at the very least, there was some sort of life in those eyes again. "I wanted to clean it since you're sleeping there, but… but I couldn't move the furniture back to where they were supposed to be."

That was a double foul in Sasuke's heart. He embraced the blonde again and apologized. With a fleeting courage, Sasuke slowly leaned his head down and gave a tentative kiss on the blonde's eyebrows. And he had to admit, the reaction that he got from the blonde was something he really liked.

He couldn't help but smile. "Why don't we eat now?"

Naruto dazedly nodded. "Okay," he breathed. "Okay."

…

By the fifteenth week of Naruto's pregnancy, the morning sickness was noticeably reduced even though he was randomly dizzy now. Still, the absence of the vomiting was a very welcome change to the both of them. More importantly, Naruto's abdomen was starting to stick out, much to the blonde's obvious delight and Sasuke's secret joy.

It happened when they were called in by Tsunade for Naruto's check-up. Having been inspected by ultrasound before by Tsunade, Naruto wasn't afraid of the pestle-like thing anymore. One could even say that he might have developed some sort of confidence around it despite hating hospitals so much. However, when Tsunade got very quiet, Naruto started to doubt.

He looked at Sasuke who was sitting on one of the stools and, with an understanding that Naruto still didn't know the source of, Sasuke stood up and walked to stand beside where he was lying, their hands intertwining.

"Is there something wrong?" Sasuke asked the question that Naruto couldn't voice out.

Tsunade blinked twice before turning to the two boys with a smile. "No, there's nothing wrong. I actually just found out your baby's gender. Would you like to know?"

Naruto looked up at Sasuke with shining eyes, and as usual, Sasuke understood what he wanted.

"Yes," Sasuke answered with as much calm as he could muster while his hand was squeezing Naruto's tight.

"Well," Tsunade grinned. "You two have got a baby boy on the way."

Naruto couldn't stop the gasp that escaped his lips even if he tried to. A boy, he was having a boy!

"Do you want me to take pictures of your baby?" Naruto enthusiastically nodded. However, before Tsunade could turn back to her machine, there was a knock on the door and a nurse asked for Tsunade to sign an urgent document. The Hokage sighed. "You'd have to wait for a few minutes, boys. I'll be back."

The moment the door closed, Naruto immediately jumped in Sasuke's arms. "Sasuke!" He squealed. "Sasuke!" But he couldn't form any coherent words anymore. His mind was foggy and his knees were wobbly. The only thing that he knew was that he was about to suffocate with happiness. He just laughed and cried at the same time, this time not because of mood swings, but just purely because of his genuine feelings.

"Naruto," Sasuke whispered in his ears and Naruto pleasantly shivered. He laughed some more when Sasuke's embrace around him tightened. "We're having a baby boy, Naruto."

At the admittance, Naruto couldn't help but sob. He had never heard Sasuke address their baby before. He never really mentioned that they were going to have a baby together. Sasuke always used the word 'situation'. But now, Naruto just heard the closest admittance from Sasuke. The raven just mentioned 'we' and 'baby' at the same sentence. Sasuke just verbally confirmed his acceptance of their baby.

Too overwhelmed with joy, Naruto just nodded repeatedly – which was stopped when Sasuke suddenly grabbed his face and leaned in for a kiss.

Naruto's heart almost dropped.

However, before he could think of anything more, Sasuke had already stepped back. And really, Naruto thought the kiss was too short. To his surprise, Sasuke dived in for more and this time, he was more than glad to comply. So they kissed again and again, their tongues swiping against each other at the heat of the moment. All the while, Naruto felt like something invisible just passed through him – he felt all tickly. The hair in his body stood to end, and there was a wavy feeling in his gut – a feeling he often got when he was falling from a high place.

When they parted, he noticed the both of them panting. He also noticed that the tears he had earlier cascaded even more. Especially when Sasuke kissed his forehead, his eyes, his cheeks, before placing a soft kiss against his mouth again.

"Sasuke," he managed to call out.

"Naruto, Dobe…" Sasuke smiled at him. "We're having a baby boy. We're having a family again. Together."

Naruto nodded and, once again, he found himself buried in Sasuke's embrace. They didn't even jump apart when there was a sudden clearing of throat from the door. Sasuke just loosened his grip enough for the both of them to turn to Tsunade. She looked amused.

"I didn't know you guys officially got together," she said.

Naruto laughed merrily before looking at Sasuke whose face was carefully blank again, although his eyes told of a different story.

After that, the two of them leisurely walked back home while holding hands. They didn't bother with the shocked stares or even the knowing smiles from the people around them. The only things they were thinking of were each other as well as the photograph safely tucked in Naruto's pocket. That was also the mark of the first night of Naruto and Sasuke's bed sharing.

…

Sasuke has decided. It had been a few days since the matter about his inheritance has been brought up and at that time, he seriously didn't know what to do with it except to use it for his future family. He had to be true to himself though, that when he first thought about that, there was this nasty little prideful Uchiha voice inside his head questioning and reprimanding him no matter how much he liked the thought of having a family with Naruto. That little voice would grow whenever he would remember the tough times he experienced just because of Naruto's pregnancy.

Of course, being around a pregnant man was difficult. His seemingly endless patience would threaten to snap every now and then, especially with the blonde's weird habit of making him eat every damn food with strawberry jam. His mood swing was a real killer too, although it was a good thing that Naruto's emotions didn't hop from one height to another for no reason at all. There usually was a catalyst, no matter how damn small it was. Most of the times, he wanted to actually snap back at Naruto and see if he would dare act like it again. However, the sight of a crying Naruto was far less appealing than the idea – and really, he didn't want to make a repeat of that one time that he snapped because of Naruto's stupidity of startling him. It just wasn't worth it.

And now, after all those drama and strange days (and he was sure that he would still wish to snap at Naruto just because he is Naruto), he was sure on what he wanted to do. No matter how loud that annoying little Uchiha voice gets, the desire of a family still outweighs it greatly. He wanted to stay. However, not in the old Uchiha complex.

So he informed Tsunade, of course, and she agreed to his plan.

That very same night, after he had salvaged all valuables that he needed, Sasuke stood in front of a blazing Uchiha compound.

"Sasuke," Naruto, who stood by him through it all, asked, "is this really alright?"

He nodded, absent mindedly taking the blonde's hand.

Dark eyes watched as flicking red flames licked every corner – even the bridge towards the Hyuuga Compound was brought down. That's right. He didn't need the old Uchiha compound and that included every historic pieces or scrolls. He already saw and read everything about the blood limit technique, and now, all the records inside should be gone. From now on, he was going to pass on the technique and knowledge to a suitable heir simply because he didn't need a repeat of what happened before. Besides, he didn't need a constant reminder of what happened in his past, a dark cloud constantly floating above his head. However, the ground still belonged to him. So after tearing down the remnants of past, he was going to start building his new home here. Again, it wasn't to dwell on the past but as a tribute to the dead. The only payment he could give to his dead kin was to show them that the very land they died on was also the very land a new family would start – and start good this time.

Let's just forget the fact that Tsunade blatantly denied his request of building a home at the forest because it was too far off. Adding the fact that there was almost nowhere in Konoha that he could live peacefully and away from all the noise and all the people – well, burning the old Uchiha compound and starting anew was the best option. But again, let's just forget this fact and stick to the more sensible reason.

After the fire died down, Sasuke looked at his other side where Yamato was standing.

Yamato, Naruto's previous captain, was already briefed on what his mission was and that was to assist Sasuke Uchiha on recreating the Uchiha grounds, being the only one who could do a wood-release and earth-release techniques. And really, it wasn't that much of a shocker as he was almost always the one people relied on in this type of things.

"Yamato-san," Sasuke called. "Can we start by cleaning up?"

"You can do it, Yamato-taichou!" Naruto enthusiastically cheered, knowing that it was the only thing he could do.

Yamato smiled at them, noticing the adjoined hands though not commenting on it. "I'm not your captain anymore, Naruto-kun."

The blonde laughed. "Sorry. It's a force of habit."

"Well, let's start, shall we?"

An hour later, the ruins were buried deep underground, gates were once again erected around the area, and thin though tall trees had covered the ground again. They all left for that day. However, unbeknownst to Naruto, things were far from finished. Later that night, one dark-haired and one brunette ninjas went back to the site.

…

"Yamato-san, is this design possible?"

"Hmm… is this a sketch of a log house? This is very different from the houses here in Konoha though."

"That is fine. I got that from Naruto's notebook."

A laugh. "No wonder it looks like a kid's drawing."

"Well… he's not very artistic. Anyone would know that in his wardrobe."

Yamato laughed again. "That's right. But we can't really follow the exact design."

"It's fine. You can do adjustments as you see fit."

"Okay. How many floors?"

"Two floors. And a basement."

"Just hold on a minute," Yamato got a notebook of his own so he could create a layout. "How many rooms on each floor?"

Sasuke paused for a second before answering. "The basement should be just one whole space. Living room, kitchen, and washroom on the first floor. Three bedrooms on the second floor with a connected bathroom to the largest room, and then another bathroom outside."

Yamato nodded here and there while writing down on his paper. After he got the basic layout drawn, he showed it to Sasuke who promptly agreed with it. "But why do you need three bedrooms?"

"For the guests," Sasuke answered with a smirk.

"Is there anything more you'd like to specify?"

"Then, can you make it so the bedrooms can be painted? And a connecting veranda to the living room is also good. Ah… and I think a balcony on the largest bedroom." Naruto would need that when movement becomes too difficult for him.

As if reading his thoughts, Yamato said, "Okay. I think Naruto would also appreciate large windows, right?"

A contemplative silence. "Yes, he would appreciate that."

"Well, then… let me know if you have anything you want to add later. For now, let's get on with the basic. Mokuton: Shichuuka no Jutsu!"

…

"Sasuke-san," Yamato quietly started, "Why would you need a waist high safety gate on both ends of the stairs?"

Sasuke smirked. "Caution, Yamato-san. Because of the kid."

"Kid? Whose kid?"

The young Uchiha normally wouldn't answer any private questions but he really was in a good mood seeing the house created in the very front of his eyes. "My kid, of course."

Yamato gasped. As he remembered, Naruto and Sasuke had been holding hands earlier that day. Wasn't that because they were a couple? Surely, normal guy friends would not hold hands that intimately. He himself touches a man's hand on a mission, if the other is on the verge of falling, or if it was generally to help. However, he shudder even to think of holding his friend – say Kakashi's – hands on normal occasions. "Sasuke-san, does Naruto know that you have a kid?"

"Of course," Sasuke answered.

The older guy frowned. "I know this is not my business, Sasuke-san. But please try not to hurt Naruto-kun too much. And I don't think it is wise to remain as another man's… associate… if you already have a girl to mother your child."

At this, Sasuke frowned. The mental image that Yamato had suggested wasn't something he particularly liked. "What are you saying? I don't have a girl to mother my child."

Yamato's eyebrows rose. "Then, you are adopting?"

"No, of course not. Naruto is five months along after all. Ah. Please refrain yourself from repeating this news."

The silence was overwhelming before Yamato's quiet, shocked voice broke it. "What?"

…

Three days after the recreation of the Uchiha compound (which includes the water pipes and electricity connection courtesy of other skilled workers that Sasuke hired), Naruto and Sasuke lay wide awake on the bed, looking out through the window. It was a fine day after all, and, though Naruto was free for the whole day, he wasn't in the mood for staying outside. Besides, compared to going outside where they don't even know where to go, Naruto preferred this where they just lay side by side, his back against Sasuke's chest, and their limbs tangled together in an innocent cuddling.

"Dobe," Sasuke whispered against his ears and he shivered, involuntarily lifting his shoulders. The Uchiha laughed at that.

"Teme," He answered quietly. The pale arms around him pulled him closer and Naruto let out a contented sigh.

"Have you ever thought of leaving this place?" The raven asked.

Naruto absentmindedly rubbed Sasuke's arms with his thumb as he thought about his question. "You mean Konoha?"

"No, stupid. I mean your apartment," Sasuke chortled. "Have you ever thought of looking for a new apartment?"

Naruto went silent at that, honestly thinking of a serious answer to such a random question. "Well… I actually thought about it a lot when I was small. You know how the villagers shun me, right?" Sasuke's arms tightened at this and Naruto smiled, gently patting the arm holding him. He knew that Sasuke still was not a people person, and he especially hated the villagers of Konoha when he discovered Naruto's childhood. For that, Naruto would be eternally grateful, but he really didn't need Sasuke to be more aloof than before. "During those times, there was nothing for me but to dream of escaping this place. Not just my apartment, but the whole of Konoha. I thought of running away and find another place I could call home. But I didn't have anywhere else to go, really."

"And now?"

"Now… now I have friends here. The people have accepted me. So I haven't thought of leaving Konoha again."

"How about your apartment?"

The blonde rather felt that there was something off with the way Sasuke was questioning him. Still, he answered his question as seriously as possible. "I haven't really thought about it nowadays. There's no reason to compel me into thinking such."

"Then, are you going to start thinking about it if I give you a valid enough reason?"

Naruto, confused beyond belief, gave a shaky laugh. "Sasuke, are you evicting me from my own apartment?"

"No, Naruto," Sasuke breathed. "I'm asking you to move in with me."

Deafening silence instantly fell upon the two of them as the blonde froze immediately. Sasuke, feeling the temperature drop a few degrees finally felt the first bout of uncertainty. He desperately hoped that Naruto would say yes, but he didn't want him to feel obliged. Realizing that he couldn't see what Naruto was really feeling, he shifted their position so the blonde was lying on his back with him hovering above. "Naruto?"

Naruto, who was silent as soon as the question was dropped, was actually bursting inside. He couldn't believe his ears. Heck, he actually thought that he might've been dreaming. He wondered if he slept in on such a fine day, or maybe he was awake but daydreaming. He blinked. "Huh?"

"Would you move in with me? Permanently?"

A wave passed by Naruto's stomach again, a tingling feeling that he was now expectant of whenever he was around Sasuke. "Is this… Are you serious?"

Sasuke smiled. "Yes. I'm serious."

"Oh, Sasuke!" Naruto's arms automatically wounded around the raven's neck, his back following suit as he buried his face on the other's neck. He couldn't even begin to describe how happy he was feeling. If he felt blissful when Sasuke consciously kissed him on his own when they first knew of their baby's gender, he was feeling even more so now because he just felt as if Sasuke was slowly solidifying everything. "Sasuke… Sasuke!" He repeatedly called each name as heartfelt as the other accompanied by a kiss.

Before long, no coherent words were heard anymore as the kiss intensified.

"Was that a yes?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

Naruto nodded, tears in his eyes. "Yes! Fuck, yes! Oh, Sasuke!" And then lips met again in a frenzied way, slowly easing out into a quiet pace until they were just lip locked. "Yes…" Naruto said again when they moved an inch apart for breathing.

"Naruto," Sasuke smiled.

However, all smiles were wiped out as a groan tore through their mouths when their groins accidentally rubbed. Black eyes met blue and Sasuke's breath caught. "I… can… can we?"

Naruto stuttered. "B-but the baby?"

Sasuke's eyes wavered. "I asked Tsunade. She said it's fine."

"What?!" The blonde gaped, his stiffness withering a little. "You actually asked her about that? Couldn't you have just researched it?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Of course I asked her. She's a medic-nin. She knows your condition the best. And, no matter how much I want to hold you, touch you, and make you writhe in pleasure, I couldn't risk it without her consent." Not wanting to talk anymore, Sasuke lowered his hips again, earning another gasp from the blonde. "So… do I have your consent?"

Naruto kissed him long and hard that they were left panting when they separated. "I'm yours," Naruto huskily answered with a lust-filled smile.

…

The new Uchiha Estate was all that – new but also refreshing, and it all started with the new gates. Of course, the surrounding white wall made of bricks was still high for security measures and the main entrance was still a simple wooden brown gate. It almost looked like how it was before, but this time, everything was new and the feeling it gave off wasn't heavy and suffocating. Inside, there was a good amount of distance before the trees started. The trees, however, were not the same large ones surrounding Konoha; they are tall but thin, and they were scattered. There was also a stone pavement from the entrance gate going further inside, and at the edge of this pavement were evenly distributed lamp posts. Eventually, the surrounding trees thinned and as the little woodland ended, the patchy grass started, and the log house could finally be seen. It was perched a good distance from the surrounding trees. It was, as its name, made out of logs, and it was beautiful. The timbres were light colored, almost a pale pristine yellow while the roof was red. The most prominent, however, were the wide windows letting light in. It was simple, yet elegant at the same time.

Of course, Naruto was enthralled as he immediately recognized his dream house drawn on a whim come to life. He squealed in delight, jumping at Sasuke without an ounce of care, sure that the boy would catch him. "Sasuke! It's beautiful!"

Sasuke laughed. "Well, Yamato-san certainly slaved for it."

"Yamato-taichou?" Naruto gasped. "Oh, I didn't have any idea!"

"Did you like it?"

Naruto stopped jumping around as he appreciatively pecked his best friend's cheek. "I love it, Sasuke. You know that I don't want an extravagant house. I want a home for us. And this is perfect," he quietly explained with a smile. "Thank you, Sasuke."

The next days were spent with Naruto and Sasuke filling out their new home. Naruto had persuaded Tsunade to take his work at home – with a ninja as messenger and the documents safely and properly sealed.

Naturally, the first room that they furnished was the master bedroom – and Sasuke had been right, Naruto loved the balcony on their room – as well as the other two rooms. They bought a king sized bed and two single beds. Fortunately, they didn't have to buy new wardrobes because Yamato had generously pre-made walk-in ones. After their bedroom was the kitchen – a very exhausting space to fill since they needed everything from utensils to refrigerator and stove. This also included the dining table. Lastly was the living room and, to Sasuke's surprise, Naruto wanted every furniture in white. All heavy moving though were done by hired professional helpers since Naruto obviously couldn't do anything of that caliber, Sasuke being strung along sans the occasional help here and there because Naruto didn't feel it fair if Sasuke worked the heavy duties while he got to sit down.

With his pregnancy, the most effort that Naruto could put in were ordering around, finding the perfect curtains for the windows – they were still a ninja, so of course they wanted to cover the windows with thick drapes at night – and painting the bedrooms with Sasuke.

Their room was painted a dark blue with white railings, window frame, and ceilings (the second floor' ceilings, compared to the rest of the house, was covered by thin planks to hide the bars). The curtains were also white, just the same as their furniture. The second bedroom was painted of yellow and white; and then finally was their baby's room. It was the only thing different. The motif was sky blue and white, but the whites this time, aside from being the color of the window frame and ceiling, was also of the little clouds that they drew. Another difference from the other rooms was the soft cushion covering the bottom half of the walls and a thin padding on the floor – which were Sasuke's idea of security.

When it was almost ready to be lived in, they decided it was high time to fill their baby's room with other things aside from the single bed. This was also the time that Sakura and Kakashi got wind of the news and what they were doing. With the additional people, they shopped for what they wanted to be put inside the baby's room: first and foremost the crib.

So that night, while Sasuke and Kakashi was busy figuring out just how the hell a crib was assembled, Sakura and Naruto busied themselves with organizing the toys and clothes.

…

A week after the two had finally settled in – which entails of familiarizing themselves with their new home and, of course, the nighttime activities because Sasuke oh so smugly mentioned that he had their bedroom soundproofed – the new trouble peeked in. The whole of Konoha Nine (Nine without Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura) found out of the new living arrangements of the two popular best friends. Being the good friends that they were, they decided to throw in a celebration party, stringing along their ex-mentors, close friends and the Hokage and her assistant.

The two, of course, vehemently refused – Sasuke for obvious reasons, and Naruto because he didn't want to deal with the aftermath (We just moved in, dammit!). With Sakura successfully cajoling Tsunade to give out the orders though, nothing could be done against it.

And so, the very next schedule that all of them got a clear day, the party was decided. Instead of partying inside however, they set up tables and chairs outside courtesy of Yamato, while they barbecued.

Naruto, who was sitting on the swing, watched with a fond smile as Tsunade bid another cheers with a laugh while the others happily complied, Shizune, for once, allowing her to drink and even drinking with her. Kakashi was teasing a rather red faced Iruka, as usual, while Gai was unsuccessfully trying to catch his eternal rival's competitive attention. Yamato was there too, calmly talking with Sai. The girls, Ino, Sakura, Hinata (the only girl who wasn't drinking) and Tenten were huddled in one table, talking whatever girls talked about. Neji was grilling the barbecue only because they couldn't trust anyone else on it, really – not Chouji because he would eat it as soon as it's ready, Kiba because he didn't know anything aside from taking care of Akamaru, Shikamaru who couldn't give a damn, Lee who would probably be too impatient for the wait even though he wasn't drinking, or Shino who was not removing his damn sunglasses.

The view itself gave Naruto a warm feeling in his chest, his hands absently rubbing his swollen abdomen hidden by his rather large clothes. "One day, baby," he whispered, "you will meet your friends too." He didn't know for how long he sat there, but he just did, and he was content with that. Especially since he had been having a fluttery feeling in his stomach the whole day. He just hoped that he hadn't eaten anything weird.

"Oi, Naruto!" Kiba called to him after a while. He just came out from the inside. "Don't you have another toilet? Shikamaru's hogging the toilet near the kitchen."

"Upstairs -" Kiba was already running before he finished his sentence. Naruto sighed at that.

"But Naruto," Ino suddenly graced him with her attention, her suspicious eyes twinkling. "Why aren't you drinking with us?"

"She's right, you know," Tenten agreed with a nod. "You're not being a great host if you're not drinking with us."

Blue eyes looked around for help as the two girls pulled him on his feet and dragged him on their table but Sakura, Kakashi, Tsunade, and surprisingly Sai and Yamato, all grinned at him – not an ounce of sympathy in their eyes. Heck, they even looked excited. Naruto turned back to the two most persuasive ladies and nervously laughed. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Why don't you just enjoy yourselves?"

"Oh, come on!" Tenten whined while Ino grabbed a glass.

"Here, drink."

"No, really, but thanks," he nervously laughed.

"It's not good to force the unwilling, ladies," Neji nosed in with a stern stare, which was blatantly ignored.

"Neji-niisan is right," Hinata chimed in. She had lost her stutter a long time ago, and everyone was glad for her. "It's not good for Naruto-kun's health."

Naruto looked sharply at her with wide eyes, wondering if she knew. When she offered a shy smile though with her finger pointing to her eyes, he gasped in realization that she had a Byakugan. He looked at Neji, who smirked back at him. "Ugh…" He groaned.

"Well?" Ino snapped, her hands pushing the glass forward. "What are you waiting for?"

"Ino, I… I can't!"

"Why not?" Tenten asked with narrowed eyes. "You're not ditching us, are you?"

A rather violent flutter in his stomach made Naruto slightly grimace, his hands automatically holding where the flutter was. "I'm not ditching you guys. It's just… Sorry, but I just can't. Not right now."

However, the two girls were persistent and Naruto was seriously starting to get worried. That was when a hand wrapped around his waist and hoisted him carefully away. Another pale hand shot forward and grabbed the drink before the owner of said hand gulped it down in one shot.

"He's not drinking," Sasuke, back from stacking their fridge, grumpily said with a glare. Thankfully, even without being completely sober, the Uchiha glare still had its effect on people so the two girls backed down with a nervous laugh. The people who knew Naruto's condition but still did nothing to stop the girls laughed out loud, so Sasuke glared at them too before turning back to Naruto – who was hunched over. "Dobe?"

"Sasuke," Naruto winced, his voice only above whisper. "I think… I think the baby…"

"Wha-?" Sasuke's eyes shot wide open. "What is it?"

"Naruto!" A loud voice boomed from the inside which caught everyone's attention in an instant except the two boys. There was also a distinct 'troublesome' line from the inside. However, what shocked everyone was Kiba's next claim. "Why the fuck do you have a baby's room upstairs?"

Simultaneous gasps erupted from different mouths and the silence immediately fell in like lead. All eyes turned to the hunching blonde boy.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered. "Sit me down, please."

Sasuke immediately complied, gently sitting Naruto down the nearest comfortable chair. Tsunade and Sakura were also immediately beside him, desperately fighting their drunken state and getting ready to assess their patient.

"Naruto," Sasuke tightened his grip on the blonde's shoulders.

"Calm down, Sasuke," Naruto laughed. "I just… I think the baby is kicking."

"What?" One question came from different people which was again ignored as Naruto pulled his lover's hand so he stood in front of him, Sasuke following without a thought.

Everyone was quiet as Sasuke kneeled down in front of Naruto with Sharingan eyes, the blonde boy unzipping his jacket to reveal a black shirt inside which was a little bit stretched in the middle. Sasuke, with his heart thumping in excitement and curiosity, slowly lifted up the shirt, letting Naruto's bare stomach out. Another shock gasps were heard from the people around them.

"Here," Naruto smiled as he guided trembling hands over his bump, directly where the fluttering could be felt. Once Sasuke's hands felt the movement, his head immediately followed as he rested his cheeks on Naruto's stomach, completely forgetting that they had a large audience around them. Naruto laughed at that, his other hand winding through Sasuke's hair and gently massage the scalp. He let Tsunade explain his situation to all of his friends, honestly not minding it anymore that they know. Anyway, he knew that in another month's time, his bulge would be difficult to hide using his jumper anymore.

Sasuke looked up at him and Naruto's smile widened. The raven didn't speak anything else as he prepared to stand up, but Naruto was okay with that because his eyes – which were now back to obsidian – told of another matter along with that kiss on his palm.

That was when every one of their friends rushed in to Naruto and the magic was broken.

"Oh my God!" Ino squealed with Tenten bobbing her head in agreement, both of them crowding the blonde boy. "Y-you're pregnant! I can't believe this!"

Lee started to profess a youthful speech from where he was sitting – a mimic of what Gai was doing. Kiba gawked at Naruto too, jiving at his manliness and earning a glare from Sasuke by suggesting it. The quieter ones, Neji, Shino, Shikamaru and Chouji, kept their distance while uttering their own congratulations. Sai and Yamato kept their smiles on too, now talking about the future baby to come. Kakashi joined in their conversation and reckoned that the boy would become just as great as their parents.

Once the shock faded, a new reason to celebrate earned another bout of bottom-up from Tsunade which everyone excitedly answered to with a cheer. Through it all, the two lovers never left each other's side.

…

By the middle of Naruto's eight month, his mood swings came back full force and with a vengeance. With Naruto, it was normal to be moody – he was rowdy one second, angry the next, and over all noisy. This time however, Naruto was not just that, he was depressed too. Negative feelings would pop in here and there, any time of the day. He would usually feel comprehensive about his coming parenthood, thinking about the negative what ifs, but mostly of 'what if I'm not good to be a parent?'

It was Sasuke's part to cheer up the blonde when he starts to submerge himself in the pits of depression, and the Uchiha was fine with it. After all, it was very easy to please Naruto. He just had to be extra sweet and caring, and everything will run along smoothly.

Still, there was this one negative emotion that was very hard to quell: jealousy. If any normal person has difficulty watching over the green beast of an emotion, then Naruto – in his pregnant state – was doomed.

The blonde could usually keep his jealousies aside if he was normal. He knows he could. He had done it before. And the trigger of the green monster in the first place? Sakura. As Usual.

It wasn't that Sakura really was doing anything suspicious. She would just visit him – Naruto – have a checkup, give some gifts, and look after the blonde. So in his mind, Naruto knew that he was being ridiculous. Utterly insane. But his heart kept lurching forward in unrecognizable areas that he had no control. And why? Only because Sasuke was grateful for Sakura's help to keep Naruto in check.

Yes, Naruto knew he was being ridiculous, but he couldn't help it. Every time he would see Sasuke smiling at her in gratification, a scenario of a pink-haired brat with Sasuke's eyes would haunt him, an ugly reminder of what could have been if Naruto was not on the equation. And that was enough to send him into a jealous fit.

Now, Sasuke understood why he was jealous. He understood that it was the hormones talking, the nervousness about their impending parenthood. What he didn't understand was why Naruto had come to that kind of crazy idea. He had never seen Sakura in any way other than a nuisance and a friend at best. He couldn't even imagine getting a hard-on for the girl – or for any woman (he shivered) or man (he gave another shiver) in the matter. In his mind, if Naruto was not around, he had a distinct idea that he would really be strictly a-sexual and live his years being alone. But Sasuke still forgave him and strengthened his patience, a small token of always being on the receiving end of Naruto's never ending forgiveness and care.

Things, however, began to escalate. Naruto's confidence dropped to a frightening level especially with his belly getting big. He felt ugly and he sometimes blamed the kid inside. He felt as if he was not fit to stand beside Sasuke and be a part of his dream – his future. This was the part where the arguments would start.

"Dobe, you're being unreasonable. You will have to talk to me sometime soon." Sasuke tried placating the blonde who was giving him the silent treatment since noon.

Naruto continued to stare out the balcony, his hand covering his protruding front – a small gesture that used to be for protection now out of self-consciousness. He knew he was being unreasonable, oh, Naruto knew! But he couldn't stop feeling like this. He couldn't stop feeling so ugly and unworthy and he couldn't help but imagine how life would be if Sakura was the one next to Sasuke.

He knew that Sasuke was never one to beat around the bush, so if he really had a feeling for Sakura, he would have already done something about it. He very well knew that Sasuke wasn't one to stop until he got what he wanted, and if he wanted Sakura, Naruto was sure that his things would already be packed and out of the house.

"Naruto," Sasuke's voice was getting frustrated and Naruto understood, he was getting frustrated with himself too. If Sasuke wasn't disgusted with him before even if he was a boy who got pregnant, then maybe Sasuke would feel disgusted with him now for being such a moron. The idea alone brought a small gathering of tears in his eyes.

"Leave me alone, Sasuke," Naruto violently wiped his eyes.

Sasuke groaned, his hands wiping his face in frustration. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" The raven didn't mean to raise his voice, and he immediately regretted it the moment Naruto cowered and winced. He took a deep breath before trying again. "Naruto, your jealousy is unbecoming. She's your friend, Naruto, and she's starting to feel your animosity towards her."

"Stop it," Naruto hissed. "Don't talk about her."

"For fuc- Naruto, I'm not, in any way, enamored with her. I would've said something otherwise!" He was getting desperate. "I was just thankful that she's going out her way to check-up on the both of you!"

"I know," Naruto shut his eyes tight. "I know it, so just stop."

Sasuke snorted. "I'm not going to stop unless you stop getting all bitchy about something so ridiculous!"

This time, Naruto snapped. He whirled around and faced Sasuke with a fierce glower and shining eyes full of tears threatening to fall. "I know! I fucking know! I know that if you had interest in her, I would be thrown out of the picture in an instant. I know that if you got together with her, you would tell me straightforwardly. And I know… Oh, Gods, Sasuke, I know that she's here only because of me. But I can't help it! I can't stop feeling this way!"

Shocked was an understatement for Sasuke when the dobe suddenly exploded. He stood there, stunned, and gaping at the now crying blonde.

"Every damn time I see you smiling gratefully at her, I can't help but think about what could have been." Naruto continued. "I can't help but think how great you two look together, how natural it looks. I can't help but feel jealous because she's one of the closest people to you, and I can't help but think if you've started to second-guess being with me when you could have a life with her."

Naruto shook his head, not realizing that his sight has blurred because of the onslaught of tears. He felt painful. His chest felt as if it might burst soon. His mind was swirling, full of a hundred thoughts per second – full of negative thoughts. He knew how ridiculous he was getting, but why couldn't he stop it?

"Even now," He sniffed, "I don't even know why you're staying with me. If… If I hadn't been pregnant, I'm quite sure that we wouldn't be together like this. I'm a guy. There's no way we could've known that I'd get pregnant. And with your second goal in life of repopulating your clan, who was the best candidate than Sakura herself? And now… I'm fat. I don't look good next to you. And I'm even thinking things like this that it makes me feel ugly. Oh, Sasuke… Why do you even bother with me..?"

Sasuke frowned. "Isn't that obvious?"

"No, it's not!" Naruto growled out. "It's not fucking obvious! I'm a boy and I'm pregnant – a freak! I'm fat and ugly! My face is full of scars! I have an annoying personality, a dobe, an usuratonkachi, so really, why?!"

Sasuke couldn't answer at that, making Naruto laugh mirthlessly, his hands wiping his face and snot. "I'm… I'm sorry. Can you sleep in the other room for tonight? I… I don't really want you to see me right now. I just feel… feel ugly…" He looked out the balcony again. "I'll be fine soon, so… Yeah…"

Silence ensued right after that, though Naruto hoped – from the deepest part of his heart – that Sasuke would embrace him, kiss him, reassure him that his fears were unfounded. He hoped that Sasuke would rub his back and whisper comforting words until he was fine. So when the very quiet and very distinct sound of the door closing echoed in the room, Naruto couldn't help but collapse on the bed and hysterically sob.

He was so disgusted with himself and he wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke felt the same. He gave him even more reason to leave him now, and Naruto couldn't help but feel so bad. Why was he like this anyway? He was so sure that their relationship would immediately end now, and all because of his doing. In the first place, why couldn't he have just been satisfied being the best friend? Why did they have to complicate things? Maybe, if he didn't know what it felt like to have Sasuke caring for him, he wouldn't be this devastated if Sasuke and Sakura got together.

Well… it's too late now…

He cried to sleep that night, alone in their bed.

On the other side of the hall, there was Sasuke who was thinking very deeply about what just happened. He couldn't understand why Naruto was feeling this insecure. It's true that once upon a time, when he was still here in Konoha, he flirted with the idea of getting together with the closest female that he was with, and at that time, it was Sakura. But the longer he got soaked in power, the longer he was absent in Konoha, the idea got less and less appealing that he forgot it altogether. He didn't even mind not repopulating his clan in fear of the history repeating itself.

Besides, he really just couldn't think of anybody else like that aside from Naruto. He had always been special anyway.

Abruptly, he went to the living room to look for the unopened, never touched, and totally ignored romance movie that Ino left them way before. He figured that he might learn something from it. And so he watched the cursed film against his better judgement, all for the sake of his stupid dobe.

I can't believe I'm doing this.

An hour later found Sasuke with six ticks on the head and a twitching eyebrow from watching the pathetic scene playing in the screen. It just wasn't possible that something this cheesy was happening in real life. Life was full of battle, killings, and war. Well, their life anyway. He wasn't sure about the stupid couple in the screen, but it looked like they were living in a peaceful era – something he was unfamiliar with.

However, when the conflict started, Sasuke found himself watching a very familiar scene. So familiar in fact that he was very sure it happened just mere hours ago in their bedroom.

Dark eyes stared at the screen intently, genius mind analyzing every angle just as how a shinobi should. When everything finally clicked, he rushed back upstairs with a single thing in mind. He slowed down when he got to their bedroom door though, thoroughly avoiding banging the door open.

Once inside, he gave a small laugh and a shake of his head. He couldn't believe how stupid he was for not really seeing what was bothering Naruto. It was very simple really, and he was wondering what he was thinking missing something like that.

He looked at the blonde and gave a painful smile. He just couldn't believe how he let Naruto get so hurt like this, so insecure. It wasn't like it was Naruto's fault anyway. He was sure that it was the hormones speaking out what was deeply hidden inside him – emotions that otherwise wouldn't let themselves be known. In a way, he was thankful at Naruto's pregnancy for making him honestly express what was eating him inside. After all, there was a high chance that Sasuke wouldn't have known of it otherwise.

Sasuke carefully climbed on the bed and immediately wrapped his arms around the blonde. Blue eyes blearily opened and Naruto gave him an adoring look which he pridefully basked in. When Naruto frowned though - remembering what happened no doubt - Sasuke tightened his hold on the blonde and kissed his head.

"I'm sorry," He whispered against Naruto's forehead. "I'm sorry for making you feel this bad. It wasn't intentional."

After a moment of silence, Naruto answered, "…I know. I'm sorry too. I just can't control it."

"Naru," Sasuke sighed, "You shouldn't even apologize. For one thing, I'm quite glad that you have unbalanced hormones right now, making you speak your mind. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to know that I'm already making you feel this way."

There was a sniff and Sasuke nuzzled his Dobe.

"Sssh… Don't cry." But tears kept leaking anyway and Naruto felt so stupid. He didn't like how pathetic he was getting, and he most certainly didn't like showing his weakness in front of Sasuke because the Uchiha hated weakness above all things. There was another constricting squeeze in his chest when the idea of Sasuke hating him resurfaced again.

"I thought it was obvious," Sasuke said while one of his hands kept rubbing Naruto's waist. "I thought you would've known why I chose to be with you." At this, Naruto tensed up – thinking no doubt that the reason was only the baby – so Sasuke immediately clutched him tighter. "It's not just because of the baby, Naruto. I didn't sign on this life-time commitment just because of the baby. I wanted to be there with you, be together with you while raising the kid. It was the prospect of having a family with you that warmed me up."

Unbenknownst to the Uchiha, every word that he was saying was like a wam water soaking Naruto in the middle of winter. It was relaxing, comforting, and he immediately forgot everything else. He was so relieved to hear those words that placated his inner fears so much.

"I know that I didn't tell you," Sasuke continued before cupping Naruto's face and locking their eyes together. "I kind of forgot… and I thought you already knew. Kakashi and Sakura saw right through me years ago, you know. But it turned out that it wasn't obvious… for you anyway. Such a dobe…" He laughed at the thrown usual insult, making Naruto frown in irate. Not that it was effective because of his tears anyway.

"I love you, you know…?" Sasuke suddenly declared and Naruto's world just stopped. Blue eyes widened and Naruto thought he heard a gasp. There was a thundering in his ears and all in all, he just suddenly felt so hot. His senses zeroed in on his counterpart, ears eager to hear more in case he was just hallucinating. "I've been in love with you for years. And I'm sorry for not saying it… I just thought it was obvious to you since everybody else could see it instantly."

Another batch of warm tears escaped Naruto's eyes, and this time, the blonde didn't bother with it. He cried his heart out, letting his hics and sobs be heard by the person he loves because he was just really so relieved and happy. He clung on to Sasuke for dear life, eyes pouring out, nodding his head like crazy.

Sasuke gently forced his face away and Naruto would've wanted to cling more, but when lips pressed against his, he decided this was better than clinging. Another kiss was placed on the corner of his mouth, on his cheeks, his eyes, his head – all with an accompanied I love you.

"S-stop saying it already!"

Sasuke laughed. "Oh, but I want to compensate on all the time I made you feel terrible."

Naruto grumbled, finding this so embarrassing and so cheesy but couldn't help feeling ridiculously happy over all. He looked up at Sasuke's eyes, searching for something even he couldn't quite name but still searching nonetheless. There was a depth in those orbs, some sort of twinkle, seriousness, and whatever the heck it was, it sure lifted up Naruto's spirits like no other. He smiled and gently caressed his lover's face, eyes full of unshed tears that still managed to scream his adoration. "I…" He licked his lips. "Sasuke… I love you."

The smile that graced the raven's feature was something Naruto had only seen in movies, and even then, this was so much better. There was something that looked so genuine in Sasuke's expression that those actors couldn't even hope to have.

"I love you," the blonde repeated, fat tears freely flowing down again. "God, Sasuke, I love you…"

"I know," Sasuke embraced the sobbing blonde even tighter, hoping to convey all his feelings and ease the worry in his lover's mind.

"Don't leave me…" Naruto hicced.

Sasuke shook his head. "Never. Never again."

That night was the first night they ever made such sweet love to each other.

…

Sasuke cursed. The last shinobi just dropped dead on the ground and their mission was now officially finished. However, he was still far from happy because he was Ten Miles away from Konoha. Why did his team has to be sent in this ambush mission today of all days?

"You should be happy we finished this twenty minutes earlier, you know." Neji muttered under his breath. Sasuke didn't find the reason there. In the first place, he shouldn't even be here. He should've been in the hospital, watching over Naruto who went into pains two days ago. What the heck was Tsunade thinking in the first place? She just sent him and Neji, both with powerful eye, just for a bunch of rogues. Heck, if really needed, why couldn't she have just sent Neji and Hinata? Why him?

When they wrapped everything up, it was Sasuke who ran the fastest, not even minding how he was leaving everyone in his team behind.

"Why the rush?" One of the Konoha ninja whispered to Neji.

Neji thought for a moment before explaining everything in one sentence, "Naruto's in labor."

Numerous eyebrows shot up at that and they wisely shut their mouth and let the Uchiha race back home. Everyone in the village knew about Naruto's pregnancy and they knew how much the two meant to each other. No wonder the Uchiha was ten times more efficient today than normal.

When Sasuke reached the hospital, no one bothered to ask him where he needed to go. Some nurse recognized him and immediately lead him to the operating room. He marched there, of course, not even bothering to look at anything else, his mind focused on one thing.

Bloodied, sweaty, and dirty, he didn't think twice before barging in. Dark eyes zeroed in on a panting blonde.

"Hey," Naruto smiled weakly at him, his face deathly pale and covered in glistening sweat. "You didn't have to rush."

A breath later, Sasuke got Naruto's hand against his own. "Of course I'd be here," he whispered against his dobe's lips, not even minding that they weren't the only people inside and that Tsunade and Sakura was there too.

"It's time," Tsunade, who had her glowing hand over Naruto's bulge for a while now, suddenly announced. "Sakura, the anesthetic."

Sasuke didn't dare look to where they were working, his eyes focused on his lover. He grasped trembling hands tighter while his lips subconsciously uttered whispers of comfort. His other hand also seemed to have a mind of its own as it started caressing matted blonde hair.

It almost seemed forever to Sasuke. He heard some sort of signal from the working medics but he couldn't, for the life of him, register what it was. When Naruto grunted and his face contorted in pain, Sasuke couldn't help but feel like going berserk. There was this tightness in his chest as he looked at his lover and the comforting words increased along with the kisses.

After a lifetime of whispered promises from Sasuke and pained grunts from Naruto, a sudden shrilling cry broke the tension. Black eyes widened in shock as he almost jumped, his hands tightening its grip on Naruto. He didn't dare look back. No, not yet. His heart was pounding though and he was excited to see that bundle of crying kid behind him. Still, he stared at Naruto, waiting for blue eyes to open.

A few seconds later, weary eyes fluttered open. "Sasuke…" Naruto whispered.

Sasuke swallowed and tersely smiled. "Hey, Dobe. How are you?"

Naruto gave a tired smile at him and Sasuke just fell in love a bit more without any real reason. "I'm fine… Our baby?"

That was the only time Sasuke allowed himself to look back.

There, in Tsunade's arms, was a small, squirming bundle, freshly cleaned up. A tiny hand peeked out from the blankets and the both of them stared while the Hokage presented the kid to Sasuke.

Sasuke, on his part, just stupidly stared.

"Go on, Sasuke," Naruto silently urged. "Take our baby."

Trembling hands slowly raised in accordance to Naruto's voice but not really of Sasuke's mind.

When his cold hands touched the fabric, Sasuke immediately snapped out of his stupor and panic started to sit in. The bundle looked so small, he wasn't sure if it wouldn't be squished in his arms. He looked back at Naruto almost desperately but the blonde just smiled at him.

Tsunade, rolling her eyes, just gently pushed the baby in Sasuke's waiting arms. "Mind his head."

As soon as the bundle was safely tucked against him, Sasuke froze. His breathing came in shallow as he tried not to move too much. What if he dropped the baby?

A melodic laugh started from behind him and he gently whipped to look at his lover.

"Sasuke," Naruto smiled. "You're doing good."

Sasuke's pride was tickled at that and he found the courage to look at his son again. He had dark tuffs of hair, pale skin, and his sharp features – undoubtedly from him. He wasn't sure about the style of the hair though, because it looked like it would spread out in wild directions like Naruto's. Sasuke looked at Naruto and he gave a crooked smile. "I think… I think he looks like me."

Naruto honestly laughed at that before holding up his arms. "Can I hold him?"

Sasuke, stiff as a board, crouched down to match Naruto and let the blonde do all the work. Because really, he didn't know how to handle a kid! Once the kid was safely transferred to the 'mom', Sasuke suddenly felt like crying. Naruto just looked so good as his eyes gazed at their baby. Their baby… Naruto and his… Sasuke now have a true and complete family with the person he loves the most. Watching them like this, he just couldn't help but feel something swell within him. A fire started from his chest that spread out to his entire body. It was as if he was a glowing candle. And suddenly, his eyes were warm too.

The blonde looked at him again and the loving gaze in Naruto's eyes set him off all the more. "What are you doing there… Otou-san?"

A single tear rolled down pale cheeks, not minding anything and anyone for the first time as he enveloped his family with his arms and freely sobbed. He has a family now. A new family that he would protect – a family he's going to stay his whole life with. It was only a few moments more that he realized Naruto was crying against his chest too.

They didn't know how long they looked like idiots there, clutching at each other and crying, but they broke apart when a girlish giggle left Sakura's mouth (Oh yes! Sakura-chan was there!) and Tsunade cleared her throat. "What are you going to name him?"

The lovers looked at each other at that. They haven't really talked about it because they thought the name would come to them naturally. Now, what would they name the kid? They can't very well call him 'kid', can they?

Out of nowhere, the window banged open due to a ghush of violent wind, letting in few of the snow drops. Sakura let out a gasp. It was the middle of summer after all! Besides, Konoha almost never experienced snow. And now in summer?

Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and smiled, deciding what fitting name they would call the baby in their arms.

"Masayuki," Naruto breathed. "We'll call him Masayuki of Mid-summer Snow."

Pale eyelids twitched and slowly opened, gracing the world with a deeper shade of Naruto's blue, but still so breathtakingly captivating all the same.

...

...

Wow. It was a load of OOCness, but it was delicious for me! I've been dreaming about writing something like this for the two of them.

The hermaphrodite thingy there is just my own imagination but I think it's more or less correct. The explanation is also from my desperate mind so I'm not sure if it would come off as forced. I hope not too much...

And yeap, the cover photo is something I created after more than 2 years without practice - not even a sketch in a pad. So please be kind. :)

Woot woot! Reviews please!