A/N: Realistically, knowing myself I really shouldn't be starting a new story. But Halloween is right around the corner- yes, I am one of those people who likes to start celebrating two months early- and I feel like I owe those who voted in OSC an exclusively SasuNaru story.
This was originally an RP I did with SilverKitsune2017 back in April, and to this day I can't get over how adorbs baby Menma is. I've asked for her permission to turn it into a full on story and she gave me her blessing. It probably won't be too parallel to that, but even so credit for the idea and some plot goes to her. Seriously though, she puts up with so much of my crap and I adore her. Check out her stories if you haven't already!
And without further ado, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Or his franchise. Or Gaara's smexy body. Dammit.
Three moons. That was all the time the Sanin had to make sure he was at peace with his pack. His old bones cracked as he arched his back, shifting after one of his privet runs in a wild grown field fifty miles from the nearest town. He owned all of the property, or rather his pack did. The pack that young Naruto Uzumaki would soon take lead of.
Jiraiya shook his head. He wasn't by any means shocked that his god-pup had managed to take down the rest of the alpha's of age, but it still didn't stop him from having his concerns. Naruto was loud and sometimes brash, and it tended to show a lot through his decisions. This wouldn't be a problem, if they weren't currently living bordered to a pureblood line of vampires and a mad scientist who had taken residence only a few years prior.
Ah yes, the scientist. Jiraiya had made an effort to befriend the old snake when he had first taken up residence, and for a while they had a good friendship. That is, until pack members started to disappear if they got too close to the facility.
The old Alpha looked through the thick mounds of wild grass to the gray stone building to the west. He made a promise to himself many moons ago that his final act as their leader would be to infiltrate the place and kill Orochimaru, taking any survivors that remained back to the pack house. It sounded good in his head, but he knew it could potentially end up being extremely dangerous. His palms were sweating.
Slowly, the older and more experienced members of the pack began to gather in the field near him. He had called them together, leaving the younger generation at home. He didn't want to possibly send them to early graves, especially when some of them had young pups to tend to. Besides that, this was business they should have tended to long ago. He felt a hand on his back and looked up to Tsunade, his mate.
"We're ready, Jiraiya." She tells him, rubbing her hand in circles on his back before dropping down on all fours. The white haired elder nodded and got on all fours himself, and in unison the pack shifted to their beast forms.
It didn't take them long to cross the field even while conserving energy. They didn't know what to expect when they got inside, but they were as prepared as they were going to get.
Jiraiya howled in the moonlight, signaling for the elders of his pack to charge forward. Breaking down the door was almost too easy, but they were almost immediately met with blow dart traps activated by their front paws. The white wolf and a few others ducked low to the ground, while others were hit and left to be helped later.
The petty traps grew in numbers the closer to the center of the maze they got, and they were even stopped by a couple of what had to be failed experiments. They were primarily wolves, rabid with their skin peeling off, showing open wounds, organs, and sometimes bone. Tsunade was the one to volunteer to take them out, lunging swiftly and precisely to take out their necks before they could reach hers.
The few elders that were left, he directed to help his mate as he left for the control room. It was bright, and unbelievably sterile, a sickly pleased snake man sitting at the control as Jiraiya approached him. He bared his teeth, growling low in his throat at the scientist. Eerily, yellow eyes only looked at the wolf in satisfaction.
"You may take my life, but I completed what needed to be done. The perfect gene splice and merger, old wolf. And he's absolutely perfect." Orochimaru stood, leaning down to pet the white wolf. Jiraya took no chance and bit the man's hand off, snake heads and purplish fluids protruding from the wound.
"Now now, no need to be so aggressive, little wolf. One day, you might even come to thank me for my perfect being." Jiraiya threw the bluish hand from his mouth, snarling as he encroached on the snake man dangerously. With a grin, Orochimaru started moving back slowly, pressing a button to reveal all his secrets as the wolf aimed for his neck.
There was a sickening crunch echoing off the metal walls as the white wolf was stained purple and red in fluids. Orochimaru's spine cracked in his massive jaws, black hair covering his dead eyes as his head rolled away.
Tsunade walked into the room with a few others, having sent some back to help the darted wolves while the rest were tasked with sweeping the place. It became apparent quickly that there were no wolves left for them to save, and any other experiment that Orochimaru seemed to have was dead or lost to disease or insanity.
"Jiraiya you need to take a look at this." Tsunade said, digging through the files that the snake left behind. The holographic image, titled 'Project MENMA' Sat blinking on the screen, along with two very familiar faces underneath a brief description.
"I don't understand. What does Naruto have to do with-" the team went silent as they heard crying. Jiraiya used his sensitive hearing and nose, picking up the cries from inside of one of the metal walls. He found there to be faint indentations lining a possible doorway, the cries getting quieter.
"Help me tear this down, now!" He ordered, shifting back into his wolf form. A few others helped him, shredding at the metal of the wall with their sharp claws vigorously to get to the source of the crying.
They finally broke through the wall, and the leader ignored his bloodied paws and entered the dark corridor.
Nothing could prepare him for what he found there. There was a containment pod of sorts, but it was what was in the pod that made his heart almost stop. A boy, no older than two with black hair and fair skin, staring back at him with bright blue orbs and tears stained on his whiskered cheeks. There was only one explanation for the little ears poking out of his head and fangs protruding from his gums, and Jiraiya didn't like it one bit.
But he was a child. And Jiraiya refused to leave a child to die.
A few hours later and a handful of miles away, a large golden wolf was beginning to stir in his nest. His blue eyes peeked open, the placement of the sun telling him that it was already the middle of the day by the time he'd awoken. He got up on all fours, stretching as a high pitched yawn escaped his muzzle, finally finishing by allowing his body to switch back into its humanoid form.
The soon to be alpha smiled and threw on a pair of pants before wandering out of his room. The pack house was large, big enough to be a mansion in its own right. It was an old, reliable place that housed around thirty adult werewolves and twenty pups. They came and went as they pleased, some owning their own homes in town while others stayed at the mansion full time. Their lifestyle was quaint and a little crowded, but they were happy.
"Mornin'!" Naruto called down, receiving a few hums of acknowledgement as he trekked down the stairs and made his way into the kitchen. He could feel it in his bones that it was going to be a good day, aches throughout his body reminding him of the matches he'd won only a few days prior. Not everyone was happy about it, but he would soon take the place as the head Alpha. It was enough to allow a bright grin to spread on his face.
"Naruto." He heard a familiar voice say as he pulled out a package of uncooked bacon from the well-stocked fridge. Blue eyes looked up at his god father and their current Alpha expectantly. He didn't miss the purple and red goo that seemed to cling to Jiraiya's long hair, nor his scraped up, bandaged hands.
"What's up old man? You look like you went through the ringer." Naruto noted, and after a bit of debate started pulling out the bacon strips from the package and ate them raw.
"When did you go out to the scientist's lab without permission?" He asked gravely, his arms folded tightly over his chest as he glared at his god-pup sternly. Naruto's ears popped up on his head and flattened from guilt out of habit.
"I-I didn't. Not really…" He said. When Jiraiya's gaze didn't falter he sighed, swallowing yet another piece of raw meat whole.
"Ok ok fine. I went there… But that was a long time ago, years! I went right after Gaara went missing. I couldn't just leave him to die there." He defended. The Alpha sighed at the mention of the blonde wolf's best friend.
The red wolf had been missing for three days, and even in such a short amount of time Orochimaru did almost irreversible damage. To that day, no one knew the full extent of Gaara's condition, and whenever he was approached on the subject he usually got violent.
"Were you aware that when you did go, that snake got his hands on your DNA?" He asked, already knowing the answer. Naruto's eyes widened before scrunching his nose up.
"Ew, no old man. I didn't do anything like THAT there. I might've gotten scraped up a little, but nothing like that." Naruto said, causing Jiraya to roll his eyes and rub his temples.
"Your DNA is in your blood too, Naruto." He explained flatly, leaving Naruto to look at him with an awed expression. He loved the boy, but there were some things that really made him question his succession as Alpha.
"So… he had my blood. So?" Naruto said, licking his fingers clean as he finished off the pack of bacon. The white wolf looked to Naruto, defeat evident in his face.
"You may want to sit down for this." He warned. That wasn't something Jiraiya usually said, so without much thought Naruto did as he was told.
The old man didn't bother to close the door. Anyone who was anyone already knew the situation at hand, and the boy was already being taken care of. Well, to the extent that they COULD take care of him.
"Orochimaru used your blood to create a child, Naruto. But he didn't just use your blood, and it's not a normal child. He created a hybrid by mixing your blood with Sasuke Uchiha's blood." Naruto understood now why he'd been told to sit down. He certainly would have fallen otherwise.
"A… Child? My child? Wait, You're telling me that sicko made a half werewolf, half vampire CHILD!?" Naruto said, voice rising as he processed what his guardian was telling him.
"But how!? How is that even possible, Jiraiya? Those vile things aren't capable of reproducing!" He said, stomach flipping as he dry heaved at the next realization, heading over to the sink quickly.
"Oh my god, he's half vampire… He's that bastard's son too." Naruto said, trying to hold down his breakfast. Jiraiya sighed. Naruto had always loved kids and wanted his own, so he had been hoping that would've made it a bit easier on him. Apparently that wasn't the case.
"Naruto… He's just a boy. He can't be older than two years old. He's alone and scared. If you really don't want anything to do with him, we can give him to the Uchiha's or… dispose of him before he grows any stronger." Naruto glared at Jiraiya, showing his distaste mixed with guilt. Damn that man for pulling at his soft spot for kids.
"Regardless Sasuke will have to be informed, but… just take a look at him, Naruto." He asked again. Naruto sighed and sat up from leaning on the counter, frowning. So much for having a good day.
"Alright, alright I'll look at 'em." He said, running his hand through his blonde locks. He knew that even though he loved kids, he was in no way ready to be a father. Really, he never thought he would have any anyway. His sexual preference was no secret among the pack.
He allowed Jiraiya to take him up to the makeshift infirmary, where the treated wolves when they couldn't be treated at the hospital. Sakura was there, giving Naruto an apologetic look as they entered the room.
"He's in the back, behind the curtain. He hasn't spoken a word since you brought him here." The pink haired doctor explained, shucking off the latex gloves she was wearing before leaving them to their privacy. The blonde's heart was hammering in his chest as he followed his guardian to the back.
Part of him had been expecting to greeted by a sickly, extra fanged monster with devil's eyes and almost no will of his own. He had been more than pleasantly surprised however, when his blue orbs were met with small, identical ones. Any hostility he felt earlier seemed to melt away instantly just looking into the baby's little eyes.
"Naruto… Meet your child. From the data we collected, we've found his name to be Menma. He hasn't spoken to us, but we've determined him to be smart for his age." Jiraiya told Naruto, though he wasn't listening to a word of it. All he cared about was the tiny, scared boy looking back at him.
He was an obvious hybrid, that was for sure. He couldn't deny that Menma was his though. He had his telling blue eyes that he'd also inherited from his father, and thin cheek scars that matched Naruto's almost to a T. He wasn't nearly as tan as Naruto was, but he wasn't deathly pale either, his skin color resting somewhere in the middle. And even with the toddler's jet black, spiky hair and jawline that distinctly resembled Sasuke's, the only word that he had to describe the boy was perfect.
"Daddy…?" The boy whispered in a small, almost unheard voice. The pair's eyes widened and Naruto smiled from ear-to-ear, crouching down in front of the boy so that he was eye level.
"Yeah, I'm your daddy. Er, one of them. Nice to meet you, Menma." He said. He'd almost gone as far as saying that Sasuke was the mommy, but he decided against it since the pair had his guardian as an audience. Menma blinked, reaching his arms out to Naruto desperately. It tugged at the Alpha's heart.
"Jiraiya we can't get rid of him. We can't let them take him, either." Naruto said sadly, picking up the child into his arms and sighed when Menma rested his small head on his shoulder. He looked up at his guardian desperately, who only smiled softly back at him.
"We'll make things work, Naruto. We always do." Jiraiya said supportively. "Unfortunately it's a matter of how. Even if we don't like it… the vampires have a right to know about his existence."
"We can't old man! They'll tear him apart!" Naruto cried. The yelling made the boy shiver and snuggle closer into Naruto, bringing the man back to his senses.
"There there… It's okay. We won't let anything happen to ya." He said, not used to having to filter what he said around others. Normally for this kind of conversation he'd be taken far away from any pups. Jiraiya looked at the pair sympathetically.
"I've already sent someone to inform Sasuke of the situation after sundown. If he doesn't want anything to do with the boy, then that will be that." The elder claimed. Naruto frowned and sighed, opening his mouth to say something.
That was soon short-lived as he felt a stinging pain in his shoulder, causing the blonde to yelp and tug at the boy. Menma, with his snaggly baby vampire fangs, was currently draining Naruto for all his worth.
"OW! Ow ow ow Menma cut it out!" He cried out, and Jiraiya only laughed. The boy was too small to do any serious damage, and it was fun to watch his god-pup get his just desserts for disobeying direct orders.
"Looks like you're going have your hands full with that one, Naruto. Jiraiya called, chuckling as he turned to leave the two for some quality bonding time. The blonde gawked at his guardian's back in disbelief.
"Hey- ow!- Where you goin'!? Old man!?" He cried, but the white wolf only waved and left Naruto to get acquainted with his new son. After all, he only had a few hours before the sun set.
Somewhere farther into the field, Tsunade was resting up as she waited. Tensions had slowly been dying down between there werewolves and the vampires as times began changing. It wouldn't be long until Naruto became Alpha, and the current King of the vampires was deemed too far gone to continue his reign. His eldest son would soon take his father's place. Thankfully, the eldest son had a lot more tact than his father did.
She shook her head, remembering the day that Fugaku had brutally murdered Minato and Kushina. They had done nothing to deserve such a fate, only going to get their little son who had been curiously roaming about. It had been seen as an act of war in the mad king's eyes, and he took their lives, claiming that anyone who entered their territory without a formal invitation would share the same fate.
Hence why she was out in the middle of nowhere. It was considered neutral grounds, far enough away that no one would think she was intruding, but close enough that someone would notice that she wished to speak with them. Namely, Itachi or Sasuke who were the only two open for any sort of debate at the time.
She hoped this time around it would be the latter of the two.
Night began to rise and she brought her tired wolf body to her feet. It was only a matter of time before they noticed her there, and even running on so little sleep she had a job to accomplish.
Absently, she noted that there was only a sliver of a moon left unhidden. Their full moon run would be happening within the next few days, and they'd have to have things straightened out with the kid before that.
"You wanted to see us, wolf?" Came a flat voice of the younger vampire prince. Tsunade growled low in her throat at the not so subtle jab, but cut it short. She shifted back into her human form, folding her arms over her green robed chest.
"Not particularly. It was more out of necessity, Uchiha."
"When isn't it a necessity?" He asked her. His facial expression was blank and unreadable to the blonde woman, which only seemed to make her angrier. Why did she always have to deal with their undead enemies?
"Look, I came to see you. We infiltrated the snake's laboratory last night and found something that you in particular have a right to know about. More specifically, someone." She told him. That seemed to catch Sasuke's attention as he raised one of his perfectly curved eyebrows.
"I'm listening." He noted. Truth be told. The Uchiha's had also suffered losses at the hands of the wretched snake. Perhaps the wolves had been merciful enough to save their people, too.
"It isn't want you think, Uchiha. We searched inside and out thoroughly, and there were no survivors of any race." She began, her breath hitching as she placed a hand on her hip, gripping tightly.
"What we did find was a child. Orochimaru somehow managed to get ahold of your DNA and the DNA of one of our own. He's a hybrid." She told him, and Sasuke visibly tensed, glaring at Tsunade in a way that could kill. She returned the look with her own.
"Perhaps we could have just disposed of him, but he is a child. No older than two years old. You have a right to know about his existence, and I've delivered the information to you. You can come see him or disregard what I've told you." She told him firmly.
"How do I know this isn't a trap then?" He asks her. Clearly, she was implying that he could go and visit the child, but it was at their pack house full of wolves. He could take on a few, but even Sasuke knew that faced with the whole pack he didn't stand a chance.
"We wouldn't lie about such a serious predicament. If you don't want to take my word for it, you can see for yourself." Tsunade pulled out a picture that Sakura snapped earlier that day and handed it to the Uchiha prince.
"I didn't know dogs had any training with Photoshop." He murmured, though he couldn't say he wasn't more than a bit curious. The boy obviously had his hair and face, but it was the eyes that made the final decision for the vampire.
"Fine. I'll meet the boy and decide then what to do. Don't even think of trying anything funny, though. Itachi will know that I left with you." He warned. Tsunade nodded, not needing to be told twice about the king to be, though in general they had a better relationship with Itachi anyway.
"The same goes to you, Uchiha. We are showing you hospitality in telling you if the situation. Don't make us regret it." She told him, beckoning for him to follow her as she shifted back into her wolf form. She knew that he'd be able to keep up.
Sasuke followed with quick, quiet steps as he looked at the picture. It was no secret that vampires couldn't reproduce, and turning anyone under sixteen into a vampire was considered inhumane since they'd never grow up. He'd never wanted kids more, then when he realized he'd never be able to have them thanks to their families curse. In his mind, this could end up being a blessing.
Of course, there was always the drawback of the kid being half mutt. His face scrunched up at that. They had obviously used the dobe's blood in the creation process, if the boys' blue eyes and whiskered cheeks were anything to go by. If it weren't for the fact that their families had such bad history, the vampire didn't think he would mind it much.
There was also the tidbit of his father killing the blonde's parents when they were just kids. Even if he had nothing to do with it personally, he was the reason that Naruto had come into their territory in the first place. If he hadn't been 'secretly' sneaking off with the werepup, his parents would've still been alive that day.
He hadn't spoken to Naruto since.
They arrived at the pack house a short time later, Tsunade shifting back to her humanoid form as she panted. If Sasuke could breath, he'd probably be in the same state after running so far, though now wasn't the time to think about such things.
He was met almost instantly with fear. The wolves had good enough hearing to tell that he didn't have a heartbeat, making them scurry out of the front room before they even entered the house. Tsunade was the one to open the door for the vampire prince.
"We have a guest. No funny business." She hollered into the house, knowing that her voice would carry to those who mattered. Sasuke looked up to the top of the grand staircase where Jiraiya was standing.
"Hn. Old man." He greeted nonchalantly. Jiraiya frowned and glared at the prince.
He wasn't given time to comment though as Naruto walked hesitantly out of the infirmary with Menma. They locked eyes for a moment, blue meeting red as the blonde clutched the boy tighter to him. Even unmated, his blood coursing through the boy's veins seemed good enough for his instincts to kick in, trying to protect his son from the threat he believed Sasuke was.
"You can't keep him from me, dobe. I won't hurt him." He said sternly, causing a low growl to emit from the wolf's throat. He knew that the vampire was right, and with a lot of reluctance, he took Menma down the stairs, placing him at the vampire's feet.
"Menma… this is Sasuke." Naruto addressed, trying to sound at least half decent for the boy's sake. Menma looked up at Sasuke, using his hands to stand up as a finger went to his mouth curiously.
"…Papa?" He said, just as quiet as he had when Naruto had approached him. Sasuke's stern looks softened into a smile. He was sure that the poor boy had been abused by Orochimaru at some point, if he was only willing to talk softly.
"Yes, Menma." The vampire prince crouched down to be face to face with the boy. He noted how the boy's eyes seemed to turn red to match his on instinct, and he held out his arms for Menma to run to him. The boy said nothing, and his face didn't give off any emotions. But he seemed happy enough to run to Sasuke.
"If you don't want him, then I'll take Menma home with me. I'm not going to fight your whole pack over this." Sasuke said abruptly, cause Naruto's pupils to blow out like saucers.
"Like hell you will, Teme! He's just as much my kid as he is yours, and I'm not lettin' you take him off to get killed by your psycho, flesh rotting family!" He yelled, growling. If he'd been in his wolf form, his fur would no doubt be bristling.
Menma looked up at Naruto, confused at why he was upset and scared because his 'parents' were arguing. He screwed his eyes shut and put his hand up to his ears, trembling in Sasuke's arms. The Uchiha glared at the loud Alpha-to-be.
"Fine, just quit yelling. You're scaring him." He said, having to be the rational of the two. He could tell that Naruto was acting almost purely on instinct, which would be fine any other time.
"I didn't expect you to form an attachment with him so easily. He's half vampire, and you hate our kind." Sasuke explained after Menma stopped shaking, bouncing the boy in his arms. Naruto crossed his arms defensively, glaring.
"Just because I don't like you or your kind, doesn't mean that I am that quick to hate my pup." He noted, emphasizing on the fact that Menma was, in fact, partially his and his own. As if it were on que, the small toddler leaned more into Sasuke, and two soft, fluffy wolf ears poked out from the top of his head.
Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his son's hair gently, his fingers feeling the soft ears on his head.
"You shouldn't pretend like you actually give two shits about him, teme. He's been through enough, it's cruel to him." Naruto sneered again, still as hostile as the minute the vampire walked through the door. Sasuke could feel his patience slipping.
"Naruto, unlike you I'm never going to get another chance at being a father. By whatever magic or mystery or nonsense that allowed this to happen, I'm counting my blessings for it. He's my… He's our child. I don't care if he happens to have some animalistic features." He spoke calmly, leaving the wolf speechless.
As much as Naruto didn't like it, he knew that everything Sasuke said was the truth. The vampire couldn't be blamed for what happened to him and his family. No, that was Fugaku's fault.
"…Fine, but he stays here. Your dad's a psychopath, and I'm not taking any chances." Naruto quipped.
"Insulting my father during a custody discussion isn't the smartest move to make. I could fight you for him, Naruto." The vampire warned, glaring up at Naruto. Despite defending his family, he knew the idiot wolf had a point.
He stopped the blonde from protesting. "…But I won't. As much as I don't like it, him living here the majority of the time would be ideal. The crypt is no place for a child." Naruto's jaw fell slack. He hadn't actually expected Sasuke to agree so easily.
"uhm… Yeah." Naruto said, nodding slowly. Inwardly he was groaning, knowing that Menma staying at the pack house meant that there would be a vampire constantly in the house to visit. Even if he had to put up with the flesh bag's ugly… mug, it didn't mean that the others wouldn't get tired of it.
"We should probably take him to neutral grounds during the weekends, too. It'd help everyone keep their sanity." He couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. He was practically agreeing to spend whole weekends with the vampire he least wanted to deal with.
"Seems reasonable." Sasuke agreed, smiling softly when Menma shifted in his arms. The boy looked up at his father with curious, blue eyes, grateful that the two were no longer fighting.
The vampire brought his cloak around the boy in his arms, swaddling him in a comforting way. Menma hummed and latched onto Sasuke's shoulder with his snaggly teeth. Unlike his blonde wolf father, Sasuke didn't even flinch at that.
It made Naruto panic a bit though. "Is- is he biting you? He just ate not that long ago, I swear." He said, showing off the bite marks in his own tanned skin. He didn't want to give Sasuke any reason to believe that he hadn't been taking care of Menma properly.
"It's fine, Naruto. He's probably biting more for comfort purposes. Like a human child with a pacifier." The vampire deduced. He knew nothing about vampire children since there weren't any. But he knew enough about children in general.
"Oh, yeah. Guess that makes sense." Naruto said, scratching the back of his neck. Well, now what? He didn't know whether he should leave the two alone or not. His instincts were telling him no.
"Is there anything he needs that you don't have? I can bring some things next time." Sasuke asked. Naruto was about to say no, but stopped himself with a quizzical look.
"I don't know? We have everything to take care of a normal pup. But he's not just a pup." Naruto said, wracking his brain.
"Maybe a crib? Most pups sleep in their own nests, but he may not like that. Also some uhh.. food… Bags... You get my drift." Naruto said, shuttering a bit. He was no hemophobic, but the idea of having to keep and store blood was anything but pleasant. He hoped that the toddler could at least eat regular food from time to time. Werewolves after all needed a lot of food to keep up their strength.
"I'm going to go out on a limb and assume he'll need clothes, too." Sasuke said with a nod, switching the arm that he held the boy with.
"That'd be great." Naruto said awkwardly. Menma finally unlatched himself from his father's shoulder and yawned, turning towards Naruto and held out a hand for him. Sasuke looked concerned.
"Such a shy boy. You can speak what's on your mind, Menma. You're safe here." Sasuke said. Naruto rolled his eyes, taking the toddler awkwardly from the vampire and held him.
"He's only two Sasuke. We don't know what he can and can't say." He argued, rolling his eyes as he rocked the tired boy. It had been a long day, and Menma probably hadn't slept the entire time he'd been at the pack house.
"We also don't know what Orochimaru did to him while he was there. Or what he was forced to learn or ingested." Sasuke reasoned grimly. The wolf's stomach flipped and his grip tightened around his child.
"I don't wanna think about it. We get it, he was a snake who did horrible things. Menma's safe now." Naruto said, his tail showing and bristling. If there was anything that the werewolves and vampires could agree on, it was that Orochimaru was lower than scum.
"If you don't mind, I'm gonna put him to bed. It's been a long day." Naruto said, heading up the stairs. Menma let out a small whine, looking down at Sasuke sadly and the wolf let out a long sigh.
"You can come too, I guess." The blonde wolf mumbled down to Sasuke. This whole situation was going against everything he believed in, all his instincts screaming at him that this was wrong. Screaming, that he needed to chase the big, bad vampire away from his baby.
But his baby wasn't just HIS baby.
With a bit of reluctance, Naruto led Menma and Sasuke to his room, which mostly consisted of a chest of drawers and a nest of a bed large enough to house five large wolves, if necessary. Without putting much thought into it, Naruto went to hold the boy by the scruff of his neck like he would a normal pup, but one look at Sasuke told him it would probably be a bad idea.
"Just don't snoop around or do anything suspicious. And if you try anything I'll know." He threatened, carrying the raven haired toddler into his nest with one arm, his blonde tail wrapping around him protectively. Sasuke didn't need to know that when he slept, he was out like a light.
"I'm not stupid, dobe. I won't do anything to harm Menma, and that means your safe too." He said, untying his Katana from his beltline and dropped it on the floor.
The boy was killing Naruto as he looked to Sasuke expectantly. This was wrong on too many levels. He shouldn't be allowing the vampire into his room, let alone in his nest around his pup. He did his best to soothe his instincts, moving his tail enough to give Sasuke enough space to lay by Menma.
The boy smiled, happy to be sandwiched between his parents. "Night night." He said quietly. He was in Naruto's arms, but he happily latched onto Sasuke's fingers with his little hands, bringing Sasuke's arms to his chest.
"Night Kiddo." Naruto's shaky voice said, signaling that despite himself, he was also partially asleep. When the little boy's breath evened out, Naruto forced his tired eyes to open. Unsurprisingly, the vampire was wide awake, looking between the two expectantly.
"You should stay with him. You look exhausted, and he might have nightmares." Sasuke said, his tone back to its normal flat note. Naruto growled and screwed his eyes shut.
"Planned on it, teme. He doesn't just want me though. I'm not gonna chase you out, even if I feel like I should, so ya might as well get comfortable." He said, his tanned face burying in Menma's hair protectively. He sighed though, looking back up as Sasuke with his chin on Menma's head.
"Hey uhm… Thanks for being so understanding about all this." He murmured quietly. Sasuke gave him a bored look, though there was something unreadable in his onyx eyes.
"I-I was really worried that… well… Your family would kill him." Naruto said, vocalizing his main concern. He still wasn't all too sure if they were out of the woods yet as far as that went, but if nothing else he felt that Sasuke's intentions were sincere.
"Being alone is hard… He deserves to be loved. By uhm… by both of us." Naruto finished, hiding his embarrassment on top of Menma's head.
"…Dobe. Get some sleep." Sasuke said lightly. Soon enough the wolf did as he was told, his own breath evening out in Sasuke's keen hearing.
Sasuke stayed put despite himself, unable to bring himself to take his arms back from Menma's grasp. He listened to the boy's heartbeat, which was much slower than his fathers but still there. He was still in awe that such a perfect creation existed, and was created using a part of him. He never would've guessed that he could be a part of something so innocent pure.
"Hot…" Menma cried, frowning as he scooted himself closer to Sasuke in his sleep. It hadn't gone unnoticed that Naruto practically radiated heat, but Menma was bound to have a temperature that was lower than a normal Werewolf pups. In contrast, Sasuke was as cold as a marble slab.
"It's going to be a challenge getting accustomed to all your differences." Sasuke said, chuckling as the small, overheated body was now clinging to him. He ran a hand through his son's hair, but his eyes were focused on the sleeping blonde wolf.
He wished that things could've turned out differently. They had been friends once, and if things hadn't turned so sour this might've been a totally different situation. He moved one of his arms out from under Menma, swiping a bit of Naruto's blonde hair away from his face.
"He got your ridiculously beautiful eyes, dobe." He said, voice barely a whisper in the room. The blonde shifted, mumbling incoherently, and for a moment Sasuke was worried that he'd woken the co-parent. Naruto only slept on though, and the vampire let out an unnessicary breath.
"Someday maybe, I'll get to be honest with you." He murmured, slipping his pale eyelids over his eyelids in an attempt to sleep with their sweet little miracle between them.
A/N: -Whew- That wasn't easy. The goal I'm aiming for is to have this particular fic done by Halloween, so there may end up only being six chapters. They'll be longer than normal though, and who knows? If people end up liking this a lot I might continue on with it after Halloween is over. We'll have to see.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read, and please don't forget to leave a review since they help fuel the writing fires in my soul. -sucks down coffee and shakes like a Chihuahua-
Also a little off topic, but for all those FFXIV players out there hoping to get a house in Shirogane savage this Tuesday, may the odds be ever in your favor. Heaven knows we're all going to need it. -clings to the idea of a mansion-
Until next time!