"Just leave already…"
"I won't. Not until you snap out of it."
"…"
Naruto didn't want to speak to his friend right now. He just wanted to be alone. Why couldn't Sasuke see that?
"Look, I can imagine how hard that must be-"
"You know nothing-"
"BUT it's not only you who is suffering right now! Think about Sakura! How she feels about it! She has to deliver the ba-"
"Just SHUT UP already! I don't want to hear your scolding! Would YOU want to hear Karin scream in pain while she gives birth to your dead child?! Would YOU hold her hand, saying everything will be okay, when you know that it won't be?!"
"Yes, I would."
"You're a fucking liar!"
"I'm not. But you're acting like an asshole."
Naruto turned to Sasuke, his eyes full of pain and anger, while clenching his hands to fists.
"I JUST FUCKING LOST MY SON BEFORE I EVEN GOT TO SEE HIM!" he yelled at the Uchiha and clutched him by the collar, slamming him to the wall. "AND YOU'RE BLAMING ME FOR BEING ANGRY BECAUSE OF IT?! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW IT FEELS LIKE TO LOSE YOUR CHILD! YOU DAUGTHER IS ALIVE!" Sasuke remained calm and waited till Naruto was done shouting at him.
"I lost my family when I was 7 Dobe. I killed my own brother because of revenge, only to find out that he was doing it for the sake of this village. Of all your friends, I think I'm the only one who understands the pain of losing someone so close."
The grip on his collar weakened and before he realized it, his friend sunk on his knees and let the tears escaped his eyes.
"Sakura needs you Naruto. I'm not saying that you didn't have the right to be angry or sad. But as her husband, you have to support her. Wouldn't you regret to let her down on such a horrible situation, to let her carry the burden on her own? Don't you want at least say goodbye to your son?"
A sob escaped from the Hokage's shaking body.
"I…I…"
Sasuke reached out his hands and looked directly in the tearful eyes of his friend.
"Come on Naruto. You can do it."
For a few seconds, neither of them moved an inch nor said another word. Then Naruto slowly wiped away his tears and let another sob came out of his mouth. But he seizes Sasukes hand without hesitation and got up.
"Sasuke-"
"We'll talk about it later. They sure are waiting for you."
"…"
When the door opened, Tsunade wasn't surprised to see Naruto and Sasuke entering the delivery room. Even though she was worried that the Hokage would be back when Sakura already delivered the baby, she never had doubts that the Uchiha would succeed to bring him back to his senses.
"About time brat…" she whispers towards them. Her pink haired student lifted her tear streamed face and reached her arms towards her husband.
"Naruto…" Her voice was so filled with sadness and pain that it breaks the heart of the blond more than it already was. He walked to her side and took her hands to his, kissing each knuckle to soothe her.
"I'm here now Sakura-Chan. I'm sorry, I won't leave again." He promised her and forced himself a little smile on the lips, but couldn't stop the teardrop that was falling from his right eye. She wept faintly and closed her eyes.
"I can't do this Naruto. I… I can't."
"I'll be here Sakura-Chan. You… WE can do it. We have to… so we…" his voiced cracked at the end, but as Sasuke laid one hand on his shoulder, he took a death breath and gained some strength. "Just don't… don't think about it. Let the… the instincts take over. You aren't alone with this… I'm here, Tsunade is here and Sasuke is here too…"
As to confirm what Naruto said, Tsunade gently patted Sakuras knee while Sasuke told her some comforting words to calm her bit.
Even when the next contraction began, Naruto never let go of her hand.
Even when she sobbed and wept like she would do that forever, Sasuke didn't looked away and tried to soothe her as best as he could.
Even when she screamed that she just wanted to die, Tsunade told her to keep going.
And when the sun started to rise, it was all over.
There was no scream to hear when the baby enters the word without ever seeing how it looks like. Its eyes would never open; its lungs would never take his first breath. But it was still warm when Tsunade laid the child in the arms of its broken mother. Its skin was in the same color as Sakuras, and on its little head were small tufts of blond hair like its father.
"As expected a boy…" muttered the former Hokage. The parents didn't say anything about it, their faces full of suffering and sadness. Sakura sniffed a little, already got too tired and exhausted to show the real pain she was feeling. She stroke the pale cheek of her son, kissed his forehead and whispered sweet little things the little boy would never be able hear. When she met the gaze of her husband, she automatically gave him the opportunity to take their son in his arms. And he took the chance, cuddled the little baby to his chest and looked at his face to memorize every little feature of his son.
"Ya know…" he murmured with a tearful voice, holding a little hand with his fingers. "I know just by looking at you what a great person you would have been. I bet all Ramen in the world that when you would have reached my age, your godfather Sasuke and I wouldn't stand a chance against you. I love you so much buddy… I wish we could have the chance to know each other." And with that, he broke down completely, sobbing and crying like he never had before. His wife cried silent tears with him, unable to do more than that.
Sasuke bent down so he had a good look of the pale child. He felt sorrowful too, not just because his friend lost such a precious life, but also because he thought of them two as a family.
"He should get a name." He said with a strange husky voice and without taking his eyes from the boy.
Naruto tried to open his mouth to speak, but after a few attempts he gave up and just nodded his head.
"We… we... wanted to… name him Minato…" Sakura finally breathed out.
"It's beautiful…" Tsunade said, stroking her students arm pitifully. "I'm sure he would have loved his name."
It was the darkest hour of the lives from Uzumaki Sakura and Naruto, but the pain they felt from the loss of their child was a little bit dulled by the company of two of their most important people in life. And even though right now it wasn't imaginable, there life would continue. They would laugh again, cry because of happy and sad moments, having arguments and one day they would bring a little girl to their home, watching her grow and telling her about her beautiful, bigger brother, who was watching over them from the skies. But right now, as Tsunade took little Minato in her arms and brought him away and Sasuke left to give the couple some privacy; they had the right to take their time to grief.
And so my first English One-Shot was written Y.Y
I tried my best on this but I can't promise that there won't be grammatical mistakes. I'm from Germany and English isn't my mother tongue.
Thanks for reading and have a nice day