Oh come me back

My own true love

And stay a while with me

Mornings, Sasuke Uchiha considered, were the worst possible combination of Heaven and Hell one could ever hope to imagine. Worst, because the good and bad always mixed up in a way that left him frustrated and powerless. And there was never anyone he could blame.

Today, for example, had been the much-expected first sleep-in morning of the week. On work days he'd wake bright and early around six, take his breakfast without waking anyone and leave as quietly as he could afford. The rest of the house had never considered returning him the favor.

The television was already on, and he could hear it distinctly, even from the bedroom. Refusing to so much as snort at the irony -he was not going to confirm to anyone, not even himself, that he was awake at this time of the day- he let out a mental sigh; kids sure groaned and complained all week about getting out of bed for school, but as soon as the weekend arrived, they were up a seven thirty at latest, watching all the stupid cartoons and animes -because they insisted those two things just weren't the same- they absolutely couldn't miss. Figured.

His ill thoughts seemed to reach the other side of the bed, because suddenly he heard a soft groan, and the mattress moved slightly as his sleeping partner rolled over to his side, one arm lazily sneaking upon the Uchiha's waist. The latter refused to move.

"I know you're in there," an amused voice murmured, somewhere next to the back of his neck. He said nothing, and heard a low chuckle. And then the mouth pressed against his skin, the nose nuzzled his lower scalp, and all of a sudden, everything in the world felt just right. He could have released a small moan of appreciation, but pretending to sleep was much more rewarding.

Firm arms pulled his limp body back against warm flesh, and the mouth edged on to the side of his neck, and then to his ear, tongue poking out to lick the skin jointing the lobe back to the rest of his head. This time he let out a soft sigh. The chuckle above him was low, and he noted that the room's exterior suddenly sounded a lot quieter than it had been five seconds ago.

"Three seconds," came the whisper above him. "Two, one..."

The bedroom door burst open, and the two oldest intruders were the first to speak. "Guys!" they called, voicing their clear indignation at the sight of the two adults still in bed, "Time to wake up!"

Again, the voice above him chuckled. "You could have waited an hour or two, you know."

"But Dad," the sole blond of the group protested. "Seiji made breakfast special."

The working part of Sasuke's mind wailed. Defeated, he groaned and straightened up, away from the pillow he'd sworn seconds ago not to abandon no matter what. Just in time to see his youngest child enter the room, carefully carrying a tray that looked way too heavy for him. His sister and half-brother did not move to help him, their faces wordlessly revealing to the adults how keen the twelve-year-old was on doing the task all by himself.

Dropping the tray at the end of the bed, he smiled up at Sasuke, clearly expecting the praise everyone knew he was going to get. The Uchiha sighed, rubbing his face tiredly. Bittersweet. There was no other way to describe how exhaustingly content he felt at the moment. "Thanks, Seiji," he told his son with a small yawn. "Did your brother and sister give you any help?"

"Yuu made coffee," the small boy assured, eying the two smoking mugs with slight hostility. "And Ren helped with the pancakes."

"And we made sure you couldn't hear anything," the blond, older boy assured with a snide smile. "Did the TV wake you guys up?"

"Quiet, Yun-yun, or we're going to witness the Saturday Uchiha Rampage." Naruto Uzumaki leaned forward, reaching for the appetizing pancake-filled plate the youngest child had generously covered in syrup. Not that he wanted to eat the plate, mind you. You get the point. "I had enough with the one he made last week."

Sasuke glared at his lover. "You keep complaining about that and I will be going on the second rampage of the month," he growled. "Last week was completely uncalled for."

"Aw, come on, Dad," Ren protested with a teasing smile. "What's a little water going to do to you?"

"Pouring an entire pitcher over my head is not what I call 'a little water'," her father grumbled back, reaching for his mug of coffee. "I'm warning the four of you; next time you pull a stunt like this, I will not be held responsible for my actions."

"Yeah, I think we got that the first time around," Naruto assured him with a grin, blue eyes twinkling with amusement. "Especially when you tried to drown Yuu in the swimming pool."

"For someone who didn't want to get wet, you sure put your heart to it," the aforementioned teen remarked, smile mirroring his father's. He held his own coffee-filled mug, and sipped, staying well out of the Uchiha's reach. "We had to celebrate spring some way," he added innocently.

"And we won, in the end, didn't we?" Naruto reminded him. "After you finished with Yun-yun and I had put Seiji under the shower" -cold shower, everyone mentally corrected the blond, ice-cold shower- "all we had to do was catch Ren."

"You say that like it was the easiest part," the raven-haired girl protested haughtily. "I lasted longer than those two." Thumbs poked out of her folded arms, accusingly directed at her male siblings.

"You were armed," her father replied. "I didn't see Yun-yun play around with a water gun."

"Seiji had one, though," Naruto pointed out. "Drenched the entire kitchen while I was getting the ice cubes."

The youngest Uchiha allowed a very stern pout to form upon his features, and Sasuke sighed, ruffling his son's hair. "You all deserved what you got," he informed the boy. "There's a reason why I don't wake the dobe in the morning." It wasn't a widely-known fact. But if you managed to piss the Namikaze heir off to a sufficient extent, no one would guarantee you'd come back either physically or mentally intact.

Ren sighed, and simultaneously, she and Yuu propelled themselves upon the bed. Sasuke glanced at the three children. None of them had the same eye color, he remarked for what seemed like the thousandth time. Maybe more. He and Ren shared the onyx shade proper to the Uchiha clan, and both of his children had the smooth, silky raven hair that labeled them as clear members of his family. Yuu was the conform copy of his father. Same blond locks, same build, same temper. The only notable difference were the eyes. Instead of his father's sapphire blue shade, the two orbs shimmered in emerald, irises just as huge as the other blond.

And Seiji, sweet little Seiji, had surprised everyone by letting his eyes keep their azure shade well after growing out of his baby years. Sasuke still didn't know how that had happened. Neither of the boy's parents had even a glimpse of blue-eyed ancestors. The youngest Uchiha was otherwise just as similar to his younger self as Yuu was to Naruto, but the blue eyes stood out like a drop of blood on fresh-fallen snow. Beautiful, intriguing, and somewhat frightening. As though the boy had been a predicament to the events that had followed his birth.

"Sasuke! Teme, wake up, damn you!"

There had to be an excuse to the racket Naruto was making. The blond wasn't usually suicidal, and he did know the exact limits of Sasuke's low tolerance for morning uproars.

Rising slowly, he handed the blond a thoroughly murderous glare before blinking his way back to reality. Where had the dream-hours gone? "You've got ten seconds," the Uchiha growled under his breath, "to either spit something worthwhile or bail. I'm not holding back once I get out of bed."

"I'm going to marry Sakura."

And just like that, his mind was awake and fully alert. He blinked. "What?"

"Told you you should wake up," the other man said with a large grin. "You heard me."

"Naruto, you're twenty-three," the Uchiha groaned. "It's way too early to think about this kind of thing."

The blond didn't reply immediately, and Sasuke's head fell back upon the mattress. When the silence pursued, however, he opened his eyes again. Wide. "You're really serious, aren't you?"

Naruto turned away from him, and looked all too innocently out the window. His shoulders dropped. "She's pregnant," he murmured.

"She's what?" He had screeched. Well, not completely. But his voice had definitely been much louder than the usual volume he used. And didn't hide any of his shock.

"Pregnant." Naruto sighed. "She told me yesterday evening. I spent the entire night thinking about it, and" -he turned resolutely back towards Sasuke- "I've made my decision. I want to marry her and keep the kid."

"That's not for you to decide," the Uchiha snapped. "She'll be the one carrying the baby; you can't tell her she has to-"

"She said she was ready to keep him," Naruto stated softly.

Sasuke frowned. "You already know it's a boy?"

"No, I'm just guessing." The blond chuckled, running a nervous hand through his hair. Unsure of how to act, he sat down on the Uchiha's bed, and put his head in his hands. "Damn."

Sasuke straightened. Sighing, he leaned over to the other man. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "Both of you? Who's going to take care of the baby once it's born?"

"I won't let her drop out," Naruto sighed, his face still dissimulated between his palms. "If someone has to stop school I-"

"Dobe." The cutting tone stopped the blond right in his tracks. "You are not dropping out, and Sakura is not dropping out. If you want to keep the kid, find someone to help." He resolutely met the azure orbs as Naruto gave him an uncertain look. "If it gets too ugly I can always help."

The sapphire orbs had lit up in hope, and, oddly, gratitude. "You'd do that?"

He shrugged. "Why wouldn't I?"

Seiji had taken the tray back, and Naruto had gotten out of bed, dragging himself over to the closet, where he took out clothes of varying shapes and sizes, throwing half to Sasuke. "Ren," he called. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for archery?"

"I'm leaving," the fourteen-year-old shouted back from the other side of the house. "Yuu, if you hid my gloves again I'm seriously going to kill you!"

"Keep the noise down," the raven-haired adult groaned. "I'm not completely awake yet." Blinking at the articles of clothing his lover had just dropped next to him, he stared, trying to figure out exactly how to interact with the strange material.

"Rampage," Naruto warned. The house immediately hushed. Ren was even careful not to stomp down the staircase too noisily, and wished the family the usual farewells before closing the front door behind her.

Naruto sighed. "On your feet, Uchiha," he commanded in the same amused voice he'd used earlier. "You'll never get dressed if you keep the covers over you." Mercilessly, he pulled the thin sheets back, revealing his lover's mostly bare skin to the cooler air. Sasuke hissed. "And swear properly, teme," he added with a smirk. Picking up the raven-hair's clothes once more, he unfolded the shirt, pulling the collar open with swift efficiency. "Arms up," he ordered.

Wordlessly Sasuke obeyed, allowing the blond to pull the shirt over his chest, appreciating the soft kisses that trailed along his abs in the process.

"How come out of the four people living here with me you're the one who still can't dress by himself?" Naruto asked in a soft whisper. "Your own kids cook for you; you have your personal servant" -he winked- "at your disposal, and soon you'll be asking me to wash you."

"I wouldn't mind," the Uchiha replied with a small smirk. Naruto grinned back, rolling his eyes.

"When you're done flirting," a voice from the room's entrance drawled. Both men turned, and Yuu added, "and dressing, you might want to know Mom's coming at eleven. You guys want me to cook?"

"I wanna help!" Seiji appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and gripped the hem of his sibling's shirt tightly. "You're not making any food without me!" He hurried back to the kitchen.

The three remaining males shook their heads in weary amusement. "I'll let you start," Yuu called from the room's threshold. Turning back towards the two men, he added, "She said to tell you to expect a full check-up, and no buying your way out of it. You know how she'll react if either of you find a reason not to be here." A dangerous smile crept on the teenager's face, and Sasuke sighed.

"I'm going to start limiting the number of visits you can pay to my brother," he growled. "I knew I'd have to deal with your father's crazy mischief all over again when you were born, but if you start adding Itachi to the mix, I'm throwing the towel in."

"But temeeee..."

Sasuke blinked at the united voices. And glared as the two blonds looked at each other, laughing. "You guys need to stop doing that," he sighed.

Yuu humphed. "It's his fault," he reminded the Uchiha, pointing towards his father.

And indeed it was. While Yuu had been introduced to Sasuke almost immediately after his birth, he'd only learned the Uchiha's name at the age of two. Up to that moment, he'd called the raven-hair the exact same way Naruto always had, a word which coincidentally had been his very first.

On that day, Sasuke had sworn to himself he'd never let the name-calling get to the point where his children would instinctively go on calling Naruto 'dobe'. It was a right reserved to him alone.

"You're not going to marry." The words were spoken out in the gravest, most dangerous voice Naruto had ever heard coming out of his best friend's mouth. It even came close to Itachi's. Definitely scary.

"Chill," the blond sighed. "What are you getting so worked up about?"

"You're obviously not realizing the full implications of your statement," came the ice-cold reply. "What about the kid? What about Sakura? Does she know you suddenly decided you two should split?"

"She's the one who told me it wasn't going to work out." Blue eyes rose slowly, but eventually came to face the onyx orbs. "We weren't ready for this, Sasuke."

"I thought I had told you that ages ago," the Uchiha snapped back. "But you had to go and decide to keep the kid, become a happy family when you were both only twenty-four. Why did I choose to follow that crazy idea of yours again? Oh, right, because you said you wanted to be a dad."

Naruto blinked. "Are you angry at me?"

"Angry?" Sasuke glared. "Do I have any reason not to be? This kid's going to come out halfway unwanted, when I told you this was a bad idea, and I followed your decisions against my own judgment-"

"I want the kid." The sapphire irises did not waver in the slightest. "I know Sakura wants him just as much as I do. It's not him we weren't ready for. It's us."

This time it was Sasuke's turn to blink. "Naruto," he began slowly. "You've been in love with that woman for more than a decade. How can you not be ready?"

"Well, it was love," the blond admitted, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "But not that kind of love. I mean" -he sighed, frustrated at not knowing how he could explain what he meant- "Not adult love. I wanted to date her, and go out with her, and stay in that bubble where there only was the two of us and nothing else." He chuckled nervously, and stared at the floor. "I wanted the medic student, duty-free Sakura. Not the future mother. I don't feel ready to deal with that yet."

The silence that ensued was heavy.

"Naruto?" The voice was completely devoid of emotion.

Timidly, the blond looked up again. "Yeah?"

"You're an idiot."

The laugh came out slightly strangled. "More than you think," came the unexpected reply. "Sakura had to point everything out to me before I could figure out what my problem was. She told me we still needed to sort out how we were going to take care of the kid-"

"When is it due?"

"End of February," Naruto grinned. "Hopefully he'll have blond hair to warm things up."

"I only wish." The Uchiha sighed again. "I'm never going to forgive you for this," he growled.

"You will," the blond replied knowingly. "Once the babe's born, you won't be able to regret anything."

"Phone's ringing!" Yuu called from the kitchen. "Dad!"

"He's in the shower." Sasuke stepped forward swiftly, grabbing hold of the shrill object and bringing it to his ear. "Yes?"

"Boss? I'm not waking you, aren't I?"

The man sighed. Glanced at his watch. "It's ten thirty," he replied. "I'm almost vexed, Suigetsu."

"It's the weekend," the man remarked. "On a Saturday, I wouldn't be surprised to hear you're still in bed."

"Naruto's been talking to you again," the Uchiha growled. "Ever heard of kids?"

"Sadly, I have. Listen, Sasuke, I got a call from Neji Hyuuga the other day, and he'd like to meet you personally to go over the contract-"

"When?" Sasuke interrupted, walking over to his office, where his agenda lay spread open upon his desk.

"Next week," was the reply. "Sunday, at noon. He said he'd come down at the office." Suigetsu did not add a word. The usually cheerful man was presently very quiet, fully aware that the Sunday column of the agenda was currently residing right underneath his boss' nose, and that its contents were not going to make anyone happy.

"Suigetsu," Sasuke began quietly. "Did I give you the month's important dates?"

"You did, boss," was the resigned answer. "But I couldn't just tell the guy to change his plane tickets, his schedule's as tight as yours during the week. If you'd been out of town, he would have understood, but..."

"So you're telling me I might as well start finding a way to tell my daughter I won't be able to attend her competition, because I've got to eat lunch with someone from whom the only thing I need is a signature."

"Boss, you know it's not that simple-" Suigetsu's voice was abruptly cut off as Sasuke hung up. Angrily, he tossed the phone across the desk, and fell into his chair.

"Ren's not going to be too happy about that," a voice remarked.

"Tell me something I don't know," the man snapped, closing his eyes. "Or better; shut up and come here. I need some physical comforting."

Naruto chuckled, and walked over, his golden hair still dripping with water. "Usually I'm the one asking for massages," he remarked. "Don't you want to give me one? I'm sure it'll help you relax."

"No."

The answer was clear enough. Sighing, the blond man stepped behind the armchair, and placed his hands on either side of Sasuke's head. Gently, his fingers began prodding the skin, easing out tense muscles and smoothing frowns. "You're going to have to tell her," Naruto eventually said. "May I suggest doing it as quickly as possible?"

"When she gets back," the other man sighed. "Those are the times where I understand the advantages of directing a college rather than a company. You don't work on weekends."

"Think again, teme. I'm just being lazy, that's all. But people in that job section usually do understand the concept of having kids keeping you away from duty's call."

"A quality that's seriously lacking in my area." Sasuke opened his eyes. "You'll go?" he asked.

"I would have gone even if you'd come," the blond replied, smiling. "Or do I need to remind you of our agreement to share kids?"

"Hopefully not." The raven-hair straightened in his seat, allowing the tan hands to move down to his neck, and sighed softly. "I hate this," he growled.

"It's a boy!" Sasuke winced, drawing the cellphone away from his ear in order to prevent further damage. "He's adorable, and his eyes are already turquoise; they're going to be just like Sakura's and-"

"Naruto." The stern voice seemed to bring the other man back to earth. Slightly. "Congratulations. Now breathe in, and tell me what his name is."

"Yuu," came the immediate reply. "Isn't it cute? Kiba came in five minutes ago and nicknamed him Yun-yun on the spot; I think it's going to stick, teme, Shika was already using it too, and-"

"Dobe," Sasuke warned for the second time, "I told you to breathe. Call him Yun-yun all you want. But I wouldn't mind a better description. And is Sakura alright?"

"Tired," Naruto said. "But she's happy. You should see them together, they're just..." The blond paused, unable to voice what lay before his eyes.

"So you're reconsidering?"

"What? No, no. I'm just glad she'll be as great a mother as I hope to be a father." There was another pause. "You should really come see him. When can you get here?"

A small smile made its way to the Uchiha's lips. "Maybe I can afford to skip classes," he stated. "Just this once. But this better be worth it."

Sasuke Uchiha came from a affluent and prosperous family. This said, it was obvious to deduce that he was both practical and well-mannered, and would place his friends' psychological well-being long before any of his personal whims. Which was why he was presently focused on a vivid mental debate.

It's a common fact that non-parents usually don't like babies. They squirm, they cry, they drool, and aren't nearly as beautiful as their parents claim. Sasuke took things a step further by loathing their weakness and complete dependance on people who weren't always necessarily good. Though for the infant he was about to meet, the parents were one thing he knew he didn't have to worry about. Too much, anyways.

No, what troubled him was that he hated having to lie to Naruto, or Sakura. He would never tell either of his friends what he was most likely to think about the newborn child, aware that once the nuttering years were over, things were bound to get more tolerable. But he didn't like babies.

The hospital was big, but Naruto waited for him in the entrance hall, alone. As soon as he spotted Sasuke, he raced forward.

"They wouldn't let me take Yuu downstairs," he sighed. "Though I guess the place's too cold for him. Come on, you gotta see him!" Pulling his friend by the arm, he stopped almost immediately, and turned. "Teme, what's the matter?"

Sasuke blinked. And realized he must have let some of his reticence -no it wasn't reticence- slip enough to make Naruto notice. He shook his head, and forced on a smile. "It's nothing. Let's go."

But the blond didn't budge. Instead, he grabbed the Uchiha's shoulders with both hands, and looked at him straight in the eye. "Sasuke," Naruto stated, uttering each syllable distinctly. "It's going to be fine. You don't have to be nervous."

So that was how he was feeling? Shrugging the question away testily, he let the blond lead him to the closest elevator, than through the halls, until they had reached their final destination. Naruto entered first.

"Sakura?"

Shifting slightly to the side in order to see -Sakura was scary at times, but definitely less than the unknown human- Sasuke felt a small twinge of relief upon noting that the pink-haired woman had not changed -save for the now flat belly- and smiled towards him the way she always had.

Sakura then turned towards Naruto, nodding silently to the new father as he approached her, and proceeded into handing him the bundle of covers that had been laying in her arms. "He was trying to go to sleep," she scolded. To Sasuke, she added, "We're sorry we made you skip classes. But Yuu wouldn't wait." She smiled towards the bundle. "I'm glad you could make it."

The dark-haired man felt his smirk edge back to his face. "Wouldn't miss it for the world," he replied, absently noting he had to be a little paler than usual to make Sakura frown. "Let's see the little devil, then."

The woman smirked, watching as Naruto walked back towards his friend. "Take one look at him," she instructed as the latter gently pushed some of the covers back to show his son's face. "And tell me if he doesn't look like his father."

Anticipation and -quite annoyingly- fear peeked as Sasuke braced himself, and finally glanced over the bundle resting in Naruto's arms. At fist, he didn't see anything. The mass of covers shaded off the infant face, and maybe his eyes were also trying to avoid the introductions. Angrily his blinked, and looked again. And there it was.

Not as terrifying as he had imagined, he had to admit. But these were only the first few seconds. Though the sleeping infant did carry his father's traits. Blond tufts of hair already covered the small scalp -the child was far from bald- and the face had a distinct Naruto-ish look to it.

"Here."

Onyx eyes widened brutally as the bundle suddenly edged forward, and Sasuke looked up into smiling azure. Naruto's grin was warm and alight. "Take him."

Hesitantly, the young man extended his arms, offering support for the immobile infant, and let Naruto settle things into his grip.

"Don't drop him," the blond advised with a chuckle. "Put your arm under his head. Like this." Gently Naruto led the limbs into a proper position, and stepped back to admire the effect. Unsure, Sasuke looked down again, refusing to show his state of unease. And suddenly stared.

The button eyes had opened. As Naruto had said, they weren't entirely blue, instead shinning in a deep shade of intrigued turquoise. And the look...

He'd recognize that look anywhere. Yet how could it appear on a face he didn't know? Spell-stricken, he did not notice one of the minuscule arms squirm out of the covers' warmth in order to reach out, straight up in order to catch some of the raven strands of hair hanging from the Uchiha's scalp. The pixie hand closed, and tugged.

Sasuke jerked, though softly enough so as not to alarm either parent. Naruto laughed. And suddenly, a second, much lighter sound erupted from within the bundle laying in the Uchiha's arms. Another laugh. Sasuke just stood, bewildered.

"Teme?" Naruto's slightly concerned voice didn't even lift him from his hypnotized state. The blond approached, suddenly worried. "Sasuke, are you okay?"

Onyx orbs lifted, for a split-second, then went straight back towards the giggling child, head lowering enough to let the long strands of hair hover directly above the baby face, watching in mute fascination as the hands reached out again and tugged.

On that day, Sasuke Uchiha fell in love with the youngest being he had ever come to meet.