Everything Stays: A Song for The Sunflowers, a naruto fanfic

A/N: I needed to air this one out 'cause it came out as a brain fart when one of my friends made me listen to "Everything Stays" by Marceline from Adventure Time (listen to it!) and wouldn't leave me alone. :p Story has Naruto as a girl. Again. (I wanted her to have a biological baby with Sasuke and the only way I could have male Naruto have a baby with Sasuke is if the story was out of the real world setting. *cries*) So yesh. We have this story set in the real world. Hope you guys still give this one a shot even if Naruto is a girl in this.

Take note of the genre, everyone. You have been warned. (Because this author is a tragedy-junkie)

To those waiting on Before The Worst: I've written about a quarter of the next chapter out. I'm having just a bit of trouble with how to execute the writing and scenes. Let's call it a minor case of writer's block (although I already know the general flow of the chapter so worry not). If all goes well, you can expect a chapter by the end of the week. Thanks for your patience.

*Credits go to the respective owners/writers of Naruto and Adventure Time/"Everything Stays"*

EVERYTHING STAYS

A Song for The Sunflowers

"Push! Mrs. Uchiha, push! You're almost there!" The nurse uttered in a calm encouraging voice while assisting the doctor on duty with the procedure.

The usual regal, unfazed facade of one Sasuke Uchiha was completely inexistent when his wife was screaming in utmost pain. Although he was panicking, he thought it the best time to offer his own set of encouragement to his wife. "Come on! Put some more effort into it, blockhead!"

"Mr. Uchiha, please refrain from insulting your wife during this crucial moment!" The doctor scolded Sasuke. What kind of man screamed insults at his wife when something joyfully life-changing was about to happen?

"She can handle it! Come on, Naruto! Push!"

Beautiful blue eyes wrought with evident pain glared at her husband with scalding anger. "ARGH! Son of a bitch! I'm gonna kill you for getting me knocked uuu—AHHHHHH!"

On September 19, a gift was bestowed upon Sasuke and Naruto Uchiha's lives in the form of a tiny bawling bundle of wrinkles and flesh. It was annoyingly loud, desperately fragile, high maintenance, yet it was absolutely positively—

"Beautiful." Sasuke muttered as he watched the hospital employees wrap the small thing in a clean, pale yellow blanket.

"Congratulation, Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha. It's a girl."

Naruto panted heavily showing how winded she was after labour but the smile she had clearly depicted how she couldn't care any less how taxing giving birth was. Once the child was calm and swaddled in her blanket, the nurse immediately placed the baby girl into the arms of her mother. Naruto, with open arms, wholeheartedly accepted her and Sasuke's child.

Naruto was quick to coo at the sight of the sleeping babe, with her little button nose, long eyelashes, and her fine wisps of raven hair. "Hey little girl. I'm your mommy." The blonde whispered then smiled brightly to her child. The young new mother, with stars in her eyes, looked at her husband, silently telling him to come greet the addition to their family. Like a cautious deer, Sasuke slowly leaned down to take a closer look at his daughter and study her features. It felt like he was in daze, as if the whole situation wasn't really happening.

Understanding Sasuke's silence, Naruto took the reins and introduced Sasuke herself. "This is your daddy."

The word 'daddy' snapped Sasuke from his astonishment and quickly offered the child a very rare toothy smile. "Hi sweetheart." He greeted as he caressed the baby's small hands with his index finger. By reflex, the babe took hold of her father's finger and briefly opened her eyes; crystal clear blue eyes like her mother's, maybe even more beautiful than her mother's. The sight rendered Sasuke overwhelmed with joy. Here was a product of Naruto's and his love and commitment, a baby that he and Naruto had made together; this was their child. The young father was quick to bury his face at the crook of his wife's neck with his million dollar smiles still in place. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." He chanted the expression of gratitude over and over, offering Naruto kisses in between his thanks.

In their own intimate little bubble, Naruto smiled and quietly hummed a lullaby her mother used to sing to her when she was smaller. To think that now she had a lifetime to sing the same lullaby to her own daughter, to her and Sasuke's daughter.

That light overpowering feeling that she was experiencing? That was probably what bliss felt like.

In one quick instant, Sasuke and Naruto's lives had changed.

Himawari Uchiha.

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The house quaked with the sound of Himawari's cries. For nearly nine hours, the child had cried almost non-stop, if the bags under her parents' eyes were any proof of that.

"Naruto, I tap out. Can you take her from me for a few minutes?" Sasuke pleaded with evident weariness in his voice. Himawari had kept both of her parents up all night and it was beginning to take a toll on Sasuke. Thank goodness it was a Sunday which meant Sasuke didn't have to go to work with zero hours of sleep.

Naruto took Himawari into her arms and grimaced when the baby seemed to cry louder. "How can such a tiny person make so much noise for prolonged durations?!" She complained while gently swaying her child. She missed the days when maternal leave consisted of waiting for her child to be born and binge watching on different TV shows all day. Gone were the days when looking after other folks' kids were her problem as a school teacher by day, and having to get a restful sleep by night.

"Well, you are her mother. What did you expect?" Sasuke tiredly mumbled then plopped onto their living room couch. He remembered Naruto having the same voice intensity when they were five years old. Of course their angelic-looking daughter would inherit Naruto's demonic loudness and not the proud Uchiha trait of silence.

"I heard that, ass." Naruto briefly glared at her husband then made way to the white French doors that led to their patio overlooking their simple garden, thinking that the morning sun would somehow calm Himawari down. Outside, the sun's rays, although offering its relaxing warmth to the mother and child, had done little to quell Himawari's forceful temper tantrum.

Clearly out of her wits, Naruto decided to sing the child a lullaby hoping that it would quiet Himawari. If anything, the song could at least calm the mother down as it always did when she sang it. It was a win-win move and so Naruto held Himawari closer to her bosom and began to sing.

Let's go in the garden

You'll find something waiting

Right there where you left it

Lying upside down

What had caught Sasuke's attention was not the fact the Naruto was singing - Naruto had started to make a habit of singing Himawari the same lullaby when they would put the baby to sleep so his wife singing was nothing new– but the fact that Himawari was beginning to quiet down from all out wailing to little baby hiccups.

When you finally find it

You'll see how it's faded

The underside is lighter

When you turn it around

Sasuke removed himself from the couch and quietly watched his wife and daughter from where he stood by the French doors to the patio. The view of his family had miraculously taken away any vestiges of physical exhaustion that he was experiencing; and so he fondly looked on in admiration at Naruto and how excellently she was handling being a mother to their first-born child.

Everything stays

Right where you left it

Everything stays

But it still changes

Ever so slightly

Daily and nightly

In little ways

When everything stays

The splendid sound of silence had met Sasuke's ears. He took this as a cue to approach his wife and his daughter. What greeted him was the sight of the baby finally sleeping in the arms of her mother while Naruto quietly hummed the melody of the lullaby.

"I'll take her to her crib. You go and get some rest, Nar." Sasuke offered to which Naruto happily agreed to. Naruto was beginning to form a migraine and she decided that it was best that she rested before her headache worsened.

"Thanks, Sasuke." After kissing Sasuke on the cheek, she excused herself to their room to get some much needed sleep, leaving Sasuke to tuck their daughter in.

The days that followed then, the couple had come to realize that singing the lullaby to Himawari under the warm sunshine easily brought peace to the child. They'd also noticed that Himawari was fonder of her mother's voice than that of Sasuke's; and as such a new habit was imbibed in the Uchiha household. Naruto, without fail, sang to Himawari at their snug patio and Sasuke made it a point to give them his fond attention whenever she did.

llllllllllllllllllll

"Where's daddy, sweetheart? Where's daddy?" Naruto cooed while carrying their almost one-year-old daughter. She was intelligent for her age which she had gotten from the Uchiha side of the family. The little girl giggled and pointed to where Sasuke was 'hiding' behind one of the lampposts in their living room.

"You found me." Sasuke smiled and approached his daughter to sneak in a quick kiss to her soft chubby cheeks. The show of affection started a set of new giggles from Himawari. "Now point to mommy, sweetheart. Where's mommy?" The young father adoringly asked his daughter. Himawari instantly pointed at Naruto then clapped her hands since she knew she had gotten that correctly.

"Good job, honey! You found mommy!" Naruto cheered alongside Himawari.

Sasuke, in his amusement, chuckled affectionately. A glimpse of their longcase clock had alerted him that he had to leave for work soon lest he be late. The last thing he needed was to look irresponsible when a promotion was just within his grasps. He each gave his two girls a kiss. "I'll see you later."

"Say bye to daddy, Himawari. Bye daddy!" Naruto took a light hold of Himawari's tiny arms and waved the little girl's arms.

"Da! Da!" Himawari shouted while pointing to where Sasuke was standing beside their front door. Sasuke raised both of his eyebrows in surprise over what had just occurred. Did Himawari just -?

"Oh my God." Naruto gasped. This wasn't just childish babbling. This was Himawari saying dada and being aware that she was pointing at dada.

"Himawari, say it again. Say dada. Dada." In long strides, Sasuke returned to Naruto and Himawari's side.

"Da-da!" The little girl joyfully proclaimed in her small voice.

"Her first word!" Naruto and Sasuke exclaimed excitedly. The celebration lasted about a minute and a half but was promptly ended when Naruto was hit with realization's strong punch to the gut.

"No fair! I spend more time with her! How come her first word is dada?" Naruto growled. She was given one of Sasuke's famous smug smirks which only ruffled her feathers further.

"Let it go, loser. I win this round." He would lord this over Naruto for as long as he could. Sasuke was about to ask Himawari to say her first word once more but then the chiming of the clock alerted him that he had to leave now with no minute to spare.

"I have to go." He sadly uttered before nuzzling Himawari one last time. "I can't wait to get back." Sasuke haughtily said before lightly nudging Naruto with his elbow.

Naruto stuck out a tongue out at him. "Yeah, well, she's going to be saying mama once you get back! Believe it!"

"Oh I wouldn't be surprised. She's smart. She is an Uchiha after all." Her husband teased before opening the front door.

Naruto's eye twitched in annoyance. Sasuke had made sure that there was no winning this competition for her so it seemed. "Your father is a dick, Himawari."

"Dada!"

Naruto smiled at her daughter then shook her head.

"Come home soon, Sasuke. See you later." Naruto said with a grin then swayed Himawari towards the garden while already starting to hum a familiar lullaby.

The young husband and father softened his gaze and briefly watched his wife and daughter interact, then turned to start another day at work.

llllllllllllllllllll

"Himawari, please stop crying!" Sasuke growled and was losing his patience fast. It didn't help that the office was bombarding him with calls. Ever since being promoted a year ago, he'd found himself gradually becoming busier and busier until he was drowned in so much work. At first, he'd been able to balance his personal life and work fine but now there was barely any time to even spend a moment's peace with his family. Another consequence of being swamped with work was the growing fact that Sasuke was always so strung up and irritable. He would sometimes snap over the simplest things like their two-year-old's toys being strewn across the floor.

"Naruto! I can't shut this kid up! I'm going to be late to work!" The young father stomped to the kitchen where Naruto was preparing Himawari's sippy cup. Sasuke plopped Himawari on top of the counter next to Naruto.

"What the hell, Sasuke?!" Naruto scolded Sasuke for his rampaging and even taking out his frustrations out on Naruto and Himawari. The flaxen-haired mother quickly collected the crying child into her arms lest Himawari fell off the counter. Oh, Sasuke would not be able to leave the house without giving him a piece of her mind. She stalked angrily towards Sasuke whom was briskly gathering his things in the living room.

"You can yell at me later, Naruto. I am too fucking late right now to even give a shit." Sasuke hastened his pace and dashed out, even slamming the door in the process.

Naruto was brewing in anger but quelled the emotion. It would be counterproductive to calm a crying toddler down in her state of fury. She hugged Himawari to her and tried to gently shush the child. "Come on, sweetheart. I know you and I could use a lullaby because daddy is such a pain."

And moments later, like clockwork, Himawari was happily playing with her mother as if her tantrum never happened.

At the end of the day, while Himawari was still napping, Sasuke arrived from work bringing with him a bouquet of flowers and a most remorseful look on his face. He found Naruto preparing dinner; she clearly knew that he had arrived and still refused to acknowledge his presence. Sasuke approached her from the back and leaned his forehead on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry I was a jerk this morning."

Naruto smirked, pleased that Sasuke knew that he was at the wrong and apologized for his transgression. She briefly recalled there being a time when Sasuke would rather drop dead than apologize.

"Sure. You can make it up to me and Himawari by taking us to the zoo this weekend." This wasn't up for negotiations. Himawari had wanted to see foxes for quite a while now.

Sasuke slackened his tensed shoulders, grateful that he and his wife wouldn't be fighting. "Deal." He sighed out in relief.

"But you're sleeping on the couch tonight." Naruto faced him and winked. "And set up the table for me, would you?" She said as an order disguised as a question.

"You're gonna milk this, aren't you?" Sasuke resigned to his defeat.

"You bet your ass I am." Naruto said in a sing-song voice.

llllllllllllllllllll

"Daddy! Look! Look!" Himawari excitedly ran to her father and latched onto his pant leg. She was waving a picture she had drawn using the set of crayons her Aunt Sakura had given. It was a picture of oddly shaped figures with vague smiling faces.

"Not now, honey." Sasuke said in a clipped tone. He was currently talking to someone on his phone, no doubt another big wig from work. Through years of hard work, Sasuke had earned himself a position that worked closely with the executives of the company he worked for. He was earning thousands and thousands however at the cost of much of his personal time. He didn't mind though. His father and mother would be proud of where he was, with a beautiful family and a much sought after job under his belt.

"Daddy! I draw you and mommy and me! Look!" Himawari kept a tight hold onto her father which rendered Sasuke unable to move around the room freely. Sasuke continued his conversation on the phone, ignoring his daughter in doing so.

"Daaaaaaad!"

"Himawari, please!" Sasuke held his phone away and scolded Himawari before going back to his conversation. The little girl pouted and sat dejectedly by Sasuke's feet. Minutes later, Sasuke's phone call had ended.

Sasuke crouched down so he could talk to his daughter. "Himawari, I told you not to bother daddy when he's talking on the phone, right?"

"But I draw." Himawari said in a voice so heartbreakingly sad that Sasuke couldn't even find it in his heart to stay cross.

"You did? Let me see?"

Himawari was quick to give the picture for her father's viewing pleasure. Sasuke chuckled when he saw that Himawari had drawn whiskers onto Naruto's face, another manifestation of his daughter's attraction to foxes.

"Daddy likes it?" Himawari's crystal clear eyes showed anxious anticipation of her father's verdict. She'd worked hard on her picture and wanted to show it to her father first.

Sasuke grinned then carried Himawari up. "I love it, sweetheart." He then pressed his nose to Himawari's cheeks and nuzzled her. A set of adorable giggles broke out from the three-year-old girl.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Naruto, with arms cossed, leaned her body against the door frame to Sasuke's mini office.

"I show daddy my drawing, mommy!" The little girl bubbled over in mirth. Sasuke was rarely at home and even during the weekends he was busy. This was why Himawari basked in delight when Sasuke had time to give her his attention.

"Oh? How come I haven't seen it? Naruto feigned a hurt expression.

Sasuke smirked upon knowledge of this fact. "Show mommy your picture, Himawari." The raven placed his daughter down to the ground and let her run to her mother. He kept his laughter in when he saw Naruto's face twitched upon seeing Himawari's version of her.

"Oh wow... I have whiskers. And cat ears?"

"Fox ears, mommy!" Himawari puffed her chest out in pride.

"This is great, kiddo! Why don't you show this to Aunt Sakura? She's downstairs waiting for you." Naruto ruffled the child's raven hair.

"Yeah!" Like a tiny whirlwind, Himawari zoomed past her mother and stomped downstairs to greet her Aunt Sakura.

Naruto looked at her husband's dishevelled appearance, fully aware of the stress he'd been experiencing the past few weeks. "We'll be heading out now." She approached him and gave him a kiss. Another outing Sasuke would be missing because of work.

"Sorry. I promise I'll make time for the next one." Sasuke raked his fingers through his dark tresses.

"Yeah. That's what you said last time. And the time before that. And the time before that." There was bitterness in Naruto's tone that Sasuke didn't miss. It was true; he'd been missing a lot of family events the past year. The last one he was able to go to was Himawari's birthday party at school months ago and, even then, he'd only been able to stay for an hour.

"I know, I get it. I really am sorry."

Naruto brushed Sasuke's cheek with her supple hands. "Himawari and I understand, Sasuke. Just... try not to work yourself too much, yeah? Himawari won't be this young forever. She's growing up fast. We should make the most of it while she thinks we're still fucking cool." The blonde chuckled at her own words.

"Tch. I'll always be cool to her. I don't know about you though. You've always been a loser." Sasuke teased then poked at Naruto's forehead.

"Shut up, bastard." Naruto grinned, knowing full well that Sasuke was only joking. The blonde made her way out the room before turning to look back. "See you later then?"

"Yeah, see you. I love you." Sasuke waved goodbye then turned to his desk to gather his paperwork.

"Love you too, bastard." The blonde shouted back while leaving the room.

Outside, Sasuke could hear Himawari sing her favourite lullaby in that adorable small voice of hers. The sound of car doors closing were tell tale signs that Sakura had finished putting stuff in the car and were ready to depart any moment. Sasuke looked out the window so he could wave goodbye to his daughter.

Himawari quickly caught sight of her father by the window. "See you, daddy! I love you!"

"Have fun! Love you too!" He wished them well then waved a quick greeting to Sakura before the pinkette strapped on his three-year-old in a car seat.

Soon, he saw Naruto run out of the front door. "Let's go, guys!" She beelined to the passenger seat and shut the car door in a hurry. It would appear that Himawari wasn't the only kid excited for their day trip to the state carnival.

Once alone, Sasuke made quick work of his leftover paperwork from the week. He made a few business calls here and there and hours later, he found himself finished with his duties. The man checked the clock and found that he had about enough time to make himself a simple dinner. If he ate fast enough, he could possibly build a pillow fort outside just in time for his wife and his daughter's arrival from the carnival.

At around 9pm that day, the keys to the front door jingled and seconds later, Naruto came in with her daughter asleep in her arms. To her surprise, what greeted her was the sight of her snoozing husband outside in their garden surrounded by pillows and blankets that were arranged into a fort. There were even small LED lights strewn about to make the pillow fort more cosy.

Naruto beamed and slightly shook Himawari awake. "Sweetie, look what daddy made for you."

The child cutely blinked and stretched to shake the sleep away. Though the little girl struggled to fully rouse herself from sleep, seeing the pillow fort outside was supremely effective in waking her up. She wiggled in Naruto's arms, itching to be released. Himawari then eagerly sprinted to the fort and immediately plopped on top of her father. Naruto followed soon after, bringing in three mugs of hot chocolate with marshmallows with her.

The family had spent a few minutes just hanging out and playing and laughing within the fort. Sasuke showed his daughter constellations and solar systems and planets. Naruto told her stories and myths and sang songs. Through it all, Himawari remained attentive and eager-eyed. However since all three of them had been physically tired out from the day's events, they'd fallen asleep in their little pillow fort under the dark starry night with Himawari safely tucked in between her parents.

Tomorrow was another day. They would be returning to their busy lives tomorrow but at least they were able to spend a couple of minutes of the night with each other's company.

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"I can't believe this, Sasuke!" Naruto paced around the room obviously frazzled over the last minute news Sasuke had given. Her look of irritation was out of place with the way she was radiantly made up and wearing an elegant white dress.

"I'm sorry, okay! They said it was an emergency. I have to be there, Naruto!" Sasuke was shrugging on his suit, one that he usually wore to work; because that was where Sasuke was going – to work.

"No! They're all capable adults! They can handle their own problems! You have to be in your daughter's school play because you promised her months ago!" Naruto was frustrated with her husband. He'd only ever seen Himawari rehearse a few of her lines at a time whenever she was home. One fine day, the little girl had made her father promise to watch her perform the lead role for her upcoming school play. Sasuke had, of course, promised – even pinky promised on it! Their four-year-old had been bouncing off the walls when Sasuke specifically booked off the day to watch the performance. This had Himawari doubling her efforts to perfect an already perfect performance of her lines.

"I promise I won't miss the next one. I swear on it." He knew he'd said this countless times before but he meant it 110% this time; that was 10% more than all the other times. He had to break his promise to his little girl because a big mishap had just happened at work and if he didn't solve the dilemma soon, it would bring enormous losses to his place of occupation.

"She's going to be so disappointed, Sasuke." Not just Himawari. Naruto let it show in her eyes just how disappointed she was in her husband. It was a look of weariness that Sasuke was sadly growing accustomed to when he shouldn't even be seeing it or even causing it in the first place.

"I know. Tell her I'm sorry." He held her hand in apology. He'd have to make it up to the both of them next time. Sasuke pretended he hadn't made that same promise as well in his head hundreds of times before.

"You tell her yourself. I'm not going to be the one to make excuses for you, Sasuke. You're going to have to talk to her once we get home." Naruto slipped her hands away from Sasuke's hold and took her purse. She slipped on her heels and was about to leave when Sasuke dejectedly sighed.

"I'll see you later." Sasuke muttered gloomily.

Naruto briefly paused her leaving and looked back. "Yeah. See you later, hon. Come home soon, yeah?"

Sasuke nodded despite him being unsure whether or not he could fulfill the last request. There was no need to spark another explosion from his wife. They bid each other a quick goodbye and went on with their respective schedules.

It took around twenty minutes to get to Himawari's school and upon arrival at the gymnasium, Naruto gushed at the adorable decorations that littered the venue. She spotted an empty seat five rows down from the stage and secured it. Not long after, the show had started and on cue, the red beeping lights of video cameras became prominent in the audience section. Himawari played as the Velveteen Rabbit, the leading character of a story of the same title. Naruto outright cooed at the sight of her daughter in a light brown rabbit onesie. On stage, Himawari appeared as if she was in search of someone from the audience. It didn't take a genius to know that she was looking for her parents. Naruto waved in her daughter's direction, noting the way she beamed once the girl had caught sight of her mother. Hopefully, Himawari hadn't realized that Sasuke was not present. Naruto feared it might cause the child to lose focus on her performance.

Thankfully, the sight of the waving hand of her mother had been enough to get Himawari to return her attention to the play. And so on the production went with Himawari being flawless on stage. Even the other parents found the little Uchiha unbearably adorable. Naruto couldn't believe Sasuke was missing their daughter performing so impeccably. Not even a stutter, and not even a moment's hesitation on stage. When curtain call had begun, each parent stood up from their seats and cheered for the children's wonderful performance. The teachers thanked the audience for coming and soon the event ended without a hitch.

Running towards Naruto was a cute little beige rabbit, still immensely excited from the success of the play. Naruto beamed, crouched low on the ground, and congratulated Himawari with open arms.

"You did so great, kid! I am so so so proud of you!" Naruto showered kisses on her daughter's cheek, not minding that there were face painted whiskers on it.

"You watched me the whole time, right mommy?" The child giggled and tightly held onto her mother.

"Of course, Himwari! I didn't take my eyes off you for a second!" Naruto nuzzled the girl's small nose.

"Where's daddy? Is he in the bathroom? Did he watch me too?" The way Himawari frantically searched for Sasuke broke Naruto's heart. She silently cursed her husband for giving her the task of having to break the news to their daughter.

Naruto looked apologetically at Himawari. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but daddy couldn't make it. He had an emergency at work. He said he was sorry and he promised to go to the next one." If Naruto thought her heart was broken before, the look Himawari shot her upon the news shattered whatever was left of her already broken heart.

"But he pinky promised he'd watch me today, mommy." A small collection of tears had gathered at the edges of Himawari's eyes.

Naruto held her daughter closer. "Oh sweetheart, shhh, don't cry. Daddy would have loved to go. He wouldn't have missed this for anything else but there was an emergency, you see. Shhh, don't cry, baby." The young mother evenly swayed her daughter back and forth while humming their lullaby on impulse. Although it calmed the child somewhat, Himawari still appeared dejected.

"Hey? Why don't we get ice cream? Then maybe once we get home, you can perform for daddy, yeah? Sounds like a plan, kiddo?" Naruto wiped Himawari's tears with a swipe of her thumb across the toddler's chubby cheeks. Himawari calmly agreed with a faint trace of a smile on her face.

Naruto strapped Himawari to her car seat and they made their way to the nearest ice cream shop. Himawari then began to sing her lullaby maybe in attempt to lighten her mood. Naruto quickly glanced at her daughter from her rearview mirror while she waited for the light at the intersection to turn green. When Himawari had started the last verse, Naruto decided to join in.

Everything stays

Right where you left it

Everything stays

But it still changes

Himawari was starting to smile and sway to the song. Naruto increased the volume of her voice so that Himawari would go and do the same.

Ever so slightly

Daily and nightly

In little ways

When everything stays

They started humming the melody when the light turned green. Naruto pressed on the gas so that they could finally get their much deserved scoops of ice cream; but halfway through the intersection, a car whose driver had been too preoccupied with his phone failed to notice that his light was red and had hit Naruto's car at full speed. This caused both vehicles to tumble down the street in a full on wreckage.

In the safety of his office, Sasuke remained unaware of the battle for life that his wife and daughter were going through.

The car was upside down on the road. Naruto had been trapped by the scraps of metal that had crushed her legs and had pierced and gashed parts of her body. None of that mattered though because at that very moment, she could hear her daughter howling. The child was still on her car seat however she had a huge amount of blood streaming down the side of her head.

Sasuke swiftly spoke with a few of his associates, throwing about orders in order to finally resolve the issue that was plaguing the business.

"Sweetheart. Shhh. Stop crying. Mommy's here. Mommy's right here." Naruto tried to reach over to where Himawari was bawling in full volume while calling out for her parents. "Himawari, mommy is right here." The young mother attempted to try to touch her daughter in any way she could but the fact that she was pinned to her seat had prevented her from doing so. She began to panic when the smell of fuel had reached her nose. "Help! Someone! Somebody help my daughter! Please! Someone has to pull my daughter out!" She desperately cried out. At the very least, someone had to go save her daughter, never mind what happened to her.

Sasuke exited his office and authoritatively walked towards the conference room where he would meet with the top dogs in his work place.

"Himawari, mommy's here. Stop crying. You'll be fine." Naruto tried in earnest to quell the soft hiccups that threatened to leave her own mouth. Himawari didn't need to hear her mother cry right now. Naruto had to be strong. The blonde was in excruciating pain and she was beginning to feel weak. Where were the police? Hadn't anyone called 911 yet? When Himawari wouldn't stop crying, with whatever strength she had left, she sang to her daughter. Naruto's vision was starting to blur and it was getting harder and harder for her to breathe but she pushed on with the lullaby upon noticing that Himawari significantly lessened the intensity of her crying.

"Everything... stays. Right—where you left it... Ev-eryth-thing stays, but it still cha-changes." Naruto struggled to continue but did so because finally Himawari was reduced to a small bundle of hiccups. The sound of sirens had washed Naruto in utmost relief. Himawari would be safe. Now all she had to do was to finish the lullaby.

She continued to whisper the lyrics. "Ever so slight—ly. Daily... and nightly. In little.. ways. When... everythi-" Naruto released a breath.

Then there was deafening silence on Naruto's part.

Although the authorities had arrived at the scene, they proved to be too late because a few seconds later, the fuel from the car had come into contact with a torn battery cable. The car had burst into hot intense flames.

In one quick instant, two lives – a mother and a child - had been taken away.

A secretary rushed into the conference room where Sasuke was currently standing in front of the executives, board members and major stock owners to explain the procedure he'd employed to circumvent the critical situation.

"Mr. Uchiha. I have a very urgent call for you." The secretary was pale and looked horrified.

"Can't you see that we have more pressing issues being discussed here? I'll take that call later." Sasuke snarled and returned his attention to his bosses. But before he could resume his discussion, the secretary hastily approached him and whispered in his ear.

"It's your family. There was a horrible accident, sir."

A lump had formed in Sasuke's throat and for a handful of seconds he found himself incapable of breathing. His blood had run cold in his veins and it felt as if the world was gone from under his feet. Cold sweat had erupted from all over his body and he felt like he was about to hyperventilate. The Uchiha ran from the room to take the call. It was an officer of the law on the other end of the line, and Sasuke was met with words like accident, flames, fatal and...

No survivors.

This must have been a joke.

Naruto said that she and Himawari would see him later tonight. She'd said so! He still had to make it up to Himawari for missing out on her play! This was a joke! They'd be having dinner together once he got home! He still had to grovel at Himawari's feet for breaing their pinky promise! THIS WAS A GOD DAMN FUCKING JOKE!

"I'm so sorry for your loss, sir."

The police officer continued to relay Sasuke more information but he was unable to process any of it. He kept silent, still trying to convince himself that this was a horrible prank by his wife and his daughter as punishment for breaking another promise.

Even after the line went dead, Sasuke remained firmly in place with the phone by his ear.

In one quick instant, Sasuke was no longer a husband and a father.

In one quick instant, Sasuke's life had changed.

llllllllllllllllllll

Sasuke gently shut the front door behind him and trudged toward the patio. He looked uncharacteristically feeble and fragile in his pitch black tuxedo when normally he would have looked like he was sent by the heavens whenever he dressed into one. But then he no one had any business looking good at a funeral, especially someone who had lost his immediate family.

His house was quiet as it had been the past couple of days. No trace of a giggling little girl anywhere, no sound of someone tinkering in the rooms, no thump-thump-thumping footsteps of two people playing tag in the upper floor of the house.

No hints of Naruto and Himawari in the patio singing their lullaby as Sasuke usually found them when he got home from work.

Sasuke closed the French door shut, in his hands was a potted plant with three fully bloomed sunflowers. He'd get around to properly planting it in the garden tomorrow but for now, he had no strength to do anything else other than to mourn.

Sasuke let the sun's rays engulf the plant with warmth. He remembered someone who was equally fond of the sun when she was still a baby. Someone who wouldn't stop crying until her mother began singing to her under the sunshine. It wasn't in his character to sing but in his deep melancholy he thought it would bring him comfort if he did so at that moment.

Let's go in the garden

You'll find something waiting

Right there where you left it

Lying upside down

When you finally find it

You'll see how it's faded

The underside is lighter

When you turn it around

Sasuke gazed around his garden where Naruto and Himawari would usually stay in their free time. Where they'd spent a lot of time as a family in the few moments Sasuke was free from his work. He grimaced, wishing he'd spent more time with his family. What the hell was he doing skipping out on so much? His chest constricted and his dark onyx eyes spilled hot tears.

Everything stays

Right where you left it

Everything stays

He sadly gazed at the potted sunflower one more time before moving back towards his house. It was just an empty house now; a home to a treasure trove of memories and only memories.

But it still changes

Ever so slightly

Daily and nightly

In little ways

He looked out at the patio a last time and imagined Naruto and Himawari spending time together, waiting for him to come home to them. It was probably just his imagination but he heard Naruto's and Himawari's voices carried by the wind and joining in on the lullaby he was singing. Sasuke blinked and the image of his wife and his daughter was gone in an instant, and in their place was one potted sunflower plant basking in the sunlight. Sasuke sighed in regret and sorrow, and closed the French doors, then retired to the silence of his room.

When everything stays

A/N: I wrote this with one of my best friends in mind who'd scolded me once for not cherishing what I had. She'd recently lost her father and had basically put me aside for some real talk. This one's for her and to all my close friends, acquaintances, and readers who'd had their lives changed in an instant. This is to remind everyone that even the littlest things shouldn't be taken for granted.