It had been one night of passion. One single night tangled up in him before he started off on a mission that was only supposed to last a month but went awry and turned into something that it never should have been. The night of passion developed into something that it wasn't meant to, but Sakura was determined that her life was not ruined.
When one month slipped into six weeks and six weeks faded into eight months she lost all hope of ever seeing him again. The bulge in her belly grew and Sakura was filled with only affection. She could not resent him because even if the night had been a mistake in his mind, she could live with that as long as she had something of his to hold onto. Better yet to hold onto something that they had created together.
When the Godaime announced that she was carrying a boy, Sakura was both relieved and terrified. She had always figured – in the little time she had spent thinking about it – that she would prefer to raise a boy. But she didn't think she could handle raising a boy with a bright shock of pink hair. This was the only real detail that she fretted over during her pregnancy. She was a medic and had the Godaime herself keeping an eye on her, so she knew the baby would be fine. And as far as he was concerned… She couldn't know and there was no sense in stressing over him and making both her and the baby sick.
The hours in labor were not spent with soft, pained coos in her ear. Rather she gripped Naruto with an ungodly pressure, cracking his hands and arms into oblivion as she let out strings of curses that would have put the Hokage herself to shame. Naruto could only weep as she clutched him in pain, remembering that she had offered free ramen for life if he would just be there for her. He would have done it anyway, since this was Sakura-chan, but hanging the fact that he spent twenty hours of labor with her over her head wouldn't hurt to get a little ramen every now and again. And when a cleaned, healthy, and screaming baby boy was settled into her arms he couldn't help but be proud that he had even such a small part in it. To her relief the baby did not have pink hair, but took after his father.
When eight months turned into twenty-four his name was added to the POW list. It would be moved to the stone memorial if he didn't show up or wasn't found within three more years. The news didn't hurt her. She had given up on seeing him again long ago. He had been sent on an S class mission and that was the only thing she knew. For all that the Godaime could tell her, he could have been next door to her and she would have never known.
The Godaime refused to allow anyone but Sakura and her son into his apartment. Sakura only brought him there to give him some sense of familiarity with his father. She wanted him to know who he was, what his legacy was, and what he was capable of. She wanted him to know his father's scent and visage, even if it only came from the sheets on his bed and the outdated picture on her nightstand. She wanted him to know that he had a father and that he wasn't a bastard; she wanted him to know that he was not alone and never would be. So they visited at least once a week and she let him roam the rooms of the apartment as she told him stories of his father.
When eight months turned to forty-three her son entered the Academy. She could only beam when people mentioned that he had even beaten his father as the youngest student to be accepted. She made sure he knew how proud of him she was everyday and never forgot to remind him that his father would be proud, too. She was terrified when he entered the academy, though. She didn't want to lose him, too. He was only a child, after all.
Forty-three months drifted into fifty-two and Sakura had just finished a double shift at the hospital when she picked up her son from the Academy. As they were steadily heading toward home with his tiny hand in hers and his chatter in her ears an ANBU messenger stopped them. He didn't say much, but ANBU never really did or needed to. The masks alone were enough for alarm and Sakura could only assume the worst. He delivered his message – the Godaime wanted to see her; it was urgent – and was off on his way. Without a second's hesitation she scooped her son up into her arms and jogged all the way to the Hokage's tower.
When they arrived her son had gotten over the initial excitement and was chattering again as Shizune led them to the top of the tower. When she knocked and opened the door her son nearly leapt from her arms and bolted toward the desk on the opposite side of the room.
"Granny Tsunade! Granny Tsunade! Look what I can do!" he cried. And before anyone could stop him or Sakura could even calculate the room and its inhabitants, a blue flash of crackling, electric chakra erupted from the little boy's chubby fingers. It dissipated as quickly as it came and the only sound was his giggling. Sakura gained her bearings and rushed to the boy, tugging him to face her instead of the Godaime and sternly scolding him.
"Obito! You could have hurt someone! Apologize to Tsunade-shishou!" she said, but his eyes were not on her. Rather they were focused somewhere behind her. She watched, astounded as he completely ignored her and moved past her, his dark eyes peering upwards in wonder. "Obito!" she called, and still he ignored her. She rose to her full height and turned all the way around, wondering what was so fascinating that even Granny Tsunade seemed unimportant.
It was then that she saw him. He had only appeared to her in ANBU garb once and it had been brief. But there was no mistaking the tall, broad build of the man that stood before her. His ANBU mask was askew on his head, covering his Sharingan where his hitae-ate would have. The ever present mask was in place and his hair was as silver as ever. The red tattoo that marked him a member of the Black Ops was stark against his pale shoulder. He had lost the arm guards and his hands hung bare at his sides.
And then she realized her situation. Quickly she moved forward, stopping her son's progress and squatting next to him. She watched the older man's only visible eye for any reaction, but his gaze did not move from the small child only feet away from him. She knew that he was stunned, in awe. She would have found it humorous had the situation not been so grave and sudden. The resemblance between him and his son was uncanny, as if the boy was simply a small, unscarred picture of himself. She couldn't catch her son's attention either as he tilted his head slightly at the man in front of him.
She took a deep breath and gulped before speaking. The air in the room was palpable. She went to introduce him, "Obito, this is—", but she never got the chance to finish as her son spoke up.
"Hey dad," he said, plain as day. Kakashi tugged the ANBU mask off completely and took a step forward. The boy continued, "What's up?"
Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes as Kakashi finally stopped mere inches from the boy. Obito had to crane his neck to meet his father's gaze, but he wouldn't be deterred from looking at him. His father's large hand came to rest gently in Obito's mop of silvery hair. Sakura rose, watching Kakashi's face as he reached up and tugged the mask down, not caring that both Tsunade and Shizune were there to see. His lips quirked up at the corner as his eyes glistened. She watched him swallow thickly as he stared down at their son.
"Not much, kiddo," he responded raggedly. And as if Obito had been having this conversation his whole life he nodded.
"Cool," he said. Then he reached around and tugged on his mother's hand, motioning with the other. Kakasi's gaze followed the motion and finally came to rest on her face. His shoulders dipped as if he had dropped a ten ton weight and he took a deep breath. Sakura bit her lip and before either of them could say anything their son filled the silence. "This is mom," he quipped, "but I think you already know her."
After a brief moment of silence Kakashi choked on a sob and smiled. For the first time her life she saw him cry as he dropped the ANBU mask and reached for her, pulling her to him with all the force he could without hurting her. He pressed her into the chest guard of his uniform and she didn't care as she clung to him. His hand never moved from Obito's head as Kakashi buried his nose in Sakura's hair, breathing her in. After another instant he bent down and scooped Obito up into his arms, gathering his family together in the most satisfying and tearful embrace he'd given in his life. Sakura clung to the back of his shirt as he sobbed into her hair and kissed Obito on the head.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he said. "I should never have left, I— I'm sorry. Sakura…" She looked up and met his gaze, nodding.
But her son beat her to the finish line again, patting his father's moistened cheek with his chubby hand. "It's okay, Daddy," he said. "Mommy and I were waiting for you. Everything's okay now that you're here."
His parents laughed and Kakashi pressed a kiss to Sakura's forehead. "I love you," he murmured. "You're all I could think about. I had no idea…" he trailed off, looking back at his son. Sakura smiled up at him.
"I love you, too. And no one could have expected you to know." He nodded, tugging them both closer to him. It was the Godaime that interrupted next.
"Kakashi, I think your report can wait. You've waited long enough to see each other. I'll see you tomorrow evening, ne?" He nodded gratefully at the Godaime, turning to lead his family out of the tower and to his apartment. He left the ANBU mask where it was, not wanting anything to do with it at the moment.
A quick call to Naruto to pick up a few things for Sakura and Obito and meet them at Kakashi's apartment and a comfortable stroll later, Obito and Sakura were in Kakashi's living room while the older man showered and changed. Sakura sat on the floor as Obito jabbered away, explaining the jutsu he had performed in the Godaime's office earlier. She was long since used to the boy's long windedness, something he seemed to have picked up from his Uncle Naruto, and simply nodded and intervened with a "Hmm" or "Oh, really?" every now and again. When he finished the shower had long since stopped running and Sakura was sure his father would appear at any moment.
"I just don't know what to call it!" the boy cried, frustrated.
Sakura nodded in grave understanding. "We'll see what Uncle Naruto says about it, okay honey?"
The boy tilted his head. "Why can't we ask daddy?"
Sakura brightened. "Well I'm sure we could! Why don't we?"
Kakashi's bare feet padded into the living room at that very moment. He was clad in jeans and a long sleeved black shirt, toweling his hair. "Why don't we what?" he asked.
Sakura turned and smiled brightly at him, noting the lack of coverings on his face. "Obito wants to know what to call his jutsu from this afternoon."
Kakashi knelt down next to them, his towel draped over his shoulders as he lay a hand on Obito's head and twined the fingers of the opposite hand with Sakura's. "How about 'chidori no jutsu'?" he asked. The boy titled his head in wonder. "It's what I call mine," he explained, "and yours is very close."
Obito smiled, and then perked up even more as Naruto's chakra signature came within range. He turned to his mother. "Mommy! Can I go meet Uncle Naruto?" he asked.
Sakura nodded. "You may. But don't go far from the door, and leave it open." The boy nodded and almost bolted before returning and kissing his father on the cheek.
"Welcome home, Daddy!" he said, and he was gone.
Kakashi stared at the place where he had been for a moment and then turned back to Sakura. They rose to wait for Naruto and their son. Kakashi searched her gaze, cupping her chin with one hand. "You named him Obito," he said.
She nodded. "I thought that's what you would have wanted."
He blinked and then pushed his hand into his pocket, searching. Finally he pulled it back out, an object glinting in the light. Sakura's breath caught in her throat. "Kakashi…" she whispered.
He bit his lip, bringing the object up between them. A gold band with three princess cut diamonds flashed in the low light of his apartment. "I picked this up on the way home," he said quietly, his eyes never leaving hers. "I know it's sudden, but now that I know…" He took a deep breath. "I want us to be a family as soon as possible. I don't want you two to be alone anymore."
She smiled, nodding as he slipped the ring on her finger. The loud banter of her son and Naruto met her ears from the corridor of the apartment complex. "It's okay, Kakashi," she murmured. "Everything's okay now that you're here."
Kakashi finally kissed her, slowly and passionately. They had not parted when Naruto and Obito came through the door, closing it and sliding the bolt home. They still didn't part when Naruto cleared his throat. The strong sounds of small, stomping feet came closer. Kakashi finally pulled away when he felt a hard tug on his jeans. He looked down at his son, smirking. "Yes?" he said.
Obito planted his little fists on his hips. "Daddy, can you eat mommy later? I have some jutsu to teach you and it's very important that mommy make Uncle Naruto his ramen." Kakashi raised his brow at his son, amusement dancing in his eyes.
"And why is it so important that Mommy make Naruto ramen?"
The silver haired boy rolled his eyes as if the answer was obvious. "Well he did suffer through twenty hours of childbirth, you know. He deserves a little credit!"
Kakashi Hatake tugged his son closer to him and laughed like he had never laughed before. He had never thought that coming home could feel so good.