Rating: PG-13
Pairing: ItaNaru
Word Count:
Warnings: Mpreg (normal in this world), non-seriousness. Really, this is just a way to pass the time rather than looking at a wall, nothing substantial.
Summary: In which Tsunade almost finds out the Mystery Father and Naruto overcomes a barrier in his growing relationship with Itachi.
Author's Notes: I finally wrote it. About bloody time. What You Didn't Know won't be updated for a while due to the current climate on here and the nature of that story. Apologies for that, but have this instead!

Bounds

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"No," Naruto said tightly, lips thin as he stared at the abomination before him. He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes, decidedly unhappy with what he was being shown.

"It took us ages to find the right one," Sakura said, a whine in her voice. Ino latched onto her arm and bobbed her head frantically in agreement.

"There was a bit of bribery to get it too," the third conspirator said and Naruto turned with a snarl, pointing his finger at a smirking so-called best friend.

"You!" Naruto barked, eyes wide. "You were supposed to be heartbroken because I rejected you, not team up with these devils and bribe shopkeepers to sell you fox-shaped baby-grows."

Sasuke's smirk only widened and Naruto had never wanted to smash his face in more, even at the height of his hatred-for-Konoha phase.

"It would never have worked between us anyway," Sasuke said and Naruto let his arms fall from his chest. He and Sasuke had talked about what had happened the day Sasuke had confessed and Sasuke had been relieved to say that he felt good. In the end, he hadn't loved Naruto and Naruto was glad not to be the on holding Sasuke back.

"But this is perfect for your little terror. Worse than the Kyūbi, your little child will be when Sakura and Ino are through with them so you might as well just accept the gifts we give you. At least the orange will warn people who's on their way." Naruto snatched the clothing from Sakura's hands and stuffed it back in the bag it had come from.

"No and no," he said, shoving the bag under his arm and moving past the three devils. Sasuke was still grinning, probably because he knew that Naruto was on his way to Tsunade and the conversation he was about to have would be awkward as fuck.

And best friends just loved to make everything even more awkward didn't they?

"Naruto!" Sasuke called a second later and Naruto turned. Ino and Sakura were waking the other way and the smirk was finally gone.

"Nii-san said that you need help moving his stuff into your house and I volunteered to help. I'll have some food ready for when you're done with Tsunade so make sure you stop by." Sasuke patted his shoulder before turning away and joining the girls once more. It left a warm feeling in Naruto's chest, to know that Sasuke really did care and was supporting him in his own way.

No doubt Itachi had been driving him mad the past couple of weeks, between excitement at the baby and guilt for starting a new family so soon after the Uchiha clan had been repaired. It was unnecessary guilt as Sasuke had commented more than once, back before Naruto had slept with Itachi even, that their house was too small for the both of them, but the brothers had put up with it.

Well, until now. In two days, Itachi would be moved into Naruto's home and they would begin converting the spare room into the baby's room. At least that was the plan, but at the moment Naruto was contemplating running away to Suna and hiding in the Kazekage's house for a while.

"Ah, Naruto," came Tsunade's voice as Naruto entered the room. She was grinning, as if she knew what Naruto was here to talk about and and probably set up a betting pool as to who the mysterious father of the baby was.

"I hope you're feeling well today," she said, grin not even faltering. Tsunade was a dangerous woman, that much was true.

"Very well, so's the baby." Naruto smiled and rubbed his stomach. He felt a flutter and knew it wasn't just nerves this time. "Been quite active today, probably because he knows his other daddy's moving in soon."

And okay, Naruto was having fun baiting Tsunade like this, but she shouldn't have made it so easy. Naruto was going to draw this meeting (and the revelation) out for as long as he could.

"Oh really," Tsunade said, trying yet failing to keep her tone level. She drummed her fingers on the table, silence stretching between them.

"Look," she said a moment later. "I know you're trying to wind me up. I get that you're getting some sick pleasure out of this, but is it really the time?"

Naruto just smiled in reply and Tsunade tutted, turning away and grabbing a sheet of paper.

"I was not allowed to hire ANBU to trail you so I had to get Shizune to do it. She refused to tell me properly, but I have a list of everyone you've spent a good amount of time with in the past few weeks." Tsunade shoved the paper at him and Naruto looked at it in mild amusement.

"This is beginning to become an obsession," he pointed out, but Tsunade rolled her eyes and pushed the paper even closer.

"Perhaps, but as you skipped through the dating, I missed the chance to comb through your… partner and see if they were worthy of you or not." Tsunade's smile softened and her voice lowered slightly. "I think of you as family and I only want you to be happy."

Naruto looked at the paper and took it with a soft smile. The charade had gone on long enough and if Tsunade only had his best interests at heart then he shouldn't be cruel about it.

"These are the names you got?" he asked and Tsunade nodded, leaning forwards ever so slightly. Naruto ignored her almost-desperation and scanned the list once more, just to be sure he hadn't missed Itachi's name the first time.

"Has anyone put bets on anyone else?" Naruto said and Tsunade stiffened only a little.

"No," she said after a moment. "That's the list from everyone in on the pool.

Naruto shook his head and let out a sigh, rubbing his stomach and smiling as the baby inside gave a little kick.

"No one wins then. His name isn't on there." Naruto's words were met with a stuttered noise from Tsunade and he looked at her in amusement. "And really – Sai? Who the hell thinks I'm fucking Sai?"

Tsunade ignored the question, as Naruto had expected, and instead snatched the paper back. She looked at him and Naruto felt a hint of fear pass through his body. Tsunade was glaring and it was now that he was suddenly reminded she was one of the strongest women in the entire shinobi world and would not be afraid to stoop to torture to get Itachi's name out.

(Of course the torture wouldn't be torture, but she held sway over the empire of Ichiraku ramen and could convince Teuchi to withhold ramen from Naruto.)

"Itachi," Naruto all but blurted out suddenly. Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"I do have a meeting with him after yours and he's no doubt waiting outside right now, but I fail to see what our discussion has to do with him," she said simply and Naruto let his mouth hang open for a moment.

Was Itachi so far out of his league that no one had even considered it and it didn't cross Tsunade's mind even when Naruto told her?

"I'll go let him in then," Naruto said brightly, trying to squash down the panic beginning to rise in his chest. He knew it had all been a mistake, everything was wrong, how could he-

"Naruto?" Tsunade asked, tone worried as she stood up sharply. "What's wrong?"

But Naruto only shook his head.

"Sorry I just feel really tired." Tsunade wasn't going to let him go like this so Naruto pushed his act up a step. "I haven't eaten anything today and-"

"Naruto!" she barked, moving across the room to his side. "Nutrition is vital to keep you fit and healthy during this pregnancy." Tsunade sighed and stroked his cheek lovingly.

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to," she began, shaking her head slightly. Perhaps she still thought that Naruto wanted to keep the other father's identity a secret, which was in part true. "And if you really want to go then I'll let you."

"I'll come back tomorrow," Naruto promised, smiling faintly as he turned, leaving Tsunade's office. Just as she'd predicted, Itachi was waiting outside in the newly-installed foyer area, conversing politely with Shizune.

"Baa-chan's free," he muttered and walked away, ignoring the shocked look Itachi sent him as he did a double-take.

"Naruto?" Itachi called after him, but Naruto kept walking, acting as though he couldn't hear the words.

Thankfully, Itachi didn't follow him and Naruto returned home, closing the front door with a sigh. He leant against the wood and screwed his eyes up tightly, hardly believing what he felt. He loved Itachi, had known that for a while now, and while they'd never said it to each other, Naruto knew Itachi loved him back.

So why did he feel sick to his stomach? Why did he feel as if there was now a huge barrier between them – all because Itachi's name hadn't been on a stupid list.

Naruto took a deep breath and rubbed his stomach gently, calming the squirming baby inside of him.

"Shh," he said softly. "It's okay. Otou-chan's just being silly." Naruto moved away from the door and headed to the kitchen, snagging some bread and moving over to the sofas. He sat down, propped his feet up on the table and began eating mechanically, trying not to think about his runaway emotions and how he was going to tell Tsunade about Itachi tomorrow.

The door opened suddenly and Naruto looked over, unsurprised to see Itachi there. He might not have been expecting Itachi to end the meeting so early, but he had been expecting him to show up at some point.

"What's wrong? Are you okay? Is the baby okay?" Itachi rushed over at once, not even bothering to shut the door. His face was pale and pinched and Naruto felt a stab of guilt as he realised how much Itachi must have been worrying.

"Sorry," Naruto said quickly. "I'm sorry."

Itachi gave a little hum and pulled Naruto up gently, sliding behind him and letting him sit back down. Strong arms wrapped around his middle, one hand on the bump and the other joining with Naruto's.

"Tsunade-sama was worried about you," Itachi said, linking their fingers and pulling Naruto close. "So was I."

Naruto smiled weakly, the odd emotions beginning to recede now that Itachi was here.

"I can't really explain it, but I just... there was a list and you weren't even on the list, as if you weren't even a consideration. And I just thought that perhaps that's just the way it is, no one would believe you could ever love someone like me." Naruto frowned down at his hands. That had come out all wrong.

"I'm not supposed to feel like this," he mumbled and Itachi ducked his head, warm breath passing over Naruto's neck.

"If anything, I should be the one on my knees thanking you for letting me love you." Itachi fell silent and Naruto's eyes widened. He turned around, kneeling between Itachi's legs.

"Naruto?" Itachi asked gently, their hands still tangled together.

"Only two people have said that to me," he whispered an Itachi's expression faded from worry to understanding. "My mother, she said that to me."

Itachi's arms were around him in an instant, the bump pressing heavy between them. The baby kicked and Itachi gave a low chuckle, pulling back only to kiss Naruto.

"I think there's a third person waiting to say it too," Itachi said and Naruto dove down again, kissing Itachi and smiling against his lips.

"We should tell her together," he decided and Itachi wasted no time in agreeing. Tension left Naruto's shoulders as they sat back on the sofa, just the three of them.

"Thank you," Naruto said as he burrowed himself against Itachi, lying slightly awkwardly due to the bump.

Itachi only smiled and closed his eyes, running a hand through Naruto's hair.

"You don't need to thank me for loving you," he mumbled, voice sounding on the verge of sleep. "And you don't need to worry that I'll stop loving you in the future. I'm not the sort to open my heart to anyone and I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

The words sent a thrill through Naruto's body and he grinned widely, feeling finally ready to tell Tsunade.

But that could wait for tomorrow. He was too comfortable and it seemed as though the baby was sleeping. The world outside of their cocoon could wait.

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Notes:

There will be a third and fourth instalment to this series. Probably around the same length, one with Tsunade finding out and to the end of the pregnancy and then one dealing with a new baby.

Thank you for your support and things being what they are, you can find all my completed stories on Archive of Our Own. I'm also on lj and y!gallery, but I favour AO3.