after little thinking, i decided that i would continue to add onto this whenever the notion strikes. it's probably going to be little instances like this one where they're experiencing first moments as parents. if you have any ideas you'd like me to write out, please let me know! i've been writing a lot recently and don't see myself stopping anytime soon.

also, there is a gender, but i haven't given a name. my reason for this will be in the bottom A/N.

i apologize for lack of dialogue, i couldn't make it flow with this to save my life. i hope you understand.

enjoy~

the first time Sasuke tackled overnight duty alone.

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Whomever said having a child was a walk in the park had another thing coming to them. They obviously hadn't dealt with not knowing which cry meant what problem; hadn't been forced to give up their normal routines— they apparently didn't have to deal with any little thing that came with having a newborn.

Sasuke could barely register what he was doing when a small whimper came from the bassinet beside their bed. It was his night to take care of the infant, seeing that Naruto was in desperate need of a break since he had taken sole responsibility of their baby since they had been released from the hospital a week earlier. The raven felt it wasn't fair for Naruto to deal with it constantly, so when he suggested that the blond take a night off Naruto didn't bother to argue. Instead, he informed Sasuke of the whereabouts of every essential that he would need over the course of the night.

Thinking back on it as he nearly tripped on the sheets wrapped around his foot when climbing out of bed, Sasuke almost wished he hadn't decided to be on baby duty. Getting up every couple of hour didn't sit well for him; he didn't know how Naruto or anyone else did it without complaining. Call it maternal— paternal —instinct, something that Sasuke obviously didn't have at one in the freaking morning. He just wanted to sleep.

The journey to the small bassinet at the end of their bed felt like it took forever. Sasuke turned on the small lap that was sitting on the dresser, just bright enough to give him enough light to see what he was doing, before he turned to watch the child wrapped up in a light blue blanket. Sasuke stared in awe at the little life; the ivory skin and thin coat of dark hair, the light blue eyes that Sasuke hoped would stick around in the following months as the baby got older. Sasuke couldn't believe that they had finally been blessed with a child— with a son.

Sasuke knew immediately by the way his little fingers curled into a fist and his brow creased that his little boy was going to cry. Taking a look at the alarm clock that was sitting on the bedside table, Sasuke noted that it was getting close to feeding time. He reached down into the bassinet and scooped up his child, cradling him against his body to momentarily please him before he let out the loudest noise known to man— something he didn't want to happen in fear of Naruto being woken up.

The gentle swaying movement of Sasuke kept the infant content long enough for him to turn the lamp off, leave the room, and blindly search the wall for the light switch in the kitchen, a task much harder to accomplish when holding a child. By the time he turned the lights on over the bar soft whimpers started behind the blue pacifier. Sasuke glanced down and tightened his grip, readying himself and wondering how he was going to get the bottle fixed while holding his son.

"Hey," he whispered, bringing his free hand up so he could lightly trail his index finger over the boy's pale cheek. Blue eyes looked up at him briefly and Sasuke couldn't stop the smile that crept onto his face.

While he was new to taking care of a fragile life, the raven liked to think that he wasn't doing a bad job. It wasn't like he hadn't made a bottle before or fed him, because he had, but it never dawned on him that he hadn't done with the baby in his arms. Inhaling deeply, Sasuke decided to go with it— being a new parent allowed trail and error periods. Plus, he'd never learn how to do things if he didn't try. However, by some miracle, when he went to open the cabinet door above the sink that housed the powder formula he noticed a note tapped to the glass, written by Naruto, stating I made a few bottles to get you through the night, they're in the fridge.

Sasuke had never been more thankful in his life.

"Okay, let's do this," the raven said, fully aware that he wasn't understood. Opening the refrigerator, he pulled out the first bottle he saw before popping the plastic covering off the top and turning around to face the microwave. From experience, they'd both realized that he liked his formula warmed up.

Sakura hadn't bothered to tell them that while in the hospital they were warming up his formula, so when they got home and being as inexperienced as they were, they thought it was alright to give him his bottle cold— not chilled, not freezing, but barely room temperature. That had been one big mistake after the other. Instead of drinking it, he wailed at the top of his tiny lungs. Something that had been inherited by Naruto. They were at a complete loss, afraid that they'd hurt him and for a split second, Sasuke could remember Naruto telling him that he was sorry and "I don't know what I did". The blond had been frantic as he gently passed the infant to Sasuke, afraid that he'd drop him in his moment of parental weakness.

They called Sakura after Sasuke calmed Naruto down, asking her for help and wanting to know what they did wrong. She offered a sincere apology, telling them that she honestly hadn't meant to forget to inform that he liked his bottle warmed. Naruto almost cried when the baby finally took the bottle, his eyes no longer wide and frightened. Sasuke made it a point to remember— even if he forgot everything else he'd ever learned —to warm up the bottle before feeding him.

When the microwave beeped after the twenty seconds he set it on, Sasuke stuck the bottle in his mouth and squeezed it with enough force so that a few drops of formula could land on the wrist of his free hand. The liquid was warmer than it had been when removed from the refrigerator; it was barely above room temperature. Sasuke felt that it was fine, afraid that if he were to give it a few more seconds then it would be too warm. The raven decided to press his luck as he pulled the pacifier out the infant's mouth, earning a wave of unhappy whimpers as he opened his mouth to let out a blood curdling cry.

"Shh, it's okay," Sasuke cooed affectionately, placing the pacifier on the counter and rubbing the clear nipple of the bottle against the boy's lips. Almost immediately he latched on, greedily feeding on the few ounces that were given to him.

Sasuke rounded the small bar separating the kitchen from the living room as he sought out the comfort of the couch. The same object that had been abused that faithful night months ago that forever changed their lives. He could still remember that night, surprisingly. Under normal circumstances their nights together were barely remembered, but even before he found out the significance of that particular night, he could remember every detail.

Maybe it had been the way Naruto looked at him when he entered the apartment after being out on a mission, silently pleading for Sasuke to take him over and over again until he could barely stand the next day— something that happened quite a lot during their trying to conceive period. Naruto had been asking for it that night and Sasuke, always one to indulge his blond haired partner, wanted nothing more than to give in. However, he'd been entirely too tired and asked Naruto for a rain check; a decision Naruto found worrisome. In the end, after he relaxed, Naruto finally got his way and it was a good thing he had.

"Stupid rag," Sasuke grumbled as he laid the fabric on his shoulder, making sure that enough of it was draped over his back. Regretfully he pulled the bottle away, placed it beside him, and held the baby up with both hands. Tiny fingers balled up into two fists and he kicked his legs with what little bit of energy he had. Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle as he gently placed him against his shoulder, mindful of his head, and situated the baby on the rag so that he could burp him.

If anyone had asked Sasuke if he'd ever imagined himself being the kind of person to use baby talk when burping a child, he would have said no, he didn't do baby talk; it was below him. But, no one asked him. Still, he didn't want to admit that when he burped the child he would say things that were sickeningly sweet and embarrassing if anyone were to ever hear him. Sasuke's infamous line (between him and Naruto, of course), in regards to burping his son, was a simple, "c'mon, little man".

The entire process took about fifteen minutes. Sasuke would gently rub or pat his back; at times he would stand and walk around the couch, listening out for the not so little noise that came out of the tiny body. Words of encouragement spilled over his lips, praising the infant as Sasuke sat back down, returning to their prior position to try to feed again.

Sasuke watched with curious eyes as formula escaped from the side of the baby's mouth, a sure sign that he was done eating. Lifting the bottle to see how much was left, the raven noticed that there was roughly an ounce remaining— he'd eaten fairly well for Sasuke's first time alone with him. Sasuke wiped the liquid off his face before returning the infant to his shoulder to repeat the burping process once again.

Standing up, one hand supporting the petite body, Sasuke maneuvered around the living room and into the kitchen with grace, emptying the bottle of its contents and filling it with water so that the formula wouldn't spoil and make a bigger mess to clean up in the morning. It didn't take nearly as long to burp a second time around, which Sasuke was thankful for. He was beginning to get tired; he should have listened to Naruto when he asked him to sleep earlier than normal so that he could attend to the child overnight.

Soft cooing brought the raven out his thoughts and he looked down, obsidian orbs capturing light blue as they watched one another. The corners of his lips pulled up slightly and his grip tightened, holding the child close. Slow but precise movements of his son turning to curl against his body— most notably towards the warmth Sasuke was emitting —made his eyes soften.

It was in that moment, standing in the dimly lit hallway, that Sasuke felt, for the first time, like an actual father.

Of course, the desire to protect his family had been there since the day he'd found out about Naruto's pregnancy, and the paternal instincts kicked in when he held his son just minutes after being born, but he hadn't felt like a father. Sasuke felt horrible; here they were, bringing a new life into the world and he felt no different than before. Elated, nervous, and even a little sick. Those were the normal emotions on becoming a first time parent, so they were expected.

When Sasuke finally brought up his concern one night after they'd put the baby to sleep, Naruto explained to him that sometimes it took a particular event or moment to make one realize their new role. He told him that it wasn't always an immediate thing and that he would get there sooner or later. This did very little to ease Sasuke's mind. It made him feel worse. Still, he didn't stop helping Naruto take care of their son; he didn't ignore the tiny human they created.

He played the role very convincingly.

Sasuke didn't remember walking into their bedroom, but at some point during his fascination he had done just that. Reaching down to turn the light on, he contemplated putting him back to bed, seeing that the baby had fallen asleep in his arms. He looked at the bassinet and then at the bed, eyes latching onto Naruto as he continued to sleep. Sasuke decided against laying the infant down, instead opting to savor the moment as he sat on the edge of their bed.

The black haired male brought his free hand up to gently cup the baby's head, his thumb gingerly caressing the light layer of hair. Sasuke trailed his fingers along the side of his small face, relishing in the fact that he was one part of the equation that made such a perfect being. He realized with tears collecting at the bottom of his eyes, that this little life would be dependent on him and that he would be willingly to do anything to make sure that he always had a smile on his face. Sasuke wanted to be the father that he never got. He wanted to be his son's role model, his happiness, his inspiration— everything the infant was for him.

"I love you," Sasuke whispered, lightly pressing his lips to the baby's forehead.

When Sasuke finally laid his son back down and after he turned the light off and climbed back into bed, he made a mental note to tell Naruto that he would gladly take more night shifts. If he'd paid any attention while he was turning onto his side to draw the blond into his arms, he would've noticed that Naruto had been awake for the last five minutes to witness the rare change in Sasuke and the tears that were freely flowing. The last thought on Sasuke's mind as he drifted off into a light sleep, was that he wouldn't have wanted things to be any other way.

And, for the first time in his life he felt like he had done something right.

sorry for making Sasuke so OOC. i feel like giving him more than an angry, revenge fueled personality. i like writing him as soft and loving. ha.

and, for the baby name, if anyone has an idea... please tell me. i want to keep the name as a past character, possibly one that's died. i'm not really keen on using OCs of any form, but if the right name comes along, i may consider and use it. please help me with that and ideas for first time things parents do! i appreciate it.

review, please. thank you.

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