"O-O my- They're coming! The babies are com-ah!" Iruka help to his stomach while he sat up in his bed, completely shocked from just waking up at two thirty in the morning feeling his water break in his sleep.
After three and a half months, Iruka had said, "I want to get this over with already!" more than at least four hundred times, but now he wanted to take it back; only ten minutes in of labor and it already hurt worse than anything he felt!
Kakashi heard Iruka shouting, but he was a DEEP sleeper; all he heard was mumbles. "Mm. . .That's nice 'Ruka dear. . . Wait, what did you say?" He sat up a bit and cracked open and eyelid slowly to see a hyperventilating brunet holding his stomach for dear life; Kakashi woke up then. "U-Uh, Iruka? Are you going into labor?"
With pants and sighs of agony, Iruka replied, "Wha-What does it-ah- look l-like, baka?" The dolphin groaned and whimpered, rolling his head back.
Kakashi blinked a few times, then like a flash of silver lightening, appeared beside Iruka's bedside. "We need to get to the hospital, Iruka, immediately." Kakashi said firmly with a very serious expression, and before Iruka could object or do anything, Kakashi gently scooped up the whining, frantic man and a bag of extra clothes, then headed out the door. . .
(In the hospital)
Iruka was lying in the hospital bed, calm and concentrating (to an extent). Luckily, he had just gotten through another set of (painful) contractions and he had a chance to think about the babies that would be coming very soon. .
'What will they be? Two boys? Two girls? A boy AND a girl? I'm so excited to find out. I hope they're good sleepers; trying to put a classroom full of toddlers has told me that some can definitely be close-minded about naps. I wonder who they will resemble the most. Me or Kakashi? Hopefully Kakashi, he does have the best features and-'
"I'm getting scared again Iruka."
Iruka snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head to see a worried looking Kakashi sitting beside the bed. His chin was sitting on-top of his hands and his visible eye was clouded; Kakashi had been thinking too, and he didn't look too pleased. "Why? You're not the one that has to push these two out soon. . ."
Kakashi let out a short chuckle before shaking his head, "That's a pretty good reason to be scared, but I'm talking about this who being-a-father thing. . . Heh, I risk my life being an ANBU member, and I've never been scared of that, but now, I'm risking two lives, and I'm completely terrified." Kakashi sighed and ran his thin hand through his silver hair, it bouncing back up immediately after.
Iruka blinked a few times; he never though that Kakashi would take this so seriously. Well, of course this would have to be taken seriously, but not to the point of thinking of their lives being in danger twenty-four seven. . "Kakashi-"
"I don't want them to get hurt, Iruka, and I don't want to be the one that hurts them. What if. . What if I break another promise? Like them one I made to you?"
"You've never broken one of our promises . . . -"
"Yes, I have. . . Remember a year ago? I promised I'd never leave for more than a month. I promised something and I broke it. . ." Kakashi spoke in such a sad tone that it could make a child cry. . .
When Kakashi had told Iruka that he was leaving for a long term mission (A.N: This would be the mission Kakashi is coming home from in letters to you), Iruka smiled, but inside he was broken-hearted. He said, "You're going to make your village proud, Kakashi." But inside he was begging him not to go. An hour after telling him, Kakashi found the broken brunet in their bedroom, sobbing; nothing hurt Kakashi more than that sight, and it was all his fault; he had broken his promise and made the love of his life cry.
He never wanted to make another person he cared for so deeply cry.
On the verge of tears, Kakashi looked to the ground. .
"Kakashi. . ." Iruka laid a hand on the older, distressed man's cheek. Kakashi had hung himself up on one bad thing and thought of himself as a horrible person because of that; Iruka couldn't let Kakashi keep thinking that way.
"You are the best man I know. You're protective, sweet, loving, strong, and I wouldn't change anything about you, even if you read a little too much porn for my taste and have a never-ending line of perverted come-backs," Iruka smiled softly when Kakashi showed a hint of a smile, he went on, "And one mistake will not change any of that, especially a mistake that you couldn't control! Sweet heart, you're scaring yourself for no reason! You're a quick learner, so you'll pick up on the 'baby technique', as I call it, very quickly. And as for hurting them,"
Iruka paused and watched as Kakashi's eyes lifted back up to Iruka's worriedly, and then dropping back down in shame. "It won't happen. You're too good of a person to hurt your children, Kakashi. Sure, you're going to make a mistake every now and again, but so will I. It doesn't make you a bad person for making mistakes. You'd never learn anything if you did everything perfectly. So stop being afraid, because I know that you're going to be a great father. ." Iruka smiled; he thought that his little speech would help Kakashi for sure, but that made of reassurance turned when he felt a tear drop fall on the hand he had placed on Kakashi's knee. Did he make him more upset in someway? Did he not use the right words? 'Oh, Kakashi, I'm so-'
"I love you so much Iruka . . ." Kakashi looked up to show a smile going from ear to ear, another tear coming through his 'u' shaped eyelids, dissolving through his mask. "You take the only time you have to prepare for up-coming contraction to make me feel better about myself. Thank you, love. . ."
Iruka smiled and wiped the tears from Kakashi's eyes, "Your welcome, my silver kni-AH!"(A/N: Perfect timing, ne?) Iruka's hand retracted to his stomach and his eyes shut tightly as another set of contractions hit him. He squealed and laid his head back on the pillow, huffing and puffing, watching Kakashi start to freak out again. "Ohh…This is *huff* going to *huff* be *huff huff* a long day…"
/)^/^(\ /)^/^(\
After seventeen hours of excruciatingly painful, scream-filled, scary labor, two being that Iruka and Kakashi had been waiting for were finally here.
A very exhausted Iruka lay on a hospital bed with two blue-blanket covered babies, smiling like he never had before. At last, his babies were here; two beautiful baby boys that looked exactly like he pictured them. They did indeed have Kakashi's silver hair (silver apparently being a dominant trait), but it was too soon to tell if it would be gravity-defying like his. Their eyes were blue now, but would probably be black as Kakashi's too, but most of their facial features looked like him now. Their skin was medium tone, pale yet not too pale, a perfect color Iruka had thought.
Then there was something that Iruka's attention was brought to almost immediately when his eyes grazed a crossed them; their birthmarks. They both had birthmarks that resembled hearts, except the firstborn had his in the corner of his left eye and the second had his on the right.
Iruka emotions were getting the best of him, and tears started to slide down his cheeks, holding the babies close. If a moment could be perfect, this would be it; Iruka had his babies in his arms, sleeping soundly, and his husband right beside him,
Passed out on the floor. . .
'When did that happen? I might've done that when I was screaming, or crushing his hand, or maybe it was when he saw the babies come out . . . hm . . .'
One of the nurses came up to Iruka, looking down at the unconscious Kakashi, but then back up at Iruka with a smile; I wasn't uncommon to see passed-out fathers. "I'll have to take the twins to the infant ward now, Iruka-sama." The nurse's voice was very high pitched and it almost hurt Iruka's ears, but he nodded softly and handed the twins to her, not wanted to let go.
As the nurse supported the two, smiling down towards them, she began for the door. "Once your husband wakes, you should take this time to think of names. Then you should get rest, Iruka-sama, you must be very tired." And with that suggestion, she walked out of the room, heading to the infant ward.
Iruka sighed and laid back against the pillow, his whole body was aching and rest would do him some good, but he would not go to sleep until Kakashi woke up from his-whatever happened to him- or else he'd worry in his sleep. Iruka leaned over the bed a bit and watch Kakashi for a few minutes.
"Kakashi . . . Kakashi, wake up. Um, I'm done having the babies; there are no more gross fluids and expanding exits!" Iruka laughed nervously as shivers went down his spine; that even made him want to puke, but nonetheless Kakashi was starting to stir.
"Huh. . ? What. . ?" Kakashi looked around slowly, noticing that everything looked white and-and just hospital-y. . .
Without warning, Kakashi shoot up, his eyes bugging out. "Oh my god! Uh, uh, push Iruka! Breathe! Don't scream! Ah!" Kakashi was hyperventilating just talking so quickly, but he stopped when he felt a hand go a crossed his mask-covered cheek. He rubbed it softly and looked down at a scared Iruka.
"C-Calm down! You're kind of late in the whole coaching thing, Kakashi." Iruka smiled a bit, relaxing when he saw Kakashi finally tune in.
"Oh. . . I don't really remember passing out. . . I just remember seeing a baby coming out, them asking me to cut the umbilical cord, and then darkness . . . maa . . . " Kakashi explained, rubbing the back of his head, shrugging a bit.
Iruka shook his head a bit, but kept that cute smile on his face. His hand went to his hair to part it and tuck it behind his ear, "Its okay Kakashi. You were over-whelmed, that's all." Iruka scooted over a bit and patted the empty space, inviting Kakashi to sit with him; he did, taking Iruka's hand at the same time.
"So, where are they?"
"Infants ward."
"What do they look like?"
"You'll see."
"Are you alright?"
"Exceptionally so."
"Are you going to rest any time soon? You look as if you need it, dear."
"We need to talk about something first before I do that."
"What?"
"Names."
Kakashi blinked; names hadn't even crossed his mind! He was too occupied on Iruka lately, being almost ready to pop and all, which was probably why he didn't have the time to think of the names. He started to look around the room, trying to conjure up a list that he liked. . .
Ryuu, Takumi, Aoi, Eiji, and Jun. There were enough names that he liked that he could pick one out of the list. 'They'll be stuck with the same name through-out their whole live so I have to pick the right one. Maa, this is difficult. . ."
"Katashi."
Kakashi glanced back to the brunet lying down; he had a determined look on his face, almost as if his mind was somewhere else.
"What do you think? I've had my mind set on naming one of them that if it was a boy, and since they're both boys, I get to name one of them that. Do you like it?" Iruka asked, his head tilted a bit to the side in question.
Kakashi said the name in his head and thought of its positive values; it means firmness, it would be suitable for a ninja, and it sounded like his name! "I love that name. At least one of us had a name planned. . . "
"Eh? You haven't been picking out names?" Iruka asked sitting up. Since Kakashi was a genius, Iruka figured that he would have the perfect name picked out, but he was also lazy and a nervous wreck when he was just around Iruka, so apparently he shouldn't have expected that.
"Well. . . I had a few names, but I've actually just thought of another one; Kei. I like sticking with K's, and both names sound well-suited for strong ninja, is it a good name?" Iruka nodded and gave Kakashi a hug in approval; he actually loved Kakashi's idea and the name itself. 'Even when he doesn't try he still amazes me. . .'
Kakashi stood up from Iruka's bed, pulled the blanket over him, turned off the lights, and sat down in his chair again. "Time to sleep, 'Ruka. I wouldn't want to be too tired when we go back ho-"Before Kakashi could finish his sentence, Iruka was already asleep, breathing softly. Kakashi smiled, pulled his mask down, and placed a small chaste kiss on his forehead. "Sleep well, Iruka. . ."
/)^/^(\Three days later /)^/^(\
"Look, Sasuke! There they are! Aren't they cute?" Naruto shouted, pointing to the newborn twins from the other side of the glass window; he was so excited to hear that Iruka had finally given birth he just had to see them!
Sasuke nodded. They certainly did look like Kakashi, that was for sure, but you could see some of Iruka's features in them too, it was a perfect blend. "They are, but they won't be if they're crying from your loud voice waking them up." He glanced over to Naruto, who was glaring at him; Sasuke couldn't help but smile. 'No matter how serious he looks in his hokage robe, I can't take him serious. He's too cute.'
"Hey! What are you smiling at, teme? HEY! Stop laughing! I-I order you to stop laughing before I-I-I-UGH!" Naruto was fuming and had his hands balled up in a fist, almost about to punch Sasuke until he heard footsteps coming up behind them. Sasuke and Naruto turned around to see Kakashi and Iruka, Iruka was waving to them and Kakashi was looking behind Iruka since he still had his hospital grown on, which had a loose tie; Iruka frowned and closed the back of it more, even though Kakashi started to whine.
"We could hear you two from my room. You're going to wake up all those babies and it won't be a pretty sight, you know." Iruka smiled warmly and held a calm expression, "I know you're married and all, but must you fight so often?"
Naruto huffed. "Yes, especially since teme over here keeps picking on me!"
Sasuke shook his head, "I'm not picking on you, I just think you're too cute to be taken serious sometimes."
"EH? WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
Before Naruto had the time to attack Sasuke, Kakashi split the two up. "Just like old times, ne? Please you two! Save it for home!" Kakashi glanced at both of them; Naruto slowly started to calm down, and Sasuke kind-of stayed Sasuke. "Why are you visiting the hospital anyway?"
Naruto rolled his eyes; sometimes Kakashi could be so oblivious. . . "We are here to see your twins, of course! I get news a lot quicker these days, so when I was told that Iruka-sensei finally went into labor, I had to come see the babies as soon as I could! I never knew you two would make such adorable babies!"
Iruka blinked a few times, unsure of whether to take that as an insult or a compliment. "Um, thank you Naruto . . . I think . . ." The brunet smiled, and went over to the glass window, Kakashi right beside him and Sasuke and Naruto as well. As his eyes wondered over all the babies, some sleeping, some just looking around, he saw Kei and Katashi and Iruka's heart felt warm. They both looked so cute, so innocent, and he couldn't wait to bring them home.
Kakashi wrapped an arm around Iruka's hip as he stared down at the two infants, his infants; they were so beautiful. . . They reminded him of his Iruka . . . Sure, their strands of hair were silver and their faces looked a little like Kakashi, but over-all they had Iruka's cute cheeks, and his big eyes, and his eyelashes, everything that made them look so beautiful came from Iruka. Kakashi went to Iruka's ear and smiled, "They look so much like you . . ." He whispered; Iruka felt a shiver go down his spine as Kakashi's hot breath trickled a crossed his ear. He didn't like how Kakashi was seductive at everything he did, and the sad part was that he probably didn't even notice.
"Ha. They look like you, Kakashi. They barely have anything from me." Iruka said, laying his head on Kakashi's shoulder.
Kakashi shook his head. "Maybe I can only see it, but I only use one eye most of the time so that's pretty strange." He smiled and kissed the top of Iruka's head.
Sasuke and Naruto looked at the two with grossed out faces; no matter how much they understood adult compassion, it still grossed them out to see their sensei's cuddle. . . "So what are their names? And which is which?" Naruto asked, trying to break the awkwardness.
Iruka pointed to the baby with the heart shaped birthmark on his left. "That is Kei."
Kakashi pointed to the baby with the heart on his right. "And that is Katashi."
Both of them seemed to know who each name just went to; it was automatic.
"How did you cho-"
"Kei is a softer name than Katashi. He seems to look calm and happy whenever he is awake or asleep. Well, unless he's crying, of course."
"And Katashi is perfect for him because he seems like he is going to be the more rambunctious of the two."
Sasuke nodded in understanding; Iruka and Kakashi were incredible teachers and now they were going to be great parents. He just hoped that he and Naruto would be good parents like Iruka and Kakashi were surely going to be. Sasuke glanced at the clock and then grabbed Naruto's hand. "We're going to be late for your meeting, Naruto. We have to go."
Naruto sighed and gave Sasuke a quick nod before sighing again. "Great, another meeting with the bones of Konoha. Well, I'll be coming to visit you two and the babies soon, alright? Goodbye, Iruka-sensei! Goodbye Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto quickly waved to the twins through the glass, "Goodbye Kei and Katashi! And all you other little ones!" And before Kakashi or Iruka could say anything, both were enveloped in a puff of smoke.
Iruka brought his head back up from Kakashi's shoulder and looked up at him. "I think it's about time we go home now, don't you?" The silver-haired man nodded; After having many talks with Iruka, seeing his children, and spending way too much time in a hospital, Kakashi really wanted to go back home. He was ready to start the whole parenting thing. Kind-of . . .
With Kei in Iruka's arms, and Katashi in Kakashi's arms, they walked home. Everyone stopped and cooed over the babies, awake and wide-eyed; for only four days old, they certainly knew how to hold a crowd. After everyone had their chance to congratulate the new parents, they let them walk in peace.
Iruka was smiling down at Kei, rocking him gently as they walked. Kakashi didn't know what to think as Katashi looked up at him, his soon-to-be-changing blue eyes taking in all they could of Kakashi; the ANBU had to take a deep breath just to calm himself down. They fear of harming his children was raised back into Kakashi's thoughts, but seeped away quickly as he saw Katashi yawn softly and snuggle his head close to Kakashi's chest. He suddenly realized that if an infant can tell who will keep him safe, then he must be alright. Kakashi smiled and looked over to Iruka, who had a proud look upon his face.
"Do you think you'll be alright?"
Kakashi nodded. "I know I will."
"I do too. . ."
They both smiled, and Kakashi kissed Iruka's cheek softly, also making sure not to hurt the babies.
"Oh, how long do infants sleep?"
"Not very long. Maybe a few hours on a good night."
"Maa. . . That doesn't go well with lazy. . ."
"Oh, Kakashi. . ."