Whale, I am a gigantic procrastinator (Haha, get it? Whale...Giagantic?) and I wrote two chapters today (not on porpoise). So I thought to myself, why not post a second chapter this week? Now, don't expect this every time I have a large exam to study for because next week I will be back to posting once a week on Sundays only. And without the puns in my author's note.

So, enjoy getting to see who Naruto is more than happy (though slightly annoyed) to see.

Finally in his office, Naruto settled the fussy child on the floor surrounded by pillows from the couch in the office. It took a moment of him sitting in the floor with her before she was complacent enough for him to get to work at his desk. It was about naptime, he could tell in the way that her eyes seemed to be getting too heavy to keep open.

Sighing, he looked around at the masses of paperwork that he needed to accomplish. He had been so behind as of late, and there were deadlines he needed to reach soon. Man, he wished that he had been warned of just how much paperwork came with the title of Hokage.

Choosing a file off of the top of his to-do list, Naruto got to work. He looked up every few minutes to check on the baby who was finally content, waving her toy through the air as she looked around the office in observation. He couldn't help but to smile, she was normally a pretty content baby.

He was half way through a document when he heard the door open without any warning. Looking up from the papers, he dropped his pen and leaned back in his chair to regard the tall, dark individual with narrowed eyes. "Well, Uchiha Sasuke in Konoha, as I live and breathe."

The only visible eye of said man rolled. "Are you really that mad at me?"

"I don't know, Sasuke, it's only been four months without a single word from you," Naruto snapped. It caused Hana to whine from her spot in the floor. "You were only supposed to be gone for a month and a half at most, what the hell happened?"

"Watch your language around the baby," Sasuke warned coolly, approaching said child. He crouched down in front of her and she regarded him cautiously, clutching the toy in her hands while she stared at him. And then, finally after a minute she broke out into a big grin and reached towards the man. Sighing softly in what seemed like relief, he picked her up and held her close "She seems to know who I am."

Meanwhile, Naruto laid his face in his hands and sighed. "Sasuke," he muttered with a tinge of desperation.

Taking a seat in the chair across the desk from Naruto, he continued to hold the baby to himself. "You know that I have a reason for being gone for so long. I wouldn't just leave like that."

"People were starting rumors, Sasuke. They were saying that you weren't coming back." Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke looked offended. "You know that I will always come back home, I will always return to you."

"That doesn't mean that hearing people say those things was any less disheartening. Did I believe them? No. But I didn't know where you were or when you would be back, and those rumors hurt to hear."

Trying not to get upset while he was holding the baby, Sasuke pursed his lips. "I've been an active part of this village for sixteen years, Naruto. I have sins in my past, I will admit that before anyone else, but everything I have done has led me to this point, and if they can't see that they can deal with me personally. If they want to talk, let them. But I am here and I am committed to this village, so don't listen to them."

The blonde ran a hand through his hair. "That doesn't make it any easier to hear."

It was quiet in the room until Sasuke looked down at the baby quietly remarked, "Her hair is getting more red."

"I've realized how much she looks like my mom," Naruto said just as quietly. "And her eyes look like they're going to stay blue."

It stayed quiet for a few more minutes. "I found a place where I could get a vast amount of information. It was deep in Ishigakure near the peninsula. I was in disguise, but they were suspicious. They were watching me, keeping tabs on me. If I had tried to reach out to you in any way, they would have found out. But they gave me so much information, information that we need. Not only that, but it took me a month to find them and work my way to where I was. And I hadn't even wormed my way into the actual organization, just the village that surrounded it. That's how hard it is to get information about them. You know I would have contacted you if I could have. I couldn't, Naruto. There was no way."

Pursing his lips, Naruto leaned forward. Again, silence. He looked down at the document he had been working on previously. "I was worried about you."

A soft, quick smile came to Sasuke's lips. "You never need to worry about me."

Finally, Naruto looked up at the other man, making eye contact.

However, it was broken when Hana reached up and yanked some of the long hair that covered Sasuke's left eye. He flinched in surprise and looked down at her. She began giggling due to his reaction, drooling the way a teething baby does as she did.

Both of the men couldn't help but to smile at her as Naruto handed Sasuke a drool rag. "What has been happening around here while I've been gone?"

Naruto groaned, "I don't even know where to begin."

He worked to fill Sasuke in on everything he had missed in the last four months, trying not to leave anything important out.

"You yelled at Ayumi for being… well, Ayumi?" Sasuke asked with a raised brow when Naruto began recounting his day.

"Ugh, yes. And that's not even the beginning of why it was an awful day. It's because of what happened before that." Naruto clenched his fists, almost too angry to say what he wanted to say next. "This morning, Teruo-sensei had the nerve to call me into a meeting with him and Kenta where he advised Kenta to drop out of the academy because he could never be a ninja."

Sasuke tensed up. "What? What authority does that man think he has in order to say something like that? I would have put him through a wall."

"I almost did, but then Kenta ran away and a daycare worker stopped me to give Hana to me because she had a fever this morning and couldn't stay there. I wanted to go after him, but I couldn't. I have no idea where he is, and I know that he is mad at himself right now. But I also know that if I had gone after him, he would have snapped at me and then felt even worse about it."

"It's probably good to have given him some time. Do you want me to go find him and talk to him?"

The Hokage nodded, "I wish that I could do it but I can't bear to have that kind of conversation with him."

"Stop blaming yourself, idiot. None of it is your fault."

"But it is my fault," Naruto muttered desperately, his fists clenched tightly on top of his desk. "I should have been more careful."

Sasuke sighed, "Being careful had nothing to do about it and I really wish that you could finally see that. There was no way you could have known, no way that anybody could have known. You weren't the only one affected by it, or the only one hurt. If they didn't know then how could you?"

Finally unclenching his fists, Naruto ran a hand over his face. "You tell me that all the time."

"And you never listen." A faint smile came over Sasuke's face as he said those words. He then looked down at the baby in his lap to notice that she had fallen asleep during their conversation. "Anyways, what is it that you aren't telling me?"

Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise, "How do you know I'm not telling you something?"

"Because I know you better than anyone else has ever known you, idiot. How could I not know that you're skirting a subject?"

"Eh-he…" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck skittishly, "I did something stupid today. But you have to know that I did it out of kindness because it helps someone else."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "…And?"

"We're hosting the next Chunin Exams."

The Uchiha was now glaring. "It's not our turn to host them, so why, pray tell, are we hosting it this half? You know how much work and finances go into hosting it. We still have over a year until we have to host it again."

Naruto knew that he was probably in trouble. "But it was Suna's turn to host it. And I couldn't put that pressure and work on Gaara, he has enough going on at the moment."

Closing his eyes and calmer, Sasuke understood. "I heard about his wife."

"It was sudden," Naruto said sadly. "She had been getting better, but the sickness overtook her. And I know that if anything like that ever happened to me, Gaara would give me the same support."

Sasuke couldn't help but to sigh, he reluctantly agreed with Naruto. "I guess that we will be able to do it. We will have to work some overtime in the next few months to work it out, though. You better be prepared."

The blonde smiled, "I will do everything I can to make it easier on you and Shikamaru."

Gently gathering Hana into his arms, Sasuke stood from his chair. "He will be the most angry about doing all of this work, you know."

"I know." Naruto followed suit and also stood up.

"Do you want me to take her with me?" Sasuke asked, gesturing to the baby.

"No, she will be fine now that she's asleep. By the time she wakes up I should be finishing up here and going home."

Carefully, Sasuke kneeled and set her back on the floor surrounded by pillows before standing. Naruto walked him to the door.

"I will go find Kenta and talk to him. I have a few ideas on where he may be sulking. Oh, and Naruto?"

Naruto was about to respond, but his lips were captured in a soft kiss before he could.

"I'm home," Sasuke muttered against the blonde's lips.

A grin spread across Naruto's face. "Welcome home."

And with that, Sasuke was gone.