Here's another chapter, feel free to leave concrit and thanks for all the reviews and faves so far, you guys rock :-)

Soooo….I'm approaching the famous writer's block of doom D: *hopefully it won't last* this chapter took too long and it wasn't easy to write! Which is why I'm writing longer chapters :)

Sunday morning rolled around way too quickly for Naruto's liking. The first thing he noticed when consciousness returned to him was the cloudiness to his vision caused by the silent tears he shed the night before. The pillow his head rested on still felt a little damp and his body was draped haphazardly across the bed. He looked towards the crib in his room, realizing it was empty and bolted upright in fear, "Where the hell is my baby?"

Somehow, he feared Sai had come and had taken his son away in the middle of the night, ignoring the rational part of his brain that said that was unlikely; He wanted to make sure for himself. Bolting over to Kyuubi's room and noisily pushing the door open, he realized Kiichi was fast asleep between his brother and Hinata.

Hinata only stirred, but Kyuubi had awoken when Naruto entered. Naruto advanced and stood at the edge of the bed apprehensively, but Kyuubi put a finger to his lips and signaled for him to be quiet. He slowly got out of bed before picking the baby up as gently as possible in his sleeping state.

The baby stirred at the contact but remained asleep. He deftly put his thumb in his mouth and started to suck, sighing contently.

Naruto followed behind Kyuubi as he walked back to his room and deposited the baby in his crib. He cracked the door open and walked out to the living room, throwing himself down in the couch lazily while Kyuubi head towards the kitchen.

"Want some coffee?" Kyuubi asked and Naruto nodded his head in answer. It took him only a few minutes before he was bringing two steaming cups of coffee where his brother was. He handed him his own before taking a seat beside him.

Naruto put the cup down and used both hands to rub his stiff face before groaning.

"Are you alright?" Kyuubi asked.

"No," Naruto answered.

"What do you plan to do?"

"I don't know," Naruto answered tiredly while shrugging his shoulders. The truth of the matter was, he still loved Sasuke, but Sasuke was Sai's brother, and Sai was Kiichi's father. He had no idea how he would work this out. The way he saw it, he was fucking his baby's uncle. "Maybe I should just move away from here, go someplace I'll be free from both of them."

"Running away from your problems won't help, that's how you got into trouble the first time," Kyuubi answered. He remembered Naruto ended up in Sai's arms because of problems he was having with their parents about school. He would always leave the house as soon as somebody opened their mouth and say something he didn't like, which was the truth sometimes; it was as if running was his forte.

Naruto scoffed, what was he suppose to do, was there any easy way out of this? He turned to Kyuubi, "What do you think I should do?"

"What would you like to see happen?" Kyuubi countered. The truth of the matter was, after a while, hating on Sasuke was done more out of a ritual habit than knowing he had done anything wrong. Sasuke made Naruto extremely happy, and that's all he wanted for his younger sibling. Naruto was his brother and he would protect him any way he saw fit, but he sympathized with Sasuke, he was just dealt the short end of the stick by fate for falling for the one his brother left behind without knowing.

As for Sai…that asshole was the reason everything fell apart between Naruto and their parents and now he did it again to Naruto and Sasuke. He wished a truck would run him over sometime today while he walked on the street.

Naruto didn't have an answer for Kyuubi's question, everything was a jumbled mess inside of him and he wasn't sure what he wanted anymore. He hated Sai for what he did, he didn't know he could have been hurt so deeply and Sasuke was the one to help him out of that void, by showing him he could love again, but now everything was ruined because no matter how he would look at it, Sai will always be there as his child's father or his lover's brother; he wanted to be free of him.

"I don't know…"

"Do you love Sasuke?" Kyuubi asked seriously, putting his cup down so he could be free of distractions, he was squeezing the porcelain too hard, imagining it was Sai's neck.

Naruto sighed while playing with his fingers, "I do but…"

Kyuubi understood where Naruto was coming from; Sasuke was just another tie to Sai, a person he would rather forget.

"I know Naruto, I know," Kyuubi said before pulling his brother into a hug.

Naruto sighed for the umpteenth time while in Kyuubi' arms, wondering where he would go from here.

*********************************SaSuNaRu**********************************

Sai didn't get a good night's sleep either; he was plagued by nightmares revolving around Naruto, his son and Sasuke. He dreamt he had shattered Naruto like a frail piece of glass against the cold concrete, only to have Sasuke put him back together like a building block, and then he shattered Sasuke to pieces in return. His baby was a fully grown man with intense hatred in his blue eyes who accused him of negligence and abandonment, not caring how much he pleaded for forgiveness. He walked out of the guest room of Itachi's condo on the outskirts of Konoha, nursing a headache due to lack of sleep.

"You look like crap," Itachi greeted with a cup of coffee in his hands while he sat around the kitchen table, reading a newspaper.

"I feel like it," Sai mumbled before pouring himself a cup. He took a seat around the table with the cup in his hands, promptly taking a sip after he sat down. He was sitting across from Itachi and when he spit the ashened coffee out of his mouth, it hit the newspaper square in the middle of the sheet.

Itachi folded the edge of the paper and peeked over it with his eyebrow raised.

"Sorry, didn't realize it's coffee, I hate coffee," Sai mumbled while getting up. He poured the rest of the black liquid into the sink before grabbing a kitchen towel and cleaning up the table.

"You must be really out of it to not realize you were drinking what you hate the most," Itachi said while folding the paper and putting it down.

Sai didn't answer. He especially felt guilty when he saw the scratches on Itachi that resulted from his fight with Sasuke.

"Want to talk?"

"I need to know where Naruto lives."

Itachi liked the determination in Sai's voice, even if a part of him didn't agree with such a move so early. "Don't you think it's too soon?"

"I…I need to ask him, to make me see my son at least," Sai said in a deflated voice. God, he knows he doesn't deserve a chance but he was willing to try. The look in Naruto's eyes already told him he'd lost him, there was no getting him back even if he did love him, but he didn't even get to see his baby's face properly and he wanted as much.

Itachi firmly believed in giving a willing parent a chance, or maybe he was biased because it was his brother? Either way, it was obvious Naruto belonged with Sasuke but that didn't mean Sai had to be left out in the cold. "You're Kiichi's father; you have every right to him as much as Naruto does, if he doesn't want to allow you to see him you could take him to family court."

Sai really didn't want it to come to that; he would look like a complete villain in Naruto's eyes. But what other option was there if he tried and Naruto refused?

"I can find out his address and you can start by writing him a letter," Itachi suggested.

Sai instantly brightened, "You can! How?"

"I work for the top lawyer firm in all of Konoha; I know how to find any and everybody."

Sai would definitely try that. Maybe if Naruto didn't want to see him, he would hopefully read a letter from him. If he wasn't responding at all, then he would have to go the legal way Itachi suggested. It didn't feel right, but he didn't see any other choice if all else failed.

Itachi really felt bad for Sai, he really wanted him to get the chance he's been hoping for despite what he'd done; he wanted him to know his son. Besides, what he was asking Naruto for wasn't impossible, but if Naruto didn't want to play, he knew just how to force him.

*********************************SaSuNaRu**********************************

Sasuke woke up feeling just as angry and dejected as he did the day before. He didn't make his bed this morning, he'd flung his alarm clock against the wall and he'd burnt his right hand on the stove while trying to boil water. His life had never been such a jumbled mess and everything that could go wrong, did. He passed Kiichi's bedroom a number of times and didn't have the heart to go in, it saddened him to see the empty baby room, knowing that the only baby he would ever want in there might not come back. He had plans to change out the furniture and wardrobe in the room since the baby was growing and Naruto often said he would do it…once he found the money. He was even planning to send him back to school after they got married.

He had managed to clean up all the party items left behind by yesterday's shit storm, ruining Kiichi's birthday. He was the one who had to call the few people they'd invited, including Ayame, and inform them the party was cancelled.

He normally did laundry on Sundays and today he'd forgotten to separate the white from the coloreds, now his white clothes looked like some form of tie and die with a multitude of colors in them.

It had been on his mind from the moment he opened his eyes to visit Naruto and he will, but he knew he needed time to cool off himself. He needed Naruto back, he had to get him back and fuck anybody who stood in his way. He decided he would try in the evening and see if Naruto would see him.

Nothing tried, nothing done.

*********************************SaSuNaRu**********************************

Naruto mechanically moved around Kyuubi's apartment, looking after himself and his baby as if it was some sort of routine instead of something natural. Kyuubi had been keeping an eye on him, making sure he didn't do something he would regret later on.

Hinata had left early in the morning after breakfast, promising to come back when she could. It was now late evening and he was watching his nephew while Naruto had a bath. He had to remind him he hadn't showered from the day before and he couldn't have the baby in his arms in such a state. The baby was on the floor playing when the door bell rang. Moving to answer it, Kyuubi was surprised to see Sasuke standing there watching him.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Naruto," Sasuke answered.

Kyuubi sighed, "Look, he needs a little more time to get over this, he's still hurting."

"What the hell do you thinks' happening to me?" Sasuke hissed. He sure as hell wasn't unaffected by all this.

"Dada!"

It was Kiichi standing at Kyuubi's feet and he threw himself at Sasuke when he spotted him standing there.

Sasuke picked the baby up, "Hey little guy…" He then planted a kiss on the toddler's crown.

Kyuubi sighed. He did want Sasuke and Naruto back together, but he couldn't force Naruto to do something he didn't want to. Sasuke didn't understand that he wasn't the problem per say, but his relation to Sai. For Naruto, until he could get over his feelings for Sai, it'll always hang over his head and haunt him and the fact that he was Sasuke's brother made it even harder. It was up to Naruto to figure himself out. "Look, Sasuke, just give him a few more days, please. He doesn't know what he wants and I want to give him a little time to try and figure himself out first."

Sasuke decided to comply, he handed the baby back to Kyuubi, "Will you tell him I stopped by?"

Kyuubi nodded his head. "I know you didn't do anything, just give Naruto a little time to come around."

Sasuke nodded, he ran his hand through the baby's soft hair before walking off. What really calmed him to some extent though, was realizing that Kyuubi wasn't trying to push him away. After all the bad feelings between them in the past he thought he would have had a harder time dealing with him, but he must have realized too that Naruto belonged with him and nobody else.

He'll try to see him again soon.

"Kyuubi?"

It was Naruto's voice and the red head turned around after closing the door to look at his brother, "What is it?"

"Who was that?"

"Sasuke."

"Oh…" Naruto answered in a dejected voice. He walked over to the couch and took a seat, hearing the patter of the baby's footsteps following him. "What did he want?"

Kyuubi sighed before mirroring Naruto's movements and sitting beside him. "He wanted to make sure you were alright."

Naruto ran one hand through the baby's hair while he stood before him, hitting him on the leg. "What did you say?"

"That you weren't," Kyuubi answered truthfully.

Naruto sighed.

"Won't you at least talk to him? None of this is his fault you know," Kyuubi suggested.

"I know…" Naruto whispered, "…but, I've realized something."

"What?" Kyuubi prodded.

"Why it was so easy to fall for him. The first day I met him in Ichiraku Mart, he reminded me so much of Sai without me realizing."

Kyuubi wasn't sure what to say to that. He raised one eyebrow in question, "So you still have feelings for Sai?"

"No! hell no…." Naruto answered hastily. "After what he did, how could I?"

Kyuubi definitely liked that answer. "What would you do if he wants to be a part of Kiichi's life?"

"Can I stop him?"

"Ultimately no. But Sasuke's been more of a father to your baby than he's ever been," the red head pointed out.

Naruto watched his baby as he moved about, "I know."

"So what will you do?" The decision was Naruto's at the end of the day.

Naruto walked away, leaving his brother's question unanswered.

*********************************SaSuNaRu**********************************

Tuesday morning caught Naruto alone at home with the baby. Kyuubi had classes, no doubt with Sasuke and he tried his best to keep the place in order until he got home. During the day he made himself and the baby lunch and he was in the middle of eating when there was a knock at the door. He was apprehensive about answering it, but did anyway after a moment.

"Naruto Uzumaki?"

It was the mailman.

"Yes?"

The man handed him a letter. He took it and signed before closing the door and inspecting the letter.

"Mama." The baby stood and walked over to him haphazardly, seeming to want to be held.

"You're getting really heavy," Naruto muttered before picking the baby up in his arms. He went over to the couch with him and took a seat before inspecting the letter more closely. The return address belonged to Itachi Uchiha. He opened the letter and read it.

Naruto,

Contrary to what you may believe, I'm really sorry for what I did to you. I know you don't want to hear my excuses, but I was scared and fearful, especially since you were under aged, so I ran. My only intention now is to try and make up for what I've done by trying to be a father to my son. I've always thought about you and our child and if you were ok.

I'm writing you this letter because I know you wouldn't want to see me, but I'm asking you to please let me get to know my child. What I did to you wasn't fair and to show I'm sincere about wanting to know my son, I've enclosed a copy of the modified birth certificate with my name attached as the father. All you need to do is sign.

If it's possible I'd like to meet my son properly for the first time, we can meet at the park tomorrow at noon if you're interested. Please come, I'm looking forward to being a father.

My Cell number is 123-4567

Sincerely yours,

Sai

Naruto looked at the other piece of paper present, and sure enough, Sai had put his name on it as the father. He didn't care about Sai's feelings; as a matter of fact he was angry at himself for even reading the letter until the end. He scoffed before crushing the papers and throwing them on the dinner table, knowing there was no way in hell he would go to that park. Sai could go fuck himself for all he cared, Kiichi already had somebody he called dad.

Suddenly, the house phone started to ring and he went to answer it, surprised it was Itachi who greeted him.

"Did you get the letter?"

Naruto frowned, "Yeah…"

"Are you going?"

"No, I don't want anything to do with him."

"Go Naruto, or else you'll regret it."

Naruto's frown deepened, "What?"

"Give him a chance, or I'll make sure you lose your baby in a custody battle."

"You wouldn't dare…you couldn't," Naruto ground out through clenched teeth.

"All I have to do is set Sai up with a girl, prove to the court that you're in a homosexual relationship and you'll lose your baby faster than you're able to ask what happened."

Naruto gripped the receiver so tight his hand was starting to hurt. "Why are you doing this?"

"Give him a chance."

Naruto's voice cracked, "He doesn't deserve it."

"I know, but give him a chance."

"Why?" Naruto choked out, feeling like a cornered animal. Why was Itachi doing this?

"Tell Sasuke or Sai about this and I'll get child services to take your baby away from you. Remember when you left him alone last year and he fell and hit his head?"

Naruto closed his eyes as tears rolled silently down his cheeks, how did Itachi know about that? "It was an accident, I only..."

"Go, Naruto!"

Naruto choked back a gasp when he was greeted with a dial tone and he shakily replaced the receiver on the cradle. He didn't want to meet Sai, he didn't want to have anything to do with him but Itachi was forcing him to, the bastard. He quickly took his baby up and left the apartment, deciding he needed some air. He now hated Itachi with a passion to rival Sai's. He didn't walk too far away from the apartment when he heard somebody call his name.

Naruto turned around with Kiichi on his hip, surprised to see Sasuke walking towards him.

The baby became ecstatic, "Dada! Dada!"

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked perplexed.

Sasuke wasn't about to admit he ditched classes in favor of watching the blonde's apartment in the hopes he would come out and he'd see him.

"I just had to see for myself that you're ok."

The baby leaned heavily towards Sasuke and Naruto did his best to hold him back, keeping a firm grip on him. "I'm….we're fine."

Sasuke nodded. "I didn't know Naruto, you have to believe me."

"Look, I don't care about you right now, ok Sasuke? Why don't you leave me the hell alone, are all Uchiha's out to ruin my life?"

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked in a puzzled voice.

Naruto glared heatedly before he tried to storm off, but Sasuke grabbed his arm.

The brunet was completely perplexed at the cold shoulder he was getting. "Why are you blaming me for what Sai did?"

Naruto sighed angrily, it wasn't just Sai, it was Itachi too for threatening to take his baby away, he just didn't want to have anything to do with any of the Uchihas' right now and he wanted to be alone so he could clear his head. He knew he wasn't thinking straight and he should try to work things out with Sasuke, but he had Itachi's words and the prospect of meeting Sai to think about, which had him extremely annoyed and irritated to the point he wasn't thinking rationally. He felt boxed in, cornered and all he wanted was some time to himself.

"Look, I'll deal with you later, alright? Just leave me alone for now, please," Naruto begged before turning around and walking away.

Sasuke ran in front of the blonde and blocked his escape, "Fine, but I want to meet you tomorrow so we can talk."

Naruto's brows creased in annoyance, "I can't, I have another engagement."

"What kind of engagement would make you not want to talk to me?" Sasuke asked bewildered.

Naruto really wasn't up for Sasuke's persistent ways. Rather than to answer, which is what he wanted to do, he didn't after remembering what Itachi had said he would do if he did, he just sidestepped Sasuke and walked away.

Sasuke ran one hand through his hair in frustration while watching Naruto and the baby's figure disappear down the street. He just couldn't understand Naruto's behavior, but he resolved he'd find out one way or another, especially since Naruto seemed to be having more problems than he was letting on. After a moment he turned around and headed home, deciding there was no way he would ever give up on Naruto.

*********************************SaSuNaRu**********************************

The next day, Naruto woke up with his anxiety rising to dangerous levels. He had four hours until he was to meet Sai and wasn't looking forward to it in the least.

After returning to the apartment last night, Kyuubi had chastised him for having Kiichi out on the street after dark. He brushed him off, left him with the baby and went to sleep; he was tired both mentally and physically. He walked out to the kitchen, deciding some decaf might help calm his frayed nerves. He couldn't forget the pleading look in Sasuke's eyes and he did want to get back with him, but he couldn't yet, not until the hot water Itachi had put him in had cooled down.

"Mama!"

Naruto put the coffee pot down and turned around to see Hinata standing in the doorway with his son in her arms.

"Hi Naruto," the girl smiled.

Naruto forced a smile in return, "Hi Hinata, didn't know you were here."

He then walked over and took the baby who was reaching out for him.

Hinata smiled, "I was in Kyu's room and he said you just went straight to yours last night."

He could tell she was forcing it, "Thanks."

"Will you be alright?" Hinata asked.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at the worry in her voice; she had become like a sister to him. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

Hinata nodded before walking away and Naruto looked at the baby in his arms. "Ok, you're gonna bathe, you smell."

The baby laughed and Naruto chuckled. He ran a hand throw Kiichi's soft hair before placing a kiss to his crown; he was his life, his reason for living. His baby was his entire world and he'd be damned before he would allow anybody to take him away.

*********************************SaSuNaRu**********************************

Sai sat around one of the couple of stone tables and benches shielded by a huge overhead umbrella in the park. He wiped his sweaty palm as he looked at his watch, wondering for the umpteenth time if Naruto would show up. The blonde didn't call him but Itachi had guaranteed him that Naruto would show. He didn't know why his older brother was so certain but he had his doubts; Naruto hadn't even called to say he was coming.

He looked at his watch nervously, again, to see it read 11:50 am. The closer the hour hand got to 12 was the more apprehensive he became. The thing was, he knew that even if Naruto did show, it wouldn't be all happy times. He had no clue what to expect, except that he would finally have a chance to see his son. It was the only reason he didn't turn around and leave from such an emotionally exhausting situation.

Even though the shade from the umbrella made the afternoon breeze feel cool instead of hot, he still found himself feeling like he was burning up. He knew it was just anticipation, but that didn't make it any easier. He looked around at some of the other couples with kids either having a picnic, milling about or just relaxing, feeling that old pain return about the family he left behind.

His eyes roamed, and that's when he spotted the bright mop f blonde hair heading his way. He swallowed a lump in his throat and fidgeted nervously as Naruto approached.

With an impassive look on his face, Naruto took a seat at the other end of the bench, opposite Sai with the toddler in his arms and a baby bag slung across his shoulder.

Sai appreciated how beautiful his son was. He had hair like his, even though it wasn't as straight and Naruto's eyes. He was a little cherubic, indicating he was well fed and he had clear unblemished skin. Most, if not all of his teeth were present and his smile was so eye-catching.

He felt proud, Naruto was a good parent. He stretched his hand slowly across the table, wanting to feel his child, his and Naruto's creation, the end result of a passion like no other.

He'd never had another relationship as good as the one he had with Naruto; he doubted he ever will. He braced on the table and inched his hand closer to the busy baby, and when those blues eyes spotted his fingers two of them were grabbed and squeezed between much smaller, soft hands. Kiichi looked up at him, smiled the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen before knocking his hand repeatedly on the table in a pseudo handshake.

God, how could he have thought to leave something so perfect behind, he had no idea how he stayed away for so long; which was why the guilt now increased tenfold. He should have been there to support his family, to be a father and maybe a husband and Naruto would have still been his instead of Sasuke's.

Naruto. He let his gaze wander from the baby to the other's face and he could tell he didn't want to be here, it was obvious in his expression.

"Hi, Naruto."

Naruto didn't answer and opted to keep his gaze anywhere but on the man before him.

"Thank you," Sai said sincerely.

"Can we hurry and get this over with? I have things to do at home," Naruto scowled.

Sai smiled dejectedly before focusing back on the baby, trying to talk to Naruto will get him nowhere.

It sickened Naruto to see Sai touching his baby, trying to be a father so long after the fact. He couldn't see past the fake sense of security Sai offered before the abandonment. He was a damn kid having a kid and he needed the support and the asshole ran! If it wasn't for that bitch of a brother called Itachi he wouldn't be here right now.

"Can I hold him?" Sai asked, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts and the huge no was on the tip of his tongue, but Itachi's threat returned to him and he grudgingly agreed.

Happy, Sai got up, walked around the table and took the baby out of Naruto's hands while the toddler fidgeted and became uncomfortable with the loss of contact.

Kiichi looked back and after seeing he was being led away from Naruto, he started crying.

Naruto wanted his baby back, but Sai started rocking him in his arms and he took his little time calming him down. He was happy Kiichi wasn't warming up to him, but he eventually got him to at least quiet down. All he could do was watch as Sai put his son on the grass and played with him, bribing him with a toy he took out of his back pocket.

Sai felt ecstatic while he got the chance to play with his son. His baby was the best and his heart swelled with pride as they played. Even when the baby was playing by himself he just watched him with a small smile on his face, getting addicted to the feeling of having a family. He then looked up at Naruto and noticed the ever present scowl on his face.

"Look, I'm going to buy him a snack," Sai offered.

"I have snacks here in the bag," Naruto clipped.

"Can I take a walk with him around the park? I won't be long…"

"No," Naruto ground out through clenched teeth, he wasn't leaving Sai alone with his child, what if he took him away while his back was turned?

Naruto stood, "I think I'm ready to go…"

Sai's eyes snapped up to Naruto's, "Are you serious? You've only been here half an hour?"

"That's thirty minutes more than you should have got!" Naruto shot back angrily. He walked over and took up the child, placing him on his hip before getting ready to leave.

"Naruto, please don't leave yet…" Sai pleaded.

"I gave you some time with him, now leave me the hell alone," Naruto ground out irately.

Sai sighed exasperatedly, he couldn't tell Naruto what to do but he really did want a little more time with Kiichi. "Wait, when can I see him again?"

Naruto's gaze burned with hatred…'Give him a chance, or I'll make sure you lose your baby in a custody battle.' "You can write another letter when you're ready and I'll let you know."

Sai nodded, watching Naruto walk away. Even if what he got wasn't much, it was more than he had hoped for. Just the fact that Naruto even showed meant he might be getting somewhere and he smiled as he walked to the bus stop with hope in his heart.

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